When I was still quite young in Peru, my parents either bought a house or started getting one built. Anyways, we moved in and there was still a lot of construction left to go. The house had a high brick wall around it, at least eight feet tall. A big driveway to park the cars and a front lawn with that prepackaged grass that's just laid down because you know that grass doesn't grow that green and straight naturally.

Anyway, I remember the carpenters working while I played out on the lawn. There was the constant noise of a buzz saw, and hammerings, and moving things around. One day one of the workers cut his hand badly on the buzz saw. Up to that point I hadn't seen that much blood so I didn't realize how bad it was. There was blood everywhere and everybody panicked and then they drove off to the hospital I suppose. Maybe it's just me but the blood was so bright and vivid, somehow different than what's on television.

So they house we had was two stories. Upstairs there was big open, carpeted area with a hallway at the far end leading to the three bedrooms. Out the back there was a playroom detached from the house where all our toys where, the maid living above the playroom. A small backyard, walled in by our exterior walls, with an above- ground pool -- one of those with plastic walls, a steel frame, 12-15 feet across. The gardener ran into it with the lawn mower and we watched all the water stream out and flood the backyard.

As little kids my sister and I were quite cruel, without knowing it of course. There was this cement staircase that lead up to the maid's room. It ran along the walkway and there was a sink on the side and a washer and dryer. I remember one time we went up on the staircase and started randomly tossing a bunch of our toys over the side without looking. Occassionally we'd hit the maid, who took it remarkable well. I don't remember her ever doing anything to either of us.

I have a hard time remembering the interior of the house. It seems dark, as I recall. Not too many windows, hardwood floors. Lots of furniture, a record player that we played some children's records on -- Mother Goose tales or something like that. We didn't live in the house for a long time. I think my parents sold it some months before we moved to the US.

During this time my uncle had a house out in the outskirts of Lima. Occassionally we'd drive there, the last part being scary as the car had to go up this dirt lane that had a pretty good grade. I'd be terrified that we'd just flip over end over end back down the hill.

Anyway, my uncle's house had a lot of land around it. Some chickens living in a chicken area. Kind of hilly though. We would play with my two cousins, Jaimito y Joseluiz. They had cooler toys than my sister and I, although maybe that's just an impression and they were just toys we weren't familiar with.

I dimly remember flying to Cuzco to visit some other relatives. Flying can be a bit scary if you're not used to it. Especially take off, when you feel the plane lifting you up into the sky. I'm sitting there wondering how the plane can get off the ground and looking out the window as the ground gets farther and farther away. It's kind of strange how we get used to these things so quickly.