Sunday, May 10, 2009 11:56 PM
My house in Lima
Our last two days in the Amazon/Iquitos...
Saturday
We took our boat to another alberque (lodge), and on the way we looked for pink dolphins (no luck, but we saw some gray ones) again. Our tour guide also stopped the boat and told us we could swim. None of us were wearing swimsuits, but most of us jumped in the river anyways, jeans and all. I don’t know who started it, but since you couldn’t see anything underwater from all the silt deposits, we all ended up taking our soaked clothes off and twirling them in the air (maybe TMI, but hey, skinny dipping in the Amazon is a great story). We then ate lunch and hung out at the alberque before we went fishing for piranhas! They were tricky little devils, they would nibble at the chicken on our wooden fishing poles, but never enough to get caught on the hook. I think Hannah was the only one to actually catch one.
We then traveled by boat (we normally would have hiked down a path, but the river is 12 ft higher than normal so everything is flooded) to a giant kapok tree. En route we passed large termite nests building like beehives on trees and large floating plants. I picked one up at the guides request but there was a huge spider on it so I quickly dropped it back where it belonged.
Speaking of our guide and dangerous animals…he would use his machete at times to cut branches out of our path but at one point he suddenly started hacking like crazy at the large tree next to our boat. We were so confused but it turns out that there was a snake that was about to get on our boat. And not just any snake – the flur de lance, the most poisonous reptile in the Americas, whose bite kills within three hours. I thought we had our fill of hazardous animals for the day but on the boat back to our lodge, someone was playing with my hair when people started exclaiming and screaming. I was freaked out because I had no idea what was on my head – it ended up being the biggest spider we had seen that day, at least 4 inches wide. After all the nature excitement, a relaxing night of dinner, indigenous drum show, talking, and listening to the sounds of the jungle were in order.
Sunday
We rode around bird watching for a bit before heading to a natural animal zoo, I guess you could call it. It was just a bunch of wild animals in the open vicinity of a local hut. There were different types of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, and one came down and jumped right on my back, before several of its curious friends hopped down to us too. They gave a whole new meaning to “monkeying around;” they were rather devilish, one jumped on me, grabbing me by the shirt and almost pulling it off. There were also coati (the same animals from Iguazú) and I was so jealous that Henry (plus two native guys) got to carry a huge anaconda (the rest of us had just put on insect repellant so we weren’t allowed to do anything more than pet it).
One of the funniest animals I have ever seen in my life was the sloth (oso perezoso, or “lazy bear” in Spanish). It had its limbs stuck out of its body like a turtle, moved like a robot, and a drugged up expression (I don’t know how else to describe it, it has huge dilated pupils and a lazy little grin on its face). I got to hold it by its dirty matted fur and it made this screeching sound while digging its claws into my neck and arms. Those things were sharp! Although it was only for a couple seconds, he left an impression in my skin for the rest of the day.
Our last stop of the tour was an indigenous Jagua village, where we got to shoot off a 4 foot long blow dart gun (I got it right in the heart!) and participate in traditional dances with the locals. After that, we made our way back to Iquitos, where we had several hours to wander, shop, and eat before flying back to Lima!
Wuaaaaaa ahhhhhh ahhhh! (That means “I love the Amazon” in Tarzan speak), Nicole
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
It's a Jungle Out There!
Friday, May 8, 2009 Nighttime
Ecolodge in the middle of the Amazon
Well, after 20 hours in airplanes or airports, I miraculously made it all the way from Washington DC to Iquitos, the largest city in the world that is inaccessible by car. Although I originally had an image of a small fishing village with straw huts on the water’s edge, I had later read that it was actually a city of 400,000. My preconceptions of stepping off the plane and landing smack dab in the middle of a huge canopy rainforest were further proved wrong as we hit the tarmac to be greeted by fields and sporadic trees. I was picked up by a guide and driven through Iquitos to meet with the rest of the group at their hotel.
The drive itself was fascinating, and I could observe a lot of differences between Iquitos and Lima. Besides the main streets that I rode down, many of the roads and sidewalks were unpaved, dusty paths. Also, besides the few large vans meant for tourist groups, I didn’t see a single car on the way to the hotel. Everyone rode around on either motorcycles or these 3 wheeled motorcycles connected to a little cab for two people. Many of the buildings lining the street appeared “run down” with their concrete walls and mismatched tin roofs, but I found an incredible beauty in the varied colors of faded and peeling paint.
After a happy reunion with the group, we were off on a canoe-shaped motorboat with thatched palm roof for the hour’s ride from Iquitos to our lodge on the Amazon River. I dozed a bit since I was so exhausted but woke up startled when everyone started exclaiming over seeing a pink dolphin jump out of the water. There were several dolphins hanging around in the water near us, so that was pretty cool.
The lodge itself is awesome. The huge main building, where meals are served, is interconnected by wooden pathways to the smaller cabins for sleeping. There is even a hut with hammocks that face out to the river. All the structures are made from wood but have thatched palms as roofs. Also, there is no electricity, so we use kerosene lamps at night– I’m actually writing by lamplight at the moment.
After a delicious lunch – the standard rice, beans, and chicken, but with a flavoring distinctly from the jungle with a tart, lemony sauce - we took a boat to a nearby village. We went on a short hike (with big rubber boots) past water buffalo and slightly flooded paths (apparently the Amazon is over 12 feet higher than usual) to a shaman’s hut. A shaman is the local medicine man, who uses different plants and herbs to treat his patients. He demonstrated many of these different treatments and we even got to try some of the plants and liquids commonly used. We then headed back to the village and a local woman demonstrated how to use the special wooden press for sugar cane. We took turns trying it and then we all got to drink fresh sugar cane juice with lemon – so delicious. We were back on the boat just in time for sunset, which was gorgeous over the water. The rest of our night was spent at the lodge eating another great meal and making up song games in the lodge.
Coli
Ecolodge in the middle of the Amazon
Well, after 20 hours in airplanes or airports, I miraculously made it all the way from Washington DC to Iquitos, the largest city in the world that is inaccessible by car. Although I originally had an image of a small fishing village with straw huts on the water’s edge, I had later read that it was actually a city of 400,000. My preconceptions of stepping off the plane and landing smack dab in the middle of a huge canopy rainforest were further proved wrong as we hit the tarmac to be greeted by fields and sporadic trees. I was picked up by a guide and driven through Iquitos to meet with the rest of the group at their hotel.
The drive itself was fascinating, and I could observe a lot of differences between Iquitos and Lima. Besides the main streets that I rode down, many of the roads and sidewalks were unpaved, dusty paths. Also, besides the few large vans meant for tourist groups, I didn’t see a single car on the way to the hotel. Everyone rode around on either motorcycles or these 3 wheeled motorcycles connected to a little cab for two people. Many of the buildings lining the street appeared “run down” with their concrete walls and mismatched tin roofs, but I found an incredible beauty in the varied colors of faded and peeling paint.
After a happy reunion with the group, we were off on a canoe-shaped motorboat with thatched palm roof for the hour’s ride from Iquitos to our lodge on the Amazon River. I dozed a bit since I was so exhausted but woke up startled when everyone started exclaiming over seeing a pink dolphin jump out of the water. There were several dolphins hanging around in the water near us, so that was pretty cool.
The lodge itself is awesome. The huge main building, where meals are served, is interconnected by wooden pathways to the smaller cabins for sleeping. There is even a hut with hammocks that face out to the river. All the structures are made from wood but have thatched palms as roofs. Also, there is no electricity, so we use kerosene lamps at night– I’m actually writing by lamplight at the moment.
After a delicious lunch – the standard rice, beans, and chicken, but with a flavoring distinctly from the jungle with a tart, lemony sauce - we took a boat to a nearby village. We went on a short hike (with big rubber boots) past water buffalo and slightly flooded paths (apparently the Amazon is over 12 feet higher than usual) to a shaman’s hut. A shaman is the local medicine man, who uses different plants and herbs to treat his patients. He demonstrated many of these different treatments and we even got to try some of the plants and liquids commonly used. We then headed back to the village and a local woman demonstrated how to use the special wooden press for sugar cane. We took turns trying it and then we all got to drink fresh sugar cane juice with lemon – so delicious. We were back on the boat just in time for sunset, which was gorgeous over the water. The rest of our night was spent at the lodge eating another great meal and making up song games in the lodge.
Coli
Back in the Good Ole USA...for a Day
Friday, May 8, 2009 4:30 AM
Airport in Lima
About a month ago, I was selected as one of forty finalists for the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship, so Tuesday night I was on a flight to Washington, D.C. for a final interview.
Being back in the United States for the first time in 3.5 months:
My first reaction to getting off the plane at my layover in Miami Wednesday morning was “No! I’m not ready to be back!” but after seeing a big group of school children, I felt so at home. I had forgotten how diverse everyone is in the United States and it was so heartwarming to see the kids laughing and talking together.
My second reaction was “Hey, I’m short again!” Even though I’m only 5’4 or 5’5, I am considered tall in Peru. I tower over other girls – even when they are wearing 3 inch wedges – and tend to be about the same height as most guys.
My third reaction was “Yay!” when I realized how easy it was to find public bathrooms where 1) I didn’t have to pay, 2) came with toilet paper, 3) had a seat cover, and 4) I could flush said toilet paper down the toilet itself. I’ve grown accustomed to having 1 or 2 of these conditions met at a time but not all together.
There were so many other little things that I had forgotten about that seemed amazing to me. For instance, when I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my Aunt Deirdre (we had a great visit since she lives close to the hotel I was staying at), and I remembered I could have free tap water with ice, I might have actually gasped aloud. And for dinner, I was able to have food similar to a gyro that I’ve been craving for several months now!
The interview Thursday morning went fine and I had the opportunity to tour the Foreign Service Institute. It was interesting to see the perspective of the United States in foreign affairs in a different light. After my interview was done, I began the long process of flights and layovers to get into Lima and I’m still in the airport waiting to fly directly to Iquitos to visit the Peruvian part of the Amazon.
Stay tuned for my crazy weekend in the jungle! Coli
Airport in Lima
About a month ago, I was selected as one of forty finalists for the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship, so Tuesday night I was on a flight to Washington, D.C. for a final interview.
Being back in the United States for the first time in 3.5 months:
My first reaction to getting off the plane at my layover in Miami Wednesday morning was “No! I’m not ready to be back!” but after seeing a big group of school children, I felt so at home. I had forgotten how diverse everyone is in the United States and it was so heartwarming to see the kids laughing and talking together.
My second reaction was “Hey, I’m short again!” Even though I’m only 5’4 or 5’5, I am considered tall in Peru. I tower over other girls – even when they are wearing 3 inch wedges – and tend to be about the same height as most guys.
My third reaction was “Yay!” when I realized how easy it was to find public bathrooms where 1) I didn’t have to pay, 2) came with toilet paper, 3) had a seat cover, and 4) I could flush said toilet paper down the toilet itself. I’ve grown accustomed to having 1 or 2 of these conditions met at a time but not all together.
There were so many other little things that I had forgotten about that seemed amazing to me. For instance, when I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my Aunt Deirdre (we had a great visit since she lives close to the hotel I was staying at), and I remembered I could have free tap water with ice, I might have actually gasped aloud. And for dinner, I was able to have food similar to a gyro that I’ve been craving for several months now!
The interview Thursday morning went fine and I had the opportunity to tour the Foreign Service Institute. It was interesting to see the perspective of the United States in foreign affairs in a different light. After my interview was done, I began the long process of flights and layovers to get into Lima and I’m still in the airport waiting to fly directly to Iquitos to visit the Peruvian part of the Amazon.
Stay tuned for my crazy weekend in the jungle! Coli
Parents in Peru, Part Two!
Monday May 4, 2009 11:34 PM
My house in Lima
My last day with the parents! In the morning after giving a tour of my school and the ISA office, we headed to the Barranco barrio so that they could see the beautiful old architecture. We came back to the house for lunch to eat a typical homemade Peruvian meal and they devoured the arroz con pollo. While I headed to class in the afternoon, I unleashed my parents in the city center to church and museum hop. I met up with them after my class ended to catch the last tour of the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco.
We walked throughout the still-functioning monastery currently home to 200 monks, passing under ornate wooden-carved domes hosting shrieking bats, through corridors lined by azulejos (decorate tiles) and fading wall murals of old Franciscan brothers, around cloisters bordered by hundreds of glowing wax candles, in rooms hosting priceless artworks and furniture, to the grand finale – the catacombs underneath the church. Hosting over 25,000 bodies interred between the 17th and 19th centuries, we walked in between the old brick walls (with a mortar combination of limestone and egg whites, among other materials) to view piles of femurs and skulls. At one point I looked up set of stairs and saw directly into the church- turns out it was a passageway I had noticed from the church the night before. It was originally the entry point for the monks carrying in the body directly after the funeral.
For dinner, I made reservations at Junius, the same buffet and dinner show that I ate at during my first weekend in Lima. My dad wanted to take a bus from the city center to Miraflores, which was probably not the best idea since we were on the bus for 1 hour, 45 minutes before we finally got off and grabbed a taxi the rest of the way to the restaurant. Of course the food was delicious and the show was great, but it was really cool to compare it to my first time. I was familiar with some of the dances, such as the Marianera with the horse, which I saw at the Paso de Caballos. I also knew almost all the names for the dishes they served as well. Actually, as I was eating, I felt like there was something missing from the food and then I realized – there wasn’t any spiciness! I guess they tone it down for all tourists. I couldn’t even find ají on the buffet, but the waiter brought me some and warned me how hot it was several times. But it was actually relatively mild compared to what I have grown accustomed to – this is all so ironic considering medium Buffalo wings were too spicy for me before coming to Peru! At any rate, we headed home with our stuffed stomachs so my parents could sleep before their 5:30 AM flight to Cusco and I could pack for my flight at night to Washington, D.C.!
I'm leaving on a jet plane! Coli
My house in Lima
My last day with the parents! In the morning after giving a tour of my school and the ISA office, we headed to the Barranco barrio so that they could see the beautiful old architecture. We came back to the house for lunch to eat a typical homemade Peruvian meal and they devoured the arroz con pollo. While I headed to class in the afternoon, I unleashed my parents in the city center to church and museum hop. I met up with them after my class ended to catch the last tour of the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco.
We walked throughout the still-functioning monastery currently home to 200 monks, passing under ornate wooden-carved domes hosting shrieking bats, through corridors lined by azulejos (decorate tiles) and fading wall murals of old Franciscan brothers, around cloisters bordered by hundreds of glowing wax candles, in rooms hosting priceless artworks and furniture, to the grand finale – the catacombs underneath the church. Hosting over 25,000 bodies interred between the 17th and 19th centuries, we walked in between the old brick walls (with a mortar combination of limestone and egg whites, among other materials) to view piles of femurs and skulls. At one point I looked up set of stairs and saw directly into the church- turns out it was a passageway I had noticed from the church the night before. It was originally the entry point for the monks carrying in the body directly after the funeral.
For dinner, I made reservations at Junius, the same buffet and dinner show that I ate at during my first weekend in Lima. My dad wanted to take a bus from the city center to Miraflores, which was probably not the best idea since we were on the bus for 1 hour, 45 minutes before we finally got off and grabbed a taxi the rest of the way to the restaurant. Of course the food was delicious and the show was great, but it was really cool to compare it to my first time. I was familiar with some of the dances, such as the Marianera with the horse, which I saw at the Paso de Caballos. I also knew almost all the names for the dishes they served as well. Actually, as I was eating, I felt like there was something missing from the food and then I realized – there wasn’t any spiciness! I guess they tone it down for all tourists. I couldn’t even find ají on the buffet, but the waiter brought me some and warned me how hot it was several times. But it was actually relatively mild compared to what I have grown accustomed to – this is all so ironic considering medium Buffalo wings were too spicy for me before coming to Peru! At any rate, we headed home with our stuffed stomachs so my parents could sleep before their 5:30 AM flight to Cusco and I could pack for my flight at night to Washington, D.C.!
