Sunny and 75...everyday

So much has been happening that I'm not even sure where to start! The weather has been beautiful and hot, the sun is always out and strong.

Last friday we went on a hike with one of our Peruvian teachers, Rob, to Matucana which was awful and wonderful at the same time. The climb was such a struggle for most of us and there were so many set backs that made the day trip last at least 4 extra hours. The bus' breaks kept overheating while driving up so there were many stops along the drive, waiting for our tour guide, stopping every 5 minutes of the climb because we're so out of shape (speaking for myself here), and then cooking 15 burgers on a small little grill that fit 4 burgers at a time. Overall it was a great experience, the waterfall was neat but really cold. The trek down took a much shorter amount of time and we were all exhausted. The driving here is insane (bare with me, this will be a fluid thought, I promise): the lines on the roads are suggestions, if you need to turn left or right you just pull right out in front of oncoming cars to make them stop and wait for you to cross, honking is a consistent thing, and all the cars/trucks/busses are stick shift so the jerky ride never ceases. They also have no care of nudging the car in front of them, touch their back bumper with yours? Not a problem at all. Anyway, on our return to Lima from Matucana we saw accidents, people getting out of their cars to yell at other people in traffic, we saw a fire on the side of the road (no clue how/why), we also saw a huge Greyhound-like bus u-turn, making the traffic absolutely insane for everyone. Eventually after a long and brutal day of hiking and trying not to get car sick, some of us headed to El Polo Plaza for some milkshakes-the perfect way to end the day.

So much yum

Saturday a large portion of the group went to the Barranco district to try out the infamous El Burrito restaurant. Spoiler: it was everything we imagined and more. The tacos were some of the best tacos I've ever had, I finally got my chips and salsa fix (for those of you who don't know, it is my weakness and apparently people don't eat it here), and the margaritas were delicious (and that's saying something for someone who doesn't like to drink tequila)! After we ate our weight in tacos and giant burritos, we wandered around the beautiful district of Barranco and walked along the beach.
Here I made a friend. Her name was Luana and she was about 6 or 7 years old. She was very mean. She really liked me and portrayed our new friendship by filling my hands with broken shells and slimy seaweed she found. The rest of the girls in the group she was not so fond of, calling them ugly and refusing to give them shells. I am not sure what I did to deserve such a nasty little friend, but I made sure to tell her it was not nice to call people ugly and she eventually gave everyone else, except for one person (sorry Abby) at least one shell/seaweed. After rinsing our feet off we headed up to a restaurant on the beach for happy hour (in Peru, happy hour is at least 8 hours, if not the entire day) and enjoyed the sunset.

There was a lot of really cool street art

Great friends, great views, great drinks (I had water lol)

After wandering around a little more we found the amazing Gringo Bar!! This is where we spent the majority of our night out. Cheap drinks, a cool english/spanish-speaking bartender, american music, and taquitos made for the best night out so far!!


Sunday was my day of rest, finally. My host parents invited me to go to one of her sister's houses. This was a lost in translation moment on my part, because I assumed we would be going to the sister who is hosting my friend Emi. We end up driving out of town and I decide I now have no clue where I am going. We arrive at a birthday party of my host parent's niece. Everyone is really nice and the cake was delicious! Apparently, one of the sisters is moving to the USA next month and they were all asking me immigration questions- I know nothing about immigration. So with everyone talking over each other, someone across the room trying to ask me a question in spanish with so much extra stimuli going on, I really hope I did not share any incorrect information.

Classes have been going well, as well as spanish classes can go. Last night my host sister Thalia invited me to go to a pre-opening night party at a new club, since I don't have any classes on Friday I said why not! It was a lot of fun! Meeting her friends, they were all very nice and welcomed me and kept me included all night! Free drinks and new friends made for a great new experience!

