7.17.2017

8 Things You Might Not Know about Lima, Peru

A week ago today, I got back home from a 10-day mission trip to Lima, Peru.  Next to Realm Makers, it was the most amazing trip of my life.  We served in communities and put on an evangelistic drama, as well as a lot of other incredible things.  (I plan to do a recap post sometime in the near future.)  For now, here are some crazy things you might not know about Lima.  The culture shock is real, friends.



1. The traffic is insane.  


Picture a very large city with a ton of traffic.  Now picture that same city where the traffic laws don't have to be followed. Car horns = hi, I'm here; big car/bus = I'm first

This is an intersection.  Yeah.  Crazy, right?  (Photo Cred: Mom)


2. You can tell kids in public school about Christ.  


Wouldn't that be nice to adopt in America?  One time, we invited a whole kindergarten to watch our drama.  We had to do spur-of-the-moment public speaking and it was actually pretty embarrassing.  (How can you even embarrass yourself in front of 5-year-olds?)
Here our team is praying with school children...
on school premises!  It was amazing!
(Photo Cred: Mom)

3. You can't flush toilet paper.  


 There's a little trash can to the side of every toilet to put used toilet paper in.  Isn't that gross?

4. There are pickpockets everywhere.  


 Story idea for a gang of Peruvian orphans trying to find their way in the world?  (First thing that came to my mind.) When in very crowded areas, you have to wear backpacks on your front and hold it close to you.  It's kind of awkward to walk like that.


5. The people are super nice and open to the Gospel.


 Unlike in America, people like tracts.  They will listen to you tell the story of how Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again to save us from eternity without Him!  When in doubt, tell someone your testimony.

6. The roads are SUPER bumpy.


 Especially when you're trying to do face paint in the back of a bus.
There are also these really cute taxis.  They're actually enclosed
3-wheeled motorcycles.  (Photo Cred: Mom)

7. The soccer fields are usually concrete and very dusty.


 Since Lima is in a sort of desert, there isn't much grass and water has to be brought in on trucks.  Thus, concrete soccer fields.
Here's a very dusty soccer field.
(Photo Cred: Can you guess?  Mom)

Another picture of the soccer field, featuring an adorable
little girl (sadly, I forget her name), and myself.
(Photo Cred: Mom)

8. They think Americans are the coolest (mostly the kids).  Especially people with light hair and/or light eyes.

Here's my sister with a very adorable little girl after we performed
our evangelistic drama.  (Photo Cred: Mom)


Have you ever been to Peru?  What did you think of it?  Have you ever set a story/part of a story there?


7 comments:

7.03.2017

How to Take Critiques without being emotionally destroyed by them

At some point or another, someone is going to read your writing.  This could be a school essay, a short story, or your baby (novel).  It's scary because you wonder if you are good enough.  Is this good enough to get published?  Is this good enough to get a good grade?  Am I actually a good writer?  Did I to X plot point right?  Are my characters realistic and likable?  I find that a lot of times, I use beta readers as validation that my work is finally good enough.  I hope hope hope that it is...but then the critiques come in.  It's a very sad feeling to know that you still need to fix things.  Sometimes, it makes you feel like a failure.  Here are some ways to combat those feelings.

1. Separate yourself from your work.


Your identity is found in Christ, NOT your writing.  Before sending your work out, take a step back from it.  Realize that this isn't personal anymore, it is a product that you made.  (I learned this from Thomas Locke at Realm Makers last year.)

2. Realize that beta readers are your friends.


They offered to critique your story because they want to help YOU.  It isn't an evaluation of how good of a writer you are.

3. Be open to change.


I've beta read for some people who defend every single editing decision they made.  Yeah, that's a little frustrating because how are they supposed to get better?

4. It's okay to be upset, but don't dwell on it.


This isn't quite as easy as it sounds.

5. There's always another novel.


So this novel is beyond hope (at least for the present time).  Write another one!  And another one!  And another one until your writing improves.  Even published authors haven't hit their "ceilings".

Have you ever gotten harsh critiques?  How did you get over them?


4 comments:

6.26.2017

Book Review: Unsanctioned Eyes by Brianna Merritt (remember this book I keep fangirling about?)

About the Book

Her death was just the beginning.

Quinn Rogers doesn’t exist. There are no records of her name. Her DNA has no match. She is a ghost. A phantom killer no one can trace. The perfect assassin. Or so she thinks.

At the top of her game, Quinn’s no longer looking over her shoulder. Her master will protect her, save her, like he always has. But there are forces at work neither of them suspect.

