last night in Peruvian Social Reality we watched the documentary "State of Fear".. i loved it because I learned sooooo much from it that I missed in all the readings. I vaguely remember hearing about it when it came out in the US, but not really. Anyways it helps me understand a lot about why Lima is the way it is today, and it makes it easier to appreciate this city that I kind of despise more than enjoy lately.
I feel overwhelmed right now, especially after the Cuzco trip. In part, becuase I didn't sleep very much during it, in part because it was filled with frustrations and in part because I have sooo much homework and essays and tests this week. I was productive today and I have my 2nd interview for the fair trade project tonight and fingers crossed I'm going to see a movie tonight to just unwinnddddd.
I am not homesick where I wanna come home, I'm just homesick where a day of comfort things from home would motivate me to keep going with a better attitude. The weather here has been grey again since I got back from Cuzco and I'm reallyyyyy sick of peruvian food. I've eaten enough rice, potatoes, creepy chicken, lentils and chicha to last me a lifetime. I seriously don't think I'll want rice or potatoes for a year after I get home.
What I miss right now is...
Cozy couch and TV and my bedroom, fall weather, pumpkin flavors, movie theaters, FOOOOOOOOOOOOOD, and like everything.
Today's a low day in the "study abroad" U-curve.
I definitely lucked out with an awesome host family that makes everything MUCH MUCH better when I feel like this, though. They rock :)
On a positive note... my spanish is improving a lot. I had to write 2 more spanish essays today and my structure is definitely improving. I also felt like last night i could describe my cuzco trip without any difficulty to my mom.. it felt great.
also, i miss Temple and my friends.
anywaysss next week is the halfway point for being here (so I guess in a U-shape this is perfect timing for homesickness). I'll be fine, just letting it go.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Viaje a Cuzco
Thursday.. woke up bright and early to get to the airport and find out we had a 3 hour delay, aka.. 3 more hours of sleep lost. not cool. we arrived to Cuzco late and instead of the scheduled nap & lunch we were rushed through tours of Sagsaywaman (SexyWoman is how you pronounce it) which was really disappointing because we didn't get everything out of it that I thought we could have. and I really would have loved to spend more time there relaxing and absorbing it rather than following a guide and being in a big touristy rushed group of exchange students. Regardless, it was beautiful. And there were big natural rock slides that were fun to go down. After that we did some more touristy rushed guides through more ruins that I totally would have enjoyed had it been done differently. That night was GREAT, though.. because across from our hotel there was the coolest little pizza place ever. It only had a few tiny picnic tables and an oven in it and we watched the cook bake our delicious pizzas and a Cusqueña was definitely enjoyable after a long day of trying to stay on schedule.
Friday.. woke up really early (again) to drive 3 hours in a bus outside of Cuzco to go to an orphanage. This was both a really good and a really hard experience. We went for the day and brought gifts for children we had decided to "adopt" and spent some time with them playing and hanging out. But it was not really well planned and here is why I believe this..
These girls live a completely different reality than we do as middle-class kids in America. Most of the girls come from families who have abandoned them, have alcoholic parents or abusive parents or come from backgrounds of rape. The most recently arrived girl had just came because her older brother raped her and she didn't have another caregiver. She is 10. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these girls were incest babies, either. These girls do not have the nutrition they need and so they are smaller than they should be, look younger than they should be and their features are rough. Most of them have weathered leathery skin with blotches all over their cheeks and chapped arms and lips and skin and rotting teeth. They don't have access to proper hygiene or medical attention. They never get visitors other than my study abroad group every semester and the most of their education is catholic nuns in school rooms where they don't even have enough pencils for everyone to have their own.
When we arrived we played with them a little bit but they mostly entertained us with a recital they had prepared. They dressed in costume and told us that every dance was prepared with love for us. In return, we decided we should provide some entertainment, too. 2 girls juggled and we all danced the electric slide for them. There we were, a bus of gringos, dancing the electric slide in a high remote orphanage in the mountains. It was funny.
Then we gave them our gifts. We were told to bring them a stuffed animal/toy, clothes and a tootbrush & toothpaste. We should have brought a lot more things like lotion, school supplies and outdoor games. I almost felt like we gave a weak effort. I gave my 2 girls, 2 sisters named Maria, stuffed bears and wrote them letters. Watching their smiles when they read the letters I wrote was my favorite part. They both put them in the backs of their teddys to keep, and named them Lucy and Annika.
But they appreciated everything. it was amazing to see how much these young children appreciated our visit. because they're so far from Cuzco and so remote from any other town, they never receive visitors. It must be strange to see older Americans just come.. I also think our group shouldn't have had to rush away from the orphanage right away. A lot was observed and experienced there that I wish we had more time to talk about as a group and reflect on.. seriously.
Another thing I struggled with is CAMERAS... we hopped off the bus, hang out with these girls and took sooooo many pictures. Maybe we shouldve all just soaked it in and focused all of our attention on them rather than snapping pictures. Jessa and I talked about it that night and had the conversation that we wonder if we were so anxious to take these pictures because it always seems cool to see "white" people going to other countries to "help" people.. so cliche. So there are some pictures on my facebook and I just want to make everyone aware how much this experience meant to me. In my research project I found out that the poverty level is about $700 a year salary and some of us where there with $700 cameras!!!!!!!!!! This makes me feel really uncomfortable.
Another thing that really shocked me about this experience was when I asked one girl how old she is, she didn't know. Imagine.. when I was their age I was getting scrapes on my knees and playing outside and going to birthday parties and these girls don't know how old they are, some of them.
The nuns that run the orphanage and some of the older girls prepared us a HUGE meal, unexpectedly, which probably took a lot of food away from them. None of us were hungry after a big breakfast but I managed to finish mine. Someone asked our director if she had to finish and she said no because here at the orphanage they would never let food go to waste. Someone was going to be eating out leftovers. I felt incredibly undeserving.
Before we left they sang us a beautiful song (they sounded so good) and played instruments. The girls were all sooooo sweet and thankful and sad to see us go. The one nun thanked us and began to cry.. when she did so did many of the girls. It was really touching to see how much a group of strangers visiting them could mean to them.. and so amazing to see how appreciative they were.
And then we didn't talk about it again.
This kind of bothered me...
After the orphanage we ran through a tour of an organic farm, too tightly scheduled and spent 3 hours driving back to the city never really getting the chance to walk around and SEE Cuzco on the only night we could. This was disappointing... because we were in Cuzco without ever getting to see it.. but I'm over it by just accepting that the day in the orphanage is one I will keep close to my heart.
Saturday... Alpaca farm and Sacred Valley!!! The Alpaca farm was awesome... we got to feed them, hug them and play around with them. Then we got to see how they make the yarns and how they use natural dyes and how they weave all of their products. This may have been one of the hightlights of my trip. It was really interesting and awesome. AND I GOT TO HUG A LLAMA! :):)
After that we rushed through some more sights on our gringo filled tour bus making stops to take pictures at popular spots that we didn't learn enough about. We took a train to Aguas Calientes, the town by machu picchu to go there the next day.
