And like that, I'm home.

Okay so I probably should have written down the things that I did my last week in Peru. Now that I have been home for a week and a half, I will attempt to remember them for the sake of remembering.

Tuesday I went with Amber to El Museo de la Nacion. The first floor was all pre-Incan artifacts, Incan artifacts, and colonial art. Also a little modern art. We had kind of seen most of these things before so we went through quickly since we had gotten pretty lost on the way there and had much less time than we had hoped. The sixth floor of this museum is the most talked about. It is dedicated to the years of terrorism experienced in Peru from the 60s to the early 2000s. It was really interesting and very powerful. There are bare concrete floors and white walls. Most of the pictures are in black and white. Thankfully, the captions on the pictures were in Spanish and English, or else we would have been there all day. When you get off the elevator, you are greeted by a guard who asks you to sign in. They want to keep track of who has seen this exhibit. Then you see a timeline of the terrorism that takes up two walls. There are so many events, that it is hard to take them all in. Then you proceed through room after room, detailing each major terrorist event. There are pictures, video, and voice recordings. It was striking to learn so much about events that had barely been mentioned to us before this. My host family spoke a lot about insecurity in Venezuela, but never about the terrorism in Peru. Later, they asked me what I thought was most interesting about the museum and I told them this exhibit. My host dad basically was like, "Oh, terrorism and it's effects?" and I said, "Si." and that's it. No one wants to talk about it. I don't think we even talked about it in my socioeconomic realities of Peru class. It's still very real to them. And kind of taboo. So it's cool that there is this museum. Parents and grandparents were there with their kids, whispering their own experiences into their ears. I tried to eavesdrop a few times, but my spanish isn't good enough for that yet.

Thursday was our last day at the biblioteca. We had to leave early for an elap meeting, but the promotoras didn't want us to go. When they realized it was our last day, they said we couldn't leave. Then they sent all the kids home and closed the door and brought out a cake, mini empanadas, and coffee. We put a candle in the cake and sang Happy Birthday to no one in particular in French, English, Bulgarian (I think), Finnish, and finally, Spanish. Talk about a cultural experience. I miss those girls already. They were so sweet.

Friday Amber and I visited la Iglesia Santo Domingo downtown. They have the skulls of two saints on display there and the bones of another. I found it strange. I don't really understand the veneration of saints, but it's probably because I'm not Catholic. The church was beyond beautiful, though. Then we went to Saint Rose's house. We saw the well that she made and the prayers that people throw in there. That was cool. Then we got ice cream at 4D for the 4th and last time. Sad face. We were supposed to meet Andrew there, but he caught up to us while we were walking. He came up behind Amber and I and put his arms around us, like a surprise hello, and I was 100% sure I was being robbed again. Later, Maria tried to grab my arm and I freaked again. I was a little more startled by my run-in with crime than I had thought. I'm better now that I'm back in the states.

My host mom was really sad to see me go. She cried. Apparently I was just what she needed. The girl before me had been a little high-maintenance and then I showed up and didn't ask for anything. It was nice to be appreciated for that weird quality. I guess I don't like to be a bother. I'll just blend in to this wall over here. Don't mind me.

The flight home wasn't bad. I hardly slept, but my bags weren't searched, so that's great. My suitcase was 88 lbs which is way over the limit, but the guy let it go this time. I don't know what he will do next time I see him. I had to lug this and two other bags around the Newark airport after doing something to my back while getting off the plane. Don't worry, I'm tough, and I heal.

Basically, I didn't sleep again until 4 in the afternoon when I took a 20 minute nap. My first meal back was an oriental chicken salad and turkey avocado sandwich from Applebee's. Nothing glamorous, but that's fine. I guess I eat at Applebee's a lot. I think it's been 3 times since I got home.

Since I have been home I have been on a boat once, I have been in Ft. Wayne, I have been in Columbus, I have been in charge, and for the last 3ish days I have been quietly at home. Also I went to a vineyard. And watched all of season 7 of The Office. I'm processing. I can tell you about it later.

Hang Ten Failures

Today is Monday of my last week in Peru. WHAT?! I will be getting on a plane in just 5 short days. That seems pretty crazy. This trip has had its ups and downs with homesickness and tiredness and crazy schedules and that one time when I got robbed and also the beauty and history and adventure that exists in Peru. As incredibly happy as I will be to go home, I will also be sad. I like you, Peru. Let's stay friends.

Okay, so I got robbed. I didn't really want to post about it because I know that other people read this sometimes and I didn't want you to get nervous for me. Here's the thing. I was in a bad part of Lima because that's where I work. There are poor people there. It was scary and a little violent, but no one was hurt or even threatened. I was waiting for a bus with one of my fellow volunteers when three guys ran up to me, broke the strap on my purse, and ran off. My wallet was lost, but the only valuable thing in there was some cash and my debit card, which was set to expire at the end of the month anyway. The thing that makes me the most sad is that the book that I bought at the book fair and had signed by Daniel Alarcon was in my bag. It's not of any value to those guys, just to me. So that's sad. I still have my cheap Peruvian cell phone and my credit card was at home in my desk drawer, so everything is fine. It's just annoying and it happens all the time. I was in shock for about 15 minutes but as soon as I had to talk to someone about it I cried for about 40 minutes. Anyway, the important thing is that I'm fine and I have money to get me through the rest of my time here.

That was on Wednesday before work. After work, we had to go straight to our elap meeting with all the other volunteers in our program. I got free Starbucks! Afterwards, we went to get dinner at a little place right outside La Plaza San Miguel. They had anticucho which is barbecued cow heart for 12 soles. It was super cheap and a lot of food. Super good.

Friday I finally got my credit card figured out and went to Miraflores and wandered around Parque Kennedy by myself. It was nice. I ride through there on a bus everyday but never get out, so it was good to get to do that. I bought a book and a couple shirts to wear when I get home and a new wallet. It was good (cheap) retail therapy.

