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

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

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

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


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

Hope you learned a lot!

El Perú es lo máximo pues...

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

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

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

finals & presentations galore.

Okay, so yesterday wasn't the greatest day. But I'm pretty excited about things going on this week. Today I have a lott of studying to do, and tomorrow because my International Relations final is tomorrow and I need to do really well. Tonight I'm giving a presentation about the research I did on fair trade coffee in Perú and I'm really liking how it's coming together, I'm proud of my work and so I'm excited.

Wednesday I'll finally be able to pick up the pumpkin puree my mom sent down here for me and this Sunday I am planning on preparing a big lunch for my family!! I'm excited to do something to feel like I'm giving back to them for all they've done for me in being a GREAT family and a great place to spend my semester.

Wish me luck on finals!! I'll need it, since I mostly lack motivation.

For all of you Spanish speakers.. here is a news clip about the cooperative/farmer I focused on for my paper... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=931kXbkZjEU&feature=related

Starting to make my to-do list before I leave Perú. It's mostly filled with finals and papers, but there are a few fun things.

I need to eat Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian restaurants) again before I leave.
I need to cook for my family and make them a pumpkin pie before I leave.
Souveniere (sp?) shopping for some people at home.
...Pack??

I'd like to do atleast one more day trip, sandboarding would be cool to do.

I'm realllyyyyyyyyy excited to come home. Although in the end I don't love Lima, I enjoy Perú and can't wait to see my next Latin American adventure/experience after understanding better everything I learned here once I come back home.

Today my mom is decorating the house for Christmas she said. All of this Christmas music & decorations make me more excited to get home! Maybe I wouldn't be as eager if I weren't coming home to Christmas :):)

¿¡Ya despedida!?

With only a little over two weeks left in our stay in Perú with IFSA, we had our first of 2 going away dinners last night. We went to a restaurant called Las Brisas de Titicaca. There we had delicious Peruvian food and were enertained by beautifullll costume and dance. They presented dances & music from all of the different regions in Perú, my favorite being the afroperuvian zapatillas and cajones (box drums typical in Perú). The dancers would perform one song and the next song would be for the audience to dance to on the dance floor. It was a lot of fun and I put my salsa lessons into practice!! It was great :) And a great event at the end of this experience.



The weirdest dance were a group of men who danced and did gymnastics while clanging 2 big pairs of scissors in one hand.. Los hermanos tijeras... the scissor brothers?! It was reallyyyyyy cool, nonetheless!

Feliz día de acción de gracias :)

I was a little nervous about Thanksgiving dinner in Perú, but it turned out to be amazing!! My profesor let me leave from class early to make it to dinner (almost in time) and everyone brought a dish to our feast. I prepared a salad with walnuts, roasted pears, blue cheese, baby greens & pear vinagarette... it was a definite hit. Our director ordered a turkey and apple pie and other people brought pumpkin pie (someone shipping puree), casseroles, vegetables and other desserts. Dinner was DELICIOUS! And I definitely stuffed my face.. it was a true American meal, and I am very THANKFUL to have been able to have such a wonderful dinner and celebrate even in Perú :) My favorite was Claire's sweet potatoes and nuts dish, yummm.



Tonight the IFSA group is going to have a "cena de despedida", a going away dinner. We are going to a nice place where they have traditional peruvian cuisin and folkloric dance shows to entertain you. I'm really excited!! I've been wanting to see a peruvian dance performance, it should be a lot of fun.

The rest of my weekend is full of studying and paper writing and presentation preparing as finals week is coming up starting Monday. But all this just means it's almost time to come home, and with all of the christmas hype here, I cannot wait to see my family & friends again and share everything I learned and be reacquainted with my favorite country.

Perú es lo máximo, pues.

Turkey day in Perú

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm sad to miss family, my favorite meal of the year, napping by the fire & football but yet I have a lotttt to be thankful for!!

While tomorrow will most likely consist of pounding out some work (hoping I don't get too distracted) and going to an extended class (joy), our program director has organized for us to have a pot luck thanksgiving dinner. It's a cool gesture but no turkey or meal will ever be as delicious as my dad's cooking. no lie. But I'm excited nonetheless, mostly just because I know I'll get to eat vegetables (something peruvians don't seem to value) and pumpkin pie! I'm preparing a pear & pecan salad with blue cheese and balsamic vinagarette (YUMMM!!!!).

