last post from Perú

I'm leaving to come home today.. and this isn't going to be a very long, in-depth post, but I want to blog after I am home for however long too and talk about what that's like.

spent my last weekend partying with good friends on friday night, running along the shore, going for walks, eating at my favorite sandwich place (going there again today, too), hanging out with my family, having a goodbye breakfast with the IFSA group, going to La Punta, a beautifuuullllllll district outside of Lima near the big port, baking pumpkin flavored things for my host family, shopping for last minute Perú stuff, packing & enjoying everything!

I'm ready to come home, especially because I know I have such a great family & holiday to look forward too, but sometimes I wish I could come back to South America next semester!!! I see myself spending a lot more time in Latin America in the future.. I hope so..

This has been a WONDERFULLLLLLLLLLL semester, mostly because of how much I feel like I've grown and learned. I wouldn't take back choosing Lima over Europe, because I learned things here that cannot be found or understood in a country like Spain, and for that I feel reallyyyy blessed.

There were a lotttttt of frustrations and still many things that I wonder if I'll miss about life in Lima, but I survived & conquered :) and even though it doesn't feel like a big deal to me now, I feel like when I'm back in the States for a few months I'll realize how great of an impact that has.

all is well, here I come snowy PA.


p.s. everyone should wish me luck on my flight because I had a dream about me being the only survivor in a plane crash the other day.

I've noticed that on my new digital camera about 70% of my photos are of all of the flowers I love in Miraflores (my town). I'll miss them on a blizzardy, icy, grey-ugly-now january day. I just know it...

Everything's been pretty good for my last week! Nothing special, just overall content. I've officially completed a 15 page research paper in Spanish, recieved a 17 on my International Relations final (best grade I've gotten in that class everrr on the hardest exam) AND turned in my preproposal thesis statement/research plan to temple for Junior Research Scholars.. I feel confident with my thesis topic and look forward to getting back to classes at Temple & working with a professor in this research that I only hear great things about! Anyways, ACCOMPLISHING week. Those are always confidence-boosters.

I am officiallyyyyyy on vaca :)

Yesterday and today I had two GREAT long coast runs.. the weather was PERFECT! not too hot and a good breeze to keep me energized. after running a few miles I stopped to sit along the cliffs in my town that look out into the ocean and just relax and enjoy some zen moments :) I realize that even though Lima is a chaotic city, it's definitely gone one thing on Philly.. the ocean. Even when I am stressed or anxious here or just caught up in frustration or whatever I can find a nice park to enjoy the ocean in and forget about whatever it is! I loveee living on the coast.

Today I also spent some time just lounging in the park and reading and enjoying the little bit of sun there was today because I know I need to soak it in while I can.

Tonight I went to go see a friend's dance recital but overall the event was planned horribly and they wouldn't let us enter.. about 100 people. they completely underestimated attendence. I was beyonddddd disappointed. So we went out to dinner instead.

Tonight I spent some time hanging out with my mom.. it was really cool because we talked a lot about religion because in Perú they're trying to pass a law to make all religious bodies have equal rights (right now the Catholic Church has a lot of power here, too much if you ask me..) anyways the conversation was cool because we have similar beliefs about the catholic church and about our own beliefs and it was cool to realize that she understands my beliefs because not many people do and her thoughts and conversation was really comforting to me. and i pretty much thought the majority of peruvians were catholic... i wondered if people had seperate beliefs about the status of religion in general in the country. I'm going to miss my host family soooooo much! It was also funny today because Zaira, Oriana my grandma and me were having photo shoots in front of christmas decorations in our house! It was just fun.. they're all so amazingggg!!!!

hey, last week.

yesterday was good.. i got a lott done on my project, got a new digital camera, proved that i can argue to get my way in spanish at a department store where they didn't wanna let me return something, went for a decent run, ran into my host uncle and walked home with him and had interesting conversation, enjoyed the sunset at the park, saw fireworks in miraflores & was serenaded by a man playing the guitar and pan flute at the same time.

today.. doing more WORK! I have a 15 page research paper in progress (all i have left now is the conclusion and major editing).

wish i didn't have sooo much to do my last week!

started packing.. going to be an adventure fitting everything to come home and i havent even gone souvenir shopping for anyone yet.. hmm..


host mom & me!

