It's Still a Little Fallish

I heard that this fall in Oakhurst was rich with vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds all over town. I may have missed the peak of the fall colors but there is still a few reminders of fall in the area.

Passing Time in Lima

Before coming to California I spent about ten days in Lima. I was there participate in a teacher's training seminar for a franchise English institute that I would like to work for. The ICPNA Institute will be coming to Iquitos in January and I'm waiting to hear about my performance in the seminar to see if they plan to hire me. So...keep your fingers crossed.
But in the midst of that training Coco was there for a few days and we found some time to enjoy Lima together. One night we met some family at the Marriot for "tea time" where there was a spread of little Peruvian treats and hors d'oeuvres. It was so delicious and the dining room was filled with beautiful lilies.

We spent a day with Erica and Oscar in Larcomar.

Tia Laura took us to an old exclusive Criolla Club in Lima. In this little place there were Traditional Peruvian dancers and Folk Singers. It was all beautiful and made us feel like we had been transported back in time.

The next night she took us to a similar club where there was a dinner and a show. The food was excellent and the show was a great performance by a Peruvian singer who sang songs from Peru, Mexico, and the U.S. Then Coco went back to Iquitos and I spent the next week in training, and now I'm here enjoying California.

Christmas is Coming...

So I'm not in Peru at the moment, I'm in California with the family. I miss the hubby so much but he's coming soon. Here in Califorinia everything is super beautiful. And here in the STARkey household it's beginning to look alot like Christmas.

Outside its been a bit snowy and frosty but you can still see some vibrant colors leftover from Fall (and I am loving that because I haven't seen any change of seasons in the jungle.)

Everyone is relaxing by the fire and trying to stay warm.

Mom and I have drowned the house in Christmas. The classic Christmas village is up in the family room.

I have to say I'm thrilled with mom's theme for the Christmas Tree this year. She decided we would cover the tree in ornaments from around the world. As a travel agent for many years she was able to collect ornaments from her clients who brought them all back to her from the far corners of the world.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy your families!

Halloween 2010

Halloween in Iquitos has come and gone. Halloween is not quite the spectacle in Iquitos the way it is in Lima or in the U.S. So while most of the children in the Air Force Villa dressed up and made there way around collecting candy, there weren´t any adults dressed up. But being the Gringa that I am, I couldn´t let another Halloween go by without wearing a costume, so I wore one. The trick or treaters that came to the house liked my costume and that made dressing up, worth it. Alot of my students came by the house. Here I am with a few of them.

There isn´t exactly a costume store in Iquitos, but I usually tend to make my own anyways (and they usually tend to invlolve cardboard). So I didn´t have much to work with but I was able to throw together a superhero costume and I called myself ¨Super Gringa.¨ The costume may have been last minute, but at least I got alot of laughs. (There was a homemade cape too).

Coco´s costume was also last minute. Originally we were going for cowboy, but in the end he looked more like an australian cowboy farmer guy.

Here´s how Coco decorated the front of the house. We found pumpkins again, not an easy thing to find in the Amazon. We were lucky enough to find them in the same location of the marketplace that we found them last year.

Eventually we had alot of kids show up at the house and it felt like a hurricane each time a new batch would come. And here they don´t say ¨trick or treat.¨ Instead they literally say in English ¨Happy Halloween.¨ And then you give them their hard-earned candy.

Eventually we made it to a small gathering at a friends house, where Coco and I were the only ones dressed up, but people appreciated our effort. And we gifted our friends with one of our pumpkins and they proudly displayed it on their driveway. Next year I think an organized costume party is in order.