On Saturday I went surfing! Michelle, Danielle and I met in the morning and took the bus to Larcomar in Miraflores. We made our way down to the beach, not really knowing what to expect. We took our swimsuits with us in our bags so we ended up having to change in a porta potty. Gross. As soon as we stepped foot on the beach a guy was asking us if we wanted to learn to surf. He was going to offer us a great deal. We told him we would come back after we checked out the other companies. We made our way to the Pukana surf tent. This was the company recommended by our program. One of the girls who worked there is from Cincinnati! Small world. So we got an even better deal with them. It was cold so we had to wear wetsuits which is cool except that they are super hard to put on. We had a quick lesson on land about how to stand up on your board. The instructor made me do it extra. I was pretty sure that was a bad sign. Then we got our boards and got in the water. Somehow I ended up in front of my friends even though I got in last. Maybe the instructor was pushing me. I don't remember. But I had to go first. On my first try I was able to get up on my knees. It was exciting and fun! Much easier than expected. However, getting on your knees is not one of the steps to standing. Even after the instructor reminded me many many times that I was not supposed to get on my knees, I still did it every time. I don't know what was happening in my brain, but it was not correct. Between the near constant paddling and getting knocked off my board a few times, I was really really tired by the end. They never told us how to get out. The beach was really rocky so we weren't supposed to ride our boards all the way there. I got knocked off my board right by the shore so I just tried swimming it and had a wave crash right on top of me. Not a great experience. I was ready to be done. But I would do it again. Just maybe next time in the sand. And when it's warmer. And after my muscles stop being sore.

After we finished, Michelle's dad met us at the beach and drove us to Parque Kennedy where we got hot chocolate and churros rellenos from Manolo. SO GOOD. We also got sandwiches in the park. Later that night, I got ice cream at 4D for the third time with some other friends. It was a sugary day. 

July 28 is the independence day of Peru. Basically, people take off work for the whole weekend. I don't have to work today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday). Honestly, I'm a little bored because most things are closed and I don't really want to go to a 3 hour long military parade. Tomorrow should be better. I have plans to go to a museum and a church. And then I will only be 4 days away from coming home.

Just things in my life right now...

So I was thinking about the classic picture that every girl takes on her mission trips abroad. You know, the one where she is surrounded by native children? It's like, "Look at me! I like babies in other countries too!" I don't know. Maybe that's not the motivation. I'm probably being rude. Anyway, it bothers me so I wanted to make sure I didn't do that while I was in the Dominican Republic. I was younger then and didn't know what I was getting into. Hahaha. Let's just let the weight of that sentence sink in.

My journey through the photos took me back to that hot and humid July when I first left the country and subsequently fell in love with the Latin American culture. Gosh, I really didn't know what I was doing. I got thrown into what life is like for the vast amount of people in this world who live below the poverty line.

There are very few times in a person's life where they can say, "That decision is what changed the course of my life. That steered the choices I made from that point forward." I can honestly say that the Dominican Republic changed my life. Because no one in my family speaks Spanish, hardly anyone in my community speaks Spanish, yet here I am in Peru, trying to fit in and learn the language.

More than that, now that I am well into my internship I am looking poverty straight in the eyes. Yeah, it's not like the poverty I saw in the mountains of Haiti, or the garbage dumps in Guatemala, but it's still  poverty. I'm translating a book about child domestic work for my internship. Did you know that of the 10 million minors living in Peru, 45% live in conditions of poverty? Only 57% percent are in school and of those who are in secondary school, 37% are behind a few grades. And that percentage is not for areas of poverty or extreme poverty. SHOOOT.

You probably can't tell, but that hill in the background is covered in houses.

This is a picture of where I work. San Juan de Miraflores is about an hour's bus ride away from where I live in Lima. During the financial crises starting around the 60s, people began flocking to the city for work. Many of them ended up living in barrios just outside the city. They grew and now the city is huge. San Juan de Miraflores is one of these barrios. This is one of the most populous parts of the city. And one of the poorest.

A lot of the kids that we work with are child domestic workers. Most of them don't realize that what they are doing is work and they aren't getting paid for it. Usually it's stuff like taking care of baby siblings while their parents are at work or cooking or cleaning. Maybe they do those things for a neighbor or an aunt or uncle. Unfortunately, it is more than what we would consider "chores" in the US. On Sunday, Lizbeth asked our room full of 9-13 year old girls how many of them did the cooking at home and almost all of them raised their hands. Some of them aren't even tall enough to reach the stove.

One of the beautiful girls I get to hang out with, Daniela.

Today I have a lot of hope, though. La Casa de Panchita is doing a lot of work. They are educating women and children on the rights they have as domestic workers. These workers are now asking their employers to pay them fair wages, give them time off, and let them go to school. My favorite part of all of this, though, is that most of the women who are in charge at La Casa de Panchita used to be domestic workers or are currently domestic workers. Their current campaign is called "Child Domestic Workers Supporting Child Domestic Workers." I think this makes a big difference in the work at La Casa de Panchita because those in charge know intimately the issues that these women and children are dealing with. They know how to make the biggest impact because they know the issues. Because of that I am proud and very blessed to have had the opportunity to work with this organization.

Warning: This Post Contains Anthropology Terms

I'm having a lazy Saturday! After last month's constant busyness it is strange to have days like today. I changed things around on here a bit the other day. How do you like it? I took that picture in the background. Yeah, the sacred valley is pretty marvelous.

Yesterday (Friday) I went to the Museo de antropología, arqueología e historia. I was supposed to meet a friend there but he ended up coming later than expected and I forgot my phone across town. So I went in by myself. The museum is located in what used to be Simon Bolivar's home. You know, the liberator of Colombia and Peru. It has two gardens with rooms surrounding them. That's the basic layout of the house. It's beautiful, or I'm sure it was when it was actually a house. Now there are display cases everywhere instead of furniture and a bit of construction that makes the whole place smell like paint. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The museum basically starts as far back as it can, with the evolution of humans in Africa. They have some (replica?) australopithecus, H. habilius and H. erectus skulls and then they have a little model of humans interacting with megafauna. It was small and simple. Then we got into the actual cultures in Peru. There are a lot and they all had their own pottery styles. So a good majority of the rest of the pre-Incan culture area was ceramics. They had some pipes like what we find from indigenous populations in the US, only in the shapes of things like cuy, llamas, and owls. It was cool. 