SUNDAYYYYYYYYYYYY :) got to the hotel around 11pm. woke up at 330am. in line for a bus to Machu Picchu by 4am.. thats because if you want to hike the big mountain, Huaynu Picchu, you have to arrive early because only 400 people are able to enter every day. MACHU PICCHU WAS AMAZINGGGGGG. One of the world wonders, and there I was! I even got to nap on one of the terraces and walk around the ruins. We all did the hike to the big mountain, which is the one in the postcard pictures and photographs you see of it. The hike was STRAIGHT UP but not as hard as I was expecting, which makes me think all of my running has been paying off. The top was amazinnngggggggggg.
I LOVED MACHU PICCHU. everyone who has the chance to go, should. IT IS WONDERFUL!!!!! I don't know what else to say.
Lunch that day was great after such an exhausting hike, the town was adorable and the markets were great!
Today = back to Lima.. I realize more and more everytime I have to come home from an excursion how much I don't like Lima. I like my district but in general, Lima is definitely one of my least favorite cities ever. I try to find little things and history to appreciate about it, and I do, but the taxi drivers, combis, grey skies and dirty streets and completely CHAOTIC city make me disssslikkeeee it.
Over all, Cuzco was cool. or maybe I should say the surrounding areas. Lesson learned = I am not a fan of tightly scheduled group outings and I value sleep.
But I'm not complaining, just stating how I feel.
pictures will be up soon.
(back to classssssssssssssssssssssss....)
Friday.. woke up really early (again) to drive 3 hours in a bus outside of Cuzco to go to an orphanage. This was both a really good and a really hard experience. We went for the day and brought gifts for children we had decided to "adopt" and spent some time with them playing and hanging out. But it was not really well planned and here is why I believe this..
These girls live a completely different reality than we do as middle-class kids in America. Most of the girls come from families who have abandoned them, have alcoholic parents or abusive parents or come from backgrounds of rape. The most recently arrived girl had just came because her older brother raped her and she didn't have another caregiver. She is 10. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these girls were incest babies, either. These girls do not have the nutrition they need and so they are smaller than they should be, look younger than they should be and their features are rough. Most of them have weathered leathery skin with blotches all over their cheeks and chapped arms and lips and skin and rotting teeth. They don't have access to proper hygiene or medical attention. They never get visitors other than my study abroad group every semester and the most of their education is catholic nuns in school rooms where they don't even have enough pencils for everyone to have their own.
When we arrived we played with them a little bit but they mostly entertained us with a recital they had prepared. They dressed in costume and told us that every dance was prepared with love for us. In return, we decided we should provide some entertainment, too. 2 girls juggled and we all danced the electric slide for them. There we were, a bus of gringos, dancing the electric slide in a high remote orphanage in the mountains. It was funny.
Then we gave them our gifts. We were told to bring them a stuffed animal/toy, clothes and a tootbrush & toothpaste. We should have brought a lot more things like lotion, school supplies and outdoor games. I almost felt like we gave a weak effort. I gave my 2 girls, 2 sisters named Maria, stuffed bears and wrote them letters. Watching their smiles when they read the letters I wrote was my favorite part. They both put them in the backs of their teddys to keep, and named them Lucy and Annika.
But they appreciated everything. it was amazing to see how much these young children appreciated our visit. because they're so far from Cuzco and so remote from any other town, they never receive visitors. It must be strange to see older Americans just come.. I also think our group shouldn't have had to rush away from the orphanage right away. A lot was observed and experienced there that I wish we had more time to talk about as a group and reflect on.. seriously.
Another thing I struggled with is CAMERAS... we hopped off the bus, hang out with these girls and took sooooo many pictures. Maybe we shouldve all just soaked it in and focused all of our attention on them rather than snapping pictures. Jessa and I talked about it that night and had the conversation that we wonder if we were so anxious to take these pictures because it always seems cool to see "white" people going to other countries to "help" people.. so cliche. So there are some pictures on my facebook and I just want to make everyone aware how much this experience meant to me. In my research project I found out that the poverty level is about $700 a year salary and some of us where there with $700 cameras!!!!!!!!!! This makes me feel really uncomfortable.
Another thing that really shocked me about this experience was when I asked one girl how old she is, she didn't know. Imagine.. when I was their age I was getting scrapes on my knees and playing outside and going to birthday parties and these girls don't know how old they are, some of them.
The nuns that run the orphanage and some of the older girls prepared us a HUGE meal, unexpectedly, which probably took a lot of food away from them. None of us were hungry after a big breakfast but I managed to finish mine. Someone asked our director if she had to finish and she said no because here at the orphanage they would never let food go to waste. Someone was going to be eating out leftovers. I felt incredibly undeserving.
Before we left they sang us a beautiful song (they sounded so good) and played instruments. The girls were all sooooo sweet and thankful and sad to see us go. The one nun thanked us and began to cry.. when she did so did many of the girls. It was really touching to see how much a group of strangers visiting them could mean to them.. and so amazing to see how appreciative they were.
And then we didn't talk about it again.
This kind of bothered me...
After the orphanage we ran through a tour of an organic farm, too tightly scheduled and spent 3 hours driving back to the city never really getting the chance to walk around and SEE Cuzco on the only night we could. This was disappointing... because we were in Cuzco without ever getting to see it.. but I'm over it by just accepting that the day in the orphanage is one I will keep close to my heart.
Saturday... Alpaca farm and Sacred Valley!!! The Alpaca farm was awesome... we got to feed them, hug them and play around with them. Then we got to see how they make the yarns and how they use natural dyes and how they weave all of their products. This may have been one of the hightlights of my trip. It was really interesting and awesome. AND I GOT TO HUG A LLAMA! :):)
After that we rushed through some more sights on our gringo filled tour bus making stops to take pictures at popular spots that we didn't learn enough about. We took a train to Aguas Calientes, the town by machu picchu to go there the next day.
SUNDAYYYYYYYYYYYY :) got to the hotel around 11pm. woke up at 330am. in line for a bus to Machu Picchu by 4am.. thats because if you want to hike the big mountain, Huaynu Picchu, you have to arrive early because only 400 people are able to enter every day. MACHU PICCHU WAS AMAZINGGGGGG. One of the world wonders, and there I was! I even got to nap on one of the terraces and walk around the ruins. We all did the hike to the big mountain, which is the one in the postcard pictures and photographs you see of it. The hike was STRAIGHT UP but not as hard as I was expecting, which makes me think all of my running has been paying off. The top was amazinnngggggggggg.
I LOVED MACHU PICCHU. everyone who has the chance to go, should. IT IS WONDERFUL!!!!! I don't know what else to say.
Lunch that day was great after such an exhausting hike, the town was adorable and the markets were great!