I'm leaving on a jet plane! Coli
Parents in Peru!
Sunday, May 3, 2009 11:11 PM
My house in Lima
My parents have finally arrived to Lima! Although the fog also caused their original flight to Lima on Friday night to be cancelled (I really don’t like the fog), I greeted them at the airport when they finally got in late last night (Saturday) and we had a full day of sightseeing in Lima today since they missed their bus for the excursion to the Nazca lines that I planned (I really, really don’t like the fog).
Before my parents arrived…
Friday was a national holiday, like our Labor Day, so we had no classes. I spent most of the day on essays and presentations for classes but danced the night away with some Multisas and our Peruvian friends. Henry, Lucia, and I woke up bright and early again Saturday morning to go to Gamarra, a huge collection of streets overrun by pedestrians and stores with bargain prices from clothes and other items. After filling my once-empty tote bag with purchases and emptying my once-full wallet, we grabbed a menú from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant for four soles (US$1.33) that included a drink, huge bowl of soup, and a main plate pilled with rice, beans, salad, and res de seco (beef with a sauce). Though we were absolutely stuffed, we then had the brilliant idea to take several combis (small bus-vans) to Plaza San Miguel to a huge Metro grocery store to demolish a liter of ice cream, several different bags of cookies, and cake. Hyped on sugar and low on sleep, we excitedly headed back to my house to dance to music in my living room until it was time to pick up my parents! It was great seeing them, although I actually had a hard time thinking and speaking in English at first since I had only spoken Spanish the whole day.
Today (Sunday)
Our first stop on the “Parents in Peru” tour was to the barrio Pueblo Libre to see two fantastic museums on pre-Columbian civilizations. The first was the one (Museo de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia) I had visited previously with my art class so I played tour guide to my parents before we headed to the Museo Antropolgico de Rafeal Herrera, which was incredible. There was a really well-designed main gallery that focused on each of the pre-Columbian cultures and included artifacts such as typical clothing ornaments, pottery, and textiles. I thought it was fascinating how they would gauge their ears to wear decorative earrings that looked big enough to use as spikes in railroad construction. They also wore large nose rings that were so big, they covered the entire mouth and chin.
Also, the museum has woven textiles that hold the world record for the most intricate thread count – so small it’s impossible to create with a needle or loom (they still have no idea how it was woven so finely). One of my favorite parts of the museum was the archives, which housed rooms filled with thousands of ceremonial pottery in pristine condition that depict of all aspects of society at the time. It’s great that so much can be inferred from the pieces. There was also a gallery displaying erotic pottery, either depicting religious sex, the naturalness of sex, warnings against an excess of sex (often with skeleton depictions), or some that were like how-to manuals. As you can imagine, there were some extremely graphic ones.
During the afternoon, we went to Ashley and Caroline’s house for a big parrilla (barbeque) and my parents met all the Multisas while chowing down on some delicious food. From there, we headed to the Centro (city center) and Plaza de Armas, the main historic plaza. We watched some sort of big changing of the guard ceremony at the Palacio del Gobierno (Palace of the Government), or Peru’s White House equivalent, before walking around the rest of the Plaza. We visited the gorgeous Iglesia de San Francisco with its intricate altars and then happened across a special exhibit inside the Palacio del Gobierno on la tomba del Señor de Sipan. Besides seeing more awesome pre-Incan artifacts, it was a neat opportunity to see the inside of the ornate Palacio del Gobierno.
Our last stop of the night was to Las Piletas Mágicas (Magic Fountains), which I had visited previously on the Mirabus city tour. My parents seemed to like the surprise and we discovered a whole other section with even more fountains than I had visited last time. I also ran into my Trade professor – pretty cool to see someone I know in a city of 8 million.
Looking forward to another day with the padres! Coli
My house in Lima
My parents have finally arrived to Lima! Although the fog also caused their original flight to Lima on Friday night to be cancelled (I really don’t like the fog), I greeted them at the airport when they finally got in late last night (Saturday) and we had a full day of sightseeing in Lima today since they missed their bus for the excursion to the Nazca lines that I planned (I really, really don’t like the fog).
Before my parents arrived…
Friday was a national holiday, like our Labor Day, so we had no classes. I spent most of the day on essays and presentations for classes but danced the night away with some Multisas and our Peruvian friends. Henry, Lucia, and I woke up bright and early again Saturday morning to go to Gamarra, a huge collection of streets overrun by pedestrians and stores with bargain prices from clothes and other items. After filling my once-empty tote bag with purchases and emptying my once-full wallet, we grabbed a menú from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant for four soles (US$1.33) that included a drink, huge bowl of soup, and a main plate pilled with rice, beans, salad, and res de seco (beef with a sauce). Though we were absolutely stuffed, we then had the brilliant idea to take several combis (small bus-vans) to Plaza San Miguel to a huge Metro grocery store to demolish a liter of ice cream, several different bags of cookies, and cake. Hyped on sugar and low on sleep, we excitedly headed back to my house to dance to music in my living room until it was time to pick up my parents! It was great seeing them, although I actually had a hard time thinking and speaking in English at first since I had only spoken Spanish the whole day.
Today (Sunday)
Our first stop on the “Parents in Peru” tour was to the barrio Pueblo Libre to see two fantastic museums on pre-Columbian civilizations. The first was the one (Museo de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia) I had visited previously with my art class so I played tour guide to my parents before we headed to the Museo Antropolgico de Rafeal Herrera, which was incredible. There was a really well-designed main gallery that focused on each of the pre-Columbian cultures and included artifacts such as typical clothing ornaments, pottery, and textiles. I thought it was fascinating how they would gauge their ears to wear decorative earrings that looked big enough to use as spikes in railroad construction. They also wore large nose rings that were so big, they covered the entire mouth and chin.
Also, the museum has woven textiles that hold the world record for the most intricate thread count – so small it’s impossible to create with a needle or loom (they still have no idea how it was woven so finely). One of my favorite parts of the museum was the archives, which housed rooms filled with thousands of ceremonial pottery in pristine condition that depict of all aspects of society at the time. It’s great that so much can be inferred from the pieces. There was also a gallery displaying erotic pottery, either depicting religious sex, the naturalness of sex, warnings against an excess of sex (often with skeleton depictions), or some that were like how-to manuals. As you can imagine, there were some extremely graphic ones.
During the afternoon, we went to Ashley and Caroline’s house for a big parrilla (barbeque) and my parents met all the Multisas while chowing down on some delicious food. From there, we headed to the Centro (city center) and Plaza de Armas, the main historic plaza. We watched some sort of big changing of the guard ceremony at the Palacio del Gobierno (Palace of the Government), or Peru’s White House equivalent, before walking around the rest of the Plaza. We visited the gorgeous Iglesia de San Francisco with its intricate altars and then happened across a special exhibit inside the Palacio del Gobierno on la tomba del Señor de Sipan. Besides seeing more awesome pre-Incan artifacts, it was a neat opportunity to see the inside of the ornate Palacio del Gobierno.
Our last stop of the night was to Las Piletas Mágicas (Magic Fountains), which I had visited previously on the Mirabus city tour. My parents seemed to like the surprise and we discovered a whole other section with even more fountains than I had visited last time. I also ran into my Trade professor – pretty cool to see someone I know in a city of 8 million.
Looking forward to another day with the padres! Coli
Baranco and Neblina
Thursday April 30, 2009 2:29 AM
My house in Lima
Monday, April 27, 2008
Today Kara, Lindsey, and I left early this morning to explore Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. Although we had been there before during the night, it was too dark to appreciate the unique colors and styles of all the houses in the area. We spent several hours just wandering and enjoying the unique architecture. We made a point to stop by the Puente del Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs), supposedly named for a tragic love-stricken aristocratic girl who pined after a street sweeper from her window. Legend says that your wish is granted if you walk across the bridge without breathing, but I started laughing as we walked briskly across the wooden planks and unfortunately didn’t make it. We also enjoyed the view of the ocean far below us at the base of the cliffs before we caught a bus back to near school.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Another morning at the beach, followed by a field trip in our Trade class to ADEX, a trade body comprised of companies that represent 33% of trade in Peru. We had a small intercambio with ISA in Barranco and went to dinner for anticuchos (cow hearts on a skewer) and picarones (sort of like fried doughnuts, but made from yam and with a honey sauce), followed by a salsa class. We tried crossing the Puente de Suspiros again, although I’m not sure if it counts on your second time. At any rate, I forgot to take a deep breath and ended up sprinting across the bridge. We looked like fools, I’m sure.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Well, today was a reminder that sometimes things don’t always work out the way you planned. Though I currently should be in the midst of the Amazon jungle, a heavy fog (neblina) descended over Lima (and smells abhorrently of fish), preventing any flights from leaving. So we ended up sitting in the airport for eight hours while they determined whether to cancel our flight completely – which they did. In the end, we rescheduled our trip for next weekend. I’m definitely excited that I’m still going but it also means that things will be even more complicated with my parent’s visit – can’t believe they arrive tomorrow night! Looks like I at least get to greet them when they arrive, and I’m sure everything will work out for the best so we can spend time together in between both our travels. We finally got home around 12:30 AM and I had so much pent up energy that I went running with James and Lauren until 2:20. Now that I’m home, I’m ready to crash!
TIP OF THE DAY: Don’t buy candy bars from airports. And if you do, make sure they don’t try and estafarte (rip you off) – especially when the register rings up the price at 3.00 to make you think, “Oh, 3 soles/1 USD, that’s not too bad,” when in reality you receive little change back and discover that it was actually US$3 and S/.9 for a little candy bar! Sorry, just a little bitter.
Can't wait to see the padres! Coli
My house in Lima
Monday, April 27, 2008
Today Kara, Lindsey, and I left early this morning to explore Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. Although we had been there before during the night, it was too dark to appreciate the unique colors and styles of all the houses in the area. We spent several hours just wandering and enjoying the unique architecture. We made a point to stop by the Puente del Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs), supposedly named for a tragic love-stricken aristocratic girl who pined after a street sweeper from her window. Legend says that your wish is granted if you walk across the bridge without breathing, but I started laughing as we walked briskly across the wooden planks and unfortunately didn’t make it. We also enjoyed the view of the ocean far below us at the base of the cliffs before we caught a bus back to near school.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Another morning at the beach, followed by a field trip in our Trade class to ADEX, a trade body comprised of companies that represent 33% of trade in Peru. We had a small intercambio with ISA in Barranco and went to dinner for anticuchos (cow hearts on a skewer) and picarones (sort of like fried doughnuts, but made from yam and with a honey sauce), followed by a salsa class. We tried crossing the Puente de Suspiros again, although I’m not sure if it counts on your second time. At any rate, I forgot to take a deep breath and ended up sprinting across the bridge. We looked like fools, I’m sure.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Well, today was a reminder that sometimes things don’t always work out the way you planned. Though I currently should be in the midst of the Amazon jungle, a heavy fog (neblina) descended over Lima (and smells abhorrently of fish), preventing any flights from leaving. So we ended up sitting in the airport for eight hours while they determined whether to cancel our flight completely – which they did. In the end, we rescheduled our trip for next weekend. I’m definitely excited that I’m still going but it also means that things will be even more complicated with my parent’s visit – can’t believe they arrive tomorrow night! Looks like I at least get to greet them when they arrive, and I’m sure everything will work out for the best so we can spend time together in between both our travels. We finally got home around 12:30 AM and I had so much pent up energy that I went running with James and Lauren until 2:20. Now that I’m home, I’m ready to crash!
TIP OF THE DAY: Don’t buy candy bars from airports. And if you do, make sure they don’t try and estafarte (rip you off) – especially when the register rings up the price at 3.00 to make you think, “Oh, 3 soles/1 USD, that’s not too bad,” when in reality you receive little change back and discover that it was actually US$3 and S/.9 for a little candy bar! Sorry, just a little bitter.
Can't wait to see the padres! Coli
A Typical Week in Peru
Sunday, April 26, 2009 00:57
My house in Lima
In International Trade and Negotiation, we presented a case study debate style on the Brazil vs. United States cotton case in the World Trade Organization. After learning about the Indigenísmo art movement in our Peruvian culture class, my night was free and I was set on getting out of the house. Since I’m one of the few people that don’t have a roommate and my host mom and I often have very different schedules, I feel a little lonely at times. Not really bad, but I just get the itch to hang out with other people. A group of us ended up at a café to hang out for a bit and then to a shop that sells really cheap DVDs.
Tuesday
I really enjoy my Spanish class, today we learned words that only women used. Most of them referred to emotions or polite exclamations. Apparently, all the words for guys that women weren’t supposed to use are all the curse words, but that is changing a bit so that women use them. At our weekly ISA meeting we learned about all the upcoming events and tried several different Peruvian pastries to culturally immerse us, of course. I love the program here! I ate lunch at the cafeteria at school, where the daily menu is between S/. 4.50 and S/. 5.50 and includes drink, appetizer, main meal, and dessert! Delicious and costs only about $1.50.
After class, some of us watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas at Lindsey’s house (highly recommend, although very sad) It’s so great that we are allowed to hang out at each other’s houses, unlike in Buenos Aires. Apparently today was Japanese day or something at our university because during the day they had martial arts demonstrations and Japanese character tattoos and at night they had free sushi, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We decided that we were going to put ourselves out there and meet some Peruvian students, although Alex’s attempt to sit in the middle of the school’s courtyard with a sign that said “Amigas, Por fa” (“Friends - of the girl variety - please”) were unsuccessful. We finally just went up to a group of girls as we were leaving the school and said “We only have American friends, will you be our friends?” Though they probably should have ran in the other direction, they were more than happy to talk with us and make several playdates in the upcoming future. We deserve pats on the back for that one.
My late night activities consisted of going to Parque Kennedy with a group and wandering aimlessly. After heading to a club and dancing for a bit, we called it a night. By the way, superlative for weirdest English translation of a drink goes to: “Pisco, juice of lemon, clear of egg, rubber syrup, bitter ice, and bitter of narrowness.” Mmmm, how appetizing.
Wednesday
We keep up our routine of heading to beach Wikiki to lay out on the rocks/surf before classes in the afternoon. At night, Kara, Hannah, Lindsey, and I met up with 5 or 6 Peruvians that we had met through our first Intercambio at the oldest bodega (winery) in Lima and chatted for a while. We then went to English Pub, where they were having a private party for international students from the biggest universities in Lima.
Thursday
Daytime = classes. In Spanish class we did more translation work and learned that “simpatico”, which generally means “nice” has the connotation of “good-looking” in Perú. We laughed about how we’ve been describing people as nice while our host family and other people must have thought we were calling them cute. At night, Henry, Alex, Ashley, and I went to salsa lessons with Lucia (from ISA) and a couple Intercambio friends. I had a blast afterwards when we went to Son de Cuba salsa club and tried out the few new moves we had learned. The two story club had an awesome atmosphere, and all the music was courtesy of a live ten-person Cuban band! We spent a while just listening to them play, it was ¡regio! (great!)
Friday
At night, ISA planned another Intercambio for us and fifteen Peruvians at a bowling alley in the huge Jockey Plaza. It was a lot of fun and I was actually able to teach several Peruvians in Spanish how to bowl because it was the first time for many of them. Afterwards we headed to this amazing ice cream place called 4D, where they had giant colorful mounds of the most delectable-looking ice cream. I ended up calling it an early night after that but had spent a great night conversing with many Peruvians.
Saturday
After spending the day getting papers done, I danced the night away at a birthday party for one of the guys from the Intercambio and all his friends that we’ve been hanging out with. The house we went to was super nice, most of our university friends are definitely from a higher socioeconomic status.
