Memorial Weekend

Carter and his BFF Alex (who is Argentinian)

In Lima, much takes place behind 10ft walls, so it is often hard to judge one's surroundings. After months of driving by, suddenly you get a peek in and realize "Oh, there's a whole tennis club back in there!" or even "There's a whole neighborhood through that gate!" It is also common that the worlds inside and outside the walls can be very different. Take the zoo that Carter went to last week with his class. We have driven past the entrance many times, in a busy area where it is prudent to tuck your cel phone out of sight and street vendors sell cheap punch packaged in nothing more than little cellophane bags tied shut. But inside Carter enjoyed a very different scene with all the animals.

Our Saturday visit to the Hogar was typical. Bryan, the kid we had only known with metal bolts in his knees and unable to change position, was now in a wheelchair. Meanwhile two other boys had received corrective operations, Segundo (del Piso) having received the same kind of bolts and often wailing in pain. But Bryan was thrilled to be able to roll around at will and also happy because his mother was visiting with a friend (or sister or something). The two ladies sat mostly silent, with the expressions of people who have landed on a strange planet populated by smiling gringo aliens. Not much is asked of parents, but even so there are often huge practical and cultural gaps that make things difficult. Eloy's mom, pregnant with her ninth child, visited over the weekend and only had $3 in her pocket but needed $12 for the 24hr trip back to her town – in the back of a lorry most likely. Viktor (with club feet) is at the hogar because his family did not follow through on the physical therapy after an original operation. He is also the one who went to school without books for a couple months because they didn't send the money. Backstory like that is always present, but it is not what defines our visits there. More memorable: in the park, Carter and Jefferson playing ladrones (robbers) being chased by the policia played by myself, Christian and Bresny (shooting from his wheelchair). Or the family in the park who had a baby pet bunny with them...unasked, they came over and placed the bunny on Jenny's lap. Jenny has very limited movement but she was able to lean over and kiss and nuzzle the bunny.

The weekend was relatively unremarkable, though we did find a fabulous hole-in-the-wall taco place in Barranco on Sunday. Carter did not have Memorial Day off school, but Jen and I had had the day off and we seized the opportunity to spend a little quality time together without the boy. Our leisurely cebiche lunch in the autumn sun was a simply joy.