Today = back to Lima.. I realize more and more everytime I have to come home from an excursion how much I don't like Lima. I like my district but in general, Lima is definitely one of my least favorite cities ever. I try to find little things and history to appreciate about it, and I do, but the taxi drivers, combis, grey skies and dirty streets and completely CHAOTIC city make me disssslikkeeee it.
Over all, Cuzco was cool. or maybe I should say the surrounding areas. Lesson learned = I am not a fan of tightly scheduled group outings and I value sleep.
But I'm not complaining, just stating how I feel.
pictures will be up soon.
(back to classssssssssssssssssssssss....)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
forgot to mention...
went to the movies yesterday to see "Distancia del Amor" (idno the English title) with drew barrymore.. in english w spanish subtitles.
ANYWAYS
paid S./13.5 which is like $4 for ticket popcorn and pop!!!!!!!!! WHATWHAT.
ANYWAYS
paid S./13.5 which is like $4 for ticket popcorn and pop!!!!!!!!! WHATWHAT.
LIMA :( CUZCO :)
recent thoughts:
1. i'm still loving my fair trade project and wish I had more time to dedicate to it. anyways, next interview is with the director of the CECOVASA cooperative.. very excited. my tutor, David, told me he has to make a trip to Puno or northern Perú sometime soon and that I should and probably can come with him to get a real glance into where the fair trade money goes and how it helps, etc. and the coffee process.. this could be an AWESOME experience :)
2. i still HATE (strong word) Peruvian Social Reality. of course the prof would tack on an analytical essay for our trip to Cuzco... BLAH, kind of sick of learning about Peru.... that's not a good thing, right? its just too much history and politics beyond my interest.
3. TRAFFIC IN LIMA IS THE WORST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Took me almost 2 hours to get home today. worst. day. ever. LITERALLY. since ive been here.
4. going to cuzco tomorrow... REALLY excited but not as much as I should be because this is a group venture and I get really frustrated with group outings and constant tours and be here at this time and there at this time and we are doing this all together, etc. it's exhausting. BUT MACCHU PICHU WILL BE AMAZING :)
5. peruvians LOVE to jip people in line.
6. NONE OF THE 3 PRINTERS ON CAMPUS WERE WORKING TODAY. this is a university.. come on.
i sound really pessimistic in this post.. but EVERYTHING IN PERU IS SUCH A PROCESS. and it's annoying. and i have a lottttt of work piling up.
blah.
Will update after Cuzco probably a lot more relaxed and at ease :)
1. i'm still loving my fair trade project and wish I had more time to dedicate to it. anyways, next interview is with the director of the CECOVASA cooperative.. very excited. my tutor, David, told me he has to make a trip to Puno or northern Perú sometime soon and that I should and probably can come with him to get a real glance into where the fair trade money goes and how it helps, etc. and the coffee process.. this could be an AWESOME experience :)
2. i still HATE (strong word) Peruvian Social Reality. of course the prof would tack on an analytical essay for our trip to Cuzco... BLAH, kind of sick of learning about Peru.... that's not a good thing, right? its just too much history and politics beyond my interest.
3. TRAFFIC IN LIMA IS THE WORST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Took me almost 2 hours to get home today. worst. day. ever. LITERALLY. since ive been here.
4. going to cuzco tomorrow... REALLY excited but not as much as I should be because this is a group venture and I get really frustrated with group outings and constant tours and be here at this time and there at this time and we are doing this all together, etc. it's exhausting. BUT MACCHU PICHU WILL BE AMAZING :)
5. peruvians LOVE to jip people in line.
6. NONE OF THE 3 PRINTERS ON CAMPUS WERE WORKING TODAY. this is a university.. come on.
i sound really pessimistic in this post.. but EVERYTHING IN PERU IS SUCH A PROCESS. and it's annoying. and i have a lottttt of work piling up.
blah.
Will update after Cuzco probably a lot more relaxed and at ease :)
Monday, September 20, 2010
"study" abroad
8 page paper for Amazonian Ethnography.. check.
read a s***ton of nonsense for Peruvian Social Reality.. check.
survive 5 hours in a row of lecture on a monday night.. check.
this is the aspect of study abroad i don't like. i miss Fox.
good thing i have Cuzco to look forward to, leaving this Thursday.
:)
read a s***ton of nonsense for Peruvian Social Reality.. check.
survive 5 hours in a row of lecture on a monday night.. check.
this is the aspect of study abroad i don't like. i miss Fox.
good thing i have Cuzco to look forward to, leaving this Thursday.
:)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
lesson learned: never celebrate a "birthday" in a mexican restaurant.
Favorite picture from last night.. Elise and I:
So a few of us gringos decided to go celebrate Mexican independence day last night in honor of our part-Mexican friend, Ixtla. The food and drinks were great.. but the best part was my idea to tell the waiter it was her birthday.
All of a sudden, the lights all go off and 2 of the waiters come out, move the tables and pull a chair up for her, carrying hard hats, tambourines, horns and shots. They sit her in the chair, we sing Feliz Cumpleaños.. then they force a shot down her, place the hard hat on her head, shake her ridiculously side to side, bang the tambourines on her head, honk the loud horn in her face and dip her back in her chair. repeat. On our part, this was the funniest thing I've witnessed in a lonnnggggg time. Needlesstosay, however, glad it wasn't me ;) But Ixtla, you're a trooper.
Thennn they came around and squirted drinks in our mouth, which was also pretty funny.
Overall, a veryyy entertaining evening :)
NOW I NEED TO WRITE THIS 6 PAGE PAPER ON MISSIONARIES IN ECUADOR IN THE 19TH CENTURY.... EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
So a few of us gringos decided to go celebrate Mexican independence day last night in honor of our part-Mexican friend, Ixtla. The food and drinks were great.. but the best part was my idea to tell the waiter it was her birthday.
All of a sudden, the lights all go off and 2 of the waiters come out, move the tables and pull a chair up for her, carrying hard hats, tambourines, horns and shots. They sit her in the chair, we sing Feliz Cumpleaños.. then they force a shot down her, place the hard hat on her head, shake her ridiculously side to side, bang the tambourines on her head, honk the loud horn in her face and dip her back in her chair. repeat. On our part, this was the funniest thing I've witnessed in a lonnnggggg time. Needlesstosay, however, glad it wasn't me ;) But Ixtla, you're a trooper.
Thennn they came around and squirted drinks in our mouth, which was also pretty funny.
Overall, a veryyy entertaining evening :)
NOW I NEED TO WRITE THIS 6 PAGE PAPER ON MISSIONARIES IN ECUADOR IN THE 19TH CENTURY.... EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
beautiful life
I've had a great 2 days since my last post.
Yesterday I went for a great run along the coast, relaxed and stretched at Parque del Amor, and ran back home. I think thats my favorite route. It's a good distance along the shore and the perfect place to look around and relaxxxxx. The walls of the park are murals of colored tiles and quotes about love and friendship. It's really beautiful.