In the Incan section they had a giant model of Machu Picchu. I had been following some groups of students from local elementary schools all morning, but somehow I ended up in this room alone. So I saw everything that I saw a few weeks ago on a smaller scale. It seems smaller when you are there. Like, when we walked from one side of the complex to the other, I didn't feel like we were going terribly far. But the model made it seem huge. So that brought a different appreciation to the experience.

After the Incan section began the Spanish conquest and on section. You go through a room about the Amazons and then Francisco Pizzaro is staring at you. I was mad that my camera died at this point. How often do you get to see a portrait of the guy who changed everything for South America? So the rest of the museum from this point on is mostly portraits of important people and small artifacts. They did have shackles in the same section as crosses which bothered me. Not because they chose to place them there, but because it made sense to place them there. For the tens of portraits of Europeans there were about 5 portraits of Incan leaders which was pretty cool. Atahualpa had his portrait there. He was the last king of the Incas.

Eventually the museum moved into more modern history, up until the 1960s. By this point my brain was fairly saturated and I couldn't take much else in. But I managed the learn a little about economics and the revolution against Spain. That was good of me, since next weekend is independence day. How festive.

So I was getting close to the exit and the kids were all about gone when one last room caught my eye. Tuberculosis through prehistory. Interesante! I can still remember the first time I learned about tuberculosis. I don't know why, but it was in 4th grade when we learned about Ellis Island. So anyway, I was excited about this one. 

When a person is suffering from tuberculosis, they often develop a hunchback. There is a buildup of fluids on the spine so that there is a visible ridge behind the shoulders. In these two rooms, there were all kinds of ceramic and lithic figures with this ridge behind their shoulders. Some of them were from 1100 BC. CRAZY! Also, people here in Peru still die from tuberculosis. Also crazy.

But the craziest part of this tuberculosis display was the mummy. When I came in, the guy told me there was a mummy, but I thought it was supposed to be with the Inca stuff. I didn't see it so I thought they were probably restoring it or something. But no! I found it. So I was looking at the little statues and the guard says, "mumifera?" and I was like oh yeah! and he opened a little door and let me into this room with like 3 humidifiers, 3 informational signs on the wall, and a mummy in a glass case and then shut the door behind me. It was just me and the mummy. I think we all deserve a little one on one time with a mummy. It makes you remember your humanity a little. The guard kept peeking at me through a window to let me out when I was done. Weird, but cool.

After I got back we had pizza for lunch because it was my host mom's birthday and we decided she shouldn't have to cook. Then I went to my friend Becca's apartment. We each bought 2 desserts (8 in total) and ordered more pizza and drank pop. We had a little dinner/movie party and laughed for a few hours straight about giant crickets (I told them about Scratchy), guinea pigs, and just felt like Americans again for a bit. We watched Enchanted on Netflix and shared our desserts. It was great. I think I would be able to manage living here longer if I had more nights like that.

Also, they found out that I'm funny. Now the pressure is on.

Unas Sorpresas

This week has had a couple of small surprises. I will tell you about them here.

I have been on time to work everyday this week. This would be great news if everyone else wasn’t late. I have had to wait for someone to come with the keys everyday by myself or with some random kids. I have only been a little nervous, but I think I’m pretty safe since it is in a park and there are kids and other people running around everywhere.

First surprise: Monday, I got to the library on time and no one was there. A little girl ran up to me and said hi and let me know that it was still closed. Yeah, thanks. Hahaha. So I went up to the steps and noticed that there were a lot of people gathered in the street about a block away. I hoped that it wasn’t something bad, like an accident, but one guy had a little kid on his shoulders to see better, so I figured it wasn’t too bad. Then I was worried that it was a holiday and we were actually closed and Naomi was trying to tell me that the library wasn’t opening. But Adele said she would see me there on Monday, so I kept waiting. In a few minutes it became very clear that it was a funeral. A big private bus showed up to take the mourners to the cemetery and two guys were carrying big flower arrangements around. The funeral procession eventually made its way out of the house down the street, with a few men carrying the blue casket and those following tossing flower petals on it. There wasn’t a lot of crying or anything as far as I could see, but they were on the other side of the park. Everyone not involved stood and watched and the dogs ran over to see what was happening. They turned a corner and got in the bus. Just like that, it was over.

Monday night I woke up around 1 or 2 am to the sound of very loud popping. There are a lot of sounds here, but explosions are not one of the normal ones. At first I thought gunshots, then bombs (because I am rational), and then I realized it was fireworks! I looked out my window and got to watch a few fireworks go off in the middle of the night, in the middle of a huge city, before I fell back to sleep.

Tuesday I was on time for work again, which again meant I was the first to arrive. This time, instead of a funeral, I got to see a pet monkey! A little girl was in the park and just running around with a little monkey on a leash. It looked like Marcel from Friends. Sometimes when she would stop, the monkey would climb up her leg and just hang around her neck, like little American kids always hope for in their wildest exotic pet dreams. She came over to ask me a question and I could not take her seriously. I just couldn’t give her my complete attention when she had a monkey in her arms. I wanted to ask her its name and if I could pet it, but she ran off with Gianfranco before I could say anything. That might be one of my biggest regrets.

Today is Wednesday and I just finished eating lunch. When I left the table, my host family was watching a show about all the fun you can have in Ecuador. Then I heard The Today Show come on. With Matt Lauer. It was in English. I knew that they had the Today Show here because I see it on the guide on our television every morning, but I didn’t realized it was the exact same thing as what they broadcast from New York every morning. Surprise!