Today we had lunch with some extended family and we had cheesy potatoes and pot roast. It tasted like home <3 (don't worry grandma, your cheesy potatoes will always win in my heart)

More interesting things:

• They eat weird. They cut the meat off of chicken legs. My family and I had tacos for dinner one night and I picked it up to take a bite, of course, my host dad gave me a weird look and I then noticed everyone was cutting them with a fork and knife. Lesson learned.
• Everyone in Peru is required to vote. Yes, even the indigenous folk up in the mountains. The bribing of these people who otherwise do not know or care for politics is how the country always gets bad leaders in power.
• Driving is crazy, as I already mentioned, but it is worth saying again for emphasis.
• Castellano, not Español. They don't call their language español here, they call it castellano in Latin America.
• My host dad just walked in my room and handed me some cheese he was eating. One of the most random moments ever haha, just thought it was something funny to share.
• LOMO SALTADO is the best. I will be learning to make it before I return
• Going off of the previous point, we found some food trucks in Jockey Plaza and one of them had sushi...sort of. Lomo saltado sushi= delicious and a great idea

• Lemonade is not lemonade, it is limeade. They do not have/know of lemons here, instead they call limes: limóns. This explains the odd color of the lemonade- it all makes sense now
• All fruit juices in bars and restaurants are fresh and tastes so much better than processed juice like in the US
• disclosure: I have not tried all fruit juices everywhere so I realize this is an assumption and exaggeration, do not hold me to my word. Thank you.
• Not peruvian but still interesting: every time I Skype with my mom she is convinced I am never returning. The verdict is still out on whether she is correct or not (but isn't the saying "mom's always right"?) ;) 

The Wonderful World of Peru

Wow! What a busy five days I've had so far! Adjusting to Peru took no time at all, it has been nothing but amazing so far!! Not getting to bed until 2am (local time, which is Eastern Standard Time btw) after flying all day was exhausting. My host family asked if I wanted a welcome drink but I was too exhausted. :( ...don't worry we enjoyed some champagne the next night!
My room is pretty tiny, but I've been into that whole Tiny House phase lately so I'm actually enjoying it! The window is right next to my bed and is about the entire length, so the breeze is really nice at night.

 

View from my window...at an angle, the straight view is of that gray wall

As you can see in the picture it was cloudy the first few days and the Peruvians just thought it was awful and cold (this is their summer right now), they complain about the "rain" and I'm pretty sure they meant the mist drops haha, this ain't no Nebraska rain! Oh, air conditioning is not a thing here. Everywhere just opens their windows and doors, so my window is open all the time (no screens in them either). Luckily there aren't too many bugs here so I haven't had too many problems yet. My host family is really great and I only have a 2 minute walk to the school, so I'm pretty lucky with my set up compared to some other girls who have to walk around 20 minutes. My host mom is Giselle (who thankfully speaks great English or I don't think I would be able to make it all semester), the dad is Jaime (who speaks no English but is a super nice guy and tries to be so helpful even though I don't understand everything he tells me), and there are 3 kids:Jaime Jr., Andres, and Thalia. Jaime Jr. and Thalia speak English really well so that is nice that I can talk to them or ask them for help with some translations. My family has 2 maids/cooks, yes TWO! It is so crazy to me, they sweep in my room 3 days a week and make lunch for us and do my laundry. The food is delicious, I will definitely enjoy that part. Another odd thing is lunch here is the main meal of the day, most of the family comes home and eats lunch together and then have a small meal or snack for dinner- that is something I'm still trying to get used to.

On Friday, we had orientation, which my host parents forgot about but don't worry because I remembered. The campus is so beautiful and it is gated and beautiful (did I already say that?) and I love it. There is a (man-made) river going through the campus, they have beanbag chairs to lounge around outside on the greens and a waterfall and it is just amazing.

Some pictures of campus

 I was under the impression, for some reason, that our teachers don't speak any English but luckily they both do so if we run into problems it won't be too difficult to fix (PHEW!). We have class 3 hours a day Mon-Thur and then are free from about 1pm Thursday until 4pm Monday, I would say that's a pretty great sounding weekend. After orientation a few of us went shopping at a local grocery store for some items and explored a little bit.

For dinner most of the group met up and got dinner at a bigger "shopping shop" (as my host brother Jaime calls them), Jockey Plaza, which was a lot of fun to go out as a group, a few of us went to another restaurant to try a drink called Machu Picchu. Don't do it. We all had to coax each other to choke it down, it looks great (in the picture), but it is deceiving. Orange Juice, Grenadine, Pisco, and Creme de Menthe do not mix well at all. But I really am enjoying Pisco so far: the drink of Peru!

