Sunday, January 25, 2009

Everything's changing

*** ...So. ***

We have a new President TOTALLY different from the last one.
I'm in a cold, cold, silent, frosty, cold, quiet, organized, COLD place with huge houses and huge stores and huge distances between them. There is a new garage and a giant new black-and-chrome refrigerator that looks like Darth Vader.
There's an economic recession that's going to change a lot of people's jobs and outlooks on life... maybe my family among them.
There's no cumbia on the radio. In fact there's no radio or any other sort of noise, unless you turn it on yourself.
In church the people stand up in nice neat lines to go to communion. Also they control their small children and don't let them run around in front of the priest while he gives the homily... also there are no dogs wandering in while church is going on or firecracker explosions outside on the street.
Also the people are REALLY TALL.

...did I mention it's COLD AS ALL &*%&*^%$%#^& ? and that the sun comes up at 7 am and goes down at 5:30? WTF?
...but, at least there is a marked difference between light and dark, shadow and sun, frigidness and indoor warmth. A brittle cold with a blue sky and sun gleaming through naked tree branches lets you know you're alive. None of this dismal Lima-winter gray, 55 degrees and clammy and misting with no difference in the light between morning and midday and evening.

That's about as much as I've been able to process since I got back last Tuesday. My last few weeks in Peru, vacation pics, etc will be up soon, I hope. For now I'm just trying to breathe...