Can Quinn find the truth in a world of lies? Or will her unsanctioned past catch up to her in the end?


My Review


Step aside, cliche thrillers because The Dragonfly series is coming to town!  Brianna's incredible writing skills kidnapped my mind and threw it into the world of assassins, terrorists, and secret agents.

The Characters

I fell in love with Brianna's characters, despite their murderous tendencies.  Why?  They are real, broke people.  They work for (I don't want to tell you too much) who will kill them if they don't do as he says.  This trains them to dim their consciences.  But as the story goes on, stuff happens that reawakens those thoughts that what they are doing is bad.  However, there is still survival stuff and characters interactions that get in their way and make them completely human.

Also, there is Nathan who is an adorable human.  (He's not an assassin, but he's just precious.)  Can we talk about the fact that he grows so much over the story, and the main plot isn't even about him?!

The Setting


Unsanctioned Eyes takes place all over the world: London, Afghanistan, and other places.  I've never been to any of those places before, but after reading this book, I feel like I have.

The Plot


Masterfully written.  I'm not going to say any more on this.

Content


There was quite a bit of language, but none was "super awful".  (It's not every other sentence either.)  It fits with the characters.  Obviously, there was quite a bit of violence.  The assassins aren't super moral people, so they don't do the most moral things.  But this is NOT EVIL BEING GLORIFIED.  The characters start to change by the end of the story.  Quinn is presented with the idea of God and His saving grace.  The author is not condoning the actions of her characters.  I just wanted to make that very clear.

Conclusion


Basically, this is a fantastic book for people who enjoy thrillers like the Jason Bourne series, but are tired of evil being glorified.  I recommend this book to older teens and above because of some of the content.  5/5 stars!  This book releases TOMORROW so remember to get a copy!


*Disclaimer* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Note: Due to technical difficulties, you won't be able to preorder this book.  However you will be able to buy it on Amazon TOMORROW.

About the Author


Brianna grew up in a small town in Oklahoma learning the language of the wind and trying to survive the heat of summer. She fell in love with all things literary at an early age and the journey from reader to writer followed. With the help of One Year Adventure Novel, she finished her first novel in 2012 and hasn’t been able to stop creating new worlds and adventures since. 

As well as writing, Brianna is addicted to tea, chocolate, and music. When she isn’t reading or writing, Brianna teaches Ballet and Jazz. 

She lives in Virginia with her family and spoiled Dalmatian, Valentine. 

6 comments:

6.19.2017

In which I fangirl and release a small summer project ||| a book trailer


A few weeks ago the fabulous Brianna Merritt asked me to be an advanced reader copy for her thriller novel, Unsanctioned Eyes.  I immediately said yes and the moment I began reading it...I fell in love with it.  So in love that I made an unofficial book trailer for it.

SERIOUSLY GO READ THIS BOOK, YOU ALL!

Somehow, Brianna masterfully crafts a story that makes you come to love assassins (and the precious, Nathan).  I have no idea how she does it BUT SHE DOES IT WELL.  She makes you care about them and desperately want them to change.  I don't bore you to death...I'll let you watch the trailer instead of listen to me fangirl about it for the rest of my life.  (My full review will come closer to when the book releases on JUNE 27!)  Also, some preorder links are in the works.  Brianna will announce when Unsanctioned Eyes is available for preorder!



About the Book


Her death was just the beginning.

Quinn Rogers doesn’t exist. There are no records of her name. Her DNA has no match. She is a ghost. A phantom killer no one can trace. The perfect assassin. Or so she thinks.

At the top of her game, Quinn’s no longer looking over her shoulder. Her master will protect her, save her, like he always has. But there are forces at work neither of them suspect.

Can Quinn find the truth in a world of lies? Or will her unsanctioned past catch up to her in the end?



About the Author



Brianna grew up in a small town in Oklahoma learning the language of the wind and trying to survive the heat of summer. She fell in love with all things literary at an early age and the journey from reader to writer followed. With the help of One Year Adventure Novel, she finished her first novel in 2012 and hasn’t been able to stop creating new worlds and adventures since. 

As well as writing, Brianna is addicted to tea, chocolate, and music. When she isn’t reading or writing, Brianna teaches Ballet and Jazz. 

She lives in Virginia with her family and spoiled Dalmatian, Valentine. 

4 comments:

6.12.2017

See you all next week!

Hello my lovely friends!

I'm taking a complete internet break this week.  I'm going to just LIVE and try to get a good bit of writing done.  See you all when I get back!

-Alea
3 comments:
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