Saturday, 26 January 2013
The rest of November
Day 496 Mum's birthday 8/11/2012
Of course the most important date in November is Rocio's birthday and we had a party at the house for it with Rocio's friends. Mike had a great time with lots of people to play with and lots of dancing.
Here he is doing the other thing he likes, watching the world from the comfort of the manta on mummy's back.
Day 470 A day in October 13/10/2012
I've just got so behind on the blog thst I think I'll post a few quick photos and videos to try to catch up.
Here is Michael with Rocio in the garden at a wedding that I was playing violin at.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Day 445 Toddler Mike 18/09/2012
Today we went to visit Rocio's friend Liz in San Jeronimo, a town about 30 mins outside Huancayo. We had a good time there talking and eating but the highlight of the day was going to the local park with Michael and him finally deciding that he can actually walk unaided. For the last month or so he has been walking very capably but only with someone holding on to him. As soon as you let him go he would sit or fall. Today he just took 4 or 5 steps alone and then 20 or so and then walked across the part of the park we we in, stopping and starting and turning corners and crossing the cobble stones with no problem. He was so very happy with himself for doing it and I kept taking him across the park away from where we were all sitting and he would walk straight back again. I am so proud of him
Luckily we had Rocio's camera to capture almost his first toddle.
as a bonus here are Rocio, Mike and Liz's daughter Fergie.
So now we no longer have a baby, we have a toddler. Should be interesting.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Day 437 Getting wet 10/09/2012
Michael is getting very good at walking these days but he is still reluctant to walk without someone holding on to him. We often walk up the road to the shop with me just holding the back of his collar in case he falls and apart from him getting very easily distracted he can do it no problem. If I let go however he gets upset and sits down to start crawling. I don't think it'll be long though until he gets into it.
He is understanding a lot of language now in Spanish and English and even knows one word of Quechua "Wiksa" which means belly, if you ask him where his wiksa is, he'll lift his t-shirt to show you!
It was really hot today and Rocio was sitting in the garden washing clothes, we both miss England the land of washing machines, and Michael of course was getting as involved as he possibly could be. Which left him very wet all down his front. So we decided to give him what he has always wanted, time playing with water actually inside the sink.
He did eventually get really wet and cold but soon warmed up in the blazing sunshine here.
Michael had his Whooping cough immunisation the other day. It seems to be an endless series of immunisations for the poor thing. He has learnt to try to avoid the section of the doctor's where they do immunisations. This one seemed quite rough on him too. We were told to give him paracetamol every 6 hours for two days after it and I think he needed it. We all had a very sleepless night as Mike's arm was obviously hurting him a lot and it was quite swollen the next day. He avoided using it and was grumpy all day. I've never seen him suffer with an immunisation like this before. Still I have no idea what whooping cough is like and I intend to keep it that way. That's the deal, my poor boy suffered for a day with a sore arm but he will never die of whooping cough and he will never pass it to someone else so they die either.
They are very keen on immunisations here and can get quite forceful about it. You are best to always take baby's immunisation record card with you when you travel as we found out going recently to Mentushari in the jungle. The travelling doctors there were trying to insist on immunising Michael and I had to convince them that the doctors in Huancayo had it all under control thanks and Michael didn't need any extras.
He is understanding a lot of language now in Spanish and English and even knows one word of Quechua "Wiksa" which means belly, if you ask him where his wiksa is, he'll lift his t-shirt to show you!
It was really hot today and Rocio was sitting in the garden washing clothes, we both miss England the land of washing machines, and Michael of course was getting as involved as he possibly could be. Which left him very wet all down his front. So we decided to give him what he has always wanted, time playing with water actually inside the sink.
He did eventually get really wet and cold but soon warmed up in the blazing sunshine here.
Michael had his Whooping cough immunisation the other day. It seems to be an endless series of immunisations for the poor thing. He has learnt to try to avoid the section of the doctor's where they do immunisations. This one seemed quite rough on him too. We were told to give him paracetamol every 6 hours for two days after it and I think he needed it. We all had a very sleepless night as Mike's arm was obviously hurting him a lot and it was quite swollen the next day. He avoided using it and was grumpy all day. I've never seen him suffer with an immunisation like this before. Still I have no idea what whooping cough is like and I intend to keep it that way. That's the deal, my poor boy suffered for a day with a sore arm but he will never die of whooping cough and he will never pass it to someone else so they die either.
