November=New Looks
Greetings again one and all~
How are you doing? I'm finally getting around to updating the blog again-as I've said previous times, once you get in the working week, life isn't much difference wherever you are in the world, I do not imagine. Marianella and I had planned a weekend getaway over Thanksgiving weekend (even though it's not celebrated in Peru, I get Thanksgiving off since I'm working at the American school in Lima) to Cajamarca, a very historic city in the highlands of Peru and we did circle above Cajamarca but we were unable to land because of inclement weather, so we returned to Lima and will try again the weekend before Christmas to visit Cajamarca.
So, if I can't tell you about a trip, what news can I share? Well, November was a month where I looked ridiculous-save your jokes about all year round, trust me, as you shall soon see, November was unique (technically, October 31 through the end of November).
Halloweeen
We'll start on October 31st-while Halloween is not a big holiday in Peru, it's gathering steam and there are enough Americans in the country to throw together a shindig, which a co-worker of mine along with his fiance did that Saturday night. It has been quite a few years since I've celebrated in costume on Halloween, but the spirit had seized me the previous day as I discovered that costumes at my school are the norm for the day. I hadn't given it much thought before the day arrived, but I came to a quick decision on the perfect outfit-"The Dude" from the movie The Big Lebowski. Now, I realize many of you aren't familiar with this movie, as was the case with many of my students and co-workers. But this costume allowed for me to go through my workday in flip-flops, pajama bottoms, a white T-shirt, and a robe all day long-can you think of a better way to spend a day at work? Of course, my hair isn't like The Dude's, so I needed a wig and this is where things got confusing for many people; as one of my co-worker's described me, he thought I was trying to dress as the ugliest woman alive. The issue was the wig, I believe-I think it was designed for a Goldilocks costume. But between the handful of students and teachers who knew the character, it was worth it and my costume definitely made an impression on people, as the following week I heard from students, teachers, and parents that they missed the wig :).
As for the school day, it was something to behold-the students here go full gusto with the costumes. Walking the hallways that day you could pass Santa Claus, Kurt Cobain, Obama, Elmo, a geisha girl (of course, a boy), three senior boys dressed only in diapers, and a virtual Justice League of America with Flash Gordon, Spiderman, Batman & Robin and Superman, to name but a few of the costumes that day. A co-worker described walking the halls as being on a "bad acid trip".
Anyway, onto the festivities on Halloween night when I could fully inhabit the Dude's character by drinking White Russians. We just have a couple pictures from that night (thank goodness), as you'll see below, Marianella looks a lot more respectable than me and her pictures will haunt her a lot less as we advance in age.
No Doubt About It-the Better Half of this Union:
In full "Dude" costume-notice the White Russian in my hand:
Movember
Even more disturbing than my Halloween outfit was my new look for the entire month of November. For the first time in my life, I grew facial hair, specifically a mustache. The reason for this radical change in my appearance was borne from a charity began in Australia where men grow mustaches for the entire month of November to raise awareness and money for prostrate cancer. A co-worker brought the idea to our school and there were 15 participants through the month contending for two titles-"most original" and "creepiest mustache".
As stated, I'd never grown facial hair before and I didn't know if I could pull it off. After about a week, I knew I could be a contender, as the small scrub above my lip began to form. It was about week two when my principal threatened to fire me because she didn't like the looks of it and that threat continued through the rest of the month. While Marianella tolerated the 'stache, the only true compliment I received about the mustache was from a student who said it made me look like Tom Selleck-but those kind words were probably influenced by the fact I still had to write his letter of recommendation.
As the month progressed and the combination of orange, red, brown, and white hairs above my upper lip began to really form, I felt I had a strong chance to pull off a victory in one of the categories. The voting was done among my peers (the other mustachioed men) and I am quite proud to say that I was the runaway winner in the Creepiest Mustache category. I think it was the strange orange color that developed that put me over the top. For a brief moment, I considered keeping the mustache and bringing it on home to surprise everyone after Christmas, but I thought it best not to tempt fate with my principal and I do think my students feel relieved that it's gone (one of the more honest/blunt girls on my caseload declared on December 1 "thank God you got rid of that mustache".) As with the Halloween pictures, we didn't take many pictures of the mustache and I believe that will be a good thing, but I'm sharing one with you now, just so you can judge for yourself.
