Anyway, here we just decided to go with it. That meant coming up with names for the other children. So now the older boy is "Capitan Avocado" and the younger boy is "Chico Papaya" based not on how they look, but their favorite foods. Of course, avocado is the English word, not Castellano (Spanish), so it took a while for him to understand what we were really saying. But now The Milkman, Captain Avocado, and the Papaya Kid can have their adventures together.
Our daughter took a while longer. From a play on her name, we started trying to think of variations on "Princess" but finally settled on "La Nina sin bateria" because she's always draining our electronic devices by playing games and listening to music. Superheroes aren't a big deal here, from what we've seen. The children might recognize Superman or Spiderman, but the big adventure cartoon here is "Ben 10" (or, Ben Diez).
Over the weekend, the real superhero was Mama, who stayed with the children in Lima while Papa went to a conference in Miami Beach. He saw the beach for all of about 90 seconds, so it wasn't a vacation. This is an annual conference that costs over $1,500 to attend, besides hotel, and he would have been on the hook for that expense if he didn't go. Besides presenting papers, meeting with other officers of the Competitive Strategy Interest Group of the Strategic Management Society (SMS CSIG, if you care), and working with coauthors, he mostly enjoyed brushing his teeth with tap water for the first time in a while. He got back to the condo about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Chrissy and the kids met up a couple of times with the Ingrums, and Maria Elena and Raul also provided support with a visit and phone calls. Saturday, the Millers and Ingrums went to the zoo at the Parque de las Leyendas (Park of Legends) in San Miguel. The children enjoyed it. Monday, they went to a big discount retail store together. Other time was spent at the oceanside park and the Ovalo Gutierrez, which has a lot of US-based shops and restaurants. They ate at Chili's, and Alex had the salsa all to himself, because the other children preferred the tortilla chips without it.
Yesterday was our little girl's seventh birthday. We opened presents and had cake mid-afternoon. She got a coloring book, a dress to wear for her birthday dinner, and a necklace with a heart pendant. At night, we invited the Ingrums to join us for dinner and a show at Restaurante Junius, in the Doubletree Hotel about 4 blocks from here. Doug had gone there with the rest of the WRCC Peru team when we came down in 2009, but Chrissy had stayed with Alex at the hotel because he was sick to his stomach that day (on the 8-hour bus ride from the orphanage). Last night, there was a bit of a delay, as the restaurant called at 6:45 to confirm the reservation, and alert us that they weren't opening until 8 p.m., rather than the 7:30 it says on the door and the website. So, we ended up hanging out in the hotel lobby for awhile. However, once we got seated, everyone enjoyed the variety of food: cooked and chilled vegetable salads, ceviche, fish, beef, pork, chicken, rice, beans, potatoes, and desserts.
However, the really impressive and enjoyable part of the evening was the traditional dancers. The show was unchanged since two years ago (if you were one who was there). The dances reflect different regions and cultures of Peru. An Incan king welcomes you, a man and woman perform the lovely "Marinera," some dances reflect the influence of Africa, there are silly and scary masks including one man dancing as a condor, and dances of courtship and celebration. Perhaps most memorable are the scissors dancers, two young men who have a "dance-off" not too different in tone from some breakdancers you'd see in the park. But here the athletic moves (front flip off a headstand, kips, leaps, etc.) are all accompanied by the incessant clanging of the two parts of a large pair of shearing scissors. The two parts are disconnected, and the dancer uses his right hand to strike them together, sort of how castanets are used to keep time, but louder and more dangerous. All eight children were enjoying the show, so those that hadn't fallen asleep by the end of the show were invited on stage to learn a dance by the dancers in the silly masks. For this, we probably have Lily Ingrum to thank, as she had performed an impromptu dance to the music the "orchestra" played during the intermission, and her vivacity prompted unanimous applause from the other 50 or so people in the restaurant.
As you can tell, we've had several very enjoyable experiences. The weather is beautiful and we are close to the ocean, shops, and a huge variety of restaurants. On the other hand, we've been together long enough now that the children are starting to test their limits (and Alex's patience). When disciplined, even just having to hold a parent's hand while walking down the street, or having to go to another room while others get to watch TV, they tend to become very sullen. If this happens near mealtime, they will refuse to eat, at least until we get ready to clear the table, then they give in and rapidly down some food. They are unhappy when we tell them "no" about anything. They also don't want to talk to the psychologist when she visits, although they're affectionate toward Maria Elena and Raul. One doesn't like to be in photos. One is sneaky enough to prod a sibling until they more forcefully hit back, and then the sibling is the one that gets into trouble. One has been a bit reluctant to engage with Alex except during games. Personalities are fully formed, although they'll change with age, new experiences, and (too soon) puberty.
The next post should report that the children are legally ours, and that we have begun the process to apply for re-entry to the US. At this point, we're hopeful to be home the weekend before Thanksgiving, although some delays could still occur.
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