They are very keen on immunisations here and can get quite forceful about it. You are best to always take baby's immunisation record card with you when you travel as we found out going recently to Mentushari in the jungle. The travelling doctors there were trying to insist on immunising Michael and I had to convince them that the doctors in Huancayo had it all under control thanks and Michael didn't need any extras.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Day 394 Santiago Season 29/07/2012
The family have been very busy recently making hats for the Santiago season. This is the biggest party/music/costume event of the year and the main time of year for buying a new hat. I think the family have made or mended around 200 hats. It's very labour intensive and tiring but they get stuck in and work really well as a team. Mum sewing on the machine, Nestor stretching the wet felt, Rocio sewing the ribbons on and me picking the tiny bits of cotton left behind off the hats being remade. It is all very tiring for Michael too who tends to get as involved as he can before suddenly falling asleep in the hot sun
Ademir and his new bride Shirley have also been repainting the house and doing a great job of it. It looks so much better now, if only I can get them to do our room too.
The family got together with two other families in the area to put on a Santiago event. They hired an orchestra (Uncle Adam's Principes de Huancayo of course) and a place for the stage and the beer tent and had little booklets printed to advertise the event.
Here is Rocio with Michael dress up ready for the event
Kerly too
It was and all day and then some affair starting with a breakfast cooked next door and eaten in our garden. We had arranged a videographer for the whole event but despite giving him our three mobile numbers and two weeks notice, and phoning him two days before and the day before and the morning of the event, he never showed up. We did speak to him on the morning after the breakfast has started and apparently his wife was in a taxi on the way as we spoke and she would be with us soon. I hope she has lots of money because the taxi hasn't arrived yet. Scenic route I guess.
All the guests were given soup for breakfast and the orchestra played in our garden and a few warm up beers were drunk before everyone set of dancing to the next location.
This was great fun and not a little frightening as the roads were in no way closed and the passing cars lorries taxis and buses came very close and fast. There seemed to be a game led by the people at the front of the parade to make it as difficult and confusing as possible to get past us, by weaving the parade from side to side in the road. Our destination turned out to be a few blocks away where we stopped in the street outside someone's house while a tower of crates of beer was given away and drunk.
Some speeches were made and a little dancing before dancing on the the next location for more of the same.
Seeing the costumes I am sometimes surprised that all this seems quite normal to me now where at first in Huancayo I felt like I was in an edition of National Geographic. Two of these ladies are cousins of mine.
Although mostly drinking fruit juice Michael got into the spirit of the event.
This is how we spent the morning, dancing from on house the the next for beer and speeches. Somewhere amidst the chaos we managed to find another videographer and get them to come at no notice to find us and the video recording started. Around midday we made it back to our cousin's house on the edge of the city where a huge lunch had been made and where Rocio and I temporarily left he party to go find a veggie restaurant.
We found the party again after lunch they had all eaten and drunk some more and danced their way across Cajas Chico the small field with the stage in.
Here the Principes performed all afternoon and night and into the early hours. They really give value for money. More and more people came and a huge amount of beer was drunk and for an event with no amplification at all it was plenty loud enough.
Here are M
Michael (Aunty Gloria's boy) Christopher and another local boy giving a demonstration of Zapateado (Stamping dance) on stage with the band.
Rocio Michael and I danced and danced until quite late when it was time to lead Rocio's Mum and Dad safely home.
The video has come out very well really, despite a shaky start and I'll try to transfer some highlights from the DVD to post here.
But of course one day is not enough for Peruvians to party and early the next morning was the Cura Cabeza or Head-Curing, another breakfast and drinking event that went on in our garden all day. Much more beer was drunk and a wonderful local singer came to sing songs in Quechua with violin accompaniment from the violinist of the orchestra. I have recordings of this too and if you're reading an early version of this post you should check back for the audio enhanced updates soon.
It was decided somehow that the event should be taken out again on the the street and to a local park to play and sing and so we set out again. In fact the party got as far as the nearest beer shop and partied there and Rocio and I in fact had serious jobs to do (Michael health check up) so we left the party at that point.
The drinking went on in the street and in our garden all day and night and Rocio and I led our normal lives around it occasionally getting pulled back in to share a drink and a dance and mostly walking past with the washing up or going to the shop for cheese or whatever.
Ademir and his new bride Shirley have also been repainting the house and doing a great job of it. It looks so much better now, if only I can get them to do our room too.
The family got together with two other families in the area to put on a Santiago event. They hired an orchestra (Uncle Adam's Principes de Huancayo of course) and a place for the stage and the beer tent and had little booklets printed to advertise the event.
Here is Rocio with Michael dress up ready for the event
Kerly too
It was and all day and then some affair starting with a breakfast cooked next door and eaten in our garden. We had arranged a videographer for the whole event but despite giving him our three mobile numbers and two weeks notice, and phoning him two days before and the day before and the morning of the event, he never showed up. We did speak to him on the morning after the breakfast has started and apparently his wife was in a taxi on the way as we spoke and she would be with us soon. I hope she has lots of money because the taxi hasn't arrived yet. Scenic route I guess.
