SUN IS SHINING!

What a feeling to wake up in the morning to a sunrise. I've been waiting for this now almost five months. This is my second time. I got so excited, however it was bit too early to wake up because I went to bed rather late thanks to the party next door. So despite of my anxiety of sun I was able to fall a sleep simply because I was so tired.

Sun means so much to me, I think partly because living in Finland I've always been waiting for the Spring and the longer days after dark and long winter. So after having a long, dark and cloudy winter in Finland and just getting used to the light I came to Lima. I never imagined it would be so GREY all the time, ALL THE TIME. For me it's been equal to darkness in Finland that I always want to run away. So actually this year I've had more lack of Sun than for many years. Most of the people told me that it's not like this normally in Lima. Since I got here people told me next month Spring will start and we'll have more sunny days, I've been waiting for this 4,5 months!

So I'm extremely happy this morning and I hope rest of my time in Lima will be more like this!

I know it's so unfair to talk about it now when it's getting darker all the time in Finland, but I deserve this. You had great summer there and I didn't.

I want to be fair and I will send SUN to you all!!! Have amazing day!

Sun is shining

 View from my window this morning!

My fruits from the market (mas o menos 10e)

My amazing breakfast, mango smoothie with fresh ALOEVERA!

Sending Positive Energy!

This morning I received news that made me extremely sad, a dear friend (young) back at home is seriuously ill, at first I couldn't believe it and then I burst into tears. So fucking unfair. It made me think once again how we should appreciate everyday life. AND that I should really get over "missing my friends sickness" and "being annoyed with Lima", because in reality everyday there are things that make my life valuable in here, even if I tend to complain. However, I should get over those negative feelings and focused on the positive ones. 

I promised to update my blog regularly for my friend and give him other stuff to think about. Also every day I will find time to send him some positive energy and in order to have effective positive energy I really have to focus even more on the positive things. The ones who are reading this please do the same, share some minutes of your time everyday to send positive energy to the people who really need it.

Soon after receiving the bad news a dear friend, who I have difficulties to reach sometimes, talked to me on Skype and those 15 min. together with the Sun, which appeared behind the fog brightened my day and made me even more focused on the positive aspects.

However, the traffic, waiting and being stuffed into a bus made me once again frustrated even if I had chosen the metro(bus) which is supposed to be faster. Yet, a good evaluation meeting at work, nice people and yummy vegetarian lunch and watermelon for dessert made me feel better once again. So everything really evens out.

In the evening I wanted to go and see a movie, but in the end I worked bit too late and left bit too late and there was too much traffic that I didn't make it on time. Anyways I needed to finish some stuff for tomorrow at home (...yes, I'm gonna continue right after this). As I was walking by the Chocolate factory/cafeteria, which I pass by almost everyday, but mostly so late that I don't have time get in because they're closing. This time a nice looking guy (who I've seen and noticed there before) was outside handing out flayers. He passed me one and asked if I know the place and I had to admit that not really. He asked me if I have a little bit of time and I thought, why not, a good excuse to go buy some chocolate and talk to a nice looking guy. I got some cacao tea, tasted some cacao beans, some chocolate and a tons of information. In the end I was impressed by what he taught me about making chocolate and everything. I bought some cacao tea (it is supposed to give me energy) and of course chocolate, organic & fair trade! 

This is for you my friend, I know you will win this battle! 

Strenght, love & huge hug for you!

Positive thinking ( Africa music)

Active Sunday!

I woke up at 6.15. I had a coffee and ate a little breakfast and at 7am headed my way to my friends place to go cycling with him. 

This was the view from my window before leaving. 

It is still grey in the morning. Luckily we’ve seen the SUN for few hours for the last three days!

Bicycle, what a luxury! My friend has two bikes and on Sundays here in Lima several streets are closed for some hours for people to enjoy the streets instead of the cars. I know, it may sound weird for many of you, but that is really the only way for many people to practice rollerblading or cycling safely in here, because paths for cyclist doesn’t really exists. Also it is good to give some space for people too, because here the CARS always come first.

