Youtube videos & Huaraz

Here are some videos I found on youtube to try to show the traffic and ridiculous public transportation here in Lima. It's still so different in real life.. I'll have to actually take a video of the entire process someday to share.. notice all the beeping and noise in the 2nd video.. that's a constant here!!! I MISS SEPTA!




Anyways, my class schedule is finalllly done. Peruvian Social Reality, IFSA Spanish (Intensive Spanish Course), Macroecon. (again, for kicks), Amazonian Ethnography and International Relations.

Tomorrow I have classes during the day and tomorrow night it's off to Huaraz!!! 8 hour overnight bus ride to the mountains.. So I'll update again later next week, I'm sure I'll come back with some greattttt photos!

:)

Limeño hospitality

I went for another run today and got lost on my way home... which made me figure out my way around. So in the end, it wasn't horrible.

I finally bought my round trip bus tickets to Huaraz!!! SOOOOO excited to get out of the city and into the mountains I can't even explain! I feel like I haven't breathed in fresh air for 3-something weeks because this city is so gross (not entirely), but the air quality is horrible.. it's cold, wet, polluted air. Anyways, we're taking an overnight bus on Thursday night so we'll have 3.5 full days of beautiful Andean high altitude mountains! Mountains are like my favorite thing in the world, so I just can't wait..

My International Relations class, in the parts I understand, is really interesting. The professor is really awesome and I try to understand as much as I can.. We have a lonnggg reading to do for this class which is going to take me a decade with a dictionary in hand. I have 2 weeks at this point to finish because we have a test on it coming up.

After class, a peruvian girl that sits next to me in that class invited me and Anna, a new friend from Iowa, over to her house for dinner. We went and it was really fun to go to another Peruvian's house for dinner.. We ate with her, her sister and her mom. I was so impressed at how hospitable they were! Then, on the dreaded combi ride home back to Miraflores some young man offered me his seat because I'm a girl and I was standing.. I thought that was also pretty impressive!

Combi rides are draining... I used to complain about driving in Pittsburgh traffic or taking Philadelphia transportation but now I have a whole new outlook and appreciation. Theyre not completely horrible though because if you miss one, there's always another one right behind it.

I'm always exhausted here... semester is in swing and it's not going to slow down until I come home for Christmas break.. So I'm going to soak up the mountain life this weekend as much as possible.

Limmmaaaaaa

Life is GREAT in Peru... :)

This weekend has been fun so far.. Yesterday I finally went for a decent run through my neighborhood here. It was the perfect running weather and I got to figure out my way around my neighborhood better. Last night I went to Barranco with some people from IFSA and 2 girls from Lima. We went to a place called Sargento Pimienta.. like Sargeant Pepper.. a bar/concert venue decked out in Beatles photos. We thought there'd be a live band, but the website hasn't been updated and there is live music on Thursdays, so we'll be returning. Regardless, it was a fun night! I lucked out with a really fun group of people that came though IFSA.

This morning I slept in, which was fabulous. My hostmom took me to buy a new laptop (which I am using) and I love it... and I am very thankful to finally have a functioning computer while abroad.

Tonight a few of us met up at La Maquina, which I think is going to be my new study spot cafe... I love it there. And it's funny because I met the owner in the airport in New Jersey waiting to fly to Peru. Its a trendy cafe with an awesome menu and really good music.. Anyways we met up to plan our weekend trip to Huaraz! Which I'll get back to.. before going to a bar for a beer and then to Parque Kennedy for some reallyyyy great vendor sandwiches, and cheap too! In the park there is this circle where there are always little events going on for the public. sometimes there are magicians or comedians or stuff like that I have seen.. but tonight they just had music and speakers set up and everyone gathered around to watch dozens of older couples dancing in the middle.. it was sooooo cute! Peruvians know how to dance!!


So Huaraz.. Reservations are booked (still working on the bus res.) to get out of Lima for three nights!!! We are staying in ¨cave bungalows¨ which is like a hostel with bunk beds in a stone cave in the Andes!! The inn sits 3700 meters above sea level in Cordillera Blaca (The white mountain ranges) and is owned by travel enthusiasts who seem to have a lot to offer! (check it out: http://www.thewayinn.com/index.htm) We're planing on doing some day treks and walking through the mountains.. Due to the high altitude we'll be chewing on cocoa leaves to help our bodies adjust.. We are leaving thursday evening on an over night bus.. it's an 8 hour drive or a 1.5 hour flight. We will stay until Monday when we'll be bussing home during the day.. through beautiful Andean landscapes.. I'm so ready to see some Nature!!!