Sunday
Got up early for Caballo a Paso, a horse show that is held once a year. We didn’t really understand how big it was until our ISA program directors literally were mobbed when trying to sell their extra tickets to people waiting in the sold-out line. I had never really been to a horse show before and I wasn’t sure what to expect from today. The horses, called pasos, are a special breed from this area and supposedly have the smoothest gait in the world. They walk as though they were marching and kicking their feet out haphazardly. It’s a very weird gait but it looked like they were keeping in time to the music. The coolest part of the day was when the horsemen would dance around the arena in their traditional costumes while their partner steered their horse around so that it appeared it was dancing too.
Well, there you have a week out of my life in Lima. It was nice to stay put for a weekend! Coli
My house in Lima
A bit more of what I do on a daily basis...if its boring, keep scrolling!
MondayIn International Trade and Negotiation, we presented a case study debate style on the Brazil vs. United States cotton case in the World Trade Organization. After learning about the Indigenísmo art movement in our Peruvian culture class, my night was free and I was set on getting out of the house. Since I’m one of the few people that don’t have a roommate and my host mom and I often have very different schedules, I feel a little lonely at times. Not really bad, but I just get the itch to hang out with other people. A group of us ended up at a café to hang out for a bit and then to a shop that sells really cheap DVDs.
Tuesday
I really enjoy my Spanish class, today we learned words that only women used. Most of them referred to emotions or polite exclamations. Apparently, all the words for guys that women weren’t supposed to use are all the curse words, but that is changing a bit so that women use them. At our weekly ISA meeting we learned about all the upcoming events and tried several different Peruvian pastries to culturally immerse us, of course. I love the program here! I ate lunch at the cafeteria at school, where the daily menu is between S/. 4.50 and S/. 5.50 and includes drink, appetizer, main meal, and dessert! Delicious and costs only about $1.50.
After class, some of us watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas at Lindsey’s house (highly recommend, although very sad) It’s so great that we are allowed to hang out at each other’s houses, unlike in Buenos Aires. Apparently today was Japanese day or something at our university because during the day they had martial arts demonstrations and Japanese character tattoos and at night they had free sushi, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We decided that we were going to put ourselves out there and meet some Peruvian students, although Alex’s attempt to sit in the middle of the school’s courtyard with a sign that said “Amigas, Por fa” (“Friends - of the girl variety - please”) were unsuccessful. We finally just went up to a group of girls as we were leaving the school and said “We only have American friends, will you be our friends?” Though they probably should have ran in the other direction, they were more than happy to talk with us and make several playdates in the upcoming future. We deserve pats on the back for that one.
My late night activities consisted of going to Parque Kennedy with a group and wandering aimlessly. After heading to a club and dancing for a bit, we called it a night. By the way, superlative for weirdest English translation of a drink goes to: “Pisco, juice of lemon, clear of egg, rubber syrup, bitter ice, and bitter of narrowness.” Mmmm, how appetizing.
Wednesday
We keep up our routine of heading to beach Wikiki to lay out on the rocks/surf before classes in the afternoon. At night, Kara, Hannah, Lindsey, and I met up with 5 or 6 Peruvians that we had met through our first Intercambio at the oldest bodega (winery) in Lima and chatted for a while. We then went to English Pub, where they were having a private party for international students from the biggest universities in Lima.
Thursday
Daytime = classes. In Spanish class we did more translation work and learned that “simpatico”, which generally means “nice” has the connotation of “good-looking” in Perú. We laughed about how we’ve been describing people as nice while our host family and other people must have thought we were calling them cute. At night, Henry, Alex, Ashley, and I went to salsa lessons with Lucia (from ISA) and a couple Intercambio friends. I had a blast afterwards when we went to Son de Cuba salsa club and tried out the few new moves we had learned. The two story club had an awesome atmosphere, and all the music was courtesy of a live ten-person Cuban band! We spent a while just listening to them play, it was ¡regio! (great!)
Friday
At night, ISA planned another Intercambio for us and fifteen Peruvians at a bowling alley in the huge Jockey Plaza. It was a lot of fun and I was actually able to teach several Peruvians in Spanish how to bowl because it was the first time for many of them. Afterwards we headed to this amazing ice cream place called 4D, where they had giant colorful mounds of the most delectable-looking ice cream. I ended up calling it an early night after that but had spent a great night conversing with many Peruvians.
Saturday
After spending the day getting papers done, I danced the night away at a birthday party for one of the guys from the Intercambio and all his friends that we’ve been hanging out with. The house we went to was super nice, most of our university friends are definitely from a higher socioeconomic status.
Sunday
Got up early for Caballo a Paso, a horse show that is held once a year. We didn’t really understand how big it was until our ISA program directors literally were mobbed when trying to sell their extra tickets to people waiting in the sold-out line. I had never really been to a horse show before and I wasn’t sure what to expect from today. The horses, called pasos, are a special breed from this area and supposedly have the smoothest gait in the world. They walk as though they were marching and kicking their feet out haphazardly. It’s a very weird gait but it looked like they were keeping in time to the music. The coolest part of the day was when the horsemen would dance around the arena in their traditional costumes while their partner steered their horse around so that it appeared it was dancing too.
Well, there you have a week out of my life in Lima. It was nice to stay put for a weekend! Coli
Penguins vs. Aliens
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Bus from Nazca to Lima
Yesterday (Saturday) we traveled to Paracas in order to take a boat cruise to the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands. The islands really are just barren rock – volcanic rock that is normally a dark gray or reddish color, but appear pure white from all the guano (bird droppings). There’s not a single green plant – but the rocks are absolutely teaming with birds of all sorts, sea lions, and penguins (!). The only man-made structures on these islands are for the guano industry, which is harvested from the island every 6-8 years for fertilizer and other purposes (for all you chip lovers, it is an ingredient of Doritos). There are two guards that live there for 3 months at a time completely cut off from society. I have to say, that can’t be the world’s best job. But the islands themselves were awesome and we 'ooohed' and 'awwwed' over the cute baby sea lions plopping into the water and silly penguins waddling around the ledge to peer at us.
Final stop that night: Nazca, sight of the famous Nazca lines (there are also the nearby Palpa lines from an even older civilization but they don’t the PR for some reason). Between the two, there are seventy human figures and 10,000 lines. The ancient Nazca civilization dug these massive figures between 500 BC and 500 AD, but they weren’t discovered by modern civilization until they were noticed from the air in 1927. We went to a planetarium that night, where we learned a bit about the history and theories behind the lines. Some say they were for ceremonial water purposes and pointed to water sources themselves, while others (including the German scientist Maria Reiche, who spent decades studying the lines) believe they are used as an ancient astronomical calendar – good chances, since some of the lines mark the summer and winter solstice. Then of course, there are those who say aliens constructed them. Well, the first two theories seem pretty valid to me (not that I’m knocking the idea of aliens), but it still amazes me that they were able to construct what appears to be intricate figures from the sky, but are just indented paths from the ground.
Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn to have the chance to see the lines by air, which was awesome. I was in the front with the pilot n a tiny six-seater plane, and we saw all the famous figures such as the monkey, spider, whale, and hummingbird (to give you an idea of the size, the hummingbird is 217 by 315 ft). I was also surprised to see how many random lines just criss crossed the landscape. Definitely a cool experience. On our long bus ride back to Lima, we stopped for lunch at a place that makes pisco, the famous Peruvian liquor, and we got to see both the traditional and modern production techniques on a bodega tour.
Yay for ISA excursions! Coli
Bus from Nazca to Lima
Yesterday (Saturday) we traveled to Paracas in order to take a boat cruise to the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands. The islands really are just barren rock – volcanic rock that is normally a dark gray or reddish color, but appear pure white from all the guano (bird droppings). There’s not a single green plant – but the rocks are absolutely teaming with birds of all sorts, sea lions, and penguins (!). The only man-made structures on these islands are for the guano industry, which is harvested from the island every 6-8 years for fertilizer and other purposes (for all you chip lovers, it is an ingredient of Doritos). There are two guards that live there for 3 months at a time completely cut off from society. I have to say, that can’t be the world’s best job. But the islands themselves were awesome and we 'ooohed' and 'awwwed' over the cute baby sea lions plopping into the water and silly penguins waddling around the ledge to peer at us.
Final stop that night: Nazca, sight of the famous Nazca lines (there are also the nearby Palpa lines from an even older civilization but they don’t the PR for some reason). Between the two, there are seventy human figures and 10,000 lines. The ancient Nazca civilization dug these massive figures between 500 BC and 500 AD, but they weren’t discovered by modern civilization until they were noticed from the air in 1927. We went to a planetarium that night, where we learned a bit about the history and theories behind the lines. Some say they were for ceremonial water purposes and pointed to water sources themselves, while others (including the German scientist Maria Reiche, who spent decades studying the lines) believe they are used as an ancient astronomical calendar – good chances, since some of the lines mark the summer and winter solstice. Then of course, there are those who say aliens constructed them. Well, the first two theories seem pretty valid to me (not that I’m knocking the idea of aliens), but it still amazes me that they were able to construct what appears to be intricate figures from the sky, but are just indented paths from the ground.
Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn to have the chance to see the lines by air, which was awesome. I was in the front with the pilot n a tiny six-seater plane, and we saw all the famous figures such as the monkey, spider, whale, and hummingbird (to give you an idea of the size, the hummingbird is 217 by 315 ft). I was also surprised to see how many random lines just criss crossed the landscape. Definitely a cool experience. On our long bus ride back to Lima, we stopped for lunch at a place that makes pisco, the famous Peruvian liquor, and we got to see both the traditional and modern production techniques on a bodega tour.
Yay for ISA excursions! Coli
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Sand Dunes and Stars
Sunday, April 18, 2009
Hotel in Nazca
Yesterday was an unforgettable experience. We passed the bus ride watching movies and had just started Aladdin as we pulled into the Oasis de Huacachina. The desert dunes of the “Arabian nights” on the TV screen flowed seamlessly into the barren sand landscape all around us. The Oasis really was a desert oasis, complete with a small lake surrounded by buildings and palm trees, band-wagoned at the base of large mountains of sand. After dropping our bags off at another cute hotel, we were off in some dune buggies heading towards the sand dunes themselves.
Our driver had a penchant for speed and we took off climbing the sand with unbelievable twists and turns. The buggy was going so fast that our bodies were tossed around in our heavy-duty harnesses as we screamed from the top of our lungs. This bested any rollercoaster I’ve been on; the buggy would alternate zooming up mountains (sometimes on a side angle so it felt like we were in the grand prix) and plunging down hundreds of meters at a time. All we could see around us was sand, making me feel as though I were in a virtual 4D ride. At the horizon, we could see the large red-orange sun pre-dominating the sky with its bright and deep hues.
My breath was taken away when we came to a stop at the top of one dune and caught the full effect of the sunset on the desert sand. It seemed like something straight out of Aladdin and I still can’t grasp how I’m witnessing this incredible sight from Perú. From Cusco and the Andean mountains one weekend, La Merced forest the next, and now the desert, the landscape changes so drastically, I don’t know how they fit it into one small country (Fact: Peru has 84 of the world’s 154 biological zones). As the sun set beyond us, we skipped and rolled down the mountain a ways until plopping down in the sand as the last curve of the sun had hidden beyond the horizon. We first discovered how difficult it was to climb up the sliding sand and were off in our dune buggies for part 2 of our desert adventure – sand boarding.
There we were, at the top of a 100 meter pile of sand – about a 30 story building. And we were expected to go down it on a tiny stick on our feet? Many started to go down the mountain using the boards as boogie boards, so I thought I would do that first. It was a blast as I smoothly coasted down the mountain. While waiting for the dune buggy to come down to us, I thought I would try to board down a small slope, and I successfully slid down the sand a good 20 or 30 feet without falling on my first time. I was really excited, especially considering I’ve never done any sort of skiing or boarding before. When we stopped at an even bigger mountain to go down again, I decided I was definitely going down the full way on my feet. Standing on the precipice, my adrenaline was fully pumping before I tipped over and plunged down. Surpisingly, I had a good sense of balance right off the bat and I kept going without falling, although I did bail when I started picking up too much speed because I was afraid of running into some friends at the bottom (and had flashbacks of the last time I went sledding…shout out to the Smith family).
That was the end of our short sand-boarding careers. We strapped back into our belt harnesses just in time to be romped through the dunes to our hotel in the oasis. We came back to swim in a highly chlorinated pool and wash the sand off us. After a dinner around the Oasis lake, we looked up at the palm trees and stars, which were incredible.
Later that night, five of us made the decision to trek up the large mountain/dune behind our hotel. The way up was really tough, the fine loose sand seemed to make me fall back a step for every two I took forward and I eventually took to clambering up on all fours. It was definitely worth it when we reached the top. Our tiny little oasis was below us and we could see the dark outlines of the dunes surrounding it. The highlight, however, were the stars stretched out above us. It was incredible how many we could see, all flickering with various bursts of light. The sky was so clear we could see parts of the Milky Way.
Salsa and other music drifted up to us from a discoteca below as sounds traveled great distances over the sand with ease. Once the heat of the exertion wore off and the chill of the night kicked in, we all huddled close together while lying in the sand and looking at the stars. To our right, a large orange moon hung in the sky like a large bowl and we caught several shooting stars as they traveled between blinks of light. From the very summit, we could see over the other side of the mountain to the city of Ica. When we were ready to head back to our warm sand-free (relatively) beds, we began to run down the hill, which was so much easy than climbing and ten times more fun! With each leap, our feet would sink down to the ankle in sand before quickly plunging forward again. I literally felt like I was walking on the moon! Surprisingly, I didn’t fall.
Another day, another adventure! Coli
Hotel in Nazca
Yesterday was an unforgettable experience. We passed the bus ride watching movies and had just started Aladdin as we pulled into the Oasis de Huacachina. The desert dunes of the “Arabian nights” on the TV screen flowed seamlessly into the barren sand landscape all around us. The Oasis really was a desert oasis, complete with a small lake surrounded by buildings and palm trees, band-wagoned at the base of large mountains of sand. After dropping our bags off at another cute hotel, we were off in some dune buggies heading towards the sand dunes themselves.
Our driver had a penchant for speed and we took off climbing the sand with unbelievable twists and turns. The buggy was going so fast that our bodies were tossed around in our heavy-duty harnesses as we screamed from the top of our lungs. This bested any rollercoaster I’ve been on; the buggy would alternate zooming up mountains (sometimes on a side angle so it felt like we were in the grand prix) and plunging down hundreds of meters at a time. All we could see around us was sand, making me feel as though I were in a virtual 4D ride. At the horizon, we could see the large red-orange sun pre-dominating the sky with its bright and deep hues.
My breath was taken away when we came to a stop at the top of one dune and caught the full effect of the sunset on the desert sand. It seemed like something straight out of Aladdin and I still can’t grasp how I’m witnessing this incredible sight from Perú. From Cusco and the Andean mountains one weekend, La Merced forest the next, and now the desert, the landscape changes so drastically, I don’t know how they fit it into one small country (Fact: Peru has 84 of the world’s 154 biological zones). As the sun set beyond us, we skipped and rolled down the mountain a ways until plopping down in the sand as the last curve of the sun had hidden beyond the horizon. We first discovered how difficult it was to climb up the sliding sand and were off in our dune buggies for part 2 of our desert adventure – sand boarding.
There we were, at the top of a 100 meter pile of sand – about a 30 story building. And we were expected to go down it on a tiny stick on our feet? Many started to go down the mountain using the boards as boogie boards, so I thought I would do that first. It was a blast as I smoothly coasted down the mountain. While waiting for the dune buggy to come down to us, I thought I would try to board down a small slope, and I successfully slid down the sand a good 20 or 30 feet without falling on my first time. I was really excited, especially considering I’ve never done any sort of skiing or boarding before. When we stopped at an even bigger mountain to go down again, I decided I was definitely going down the full way on my feet. Standing on the precipice, my adrenaline was fully pumping before I tipped over and plunged down. Surpisingly, I had a good sense of balance right off the bat and I kept going without falling, although I did bail when I started picking up too much speed because I was afraid of running into some friends at the bottom (and had flashbacks of the last time I went sledding…shout out to the Smith family).
