The first 3 weeks...

 

I thought I'd share a few experiences with you, as well as some pictures, of our first 3 weeks.  We've done a lot of walking so that we can get to know our neighborhood, and how to get to the plaza.  Noe has started work and we got to visit him.  

Gemma has a new playmate! :) Chiquitin!

Noe's office!

The kids signed into a class here in Ayacucho to meet their fellow students.  We've visited a few churches.  This one was on the outskirts of ayacucho and it took 15-20 minutes to get there.  The view was beautiful!  The service is in Quechua so the kids and I didn't understand much :) lol  Noe will be helping out with the church regularly.  We also visited the Presbyterian Church of Ayacucho which happens to be a 5 minute walk from our house.  It's in Spanish so the kids and I will probably go there more often. (didn't get any pics of that church)

We also visited Noe's extended family that lives an hour away in Huanta (a little over a one hour trip one way).  Lots of uncles, aunts, cousins and nieces/nephews!  Noe also got to place flowers on his grandparents graves.

We went to a nearby field and played soccer and volleyball!

more beautiful scenery on the drive there.

our youngest relatives :)  We took a few little gifts for them

behind their house is a grove of avocados and some different melons.  

they sent us home with tons of avocados! can't wait until they ripen to make some homemade guac :) 

We have pretty much set up the house with everything we need (still debating on getting a microwave...I think I'm going to eventually cave to that lol).  We're also on a mission to find a pizza place that has pizza the kids like :)  so far we have had a few thumbs down and a couple of "oks".  One was so bad Ella refused to even eat it! lol  We found a water service that will bring us a new 20L jug when we're out - which means we don't have to buy water bottles or boil water constantly :) 

I don't like not having a routine yet - especially for the kids - but it *is their summer break, so I'm cutting them some slack!  They started their online classes for ELA and Math this week (mid-july), so they'll have stuff to do!

As I mentioned in the previous blog, we live close to a large outdoor/indoor market...it's about 4-5 blocks away.  I've been walking there every 2-3 days to learn where to buy things that we need.  I want to take some pics to share, but I'm trying to be very discreet.  As you can imagine, I already stick out lol.  So, if I walk around with a camera aimed at everyone while they shop...well, it's a little weird. lol.  So, I'll post them as I get them :) 

evidently oranges are in season cause they are EVERYWHERE lol.  This whole bin is 16 soles!

cuy/guinea pig 😬

the market is divided into sections - clothes, paper products, grains, meat, poultry, etc.  This is the "meat" section.

part of the outdoor market

There's a large ditch in between one side and the street, so they've constructed little bridges to cross.  Some look more stable than others!

For Ella's birthday (the 20th!), we let her decide on a place nearby to visit.  We have a whole list of places we want to see while we're here in Peru, but with some traveling restrictions still in place, we'll start local and then branch out.  She picked the Aguas Turquesas - a popular tourist attraction here in Ayaucho.  I'm very excited!  It looks beautiful.  I'll share some pics of that trip at the end of the month :) 

Thanks for following our Peru adventures :) God bless!

En Cristo, 

Laurie and the Juarez family

prayers requests - health, that Gemma re-learns to stay in her crate withOUT barking, and that the kids' school starts hybrid in August!!