There's so much to laugh at about this city and so much to love. After reading a lot for homework for Peruvian Social Reality, one of my program courses, I'm realizing that I appreciate Lima more that I'm starting to learn about it's history and the history of it's people and neighborhoods.. to appreciate a city today you have to know about it's past and how it came to be what it is today.. I'm looking forward to learning more from the class, the homework is the only killer (it takes foreverrr- hopefully I become a better reader).

Monday is class registration..... yikkkkessss. I forgot that studying abroad meant actually studying. But it'll be fun to do in Spanish! anddd I'm going to learn A LOT.

I am so happyyyyy :) but a little jealous of everyone moving back to Temple now.. I miss everyone!!

Anytime someone wants to skype, let me know.

coming from the fast paced east coast its kind of annoying how you have to wait to do everything in lima... waiiittt in traffic to go anywhere, wait in 3 different likes for like 40min to get photocopies of texts, because they dont do textbooks here and waiting for 15 minutes for a professor to show up is normal here.. so, if a class starts at 2 according to your schedule, its a better idea to come around 2:10.. and a well known fact here. this would never fly in US everyday..

also, they have coffee vending machines on campus that fill thin plastic cups to the rim without any lid or holder.. talk about burning myself.

also, not very many options to eat on campus. on the plus side, a full meal (rice, potatoes, bread, chicha and vegetables costs on 1.5 soles.. which is like $.53)....

earthquake drills & new friends

yesterday was a great day... i went to an international relations class thinking it would be a back up course idea (we register on monday).. but i love the class discussions and the professor so much so i think its going to become a permanent class. in this class i met some other interexchange students from norway, germany and US.. so that was another good part :) the prof seems reallyyyy enthusiastic about what he talks about and about teaching us about the world, he kept my attention in spanish the entire time. I'm in. after class he talked to the girl from germany, julio, and I and seemed very welcoming and excited to have us. her and i exchanged #s so I hope we hang out.. she lives like 10min walking distance from me in an apartment with students from france and finland too, so itd be fun to hang out.

on the combi ride home from class i asked someone to make sure i was on the right combi.. he realized i was new to Lima and asked if he could sit with me, someone my age. so we talked the entire ride home, which was really cool considering he's a local and we had easy, good conversation.. we also exchanged contact info, so hopefully i'm making some friends/contacts.

today at 10am there was an earthquake drill throughout all of lima. in the states we have tornado drills and here we have earthquake drills. i still am curious to know what one feels like.

today i went to a new class, amazonian ethnography.. it's a new backup class but i think it would be very interesting. my first assignment is an essay about ecuadorian amazon culture. i tried to go to a business course today but it was cancelled or something, idno.. really confusing. so that was a let down. tomorrow i'm trying two new econ/business related courses though.. im hoping one of them sparks an interest with me because theyre upper level and im wondering what i can handle right now in this language.... which leads me to another new idea i'm having for my IFSA project, researching/interviewing american companies that are spreading into lima and why lima is an attractive location for them, including marriot, kpmg (new to lima) and some other ones..

tonight my combi made everyone get off early.. i couldnt tell if it broke down or just didnt feel like continuing its route like my mom said was probably the case.. so i had a 40min walk home.

about PUCP, my college.. today i wanted an orange juice and when i ordered it they made it fresh squeezed.. that was cool. and i still love seeing all of the deer wander around campus.. its still strange to me because in PA they run from humans.

trembling earth, classes, horrible weather

i can't believe i forgot to tell all you northerners... I felt a temblor!! which is like a mini earthquake.. when the ground trembles a little bit. HOW AWESOME! :) I thoughtso anyways. it was really no big deal actually, but I had never before experienced one. I don't hope for an earthquake, but if there were a little one that I could feel and know that everything would be fine, It would be cool to experience.. my host sister was explaining to me the other night how she felt the 2007 earthquake.. it lasted for a minute and some people coulnt even walk beacause of how the earth was moving.. I can't imagine.

So classes started today. Our required Spanish course is going to teach me so much! Our professor mumbles her spanish and has a half peruvian/half spanish (spain) accent, but I will learn soooo much in this class. I am very happy about the quality of this spanish class compared to the quality of my ¨honors¨ spanish courses at Temple.