 Signs of Spring on the way

For a person like me, who has used bicycle as a way of transport for my whole life, to be stuffed in the bus every day, is like a nightmare, I feel I have lost my freedom in here.

Cycling after such a long time was amazing for me, even if I had to do it early in the morning, because I work every Sunday. Meaning, to enjoy my freedom I needed to get up very early, but for sure it was worth it. We cycled the way that I would normally go by bus to my work (usually 30-45min.) and by bike it took me 15min. So you can just imagine the traffic in here! I was so happy that I decided I want to go cycling every Sunday morning and hope one morning we will even have a SUN with us!

At the moment my Sunday at La Casa de Panchita is very busy, I have “textile class” taller de costura from 10-13, where the women can learn to use sowing machine and make something with it, or learn knitting and crochet also. Then I have lunch and after that English from 2 to 4pm. 

At 4.15 I’ll teach yoga for an hour and now we can go to park because it’s warm enough (pictures next time) and then after the yoga, we’re practicing a performance for Christmas, we just need to see if we have enough Sundays to practice it! Even if it’s busy, I love Sundays and I love spending time with the women, who I’ve know now for several months now. Usually there are few people who regularly come to my classes. It’s not just about teaching or learning, it's about spending time together and sharing our lives with each other’s, while learning and relaxing. It is their day off!

After a long, but a great day at work I got home with my colleague Brendan and we had dinner together. Simple, but yummy and for dessert a fresh delicious MANGO!

What a perfect weekend!

Painting in the SUN!

After spending the last weekend in bed because of being sick once again I was happy to enjoy this weekend and even have SUN!!!

Friday evening I went to movies to see a German movies this time at the European Cine festival, which is now here in Lima. I saw Road to the North by Mika Kaurinmäki the other weekend and it was a great Finnish movie, laughed and cried so much and so did other people (not sure about the crying though ;).

Saturday morning I went to Afro dance, which is more like rumba&salsa than Afro, but better than normal baile lesson, which I BTW hate in here. I have to say I am an Afro love and will stay one, salsa is not my thing, unfortunately!

After Afro I had promised to help to paint Biblioteca (place where I work two days a week in the afternoon) so I spend the rest of the day there. It was so relaxing, I love drawing and painting! First we had lunch together with the promotoras and then we worked. We even had the SUN, so in the end we all worked outside.

We stopped when it was getting cold. I spend an hour in the bus back to my home and went for grocery shopping, got home, cooked and was ready to go to bed at 10pm.

Just parasites!!!

For some reason I don't manage to finish any of my posts that I've started because they become endless...I have so much to say but too little time to write!!!

Another reason for my lack of writing has been my tiredness for a while already. For some reason I have forgotten the fact that I live in a country where you're most likely to have parasites etc.and it hit me only last week. In the hospital they have given me all the time the same antibiotics, doesn't matter what is wrong with me, it's the one that is supposed work for everything, (but not parasites or ameba) however I'm just not getting better after eating "kills all antibiotics". As I am a daughter of a nurse, I of course search sickness for my symptoms from internet and consult my mom, who consults the doctors she works with... and the end result is, I know (or I think I know) what is wrong with me and I get myself a right antibiotics from the pharmacy (here you just tell them what you want and they sell you anything)  instead waiting for results for the stool tests (that you need to take 3times).

OMG! some of you're thinking right now, how disgusting is that and how can she even talk about things like that in public, but the ones who travel or have travelled to a places (there are many in this world) where you can get a souvenir you wouldn't like to have, know that talking about shit and your health becomes a very important part of your life. Because especially when having problems with your stomach affects your life quite a lot!

As I've not been feeling well, my dear students at la Casa de Panchita on Sundays have given me many kind of advises. Best was yesterday when one of my student brought me an Aloe vera from her garden to clean my stomach with that, thank you Bertha! So last night I prepared it, used some for my skin and this morning had a smoothie with fresh Aloe vera mixed with fresh orange juice and banana. QUE RICO!

So I'm sure after having antibiotics and eating Aloe vera I'll be fine soon!

I will try to entertain you by adding more pictures and less talking. As a friend of mine (again) was so kind to lend me a camera, so that I can actually show you something, because I still haven't bought a new camera for myself.