The Battle was Fierce...and Cold

In the past 3 or 4 years, my family has established a new tradition of going sledding sometime in the week after Christmas. For those of you that know me well, you know that when I say family, I don't just mean my mom, dad, and brother and sister in law, I mean my "family" to include my aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, grandparents, and whoever else you'd like to throw in the mix there. The whole Cordova clan. I consider my extended family my immediate family. I love them all dearly and spending time with them is always the highlight/reason of my Colorado visits.

The day started well enough, all 14 or so of us gathered at my house for some homemade chili soup, cornbread, and Bonda Sandwiches (it's a Cordova thing) before heading up to one of my favorite mountain cities- Breckenridge, Colorado (elevation 9,600 feet) to sled at one of the best sledding hills in the state- Carter Park.

We were armed properly with our cheap plastic sleds (they go the fastest), gloves, scarves, hats, and everything else that you might need to brave 20 degree weather. It was gorgeous! There were snow flurries, and though today was the coldest I had been in a long time, it was all completely worth it.

And the Sledding! Now those sledding aficionados know that the more packed the snow is, the faster you go. Well the snow was pretty darn packed and people had even been nice enough to make a few bumps and dips along the way. This is where the trouble started. Whew, buddy. Those dips were rough on the tailbone. My cousin Nikki on her second run, unfortunately hurt her ankle and had to retire to the car for some hot chocolate. My mom actually braved the dips too. Not on purpose of course, but the sleds are hard to steer so she hit them. She quickly retired to the car for some hot chocolate as well. My little cousin Isaiah is a 4 year old trooper, but the cold can overtake the little ones quickly- he ditched us for the hot chocolate too.

The rest of us decided that we would continue conquering Carter Park hill, one awesomely fast sled run at a time. We were flying at ungodly speeds; often hitting the dips; narrowly missing sacking other sledders who weren't aware that you shouldn't stand in the middle of the hill; and going on two, three, and four person sled trains. Those are always fun. Then came our brilliant idea to do another train. This train consisted of my dad, my brother, his wife Tiffany, and me.

We started out well enough, then we went a little to the left.
Then we started going alot to the left.
Uh oh, now we can't stop going to the left.
Now We're completely turned around and I, who was once in back, am now in the front going backwards.
Now my hat has fallen over my eyes and I can't see.

Now we've suddenly stopped and my spine has made contact with something hard and tree-like.
Oh wait, it's a tree. Needless to say, I'm hurting right now.

Our train ended up somewhat disastrously. I hit the tree dead center, my dad's head hit the tree a bit, everyone else wiped out beyond all belief. But luckily, we were ok and laughed awhile about it....laughed and sat there for a bit while regaining the ability to stand.

Overall, it was a rough day to be in the Cordova Family, physically speaking. But the family that bruises together, stays together.

For Pictures from the day and others in Colorado, you can visit my flickr account here
And for videos of a few of our sledding adventures, you can visit my youtube account here

Umm.....is this the right blog?

Well, 2008 is almost here, and in the spirit of change (and being an art major) I decided to shake things up a bit and create a new color scheme for the old blog. Sorry if you were partial to the old colors, but alas, what is life if not but a series of changes? Anyway, I might stick with this one for awhile, until I decide that it's time for a fresh coat of paint again. If you give a design major a blog, She'll probably want to play with the colors all the time. I think there's a book about that...or maybe it's about giving a mouse a cookie. Either way.

I hope that everyone's Christmas was good and that you all had a very merry time with your families, friends, or whomever you might have spent Christmas with. Here in Colorado, we received 7 inches of fresh snow on Christmas Day making it...what does that make it? Oh yes, of course. A White Christmas! It was beautiful and I'm glad that I got to see some snow before I head back to my summer in Peru. This break has been nice for me. A nice chance to step back, see my loved ones, relax a little, and realize that I want to go back to Peru.

Don't get me wrong, I love it in Colorado, and seeing my family again has been wonderful and very much needed for my soul. But at the same time, it only takes a second to step back and realize where you want to be. Sometimes, I suppose I wish there were two of me, so that I could equally spend my time here with my family as well as in Peru, with my other family. But God didn't quite make the world like that, so I'm stuck with a heart in two different places. However, I'm just thankful that God has given me a heart that has room to call two places "home."

Writing from the Motherland

Well I'm sitting against a wall on the floor of the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. This is the first time that I have been on US American soil for almost six months.

How do I feel?

I feel short. Seriously. Any given time that I walk down the street in Peru, there's a good chance that I'll be taller than about 70 percent of the people I pass. Peruvians are a short people. I am not. That was one of my first reactions to being back in the US. And as I sit here, eating my sesame bagel with plain cream cheese (the first I've had in 6 months) I find myself constantly looking around, looking at people trying to study their faces and learn about them quickly as they scurry to catch their flights. I feel as if they are strangers to me.
Not that I knew any of these people before, but now I feel as if they are really strangers to me. Almost as if I don't identify as much with them anymore. I think this is because I now am identifying myself more with Peru....I suppose not any less with the states, but enough that things look different to me. But...things look different, because I'm different.

Ésta es la belleza de La Vida.

I believe I should be receiving a Partridge in a Pear Tree soon.

Dear friends,
I am 12 days away from Christmas. On a similar note, I am giving my last test to my December students tomorrow, then they will be taking their final exams on Wednesday and that night I will be catching the bus to Lima in order to fly back home for Christmas. Busses are the most common forms of travel for Peruvians like myself and the trip to Lima from Trujillo will take about 9 hours. The night bus is by far the better way to travel, and depending on which bus company you take, it can be relatively comfortable. Especially if you take the Cama Cama.

The Cama Cama is a magical, mythical beast that transports people to and fro throughout all the land of Peru. Literally cama cama translates to "Bed Bed" and the reason for this is because the seats actually will recline 180 degrees making your seat into your own bed bed. Interesante, no? I think so, and what's more, everytime you talk about the Cama Cama, you can begin to sing Boy George and Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon."

I have many thoughts about going home...first of all, I am very much at peace that I can soon see my family again. You may think that the opposite is true, but I am actually very much a homebody; despite the fact that I went to a university 25 hours away from my house and now with me living on a different continent. I've always felt like my home is in Colorado, and though God has and probably will continue to lead me to other residences, I'm thankful that God gave me strong roots as well. I'm also excited to take some time to reflect upon these last 5 months I've spent in Peru. I have grown in many different and completely unexpected ways. Too many to recount at this moment, but I will be writing down alot of these scattered thoughts soon.

Probably on the Cama Cama. Thank Goodness for long bus rides. And seats that turn into beds. Amen.