Final surprise that I will tell you about is this. For our school credit we have to do a few reflection papers and group discussions. This week we had to do something creative that we could use to show people at home what things are like here, and to help us remember when we get back. So I decided I would take pictures of the kids and make a photo collage using an app that I found. Easy peasy lemon squeazy. The only problem was that it was due Sunday, I started it Sunday, and I didn’t have any pictures of the kids. Really all that was due was the explanation of it, so I explained it before I did it. The next morning I got an email from the ISA offices in Texas saying that they wanted to see my collage because it sounded like the kind of visual representation that they would like to use to promote elap. Awesome. So I had to make this collage great. Haha. It did it. Don’t worry. But surprise! They liked it! They really liked it!

Additionally, it is the middle of July and I am wearing long sleeved shirts under sweatshirts under jackets. It’s cold and I just want summer.

P.S. I saw a man holding a guitar kick a bus yesterday as it was pulling away. I thought it was funny, but I don’t know why.

PPS There is a group here from OSU but I don’t think any of them actually go to OSU. And the professor isn’t from there. I don’t understand grad school. But they are all Spanish teachers and I got to work with some of them on Sunday at La Casa de Panchita. What fun.

Lots of love in Lima

This week has been relatively uneventful. I mean, in comparison to a week of classes in Columbus, it was exciting. In comparison to last month, uneventful. But I guess there were a few events.

Monday I got lost, as you may have read. It made me a little nervous the rest of the week, but it was actually a good thing because I studied a map and now I am the master of the buses. Kind of. Tuesday went a lot better. I also figured out a better way to get there than taking four buses. Now I only have to take 3!

On Tuesday we worked with a girl from Finland. She is super cool. She is an elementary school teacher and basically has been everywhere. She has visited 6 of the 7 continents! (You have to really try in order to get to Antarctica.) She works at Mi espacio para crecer every Tuesday and Thursday. Yay new friends! She helped me figure out the bus situation.

Also on Tuesday I had to make another phone call in Spanish. We didn't know exactly how to get there because the whole bus situation is very complicated, as I'm sure you are aware by now. So I had to call someone, but she ended up giving the phone to Adele, who speaks english, so things worked out. 

Wednesday I went with Clayton and we took the newer route for the first time. The second bus we got on had a ticket collector who spent a lot of time in New York. So he was very excited to talk to us in English. And a very old woman asked me all about where I'm from, in English but with a very heavy accent. She had been to Miami, so she knew about the US. Basically, it was a fun bus ride (and I'm not being sarcastic, I know I do that sometimes). We got there really early (15 minutes) and had to wait for a while. While we were waiting, a drunk, older gentleman started talking to Clayton. He left and came back and when he came back I was sitting next to Clayton on the curb. The man took my hand and looked directly in my eyes and told me that I am very beautiful. Latin men. They are so direct. He said that he could see I have a big heart. He saw it! Lo veo! Lo veo! Haha. Maybe I should get that checked out? So that was strange, but I'm used to it after living at Jacob's Porch for a year. The homeless men were always complimenting me on my straight teeth.

Also on Wednesday, I got to help a 6th grader with his english homework. He had to write 10 "will not" sentences. "Claudia will not eat chicken." I also helped a girl with her english homework, but it was harder because she had to write out the time under pictures of clocks. Why do we say "o'clock"? It seems super old-timey and weird. That was a kind of surreal experience, though, because I sat down and easily started talking to her in Spanish about English words. Our brains are so cool.

Thursday I had to ride the bus there by myself for the first time. I had a hard time finding the right bus, but I figured it out eventually. When I got there, the library still wasn't open. So we waited for Anali to show up. She never came, but Kati came and opened it for us. The kids got some time to play outside before doing their homework which is good sometimes. I also got to talk to Leidy about music and food. She recommended some Peruvian singers for me to check out, so that's cool. I also got lots of little kid hugs. Always good.

On my way home, I was having a difficult time catching a bus that would take me to my last stop. I decided to just walk, because it was only like 6-10 blocks and I had been really cramped on the last bus and wanted to stretch my legs. So it was dark and I was walking fast. I noticed that there was someone behind me and they were walking really fast too. I thought, "Okay, this person is either in a huge hurry, or they are going to kill me." Neither of those assumptions were true. This person wanted to ask me on a date. Ugh.

So it turns out to be this younger guy and he says, "Excuse me. Where I am?" in English. Obviously, this guy doesn't know English well, so I answer in Spanish that we are on Canevaro and Arequipa is that way and Salaverry is that way. He says he needs to get to Canada (that's a street name here, he wasn't that crazy) and that he came from a play in Jesús María. I said, "No sé, lo siento." He responded, "You aren't from around here?" Obviously. 
"No." 
"Where are you from?"
"Los Estados Unidos"
"What part?" (Notice that I am speaking Spanish and he is speaking English)
"Ohio"
"Oh I would like to go there." *red flag*
"Yeah it's great."I start to walk away. He starts to follow. I stop.
"So, uh, do you want to go out with me?" Again, so direct.
"I don't know you."
"Come on. I'm playing Rafiki in a play. You know The Lion King? I can get you tickets!" Cool!
"Can my friends come?"
"Of course!" Free tickets to see The Lion King for me and my friends?! Wow, this is great.
Basically I ended up giving him my info so we could be facebook friends. At the very least, it would be cool to see The Lion King performed in Spanish, right? So I went home, and realized he seemed kind of young. Maybe I should wait to get my hopes up. But we talked about how I went to OSU. He wouldn't think...

Yeah, he's in high school. It was a high school production of The Lion King. Sorry, high school boys, but I don't want to go out with you. That goes for you, too, old drunk men. We had a super fun facebook messaging convo about how I would be his friend but that's it and he would not give up, so I defriended him. What an adventure. 

