Abandonment

Theresea (3rd year) is back in the States visiting her family. Victoria and Jacqueline have various travel plans with various visitors. So Erin and I are in the midst of our time of "Abandonment."

It's actually a good thing, because it pushes us to figure out things on our own. And it's been fun so far. Here's a few snippets of what we've been up to:

• Sunday we successfully went shopping. That involves taking a car to Urcos (15 minutes away or so) and buying food from the various venders at the market set up in the plaza. On the way back, the driver put us both in the back seat with two other people (4 is the standard number of people to fit in the back seat of a car here). The man next to me wasn't too interested in sharing space. The driver closed the door on Erin's legs so we were crammed in, and the only way to fit was for me to sit on Erin's lap. Fortunately it wasn't a very long ride, so my bony butt didn't dig into Erin's leg for too long.
• Monday and Tuesday we completed Stage 1 of the Migrations process! We had to get some documents notarized and pay a bank fee. Then we handed everything in to the Cusco Migrations office. In a few weeks we'll have to go to Lima to complete Stage 2: Interpol. My favorite part of these two trips to Cusco was eating the bustling Mercada San Pedro (St. Peter's Market). We bought menus* for only S./4. If I worked in downtown Cusco, I would eat there every day.
• Wednesday was New Year's Eve, and we had many guests coming, so Erin and I decided to make a big pot of vegetable minestrome. We didn't have beans so we substituted lentils. And we learned something very important - 6 cups of dry lentils is not an equal substitute for 6 cups of cooked beans. We had to take about half the lentils out and cook them in a separate pot. So our fridge is full of lentils. 
• Throughout this time, we have been making our way across Westeros as we watch Game of Thrones. It's a very strong and faithful retelling of the books. It's also a much easier way to re-experience the story than rereading over 5000 pages. Erin hasn't read the books, so I have to keep a lot of my thoughts to myself. We should be finished in time for the new season to come out this spring. The rest of the house has seen the whole show, so it'll be a week or two of community TV watching nights when we get our hands on a copy of the newest season.

*In Peru, menu means soup, a choice from 2 or 3 main plates (usually involving rice, a small salad, and some protein) and a juice.

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