Hasta Luego, Comas

I expanded my activity arsenal to now include crayons and colored paper, and it was a big hit.  I didn't ration the paper and the three kids who were drawing used about 50 sheets!  I received many gift drawings with my name prominently written at the top (with no "h" of course)- it was fun.

Folks in Latin America all have four names - two first names, and their father's and mother's last names.   I started writing these kids' names in bubble letters (one at a time) and then they would color them in.  Good thing they have so many names- the fun lasted for over an hour.

Yesterday was my last day in Comas- I go to Vitarte (to the east) on Monday.  I like moving around because it keeps things new and exciting, but it also makes it more challenging to develop friendships with folks at the offices. 

One of the loan officers in Comas, named Elizabeth, really wanted to be my friend and invited me over to her house last night after work.  She wanted me to meet her kitten.  I took the bus with her to get to her neighborhood of Santa Anita, way to the east.  Her neighborhood was a lot rougher than I was expecting:  there was graffiti everywhere and groups of teenage guys hanging out on street corners.  Elizabeth lives with her mom and her sister (her father passed away about ten years ago).  Their place is tiny- maybe 800 square feet.  When I arrived, her mom was scrubbing laundry in a huge bucket in the middle of the kitchen!  Life is hard in Peru - the more I see of how folks get by in Lima, the more pessimistic I become.  Even if everyone in the household works full-time, it seems like the family still barely has enough to get by.