Happy Birthday Sean!!! Can you believe that Sean is 30 today!
And I'm in Tumbes staying in a hostel for 2 days of rest after a crises in my family. The husband of one of my host sisters died last night after a year of leukemia treatment. His two children live in my house and I´ll probably never forget the sobbing of the 8 year old girl last night when she learned about her father´s death. This is the 2nd death in a host family home I´ve experienced here in Peru. The whole family is going to a town 4 hours south for the funeral but planned to leave two teenagers behind to make sure I wasn´t alone. I called the Peace Corps doc and got authorization (and money) for 2 nights away.
So I sat at the ocean awhile, packed a few things, tried to find words of comfort for the little girl, sent Sean a cell phone message and headed for Tumbes. I´ll have lunch with a Peace Corps friend (who is a birder!), dinner with the midwife from the clinic and a shower. Did I mention a shower??
Sarita
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Hi Sara, that is incredibly sad. I'm glad you are there to help them through it, especially the little ones. Life goes on, and you appreciate the little things, like showers. I think it is so crucial to get away now and then. I remember getting into Mexico City a couple of times, and going to a library and reading all afternoon, in English. It really helped me recharge. We get used to the living for the weekend mentality, and in some ways, that guaranteed escape, however brief or interrupted, is key.
My weekend will be spent watching the thermometer climb, sadly. It's supposed to be 58 next week, so it will be a mess. The snow is so deep, and there has been so much, that the city has used a machine that slices off the drifts, curbside, so the snow looks like the rock outcroppings blasted through to make highways. That will be going away next week with the warmth.
We talk about you at work all the time, we've got a whole crew living vicariously through your experience. Hope you can feel it.
Ken
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