Saturday, we explored the part of the city called Miraflores with Stephen and Barbara (our UNK sponsoring professors) which was a lot of fun. Irish pubs where I almost ordered 9 chickens, parks littered with stray cats, expensive coastal views, Lomo Saltado which is a traditional Peruvian dish and is traditionally delicious, and some random guys talking to us about our school, UPC, made for a pretty eventful day!

Lomo Saltado, and Marki, Emi and I just being our cool selves

At night a few of us went out to Pizza Street to get dinner and get our Disco-tech on! When you walk down the street there are people yelling at you to come in their restaurant or club by offering free Pisco Sours- it's great. The clubs are extremely hot and packed but they were fun until we had sweat more than any person should. Once we learn a little more of the music our experiences will be a lot more fun. But I did meet some people from Idaho who were there on vacation and were a ton of fun to hang out with for a bit! What a small world!

I finally caught up on my sleep on Sunday morning, which was much needed after a busy week or traveling. Marki and I headed to, again, try to figure out to get our local phones which took what seemed like 3 hours. Every Claro phone place we went to in Jockey Plaza sent us to another Claro store or little booth, eventually we got lost and were walking outside when this guy selling Brownies stopped us asking where we were from. Brownie Franco grew up in Georgia so we talked a little bit and asked him for his help, he walked us to the right place and got us all set up. I swear, Jockey Plaza has more turns than the movie Labyrinth. The phone my host family is letting me borrow is one from the stone ages (aka early 2000s), my host brother even laughed at it! Looks like all those texting skills I learned in Middle School will come in handy, once again.

So we went back and bought one of the brownies since he went out of his way to help us, such a nice guy. Our journey afterwards to find flip flops was a whole other journey that seemed never ending, apparently people don't really wear them based on how scarce they are. Finally we got to relax next to Claire's rooftop pool after a long day and enjoy the view of the mountains and ocean (at the same time- so cool).

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: My very last first day of school was the best and most beautiful yet. It began with me sleeping in as much as I could (not too possible since it's so loud here), watching a bit of Netflix, having a (half-understood) conversation with my host dad...considering our first class isn't until 4pm, there is the whole day to fill before it starts! It doesn't seem like the classes will be too bad, but 3 straight hours of class is hard enough, let alone having to translate for 3 straight hours- ugh. But our teachers are really nice and there isn't too many things to for classes. After class a few of us walked to El Polo, a shopping center, then went to a small grocery store here and I attempted to find the closest thing to bagels...unsuccessfully by the way. The bread things I chose were not right, I'll just have to try again next time. After that, I got home and Jaime Jr. was just about to heat up some dinner so I plated the food and he made the drinks (he's a fitness buff so he doesn't like the sugary juice that we usually have so he just blended some papaya and ice...not my favorite but oh well). We had a really good conversation about our lives, his time working in the US, how we don't know how to dance in each others' countries (it's veryy different) and what not.

Tuesday's class was...interesting. It's a literature class (in spanish) so we began talking about the most awkward poem ever for a first day, I'll spare you all the details, but just know it made for an interesting dinner conversation laughing about it. Some of us stayed on campus for an extra movie watching thing so we all hung out on the greens on their bean bags...UNK doesn't have that.

Yes, we're Big and Little and we share bean bags

So this movie viewing that we had to go to was basically another 3 hour class of translating- let's just say by the end of the day the entire group was exhausted. Watching 3 short films (only one with English subtitles and watching one twice) and an in depth conversation after each one was more than my little brain could handle. A not-so-quick dinner with Stephen and Barbara and the whole group back at El Polo and I am now home ready to pass out and get some rest for our day of shopping and class tomorrow. Especially since I didn't sleep well last night because apparently in Peru construction in residential areas does not cease during the night.

