I miss, I miss not

Time for me to have a one on "one" moment of honesty with you. I am really enjoying our new home here in Arequipa but it would only be natural for me to miss some things about the States. So here it goes, me in all my honesty and vulnerability to you...I let it all out:

Guarantees of a hot shower in the morning. In Peru people use solar power to heat water in to tanks on their roofs. Since the sun shines 364 out of 365 days a year it makes sense. It is perfectly logical, green, economical and whatever else you want to call it. But if you use up all the hot water in the tank the night before (aka bathing the children) then the next morning you are so out of luck!

Toilet paper in the toilet. Sewage systems here aren't created for that. I'll stop there.

English. I know Spanish. I speak Spanish. I don't write it Spanish. I'll get it. Until then I miss speaking and listening in English.

Contact solution. Its the little things and believe me here it's little. "I miss going to Walmart" (and I use those words SO loosely because I DO NOT miss going to Walmart) to purchase my Equate normal size bottle of contact solution for $2.50. Here it cost $10 for a travel size bottle! Crazy.

The gym. I love to exercise. No, I mean I freakishly LOVE to exercise. I love going to the gym and being motivated. While we are looking at the possibilities of joining a  gym here, its not a reality yet. Until then I faithfully workout to the motivational moves of Insanity, pilate's or a yoga DVD. Foolishly and unashamed we bust a move!  Although our "workout area" is beautiful and comes with a gorgeous view, these "sexy beasts" make a pretty good fool of ourselves in public!

Our pilates/yoga area in the FRONT of the house.

Family & Friends. Of course that is a given. But with technology the way it is with free text message, Skype and Face time it makes it hard to miss to much! It is a wonderful thing to be able to communicate with those I love on a regular basis.

Okay, Okay enough is enough. I'm done. Now you have to know what are some of the things that I love and believe me they far out weigh most of what I miss (except for friends and family).

Eli carrying the collected Avocado

Avocado. Endless supplies of avocado! You don't understand...I am an avocado fanatic. Its in my Puerto Rican blood. I cannot get enough of it. Here we have an avocado tree in our backyard! Unbelievable. I am so blessed.

Ro putting the avocado in the basket

Fresh Peas. When Eli started eating pureed foods I was bent on making as much of his baby food as possible. I loved it. The kitchen is my favorite place to be in the house so its only natural for me to want to make his food as fresh as possible. So began the search for fresh peas. Nearly impossible. When possible to find, nearly impossible to buy. Sad. Here they are everywhere and man are they delicious!!!

Yum...fresh peas!!!

Time with my son. I love that I am at home with him. I love that my job is to be home with him and my future child.

Restoring my roots and being immersed in Spanish. I know I sound like I'm completely contradicting myself but I love that I am learning more about the Spanish language. I love that my son and my husband will understand that part of my life. Its a piece of me and now I'm getting back in the swing of it.

Fresh food. I recently asked mom T., as I was hulling the peas, if they even sold frozen peas here in Peru. She wasn't sure so then next time we snuck out to the grocery store she showed us the frozen food section. Before I go on, close your eyes and picture yourself walking through the frozen food aisle in HEB, Walmart or whatever your favorite grocery store it. Think about the endless possibilities of $.99 pizza's, frozen veggies, corn dogs, french fries...you name it. Now open your eyes and take a peek at the picture below. THAT is the frozen food section. SOLD. I officially love it here. Want a canned product. HA. Good luck. Unless you want to pay $4 for canned corn you better head straight on over the the produce section. Love it.

Amazing new types of fresh fruit

This is the extent of the frozen food section!

Community. I love living in community. I love meeting new people and expanding our community. I love discovering a new culture. Its incredible. So much more awaits!

My list could go on. I miss some but I have SO MUCH MORE to be grateful for. So much more to fall in love with. What a great time in our life to be exploring the world in this adventure with Christ.