It has been. A long time, that is, since I last wrote a blot. I´m not even sure where to start now. Perhaps with a few highlights I hope I haven´t written about any of this before (yes, it´s been that long, so long I don´t know how long it´s been!)
Clinic always makes good memories. This time they are of a lot of (well deserved) teasing about my slightly disturbing to fall asleep suddenly (and sometimes inappropriately!). While I´ve gotten used to flighting (with varying degrees of success) against it in the Sabbath School at 38, I rose to new heights (fell to new depths?) by nearly falling asleep talking with a patient, and missing a couple of the night evangelistic meetings due to not being awake. I definitely am glad it hasn´t been a consistent trend.
The next week, I got to spend a day with Hermano Alfredo, an expert at making finished lumber out of big trees, a chalk line, and a chainsaw. It´s amazing what he can do, and even better that he´s a good teacher too. That was the main point of the day, for me to get to learn enough to be able to work on recovering the fair amount of fallen timber on the land, so it won´t rot, burn, or otherwise disappear and be wasted. I can still use a lot of practice, but I think I can cut some tolerable tablones, (planks between 2-4 inches thick, 3 or 4 meters long, and as wide as the logs will take, after accounting for curves, twists, and tapers).
I´ve also had some interesting times on my days off, trying to get tickets and plans figured out for the two weeks of travel we have in December, to leave the country for new visas and just see a bit more of this amazing country. Sometimes stressful, or confusing, but very educational.
And now, actually going on the trip. It started on Saturday night. Our first adventure turned out to be simply finding the bus company´s office. After walking around for a few minutes, dangerously close to our departure time, we gave in and hired a motokar (tricycle taxi) who took us to the right spot, just in time to board fairly peacefully and settle into the orange and blue seats before setting out on the looong, 20ish hour trip to Lima. I slept a fair amount, and then woke up to amazing Andes scenery. But about that time, I started feeling a wee bit sickly. An odd, not quite nauseous feeling, and a lot of burping. Then after climbing some stairs at a bathroom-and-breakfast break, I felt light headed, and had to sit down to avoid fainting (I was told ¨Your lips look the same color as your teeth¨with an unknown measure of exaggeration).
The dizziness went away, but the odd burp kept up, and a couple hours from the end, I finally succumbed to true nausea. Most went in the convenient plastic baggie provided for such events, and what didn´t used up most of my meager TP supply cleaning my shoes, lower pant legs, backpack, and floor. Fortunately, not very much in any of those places! Also, I immediately felt much better.
On arriving in Lima, I immediately headed to the airport (though probably a little slow, since I was figuring out on the fly Lima´s chaotic bus system - or is system an appropriate word? It got me there, so won´t bash that, and cheaply too).
From there, it was back to the Plaza de Armas, to meet up with the other SMs again, where we happened on a parade with a crack military drill team. Next, supper at a Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian food) and back to the airport for check in. Back out to an internet cafe to let my parents know Keri, my sister, had arrived safely, then back into the airport to sleep on the benches before our morning flights - Keri and I to Cusco, and the other SMs to Arequipa. A little sad that we ended up traveling separately, due to my tendency to try to pack too much in too little time, but with hopes of possibly crossing paths, as we´re headed to mostly the same destinations.
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