This, my friends, is a good example of a brinchero. A brinchero or brinchera is a local who only wants to hang out with foreigners because they are foreigners. They usually get you to pay for things for them by being in some sort of relationship with you. The ultimate brinchero/brinchera move is to get pregnant so that you have to stick around. Yeah. Traveling is scary. The fact that he stopped me on the street tells me that he only talked to me because I look different. He said that he wants to go to the States, which makes me wary that he wants me to get him there. Maybe I'm wrong, but we have to be careful.

Today I was less adventurous as it was my day off, and I laid in bed and watched The Office with Spanish subtitles until 4. Then I went to Starbucks and read this great story by Daniel Alarcón about Lima called "The City of Clowns." It's kind of long, so I suggest you only read it if you have time. But you are reading this, so I assume you do. It was crazy weird to read this story that takes place on the same streets that I then walked home on. Whoa. It mentions places that I have seen and events that we learned about in class. And the part about people getting on buses to sell you stuff? Still true. Yesterday a woman just sang us a song and expected us to pay her. It's like a more straightforward street performance. 

Starbucks here has a really great orange chocolate chip muffin. They heat it up in a microwave for you. It's great. Starbucks Peru: great job, keep it up. Starbucks USA: sorry guys, you're slacking.

Lost in Lima

Don't worry. It wasn't that bad. I just wanted to cry most of the time. 

Yesterday was my first day of my internship with La Casa de Panchita. They work with domestic workers to help ensure that their rights are being protected, etc. They also are working to fight child labor in the domestic sector. So I am helping out four days a week at Mi espacio para crecer, where we help kids with their homework and give them a space to play. It is in San Juan de Miraflores, which is really far away from me. 

I emailed my contact on Saturday about where how to get to Mi espacio para crecer. She said she would meet me at Ricardo Palma University and we could go together. Great. I replied right away that it was far away, but I would be there.

Yesterday, my coworker and I got on a bus on Salaverry and were supposed to get off in Miraflores at the Wong, which is a grocery store, and then get on another bus that went all along Benevides avenue. We didn't see the Wong so we got off in Barranco and took a taxi. We were 15 minutes late and there was no one at the university to meet us. We thought we had messed up. So I called the ISA office and Kelly and Cedric got things straightened out. Lady was going to come meet us at the university in 10 minutes. It turns out my contact didn't have Internet the night before and didn't know we were coming. From the University we had to take two more buses. So we were about 40 minutes late.

Anyways, the actual tutoring was fun. Some of the kids just wanted us to do the homework for them, which I'm sure will get really annoying. One girl had to draw 4 different landscapes. She literally had the pictures in front of her and knew which one went in each spot, but she wanted me to draw them. I was like, "No, you can definitely do that."

We met another worker who is from France. She is really nice, and likes to try to break the French stereotype while she is abroad. You know, the one where they are rude and think only French things are the best. We rode the bus with her back down the hill and she got us on a bus that goes all the way down Arequipa. Now I will give you a map.

I have underlined Arequipa in blue. This is what we are dealing with here, people. It is not easy to know where you are at any given moment. Add to that the fact that the road names change with each new government, and you have a very complicated system. My friends were going to a different part of Lima, so they left me to figure out my way home on my own. So I was going to get off at Javier Prado. I ended up getting off at Canevaro (underlined in green). I'm pretty sure I was going North. I didn't know that Canevaro was an awesome place to get off. I thought I was totally wrong. So I asked a really nice lady how to get to the Universidad del Pacifico (my university, circled in purple). She told me to take a bus down Canvero and it would cross with Salaverry (underlined in red) and I could get off there. I thought she meant Salaverry would cross with Arequipa. So I got back on a bus on Arequipa and ended up downtown. Luckily I have been there enough to know how to get home from there. I was waiting for my purple bus to take me down Salaverry, and thought I would ask one of the other buses if they were going all the way down Salaverry. He said no, but a girl then decided to help me out. She put me on a combi and told the guy where to let me off. It was nice, but it made me want to cry a little. This combi dropped me off a few blocks from the University (at the red dot). Then I walked the rest of the way.

This whole ordeal took an hour and a half. I have studied Google maps most of the night, so I think I'm ready for today. But I'm still nervous.

I think everyone needs to have an experience like this. It's terrifying, sure. But it forces you to learn. And ask people for help. It reminded me that there are people in the US feeling the same way I did last night. I have to be one of the nice people who help out when I get home. Because it is really stressful to be the new kid on the block who has no idea how things work or where she is. Everyone should know how that feels, just to know. To be aware. And I guess, to be ready to help out.

Dancing with Scissors

This week was very busy. It was the last week of the ISA/classes portion of my stay, so we had exams, a goodbye party and basically anything that we had always wanted to do, but  hadn't gotten to yet.

Monday was a pretty uneventful day. We had classes like normal Literature at 8:30, economics after. But Karlos, my economics professor, had a cold so we got to leave that class early. What fun. This was our chance to get all of our work done for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, it ended up being time spent editing and posting pictures from Ica. I don't really know what I did that night, but it wasn't my homework.

Tuesday was the big game! Lionel Messi and his friends vs. THE REST OF THE WORLD! I'm part of the rest of the world. Why didn't I get to play? Anyways, we found out doors opened at 4. It was a 9:00 start time. Thankfully, some people had class until 6:15 so we left later. It took us way longer to walk there than it should have. Anyways, we got there after asking a few police officers where we should go and also meeting a guy who spoke english and was going to the same place as us. There were so many people outside the stadium trying to sell us things like gum and snacks and Messi jerseys. I should have bought a snack, but I thought there would be a lot of food inside. I also didn't know the security situation. So they ripped our tickets at 3 different places and then we found some seats. They weren't bad. They handed us each a giant plastic bag that we had to tie on each end and blow up like a giant balloon/tube thing. I didn't understand. I guess it kind of looked cool.

So the food situation was rough. There weren't any real vendors like we have in the states, you know with like, regulations and safety procedures. There were a few folding tables with people selling Pepsi from their 2 liters and homemade sausage sandwiches. I was wary. I bought an overpriced bag of Lay's and a Pepsi. Later we all got some ice cream for a reasonable price. Lúcuma, guys. It's the way to go when it comes to ice cream and dessert choices.