Today I was on campus for one class, took a short nap and did work for RSP (worst class ever.. in my opinion) and went to see Cirque de Soliel: Quidam with my host mom and grandma!!! IT WAS AMAZING. I can't even try to put it into words beyond saying it's the most beautiful, amazing, indescribable thing I've ever witnessed in my life. What a blessing that I had the chance to see it! I'd wanted to for years. We went with my host mom's great friend and her kids.. when we got there we realized we had better seats than we'd payed for.. that's because my host mom's friend who collected the money to buy the tickets ended up buying everyone a better seat so we could all sit together closer to the front.. it was sooooooo amazing. I had a GREAT night!
Busy weekend ahead of me.. a 6 page paper on missionaries in Ecuador in the 19th century.. hmmm.... and more work for my project which is interesting to me.. and hopefully this weekend I'll be celebrating Mexican independence day with mexican food and coronassss with some people in my program and getting a mani/pedi for S./25 (25 Soles).. which is like $8 for both... TOTAL. I could get used to the cost of living here..
Hope everyone at home is enjoying fall.. I'm missing pumpkin flavors, hoodie season and colorful leaves. But hey, at least the sun is coming out more here :)
Yesterday I went for a great run along the coast, relaxed and stretched at Parque del Amor, and ran back home. I think thats my favorite route. It's a good distance along the shore and the perfect place to look around and relaxxxxx. The walls of the park are murals of colored tiles and quotes about love and friendship. It's really beautiful.
Today I was on campus for one class, took a short nap and did work for RSP (worst class ever.. in my opinion) and went to see Cirque de Soliel: Quidam with my host mom and grandma!!! IT WAS AMAZING. I can't even try to put it into words beyond saying it's the most beautiful, amazing, indescribable thing I've ever witnessed in my life. What a blessing that I had the chance to see it! I'd wanted to for years. We went with my host mom's great friend and her kids.. when we got there we realized we had better seats than we'd payed for.. that's because my host mom's friend who collected the money to buy the tickets ended up buying everyone a better seat so we could all sit together closer to the front.. it was sooooooo amazing. I had a GREAT night!
Busy weekend ahead of me.. a 6 page paper on missionaries in Ecuador in the 19th century.. hmmm.... and more work for my project which is interesting to me.. and hopefully this weekend I'll be celebrating Mexican independence day with mexican food and coronassss with some people in my program and getting a mani/pedi for S./25 (25 Soles).. which is like $8 for both... TOTAL. I could get used to the cost of living here..
Hope everyone at home is enjoying fall.. I'm missing pumpkin flavors, hoodie season and colorful leaves. But hey, at least the sun is coming out more here :)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
yesterday was definitely a low point this semester.. spending all day on campus when my mind was in a different place.
i received an email from Temple faculty sent out to the business school. A friend of mine, Kevin Coffey, was killed over the weekend.
I remember the way we became friends.. he sat right in front of me in Human Resources. in One of the first days of class we both showed up wearing the same shirt, the NCAA Collegiate Rowing one with all the oars covering it. Conversation starter, we had rowing in common, we'd both done it. This led to him becoming one of my better friends in that class and a few of my other classes.. aside from rowing, we had the same major, international business, and the same passion to travel and explore. We worked in the same group for HR and used to make jokes about it all the time. We'd get together to rehearse our Disney War skits... It was a dating show skit.. I was ¨Beauty¨and he was the ¨Prince¨in the skit.. the one I´d go for. It was funny to rehearsal and make more fun out of the class than it actually was together. Then one day, I decided to go to the UN with International Business Association. I told Kevin about it, thinking it would be something he'd love to do, and so he joined and came with me! I was glad to have a friend to go with.. So we spent the bus ride to NYC getting to know eachother better and the day walking around the UN and then NYC together.. we left the rest of the group to tour on our own and stop for soft pretzels and new york pizza :) We definitely had a great trip together and good times in our classes. I never heard Kevin complain, really. That's something that amazes me.. how inspiring and positive of a person he was. Because we had the same major we'd shared stories and dreams about the things we wanted to do. He was so intelligent and I remember specifically noticing how much I wanted to try to be more like him, he was always eager to know what was going on in the world and what he could see or do next. Lol, I remember the blue button up shirt he used to always wear too! All the time. So receiving the news about him was definitely a little shocking. I sat through 5 hours of tedious classes last night fidgety and antsy because I wanted to get home to communicate with people and find out more about the news story.. He'd been travelling from Philly to Toronto, apparently just to check out a new city.. the driver of the double decker bus drove off route and through a bridge overpass that was 2 feet shorter than the bus.. Kevin was sitting on the upper level.. he was one of the 4 killed in the accident. Thinking of how such a bizarre accident, wrong place at the wrong time, and the irresponsibility of the driver could all come together for this to happen is hard to think about. Kevin came to Temple from campus because he loved the IB program and the adventure of a new city, and he was definitely an inspiration.
If this has made me think about anything, it's how I'd like to focus on thinking positively and trying to minimize my complaints. I've got so much going for me, life, family, happiness and health.. I never remember him complaining even when the rest of our group and I would wine about how silly we thought the professor/class was. But Kevin was the one to keep us going, always staying positive.. So I'll let this be my inspiration.. and hopefully I can try to be a more positive person and a positive influence to others..
Kevin was really going to be someone amazing, that's something I would have said even before this accident happened. My heart goes out to his friends and family from Kansas to Philadelphia.. he'll definitely be missed.
http://temple-news.com/2010/09/13/in-memory-friends-mourn-passings-kevin-coffey/
http://cbs3.com/local/Temple.Student.Kevin.2.1909254.html
i received an email from Temple faculty sent out to the business school. A friend of mine, Kevin Coffey, was killed over the weekend.