That was the end of our short sand-boarding careers. We strapped back into our belt harnesses just in time to be romped through the dunes to our hotel in the oasis. We came back to swim in a highly chlorinated pool and wash the sand off us. After a dinner around the Oasis lake, we looked up at the palm trees and stars, which were incredible.
Later that night, five of us made the decision to trek up the large mountain/dune behind our hotel. The way up was really tough, the fine loose sand seemed to make me fall back a step for every two I took forward and I eventually took to clambering up on all fours. It was definitely worth it when we reached the top. Our tiny little oasis was below us and we could see the dark outlines of the dunes surrounding it. The highlight, however, were the stars stretched out above us. It was incredible how many we could see, all flickering with various bursts of light. The sky was so clear we could see parts of the Milky Way.
Salsa and other music drifted up to us from a discoteca below as sounds traveled great distances over the sand with ease. Once the heat of the exertion wore off and the chill of the night kicked in, we all huddled close together while lying in the sand and looking at the stars. To our right, a large orange moon hung in the sky like a large bowl and we caught several shooting stars as they traveled between blinks of light. From the very summit, we could see over the other side of the mountain to the city of Ica. When we were ready to head back to our warm sand-free (relatively) beds, we began to run down the hill, which was so much easy than climbing and ten times more fun! With each leap, our feet would sink down to the ankle in sand before quickly plunging forward again. I literally felt like I was walking on the moon! Surprisingly, I didn’t fall.
Another day, another adventure! Coli
Off on Another Adventure...
Friday, April 17, 2009 11ish AM
Bus to Oasis de Huacachina
We are starting out on our excursion to Ica, Paracas, the Nazca lines, and Las Islas Ballestas! We are going to be doing a lot of cool stuff, so I’m pretty stoked! Last night (Thursday) was tons of fun. I went with Lindsey, James, Henry, Lauren, and Lauren’s host mom to the New York Casino, where my host mom Austry works in Public Relations. One of the perks of this is getting VIP seats for the really famous Bolivian folk group, the Jarqas. I was surprised to hear so many people singing along to their songs, but I guess they are really well-known. After the concert, we hailed a cab to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. We met up with the rest of the Multisas and several students we had met at an Intercambio. Sargiento Pimiento is a rock bar and we had a fun time chilling and dancing to some of the American songs that came on until we headed to another random empty discoteca near the Parque Municipal.
I’ve been in Peru for about 3 weeks now, and here are some of my observations:
While Buenos Aires had much more of a big city vibe, Lima feels more residential, without all the high rises and super crowded sidewalks. This is probably because they generally don’t build over six stories (earthquakes), but it is interesting that a city of 8 million can be so spread out.
I can definitely see a strong American pop culture influence in Lima. Most of the fashions that I see here are exactly what I would see in the US, brand names and all. Plus, American fast food chain restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Chilis, etc, seem to be everywhere (just like in the US!).
Security seems to be a big concern here, at least in the barrios that I’ve visited. A large percentage of houses and businesses that I walk by have a huge gate (often complemented with barbed tops or electric fences) or a security guard (sometimes just a person hired to sit in a chair outside the house all night). Though I hardly ever saw a police officer in Buenos Aires, they are out in full force here, patrolling the streets in cars, bikes, or standing at strategic corners and buildings. Sometimes it seems a bit superfluous, but I guess they would know better than me. I wonder if they are a legacy of the 1990s, when there was an atmosphere of fear from the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and Tupac Amaru guerilla movements.
Well, excited for our latest excursion! Coli
Bus to Oasis de Huacachina
We are starting out on our excursion to Ica, Paracas, the Nazca lines, and Las Islas Ballestas! We are going to be doing a lot of cool stuff, so I’m pretty stoked! Last night (Thursday) was tons of fun. I went with Lindsey, James, Henry, Lauren, and Lauren’s host mom to the New York Casino, where my host mom Austry works in Public Relations. One of the perks of this is getting VIP seats for the really famous Bolivian folk group, the Jarqas. I was surprised to hear so many people singing along to their songs, but I guess they are really well-known. After the concert, we hailed a cab to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. We met up with the rest of the Multisas and several students we had met at an Intercambio. Sargiento Pimiento is a rock bar and we had a fun time chilling and dancing to some of the American songs that came on until we headed to another random empty discoteca near the Parque Municipal.
I’ve been in Peru for about 3 weeks now, and here are some of my observations:
While Buenos Aires had much more of a big city vibe, Lima feels more residential, without all the high rises and super crowded sidewalks. This is probably because they generally don’t build over six stories (earthquakes), but it is interesting that a city of 8 million can be so spread out.
I can definitely see a strong American pop culture influence in Lima. Most of the fashions that I see here are exactly what I would see in the US, brand names and all. Plus, American fast food chain restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Chilis, etc, seem to be everywhere (just like in the US!).
Security seems to be a big concern here, at least in the barrios that I’ve visited. A large percentage of houses and businesses that I walk by have a huge gate (often complemented with barbed tops or electric fences) or a security guard (sometimes just a person hired to sit in a chair outside the house all night). Though I hardly ever saw a police officer in Buenos Aires, they are out in full force here, patrolling the streets in cars, bikes, or standing at strategic corners and buildings. Sometimes it seems a bit superfluous, but I guess they would know better than me. I wonder if they are a legacy of the 1990s, when there was an atmosphere of fear from the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and Tupac Amaru guerilla movements.
Well, excited for our latest excursion! Coli
Settling In
Wednesday April 15, 2009 11 AM
Playa Wikiki, Miraflores, Lima
Yesterday was our first day of Spanish Conversation and Composition, which was fantastic. We read articles to learn new vocabulary and then worked on translating jokes from Spanish to English and vice versa. It really made us think about how so many things don’t translate – like knock knock jokes (especially ones that rely on word play). My International Trade and Negotiation Policy class is going fine, we are currently focusing on the makeup of Perú and Latin American economies and we have a case study on the WTO Brazil vs. US cotton case. I’m enjoying my Arte y Cultura del Perú class a lot more than I thought too. So, overall, classes are going well.
Last night 8 of us went to the movies because we were determined to see a Peruvian film. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up seeing El Padre Poderoso ("the powerful father") since it sounded like it would at least be in Spanish. Oh, were we wrong. We discovered that not only was it not in Spanish, it was originally called Swing Vote in English. Though not what we expected, we enjoyed the movie. It was new perspective to watching an American election movie with a lot of cultural humor, I kept wondering what our fellow Peruvians in the theater thought.
And now this morning we all came down to the beach to surf and relax since our class doesn’t start till 2 pm. I know, I don’t mean to rub it in. Behind us rise the dirt cliffs with grassy tops and the classy buildings of the Miraflores coast. The entire beach we are lying on is composed of small and medium sized pebbles that sound like a roaring crowd in a stadium as the powerful green-grey waves drag them back into the sea. The pebbles are all different colors which are especially brilliant when wet, I’m having a hard time limiting myself to a few rocks for my collection because they are so pretty. The sea breeze and mist that teases our faces every so often feels refreshing in contrast to the powerful sun and burning stones underneath us. To the left, we can make out the tiny back surf bodysuits of our friends as they struggle to paddle out and remain upright on their boards (that was me last week).
Well, time to head back for class! Coli
TIP OF THE DAY: Wear sunscreen. My skin is so on fire that it feels like it has consumed the spiciest ají sauce in Peru. In fact, my back has probably radiated enough heat to single-handedly create a hole in the ozone layer above Lima.
Playa Wikiki, Miraflores, Lima
Yesterday was our first day of Spanish Conversation and Composition, which was fantastic. We read articles to learn new vocabulary and then worked on translating jokes from Spanish to English and vice versa. It really made us think about how so many things don’t translate – like knock knock jokes (especially ones that rely on word play). My International Trade and Negotiation Policy class is going fine, we are currently focusing on the makeup of Perú and Latin American economies and we have a case study on the WTO Brazil vs. US cotton case. I’m enjoying my Arte y Cultura del Perú class a lot more than I thought too. So, overall, classes are going well.
Last night 8 of us went to the movies because we were determined to see a Peruvian film. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up seeing El Padre Poderoso ("the powerful father") since it sounded like it would at least be in Spanish. Oh, were we wrong. We discovered that not only was it not in Spanish, it was originally called Swing Vote in English. Though not what we expected, we enjoyed the movie. It was new perspective to watching an American election movie with a lot of cultural humor, I kept wondering what our fellow Peruvians in the theater thought.
And now this morning we all came down to the beach to surf and relax since our class doesn’t start till 2 pm. I know, I don’t mean to rub it in. Behind us rise the dirt cliffs with grassy tops and the classy buildings of the Miraflores coast. The entire beach we are lying on is composed of small and medium sized pebbles that sound like a roaring crowd in a stadium as the powerful green-grey waves drag them back into the sea. The pebbles are all different colors which are especially brilliant when wet, I’m having a hard time limiting myself to a few rocks for my collection because they are so pretty. The sea breeze and mist that teases our faces every so often feels refreshing in contrast to the powerful sun and burning stones underneath us. To the left, we can make out the tiny back surf bodysuits of our friends as they struggle to paddle out and remain upright on their boards (that was me last week).
Well, time to head back for class! Coli
TIP OF THE DAY: Wear sunscreen. My skin is so on fire that it feels like it has consumed the spiciest ají sauce in Peru. In fact, my back has probably radiated enough heat to single-handedly create a hole in the ozone layer above Lima.
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls-Come n Ride the Train!
Sunday, April 12, 2009 4:00 PM (approx)
Train from Guancayo back to Lima
Saturday morning: Many of us were a bit hesitant about spending S/25 on an excursion that sounded like a hike through the jungle followed by a short wade through a river at the end. They really should have advertised it as hiking upstream through a river for four hours, including climbing several waterfalls. I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into but we definitely got our money’s worth.
However, we were still disillusioned the first 45 minutes or so as we made our way through a simple river side path (starting at the bridge we went to yesterday) that dipped in and out of the jungle. I was definitely not dressed for the occasion with my falling apart sneakers, pair of jeans, and pretty button-up shirt (limited wardrobe choices, what can I say). It’s pretty laughable now that we were all so hesitant to get our sneakers wet when we waded through our first brook (instead we decided to climb across a precariously fallen tree trunk). Little did we know that we would be up to chests in water in an hour.
It was a perfect adventure through the jungle, scaling walls with jungle vines that were so strong they supported all our weight, crisscrossing through the river dozens of times, pulling ourselves up waterfalls with a single rope, climbing cliff walls, and viewing our final destination of a three story waterfall (I thought we were going to climb that one too). At one point when we were pushing through a narrow pass in the river I was the first to go and the current was so strong that I was stuck up to my neck in the river’s powerful flow and I couldn’t move any of my limbs - it took two really strong guides in front and behind to pull me out. After our final waterfall, we crossed our river for a final time and made our way back through the jungle. Our last stop of the day was to a coffee plantation, where we saw them roasting and grinding the beans. It was the first coffee I’ve ever liked (and it was yummy!) and the bag that I bought was so fresh the grounds was still warm!
We then took a bus to Tarma, which has a huge traditional Semana Santa procession with “carpets of flowers” (they literally cover every surface of the ground with flowers arranged in intricate patterns). We had the random fortune of talking to some people from a tourist agency (originally we just wanted to store our backpacks and use the bathroom) who took us on a mini tour to try manjar blanco (super sweet, perhaps comparable to Argentina’s dulce de leche) and dropped us off in another small town for their Semana Santa celebration, which was incomparable to any Easter egg hunt in the US.
There were at least four or five huge bands all around the main plaza square and we just kept wandering from band to band dancing to the music with everyone in the crowd. Then came the fireworks. Much like the bands, there were large wooden structures placed all around the square that took turns shooting off huge fireworks and sparks and unique lighted figures. It was awesome, and though at first I thought “Why don’t we have fireworks like this in the US!” I realized once sparks were shot off into crowds and rained down on us that safety regulations would never allow it. The whole experience was too much for words, it was so fun and unique. We tried lots of street food before rain put an early end to the party and the next few hours were a random blur of busing to Tarma, going to a discoteca, and miraculously meeting up with the whole group and our tour guides. The few hours following that consisted in a terrifyingly high-speed ride along slick roads to Guancayo in order to make it to the 7 am train on time (we made it with 10 minutes to spare).
Since we strategically stayed up all night, I slept a good portion of the train trip (through 66 tunnels and 59 bridges, for you data buffs) and now we only have a few hours left! The view right now really is incredible as we shakily pass through tall mountains, the winding river below, and the infrequent small towns with crumbling buildings. It’s interesting to see all the residents stop what they are doing to watch the train and wave at the passengers.
Later... I discovered that there is a club on the back of the train! The very last car is an open air car with a bar and as soon as we walked into the car, the director guy (we had met him on Friday at the discoteca) announced that because we were there the dancing was ready to start! Trying to dance, especially salsa, was hilarious because the train would pitch us in all sorts of crazy directions, but we did several trains on the train (ha!). Perfect way to pass the rest of the trip back to Lima!
¡Feliz Páscua! (Happy Easter!) Coli
Train from Guancayo back to Lima
Saturday morning: Many of us were a bit hesitant about spending S/25 on an excursion that sounded like a hike through the jungle followed by a short wade through a river at the end. They really should have advertised it as hiking upstream through a river for four hours, including climbing several waterfalls. I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into but we definitely got our money’s worth.
However, we were still disillusioned the first 45 minutes or so as we made our way through a simple river side path (starting at the bridge we went to yesterday) that dipped in and out of the jungle. I was definitely not dressed for the occasion with my falling apart sneakers, pair of jeans, and pretty button-up shirt (limited wardrobe choices, what can I say). It’s pretty laughable now that we were all so hesitant to get our sneakers wet when we waded through our first brook (instead we decided to climb across a precariously fallen tree trunk). Little did we know that we would be up to chests in water in an hour.
It was a perfect adventure through the jungle, scaling walls with jungle vines that were so strong they supported all our weight, crisscrossing through the river dozens of times, pulling ourselves up waterfalls with a single rope, climbing cliff walls, and viewing our final destination of a three story waterfall (I thought we were going to climb that one too). At one point when we were pushing through a narrow pass in the river I was the first to go and the current was so strong that I was stuck up to my neck in the river’s powerful flow and I couldn’t move any of my limbs - it took two really strong guides in front and behind to pull me out. After our final waterfall, we crossed our river for a final time and made our way back through the jungle. Our last stop of the day was to a coffee plantation, where we saw them roasting and grinding the beans. It was the first coffee I’ve ever liked (and it was yummy!) and the bag that I bought was so fresh the grounds was still warm!
We then took a bus to Tarma, which has a huge traditional Semana Santa procession with “carpets of flowers” (they literally cover every surface of the ground with flowers arranged in intricate patterns). We had the random fortune of talking to some people from a tourist agency (originally we just wanted to store our backpacks and use the bathroom) who took us on a mini tour to try manjar blanco (super sweet, perhaps comparable to Argentina’s dulce de leche) and dropped us off in another small town for their Semana Santa celebration, which was incomparable to any Easter egg hunt in the US.
There were at least four or five huge bands all around the main plaza square and we just kept wandering from band to band dancing to the music with everyone in the crowd. Then came the fireworks. Much like the bands, there were large wooden structures placed all around the square that took turns shooting off huge fireworks and sparks and unique lighted figures. It was awesome, and though at first I thought “Why don’t we have fireworks like this in the US!” I realized once sparks were shot off into crowds and rained down on us that safety regulations would never allow it. The whole experience was too much for words, it was so fun and unique. We tried lots of street food before rain put an early end to the party and the next few hours were a random blur of busing to Tarma, going to a discoteca, and miraculously meeting up with the whole group and our tour guides. The few hours following that consisted in a terrifyingly high-speed ride along slick roads to Guancayo in order to make it to the 7 am train on time (we made it with 10 minutes to spare).