Don't worry mom and dad (and grandma and grandpa) I am still alive, doing well and have not gotten too lost yet, so if anyone is ready to visit I am scouting out places to go and things to do ;) *hint hint*


Some interesting things I've noticed thus far:

• Gordo(a)/gordito (fatty) is used as a loving term
• There are a ton of casinos
• And there are even more Mcdonalds and Chili's
• A small sunscreen bottle costs $30, so good thing I packed a ton
• Cab drivers will do their best to rip you off. Ex: paid 10 soles to get to Jockey Plaza, on the way back asked a driver how much and he said 30 soles, his friend next to him said 28-pshh nah, we found a guy who took us for 8 soles :)
• Servers take forever and you have to wave them down when you want to order or pay or need anything, expect dinner to take at least an hour and a half
• Servers don't know how to split bills, this makes for a difficult time for us when 9 people eat together
• Teachers and other people who know both languages translate the easiest words for us. Explanation: all our classes are in spanish and sometimes when our teachers are speaking they have a habit of translating random nouns, but they are the ones we all learned in Spanish 1! So instead of translating the difficult verbs that we don't know, they translate película to movie, et

The Adventure Begins Here...

Day 0

It is 9:00 and we are on a layover in Chicago, getting up at 4:00 am and not arriving in Lima, Peru until midnight makes for a very long day- especially if you have a cold (which I do). After a busy Christmas break of going on a cruise and visiting my dad in Houston, I had 5 days to pack for this 4-month trip. Oddly enough, I have not really felt any anxiety or nervousness leading up to it. I am finally doing what I have been looking forward to since my junior year of high school, it only took me until my senior year to finally do it! I plan on 2016 being the best year yet, and I know that's very cliche to say, but it has to be, right!? Not only am I studying abroad, but I am graduating in May after only 4 years (don't ask me how I did it because I'm still trying to figure it out for myself). Oh, and I get to skip the nasty Nebraska winter for a sunny and be achy destination, I'd say I'm pretty happy about that. My Spanish skills on the other hand, are a little rusty so I am hoping it floods to me as soon as I step foot off the plane- okay maybe not, but I do plan on it becoming easier through the months.
A little low-down on my trip for those who don't know (or are like my family and ask the same questions every other day). I am living in Lima, Peru for 4 months to study Spanish (finishing my Spanish minor). I will be living with a family there who live only 2 minutes away from the school (pretty awesome). Three of my classes will be in Spanish by local professors and one will be by Dr. Amundson from UNK who is in Peru with us. I will be back May 3rd, just a few days before my graduation! How exciting!

Things I will miss:
1. My mom: As hard as it was to say goodbye to my "sister" (my step-brother actually confused us last night, much to her delight), I have to realize I've been away from her multiple times for months at a time. In high school and college, so it's pretty much the same thing, just with more distance, right?
2. The rest of my family: I have a pretty close family and even though I don't see my extended family or my dad or my little brother that often, we still keep in contact a lot, which won't change with this trip. Plus, that's what Skype is for!
3. My friends: Even though I didn't get to see everyone one last time before I left, I am still excited to Skype them and tell them everything.
3. My dogs: Because, duh.
4. Air Conditioning: Planning on getting a fan ASAP.
5. Bagels: I love bagels and the one I ate in the airport just now was a huge let down for my last one.
6. Ketchup and Ranch: Apparently they don't have either of these/ they are really bad, and if you know me I love these things a whole lot.
7. English: It will be very odd not being surrounded by my natural language, but exciting I'm sure.

What I'm looking forward to:
1. Adventure: By living in a new country, I'm bound for it.
2. Trips: Machu Picchu being only one of the destinations we will visit during our months, I cannot wait to explore the beautiful and diverse country of Peru!!!
3. Spanish: As much as I have complained about Spanish classes in the past, I have a feeling this will be the turning point (crossing my fingers).
4. Culture: I love learning new cultures, the food, the music, the people. It will all be great.
5. Visits: *Cough* Mom? Dad? Anyone feel like taking a vacation? ;)

So as I sit in yet another airport, I still don't feel like I have wrapped my head around being in Peru in 11 hours. It will hit me as I lay, exhausted, in the bed my host family tells me is mine and hopefully I will be able to get some sleep (because this cold is really kicking my butt right now).

Goodbye for now, America!