I remember the way we became friends.. he sat right in front of me in Human Resources. in One of the first days of class we both showed up wearing the same shirt, the NCAA Collegiate Rowing one with all the oars covering it. Conversation starter, we had rowing in common, we'd both done it. This led to him becoming one of my better friends in that class and a few of my other classes.. aside from rowing, we had the same major, international business, and the same passion to travel and explore. We worked in the same group for HR and used to make jokes about it all the time. We'd get together to rehearse our Disney War skits... It was a dating show skit.. I was ¨Beauty¨and he was the ¨Prince¨in the skit.. the one I´d go for. It was funny to rehearsal and make more fun out of the class than it actually was together. Then one day, I decided to go to the UN with International Business Association. I told Kevin about it, thinking it would be something he'd love to do, and so he joined and came with me! I was glad to have a friend to go with.. So we spent the bus ride to NYC getting to know eachother better and the day walking around the UN and then NYC together.. we left the rest of the group to tour on our own and stop for soft pretzels and new york pizza :) We definitely had a great trip together and good times in our classes. I never heard Kevin complain, really. That's something that amazes me.. how inspiring and positive of a person he was. Because we had the same major we'd shared stories and dreams about the things we wanted to do. He was so intelligent and I remember specifically noticing how much I wanted to try to be more like him, he was always eager to know what was going on in the world and what he could see or do next. Lol, I remember the blue button up shirt he used to always wear too! All the time. So receiving the news about him was definitely a little shocking. I sat through 5 hours of tedious classes last night fidgety and antsy because I wanted to get home to communicate with people and find out more about the news story.. He'd been travelling from Philly to Toronto, apparently just to check out a new city.. the driver of the double decker bus drove off route and through a bridge overpass that was 2 feet shorter than the bus.. Kevin was sitting on the upper level.. he was one of the 4 killed in the accident. Thinking of how such a bizarre accident, wrong place at the wrong time, and the irresponsibility of the driver could all come together for this to happen is hard to think about. Kevin came to Temple from campus because he loved the IB program and the adventure of a new city, and he was definitely an inspiration.
If this has made me think about anything, it's how I'd like to focus on thinking positively and trying to minimize my complaints. I've got so much going for me, life, family, happiness and health.. I never remember him complaining even when the rest of our group and I would wine about how silly we thought the professor/class was. But Kevin was the one to keep us going, always staying positive.. So I'll let this be my inspiration.. and hopefully I can try to be a more positive person and a positive influence to others..
Kevin was really going to be someone amazing, that's something I would have said even before this accident happened. My heart goes out to his friends and family from Kansas to Philadelphia.. he'll definitely be missed.
http://temple-news.com/2010/09/13/in-memory-friends-mourn-passings-kevin-coffey/
http://cbs3.com/local/Temple.Student.Kevin.2.1909254.html
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Spanish Scrabble, more ancient ruins and Interview with a Peruvian Coffee Grower
relaxing & enjoyable weekend.. Thursday night I met some friends at La Maquina, our favorite bar/café for some hot wine and hours of scrabble :) fun times. Friday we all met at the IFSA office to discuss the trip to Cuzco, which is coming up in less than 2 weeks and I am thrilled!!! I've heard nothing but the best about this city.. and I cannot wait to witness Machu Picchu. I need to go shop for my girls in Cuzco, this is a day trip I'm really looking forward to, too.
Saturday we went to Pachacamac, ruins about an hour from where I live. It was neat to see, but I thought Huaca Pucllana was a bit more interesting.. maybe just because I was exhausted. Aside from Machu Picchu, I think by the end of my stay here I'll be done with ruins. They're amazing, yeah, but it's just like Catholic Churches in Europe, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. At least that's my feelings about them so far.
Today I had my first interview for my independent study with fair trade coffee in Perú. The farmer that I interviewed this morning is named Wilson Sucaticona and this year he won "People's Choice Award" for his coffee in the United States.. He's also veryyy well known in Perú for his coffee and was just at the biggest gastronomical fair in Peru yesterday promoting his coffee, doing interviews with newspapers and magazines here in Peru and he even got to meet Gastón Acurio (famous peruvian chef) and this morning he sat down to talk to me! It was really interesting.. last night I bought a voice recorder and I was glad about that today because it was a bit difficult to understand everything in spanish and take interview notes at the same time, especially because Spanish is the 2nd language for both of us.
Here is a picture of me with Wilson and his family:
todayyy for the rest of the day I'm going for another long run along the coast and hopefully getting a lot of letter writing and homework done.
besitos.
Saturday we went to Pachacamac, ruins about an hour from where I live. It was neat to see, but I thought Huaca Pucllana was a bit more interesting.. maybe just because I was exhausted. Aside from Machu Picchu, I think by the end of my stay here I'll be done with ruins. They're amazing, yeah, but it's just like Catholic Churches in Europe, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. At least that's my feelings about them so far.
Today I had my first interview for my independent study with fair trade coffee in Perú. The farmer that I interviewed this morning is named Wilson Sucaticona and this year he won "People's Choice Award" for his coffee in the United States.. He's also veryyy well known in Perú for his coffee and was just at the biggest gastronomical fair in Peru yesterday promoting his coffee, doing interviews with newspapers and magazines here in Peru and he even got to meet Gastón Acurio (famous peruvian chef) and this morning he sat down to talk to me! It was really interesting.. last night I bought a voice recorder and I was glad about that today because it was a bit difficult to understand everything in spanish and take interview notes at the same time, especially because Spanish is the 2nd language for both of us.
Here is a picture of me with Wilson and his family:
todayyy for the rest of the day I'm going for another long run along the coast and hopefully getting a lot of letter writing and homework done.
besitos.
Friday, September 10, 2010
so i dont know who has been keeping up with my blog, but remember my last story about how i asked for someone hot on my sandwich? (2 posts ago i think).. welllllll, turns out when you say caliente, hot, referring to a person.. that actually means someone horny. So I was asking for someone horny... EPIC FAIL.
wednesday night I was sitting at my desk at home studying for a test the next day and my grandmother comes in with a fresh apple, hands it to me and says "una manzana bonita como ti".. a pretty apple like you! it's little things like this that make me appreciate living with a host family :) today i was skyping my parents and they met my grandma via skype.. she was so excited to tell my host mom that she met them, it was really neat. I remember skyping with selenia, fila and nora's families and now it's fun to be on the other side of things. then tonight i was hanging out with my grandma and she was teaching me spanish jokes, she's so great!
It's also cool living with a host family because I learn a lottt of random vocabulary, like magnifying glass and hunchback. loll.
this morning i went for another wonderful run along the coast :) and then pigged out on pizza with my IFSA group at our meeting to discuss travel plans to Cuzco!! I am so excited to see this part of the country, and Macchu Pichu. What a blessing this semester is :)
Next week I have to write my first paper in spanish, 6 pages. I would've thought that was a lot a month ago, but now I feel a lot more confident to do it..
Also the other day I was at a coffee shop near my house and the waiter asked me if I was from chile?.. like I have a chilean accent or something? Idno what that was about.
It's starting to warm up here, especially during the day. Though evenings are still sooo chilly and humid! But, things are looking up! Birds are chirping more and Lima seems a lot more welcoming on a nice day.
Big hug from South America xxoo
wednesday night I was sitting at my desk at home studying for a test the next day and my grandmother comes in with a fresh apple, hands it to me and says "una manzana bonita como ti".. a pretty apple like you! it's little things like this that make me appreciate living with a host family :) today i was skyping my parents and they met my grandma via skype.. she was so excited to tell my host mom that she met them, it was really neat. I remember skyping with selenia, fila and nora's families and now it's fun to be on the other side of things. then tonight i was hanging out with my grandma and she was teaching me spanish jokes, she's so great!