This week is a ¨shopping week¨ for interexchange students, so we get to try out different classes to decide what we would like to sign up for officially for the semester. So my next class was econ... because the description actually sounded really interesting. I got to this class and was waiting outside for like 20 min with 6 peruvians and no prof showed up.. so we went to look at the schedules and we were waiting at room 305, when it was 306... the prof would not let us into the class and was kinda rude about it, considering it was an error somewhere on the website and it was 20min in to a 2hour class on the first day.. so i just left and rolled last class off of my list of options.

To kill time I went to a sociology class (the study of the obvious) with a friend in my program.. this class actually seemed pretty interesting and like it would be a good opportunity to practice conversational spanish in group discussions about topics I feel confidently, despite the language, discussing. The prof was really easy going and funny and easy to understand and the class seems interesting enough to take for a semester, so I am considering it. My hostmom knows the prof, too, because she works at a University where he used to teach, and she is fond of him as a prof, too. Who woulda thought I would ever sign up for soc?...

Next I went to Quechua I.. I really liked the professor and learned some basic Quechua phrases.. It was a 2 hour course but considering I had been sitting in classes all day, it was hard to not feel like I wanted to nap.. But I got to participate in the class on the first day and I didn't screw up, lol, so that was a success.. I also learned how to say some basic greetings/phrases in Quechua :) very cool language.. This class is a backup option for if I cant get into my first choice classes, but I liked it. I was surprised to learn how widely spread the language is still spoken throughout all of South America, I had thought it was mostly concentrated in Peru and Bolivia. Some of the sounds used in Quechua reminded me of Arabic letters I learned in my Arabic class at PhilaU.. also a lot of sounds similar to English sounds..

Finally, for the last 3 hours of my day until 9pm I was in Peruvian Social Reality.... yikes... I really have a great impression of the Prof who is half pakistani and half japanese living in Peru and his spanish was very clear. The class seems like it will be a challenge for me, considering it's a blend of history (which is not my strong subject) and politics (again..), but the topics that are laid out in the syllabus seem half interesting and half painful to me... the end of the course focuses on immigration/religion, but all of the political stuff just tends to go in one ear and out the other for me.. so it will be a challenging class.. He also gave us a story from the 60s in Lima to read and discuss in class.. I underlined a jillion words I didn't understand that I wanted to look up and when we had a class discussion on it I felt like Id understood the story but couldnt convey what I wanted to say before the same 3 people who always do the talking raise their hands.. so it was kind of frustrating because spanish still takes a moment for me to process mentally.

However, overall I am pleased with my 2 required classes and still up in the air with what other 2 courses I will take.. I really want to take at least one business course but most of the ones I could take meet on Saturdays-- NOT happening.. why are sat classes so popular here?? So tomorrow Im going to some upper level business courses to check out, but I dont think I have the proper pre-reqs so Idno how that'll go..

Anyways, I learned more Spanish today in one day than I did in a semester class at school... hopefully it eventually becomes easier to memorize and speak.. because my strength right now is definitely writing.

I think I am going to see Cirque de Soliel in Lima with my host-mom and gma!!! Tickets are only like $50 for me!!!! SOOO excited!!!!!! :)

also, I am sick... like winter cold sick.. because its freezing here!! and i feel like im always outside because even the house is cold and humid!!! i cant get a warm moment.. cold showers, cold bedroom, cold weather, cold everywhere.... i shoulda brought more hoodies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or more warm clothes to say the least... grrr, i miss pittsburgh weather. i never thought i'd say that. i also thought i'd never say i miss philadelphia transportation, septa, but i do. this whole combi thing is giving me scoliosis. How do people here do it? my bed is like a twin size rock an i am taller than most peruvians so i hunch into the combis for 2 hours everyday. good thing 1hr massages are only $20.. im going to need to see a chiropractor when I come home.

next weekend a few people in my program are thinking of going to the mountains to hike 8 hours from lima, im hoping this plan gets executed because I need to be in the beautiful nature again!!!! im missing the outdoorsy experience....

fun and frustrations

So last night the whole group (well, almost) went to Barranco to dance and get out on a Saturday night.. this is the bohemian neighborhood that I blogged about before.. the night was really fun, we did a lot of dancing and got to drink Cusquena, one of Peru's best beers (mmmm). It was fun, but a lot of the people were kinda creepy... Then today my brother told me we went to the cruddy part of Barranco, so obviously next time we'll have to explore to find something better. Still, the night was fun. I danced with a guy from Argentina.. he was kinda creepy though, too.. so it didn't last long.

