All My Bags Are Packed...

Departure Day! By this time tomorrow I'll be in Arequipa, Peru searching for home remedies for altitude sickness in the farmers market. My phone will be shut off and we'll be in an elevated dessert in the southern hemisphere at the foot of a volcano. The disconnect is going to be an interesting transition without texts, mobile internet and email, processed foods, bi-partisan democratic campaigning and The Daily Show's coverage of it all, drinkable tap water, english speakers, shorts, grills, Kardashians... I couldn't be more excited.

Adios Amigos!

Last Weekend In Boston

It's our last weekend in Boston! Let's party! I've lived in Boston for a total of 26 years now and it will always be home. Don't worry mom, I'll be back! Let's hope the sun will come out for our last Boston BBQ later today. Here's a few shots of Boston from a beautiful day this summer. Time to go chop some vegetables! 

f/5.6, 55mm, ISO 200, Shutter 1/500

f/3.5, 23mm, ISO 200, Shutter 1/400

f/5.6, 30mm, ISO 200, Shutter 1/250

Moving to Peru!

My sister, Robyn, and her flashlight paintbrush at the beach

Alex and I will be moving to Peru Sept 30th to teach English and learn Spanish! We'll be living in Southern Peru in the 3rd most populous city, Arequipa. We chose this city because we know people who have visited it and loved it. Arequipa is called the "white city" because of the white volcanic stone that makes up much of the architecture. The spanish is supposedly pretty clear there and the climate is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts. It is around 70 degrees everyday with an average rainfall of 4" a year; tennis anyone?

We wanted a South American cultural experience that wasn't in a large international city that attracts high numbers of foreigners. We are hoping this will be an easier environment for us to learn Spanish than in a city full of expats. This thinking should also help us find work teaching English as less native English speakers hopefully means a larger demand for English teachers. Arequipa is also a city that's full of students with many universities and has a fast growing economy.

We hear that the people in Arequipa are laid back and welcoming and it seems that everyone from Peru can cook. We are definitely looking forward to becoming regulars at the fresh markets and taking part in the cuisine once we get settled. We are enrolled in a TEFL program that starts October 3rd (We arrive Monday Oct 1st). It's almost time and we couldn't be more excited for our adventure! Come visit!

Magic!

This took quite a while. Please appreciate the effort and enjoy the outcome.

Ryu

Hermione

Scorpion

Carlito

Temily's little man heads out for a Sunday stroll in Riverside Park, NYC!

West Side!

Waiting in line for a Bagel with Lox 

Uncle Mike

3 Sport Athletes

Photo Credit: Jason Gorsky

New York State

Alex and I went to upstate NY a couple weeks ago to visit her dad for a couple days and enjoy the beautiful nature. A lot of fun pictures to take of the cliffs, reflections on water and of course the sunset out in the country. It took a while to narrow them down!

Bugs!

Rural New York is wild:

55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, Shutter 1/80

50mm, f/2.2, ISO 200, Shutter 1/1250

55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, Shutter 1/400

24mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, Shutter 1/160

55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, Shutter 1/160

55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, Shutter 1/320

Blue Moon

We went down to the beach to check out the blue moon Friday Aug 31st. A lot will happen before the next one. Enjoy it.

50mm, f/1.8, ISO 400, shutter speed 2.5 seconds

50mm, f/9, ISO 400, shutter speed 20 seconds

50mm, f/1.8, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/2 second

50mm, f/1.8, ISO 200, shutter speed 3.2 seconds

Cape Cod Sunset

24mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/125

35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/160

35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/160

18mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/6

29mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/15