Bus Knit

This bus driver had a multicolored knitted piece that was made custom fit for his dash. You know that someone who knows how to knit loves that driver. I wish I got a better shot!

Virgin Under Maintenance

In Peru, there are honored virgin dolls behind glass in most parks. I encountered this one empty on my walk today. The sign explained (literally) that "the Virgin is finding herself in restoration." Virgins gotta keep themselves pure I guess :)

Easter in Peru

This post is late because I can't figure out how to schedule my posts...help?

Protestants in Peru don´t know what to do with Easter. They fear being enslaved by the traditional idols of Catholicism and often don't do any special focus on Easter Sunday. 

So...this Easter instead of going to a special traditional service I watched rock bands singing songs they invented about Jesus and exhibited evangelistic artworks of my own. And instead of watching children search for Easter eggs,  I watched them wrestling one another out of boredom.

Collectivos

Is it wrong that I get sad when they shut down illegal things in Peru? My beloved collectivos, taxis that fill up with different people to get me home in a half the time, have been monitored by the police recently. 
The other day I got in and the lady who helps call people to get in yelled at the driver, "GO GO THEY'RE COMING!" and all the collectivos that weren't properly registered sped away fast down the highway including my ride as the police pulled up. My poor driver didn't earn much that day. 
Peru is more unique and a lot cheaper because businesses are free from government limitations most of the time. Sometimes it seems like any way of life is possible here (if you are illegal, wealthy, or connected). May the country grow in safety and economy but may it never lose its freedom. 

 ...waiting for the collectivo to fill up, I took a photo. 

Hand of Bananas

In Peru, if you want to buy bananas they ask you if you want one hand, two hands, or three hands. 

Just one hand for me please.

Art in the Park

Lucy and I are working on some new things for an exhibition and we took the morning off to do art together.

Lucy, a mother of three boys, doesn't get much time for her art. But her husband watched them in a nearby park. No one bugged us but two Jehovah's witnesses but Lucy scared them away fairly quickly. No one was gonna mess with the only art time she had had in a month.

Pick up line of the week

Above is a chart showing what some of the public transportation can look like here. The cobrador is the guy who tries to shove as many people who are willing into his van. The driver is usually the cobrador's father, husband, or distant uncle and sometimes he is just a random guy who picked him up off the street. To see an infomercial made for cobradors (with one questionable hand gesture) click here.

Recently, when I was looking to publicly transport myself to my work, a combi flew up to where I was standing...

Cobrador: Get in, get in, get in!
Me: (Ignoring him)
Cobrador: Hey lady! Where you are going, I am your destino!*

*Destino means destination OR destiny in Spanish, which made the line kind of clever. Most Peruvians have a way with words. 

Moth-er

Here is the painting completed after the burning (see previous post).

Feliz Dia de la Madre

This year, I spent a bit of time in mourning for my mother. Not mourning for her death, but mourning for all the time that I am losing for not living in the same country as her. I created an painting of her, and burned parts of it away to make her parallel to the verse that talks about not putting your treasures on earth where moth destroys. Burning it was surprisingly hard to do, I think I created my first therapeutic artwork.

I was talking to someone recently whose mom had died when he was still a boy. He told me that parts of his mom were still a part of who he is and that though her death does impact his every day life, that the part of who she is remains in part of his character.

And I see this too in me as do my friends who have met her. There are parts of who I am that have sprouted from who she is. Like my mom, I now need my daily nap as I listen to some audio thing, I say silly things that make students kindly question me, I am an intense traveler, I like to lighten up situations, I love to be hospitable to anyone willing to come around.

I hope that I will continue to find traces of her in me, that I will be my own woman like she is, resilient to others, that I will inherit the practical wisdom she has has so often used to counsel her children. That, like her, I will be willing to go through 18 years of being uncool so that eventually those who I have influenced (children spiritual or physical) will finally appreciate me for who I am and what I have done in their lives. Happy Mothers Day Mom! Sorry for burning your effigy... may it flatter you that you have such an impact on my mind that it needed to be done.

pick up line of the week

"lets hang out together and celebrate your future mothers day"

Two things

1. I have a WEBSITE! 

2. Haven't been blogging much anymore. I have been enjoying living my life so much that writing about it has been unnecessary. 

The one where I decorate the copy machine

Everyone calls the copy machine the beast. Especially when it starts acting up and eating paper or has other issues. So I took a few seconds to do something I had always wanted to do...

Acosadora de una Famila

I thought it was very interesting (and not unusual) to see every member in this Peruvian family is touching the other, so like a family stalker, I snapped a quick photo of them. Sometimes, I still am shocked in this culture of always enough food, always enough space, always enough time for one more.

Where I live now

Click HERE to see an honest photo of my untidy and incomplete room. I am planning on doing a bit more to it when I have the time.

I love my little room and patio. Open the curtains of both windows and I have a panoramic ocean view and can hear the waves. My little place is one of the reasons I think I could stay in Peru for some time.

Thoughts of a Questioning Atheist

In the womb I sucked up the fluids of a drunkard mother, then bottle-fed on cheap beer till I could hold a cup of whiskey

without an experience of sobriety I grew

fading in and out of reality

is reality

so

I beg

the provider for more cheap wine

a slave to his freely given mercy so that I will never have a chance to look at myself in a mirror not dim

 

They say that a state of dryness does exist

that there is freedom for inebriated people like me

but is this the truth or is it merely another drunkards song?

Meaning behind Sunshine

The wonderful thing about my new room is I have a view of all the coast. Yesterday, sitting on my bed, I could see a glimpse of sun shining on the Islas Palominos, population 0. In Lima there are well over 8 million habitants who would all appreciate more sun in their lives this time of year.

Is that ironic or poetic?

What I have been working on...

I have given a name and logo and facebook home to our art and faith group. Its neat to see how connections between artists are already happening. See it on facebook here.

Opera update

I fixed the "night at the opera" post. If interested in seeing a bit of what I saw, go to this link. 

Labor Day

Today, Josue saw me laying out on my hammock and was walking around waiting for Nadia to get home so he stopped by. I put him to work by having him help me carry my laundry to be cleaned, by having him walk with me to the hardware store and then replace an outlet that I had broken. Later, Nadia and Josue invited me to come with them while Nadia used a groupon for her restaurant. On the way, I saw that we were passing the clay store that I would need to make a special trip for tomorrow, so I had them stop and had Josue help me carry two bags of clay I had borrowed.

We arrived at the restaurant and Josue and Nadia got out. Josue, instead of pulling the seat to let me out said in a straight voice, "Eden...quieres que abro la ventana o asi no mas?"

Translation: Eden, So you want me to open the window or just leave it as is when you wait in the car?

I deserved that for making him do so much extra work :) But he did pay for my meal in the end.

Pick up line of the week

Melina and I are walking down the street. From the corner, a guy standing with his younger friend yells for him, "Se llama Alejandro y esta de moda!" My translation: "His name is Alejandro and he's hot on the market!"