It´s Official...We are moving to California!

Yes, we are moving to California...permanently. My husband has been approved and has recieved his resident visa. We are so overjoyed that this is actually going to happen. Moving to the States is something we´ve been planning for a while now, and Coco´s been dreaming of joining his family in California for years. Of course we had to keep it quiet untill it was a sure thing, but now we can let you all know what´s going on. A lot of research, money, time, effort, sweat, and tears has already gone into this project. I can´t even explain how stressful and frustrating the process has been at certain times. But it was all worth it. And we still have many challenges ahead...including selling everything we own, saying goodbye to everyone we love here (not knowing when we´ll be back for a visit), finding new jobs, starting all over.....etc. But there´s nobody I would rather be on this adventure with than my wonderful hubby. And with all the support of our family and friends, I know everything will be just fine. We are truly blessed. There are lots of details we just don´t have right now....like when exactly we will arrive. But we will most likely be there by April or May. We had one last bbq over the weekend as we have to begin selling everything and our house will soon start to feel very empty.

¨Kitty Park¨

Maybe I just never noticed them before, but during our visit to Kennedy Park in Miraflores, there seemed to be a lot of cats. They were everywhere! Hiding in the flowers and trees, walking around, sitting on benches next to people, and even crawling into the laps of park visitors. Coco said the city has been taking care of them, providing them with proper food and care, and also asking people not to feed them. You would think people would feel uncomfortable with all those cats around, but people seem to be loving them.

El Museo de La Nacion

Coco and I had a chance to visit one of the largest museums in Lima. This museum is called Museo de La Nacion and it has 6 different floors of collections about different aspects of Peruvian history and culture. We visited the exhibit that showcased all of the art, ceramics, textiles, and other artifacts that Peru is so famous for. We saw an exhibit about a large rope bridge made completely out of straw that is reconstructed once a year in a small village. We also saw the exhibit about the Inca Road built by the Incan Empire as a sort of super highway for trade and transportation all the way from Ecuador down to Chile.

The following picture is for my dad. It shows the mailmen who ran up and down the Inca Road delivering mail throughout the empire. I don´t know if my dad would have enjoyed delivering mail in that uniform...

I found all of the exhibits fascinating. The more I can learn about Coco´s culture, the better. The exhibit that had the most impact on me was the exhibit about the terrorist conflict that occured in the 1980´s and 1990´s. I had heard bits and pieces about the brutality and violence that the Shining Path group inflicted on the people of Peru, but I never really understood the the full story. The exhibit covered the expanse of the conflict from the moment it started untill the day the group´s leader was captured and some of the events that followed. The graphic pictures and personal accounts of the conflict made me realize that it must have been such a difficult and terrifying time for Peruvians to have to live in constant fear and endure unnecessary suffering. But I am impressed with the resolve and endurance of Peruvians to triumph over the Shining Path and similar groups to regain peace in their country.

The ¨Chocolate Soup¨ of Lima

My favorite little store in Mariposa called ¨Chocolate Soup¨ has always been one of my favorite places to visit, especially with my mom. I could spend hours in that place. One of the best things about it, is that the store is in an old restored home. Well, Coco´s cousin Erica showed me a similarly charming place in Lima. In the artsy district of Barranco there is a store inside an old beautiful house. It is filled with many different rooms all displaying homemade and stylish items from Peru. Everywhere you look there is another treasure. This place even has a courtyard, cafe, and a bonzai garden. I could have sat there all day...but we did have a few other things to do....

An Old Restaurant with Old Friends

Coco and I were in Lima over the weekend. We spent a lot of time with family and hanging out around the city. One afternoon we celebrated the birthday of Coco´s dad at a restaurant in the north part of Lima. The owner of the restaurant is an old friend of Jorge´s. We went there to eat some ceviche and enjoy the company of Jorge, his wife, his two daughters, and a few of his long time friends. The restaurant is in an old house that actually has tree growing up through the middle of it, providing a roof for the center part of the house. Imagine if somenone converted their living room, family room, and kitchen into a restaurant,...it was very ¨homey¨. We had so much fun hanging out there and laughing as we heard a recount of some very old stories about Jorge and his friends.