It's also cool living with a host family because I learn a lottt of random vocabulary, like magnifying glass and hunchback. loll.
this morning i went for another wonderful run along the coast :) and then pigged out on pizza with my IFSA group at our meeting to discuss travel plans to Cuzco!! I am so excited to see this part of the country, and Macchu Pichu. What a blessing this semester is :)
Next week I have to write my first paper in spanish, 6 pages. I would've thought that was a lot a month ago, but now I feel a lot more confident to do it..
Also the other day I was at a coffee shop near my house and the waiter asked me if I was from chile?.. like I have a chilean accent or something? Idno what that was about.
It's starting to warm up here, especially during the day. Though evenings are still sooo chilly and humid! But, things are looking up! Birds are chirping more and Lima seems a lot more welcoming on a nice day.
Big hug from South America xxoo
Sunday, September 5, 2010
by the way...
I forgot to include a few noteworthy things in my last post.
1. we're going to cuzco near the end of September for 4 days.. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS, though I really wish we had more time to spend there already, there's so much I want to do there. One of the things we are doing is visiting an orphanage where the children live and learn and don't leave. I imagine it will be rewarding to meet them and I imagine they will enjoy our visit, considering we are so foreign to them never leaving the village. anyways, we have the opportunity to "adopt" children.. which means bringing them supplies like shoes, toys, hygenic items and warm clothes, because it is cold there. I have decided to adopt two sisters, and I feel so priveledged to have the opportunity to meet these girls and feel like I can contribute something to make their life more comfortable and I think we'll probably learn more from them than they will from us, but the experience will be enriching. Here is a picture of my girls, the Maria sisters on the top.
2. Friday morning grammar classes have started.. I think they're going to help me improve a lot and the teacher is a volunteer. She's so lively and sweet, I think it'll be a good semester with her.
1. we're going to cuzco near the end of September for 4 days.. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS, though I really wish we had more time to spend there already, there's so much I want to do there. One of the things we are doing is visiting an orphanage where the children live and learn and don't leave. I imagine it will be rewarding to meet them and I imagine they will enjoy our visit, considering we are so foreign to them never leaving the village. anyways, we have the opportunity to "adopt" children.. which means bringing them supplies like shoes, toys, hygenic items and warm clothes, because it is cold there. I have decided to adopt two sisters, and I feel so priveledged to have the opportunity to meet these girls and feel like I can contribute something to make their life more comfortable and I think we'll probably learn more from them than they will from us, but the experience will be enriching. Here is a picture of my girls, the Maria sisters on the top.
2. Friday morning grammar classes have started.. I think they're going to help me improve a lot and the teacher is a volunteer. She's so lively and sweet, I think it'll be a good semester with her.
a lot on my mind
I've had a lot on my mind this week and am feeling kind of overwhelmed with excitement and thankfulness :) all good things. I'm really starting to understand how much living abroad is going to change me, affect me and help me when I come home, and in future years.
I've been keeping really busy lately, and I like it. I had classes all week and welcomed the weekend thursday night by heading out to Sargento Pimienta for live music with Jessa, Molly and Ixtla, three other awesome girls in my IFSA group. First we stopped for sandwiches (they seemed similar to the ones we found in Parque Kennedy, which were the best sandwiches I have EVER eaten, other than labriola's maybe) and I have a funnyyyyyy spanish story about this. (Because there are moments, here in Perú, where I have brain farts and my Spanish fails me miserably). So, I ordered my sandwich and I'm waiting and the guy asks me which kind of sauce I wanted.. I don't know why but I responded, "alguien caliente," which means "someone hot".. I meant to say "algo picante," something spicy. All the workers started to laugh histarically and then another younger waiter walks out and they pointed to him and I, suggesting I want him, someone hot.. it was reallyyyy hilarious, I laughed at myself. Then I found 5 soles.
Continuing on, Sargento Pimienta has live music on Thursday nights.. which is why we went. We ended up waiting 2 hours longer for the band to start than it had been advertised. I'm starting to realize that Peruvian time means show up an hour and a half later than someone tells you to. It was still fun, and it was a cover band that covered hits from 2000, so they played a lot of american music.. well, all american music.
So then yesterday IFSA had an excursion to Huaca Pucllana, which is an archaeological (sp?) site in my town here in Lima, Miraflores. I thought the tour was surprisingly really interesting because our guide was really great and I understood practically everything. Huaca Pucllana are pre-incan ruins from a pyramid where a lot of religious activity took place, aka dancing and drinking chicha. Our guide taught us a lot about their burial procedures and how to enter the people would have to sacrifice something that meant they were giving away something dear to them, and often families would sacrifice their children and grandchildren.. this was normal. Walking through the pyramid ruins we got to see 3 stages of excavation, the recovered pyramid walls, the uncovered remains and the remaining sites to excavate. The people who has built this pyramid built the bricks upward vertically, and are the only people in history known to have done this, without anything in between them side to side. This style of construction is what allowed these ruins to stand hundreds of years through several seismic movements and weather conditions. It was an interesting tour...
The rest of the day I just went to Starbucks with Jessa to do some homework. Yeah, yeah yeah why am I in Starbucks in Lima?... Anyways, while we were sitting and studying one little boy kept passing us and begging for money. So did a mother and her baby. In a crowded city environment where I have been consistently warned about guarding my money and my valuables, I denied them any spare change and continued to ifnore the little boy, who was rather persistent. I didn't know what to do in this situation, I mean there was a glass wall seperating us anyways. If I give one person money and someone else sees, I can't deny the other person. Jessa and I were talking about how selfish we feel but how we also feel we've been preached to ignore the beggars here. But there I was, drinking Starbucks tea with my name brand backpack and all of my belongings and I couldn't even spare one coin... Imagine how selfish I seemed to that boy. I'm sure he needed money, I notice a lot more poverty here than in my experience in the States, or maybe just a different kind of poverty. And sometimes we gringos just walk around with out big frame backpacks and sports gear and luxeries and we still complain about what we don't have.. this is kind of heartbreaking to me. Another example of poverty among youth I noticed was the other day when I was riding a combi and a girl who looked like she couldn't have been older than 10 is walking around with a rag trying to clean windshields for tips. People continuously deny her, and she is 10, roaming really dangerous and traffic filled streets cleaning windshields alone, without a jacket on in winter here.. this is the kind of poverty that exists here in Lima. I know I can't make that big of a change, but it's just heartbreaking to imagine how these children view the world at such a young age, in contrast to how I grew up. I have a lot to be thankful for everyday, and I need to remember that and find little ways every day to give back. Later last night I ended up going out with a group of Peruvians, who I noticed tipped children who begged, and so now maybe I'm starting to understand that it's good to give to them, they need it. They're either begging because they don't have someone to support them or their parents and families are that desperate. I can afford to help a little bit, right? It's just really alarming to me the condition of living for sooooo many people in this city (I could go on...) and a little incomfortable to consistently be viewed as the gringa, la americana, with so much money and things and valuables.
