A Proposal!
Most of you who read this blog are close to me and my family so you already know the news…that Jorge and I are engaged! We are so excited and happy. We feel blessed that God has brought us together and that He has given us family and friends who love us and support us. After over a year of dating, with a lot of it being long distance, my time here in Peru has made us realize how much we care for each other and how we want to commit to doing life together. So, you may be wondering how he proposed. Well I will tell you…
I was so amazed that he kept the ring inside a tiny pocket in his wetsuit the whole time he was in the sea. The whole while this was happening Alonso was taking pictures and blaring one of our favorite songs from his car (Lauryn Hill’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You). Then I got to hear the whole sneaky story about how it was all planned, and really I didn’t know a thing. Later Jorge told me he had a big speech planned but he got so nervous in the moment that he forgot it. So he told it to me later, and it was beautiful. 
After the beach we went to see some of Jorge’s family including Tia Betty, Tio Juan, Prima Erica, Primito Oscar, and their pet turtles. We celebrated at lunch with them and then visited more family.
A few weekends ago we went to Lima for a little weekend visit. There was a plane heading there from Iquitos so we jumped on…literally… Jorge came to my place and said I had 15 minutes to pack. So we spent a few days there catching up with family and friends and eating food that we had been craving in Iquitos (Starbucks, ceviche, salads). One morning Jorge made plans with his friend Alonso to go surfing. I said I would tag along but that I would probably go running along the coastline while they were in the water. Later I would find out that Jorge was counting on the fact that I would want to go for a run….
So we arrived at the beach and the boys got all suited up and headed into the water while I took off on my run. As soon as I was out of sight they began to execute their secret plan. They prepared for my return and then watched and waited for me to come back. Well I didn’t want to be the annoying girlfriend who cut the surf session short by finishing the run early and sit by the car looking bored. So I really took my time with the run and even stopped at a few places. They said they were wondering if I was ever going to come back. When I finally did, I approached the car and I saw Alonso getting out of the water. I told them they could spend more time in the water if they wanted but he seemed eager to get changed and he said Jorge would be out of the water soon too. So I thought Alonso was busy getting changed, but he was getting a camera, flowers, and some music ready inside of the car. He told me that I needed to go down to the water to help Jorge out because he had stepped on a sea urchin (which turned out to be true and he had to have the hospital remove an urchin spike from his foot the next day).
So I went down to the water and grabbed his body board for him and took it to the car. Meanwhile he was walking backwards with the big flippers on his feet and reaching into his wetsuit for something. I walked back toward the water where he was and he had a handful of sand. He said he found something and I really thought it was a crab or shell. So I sifted through the sand in his hand and found a beautiful ring. That’s when he carefully got down on one knee (difficult to do on a rocky shore and with flippers on your feet) and he said , “Baby, you wanna marry me?” Then he put the ring on the wrong finger. I said yes and got so excited and happy and then showed him which finger was my ring finger.
I was so amazed that he kept the ring inside a tiny pocket in his wetsuit the whole time he was in the sea. The whole while this was happening Alonso was taking pictures and blaring one of our favorite songs from his car (Lauryn Hill’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You). Then I got to hear the whole sneaky story about how it was all planned, and really I didn’t know a thing. Later Jorge told me he had a big speech planned but he got so nervous in the moment that he forgot it. So he told it to me later, and it was beautiful. After the beach we went to see some of Jorge’s family including Tia Betty, Tio Juan, Prima Erica, Primito Oscar, and their pet turtles. We celebrated at lunch with them and then visited more family.
We stopped by Grandma’s to see Jorge’s dad and his wife and two daughters. We also went to check up on Panda. He is much bigger now and looks much healthier. Grandma has been taking great care of him and she is definitely in love with him (as pictured below).
Our journey to and from Lima involved a cargo plane to Lima and for the return flight, a real passenger plane from the Air Force with actual seats and seat belts! I liked all of the Air Force symbols all over the plane.
About a month ago Jorge was copiloting his first flight in a Twin Otter plane that was flying from a small town en route to Iquitos. Him and his pilot were carrying two passengers and the mechanic. As the five of them began their ascent, the ‘chip detector’ light came on along with a lot of other ‘danger danger’ lights. Him and his copilot had to make a decision, they decided to continue ascending and once they were level in the air they were forced to turn off one engine because all signs were indicating that the engine would soon explode if they didn’t. So they were in the air using their ability to float with only one engine. As soon as they lost an engine every member of the Air Force was notified and everything basically stopped while they were in the air as all efforts were concentrated on getting them safely landed. It was kind of like those scenes in Apollo 13 where everybody waits in silence praying for their safety and emergency crews were rushed to the Nanay/Amazon river where they would be landing. Him and his pilot did an amazing job correcting their navigation the whole time as they were making a landing on water with one engine. Everybody in all of the Air Force of Iquitos was there to celebrate their safe landing. And the whole time I had no idea. Nobody notified me until he had or hadn’t landed, and I was fine with that. Its very rare that this sort of thing happens and Jorge was told that he handled the situation very well, not like a rookie at all. And I am very proud of him.
So ironically on our flight to Lima there was some special cargo on board. On the back end of the plane was the very same engine that almost made him crash. The engine was from Canada and was only a few months old. So needless to say there is going to be an investigation of the engine in Lima. And then it will be sent back to Canada. I felt mad at that engine and I gave it a few mean glares.
Okay there is plenty more to blog about but not enough internet time…so keep checking in. I love you all!
A little note about or flight on the way to Lima from Iquitos, there was some special cargo I want to tell you about.
About a month ago Jorge was copiloting his first flight in a Twin Otter plane that was flying from a small town en route to Iquitos. Him and his pilot were carrying two passengers and the mechanic. As the five of them began their ascent, the ‘chip detector’ light came on along with a lot of other ‘danger danger’ lights. Him and his copilot had to make a decision, they decided to continue ascending and once they were level in the air they were forced to turn off one engine because all signs were indicating that the engine would soon explode if they didn’t. So they were in the air using their ability to float with only one engine. As soon as they lost an engine every member of the Air Force was notified and everything basically stopped while they were in the air as all efforts were concentrated on getting them safely landed. It was kind of like those scenes in Apollo 13 where everybody waits in silence praying for their safety and emergency crews were rushed to the Nanay/Amazon river where they would be landing. Him and his pilot did an amazing job correcting their navigation the whole time as they were making a landing on water with one engine. Everybody in all of the Air Force of Iquitos was there to celebrate their safe landing. And the whole time I had no idea. Nobody notified me until he had or hadn’t landed, and I was fine with that. Its very rare that this sort of thing happens and Jorge was told that he handled the situation very well, not like a rookie at all. And I am very proud of him.
So ironically on our flight to Lima there was some special cargo on board. On the back end of the plane was the very same engine that almost made him crash. The engine was from Canada and was only a few months old. So needless to say there is going to be an investigation of the engine in Lima. And then it will be sent back to Canada. I felt mad at that engine and I gave it a few mean glares.
Okay there is plenty more to blog about but not enough internet time…so keep checking in. I love you all!
1 comment:
Congrats Annie!
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