:( :( :( :( :( :( :(

not ready to come home.

okay i know, you're thinking my emotions/feelings about coming home to USA are all over the place. and THEY ARE!!! i'm jealous of AFS students who get to live abroad for a YEAR... because right now i'm starting to feel that this has been too short.

we had a re-entry talk about reverse culture shock from Perú to USA. Now that i'm thinking about it.. I think it may be harder to readjust to the states. this makes me nervous, I hope everything transitions smoothly. Major problems that previous study abroaders have identified that we talked about are boredom in not having adventure in daily life everyday (yes, EVERY day is an adventure, it's true) and that it's lonely because no one truly understands or wants to listen to what you want to tell them.

then we had a going away get together among students and families (and our salsa teacher!).. my host mom & sister and her friend, kamila, came. it was a nice night :) but it also made me realize how much i love them and am going to miss them because i don't know when i'll visit them again, this makes me soooo sad. after the get-together the 4 of us gals went out for ice cream and then i came home and just relaxed and talked to my mom and sister instead of going out... it was a great evening with them, i'm glad we got to spend it together!

i envision myself missing perú a lot next semester...

at least i know i'm coming home to a supportive family and big hugs at the airport to keep me happy in returning.


ah, emotions all over the place. damn study abroad.

mi casa es tu casa ♥

I feel soooo at home here with my host-family lately. As I'm excited for Christmastime with my family at home, when I think about saying goodbye to my host-family, it makes me sad :( Not only are Christmas decorations, the tree and the rainforest indigenous nativity scene on display (mom, you would love it), but I feel so comfortable and at home here. Today was my host-grandma's birthday and I spent the day relaxing with her, her son and his wife who joined us for lunch! Zaira made a delicious lunch and my granma's fried had a HUGE CAKE delivered to our house for her birthday... coconut & manjar blaco!! SOOOO GOOD, something else to bring back to the states... Manjar Blanco. to. die. for. We talk for some hours, ate cake and coffee and it was really fun! I'd never met my would-be host uncle's (??) wife before, but she is sooo sweet. She was telling me how she did an AFS program in Iowa when she was younger, which is what my family & I do at home, so it was cool to talk about the experience and the great experience of living abroad with a host family. My host-uncle (?? not really sure what he is lol) talked to me for awhile about marraige which was funny.. like a typical older man he told me a lottt of stories and gave me a lot of advice, the staple being that communication is key in relationships and to always have values and its best to raise your children than to send them off to a nanny all the time. It was quite funny how much it reminded me of spending a Sunday afternoon with my family, parents and grandparents, enjoying a big meal and lots of conversation.

♥

I read a cool story about studying abroad today that our director emailed to all of us.. in the end it was about how they were able to make a life for themself anywhere they went after their experience living in London. and it's true... I've made a life here, even if only temporary, and that's a reallyyyy cool accomplishment/realization.

So yesterday in my RSP program class we had to deliver presentations about our semester long research or volunteer work. I think my presentation went well. But what I really wanted to share are a few situations I didn't understand previously within Perú. The first one is the issue of sexual rights and marraige. The legal age to get married is 16 and to have sexual relationships, 18. If you're under 18 and pregnant, you cannot seek appropriate medical care as doctors are obligated to report the pregnancy, illegal under the age of 18. Therefore, even in a marraige situation, a pregnant wife of 17 couldn't seek proper medical treatment. As of now, there are no acceptions to the rule. There is also a lack in adecuate sex education in prevention of STDS and pregnancy(mostly due to the connection between the catholic church (GRR) and the government). Some girls in my group volunteer at an NGO designed to promote awareness and education to house maids that are underage (12-16 years old and working as house maids full time). Most of the students in the class (girls and guys) from 12-19 don't even know about their sexual reproductive parts or how prescription medicine isn't all the same. And most of the NGOs that exist for these types of reasons are underorganized or lack sufficient funds and thus not as progressive as they potentially could be. The other presentation that kind of surprised me was about the education system (or lack of a system) in rural Perú (the majority of the country). One girl travelled to different schools to teach and observe throughout Perú and I had known the illiteracy rate was terribly high before, but I'd never thought about how poor the education that is avaiable in those areas is. For example, one teacher in her encounter at a HIGH SCHOOL didn't even know the differnce between China and Japan as 2 seperate countries and that there was a difference in the language. The teacher had asked the girl about her uncertainty because she said she didn't have access to a map. NO access to a map means limited or no access to internet or educative books. Many of the school children in these areas only speak their native tongue, Quechua, when the only small library collections that exist in those areas are in Spanish. The government does not acknowledge or work to progress these education situations because Perú is very centralized in Lima. As I was listening to these 2 presentations in particular it made me realized how Lima is worlds apart from the rets of the country and how blessed I am to have my easily available and reliable american education and rights. There are also many NGOs and commercials that I see promoted human rights awareness, because many of the people here are unaware of what rights exist for them and thus their rights are being abused and they're not doing anything about it.

