Megan's Perusings: Exploding Earth and recent happenings

You may well be asking, 'Where have you been, Megan? We thought the Peruvian Amazon had swallowed you up!' Do not fear. I am still in Moyobamba. I've had a rough week or so with my health and have spent lots of time in the house. I did a few tests for the doctor, and the first revealed a parasite. However, the second two tests were later in the week as I was starting to feel a bit better, and they revealed no horrid beasties. Hmm. And then just as I was recovering from a week of a bad tummy, my throat started to hurt. Now I have half a voice and am coughing a bit. It's probably one of those germs that the kids have been sharing for a few weeks. In a culture of very close and physical greetings, it's no wonder that the colds and infections get spread quickly.

I only made it to school on Friday, and the children all thought I'd been on holiday! I sat outside in the sunshine with a few first graders, while they recounted all the diseases and bone fractures and breaks that various family members have suffered. The conversation took a bit of a turn, however, when one little boy said, 'Miss Megan, Miss, I have something I want to tell you. Miss, did you know that one day the earth is going to explode like an exploding star? Yeah, it is. And we're going to be taken to another planet. And there are going to be golden paths there. It's what they call paradise.' I could not help but smile about this 6 year old's simple but beautiful way of describing the end of the world/the second coming! I'm not sure if he intended to connect the previous conversation of bodily ailments to his description of the end of the world, but it made sense to me after all the sickness I'd been through in that past week!

Other recent happenings would include a going away meeting for Marion Burke, who will be returning to England for a month's holiday in the next couple of days, and the writing of my residence abroad project for university. With all the days off school I had during the week, I had ample time to work on my project. I have written all of it, and I've had one of the teachers at the school to proofread it for me. I will work on my second draft this week, polish it off, and get it submitted before it's due on the 15th of May. Woo hoo! I'm excited because it's almost finished, and I'm excited because I was actually disciplined enough to stick to my homemade timetable of getting it written 3 weeks before the due date! Note that: 3 weeks. How unlike me! But if I may borrow language from Mr Bennett, no doubt this working well ahead of deadlines will pass soon enough, more quickly than it should. :-)

A few people I haven't written about yet are the other foreign girls who have been working in Moyobamba. There are three girls - Laura, Luba and Francisca - who have been volunteering in the Christian medical clinic San Lucas. Laura is from Holland and has been in Moyobamba a few times before. Luba lives in Virginia and is studying dentistry. And Francisca is from Germany. We're all about the same age, and it has been lovely to get together from time to time. Luba has gone back to the States now, and when she was about to leave we all got together to have a 'chupete', an ice lolly. These chupetes are purchased through a tiny window in the door of a house on the street. One never sees the face of the seller - only his arm. But these chupetes are delicious! They are served in little plastic disposable cups, with a lolly pop stick frozen in the centre. My favourite flavours are peanut and coconut. It was nice to be out with the girls, although a group of white girls seems to attract quite a lot of attention in the street... Recently Laura celebrated her birthday, so we had a gathering at the house where she stays, with food and games. Lots of laughter, too, of course!

Here are a few random photos from the past couple of weeks.