All the guests were given soup for breakfast and the orchestra played in our garden and a few warm up beers were drunk before everyone set of dancing to the next location.
This was great fun and not a little frightening as the roads were in no way closed and the passing cars lorries taxis and buses came very close and fast. There seemed to be a game led by the people at the front of the parade to make it as difficult and confusing as possible to get past us, by weaving the parade from side to side in the road. Our destination turned out to be a few blocks away where we stopped in the street outside someone's house while a tower of crates of beer was given away and drunk.
Some speeches were made and a little dancing before dancing on the the next location for more of the same.
Seeing the costumes I am sometimes surprised that all this seems quite normal to me now where at first in Huancayo I felt like I was in an edition of National Geographic. Two of these ladies are cousins of mine.
Although mostly drinking fruit juice Michael got into the spirit of the event.
This is how we spent the morning, dancing from on house the the next for beer and speeches. Somewhere amidst the chaos we managed to find another videographer and get them to come at no notice to find us and the video recording started. Around midday we made it back to our cousin's house on the edge of the city where a huge lunch had been made and where Rocio and I temporarily left he party to go find a veggie restaurant.
We found the party again after lunch they had all eaten and drunk some more and danced their way across Cajas Chico the small field with the stage in.
Here the Principes performed all afternoon and night and into the early hours. They really give value for money. More and more people came and a huge amount of beer was drunk and for an event with no amplification at all it was plenty loud enough.
Here are M
Michael (Aunty Gloria's boy) Christopher and another local boy giving a demonstration of Zapateado (Stamping dance) on stage with the band.
Rocio Michael and I danced and danced until quite late when it was time to lead Rocio's Mum and Dad safely home.
The video has come out very well really, despite a shaky start and I'll try to transfer some highlights from the DVD to post here.
But of course one day is not enough for Peruvians to party and early the next morning was the Cura Cabeza or Head-Curing, another breakfast and drinking event that went on in our garden all day. Much more beer was drunk and a wonderful local singer came to sing songs in Quechua with violin accompaniment from the violinist of the orchestra. I have recordings of this too and if you're reading an early version of this post you should check back for the audio enhanced updates soon.
It was decided somehow that the event should be taken out again on the the street and to a local park to play and sing and so we set out again. In fact the party got as far as the nearest beer shop and partied there and Rocio and I in fact had serious jobs to do (Michael health check up) so we left the party at that point.
The drinking went on in the street and in our garden all day and night and Rocio and I led our normal lives around it occasionally getting pulled back in to share a drink and a dance and mostly walking past with the washing up or going to the shop for cheese or whatever.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Day 385 Sports Day Parade 20/7/2012
Michael loves his food, especially whilst wearing his fashionable "Pikachu" hat.
Rocio was asked to be the godmother of the sports day at her college. This involved her dressing in a really quite impressive dress, made by the students from crepe paper and balloons!
There were speeches and singing of the Peruvian and Huancaino National anthems. I hadn't heard the Huancayo one before, only the folk music unofficial anthem. The various groups from the different sections of the college lined up and stood to attention through all this. There were woodworkers, welders, engineers, Rocio's Food Industry groups and others I can't remember.
If you look closely you can just make out Michael who had snuck into the back of the group to visit his friends before it all got too official for me to remove him.
They then marched a circuit of the arena and then the games commenced. Football for boys, volleyball for girls and table tennis. We had to leave a little early but I think they finished with three-legged races and egg-n-spoon races, thing like that.
Michael never likes to wear a hat but we try very very hard to keep one on him.
Here he is pulling it off for the hundredth time that day.
Rocio was asked to be the godmother of the sports day at her college. This involved her dressing in a really quite impressive dress, made by the students from crepe paper and balloons!
There were speeches and singing of the Peruvian and Huancaino National anthems. I hadn't heard the Huancayo one before, only the folk music unofficial anthem. The various groups from the different sections of the college lined up and stood to attention through all this. There were woodworkers, welders, engineers, Rocio's Food Industry groups and others I can't remember.
If you look closely you can just make out Michael who had snuck into the back of the group to visit his friends before it all got too official for me to remove him.
They then marched a circuit of the arena and then the games commenced. Football for boys, volleyball for girls and table tennis. We had to leave a little early but I think they finished with three-legged races and egg-n-spoon races, thing like that.
Michael never likes to wear a hat but we try very very hard to keep one on him.
Here he is pulling it off for the hundredth time that day.
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