Perú makes me understand how blessed I am to be from Middle Class America. I complain about the zillions of dollars of loans I'm collecting, but so many people in this world would give up anything and everything to do what just comes to me in life. Why me? This is the biggest struggle..
Anyways, the rest of yesterday was great. I met with my tutor for the independent project I am doing here for one of my classes and I couldn't be more excited about starting this project! My tutor is the owner of a really awesome and popular café here in lima, La Arabica, who has a lottt of experience and contacts to help me work through this project. He taught me a lot and explained a lot about what he does and how the fair trade process goes. I think my focus in this project is going to be to study the process of fair trade coffee, from the ground to international exports, and find out where the money goes and what being certified fair trade really means. one of the contacts that my tutor, David, was telling me about was a woman who works with transfering exports to USA.. this seems incredible to me and I really hope I am able to talk with her because I really feel like I can learn a lot that is relevant to my major and my degree at Temple. and I feel like I could return with a good story for interview purposes... :) and a lot more understanding on how to conduct independent research. My first step in this project starts next week.. I am preparing an interview to meet with a man named Wilson, who is the man who grows the coffee that La Arabica sells. His first language is Aymara, and his second is Spanish, just like me. I think this is an AWESOME opportunity!
Finally, last night... I've typed to much but here's the story in a nutshell. I went out with Jessa and her host sister and friends. For the first time yet, I have realized that there are some beautiful men here in Perú :) Anyways, we went to her apartment and everyone was sooo friendly and welcoming and nice and it was a lot of fun to go out with Peruvians and be able to speak with them and keep up and just have a good time.. which we did. we went to two clubs (private, so that was cool). I danced alllllllll night, laughed and sang a lot, was given a rose and a ride home and asked to see a movie with someone and get lunch with someone else. These could be fun ideas to make better friendships here, or even just hang out a few times. I came home at 5:30am, which is a record for me and my legs are sore today! Ay, but the night was really amazing.
Today is a day of resttttt, running and homework.
I couldn't be happier..
I've been keeping really busy lately, and I like it. I had classes all week and welcomed the weekend thursday night by heading out to Sargento Pimienta for live music with Jessa, Molly and Ixtla, three other awesome girls in my IFSA group. First we stopped for sandwiches (they seemed similar to the ones we found in Parque Kennedy, which were the best sandwiches I have EVER eaten, other than labriola's maybe) and I have a funnyyyyyy spanish story about this. (Because there are moments, here in Perú, where I have brain farts and my Spanish fails me miserably). So, I ordered my sandwich and I'm waiting and the guy asks me which kind of sauce I wanted.. I don't know why but I responded, "alguien caliente," which means "someone hot".. I meant to say "algo picante," something spicy. All the workers started to laugh histarically and then another younger waiter walks out and they pointed to him and I, suggesting I want him, someone hot.. it was reallyyyy hilarious, I laughed at myself. Then I found 5 soles.
Continuing on, Sargento Pimienta has live music on Thursday nights.. which is why we went. We ended up waiting 2 hours longer for the band to start than it had been advertised. I'm starting to realize that Peruvian time means show up an hour and a half later than someone tells you to. It was still fun, and it was a cover band that covered hits from 2000, so they played a lot of american music.. well, all american music.
So then yesterday IFSA had an excursion to Huaca Pucllana, which is an archaeological (sp?) site in my town here in Lima, Miraflores. I thought the tour was surprisingly really interesting because our guide was really great and I understood practically everything. Huaca Pucllana are pre-incan ruins from a pyramid where a lot of religious activity took place, aka dancing and drinking chicha. Our guide taught us a lot about their burial procedures and how to enter the people would have to sacrifice something that meant they were giving away something dear to them, and often families would sacrifice their children and grandchildren.. this was normal. Walking through the pyramid ruins we got to see 3 stages of excavation, the recovered pyramid walls, the uncovered remains and the remaining sites to excavate. The people who has built this pyramid built the bricks upward vertically, and are the only people in history known to have done this, without anything in between them side to side. This style of construction is what allowed these ruins to stand hundreds of years through several seismic movements and weather conditions. It was an interesting tour...
The rest of the day I just went to Starbucks with Jessa to do some homework. Yeah, yeah yeah why am I in Starbucks in Lima?... Anyways, while we were sitting and studying one little boy kept passing us and begging for money. So did a mother and her baby. In a crowded city environment where I have been consistently warned about guarding my money and my valuables, I denied them any spare change and continued to ifnore the little boy, who was rather persistent. I didn't know what to do in this situation, I mean there was a glass wall seperating us anyways. If I give one person money and someone else sees, I can't deny the other person. Jessa and I were talking about how selfish we feel but how we also feel we've been preached to ignore the beggars here. But there I was, drinking Starbucks tea with my name brand backpack and all of my belongings and I couldn't even spare one coin... Imagine how selfish I seemed to that boy. I'm sure he needed money, I notice a lot more poverty here than in my experience in the States, or maybe just a different kind of poverty. And sometimes we gringos just walk around with out big frame backpacks and sports gear and luxeries and we still complain about what we don't have.. this is kind of heartbreaking to me. Another example of poverty among youth I noticed was the other day when I was riding a combi and a girl who looked like she couldn't have been older than 10 is walking around with a rag trying to clean windshields for tips. People continuously deny her, and she is 10, roaming really dangerous and traffic filled streets cleaning windshields alone, without a jacket on in winter here.. this is the kind of poverty that exists here in Lima. I know I can't make that big of a change, but it's just heartbreaking to imagine how these children view the world at such a young age, in contrast to how I grew up. I have a lot to be thankful for everyday, and I need to remember that and find little ways every day to give back. Later last night I ended up going out with a group of Peruvians, who I noticed tipped children who begged, and so now maybe I'm starting to understand that it's good to give to them, they need it. They're either begging because they don't have someone to support them or their parents and families are that desperate. I can afford to help a little bit, right? It's just really alarming to me the condition of living for sooooo many people in this city (I could go on...) and a little incomfortable to consistently be viewed as the gringa, la americana, with so much money and things and valuables.
Perú makes me understand how blessed I am to be from Middle Class America. I complain about the zillions of dollars of loans I'm collecting, but so many people in this world would give up anything and everything to do what just comes to me in life. Why me? This is the biggest struggle..
Anyways, the rest of yesterday was great. I met with my tutor for the independent project I am doing here for one of my classes and I couldn't be more excited about starting this project! My tutor is the owner of a really awesome and popular café here in lima, La Arabica, who has a lottt of experience and contacts to help me work through this project. He taught me a lot and explained a lot about what he does and how the fair trade process goes. I think my focus in this project is going to be to study the process of fair trade coffee, from the ground to international exports, and find out where the money goes and what being certified fair trade really means. one of the contacts that my tutor, David, was telling me about was a woman who works with transfering exports to USA.. this seems incredible to me and I really hope I am able to talk with her because I really feel like I can learn a lot that is relevant to my major and my degree at Temple. and I feel like I could return with a good story for interview purposes... :) and a lot more understanding on how to conduct independent research. My first step in this project starts next week.. I am preparing an interview to meet with a man named Wilson, who is the man who grows the coffee that La Arabica sells. His first language is Aymara, and his second is Spanish, just like me. I think this is an AWESOME opportunity!