My brain is started to reject spanish comprehension these past two days.. I don't know why I feel like I am brain dead right now.. and classes start tomorrow, so I'm really nervous. I'm ready for classes to start because I want to stop feeling like I'm not sure what to do, a routine will be good, getting into the swing of things.. Although I am nervous for workloads in Spanish and completely unthrilled about the public transportation to get to campus.. at least the campus is beautiful and comforting once I get there. I'm sure I'll get used to the combis, it just takes time.

This week at school all of the international students get to just go to different classes to see which ones they're comfortable registering for.. good thing because we can get a sneek peak, bad thing because I'll probably just about live on campus this week. Our two program courses start officially tomorrow for us though, Spanish (intensive course) and Peruvian Social Reality.. one starts at 10am and the other is from 6 to 9pm... sooooo every monday I'll just be on campus all day..

My laptop broke, and that's also very frustrating. Just one day broke. WHYYYY when I am in Peru.... just my luck, not gonna sweat it though, maintaining positive thoughts.

I'm not homesick yet, which is good.. but I already can tell the things I'll be excited to have back in my life.. my comfortable bed!!!!!!!, my best friends and AMERICAN COFFEE... coffee here is so strong, I can't figure out what kind I like.. Oh, and this is pathetic.. but pizzaaaaaa... there's nowhere to just get a slice around here!?

school, project, real world

this morning I met with the program coordinator, Laura, to talk about what classes and kind of work im interested in doing here.. this is making me really excited! because after talking about possible independent research ideas with her, I dont feel completely guilty for going abroad where credits dont transfer for my major.. i think my individual project is going to be interviewing and working with a tutor in the business of exporting fair trade coffee from peru and local organic product coffee shops.. or i am also looking in to working with microbusinesses here in Lima. i have a week or two to do some research and decide.. im also thinking of taking an econ class here to learn a different perspective relative to my major and also to become acquainted with more business vocabulary in spanish... my other class is going to be something along the lines of human resources, international affairs, quechua or cosmology, or ecoturism..... i have to figure out when i can fit in these different classes.

also..... i think im going to take a class to learn how to play the panflute and hopefully if i have time, a latin dance class too!! yayyyy :) i'll be dancing like shakira in no time..

tonight the group is going on a tour of the city by bus and then to a park with water fountains and light shows...

after throwing up, getting lost, having my credit card rejected and feeling lowsy yesterday, today is already much better!

annddd tomorrow i think im going to a site outside of the city with Aditi (a really awesome girl in my program from India) and Brandon (a really interesting and fun guy in my program)where there are waterfalls and nature! yesss, a break from the noisy city before classes start on monday!!!

:)

Yesterday was so beautiful! We went to eat at a restaurant called La Rustica in a neighborhood next to where I live, Barranco. Barranco is a beautiful bohemian town where there are less gringos wondering around with guide books and daypacks.. All the buildings are colorful and adorned with flower pots or lamp posts and the streets are laid with brick. Our lunch was very big but very delicious, and REAL peruvian cuisine (more so than the first day when we arrived). After lunch we walked to a pacific coast look-out area where there was one man selling beautiful jewelery and hand-crafts and another man sitting on a wooden box and playing it like a drum. It was a really good moment for me, kind of a quiet moment to regain a peace of mind and soak in where in the world I am. Looking out into the ocean and with the sun shining to warm the winter air in Lima, I was really happy.. I'm hoping to spend some more time at the coast to write and study and relax and escape the noisy city. I'm also hoping to become well acquainted with the night-life in Barranco.. it's where all the 20-something-year-olds go at night... maybe tomorrow night!?