By now you are probably thinking, "But what about the game?!" Eh. It was alright. No one played very hard because it was a charity game. They didn't want to get hurt. They didn't run very much and they hardly played defense. The score was 8-5. One funny conversation that happened went like this:
"I'm so thirsty!"-Becca
"Don't do it! Drink your tears!"-Austin
"But I can't cry! I'm at the highest scoring soccer game ever!"
So yeah. It was cool to see Messi and I guess Neymar, but they weren't really playing, you know? If I had paid like $20 to see it, that would be fine, but I paid a bit more than that.

So. Wednesday. Three of the girls in my program lived with a really cool couple of sisters. One of them is a professional chef. So they wanted us all to come over for dinner. It was fantastic. Luz made cheviche and pisco sours. The girls made guacamole and chess taquenos. And there were lovely little tarts and plantain chips and tres leches cake. They live in a 20 story building so we went up on the roof and took pictures of the view. It was beautiful. Lima is such a big city. Also, for some reason, whenever you are on a roof you feel like dancing. At least 3 of us did. And not normal dancing. The flowey, not-quite-ballet, tiptoe kind of stuff. How strange. They promised us American cookies, but we left before they came out of the oven. I was sad. But those exams? Yeah, they still weren't done.

I stayed up late Wednesday night writing this stupid economics paper and making a presentation. I worked until about 1 or 2 am and then got up at 5:30 to finish before class. Gross.

The presentation wasn't bad. I was tired, but things could have been worse. I had coffee, so that was good. Also, on my way to class (I was early because I had to print out my paper) the guard at the Italian embassy that I always say hi to said "buenos dias" and then was like, "you're a little early today!" It actually made my morning. Oh! and it was the 4th of July. But no one cared. Except us. It was super weird. Class on the 4th of July?! blech. Then I got Starbucks to feel more like I love the USA.

Thursday night was the farewell dinner and 4th of July celebration with ISA. They took us to a fancy restaurant where they had a buffet of traditional peruvian dishes. They knew about our independence day so there were flags on the tables and apple pie for dessert. AMERICA! I ate so much. They didn't have the names of any of the dishes but I know I ate some raw fish in ahí sauce, ahí de gallina, palta relleno and causa. It was really good. And I had rice pudding, melon, apple pie, and a brownie for dessert. And a pisco sour.

While we were eating, there were professional dancers on the stage, doing traditional peruvian dances from all over the country. It was really really cool. I wish I was as cool as them. Some of those guys could move their hips about as well as Shakira. If you have a minute, you should look up "the scissors dance-cusco" on YouTube. These guys take running with scissors to the next level. In the taxi on the way home, we heard "Africa" by Toto, "California Dreamin'" and "Sweet Caroline." It really made my night.

I had my last class and final presentation Friday for my lit class. We had to analyze a poem by a Latin American author. I picked a poem about  a cat and put a different picture of a cat on every slide. It was wonderful. Bascially after that week we all stayed in on Friday night. It was great.

One month down, one to go!

Today is the 4th of July! That means that I am over halfway done with my program! And, it's the Independence Day of the USA! Wow!

So, I figured I would write some things about what I miss, but also what I like, because I'm homesick and I need to remind myself that I like a lot of things here.

Things I Miss about the USA:

1. English all the time

As much as I love Spanish, it is really hard to always talk in your second language. I want to go to the grocery store and not get freaked out when the cashier asks me if I have exact change. Hopefully, when I get home I will be less shy about talking to strangers because at least I won't have to do it in Spanish (most of the time).

2. Safe driving

Every day I have to cross a very busy street that does not have crosswalk signs. It is terrifying. People don't always use their turn signals and so 7 out of 10 times I end up running across the street. It's okay, the locals do it too. Also, the bus systems are part of the mafia or something. People can buy bus routes and then all the buses and combis on that route have to pay that person for using their route. It's nuts. One of the girls in my program was in a combi when it got pulled over for having fake license plates. Another girl got pulled over in a taxi and found out her driver didn't have his license. But it was okay because he just bribed the police officer. Basically, what I'm saying is, I will ride the COTA bus when I get home and I will love it.

3. Taco Bell

You all knew this was coming. Over the month of May I developed a pretty serious Taco Bell addiction. I went through a rough withdrawal period where the thought of a Doritos Locos Taco would bring tears to my eyes. I'm better now, it isn't as much of a struggle. Who knows, maybe by the end of July I won't even want TBell anymore. Probably not.

4. Close Friends

Don't get me wrong, I have met some really cool kids here in Lima. But I have only known them for a month. It takes me a long time to warm up to people, probably about one month. So I'm not terribly close with anyone, at least, in comparison to my friends at home. That's kind of rough because I'm getting hit with some heavy topics, but I don't feel comfortable enough to say, "Hey, so what did you think about the way the Inca were oppressed in the 1600s? I'm not sure how I feel about them mostly embracing Catholicism now, is that wrong of me?"So yeah. It's not like I'm looking for answers to those questions, but I wish my friends were here to work things out a little with me.

5. My fam

Yeah, I know. But it's true. I just miss them, okay? I haven't been in the same room as Dana for more than 24 hours for 2 months now. It's rough.

6. Quiet

One of the professors here said that the car alarm is Peru's second national anthem. I have memorized the sound of a car alarm. I could sing along. Also, people honk to pass other cars here. And to try to get taxi passengers and to say, "Get out of my way!" It's just loud. And I miss quiet.

Things that I love about Peru:

1. The History

People have been in Lima for 5000 years. No, I did not type too many zeros. There are prehistoric pyramids in the city! Machu Picchu is only the most famous cool thing, not the only cool thing. There are ruins everywhere. And museums everywhere! A lot of the museums here are free. I haven't had the chance to go anywhere, yet, but this month is more promising.