Anyways.. today I ate for lunch potatoes, hard boiledd egg, rice, and some kind of puree. a plate of all WHITE unbalanced food. it's good food, but meals are soo unbalanced and soooo heavy I am so looking forward to being reacuainted with my own diet again.

I'm thankful for a lot everyday but I'll talk about it now for being Thanksgiving. I am thankful to have an awesome family who supports me being abroad and always inspire me to follow my own path and work hard. I'm thankful for a GREAT host family and a lot of love away from home. I am thankful that I've been able to travel to some really cool places while I've been here. I am thankful for all of the people and friends I've met while I've been here. I am thankful that I'm healthy enough to enjoy beautiful runs while I am abroad. I'm thankful to be coming home soon having gained a lotttttt. I'm thankful for everyone that helped me do this.

3 weeks and counting

first full day back from a mini vacation and i'd like to get on the next flight back to Máncora.. horrible day. it's official, someone robbed my camera (which also had money in the case.. cool). So now I either go camera-less for the rest of my time in South America or invest in a new one. :(

Then I go to class... to find out my group FAILED our group paper. I did a lot of work for it (researching and organizing information) but didn't write because I wasn't the native speaker... So I almost feel like the grade is out of my control. I NEED TO PASS THE FINAL, the hardest exam of the class, with like almost a perfect grade to PASS THE CLASS. this sucks. i'm used to being an honors student with all good grades and working my butt off.. and I worked my butt off to study for the tests in this class and failed 2 out of 3. I feel 100% discouraged and stupid and it sucks.

my program classes are stupid and i'm not thrilled with any of my classes/university aspect of studying abroad. I have a lot of work left to do, and I'll chug through it, unenthusiastically. The only thing that interests me is really my independent research paper on fair trade for one of my classes. The rest of it... blah.

I've learned wayyyy more outside of campus than I have in class.

I'm trying hard not to blame a bad day on Perú, but it's hard. After a rough day I have to take the damn combi home with limited personal space, no personal space and a woman coughing on me the whole ride and annoying cumbia music. I kinda wanted to cry.

It's bad days when I realize what I should appreciate more about my country. enough complaining, I need to start thinking positively!

I only have 3 weeks left to make the most of this experience. I'm going to enjoy my host family and the rest of the things I want to do and running along the beach as much as I can (despite school) in that time.

That being said, I cannot waittttt to come home to my family and house and food and dog.

sunshine, beach & coming to an end

I travelled north of Lima to a beach called Máncora near the border with Ecuador this weekend from Thursday to Monday. We stayed in a hostel with a lot of tourists and I made friends with peruvians, australians and canadians for the weekend. It was greattttt relaxing and partying at the hostel and walking along the beautiful beach! I reallyyyyy enjoyed this weekend.

This is the last week of classes minus one ridiculous class next Monday just because this prof is ridiculous, and it's a program course, blah.

But finals are around the corner and the weather is warming up and I don't wanna do much of anything related to school here. But I must chug through it..

I'll be home 3 weeks from today. I'm mostly excited but I know I'll be homesick from Perú after some time in the states, so I'm enjoying it while I can... doing a lot of last minute things!


I MISS MY FAMILY & FOOD THIS THANKSGIVING buttt I am thankful for a LOT!

An afro-peruvian weekend

Definitely one of my favorite weekends of the semester!!!!

Friday night was great because I went to a volleyball game between two Peru teams!! So much fun to be around volleyball again. Then I went to eat at a GREAT mediterranean food place, YUM, my favorite.. and it was not a let down.

Saturday my IFSA group went to Chincha.. a town about 3 hours from Lima known for it's afro-peruvian culture. Saturday morning we spent around the pool getting nice and toasted (literally). Then we had 3 workshops, two on afro-peruvian dancing and one on playing the cajón, a box drum instrument. It was awesome!



Saturday night we were told by one of our instructors that day about a dance celebration at someone's home in town. So we went and it was one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed. Parents promise their children will dance when they are born and once they do the children are obligated to practice this kind of afro/irish-step/folk dancing until they are 18, when they get to choose if they want to continue with it or not. the dancing we saw was beautiful because there was one man playing the fiddle and the rest were keeping the beat with their feet and dancing with bells and ribbons.. the men were allll ages, probably from 4 years old to 60 years old.. it was reallyy AWESOME to witness. one of my awe moments in Perú.. I loveddd our one dance teacher, I got to meet great new people, and I went for a run as the sun was setting in the countryside.. perfect.