Today was long, as usual with orientation activities... First we had a lecture about the education system here in Peru and at PUCP. It's very different in the sense that students are less competitive among each other here and more accustomed to working together.. for example groups with form where one person will read one section and 2 others will read different sections and everyone will share their notes and always study together. I like this, but I'm nervous because our director was explaining how we need to make sure we enter into groups of peruvian students to study with.. this will be difficult with a language barrier being that I won't exactly be desirable to work with... But I plan on giving it my all and trying to blend it as well as possible. Also, PUCP is a DIFFICULT university, we've been warned. Our director told us, if you think you came to study abroad for fun, think again. This kind of scared me because if I think Temple's Honor Courses kick my ass, what will it be like in Spanish?! My goals are to Pass (opposed to failing) and to become fluent conversationally where I can speak without inhibition. After looking through options for courses, I also don't think I'll be able to take business courses. There are only a few select courses that could possibly transfer to temple's business equivalency rather than as electives and these courses (here) are only offered with class on SATURDAYS!!!!! also, we've been warned at the difficulty level of professors here and how they do not slow down for foreign students.. so I'm not sure if I want to kill myself. i've come to conclude that this is a semester for myself... to learn what interests me truly.. So tonight I'll look through and decide on some more interesting courses.

Later we went to watch a movie as a group called "Chungui," it's a town in Peru.. it was about the violence among the townspeople, the terrorists and the government here in Peru.. While there was a lot that I didn't understand, I got the jist of it and learned more about the social state of Peru from talking to my family when I got home. In the 80s there was a lot of violence throughout peru and discrimination based on skin color and social status.. the documentary showed images and testimonies of family members who witness the violence in which terrorists would murder others in horrible ways.. cutting off their hands and telling them to eat them while they were still alive, and their ears, noses, eyes and privates. It was horrible to see a woman telling the journalist filming the testimony of how she watched her sons' suffering and murder.. Then tonight my host mom and sister and I were talking about the racism and discrimination problems that still exist in Peru today, especially in Lima.. My mom was telling me how people from different regions discriminate of course on skin color and that, for example, in some bars and cafes here in Lima, the owners wont let darker more indigenous appearing people to enter... even if the owner his/her self has the same appearance. She also told me how people like me, a gringa from north america, is given special treatment in many instances.. it's strange to think I walk around through a new city where I am trying to fit in but I will never fit in because some people will always look at me as a symbol of money or opportunity simply because of my skin color.

I was talking with some other people who are here today too, that we feel like we are cheating Peruvians out of their money.. Everythingggg is cheap here, and that's great. but they don't tip here, meals costs like $3-$5 for us and traveling on the combi costs like $.50 one way.... This weekend I may go on a day trip to a place just outside of lima where you can camp/hike through waterfalls... I can go there for like $1.00 on a combi.. crazy! At the same time, I feel like I always need to keep my guard up.

Another thing that's strange to get used to about having a housemaid is how to interact with them. Sometimes it seems like they are more a part of the family and sometimes it seems like they're in the house simply to work. I really like Saira, our "ama," but she seems surprised when I start conversation with her or when I ask her questions to get to know her.. as though I'm crossing a line. But I don't know where else she gets friendly interaction in her life and she's a good way to learn more about the culture... it's just strange to think I just show up in this house and our ama, who has been here longer than me, seems to have so much respect for -me-.. I feel so undeserving of how well I seem to be treated here sometimes, it's weird.. Like how every morning she makes coffee and breakfast for me and how every night she asks me what I want to eat and prepares it.... That's the norm here. how do i get used to that without feeling strange?

I am started to get reallyyyyyyy frustrated with having group meetings/times that I have to do things with IFSA.. it's like I feel like a tourist... and for some reason I can't focus very long in these activities.. I want to feel more independent.. which I suppose will happen next week when my "real world" in peru begins.. I just get frusterated trying to speak spanish and then english and trying to understand what our directors are explaining.. I understand the most when I talk with my family at home, I think home and in class is where I'll soak up the most language skills.

This has been a long blog entry!

:)