Since we strategically stayed up all night, I slept a good portion of the train trip (through 66 tunnels and 59 bridges, for you data buffs) and now we only have a few hours left! The view right now really is incredible as we shakily pass through tall mountains, the winding river below, and the infrequent small towns with crumbling buildings. It’s interesting to see all the residents stop what they are doing to watch the train and wave at the passengers.
Later... I discovered that there is a club on the back of the train! The very last car is an open air car with a bar and as soon as we walked into the car, the director guy (we had met him on Friday at the discoteca) announced that because we were there the dancing was ready to start! Trying to dance, especially salsa, was hilarious because the train would pitch us in all sorts of crazy directions, but we did several trains on the train (ha!). Perfect way to pass the rest of the trip back to Lima!
¡Feliz Páscua! (Happy Easter!) Coli
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Good Friday in La Merced
Friday April 10, 2009 8:30 PM (approx)
Random Cabin Lodge in the Selva (Jungle)
What another loco day. We woke up at 4 am and took a bus until 10:30 to Tarma, where we got a huge van/tour guide to take us around La Merced (the forest area) for the day. Since I was in the very back of the van with the wind blowing in my ear, I had a hard time hearing our guide to know what was going on, but every stop was memorable without fail. Our first stop was a quick walk across this huge swaying bridge over a large river before piling back in the van. (AN: I’ve spent way too many hours in various forms of transportation during the past two days, whether train, bus, van, boat, taxi, tuk tuk).
Our next stop, I still can’t get over – we pulled off into this traditional village turned tourist trap and the next thing we knew we were dressed in their traditional clothes, which I can best describe as Fred Flinstone baggy outfits, and danced in a circle with children and traditional music played by a group of percussionists. I couldn’t stop laughing over the randomness of it all. We had just enough time to buy some traditional crafts and eat grilled bananas and some other fruit before we were whisked away to the van again (though we were delayed for a little bit by a mud/rock slide across the road).
Our third stop let us actually walk around and stretch a bit, albeit through very muddy pathways. As we slogged down the path and picked our way through the rocks (the van ride up the mountain had been very steep and rocky dirt path as well), we came across a great lookout of a waterfall while snacking on coconut. We climbed to another waterfall and this time we actually swam in it. I clambered over the slippery rocks and actually up into the falls themselves! It was a blast as water pounded down on me, with extreme force at times.
Final stop was for our “lunch” but since it was already 6 PM and we had yet to actually eat a real meal, I would say it was more of a “briliner.” I got mollina chincarron, a fish that was battered and served with awesome sauce, avocado, and cucumber salad, fried yucca, grilled platanos, and, of course, rice. While they cooked the food, we took a boat out on the river as the sun was setting between mountains covered with banana and avocado plants.
We had a bit of a long ride that night to where we were going to sleep (I don’t even know the town, but we ended up in middle-of-nowhere cabin lined with wooden bunk beds). That night, we went to another boliche, which was this cool mix between modern laser lights and dance floor and two-story jungle hut complete with real palm trees and vine covered walls.
Until our next adventure, Coli
Random Cabin Lodge in the Selva (Jungle)
What another loco day. We woke up at 4 am and took a bus until 10:30 to Tarma, where we got a huge van/tour guide to take us around La Merced (the forest area) for the day. Since I was in the very back of the van with the wind blowing in my ear, I had a hard time hearing our guide to know what was going on, but every stop was memorable without fail. Our first stop was a quick walk across this huge swaying bridge over a large river before piling back in the van. (AN: I’ve spent way too many hours in various forms of transportation during the past two days, whether train, bus, van, boat, taxi, tuk tuk).
Our next stop, I still can’t get over – we pulled off into this traditional village turned tourist trap and the next thing we knew we were dressed in their traditional clothes, which I can best describe as Fred Flinstone baggy outfits, and danced in a circle with children and traditional music played by a group of percussionists. I couldn’t stop laughing over the randomness of it all. We had just enough time to buy some traditional crafts and eat grilled bananas and some other fruit before we were whisked away to the van again (though we were delayed for a little bit by a mud/rock slide across the road).
Our third stop let us actually walk around and stretch a bit, albeit through very muddy pathways. As we slogged down the path and picked our way through the rocks (the van ride up the mountain had been very steep and rocky dirt path as well), we came across a great lookout of a waterfall while snacking on coconut. We climbed to another waterfall and this time we actually swam in it. I clambered over the slippery rocks and actually up into the falls themselves! It was a blast as water pounded down on me, with extreme force at times.
Final stop was for our “lunch” but since it was already 6 PM and we had yet to actually eat a real meal, I would say it was more of a “briliner.” I got mollina chincarron, a fish that was battered and served with awesome sauce, avocado, and cucumber salad, fried yucca, grilled platanos, and, of course, rice. While they cooked the food, we took a boat out on the river as the sun was setting between mountains covered with banana and avocado plants.
We had a bit of a long ride that night to where we were going to sleep (I don’t even know the town, but we ended up in middle-of-nowhere cabin lined with wooden bunk beds). That night, we went to another boliche, which was this cool mix between modern laser lights and dance floor and two-story jungle hut complete with real palm trees and vine covered walls.
Until our next adventure, Coli
Semana Santa
Thursday April 9, 2009 9:30ish
Comfort Hotel, Guancayo, Perú
Another spur of the moment trip! Lucia from ISA invited us to go with her to the sierra, or mountains, for Semana Santa (Holy Week) since Pascua (Easter) is this Sunday. Six Multisas, two semester students, and Lucia’s friend all agreed to go and next thing you know we are boarding the 7 am train from Lima to Guancayo. The railroad was in the late 1800’s, mostly by Chinese immigrants, and was (up until recently) the highest passenger rail car (still the second highest/highest in the Americas though; its highest station is over 14,000 ft above sea level). The ride was a substantial 13 hours, although it probably could have been a lot shorter if the train didn’t feel like it was moving at walking pace. It trundled up and down mountains, back and forth switchbacks, and wobbled from left to right along the track. All in all, there was a lot of movement and not a lot of speed. To pass the time, I mostly slept in awkward positions sprawled across the table four of us shared or up against the straight-backed seats. I have to say, they did do a good job with giving us stuff to do, they came around with cards and games for us and at one point we played bingo. The breakfast and lunch they served was pretty tasty too. At one stop we got out to stretch our legs and it was snowing slightly! I couldn’t believe it. The passage is famous for being really beautiful as it winds through mountain valleys, and it lived up to the reputation. Nevertheless, we were more than ready to get off the train when it arrived in Guancayo.
We got situated in our hotel and headed out to the main plaza, which was bustling with Semana Santa activities. Many people were lined up to get inside the church while others peddled either their intricate creations with palms or guagua (sounds like wawa) bread. We bought a little to try and it tasted like cinnamon sweet bread with some sprinkled jelly candies. After that, we wandered around trying more street foods, including a dish that came with carne dorado (meat with a special seasoning), boiled potatoes, and choclo (corn on the cob, but in Peru the kernels are really meaty and remind me more of potato). We also tried this delicious warm drink that reminded me of arroz con leche (dessert made with rice, kind of like a sweet pudding) and a scrumptious turkey sandwich with onion and lemon juice and spices. We then went to a restaurant with traditional dance performances and tried more anticuchos (cow heart) and cow stomach. We spent a little bit at a discoteca with some of the train workers (Lucia’s friends, she used to work on it) but turned in earlish for the next day.
La Merced (forest), here we come! Coli
Comfort Hotel, Guancayo, Perú
Another spur of the moment trip! Lucia from ISA invited us to go with her to the sierra, or mountains, for Semana Santa (Holy Week) since Pascua (Easter) is this Sunday. Six Multisas, two semester students, and Lucia’s friend all agreed to go and next thing you know we are boarding the 7 am train from Lima to Guancayo. The railroad was in the late 1800’s, mostly by Chinese immigrants, and was (up until recently) the highest passenger rail car (still the second highest/highest in the Americas though; its highest station is over 14,000 ft above sea level). The ride was a substantial 13 hours, although it probably could have been a lot shorter if the train didn’t feel like it was moving at walking pace. It trundled up and down mountains, back and forth switchbacks, and wobbled from left to right along the track. All in all, there was a lot of movement and not a lot of speed. To pass the time, I mostly slept in awkward positions sprawled across the table four of us shared or up against the straight-backed seats. I have to say, they did do a good job with giving us stuff to do, they came around with cards and games for us and at one point we played bingo. The breakfast and lunch they served was pretty tasty too. At one stop we got out to stretch our legs and it was snowing slightly! I couldn’t believe it. The passage is famous for being really beautiful as it winds through mountain valleys, and it lived up to the reputation. Nevertheless, we were more than ready to get off the train when it arrived in Guancayo.
We got situated in our hotel and headed out to the main plaza, which was bustling with Semana Santa activities. Many people were lined up to get inside the church while others peddled either their intricate creations with palms or guagua (sounds like wawa) bread. We bought a little to try and it tasted like cinnamon sweet bread with some sprinkled jelly candies. After that, we wandered around trying more street foods, including a dish that came with carne dorado (meat with a special seasoning), boiled potatoes, and choclo (corn on the cob, but in Peru the kernels are really meaty and remind me more of potato). We also tried this delicious warm drink that reminded me of arroz con leche (dessert made with rice, kind of like a sweet pudding) and a scrumptious turkey sandwich with onion and lemon juice and spices. We then went to a restaurant with traditional dance performances and tried more anticuchos (cow heart) and cow stomach. We spent a little bit at a discoteca with some of the train workers (Lucia’s friends, she used to work on it) but turned in earlish for the next day.
La Merced (forest), here we come! Coli
Cumpleaños y Clase
23:39 Tuesday 7 April 2009
My house in Lima
¡Cumpleaños Feliz! Well, Happy Birthday (they also call it a santo) to me today! Tonight was wonderful, and although I couldn’t be with my friends and family back in the US for the first time, my Multisa family made it very memorable. My host mom Austry, being the sweetheart that she is, wanted to have a birthday dinner for me, and when Maria Elena and Lucia (our ISA directors) found out it was my birthday, they convinced Austry to let all 15 of us come. We all sat together laughing and talking in the living room while chowing down on Domino’s pizza (just like my birthdays in the US!). I was really touched by the thoughtfulness of everyone, I received some gifts and then several of the boys made their grand entrance with a huge bouquet of flowers (one of everything, since they didn’t know which was my favorite). It was just nice to have everyone together and the cake was delicious, which we cut in traditional fashion- first a big circle in the center, then slices from the outside. I can’t believe that I’m no longer a teenager! Everyone teased me about how young I am compared to most on the trip but I feel old! Just kidding. Kind of.
Other noteworthy news: I started my first day of class yesterday with Art and Culture of Peru (in Spanish). I think it will be really interesting, we are doing several museum visits and covering a broad range of mediums and topics. Today I had International Trade and Negotiation Policy (in English) and it seems like it will also be interesting, especially learning from a Latin American perspective. The Universidad del Pacífico is the top school for economics and business in the country, and we can already tell that they will be a lot more demanding here. I start my Advanced Spanish class next week as well. More than one class and multiple project and papers? What is that about? Guess I’ll actually have to do studying and research and all that. I feel like I learn 24 hours a day outside the classroom, I don’t really need to be graded, do I?
On another note, today the former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, was convicted to a 25 year sentence in prison for murder and corruption charges. This court decision is monumental, because it is one of the first times a Latin American leader is being held accountable for his corrupt actions. While some applaud the justice of the decision, others, who are grateful to Fujimori for improving the economy and wiping out the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerillas in the 1990s, feel he doesn’t deserve it. One host mom actually cried when she found out, and there is now growing support for his daughter’s campaign for presidency since she has vowed to pardon him if elected. All in all, it’s a very complicated issue, you really should google some info about the Sendero Luminoso movement and how devastating it was to Peruvian society (along the same lines as the Dirty War in Argentina).
Well, for a birthday present to myself, tomorrow I’m off to the beach in the morning for a surfing lesson before classes! Coli
My house in Lima
¡Cumpleaños Feliz! Well, Happy Birthday (they also call it a santo) to me today! Tonight was wonderful, and although I couldn’t be with my friends and family back in the US for the first time, my Multisa family made it very memorable. My host mom Austry, being the sweetheart that she is, wanted to have a birthday dinner for me, and when Maria Elena and Lucia (our ISA directors) found out it was my birthday, they convinced Austry to let all 15 of us come. We all sat together laughing and talking in the living room while chowing down on Domino’s pizza (just like my birthdays in the US!). I was really touched by the thoughtfulness of everyone, I received some gifts and then several of the boys made their grand entrance with a huge bouquet of flowers (one of everything, since they didn’t know which was my favorite). It was just nice to have everyone together and the cake was delicious, which we cut in traditional fashion- first a big circle in the center, then slices from the outside. I can’t believe that I’m no longer a teenager! Everyone teased me about how young I am compared to most on the trip but I feel old! Just kidding. Kind of.
Other noteworthy news: I started my first day of class yesterday with Art and Culture of Peru (in Spanish). I think it will be really interesting, we are doing several museum visits and covering a broad range of mediums and topics. Today I had International Trade and Negotiation Policy (in English) and it seems like it will also be interesting, especially learning from a Latin American perspective. The Universidad del Pacífico is the top school for economics and business in the country, and we can already tell that they will be a lot more demanding here. I start my Advanced Spanish class next week as well. More than one class and multiple project and papers? What is that about? Guess I’ll actually have to do studying and research and all that. I feel like I learn 24 hours a day outside the classroom, I don’t really need to be graded, do I?
On another note, today the former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, was convicted to a 25 year sentence in prison for murder and corruption charges. This court decision is monumental, because it is one of the first times a Latin American leader is being held accountable for his corrupt actions. While some applaud the justice of the decision, others, who are grateful to Fujimori for improving the economy and wiping out the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerillas in the 1990s, feel he doesn’t deserve it. One host mom actually cried when she found out, and there is now growing support for his daughter’s campaign for presidency since she has vowed to pardon him if elected. All in all, it’s a very complicated issue, you really should google some info about the Sendero Luminoso movement and how devastating it was to Peruvian society (along the same lines as the Dirty War in Argentina).
Well, for a birthday present to myself, tomorrow I’m off to the beach in the morning for a surfing lesson before classes! Coli
From the Old Capital to the New Capital
Sunday, April 5, 2009
My house in Lima
Saturday (in Cusco)
In the morning we took a group tour of the Catedral on the Plaza de Armas. It is one of the richest churches in South America, and with its intricate carvings and paintings, abundant gold-leaf, and an alter with several hundred pounds of silver on it, I can see why. Many of the painting adorning the walls of the cathedral were painted by indigenous people, and it was interesting seeing the local influences in the artwork; for instance, a Last Supper painting featured local fruit and cuy del horno (guinea pig dish) as the main dishes and Judas was actually painted in the likeness of Francisco Pizarro (the Spanish conquistador who defeated the Incans) holding a bag of gold.
We took another tour with Edi at the Iglesia de San Domingo. It was formerly the Incan Temple of the Sun because the walls were completely plated with gold. Surprisingly, a lot of the original Incan structure was kept intact within the church and it gave great insight into the religious life of the Incan culture. I was once again impressed by the Incan architecture as we examined their piping system – they could carved pipes in the middle of the stonework, including perfectly curved elbows that was smaller at one end to pressurize the water.
Before the flight back to Lima, I sat in the Plaza de los Hijos, which was frequented by many locals, before exploring a nearby local marketplace stocked with every sort of raw food, lunch stall, and souvenir stand. I was overwhelmed with smells (some better than others), sights, and sounds, as I witnessed women chopping up raw meats (even a whole pig’s head that seemed to lazily look back at me with its lolling tongue hanging out) and measuring grains. Others were preparing huge portions of food for locals crowded around their counters for lunch. Life is at such a different pace here, it’s hard to find any sort of clock or person wearing a watch (which almost made me late for our bus to the airport).