Tim Stokes, like you've never seen him before!:
I'm going to try to update the blog one more time before I head back after Christmas as Marianella and I will hopefully be able to experience Cajamarca on the ground rather than hovering over it in the sky and I also hope to share some Christmas pictures/videos from Peru. Until then take care everyone and enjoy the holiday season~Tim & Marianella
How are you doing? I'm finally getting around to updating the blog again-as I've said previous times, once you get in the working week, life isn't much difference wherever you are in the world, I do not imagine. Marianella and I had planned a weekend getaway over Thanksgiving weekend (even though it's not celebrated in Peru, I get Thanksgiving off since I'm working at the American school in Lima) to Cajamarca, a very historic city in the highlands of Peru and we did circle above Cajamarca but we were unable to land because of inclement weather, so we returned to Lima and will try again the weekend before Christmas to visit Cajamarca.
So, if I can't tell you about a trip, what news can I share? Well, November was a month where I looked ridiculous-save your jokes about all year round, trust me, as you shall soon see, November was unique (technically, October 31 through the end of November).
Halloweeen
We'll start on October 31st-while Halloween is not a big holiday in Peru, it's gathering steam and there are enough Americans in the country to throw together a shindig, which a co-worker of mine along with his fiance did that Saturday night. It has been quite a few years since I've celebrated in costume on Halloween, but the spirit had seized me the previous day as I discovered that costumes at my school are the norm for the day. I hadn't given it much thought before the day arrived, but I came to a quick decision on the perfect outfit-"The Dude" from the movie The Big Lebowski. Now, I realize many of you aren't familiar with this movie, as was the case with many of my students and co-workers. But this costume allowed for me to go through my workday in flip-flops, pajama bottoms, a white T-shirt, and a robe all day long-can you think of a better way to spend a day at work? Of course, my hair isn't like The Dude's, so I needed a wig and this is where things got confusing for many people; as one of my co-worker's described me, he thought I was trying to dress as the ugliest woman alive. The issue was the wig, I believe-I think it was designed for a Goldilocks costume. But between the handful of students and teachers who knew the character, it was worth it and my costume definitely made an impression on people, as the following week I heard from students, teachers, and parents that they missed the wig :).
As for the school day, it was something to behold-the students here go full gusto with the costumes. Walking the hallways that day you could pass Santa Claus, Kurt Cobain, Obama, Elmo, a geisha girl (of course, a boy), three senior boys dressed only in diapers, and a virtual Justice League of America with Flash Gordon, Spiderman, Batman & Robin and Superman, to name but a few of the costumes that day. A co-worker described walking the halls as being on a "bad acid trip".
Anyway, onto the festivities on Halloween night when I could fully inhabit the Dude's character by drinking White Russians. We just have a couple pictures from that night (thank goodness), as you'll see below, Marianella looks a lot more respectable than me and her pictures will haunt her a lot less as we advance in age.
No Doubt About It-the Better Half of this Union:
In full "Dude" costume-notice the White Russian in my hand:
Movember
Even more disturbing than my Halloween outfit was my new look for the entire month of November. For the first time in my life, I grew facial hair, specifically a mustache. The reason for this radical change in my appearance was borne from a charity began in Australia where men grow mustaches for the entire month of November to raise awareness and money for prostrate cancer. A co-worker brought the idea to our school and there were 15 participants through the month contending for two titles-"most original" and "creepiest mustache".
As stated, I'd never grown facial hair before and I didn't know if I could pull it off. After about a week, I knew I could be a contender, as the small scrub above my lip began to form. It was about week two when my principal threatened to fire me because she didn't like the looks of it and that threat continued through the rest of the month. While Marianella tolerated the 'stache, the only true compliment I received about the mustache was from a student who said it made me look like Tom Selleck-but those kind words were probably influenced by the fact I still had to write his letter of recommendation.
As the month progressed and the combination of orange, red, brown, and white hairs above my upper lip began to really form, I felt I had a strong chance to pull off a victory in one of the categories. The voting was done among my peers (the other mustachioed men) and I am quite proud to say that I was the runaway winner in the Creepiest Mustache category. I think it was the strange orange color that developed that put me over the top. For a brief moment, I considered keeping the mustache and bringing it on home to surprise everyone after Christmas, but I thought it best not to tempt fate with my principal and I do think my students feel relieved that it's gone (one of the more honest/blunt girls on my caseload declared on December 1 "thank God you got rid of that mustache".) As with the Halloween pictures, we didn't take many pictures of the mustache and I believe that will be a good thing, but I'm sharing one with you now, just so you can judge for yourself.
Tim Stokes, like you've never seen him before!:
I'm going to try to update the blog one more time before I head back after Christmas as Marianella and I will hopefully be able to experience Cajamarca on the ground rather than hovering over it in the sky and I also hope to share some Christmas pictures/videos from Peru. Until then take care everyone and enjoy the holiday season~Tim & Marianella
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