2. The diversity

Yeah, the US is diverse, but more so in people. The geography differences are more spread out. Peru has 11 eco regions. It has 28 of the 32 different types of climates. You can drive from the coast to the desert in less than an hour. And then you can go from the desert to the mountains and from the mountains to the jungle. Each area has its own types of food and music and dance. It's crazy. Even the weather changes as you move around the country. So there is a lot to do here.

3. The Food

Of course I love the food. Everyone loves the food. Peru is one of the best places to go for food. That's actually a type of tourism. Thank you, Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern. The classic Peruvian dish that everyone has to try when they are here is ceviche. One of my professors told us that it was named by tourists. The fishermen would eat raw fish out on their boats with a little lime juice. When tourists encountered the meal, it was on the coast. Sea + beach = ceviche. Basically, ceviche is raw seafood mixed with onions and lime juice. It's pretty good, but you have to eat a sweet potato with it to really love it. I had my first ceviche last night. It was wonderful. And if you haven't noticed,  I love the fruits. Maracuya (passion fruit) is my favorite. And lúcuma ice cream. It kind of tastes like cake, only kind of fruity. They also have this pepper called the ahí pepper. It's really spicy, but they take out the seeds and boil it down into a sauce that isn't spicy at all. It is so good and we eat it on potatoes all the time. Basically I eat a lot here.

4. The Shopping

Okay this is bad of me. I spend too much money on clothes. I just like clothes a lot. Peru has a lot of cheap clothes. It's actually kind of a black market thing, but the government doesn't really care. They call it "informal." There is one place downtown that I haven't been to yet called Gamarra. It is a big clothes market where you can get lots of cheap things. One of our leaders said you can get 3 polos for S/.20 which is like 9 dollars. Yeah, I know. I want to go to there. 

5. My host family

They are super nice. My host mom is so loving. She is kind of a mother hen. She always makes sure I wear my scarf when it's cold. I get a hug everytime I leave and when I get back. It hasn't started to annoy me yet, so that is good. They are probably the people I speak the most Spanish with and have been so helpful. 

Basically, things are different. I miss home a lot, but there are a lot of great things happening in Peru that I don't want to miss out on. Still on the list of things to do are surfing, probably shopping, playing with kids, going to museums, and eating more foods. Maybe another little trip somewhere. The Peruvian Independence Day is July 28 and they said that they celebrate with some fireworks and barbecues and free pisco sours. So at least I will get to celebrate one Independence Day right. 

They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black

I spent my Saturday and Sunday in Ica and Paracas! Woohoo! They are about a four hour drive south of Lima! So we took a private bus! I loved it! (Really.)

We arrived in Ica around 11 am and went right to the dune buggies. It was one of the most fun things I have ever done. Each dune buggy held 10 riders and we had to wear seat belts that went over both shoulders, like on roller coasters. That was because dune buggying is like riding a roller coaster. If I hadn't been wearing that seatbelt I actually would have fallen out. Our driver was crazy and took us over huge dunes really fast and then turned and went back down again. That might not make sense, but that's okay. 

We stopped at the top of a particularly large dune to take pictures and sand board! They gave each of us a board that looked a lot like a snowboard. We didn't do it standing up. That would have been crazy on our first time. We went down on our stomachs. You had to make sure your chin was up so that if you fell you didn't get a face full of sand. It was so fun. Like sledding, only warmer and dirtier.

There were three hills to go down and then we got back in the buggies and drove around for a while before going back to Huancachina for lunch. We sat next to the oasis and at chicken and salad and potatoes. It was wonderful.

Then we went to our hotel/resort. This was the cheap excursion, guys. And we stayed at a 4 star resort. No one was expecting this. We got free pisco sours as a welcome present! And then we sat by the pool all afternoon. It was like a real vacation. 

For dinner we went to the city of Ica and found our own food. I had a rainbow smoothie and a chicken empanada. Empanadas are the bomb. If you haven't had one, I highly suggest it. Also, maracuya.

Sunday we left bright and early for Paracas which is about an hour and a half away, on the coast. We went on a boat tour and saw birds and sea lions and PENGUINS. They are migrating right now and the current goes right along the coast of Peru. It was sweet, but I felt a little motion sick. Then, on the way back we saw dolphins! I have seen so many dolphins in the last month!

After the tour we were able to shop a bit and then we went to lunch at Chincha. Chincha used to be where all the slaves were. When slavery was outlawed, they all kind of stayed in the area. This has led to a very distinct culture in this area. We had lunch at La Hacienda San Juan which was owned by some rich guys who owned lots of slaves. Eventually, the property was turned into an area for tourists. It's now a hotel and the descendents of the same slaves who worked there run the place now. They do a show with lunch where they sing and play music that developed there. And lunch was so good. Then we went on a tour. They took us in the catacombs and reminded us that while plantations are beautiful, they are also filled with horror. Slaves were brought to the catacombs first, to die from the diseases they had contracted. It weeded out the weak. They were abused there. It was awful. And there was a church on the property. It was just really sad. But at least their stories are being told. 

(This month, more than any other time in my life, I have been confronted with the idea of success at the expense of another. From Las Alturas de Machu Picchu, to the destruction of the rainforest, to the unequal spread of wealth in Peru, and La Hacienda de San Juan. On top of that, I'm reading Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. I don't know what to do with all this yet, but for now I'm acknowledging that it's happening.)

After the tour, we got on our buses and went back to Lima. I have only listened to Sufjan Stevens this weekend. It was about time I became a fan.

This one's kind of boring. Sorry.

Last Thursday, for my Socio-Economic Reality of Peru class, we visited some "microempresas" (micro enterprises). It was really cool.

First we went to a house where a couple owns a clothing shop. The husband makes the fabric from alpaca at another location and the wife and a few others design, make, and sell the clothing at a shop in the city. They have worked with an international designer, so these ponchos, hats, and scarves are on the cutting edge of fashion. Their children are grown and have all learned to make clothing as well and work in textile production too. 