Later that night back in Lima, Lucia (she works for ISA but is my age) invited us to go to the VIP section of a discoteca to celebrate her brother’s birthday. It was a blast, with a great mix of music, balloons being throwing everywhere, and a large dancing cuy (?!?).
Sunday
At night, we met at Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. It’s a popular place for people to meet up and has a beautiful church in front of a huge park. Since today was Palm Sunday, there were a lot of people selling intricate creations out of palm leaves. From the park, we left for a city tour on a Mirabus Double Decker sight-seeing bus, driving throughout Miraflores (past Larco Mar and the Parque del Amor), San Isidrio (where I live), and el Centro (city center, where the main government buildings and historic churches are). We stopped at the Magic Fountains, which was this huge park filled with different high-tech water fountains, it was absolutely gorgeous. We also stopped at the historic and grand Hotel Bolívar in one of the main plazas in the city center for some refreshments. I saw so many stunningly gorgeous buildings and places tonight, Lima definitely deserves a better reputation for all its beauty in my opinion.
Looking forward to the next two months in this city! Coli
My house in Lima
Saturday (in Cusco)
In the morning we took a group tour of the Catedral on the Plaza de Armas. It is one of the richest churches in South America, and with its intricate carvings and paintings, abundant gold-leaf, and an alter with several hundred pounds of silver on it, I can see why. Many of the painting adorning the walls of the cathedral were painted by indigenous people, and it was interesting seeing the local influences in the artwork; for instance, a Last Supper painting featured local fruit and cuy del horno (guinea pig dish) as the main dishes and Judas was actually painted in the likeness of Francisco Pizarro (the Spanish conquistador who defeated the Incans) holding a bag of gold.
We took another tour with Edi at the Iglesia de San Domingo. It was formerly the Incan Temple of the Sun because the walls were completely plated with gold. Surprisingly, a lot of the original Incan structure was kept intact within the church and it gave great insight into the religious life of the Incan culture. I was once again impressed by the Incan architecture as we examined their piping system – they could carved pipes in the middle of the stonework, including perfectly curved elbows that was smaller at one end to pressurize the water.
Before the flight back to Lima, I sat in the Plaza de los Hijos, which was frequented by many locals, before exploring a nearby local marketplace stocked with every sort of raw food, lunch stall, and souvenir stand. I was overwhelmed with smells (some better than others), sights, and sounds, as I witnessed women chopping up raw meats (even a whole pig’s head that seemed to lazily look back at me with its lolling tongue hanging out) and measuring grains. Others were preparing huge portions of food for locals crowded around their counters for lunch. Life is at such a different pace here, it’s hard to find any sort of clock or person wearing a watch (which almost made me late for our bus to the airport).
Later that night back in Lima, Lucia (she works for ISA but is my age) invited us to go to the VIP section of a discoteca to celebrate her brother’s birthday. It was a blast, with a great mix of music, balloons being throwing everywhere, and a large dancing cuy (?!?).
Sunday
At night, we met at Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. It’s a popular place for people to meet up and has a beautiful church in front of a huge park. Since today was Palm Sunday, there were a lot of people selling intricate creations out of palm leaves. From the park, we left for a city tour on a Mirabus Double Decker sight-seeing bus, driving throughout Miraflores (past Larco Mar and the Parque del Amor), San Isidrio (where I live), and el Centro (city center, where the main government buildings and historic churches are). We stopped at the Magic Fountains, which was this huge park filled with different high-tech water fountains, it was absolutely gorgeous. We also stopped at the historic and grand Hotel Bolívar in one of the main plazas in the city center for some refreshments. I saw so many stunningly gorgeous buildings and places tonight, Lima definitely deserves a better reputation for all its beauty in my opinion.
Looking forward to the next two months in this city! Coli
The Bellybutton of the World
(AN: As mentioned in a previous post, Cusco translates to bellybutton of the world)
Friday April 3, 2009
Hotel in Cusco
Kara and I walked around the Plaza de Armas to visit both La Catedral de Cusco and La Compañia de Jesús (the two main churches), followed by the Museo de Arte Popular. We joined Hannah and Lindsey at the Museo del Templo del Qoricancha, which had a lot of information and artifacts about pre-Columbian cultures. There were even several well-preserved mummies displayed in their permanent fetal position thanks to their burial in large jars. They were usually wrapped like a cocoon in large blankets before being placed in these Andean versions of coffins - the more blankets, the richer they were. There were also several skulls that were purposely deformed; when the babies were young, they would place a wooden board on the skull to elongate and flatten it (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull anyone? It has both the skulls and Iguazú falls in it!).
After trying several new exotic fruits that I had never seen before, we wandered aimlessly through the streets of the San Blas area with its picturesque buildings – many of the walls were made from straw and mud – and sloped stone streets. We then stumbled across a restaurant that gave the term “hole in the wall” a whole new meaning (it really was through a small crumbling doorway and had a stapled tarp for a roof). It was full of locals so we took their lead and ordered the menú for S/3.50 (little over US$1): sopa de Quinua (popular Andean soup) and revuelto de patitas (rice and potatoes with an amazing sauce). We also ordered lomo de alpaca and everything was delicious and filling. Speaking of food, our digestive systems have been making some transitions to the food here – nothing too drastic, but definitely noticeable.
We then met with the rest of the group and saw the famous 12 angle rock that is part of a building formerly owned by a powerful Incan family (actually, it might have dated back to the Wari culture, who were in Cusco since the 5th century AD). The original shape of Cusco was shaped like a puma, so this building was considered the stomach (middle of the city). The green tinged rocks of the building were placed in a formation like a flower, another way to prevent destruction from earthquakes.
After it hailed on us again, we then took a trolley tour throughout the city and wound our way up to a large statue of Jesus on a mountain overlooking the city. At night, Kara and I went to see a traditional Andean dance performance at the cultural center, after which we tried skewers of anticuchos (cow hearts) from a street vendor. A group of us went out later to the artsy Mama Africa, a discoteca (what they call clubs here) that had a balcony that looked out over the Plaza de Armas. Standing out on the large balcony with intricate woodwork dating from centuries back, it was an almost surreal contrast between the modern music and club scene behind me and the historic buildings lit by lamplight in front of me.
Last day in Cusco tomorrow!
Coli
Friday April 3, 2009
Hotel in Cusco
Kara and I walked around the Plaza de Armas to visit both La Catedral de Cusco and La Compañia de Jesús (the two main churches), followed by the Museo de Arte Popular. We joined Hannah and Lindsey at the Museo del Templo del Qoricancha, which had a lot of information and artifacts about pre-Columbian cultures. There were even several well-preserved mummies displayed in their permanent fetal position thanks to their burial in large jars. They were usually wrapped like a cocoon in large blankets before being placed in these Andean versions of coffins - the more blankets, the richer they were. There were also several skulls that were purposely deformed; when the babies were young, they would place a wooden board on the skull to elongate and flatten it (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull anyone? It has both the skulls and Iguazú falls in it!).
After trying several new exotic fruits that I had never seen before, we wandered aimlessly through the streets of the San Blas area with its picturesque buildings – many of the walls were made from straw and mud – and sloped stone streets. We then stumbled across a restaurant that gave the term “hole in the wall” a whole new meaning (it really was through a small crumbling doorway and had a stapled tarp for a roof). It was full of locals so we took their lead and ordered the menú for S/3.50 (little over US$1): sopa de Quinua (popular Andean soup) and revuelto de patitas (rice and potatoes with an amazing sauce). We also ordered lomo de alpaca and everything was delicious and filling. Speaking of food, our digestive systems have been making some transitions to the food here – nothing too drastic, but definitely noticeable.
We then met with the rest of the group and saw the famous 12 angle rock that is part of a building formerly owned by a powerful Incan family (actually, it might have dated back to the Wari culture, who were in Cusco since the 5th century AD). The original shape of Cusco was shaped like a puma, so this building was considered the stomach (middle of the city). The green tinged rocks of the building were placed in a formation like a flower, another way to prevent destruction from earthquakes.
After it hailed on us again, we then took a trolley tour throughout the city and wound our way up to a large statue of Jesus on a mountain overlooking the city. At night, Kara and I went to see a traditional Andean dance performance at the cultural center, after which we tried skewers of anticuchos (cow hearts) from a street vendor. A group of us went out later to the artsy Mama Africa, a discoteca (what they call clubs here) that had a balcony that looked out over the Plaza de Armas. Standing out on the large balcony with intricate woodwork dating from centuries back, it was an almost surreal contrast between the modern music and club scene behind me and the historic buildings lit by lamplight in front of me.
Last day in Cusco tomorrow!
Coli
A "Ruined" Trip
Thursday April 2, 2009 Nighttime
Hotel in Cusco
We got to sleep in until seven this morning, when we took the train back through la Valle Sagrada (sacred valley, known for various Incan ruins) to see the ruins of Ollantaytambo. Here we learned a bit more about pre-Columbian farming techniques and architecture. They would actually take fertile soil from distant areas to support different crops on the terraces. We were in awe when Edi explained how the temple stones weighing more than 35000 kilos (1 stone averaging the weight of 5 cars) were taken down from the top of a large mountain that we could see in the distance and then back up the mountain the temple rested on – all without the help of pack animals or devices such as the wheel. And, if you took out one of these massive stones, the structure is so study that the rest of the stones would remain in place.
Across the ruins, on the other side of the town, was a huge natural rock that had been carved into an angry man who was the founder of the earth. The indigenous people believed in three worlds, represented by the 3,000 year old chacana, a common Andean symbol in the form of a square cross. The three worlds were: Hanan Pacha (world of the gods), Kay Pacha (our present world with humans), and Urhu Pacha (underworld for the ancestors and the forces of fertility). At the end of our tour, Edi was demonstrating how you could stop the cascade of the fountain in the princess ceremonial bath by brushing your hand across an almost invisible line when a group of Andean women in traditional dress came up and sang to us Quechua (second widest spoken language in Peru).
After Ollantaytambo, we returned to Pisac, but this time for the market, where I shopped to my heart’s content. The bus then took us out to just outside Cusco to the ruins of Sacsayhuamán, where we had a great overlook of the city just as the sun was setting. The approach of an oncoming storm created a stark contrast in the sky between bright skies of untainted blues and dark, fierce clouds. The lightning over Cusco was enchanting but the threatening rain forced us to run and take cover. Once back in Cusco, the hail that unexpectedly came down on us while on the Plaza de Armas broke up our dinner group (as we were all headed to a restaurant with bathtubs filled with fish as tables), so a small group of us ended up at a random restaurant where I tried sopa de asparrugus, lomo saltado, alpaca meat (yum!), and cuy (guinea pig – it’s a popular dish here). They brought the cooked cuy out with its head still on and then cut it into pieces for us (of course we acted like typical tourists with it before actually trying it).
Coli
Hotel in Cusco
We got to sleep in until seven this morning, when we took the train back through la Valle Sagrada (sacred valley, known for various Incan ruins) to see the ruins of Ollantaytambo. Here we learned a bit more about pre-Columbian farming techniques and architecture. They would actually take fertile soil from distant areas to support different crops on the terraces. We were in awe when Edi explained how the temple stones weighing more than 35000 kilos (1 stone averaging the weight of 5 cars) were taken down from the top of a large mountain that we could see in the distance and then back up the mountain the temple rested on – all without the help of pack animals or devices such as the wheel. And, if you took out one of these massive stones, the structure is so study that the rest of the stones would remain in place.
Across the ruins, on the other side of the town, was a huge natural rock that had been carved into an angry man who was the founder of the earth. The indigenous people believed in three worlds, represented by the 3,000 year old chacana, a common Andean symbol in the form of a square cross. The three worlds were: Hanan Pacha (world of the gods), Kay Pacha (our present world with humans), and Urhu Pacha (underworld for the ancestors and the forces of fertility). At the end of our tour, Edi was demonstrating how you could stop the cascade of the fountain in the princess ceremonial bath by brushing your hand across an almost invisible line when a group of Andean women in traditional dress came up and sang to us Quechua (second widest spoken language in Peru).
After Ollantaytambo, we returned to Pisac, but this time for the market, where I shopped to my heart’s content. The bus then took us out to just outside Cusco to the ruins of Sacsayhuamán, where we had a great overlook of the city just as the sun was setting. The approach of an oncoming storm created a stark contrast in the sky between bright skies of untainted blues and dark, fierce clouds. The lightning over Cusco was enchanting but the threatening rain forced us to run and take cover. Once back in Cusco, the hail that unexpectedly came down on us while on the Plaza de Armas broke up our dinner group (as we were all headed to a restaurant with bathtubs filled with fish as tables), so a small group of us ended up at a random restaurant where I tried sopa de asparrugus, lomo saltado, alpaca meat (yum!), and cuy (guinea pig – it’s a popular dish here). They brought the cooked cuy out with its head still on and then cut it into pieces for us (of course we acted like typical tourists with it before actually trying it).
Coli
Machu Picchu, One of the 7 Wonders of the World
Wednesday April 1, 2009 Afternoon
Machu Picchu Ruins
We caught the 5:30 train to Aguas Calientes, the town near the famous Machu Picchu ruins. It was a beautiful hour-long ride as the sun eventually rose upon steep “sugar loaf” mountains misted with fog and brown rapid rivers with double rainbows surrounded by plenty of greenery. After we dropped our bags off at Gringo Bills (our hotel), we stopped by the local market where I bought banana chips and tried a red banana, one of the many tropical fruit options. Then we were on the bus and off to Machu Picchu, traveling over switchback trails up one of the many mountains that seemed to extend past the clouds.
It is amazing the impression Machu Picchu leaves on everyone. Everyone in our group was largely silent (not a normal occurrence, for sure) when we first meandered amongst the ruined city. The atmosphere demands an almost reserved and pensive feeling. I suppose we were all in wonder as to how these former Incans built this once-sturdy civilization in such a precarious location. Actually, Edi, our guide, taught us that it was only the ruler who was referred to as the Incan king - not the Incan people, who were made up of many different pueblos that they took for work expertise, such as the water engineers from the deserts of Nazca. Edi had a lot of insight since he comes from an indigenous background (and has visited Machu Picchu over 1,000 times!). He even explained how many of Hiram Bigham’s (who “discovered” the ruins in 1911) original theories of the ruins where wrong.
Our first activity of the day, however, was to climb Wayna Picchu (meaning “young mountain”; Machu Picchu translates to “old mountain”), a steep mountain that is famously behind the ruins in most pictures of Machu Picchu. We climbed alllllll the way to the top, and, let me tell you, it was not an easy hike, I’m sure even passerby could hear my heart pounding ferociously. I felt like I was on a slippery and jagged Stairmaster because the majority of the path was literally just stairs going straight up a mountain. It was well worth it when we reached to top, however. There was another small collection of ruins and the most awe-inspiring views of the vast Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains that extended in every direction. I sat on a collection of large boulders at the precipice and we all enjoyed the view for a bit before heading down to get a tour of Machu Picchu with Edi.
Tour stops with Edi:
Temple of the Mountains: The civilization worshipped nature, and this collection of temples (stone huts with thatched roofs) surrounded a large flat stone carved as the outline of a mountain.
Temples of Water: There are 16 interconnected, trickling fountains that all are made to worship water as the source of life (I think they were also used to purify the water as well)
Sun Temple: The large compass stone in the center pointed to the four magnetic poles (and coincidently the four surrounding mountains. There was also a large stone carved roughly into the shape of a puma (which represented the earth) and the length of its shadow indicated the time of day or year.
Astronomy Tower: The former Machu Picchu inhabitants were excellent astronomers; the tower only had two windows and only on the days of winter/summer solstice would the light shine through the window directly to the other wall.
Chambers for Royalty: The buildings with the best masonry (ie, all the stones fit together without mortar, etc) were for royalty, scribes, and temples.