Yesterday we had a free day :) Finally, a nice little break from our long days of orientation. Don't get me wrong, it's helpful but it was just great to have a day to not have a schedule here, to just have a normal day to start to get more relaxed/acquainted with living here. I slept in until 10 (a rare occasion for me.. but it's exhausting to get used to a new home in a foreign country) and I basically lounged around all day and had lunch with my mom until later in the afternoon when I met two friends, Jessa and Elise, to walk around the city and shop and grab a bite to eat. We went to Larcomar for fresh smoothies. Larcomar is a big outdoor mall right on the cliff of the pacific ocean, it's really beautiful but also really touristy. As much as I am ashamed to say this though, it's one of my favorite places here so far. I still have a lot of exploring to do. After Larcomar we went to relax in Parque Kennedy and then for churros and cafe con leche in a restaurant that we seem to go to a lot. Then we went to an open-air market.. I didn't buy anything more than a little ring all day (which only cost the equivalent of $2.. because EVERYTHING is cheaper here!!!) Then, at home my host brother was teaching Oriana and I how to dance the salsa and merengue.. this was a lot of fun because eventually my host mom joined in and we were all dancing in the hallway with beautiful peruvian music! so much fun :) So far it's been the simple pleasures of living abroad that I have enjoyed most..... which leads me to the conclusion that it's better to stay with people from the country you are visiting because there's more charm and a unique perspective.. even thinking back to my trip in europe I always tell the story of the night we stayed on an island in a little shack with a guy we met from holland because it was a better experience for me than visiting the eiffel tower or the colleseum. Anyways, my latin dancing needs a lot of practice!!! But it's definitely a lot of fun! and the music is beautiful.. as soon as I figure out my favorite artists here I'm going to post them on my blog for everyone to check out.

Today... was very testing. First, we went to PUCP by combi which is ALWAYS an adventure... that's my least favorite part about Lima-- the WORST public transportation in the worldddddd. Imagine riding in an old cruddy van, packed in like sardines for an hour. It reeks of gasoline, you can't trust anyone else on the combi when you're a gringa (they want to overcharge you and steal your valuables) and it's like riding the whip... because traffic and driving laws here are INSANE.. like anyone who is reading this probably wouldn't believe how horrible the traffic and driving is here unless you have been here... it's like being on a rollercoaster.. I should take a video for you all to feel my pain :) Two hours of headaching chaos everyday to go to school.

We finally got to PUCP for orientation with the university.. which was NOTHING. 30 minutes of things I'd already figured out (for the most part). Afterward we came back to miraflores for lunch... I think i've decided to become a vegetarian (other than the meals we eat at home) because I don't know how I felt about some of the meat I've seen around this city... my lunch was good though. I paid the equivalent of $4 for a full meal (veggies, chicken, rice, potatoes and beer). Then we had another spanish class.... SO LONG.

Also, it's FREEZINGGGGGGGGG in Lima.. I thought I wouldn't be this cold coming from PA winters but it's a humid cold here... i definitely should've packed my peacoat, gloves and boots.. and more long sleeves. I'm looking forward to spring at the end of September already (yesss, Spring).

It sounds like I'm complaining a lot right now, but in reality I'm very happy. I think I'm ready for school to start and hopefully to make Peruvian friends and get more into a routine because what we're doing now is just becoming used to being abroad surrounded by spanish.

I am amazeddddd at how easily I'm able to get by here. Of course I say, "what?" a lot because with slang and accents and fast conversations it can be difficult to keep up, but I'm absorbing and understanding a lot more after just one week. I'm confident that I'll be fine and fluent by December :) which makes me so excited.. even when I'm writing in here I feel like my english grammar is going to get worse because it's hard to think in spanish all day and then transition to english. i'm so excited to get to the point where i can freely express myself and actually have a personality in spanish though. that's one thing i never thought of before coming, it's difficult to have a personality in spanish sometimes.. I can only say so much and i'm starting to learn their sarcasm, etc.

Also, tonight my host-bro has his friends over.. I didn't think I was attracted to peruvians until tonight.... holy moly, Juan Miguel!!! and he goes to PUCP too. (tall, dark, handsome, looks like he has some european blood in him lol) They're all so friendly here, I'm hoping it'll be easy to make friends despite the language barrier, but meeting him made me think it won't be too difficult, he seemed welcoming enough, hopefully I'll see him around campus, too. I also think, now, that i wouldnt mind having a peruvian fling.. someone to get to know in spanish. hey, it's a good way to get to know a language and a city, right!?!?!? I'm not looking but I'm not obliged..

Tomorrow = morning with our peruvian patas (friends), lunch in Barranco (a bohemian neighbortown) and another spanish class... I think I'm going shopping afterward to look for more long sleeves too, because I'm running out of warm clothes!!!!!! Also, I have to wash my clothes at a dry-cleaners.. So laundry here is a rare occasion.. yikes!



me = :)

Lima

Yesterday we went to Colonial Lima to Plaza de Armas and the monastery of San Francisco and the Museum of the Spanish Inquisition. We went on tours guided in Spanish and while I understood a lot of it, I wasn't able to understand and appreciate the history of everything I was learning completely. Still, everything was very beautiful and interesting. My favorite were the catacombs with piles of bones and skulls underground and seeing the torture methods the Catholic church used during the inquisition.. extremely disturbing. Plaza de Armas is beautifulllllll :) so beautiful and colorful with a lot of people, birds, fountains, color, palm trees, lights and flowers. It was really nice.