Today we layed around all day again and ate a LOTTTT.. we tried typical foods of Chincha and my favorite was a spicy/peanuty/potatoe criollo soup thing called carapuca.. so delicious. and I ate a lottttt, too many, tejas (like turtle candies) and sublime chocolate bars.... BLAH.



p.s. I'll be back in the states one month from today!

slightly irrelevent to my study abroad experience but i'd like to talk about it anyways.

so I completed my first 10k and while to some, 6.2 miles seems like nothing, I remember when 2 used to be a struggle for me.. and considering I don't run long distances very often, rather short runs for boosts of energy and enlightenment, running that race felt like a great accomplishment. and after 4 miles of just going going going... i feel like I want to challenge myself more to become a better runner, a better athlete, a better body, better health, better condition all around.

so i've come up with a new dream, because i'm always dreaming of new things to do or try. how cool would it be and how great would it feel to be able to say i ran a full marathon in my early 20s? So this is my new dream. I've come to the conclusion I will need to take baby steps, as I am not a natural born runner. And I will need a lot of encouragement if I'm going to go through with this..

and here is where I will find my inspiration. I'd like to register for a full marathon in fall 2011.. PLENTY OF TRAINING TIME, NO?? I want to connect with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Pittsburgh about how to raise $$ and awareness about the illness and their foundation. I want to run this race in honor of Brennan, my older brother who passed away when I was 8 with Cystic Fibrosis. My thoughts right now are to find friends, family & organizations that would be willing to pledge a certain amount of support$$ to the CFF for every mile I run in training and on the big day. This could be something to keep me going, and strangely make me feel closer to my brother.

I am healthy and young.. what better time to attempt this?

if ANYONE has any experience in marathon training or raising $$ or awareness, please feel free to offer advice..

so i guess this is relevant to study abroad because my short runs and 10k have seeded this inspiration..

I don't know if I will actually commit, I want to think longer about this before I do.. but it is a thought.


Back to study abroad, it's been SUNNY AND BEAUTIFUL in Perú. And I've been sick with flu-ish symptoms the past 2 days. Rare for me to feel under the weather, but tomorrow is a new day and I've been resting a lot!

I just realized how crappy the pictures show up on my blog and I'm cut out of half of half of them!!! But they're all on facebook, of course.

Loving South America

I don't remember what my last post said but my weekend was GREAT! Friday night Molly & I went out with Luis and Oscar, two peruvian friends, to a really cool bar where they had all of the tragos (drinks) from the rainforest.. So they were really fruity and delicious- I had a lotttt of fun.

Saturday.. RACE DAY! Finally, I ran the We Run Lima 10k. It was my first 10k. Since I've been here, I've become a running adict... probably because I have gorgeous paths to run on and a lot more free time to work out than I do at home. Anyways I ran the 6.2 miles with ease and by the end of it I felt like I could have gone at least 2 more.. this makes me happy because I feel like I am becoming a better runner... I think my next goal will be the Pittsburgh half marathon (13.1 miles) or the Broad Street Run (10 miles). Anyways I ran the entire race with Kamila, my host-sister's best friend. I was so happpyyyy to have a running buddy to encourage eachother. It was a lot of fun! I also met a lot of new people and runners that night! It was soooo awesome to run in a crowd of 10,000 runners and listen to all the footsteps beating the pavement.. it was a weird kind of silence, and then they'd have afro-peruvian bands and brazilian music set up at everyother kilometer. so much fun!

Here I am with the other American girls I went with, including Anna the 2nd one, who is one of my best friends here...


Here I am with my host mom & sister and Kamila my running buddy.. I was so happy that my family came to watch and cheer us on!!



Julia finally put pictures up from our weekend trip to Lunahuaná.. Here we are white-water rafting!!!! Lovinnggg it.


Anddddd one more picture, because a few of my friends travelled to Puno this past weekend (which is were Wilson, the coffee farmer I am studying, lives... they found a news article about him), Here he is:



Sunday I went running in the morning because I had so much energy from the night before!! The rest of the day I got some work done and last night I went to see another movie in the European film festival with Luis.. This time it was a German movie.

This week is pretty full of getting work done!! Today I have to give a 30min presentation about chinese immigration to Perú.. (BOO). Kinda nervous. I have a lot of papers and assignments building up this week that I'd like to get through before I go to Chincha this weekend!!!

Hugs to everyone at home, I'll be home in a little over a month!

rambling thoughts

molly & I walked a new way to Barranco the other day.. BEAUTIFUL! flowers, blue ocean, sunshine.. weather is looking up and making everything a lot brighter :) loving itttt.