Then we visited a building where people can pay to use the sewing machines and equipment to make their clothes to sell. There were like, 15 sewing machines in this room. Some of the women showed us some of their products. One of them had Victoria's Secret stuff. I'm not sure if she was making knock-offs or what, but it was kind of funny. 

Next we visited an artist in his home. He has learned to paint reverse colors on glass so that you are looking through the glass at the painting. It's a pretty sweet skill. He makes boxes and trays and mirrors and can export them all over the world. He and his brother also make keychains and souvenirs that you can buy at the airport. It was really cool to see where some of this stuff comes from. It isn't all sweat shops like I have grown to expect. 

We went back to the place with the sewing machines to see a jewelry collective. They make a lot of rings and sell them at malls and mercados. They have all of these metal working machines at this little shop. It was sweet to see a little about how they do it. They also fed us sandwiches and coffee and took lots of pictures of us. They really liked that we were there.

Then we visited a group of indigenous women who crochet really nice, very fashionable, clothing. Their name is quechuan. So that's cool. They sell their stuff in one of the bigger malls in Lima. They each come in for a few hours a day and crochet a bunch and then sell it. They had a sign on the wall that said, "Solos somos invisibles. Juntos somos invencibles." (Alone we are invisible. Together we are invincible.)

Lastly, we went to another home where they make jewelry in the back. This guy showed us in much greater detail how rings are made. They start with a base, made in a mold. They then cover this with silver in a canister. Then they clean it and add details. It was really fun to watch him actually make a ring in front of us. And it was so pretty!

It was a long day, but very cool. All of these people live in the same area, San Juan de Lurigancho. In the 60s-80s everyone moved into the city. Now the majority of people in Peru live in Lima. San Juan de Lurigancho is an area where many artisans moved and live today. 

The One Where I Meet My Favorite City Ever

Cusco is beautiful. I actually think it might be one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. My pictures don't do it justice. 

On Monday we got to sleep in a little and leave at 9 for Ollantaytambo. Once in Ollantaytambo, we got on our buses and headed out for Cusco. 

On the way, we stopped at a chichería. Chicha is a type of beer made from corn. The corn is left out to germinate. Once they have sprouted, the kernels are boiled for four hours over a wood stove. The mixture is then sifted into a big clay pot through a woven basket. Nothing is sanitized, as far as I know. The beer is left to ferment for 3 days. It's only 3% alcohol, so farmers usually drink from a half-liter glass. And they drink a lot. It's okay, because German researchers just found out that it helps prevent prostate cancer. You'll probably start seeing more chicha in the states soon.

We also played a fun game where you throw coins onto a little table with holes carved into it and a toad in the middle. The goal is to get the coins in the toad's mouth, but the holes count for points too. The coins fall into a drawer underneath, so when you have thrown them all, you pull out the drawer and add it up. Whoever loses usually buys a round of drinks.

After that we were on our way to Cusco! After we checked into our hotels, the rest of the day was basically free to do what we wanted. There was an optional tour, which I went on because I like to learn. I had lunch with some other girls at a little pastelería. I had spinach quiche and a cheese sandwich with limonada. It was soo good, but I felt so full the rest of the day. It takes twice as long to digest at high altitudes like that. I wouldn't recommend it.

The tour basically consisted of the cathedral and a market. The cathedral was really cool because it was built over an Incan shrine. The Spanish forced the Inca to build the cathedral, so during the construction they made little suggestions and quite effectively hid Incan symbols all over the church. Many paintings have the Southern Cross in them, which is a constellation that is very important in the Incan culture. 

There is also wooden crucifix in this cathedral where the image of Jesus is black. Several hundred years ago, there were really bad earthquakes in Cusco. The Catholic priests said this was punishment and they should have a ceremony and ask for forgiveness. So they took this crucifix out into the plaza and began worshipping. The earthquakes stopped and as a thank-you they lit hundreds of giant candles all around the cross. They kept these candles lit for years. With all of that smoke, the crucifix was forever stained black. Now, there are electric candles in front of the shrine. It's a cool story.

After that tour, we went to a market where they sell grocery-type items. It was mostly closed because it was a holiday, but we got to buy some coffee and chocolate. Chocolate was invented here. By the Incas. You would think that there would be more of it.

By the time we got done with the tour, it was almost dark. Lights were coming on, and this is why I love Cusco. The whole mountainside was lit up with little twinkly lights all around the city. It was so beautiful. 

A couple girls and I went to a fancy bonbon store where you could get chocolates filled with fruit or liquor. I got a few. So far, so good. Basically maracuya is the best fruit ever.

Then we went to the textile market and I bought way too many souvenirs. I'm probably done with that now. But everything is just so pretty and so cool. I want it all!

After that we went back to the hotel and met up with some others for dinner. We went to a traditional restaurant called Valentino's and had cuy. In case you aren't aware, cuy is guinea pig. It is a delicacy in the Andean Mountains. They put enough spices on it that I probably would have believed it was chicken if they hadn't served it to us whole. I also had palm hearts and Cusqueña, the local beer. It was an alcohol-filled day, I guess. They had a live band that played really good music. Most indigenous music that we heard was just covers of American pop songs (like My Heart Will Go On, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, and Let It Be) done with a flute and violin, but these guys were better than that.

We went back to the hotel for another early bedtime. Both of my roommates were out late, so I got the room to myself for a while. It was really nice to have some alone time after a weekend constantly surrounded by people.

At breakfast the next day, I finally had my coffee. And I had chocolate cereal with vanilla yogurt. It was fantastic. And to top it all off, there was a man playing piano in the breakfast room. He played lots of great songs, like The Entertainer, and Dancing Queen. The best, though, was The Star Spangled Banner. We all gave each other confused looks and then just went with it. We clapped at the end just like it was a sporting event. 

I'm becoming a breakfast person. Slowly, but surely. As long as I keep having great breakfast experiences like that, I will be fully converted by the time I get home. Look out, world.