Finally, last night... I've typed to much but here's the story in a nutshell. I went out with Jessa and her host sister and friends. For the first time yet, I have realized that there are some beautiful men here in Perú :) Anyways, we went to her apartment and everyone was sooo friendly and welcoming and nice and it was a lot of fun to go out with Peruvians and be able to speak with them and keep up and just have a good time.. which we did. we went to two clubs (private, so that was cool). I danced alllllllll night, laughed and sang a lot, was given a rose and a ride home and asked to see a movie with someone and get lunch with someone else. These could be fun ideas to make better friendships here, or even just hang out a few times. I came home at 5:30am, which is a record for me and my legs are sore today! Ay, but the night was really amazing.
Today is a day of resttttt, running and homework.
I couldn't be happier..
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Huaraz Mountain Retreat
Last weekend I was happy to leave Lima for the first time to venture out into Peruvian wilderness :) Something I'd been longing for because I'd heard there was sunshine and beautiful landscapes to see beyond this crazy city. I went with 6 other students from my group on a Thursday overnight bus. It was a greyhound equivalent but Peruvians are much shorter and smaller in general and so leg space wasn't very gracious and the people in front reclined their seats all the way back. Needless to say, it was a fun 8 hour ride, and cold! But when we arrived in the morning it was all worth it! There was sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!! I had felt deprived, so this was amazing. We went to the markets to buy food and call a cab from the little city surrounded by the Andes to an inn about a 40 minute drive up the mountains.
The inn was beautiful!!!! We stayed in a hostel type accomodation called the "cave bungalow" which was a room built into the side of a mountain cave. The beds were incredibly amazing with big warm down blankets so it was nice to sleep there since I miss my bed at home a lotttt. The views from the mountain were vast and beautiful! Mountain peaks forever, like a painting. Day 1 we rested on the hammocks all day and just hung out to become accustomed to the high altitudes. Day 2 we woke up early, enjoyed complimentary crepes and fruit salad and tea and headed off for a hike. We were advised to take it easy so we hiked through a nearby valley, which felt much more difficult than normal because of the altitude adjustment. But it was beautiful to walk through nature finally and we could drink the water in the valley streams and it was just so rejuvinating to be there :) Ixtla (friend in my program) and I rested on a big boulder for awhile. I ended up falling asleep, with our "guide dog" who had followed us from the inn cuddled next to me. The sunshine and the sound of the stream and a nice nap on a big rock.. perfect afternoon. Day 2 our big group split up into smaller groups to do different things. I went with Jessa and Peter to hike in another valley to Huarascarán National Park... It felt great to do so much hiking! My body was thanking me... We passed a few small villages with homes build of piled rocks and thatched roofs. The people who lived in them dressed traditionally and asked for sweets as an entrance fee to pass through. I thought that was funny. We stopped to eat and then rest at this beautiful spot along a stream where you could see snow peaks in the distance... it was another lovely afternoon!
By night we ate warm meals prepared by the chef at the inn, I decided to splurge on meals that cost 20 soles, or $7ish because after a long hike, it was well worth it. We also played a lot of scrabble and cards. What a fun and relaxing weekend! It definitely reenergized me to come back to Lima.
The 8 hour ride back to Lima was all day Monday because it was El Día de Santa Rosa in Lima, a holiday, and we didn't have classes. This bus ride was absolutely breathtaking!! and a little scary because I couldn't see the road, just the edge of a cliff with a hugggggeee fall if the bus made a wrong move. We zigzagged through the mountains for awhile, through a few different villages and beautiful streams and foresty areas and then we drove through desert land.. and eventually made it back to Lima where we were greeted by cold, humid weather, creepy taxi drivers and car horns. Home, sweet home.
Classes have been good this week so far.. We're talking a lot about the UN in my International Relations class so that's interesting and I've kind of been enjoying my readings for my Spanish class.. and understanding a lot more! I love Spanish :) :) so living here makes me happyyyyyy! And after skyping Greg and Sierra for 2.5 hours and talking to Greg in Spanish for maybe like 1/3 of the time I'm noticing major improvements... This is a good feeling considering it's only been a month. Already, it feels hard to transition back to english just to write in my blog.. in fact I am probably using horrible sentence structure.. ANYWAYS..
I should tell you all about the worst Combi experience EVER!!!!!!!! On my way home from La Catolica tonight.. I got on a Combi that was already too crowded, but I didn't want to wait longer. I stood for a good 20 minutes hunched over because I'm taller than a lot of Peruvians hence I don't fit in the combis so well, while trying to hold on to my backpack like it was my life, to avoid getting robbed in a crowded combi. This was incredibly uncomfortable, especially the way the drivers here zigzag through traffic and speed up just to stop just in time to avoid a major accident (I swear living here will make me a horrible driver). Anyways, a seat eventually opened up and I hopped to it in front of like 2 other men standing on the combi. I sat there as more people crowded on.. Soon enough I was crammed with my head against the class, 3 butts in my face and another man hunched over me coughing in my hair... THIS IS THE COMBI EXPERIENCE. for an hourrrrrr... welcome to my world. YOU ALL BETTER APPRECIATE SEPTA AND PITTSBURGH TRAFFIC, OR ELSE!!!!! I kind of wanted to cry a little bit and then I thought about how ridiculously awesome it is that I'm going to survive this experience and look back at it and laugh one day, so I embraced it.
I'm having so many "Oh, Perú" moments.
Anyways, today marks one month since I arrived. THAT TIME FLEW BY! I'm nearly 1/4 finished with my program.. sometimes I think a semester is too short. I love this experience, despite my horrible impression of Lima.. but then sometimes I think I still have 3.5 months ahead of me... and I miss Temple. But I know if I were there, I'd rather be here.. so again, I embrace it. I just miss all of my amazing friends in Philadelphia!!!!
I've received three letter so far (Thanks Kelly, Sierra & Stef!!!) I love getting mail so you should all feel free to send me letters!!! I will reply.. eventually. Ask me for my address :)
I've also done a lot of skyping.. which is kind of distracting because this is "study" abroad and I have a lot of work to do, too.. but I enjoy it :) So let me know when!
Plans for the rest of the week are..... Tomorrow morning: run along Pacific Coast to Parque del Amor. Lunch. La Maquina (my fav café here) and then class. Tomorrow night I'm going to Sargeanto Pimienta in Barranco for live music!! (If all goes according to plan) anddd Saturday I'm going to see some pre-incan ruins. You know, no big deal.
Perú is loco.
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