Christmas letter 2013

Colca Canyon, May 2013

What an interesting year it’s been! Another busy one for the Arizona Arequipa Gelfis.

January: We enjoyed a wonderful couple of weeks in Australia, spending time with family and friends. Nathan played cricket for the first time and had a lot of fun.

 February: On our way back to Arizona we made a short visit to Arequipa in southern Peru to check out what is now our new home. There had been some very heavy rain just before we arrived which caused a lot of damage in the city. It was our first visit to South America as a family. Nathan turned 9! He celebrated with a small party with friends at home.

March: House-packing madness. Actually, most of March and April are a blur because there was so much going on. Paul made a trip to Bagdad (AZ) and Vancouver for work so was gone half the month.  

April: Paul travelled to Arequipa to start his new job (Concentrator Manager) and get our new home ready. He also got another year older and celebrated his birthday with dinner at a local Arequipa restaurant with friends from work. Meanwhile, I continued packing and finished my job at Sierrita in late April.

May: Nathan did a wonderful job in his end-of-year dance recital. He finished his year at Great Expectations Academy with great results. We left Arizona behind and officially made our big move to Peru.  After a couple of weeks of settling in, Nathan started school and I started my new job (Chief of Mine Technology and Systems). At the end of the month we visited Colca Canyon (one of the deepest canyons in the world) for a long weekend with friends.

June: Adjustment to our new life continues. After much searching and unsuccessful interviewing we were very lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper (Cleo) who helps to make our new life easier and more comfortable. She is a lovely lady who looks after us and we are very grateful to have her in our lives.

July: We attended a big 4^th July party that was put on for the (mostly US) ex-pats in Arequipa. There was more celebrating when our moving boxes arrived from the US. Annette caught a nasty stomach bug that knocked her around for more than a week. It is just one of the things that are a constant threat living here. Although we take precautions we can still get sick sometimes. We visited Lake Titicaca and surrounding area in late July, coinciding with the Peruvian Independence Day holiday (actually, it’s two days). We visited the uros (floating man-made “islands” made of thick stacks of reeds) and Taquile Island, which was all very interesting and beautiful.

August: Learning Spanish continues. We have a lot of learning resources available and plenty of opportunity to practice. Gradually we are getting the hang of it.

September: Earthquakes are common here and we don’t usually worry too much about the small ones. In September we experienced our biggest earthquake so far: a 7.0. Being reasonably far away and fairly deep, there was fortunately no damage but it was definitely a very strange experience.

October: We realized a long-held wish and during Nathan’s school holidays we finally visited New York City. We spent a wonderful week there to celebrate both my birthday and our 10^th wedding anniversary. On the way back to Peru I spent most of a week in Tucson for work. It was also a chance to stock up on a few “supplies” to take back to Peru.

November: Annette travelled to Santiago (Chile) for work and while there celebrated her 4-Uh-Oh birthday.  

December: School is wrapping up for the year and we will soon make our last trip for the year, to Tucson then to New Zealand for Christmas.

Plans for the New Year:

2014 is going to be a busy year for us. Work will get busier but we also have some fun travels planned. We wish for continued health, happiness and employment in 2014.

Best wishes for the New Year!
The Arequipa Gelfis (Paul, Annette and Nathan)