Agricultural Terraces: Similar to those in Pisac, these were used for growing crops and served as a breaking wall to prevent erosion.
There were also three small mountains near the ruins that formed the shape of a condor (representing the heavens) with his wings half-furled, and a collection of buildings in one part that was constructed in the shape of an alligator(representing the water), complete with spiny ridges from the roofs. These were the quarters for virgins, the most beautiful women meant for the Incan king only.
Now we are sitting in a grassy area secluded by some rocks and having a mini picnic with a fantastic view of the main ruins on our left and the steep, romantic Wayna Picchu on our right. The sun is absolutely beating down with ferociousness thanks to our closer proximity (we are about 8,500 feet above the sea level). The background soundtrack is of birds chirping and insects – both those praying on our bodies and the “human parasites” on the ruins. I’ve heard that they are considering shutting down the ruins to visitors permanently so I’m very fortunate that I’ve had the chance to come to a place that holds so much mystic and wonder for so many people. It really is the perfect place to contemplate.
---
Guess I did a little too much meditating, because I just took a long nap in the shade of some ruins. I woke up to a bird right near my face that moved as though it were in a strobe light. Speaking of light, the shadows had changed a lot and there were very few people surrounding me (unlike before) so I was afraid it was after 5 and I had slept through the last bus back to Aguas Calientes. Luckily, it was only 3:30 so I had time for a solitary walk amongst the ruins. It was so peaceful and felt more authentic, I hardly ran into anyone and it made it easier to imagine the inhabitants living here over 500 years ago. After exploring the bottom section, I took the path up to the top guard’s gate just before the park closed.
At night, several of us went to the hot springs that give the city its namesake (Aguas Calientes = “Hot Waters”), which was a steep hike upward through the city’s main road and a path alongside a river through the dark. There were several different pools with gravel ground and varying temperatures that were the perfect relaxing remedy. We were so hungry that we went dripping wet to this fancy French/Peruvian fusion restaurant to eat delicious quiche, trout, and apple pie. Then it was bedtime after watching a movie (Pan’s Labyrinth).
Coli
Machu Picchu Ruins
We caught the 5:30 train to Aguas Calientes, the town near the famous Machu Picchu ruins. It was a beautiful hour-long ride as the sun eventually rose upon steep “sugar loaf” mountains misted with fog and brown rapid rivers with double rainbows surrounded by plenty of greenery. After we dropped our bags off at Gringo Bills (our hotel), we stopped by the local market where I bought banana chips and tried a red banana, one of the many tropical fruit options. Then we were on the bus and off to Machu Picchu, traveling over switchback trails up one of the many mountains that seemed to extend past the clouds.
It is amazing the impression Machu Picchu leaves on everyone. Everyone in our group was largely silent (not a normal occurrence, for sure) when we first meandered amongst the ruined city. The atmosphere demands an almost reserved and pensive feeling. I suppose we were all in wonder as to how these former Incans built this once-sturdy civilization in such a precarious location. Actually, Edi, our guide, taught us that it was only the ruler who was referred to as the Incan king - not the Incan people, who were made up of many different pueblos that they took for work expertise, such as the water engineers from the deserts of Nazca. Edi had a lot of insight since he comes from an indigenous background (and has visited Machu Picchu over 1,000 times!). He even explained how many of Hiram Bigham’s (who “discovered” the ruins in 1911) original theories of the ruins where wrong.
Our first activity of the day, however, was to climb Wayna Picchu (meaning “young mountain”; Machu Picchu translates to “old mountain”), a steep mountain that is famously behind the ruins in most pictures of Machu Picchu. We climbed alllllll the way to the top, and, let me tell you, it was not an easy hike, I’m sure even passerby could hear my heart pounding ferociously. I felt like I was on a slippery and jagged Stairmaster because the majority of the path was literally just stairs going straight up a mountain. It was well worth it when we reached to top, however. There was another small collection of ruins and the most awe-inspiring views of the vast Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains that extended in every direction. I sat on a collection of large boulders at the precipice and we all enjoyed the view for a bit before heading down to get a tour of Machu Picchu with Edi.
Tour stops with Edi:
Temple of the Mountains: The civilization worshipped nature, and this collection of temples (stone huts with thatched roofs) surrounded a large flat stone carved as the outline of a mountain.
Temples of Water: There are 16 interconnected, trickling fountains that all are made to worship water as the source of life (I think they were also used to purify the water as well)
Sun Temple: The large compass stone in the center pointed to the four magnetic poles (and coincidently the four surrounding mountains. There was also a large stone carved roughly into the shape of a puma (which represented the earth) and the length of its shadow indicated the time of day or year.
Astronomy Tower: The former Machu Picchu inhabitants were excellent astronomers; the tower only had two windows and only on the days of winter/summer solstice would the light shine through the window directly to the other wall.
Chambers for Royalty: The buildings with the best masonry (ie, all the stones fit together without mortar, etc) were for royalty, scribes, and temples.
Agricultural Terraces: Similar to those in Pisac, these were used for growing crops and served as a breaking wall to prevent erosion.
There were also three small mountains near the ruins that formed the shape of a condor (representing the heavens) with his wings half-furled, and a collection of buildings in one part that was constructed in the shape of an alligator(representing the water), complete with spiny ridges from the roofs. These were the quarters for virgins, the most beautiful women meant for the Incan king only.
Now we are sitting in a grassy area secluded by some rocks and having a mini picnic with a fantastic view of the main ruins on our left and the steep, romantic Wayna Picchu on our right. The sun is absolutely beating down with ferociousness thanks to our closer proximity (we are about 8,500 feet above the sea level). The background soundtrack is of birds chirping and insects – both those praying on our bodies and the “human parasites” on the ruins. I’ve heard that they are considering shutting down the ruins to visitors permanently so I’m very fortunate that I’ve had the chance to come to a place that holds so much mystic and wonder for so many people. It really is the perfect place to contemplate.
---
Guess I did a little too much meditating, because I just took a long nap in the shade of some ruins. I woke up to a bird right near my face that moved as though it were in a strobe light. Speaking of light, the shadows had changed a lot and there were very few people surrounding me (unlike before) so I was afraid it was after 5 and I had slept through the last bus back to Aguas Calientes. Luckily, it was only 3:30 so I had time for a solitary walk amongst the ruins. It was so peaceful and felt more authentic, I hardly ran into anyone and it made it easier to imagine the inhabitants living here over 500 years ago. After exploring the bottom section, I took the path up to the top guard’s gate just before the park closed.
At night, several of us went to the hot springs that give the city its namesake (Aguas Calientes = “Hot Waters”), which was a steep hike upward through the city’s main road and a path alongside a river through the dark. There were several different pools with gravel ground and varying temperatures that were the perfect relaxing remedy. We were so hungry that we went dripping wet to this fancy French/Peruvian fusion restaurant to eat delicious quiche, trout, and apple pie. Then it was bedtime after watching a movie (Pan’s Labyrinth).
Coli
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Getting our Groove on in the Sacred Valley
(AN: Blog title reference to the movie Emperors New Groove...I need to watch that now to see how they depict Cusco!)
Monday March 30, 2009
We had a three hour ISA orientation to visit the Universidad of Pacífico, where we will be attending classes, and the Student Activities Center around the block, where the ISA office is located. The Student Activities center is really neat, apparently you can take classes such as guitar and they even have foosball tables and a climbing wall outside. The six-story university itself is really pretty, with seven or so interconnected buildings centered around a big concrete courtyard with awnings and benches. We met Rachel, the ISA program director (and currently 8 ½ months pregnant), who I found out used to live in my hometown Clearwater! I also registered online for next semester’s classes at the University of Florida - I can’t believe I need to do that already. Although I’m happy with my future schedule, I don’t even want to think about going back to 18 credit semesters with weekends filled with studying instead of traveling. After a delicious dinner of arroz con pollo (“rice with chicken” but also with incredible spices), I packed my backpack and called it an early night since we had a 3 am wakeup call to leave for Cusco and Machu Picchu!
Tuesday March 31, 2009
We caught our one-hour flight at 6 AM to Cusco, arriving bright and early to the old capital of the Incan empire. Cusco actually means bellybutton in Quechua, the indigenous language, because Cusco was considered the center of the earth by the Incans. At any rate, the first order of business once we got on our bus heading to the city center was to try “carmelos de coca,” candies made from the coca plant. And no, they didn’t have any drug properties. Coca is commonly consumed in the Andean region, especially as it is considered a cure for altitude sickness – after all, we were at an elevation of some 12,000 feet above sea level. We spent an hour at a café on the Plaza de Armas, the main plaza in Cusco, where we also tried mate de coca, a very popular drink (basically just tea made from coca leaves).
We were then in transit to…a llama farm in the mountains! We were over-excited by these cute and cuddly creatures as they nipped at the alfalfa in our hands. On the educational front, we learned how they were the principal pack animals for indigenous peoples before the introduction of the horse and we also learned more about the different animals in the llama family, such as the guanaco (such as Paco from my El Chaltén entry!) and alpacas. On the fun front, I got to hold a baby llama! We also observed the indigenous women weaving handspun and hand-dyed wools.
Next stop: the town of Pisac. We spent several hours hiking through the mountains while Edi, the Cusco ISA program director and our tour guide for the week, explained about the ruins. Our first taste of Incan architecture was fascinating; it’s incredible how they could carve and fit stones without the use of any mortar. They all fit so perfectly together that not even water can filter through the cracks. Another intriguing characteristic was how the Incans built their edifices to withstand earthquakes, which are common in Perú thanks to its position on the Ring of Fire. In addition to the overlapping masonry, the doorways are slanted inward at a 15 degree angle to provide further stability.
The scenery was unbelievable as we wound from ruin to ruin through the mountains, passing barren temples and stepped agricultural terraces the Incans constructed down the mountainside. To think they developed the technology to establish separate micro climates on each terrace no wider than 30 feet in an area otherwise incapable of growing anything blows my mind. I must have been trapped in my thoughts of the wonders of Incan architecture at one point because I slipped and fell down the path. I was really fortunate I wasn’t close to a cliff’s edge, but I did fall right into a cactus bed which was not exactly ideal either. When I ripped my side out of the cactus, a chunk of it ripped off and stayed lodged in my skin, so my friend Jessi had to spent a couple minutes pulling out the piece and several stray needles that had burrowed deep into my stomach.
Ignoring the mild stinging in my side, I pressed on to the end of the trail, where we were greeted by the bus that took us to Edi’s village. It was a very small traditional pueblo made up of a handful of Quechua-speaking families. I couldn’t believe how hospitable they were to open up their homes to us and make us a traditional lunch. When the altitude wasn’t agreeing with Ashley or me, they grabbed a mattress and blankets from inside and plopped them down into the soggy grass without hesitation so we could lie down. I nibbled at the huge meal which included two soups, fish (which is eaten a lot in Perú, unlike Argentina), a dish that sort of tasted like non-sweet funnel cake, and a couple other sides.
We arrived in Ollantaytambo around 6 PM and checked into our hotel. A mixture of waking up at 3 am, hiking for several hours, and the altitude had left us all exhausted so we just spent a couple hours walking around the small town square and browsing the artisan craft stalls. I was sound asleep by 8 PM and got some well-needed rest before our 4 AM wake-up call the next morning.
Tomorrow: MACHU PICCHU! aka one of the seven wonders of the world!
Coli
Monday March 30, 2009
We had a three hour ISA orientation to visit the Universidad of Pacífico, where we will be attending classes, and the Student Activities Center around the block, where the ISA office is located. The Student Activities center is really neat, apparently you can take classes such as guitar and they even have foosball tables and a climbing wall outside. The six-story university itself is really pretty, with seven or so interconnected buildings centered around a big concrete courtyard with awnings and benches. We met Rachel, the ISA program director (and currently 8 ½ months pregnant), who I found out used to live in my hometown Clearwater! I also registered online for next semester’s classes at the University of Florida - I can’t believe I need to do that already. Although I’m happy with my future schedule, I don’t even want to think about going back to 18 credit semesters with weekends filled with studying instead of traveling. After a delicious dinner of arroz con pollo (“rice with chicken” but also with incredible spices), I packed my backpack and called it an early night since we had a 3 am wakeup call to leave for Cusco and Machu Picchu!
Tuesday March 31, 2009
We caught our one-hour flight at 6 AM to Cusco, arriving bright and early to the old capital of the Incan empire. Cusco actually means bellybutton in Quechua, the indigenous language, because Cusco was considered the center of the earth by the Incans. At any rate, the first order of business once we got on our bus heading to the city center was to try “carmelos de coca,” candies made from the coca plant. And no, they didn’t have any drug properties. Coca is commonly consumed in the Andean region, especially as it is considered a cure for altitude sickness – after all, we were at an elevation of some 12,000 feet above sea level. We spent an hour at a café on the Plaza de Armas, the main plaza in Cusco, where we also tried mate de coca, a very popular drink (basically just tea made from coca leaves).
We were then in transit to…a llama farm in the mountains! We were over-excited by these cute and cuddly creatures as they nipped at the alfalfa in our hands. On the educational front, we learned how they were the principal pack animals for indigenous peoples before the introduction of the horse and we also learned more about the different animals in the llama family, such as the guanaco (such as Paco from my El Chaltén entry!) and alpacas. On the fun front, I got to hold a baby llama! We also observed the indigenous women weaving handspun and hand-dyed wools.
Next stop: the town of Pisac. We spent several hours hiking through the mountains while Edi, the Cusco ISA program director and our tour guide for the week, explained about the ruins. Our first taste of Incan architecture was fascinating; it’s incredible how they could carve and fit stones without the use of any mortar. They all fit so perfectly together that not even water can filter through the cracks. Another intriguing characteristic was how the Incans built their edifices to withstand earthquakes, which are common in Perú thanks to its position on the Ring of Fire. In addition to the overlapping masonry, the doorways are slanted inward at a 15 degree angle to provide further stability.
The scenery was unbelievable as we wound from ruin to ruin through the mountains, passing barren temples and stepped agricultural terraces the Incans constructed down the mountainside. To think they developed the technology to establish separate micro climates on each terrace no wider than 30 feet in an area otherwise incapable of growing anything blows my mind. I must have been trapped in my thoughts of the wonders of Incan architecture at one point because I slipped and fell down the path. I was really fortunate I wasn’t close to a cliff’s edge, but I did fall right into a cactus bed which was not exactly ideal either. When I ripped my side out of the cactus, a chunk of it ripped off and stayed lodged in my skin, so my friend Jessi had to spent a couple minutes pulling out the piece and several stray needles that had burrowed deep into my stomach.
Ignoring the mild stinging in my side, I pressed on to the end of the trail, where we were greeted by the bus that took us to Edi’s village. It was a very small traditional pueblo made up of a handful of Quechua-speaking families. I couldn’t believe how hospitable they were to open up their homes to us and make us a traditional lunch. When the altitude wasn’t agreeing with Ashley or me, they grabbed a mattress and blankets from inside and plopped them down into the soggy grass without hesitation so we could lie down. I nibbled at the huge meal which included two soups, fish (which is eaten a lot in Perú, unlike Argentina), a dish that sort of tasted like non-sweet funnel cake, and a couple other sides.
We arrived in Ollantaytambo around 6 PM and checked into our hotel. A mixture of waking up at 3 am, hiking for several hours, and the altitude had left us all exhausted so we just spent a couple hours walking around the small town square and browsing the artisan craft stalls. I was sound asleep by 8 PM and got some well-needed rest before our 4 AM wake-up call the next morning.
Tomorrow: MACHU PICCHU! aka one of the seven wonders of the world!