After a long day of walking and touring and trying to understand most of our group went to get drinks near the Plaza de Armas. It was the first time we all thought we actually heard each other's voices (because we spoke mostly in English for the first time to get to know each other better). This was definitely a lot of fun, and a good break.

We came home on the combis (ohhhh, the public transportation system here is WONDERFUL.. sarcasm). That's probably my least favorite thing about Lima because with a metro system it would literally take 10 minutes to get home, but on a Combi it's like an hour.. So pretty much I'll be spending about 2 hours a day during the week on the combis travelling back and forth to La Catolica (school). But, I'll learn to love it.

Last night I just relaxed with my family, talked to my brother for a little bit and watched the equivalent of the grand finale of dancing with the stars with my host mom and grandma. it's funny how you can travel so far away and it's still so similar at home.

Today I'm going to buy a few more clothes because it's winter here and it's freezing!! well, not like it would be in the USA, but i'm not well-equipped for this weather and electric is so expensive here that there is not heat in the homes.

Travelling makes me realize how priveledged we are in the States.

La PUCP

La PUCP (my college in Lima...)

I love it! We went to tour it today and take pictures for our student I.D. cards, it's amazing! Everything is outdoors, there are palm trees, deer run wild around campus, it's beautiful and park-like and EVERYTHING IS IN SPANISH (of course, but this is still exciting to me).

:)

ya me encanta el Peru

after 3 nights i can already see a difference in how much i am able to understand. it's still not 80% but i usually get the jist of everything. even if it's overwhelming to think you understand a language semi-fluently and then realize how much you don't know, i am confident that with patience and practice i will improve a lot! today we had our first class with the spanish professor.. it was really LONGGGGGG, but we learned a lot! and i think our professor is reallyyyyy awesome and nice. she speaks SOOOOOO fast but very clear, faster than most peruvians.

at orientation this morning we had a lesson about how to have self-defense as a gringa... we learned the necessary sayings such as, pardon my french, "go fuck yourself," "don't touch me, you ****"... and things along these lines.. it was really funny because our patas told us, "repeat after me... (in spanish) *insert vulgarity*". probably the most fun ive had with a spanish lesson. but these are vital sayings in case i ever encounter un brinchero (a latino who likes gringas and wants to take advantage of one in order to get to the US) or someone who thinks i look like a perfect victim to rob.

tonight after the lonnngggg day, jessa (from colorado, in my program) and i took our first taxi to plaza san miguel to meet greg for dinner! it was sooo random and awesome to see him! we always have a good laugh, so it was refreshing and a confidence booster to see one of my best friends here in peru even if just for a meal. it was also great figuring out the transportation system with another gringa, we had a lot of fun figuring it out.. even if it took awhile. and WE SURVIVED! i was able to tell a cab driver how to get me home!!! success enough for me :)

oh, and i should mention.. the first cab driver we had talked to us alllll about the food here and explained how guinea pig meat is such a delicacy and so delicious.. i'm definitely going to try it. mmmmmm :) guinea pig.

i can't tell everyone how lucky i feel to have such a great host family!

i am really happy here so far....

today was really successful. today at orientation (which will last for two weeks), we went to buy cell phones. I bought the absolute most basic cell phone possible.. it kind of looks like something a child would get in a happy meal, but it works and it only costs $20! then during our free time we all went to eat at a sandwich place called La Lucha.. we were eating outside and a little boy who was begging for money came to our table to talk to us and get money. our "patas"- "amigos".. theyre like orientation helpers who go to the university i'll be going to.. PUCP.. anyways they had the boy convinced that we were all actually peruano (peruvian). even crysta in our group who has blonde hair and the bluest eyes imaginable. soo funny! later we had a big spanish exam, oral and written, like a placement test. we met with the PUCP spanish professor.. should be challenging but fun!

