Of Beetle Wings and Language
I spent yesterday evening writing a post about the first day in Peru. I was just wrapping up and ready to go to bed around twelve when suddenly the document reverted to the form it had been in an hour or more ago. It was humanly inexplicable, as are most things that happen between me and electronics).
Well that left me back at square one with no post and no time left. Great.
I tried for a little while to recover the document but with little success (actually, that would be NO success). I was puzzled about the whole thing--it was like the undo button had been hit a billion times, but of course it wouldn't budge now.
I switched my computer off and went to sleep...
Returning to it all this morning:
I don't think spiders will be included in the Peru diet, only because I haven't seen them available yet. :) Or cockroaches. So if the account of a Peruvian adventure is found less riveting than the recounting of a Cambodian adventure, that is the most likely cause.
Today, however, I look forward to skydiving off the coast of Lima--a safe number of hours after breakfast, and definitely BEFORE lunch. Let's just say there will be plenty of people in our group to document two of us having the time of our lives. :)
Listening to Spanish being spoken is the best of all worlds for me. I can understand enough to generally follow the conversation, but not enough to be responsible to converse directly or to translate for others. It also helps that most of the Peruvians know more English than I do Spanish (though it does not make me feel smart). As the story goes, an old German man was once reported to speak eight languages, not unlike Alexander the Great. The only difference being that each of the languages sounded remarkably like German.
Yesterday night we were invited to dinner at the home of a missionary kid who grew up in Peru. Most of the guests had also grown up on the base in Yarinacocha, and the tales flew thick and fast about wild things they had done together and people they had known.
Our host served traditional Peruvian food, and plenty of it! All the dishes had Spanish names of course, and those who have lived in the states for years undertook a refresher course on the traditional names.
In case you're feeling adventurous, the recipe for Pollo Saltado is as follows:
Combine:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. vinegar (apple cider or white)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cumin
Add in chicken (pollo) or beef (lomo) chunks (about 1lb) and let marinade for a couple hours or all day.
A couple hours before serving, simmer the meat till almost cooked.
Add:
2 thinly sliced bell peppers (preferably different colors)
1 thinly sliced onion
Simmer further till the vegetables are tender, then add several sliced roma tomatoes.
Stir the pot to incorporate the tomatoes, then serve hot over rice.
Disfrutar!
Later on in the evening someone produced a file of old pictures from their family's years on the mission base in Yarinacocha and in Mexico working on translation. The pictures were beautiful--captured scenes from remarkable lives: a family of seven standing around a canoe about to disembark with all their earthly belongings inside; two little blonde girls having a grand time on a homemade rocking horse; a missionary sitting in front of the translation desk; lines of laughing children and adults racing into a hut in a crazy dance; two small children sitting on either side of a small table contemplating an iced birthday cake; a beautiful homemade paddle boat giving rides around the lake; a man sitting in a canoe with a tribe member, holding a book and counseling him. All these and many more spoke to a lives lived fully, confidently, earnestly. These men and women caught hold of God's Word that "He who saves his life with lose it, but he who loses his life for My sake will find it". They were confident in Christ's promise to bring greater reward and gain from the daily sacrifices, the constant laying down of their lives to bring glory to His name.
As martyr Jim Elliot said "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose".
As I was poring over the pictures, a man came over who had grown up in Peru with the rest of the guests. He told me the story behind many of the pictures, enlightened me on tribal customs, and identified people.
When a magnificent picture of Chief Tariri came up he told me a story that ought to bless any woman.
His father, a pilot, had been visiting Tariri in his village. Upon his departure, Tariri approached him and handed him a Quaker Oatmeal tin. Inside was a pair of long dangling earrings made from the wings of jungle beetles. Tariri explained that while in Western culture it is the custom for women to decorate themselves, in the Shapra tribe it is the men who dress up. He was sending the earrings for the pilot's son (the man telling the story), so that he could give them to a girl someday and win her heart.
Apparently this man found the right girl, because she accepted them in lieu of a wedding band, and wore them to events (it was feared she would wear them to the wedding, but fortunately that never occurred).
Well that left me back at square one with no post and no time left. Great.
