Hi folks,
We are here is beautiful Arequipa at language school. Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city with a population over a million. It is located in southern Peru about 2 hours from the Pacific coast. It is very arid and gets less than 4 inches of rain a year. The high altitude of around 7500 feet keeps the temperature below 77 degrees year round. It rarely falls below 40 at night. On north the beautiful snow covered Chachani mountains tower at around 20,000 feet above sea level and to the east is the volcano Misti.

January through March is the rainy season here in Arequipa. This does not mean that we get a lot of rain like we are familiar with in the jungle. It means that we are in the middle of the 50 cloudy days that this area experiences during the normal year. It does sprinkle and drizzle some days. Because of the cloudy weather it is chilly, particular for us just coming from the jungle. Peruvians do not heat their houses so you can imagine what it is like in the house when the temperature doesn’t reach 60 during the day. Our hot water we have is heated by the sun so on days when the sun doesn’t shine the water is not very warm for showers.

We found the apartment that we are living in through the language school. We are on the third floor. The owners Dennis and Ruth Lacoursiere live on the second floor. They are from British Columbia and have been living in Arequipa for over 40 years. Dennis co pastors a church close to the language school and also has an outreach in another part of the city. The area of the city we are living in is very modern. Dennis said that when they moved to this house 20 years ago they were “in the country”. Now modern houses and apartment complexes rise around us and stretch out north to the base of the Chachani Mountains.

We are within walking distance from 3 malls that have familiar fast food brands like McDonalds, Burger King, Papa Johns, and Starbucks. The other evening Denver and I went exploring and found a store called Maestro. I had the shock of my life when I walked in. I thought I was standing in the middle of a Home Depot! Now I have a place to go for “therapy” when I feel caged in here in the city after doing school all day!

This blessing that God gave us to go to language school was bigger than expected. Not only do we get to learn the language better and faster but he also provided a gorgeous place for us to do it.

Stan