Hermana Brooke, Is Coronavirus In Your Country Too?
"Janina, may I read to you while you cook?" I asked as I walked into Henrry and Laura's kitchen. Laura is up the river visiting her mother this week, so Janina is cooking for us. Janina is one of Laura's first set of twins.
I sat down. "I'm want to be able to say I've read a book from start to finish in Spanish," I said before I started reading. Whenever I read a sentence that I simply couldn't understand Janina would stop chopping cabbage and explain what the story was saying. Sometimes we would both giggle. Sometimes we would both gasp.
After a while my voice had grown tired and I paused, Janina said, "I have a book in English. Will you help me?" So together we read while the beans cooked. She helped me. I helped her.
My dreams are my wings to fly. (Location: PlazaReal Mall in Pucallpa.)
There has been much talk of Coronavirus this week. I bet that came as a surprise! It's a pandemic after all. The excitement reaches even as far as my little English students. "Hermana Brooke, is there coronavirus in your country, too?"
Us student missionaries have had more than a little anxiety about our cats. We were afraid that we would be pulled out of Peru before we could finish their immunization process. Thankfully our vet was able to vaccinate them a tiny bit early. I'm still worried about a smooth flight transition while traveling with an animal, but at least they're ready.
Conversations have revolved around news from our home Universities. Southern Adventist University has cancelled all spring break mission trips, including the large group that was scheduled to help us with clinics here. Both Andrews University and SAU have closed and sent students home, planning to finish their semester online. Walla Walla University may follow suit, but no news has come. There is a possibility that several (or all) of us SMs will be brought home soon. At this point, Walla Walla doesn't plan to bring us home until level four restrictions are placed on Peru. However, Pucallpa itself has one confirmed case so that may change.
My brother and dad were (are *fingers crossed) scheduled to visit in April. If heavier restrictions are placed on travel between Peru and the United States, my prayer is that it's AFTER they visit. Hopefully that isn't wishful thinking.
Overall, I'm not too worried. We are all strong and healthy and have decent health care available. However, as always, prayers are greatly appreciated.
Just a bunch of "perezosos" aka sloths.
English classes have been going well, although each day I feel more ill-equipped to explain the irregularities of English. I am eternally grateful that English is my first language because yikes! it's a real bugaboo.
You know how those of us who speak English sometimes like to pretend we're speaking Spanish by adding an 'o' or and 'a' to the end of our words? Well, Peruvians (or Spanish speakers in general?) do the same thing except they add 'tion' to the end of everything. Yesterday I asked my students, "What do you think the English word for boleto is?" Carlo piped up, "I don't know... bole-tion?" I giggled, "No! It's ticket. Like train ticket or airplane ticket."
There really isn't much more to report. Life has been fairly non-eventful.
Over and out!
~TBS~