I tried for a little while to recover the document but with little success (actually, that would be NO success). I was puzzled about the whole thing--it was like the undo button had been hit a billion times, but of course it wouldn't budge now.
I switched my computer off and went to sleep...
Returning to it all this morning:
I don't think spiders will be included in the Peru diet, only because I haven't seen them available yet. :) Or cockroaches. So if the account of a Peruvian adventure is found less riveting than the recounting of a Cambodian adventure, that is the most likely cause.
Today, however, I look forward to skydiving off the coast of Lima--a safe number of hours after breakfast, and definitely BEFORE lunch. Let's just say there will be plenty of people in our group to document two of us having the time of our lives. :)
Listening to Spanish being spoken is the best of all worlds for me. I can understand enough to generally follow the conversation, but not enough to be responsible to converse directly or to translate for others. It also helps that most of the Peruvians know more English than I do Spanish (though it does not make me feel smart). As the story goes, an old German man was once reported to speak eight languages, not unlike Alexander the Great. The only difference being that each of the languages sounded remarkably like German.
Yesterday night we were invited to dinner at the home of a missionary kid who grew up in Peru. Most of the guests had also grown up on the base in Yarinacocha, and the tales flew thick and fast about wild things they had done together and people they had known.
Our host served traditional Peruvian food, and plenty of it! All the dishes had Spanish names of course, and those who have lived in the states for years undertook a refresher course on the traditional names.
In case you're feeling adventurous, the recipe for Pollo Saltado is as follows:
Combine:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. vinegar (apple cider or white)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cumin
Add in chicken (pollo) or beef (lomo) chunks (about 1lb) and let marinade for a couple hours or all day.
A couple hours before serving, simmer the meat till almost cooked.
Add:
2 thinly sliced bell peppers (preferably different colors)
1 thinly sliced onion
Simmer further till the vegetables are tender, then add several sliced roma tomatoes.
Stir the pot to incorporate the tomatoes, then serve hot over rice.
Disfrutar!
Later on in the evening someone produced a file of old pictures from their family's years on the mission base in Yarinacocha and in Mexico working on translation. The pictures were beautiful--captured scenes from remarkable lives: a family of seven standing around a canoe about to disembark with all their earthly belongings inside; two little blonde girls having a grand time on a homemade rocking horse; a missionary sitting in front of the translation desk; lines of laughing children and adults racing into a hut in a crazy dance; two small children sitting on either side of a small table contemplating an iced birthday cake; a beautiful homemade paddle boat giving rides around the lake; a man sitting in a canoe with a tribe member, holding a book and counseling him. All these and many more spoke to a lives lived fully, confidently, earnestly. These men and women caught hold of God's Word that "He who saves his life with lose it, but he who loses his life for My sake will find it". They were confident in Christ's promise to bring greater reward and gain from the daily sacrifices, the constant laying down of their lives to bring glory to His name.
As martyr Jim Elliot said "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose".
As I was poring over the pictures, a man came over who had grown up in Peru with the rest of the guests. He told me the story behind many of the pictures, enlightened me on tribal customs, and identified people.
When a magnificent picture of Chief Tariri came up he told me a story that ought to bless any woman.
(Notice the beetle wing earrings and the heavy strings of beads made from jungle seeds. The earrings are brightly colored and include bright yellow and red macaw feathers at the ends)
His father, a pilot, had been visiting Tariri in his village. Upon his departure, Tariri approached him and handed him a Quaker Oatmeal tin. Inside was a pair of long dangling earrings made from the wings of jungle beetles. Tariri explained that while in Western culture it is the custom for women to decorate themselves, in the Shapra tribe it is the men who dress up. He was sending the earrings for the pilot's son (the man telling the story), so that he could give them to a girl someday and win her heart.
Apparently this man found the right girl, because she accepted them in lieu of a wedding band, and wore them to events (it was feared she would wear them to the wedding, but fortunately that never occurred).
So sorry you lost your post! Grr! Sounds like a very memorable evening; you captured it well here. Love hearing news from you! I'm wondering if now you're going to be looking for that someone who will give you beetle earrings to win your heart?
ReplyDeleteLove,
ML