Salsa class is chévere :)

I booked a flight to Máncora, Perú.. a surf haven near the boarder to Ecuador. REALLY EXCITED for the beach!!!

This weekend.. well, a week from now, we're going to Chincha for an afro-peruvian weekend with the group!

Tonight is the 10k Nike race. We Run Lima. CAN'T WAIT :)

Last night I went to Barranco, really glad I'm finally making really great peruvian friends because it was such a good time :)

Today... gotta get a lot of work done before I run... This week needs to be more productive than last.


I love this country..

T minus 40 days.

so I have 40 days left until I come home.. and that time is going to fly!!! I basically have my entire November mapped out and I'm working on planning my final trip in December to Iquitos or Máncora.. leaning towards Máncora because it's cheaper, sunnier and an international hotspot for surfing competitions.. and it'll be summer here when I go.. perfect! Right by the northern border to Ecuador. maybe I'll try to go to Ecuador for a day??

Being here is amazing. I loveeeeeeee this semester. I love Perú, despite frustrating times, which are normal for any study abroader and this experience is only making my desire to work in Latin America grow!!! SO EXCITED ABOUT LIFE RIGHT NOW and all of the possibilities I have with Spanish and this experience :) I'm going to be reallyyyyy sad to say goodbye to South America. I've pretty much decided I'm going to set a long(ish) term goal to go to grad school in Miami.. perfecctttttt. University of Miami.. really excited because I love Temple and I know I'm going to enjoy the rest of my years in Philadelphia with a long term goal of moving south to be closer to the network of Latin American companies and a hub for foreign trade and service..

I've also decided I want to pick up another language.. French.. this opens doors to a few European countries, Quebec, Africa and some middle eastern and carribean countries..... YES. new goal!!

Anyways, Perú... It clicked how much I love some of the food here. and what I'm going to be missing once I get back to the states. This weekend my host mom and grandma bought lunch to bring home new foods from Perú for me to try.. Papa Rellena which is sort of like a baked potatoe with some seasoning on the outside and beef, eggs and olives on the inside. DELICIOUS! and another potatoe that I don't remember the name of, spicy and yellow. delicious. lots of papas in Perú! They also brought home a dessert for me to try called Turron de Doña Pepa. It's a dessert only made in October to celebrate Día de los Milagros which is on December 18th, a catholic holiday. The dessert is really dry and sweet with thick honey in the layers. It was delicious, but reallyyyyy sweet, so I couldn't eat too much at a time.


Other foods I'm going to miss are pan con pollo con papas y ahí.. which is a common chicken sandwhich with potato chips and pepper sauce.. i love the ahí here (the spicy sauce.. my dad would love it, too... souvenier?) I'm going to miss choclo con queso (big corn on the cob, not as sweet as what we have, with fresh cheese), yuca frita (friend yuca potatoes), maracuya (a type of tropical fruit) fresh fruit juice for breakfast every morning and alfajores de manjar blanco (which is a cakey cookie with caramel filling).. hellooooooo new christmas cookie. Maybe I'll attempt to bake some for christmas for my friends and family to try at home!!! I'm sure they'd be a hit, too.

SALSA DANCING IS GOING GREAT! I loveeee my salsa classes and my instructor is so much fun! I think I'm improving and right now I need to work on being able to follow a man's lead better without losing step. But this is new and I'm white, so I'm proud of my progress. We have a dinner at the end of November in a Peruvian restaurant where I guess we can dance too? Because our director mentioned something about trying out what we have learned. I want to bring my salsa back to Philly too and start scoping out salsa scenes. Latin dance is soooo beautiful, soo much fun and so sexy! We are starting salsa classes twice a week, yay!

As for school.. tough going from a long 5 day weekend to getting back into the work load. But this week(end) I am determined to get stuff done so it doesn't all pile up as all the fun things that I'm looking forward to come closer!!

I went for a 2 hour beach trek this morning before salsa, GREAT IDEA.. it was beautiful and I found new things to appreciate because I walked though places I'd never gone.. love Miraflores :)


ALSO I came home from class to a package from Josh!!!! Love mail, this made me smile big. Now I'm waiting on my pumpkin puree to arrive :) geeked!


Also, I loveeeee my host family. I am going to miss them so much. Today my grandma, zaira and I enjoyed a delicious lunch followed by fruit salad and caramel and wine, lovely. And we were laughing a lot at my grandma trying to speak English. She's the best :)



all is wellllll