Not that the university education here is bad, my classes are academically good. But one thing that surprised me most was the university libraries. This may have just been my experience, but most of the books are older (30s-80s I'd say) and information doesn't seem to be very updated in libraries with the exception of professor recommended articles. But every books I've had to find in the library has been very old and I haven't noticed much update. Very different in comparison to the Temple (american) University system where nearly anything is available at your fingertips. I also haven't searched as much here nor have I gone to other libraries beyond the university, but I was definitely a little surprised by the library at PUCP. This is something I think could be an advantageous investment on part of the university.

The first part about the presentations really struck me. There are so many norms in my life as an American that some people in this country would never dream of. For example, today I was studying in the kitchen with our empleada (house maid) who lives and works in the house. We spend a lot of time together because we are both kind of like additions to the family and we're both home during the day and we are a year apart, to the date. Anyways, today she told me about how she hadn't seen her mom in 6 years since she's been working in Lima. She left her home and family in Iquitos (rainforest city) to come to Lima when she was 15... I couldn't imagine leaving my mom when I was 15 and still not having seen her to date! They still maintain contact, but with the economic and social situations in this country and metropolitan concentration in Lima, she's been here for all of that time. It's still hard to understand some things in this country that are "normal".

The other night my grandma came into my room right before I left to go running and told me what sexy legs I have and how I should keep up with running to maintain my youth when I am older lololol and tonight, like many nights, she came to knock on my door to give me a manderine. She is soooo darn adorable! I love her :)


The rest of the week will be working on some papers and research, sleeping in, studying, squeezing in runs, an IFSA student-family goodbye dinner and a meeting to talk about re-entry into the United States, which is supposedly a lot more difficult to do than coming into Perú.. that should be interesting to see.

Hope you learned a lot!

El Perú es lo máximo pues...

I'm definitely in a more reflective stage of my study abroad experience with only a little bit of time left here... and I'm starting to realize, understand and appreciate a lot more choosing Perú... despite hard feelings I've felt along the way, there have been many positives. If I wouldn't have chosen such an underdeveloped country in such contrast to my own I never would have been as aware as I am of other global realities. Living and adapting to a new country has been an interesting challenge, and I can take what I've learned and how I've grown here to adapt it to my future goals in my own country and it's international relations (something I plan & strive to work with in my future)... This experience has taught me more not only about the political situation in Perú, but also more about the political situation in my own country. In any situation, big or small, it's easier to understand when you step outside and see things from a new perspective as I have with the United States. Even if I may have said I would have chosen a different country a few times before, I wouldn't take back my peruvian semester! Everything is soaking in still and I cannot wait to continue to understand and discover new things as a result of what I've learned, seen and experienced in Perú.

Living here and from the better understanding of the world that I've gained, I've only become more and more inspired in how I want to progress my future, my studies, my actions, my interests and my goals. I look forward to spending a lot more time studying at Temple when I return because I understand how blessed I am to be in such a great position in the world to have that kind of education. I need to apply what I've learned here and work hard to understand better where I want to go, but I am definitely more confident in that I am on the right path and going to make great strides along the way. I look forward to spending more time learning about and working with Latin America and I couldn't be more thankful for the support from everyone at school and home in choosing to take this semester in Perú to give me such a boost of confidence and awareness.

Now, back to studying for finals. I NEED to do well today!