we were given homework tonight to learn the slang and popular phrases in peru.. i attempted to do it with my abuelita (grandmother) but eventually she told me she was too old to know the slang anymore. still, it was funny to try and figure out slang in my broken spanish. she is absolutely the sweetest woman everrrr, so adorable. abuelita :) eventually i finished the homework with isabel (mom) and oriana (sister) and gonzalo (brother). i definitely learned a lot today!!! beyond the slang too..

everyday i'm learning new words and figuring more out about the city.. already i know i'm extremely happy to have chosen a program outside of temple because the experience with a host family is incredible! i'm learning more because of it and also it's like a family away from home, and i lucked out with an AWESOME host family :)

i'm reallyyyyyy excited to see what this semester brings, i can't even imagine.

tomorrow i think i'll be able to see greg for dinner.. and this weekend i think i'm meeting two friends (and hopefully bringing some from IFSA) to go out. i met these two friends on the flight to peru! theyre both american, from maine and umass. it'll be fun to get to know them even though theyre from a different program here than i am. i like hanging out with all the americans so far because we're in the same situations with everything and it's good to go through this culture change with other people, but i really hope i can make peruvian friends when classes start too!

these days are LONG and i am very very exhausted.

buenas noches (hablamos.. in peru means good night too- weird?!)

finally.. I am here. this will be a quick post, I hope.. because i'm tired after such a long day. the flight was long and cold and kind of miserable, but i met a girl in my program in the NJ airport and then i met two other americans that are living in lima for the semester, one who i sat next to on the airplane. the best part of the flight was flying over Ecuador during sunset- BEAUTIFUL! when we arrived to lima it was just cloudy and dark.

the most interesting things i should mention about my first impression are...
1. CRAZY public transportation and traffic! (las combis.. like a van/bus that you just jump in and out of and cram into like sardines)
2. it's winter here, comparable to the end of our fall season. grey and cold but not too cold like our winters. we're all sniffling with the climate change.
3. the food is amazingggg!!!!
4. i think i'm going to love living near the coast, with an amazing family, with great people in the program from all over the united states (including a guy from mt lebanon, so close to me in pittsburgh!)
5. i learned some basic salsa already.
6. i understand 40% of the language, 85% of the context of what people are saying and
7. although i feel like i wish i understood more and definitely like i could say more, it's the first day and i'm trusting that with patience and confidence, i'm going to improve.. i can already see how it will be difficult to remember to speak english when i come home in december.

pre-departure thoughts

So this is my last night at home until mid-December.. I'm keeping this blog as a way to keep everyone up to date! A lot of times when you tell travel/living abroad stories, there's a lot to tell and it's easy to miss the details when you tell the same stories to everyone.

I'm finally packed and as ready as I am going to be! I have a medium suitcase, my backpacking pack and one medium carry-on.. I'm aloud 70 pounds and my suitcase is only like 45.. I think that's pretty darn good for packing to leave the country for 5 months! (or it may not be so good...)

I don't know a lot about what I am getting myself into.. so half the fun/nervousness is not knowing what to expect! I am definitely thrilled to be on the other side of being a host sister by being the one going abroad. It'll be an interesting comparison, seeing both sides of the story!

I am confident that this experience will bring many incredible memories and discoveries. I'll probably learn more about how much it will actually impact me once I am back home months later after I finish the program abroad.

Here's what I do know.. I'll be living with a host family in Miraflores (Google it, it's beautiful!) Including a mom, sister, brother (until he goes to college in Argentina for the semester), a grandmother (described to me by my host-mom as independent and fun), and a house helper (from what I understand). I look forward to getting to know them! I'll be going to school in Lima at La Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru.. taking Lima's public transportation (the crazy combi) everyday... from what I understand it's a van/bus that you just kind of hop in and out of.. as a Gringa, I need to be careful about the cost of everything so I don't get taken advantage of (stuff like taxi fares/busses).

I'm most nervous about my Spanish and the period of culture shock/frustration, I know it's going to happen.. it's natural.

I'm most excited for...... everything!

This last week before I leave has been AMAZING! I drove out to Lancaster to visit roomies-to-be, visited Aunt Janice's house, got to see Chris, Nikkita & Sana (shout outtttt), make smores with Kelly&Andy, beach with Alene, Kayaking and spending time with Nadine (sooo much fun!), go out to dinner like a zillion times with Josh, see Megan from Panera, karaoke with Miranda & Natalie, and visit with my family :) It's been an AWESOME end to my summer, I'm going to miss all of you!

Anyways... this is it.

Peru, here I come!