Coli
Monday, May 11, 2009
Warm Welcomes
23:42 29 de marzo 2009
My house in Lima
Another fantastic day. I met with 3 other Multisas and their host moms to catch a bus to Miraflores, the upscale barrio, for our first ISA Intercambio. If I thought the bus system was crazy in Buenos Aires, it is nothing compared to here. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to figure out how to guide myself through the city with them, because I don’t have my handy Guia T booklet with all the bus routes (our bus guide in Buenos Aires). Instead, the streets the buses travel along are apparently written on the side of the bus, so I guess you have to know the route you are traveling fairly well. We stood at a bus stop while many different buses, most barely larger than vans, came barreling past with an attendant shouting at us, I suppose to convince us to get on their bus and not another. Well, our host moms figured it out for us, and we were off in the tiny van-bus which could probably fit a max of 10 seating and maybe 10 more standing.
Our final destination was this beautiful park/boardwalk area called Larco Mar that had a bunch of nice stores and restaurants nearby. There we met up with the rest of our Multisa group, the ISA staff, and about fifteen Peruvian students our age for an intercambio (exchange). We all got ice cream, which was delicious even though I have no idea what I got – with 30 people trying to get the ice cream at the same time, I just pointed. I did try tuna ice cream though. And no, it’s not what you’re thinking…tuna is actually the name for a unique green fruit here in Peru (AN: I later discovered tuna is prickly pear fruit from cactus)
I had a fantastic time talking with the Peruvians, I’m really happy with how much Spanish I’ve been speaking here already, although it’s a little difficult to stop using the vos form and the Argentine accent. At times I feel like a complete idiot because something that I would say with no hesitation in Argentina (“Querés ir a la playa?) has me stuttering like a fool trying to remember how to pronounce things without the shhha. So it comes out “Querés – qui…qui..er..es ir a la pla..pla…plaaaa…ya. The Peruvians always laughed and made a comment about it’s obvious we came from Argentina when we pronounced certain things or used lunfardo (Argentine slang), but I didn’t mind. It will just take some time to transition.
After crunching down on our rapidly melting ice cream cones, we moved en masse to go to a salsa class. That was a lot of fun, even though we just stuck to basic moves and didn’t dance with partners since the girls obviously outnumbered the guys. We then walked to a café/bar that was broadcasting the Chile vs Peru fútbol game, which is an intense rivalry. They were telling us how the game takes on big political connotations. Chile was up by one goal when we left, but I hope Peru pulled through. We then had to say goodbye to our new friends, but they all seemed really excited to hang out again. I’m so happy we are meeting such great people already on our second day. I’m also really excited by our group’s improvement, we definitely couldn’t have held such in-depth conversations with our peers two months ago.
Our final destination of the night was dinner at Junius! Wow, I can’t believe what a nice restaurant it was! The décor was very upscale, and was served in buffet fashion. All the food was typical Peruvian food, and while I don’t know most of what I had, I do know that I loved absolutely everything. I definitely ate crema de espárragos (creamed asparagus soup), arroz con leche (rice pudding), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), a raw fish thing (AN: it's called cebiche, and is raw fish marinated with lime and other flavors - so delicious).
I was excited when a band started playing, but it got even better. Apparently, it was a dinner show showcasing all different Peruvian dances. First we had the Inca lord and his “collas,” or virgin women dedicated to the sun; the Zamacueca, a dance between a man and a women using a handkerchief with origins in the black slave communities; two versions of the Marinera, one of a couple courting each other and the other with a guy dancing with a plastic horse strapped around his waist; an upbeat festejo dance; the “fantasia arequipena" with a dancer dressed as a large condor; and negrillos, a dance in which black slaves would satirically imitate Spanish soldiers. The Scissors dance was awesome – two men hold two loose scissor shears that clang together while they compete to be the best dancer as each player takes the previous dancer’s moves and creates new ones. The Diablada Puneña was another festival sort of dance with dancers wearing large dragon-like heads. The favorite was probably the finale dance though. The Son de los Diablos had dancers with impish looking devil masks that came through the crowd and scared patrons or messed with their cameras and climbed poles. The highlight was when Ashley from our group was selected unknowingly to marry the king of the diablos (devils). At the end, we got to take pictures with the performers, and the drummer from the band even grabbed me and sat me down with his drum for a bit! Another crazy and crowded bus ride later, and we were home.
Looking forward to tomorrow! Coli
My house in Lima
Another fantastic day. I met with 3 other Multisas and their host moms to catch a bus to Miraflores, the upscale barrio, for our first ISA Intercambio. If I thought the bus system was crazy in Buenos Aires, it is nothing compared to here. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to figure out how to guide myself through the city with them, because I don’t have my handy Guia T booklet with all the bus routes (our bus guide in Buenos Aires). Instead, the streets the buses travel along are apparently written on the side of the bus, so I guess you have to know the route you are traveling fairly well. We stood at a bus stop while many different buses, most barely larger than vans, came barreling past with an attendant shouting at us, I suppose to convince us to get on their bus and not another. Well, our host moms figured it out for us, and we were off in the tiny van-bus which could probably fit a max of 10 seating and maybe 10 more standing.
Our final destination was this beautiful park/boardwalk area called Larco Mar that had a bunch of nice stores and restaurants nearby. There we met up with the rest of our Multisa group, the ISA staff, and about fifteen Peruvian students our age for an intercambio (exchange). We all got ice cream, which was delicious even though I have no idea what I got – with 30 people trying to get the ice cream at the same time, I just pointed. I did try tuna ice cream though. And no, it’s not what you’re thinking…tuna is actually the name for a unique green fruit here in Peru (AN: I later discovered tuna is prickly pear fruit from cactus)
I had a fantastic time talking with the Peruvians, I’m really happy with how much Spanish I’ve been speaking here already, although it’s a little difficult to stop using the vos form and the Argentine accent. At times I feel like a complete idiot because something that I would say with no hesitation in Argentina (“Querés ir a la playa?) has me stuttering like a fool trying to remember how to pronounce things without the shhha. So it comes out “Querés – qui…qui..er..es ir a la pla..pla…plaaaa…ya. The Peruvians always laughed and made a comment about it’s obvious we came from Argentina when we pronounced certain things or used lunfardo (Argentine slang), but I didn’t mind. It will just take some time to transition.
After crunching down on our rapidly melting ice cream cones, we moved en masse to go to a salsa class. That was a lot of fun, even though we just stuck to basic moves and didn’t dance with partners since the girls obviously outnumbered the guys. We then walked to a café/bar that was broadcasting the Chile vs Peru fútbol game, which is an intense rivalry. They were telling us how the game takes on big political connotations. Chile was up by one goal when we left, but I hope Peru pulled through. We then had to say goodbye to our new friends, but they all seemed really excited to hang out again. I’m so happy we are meeting such great people already on our second day. I’m also really excited by our group’s improvement, we definitely couldn’t have held such in-depth conversations with our peers two months ago.
Our final destination of the night was dinner at Junius! Wow, I can’t believe what a nice restaurant it was! The décor was very upscale, and was served in buffet fashion. All the food was typical Peruvian food, and while I don’t know most of what I had, I do know that I loved absolutely everything. I definitely ate crema de espárragos (creamed asparagus soup), arroz con leche (rice pudding), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), a raw fish thing (AN: it's called cebiche, and is raw fish marinated with lime and other flavors - so delicious).
I was excited when a band started playing, but it got even better. Apparently, it was a dinner show showcasing all different Peruvian dances. First we had the Inca lord and his “collas,” or virgin women dedicated to the sun; the Zamacueca, a dance between a man and a women using a handkerchief with origins in the black slave communities; two versions of the Marinera, one of a couple courting each other and the other with a guy dancing with a plastic horse strapped around his waist; an upbeat festejo dance; the “fantasia arequipena" with a dancer dressed as a large condor; and negrillos, a dance in which black slaves would satirically imitate Spanish soldiers. The Scissors dance was awesome – two men hold two loose scissor shears that clang together while they compete to be the best dancer as each player takes the previous dancer’s moves and creates new ones. The Diablada Puneña was another festival sort of dance with dancers wearing large dragon-like heads. The favorite was probably the finale dance though. The Son de los Diablos had dancers with impish looking devil masks that came through the crowd and scared patrons or messed with their cameras and climbed poles. The highlight was when Ashley from our group was selected unknowingly to marry the king of the diablos (devils). At the end, we got to take pictures with the performers, and the drummer from the band even grabbed me and sat me down with his drum for a bit! Another crazy and crowded bus ride later, and we were home.
Looking forward to tomorrow! Coli
My 2nd First Impressions
14:53 Sunday, March 29, 2009
My house in Lima
I am still overwhelmed, but instead of with confusion like my first arrival, I am overwhelmed with happiness. Last night I spent in a wonderfully peaceful fashion. While Austry was at work, I made a scrapbook out of all my ticket stubs and maps from Buenos Aires. I didn’t even realize it was 3 am (5 am BsAs time) when she came home. This morning I woke up and had a piece of bread (odd to have sliced bread like in the US again) with jamon y queso (so I didn’t escape Argentina!) and this interesting combination of drinkable peach yogurt mixed with something that looked like some sort of spice or ground oatmeal. The texture was a little out there for me, but it wasn’t that bad.
After showering and unpacking a bit, Austry and I took a taxi past the school and ISA office (conveniently right across the street from the school) to another grocery store that was much larger and probably a lot cheaper than the one we went to yesterday. It was so awesome, I can already tell I’m going to love eating in Peru. There were different sections for the breads, the fruits, the veggies, the raw foods. I guess that's the layout in the US as well, but it felt a lot different. Maybe this was because of the fresh fish laying out on counter while the butcher set to work skinning a raw fish with the head still on, or the yellow lines on the floor designated for shopping cart parking while you went to food counters. We got lots of fresh greenry, and I got a handle of the routine: put the fresh vegetables and fruits in a plastic bag, take the bag to a little counter to tie the bag with a sticker contraption, and then head to the weighing station where the attendant measures the bag to compute the price.
There were a lot of unique produce that I had never seen before, and a lot of differences in the ones that I had. The lemons were barely larger than gum balls, while the cucumbers were probably twice the width than those I normally buy in Florida. There was even purple corn. In Argentina, it was hard to find salt and almost impossible to find pepper – here they have every spice imaginable. I also loved all the free samples they had- the pineapple was amazing and my mouth did a little dance and went to heaven after trying dried banana chips dipped in guacamole. They even had a table with a bunch of free samples of liquor in the drink section. Speaking of, yesterday on the bus, María Elena was telling us how different the drinking culture is here. Usually the Peruvians only drink at night, and women rarely drink. If they do, there are specific beers and drinks for women. How different!
Well, I’m soon off to the welcome lunch and dance with ISA!
Coli
My house in Lima
I am still overwhelmed, but instead of with confusion like my first arrival, I am overwhelmed with happiness. Last night I spent in a wonderfully peaceful fashion. While Austry was at work, I made a scrapbook out of all my ticket stubs and maps from Buenos Aires. I didn’t even realize it was 3 am (5 am BsAs time) when she came home. This morning I woke up and had a piece of bread (odd to have sliced bread like in the US again) with jamon y queso (so I didn’t escape Argentina!) and this interesting combination of drinkable peach yogurt mixed with something that looked like some sort of spice or ground oatmeal. The texture was a little out there for me, but it wasn’t that bad.
After showering and unpacking a bit, Austry and I took a taxi past the school and ISA office (conveniently right across the street from the school) to another grocery store that was much larger and probably a lot cheaper than the one we went to yesterday. It was so awesome, I can already tell I’m going to love eating in Peru. There were different sections for the breads, the fruits, the veggies, the raw foods. I guess that's the layout in the US as well, but it felt a lot different. Maybe this was because of the fresh fish laying out on counter while the butcher set to work skinning a raw fish with the head still on, or the yellow lines on the floor designated for shopping cart parking while you went to food counters. We got lots of fresh greenry, and I got a handle of the routine: put the fresh vegetables and fruits in a plastic bag, take the bag to a little counter to tie the bag with a sticker contraption, and then head to the weighing station where the attendant measures the bag to compute the price.
There were a lot of unique produce that I had never seen before, and a lot of differences in the ones that I had. The lemons were barely larger than gum balls, while the cucumbers were probably twice the width than those I normally buy in Florida. There was even purple corn. In Argentina, it was hard to find salt and almost impossible to find pepper – here they have every spice imaginable. I also loved all the free samples they had- the pineapple was amazing and my mouth did a little dance and went to heaven after trying dried banana chips dipped in guacamole. They even had a table with a bunch of free samples of liquor in the drink section. Speaking of, yesterday on the bus, María Elena was telling us how different the drinking culture is here. Usually the Peruvians only drink at night, and women rarely drink. If they do, there are specific beers and drinks for women. How different!
Well, I’m soon off to the welcome lunch and dance with ISA!
Coli
From Good Air to Lime
14:49 Saturday, March 28, 2009
My new house in Lima, Perú
(AN: In reference to the blog title, Buenos Aires means "good air" in English and Lima signifies "lime")
I am overwhelmed with happiness right now. I just got into my house a little bit ago in San Isidro, Lima, Perú. San Isidro is a ritzy part of the city, and I’m in a really nice area. The house is gorgeous, I have a room that is probably double the size of the one I had in Argentina with a queen size bed and a window that opens up to a tiny courtyard below.
First, recap our last nights in BA:
Our last class was on Thursday but it just consisted of us turning in our papers and waiting for them to be graded (grading scale is 1-10 here). After an ice cream shop, we headed down to the Microcentro and Florida Ave, and then visited Barrio Once, where I bought a pair of those crazy genie pants. At night, we went to a boliche called Lost. It felt like a homesickness cure, all the music was hip hop and reggaton that has been popular in the US in the last 10 years and I had the absolute best time dancing the night away. There was even a break dancing competition - I have no idea how they can move their bodies like that. We stayed until the club closed at 6 am and then headed home on the Subte that had just opened- so convenient!
After sleeping for a couple hours, we had our goodbye lunch with the ISA office members at a place called Deli Wok, an interesting buffet combination between Chinese, asado, and assorted high-class foods. I loved the fresh kiwis with cream and a crepe with banana and dulce de leche.
After lunch, I went to Recoleta (count it, forth time) to see the Museo de Bellas Artes. We stopped back into the Recoleta Cementario again right before it closed so some of my compañeros could see Evita’s tomb. We had just found the Duarte family mausoleum (where she’s buried) when I heard a voice next to me ask, “Don’t we know you?” We realized it was two British guys that we had met in Iguazú Falls weeks ago! To make it even more amazing, we had seen another pair of British girls that we met at Iguazú at the La Bomba concert earlier in the week. Small world is all I have to say.
So they accompanied us to the museum, which was huge, free, and housed some incredible pieces. It had everything from pre-Columbian art to European classics (by every famous artist you could imagine- Monet, Rodin, Goya, El Greco, Cezanne, Manet), a large Argentine painter collection, modern art, and, one of my favorites, a special photography exhibit.
After my last meal with my family that night, I began to pack all my stuff and then went out with a couple girls to Palermo. We started out in this one bar, where I got my final licuado, and headed up to the swanky rooftop area, where there were secluded plush seats and alcoves with trellis everywhere. The roof was completely open and it was a beautiful night, with a perfect view of the stars. I even saw a huge shooting star! It was incredible.
We continued to bar hop, stopping at another nice bar with posh pool tables. We were forced to buy AR$10 worth of menu items to enter, so I ended up getting my final extra cheesy pizza. Our traveling continued, and we found this awesome place that wasn’t really crowded but had really plush couches and great music. At about 4:15 we had to book out of there to get home in order grab our suitcases from our houses and meet at to the university. Kara and I took a taxi/bus combo since we didn’t have enough money and I got home with 15 minutes to shower and pack everything into my backpack and purse. Somehow I successfully accomplished this mission and Liz and I took a taxi to the Universidad de Belgrano right on time to take our bus transfer to the airport. Guillermo, our ISA program director, gave us little goodie bags of alfajores, so I really feel like I’ve been getting a final taste of everything.
Everything went smoothly getting through the airport (besides the fact that a zipper on my big suitcase and small suitcase both fell off this morning) and I spent the last of my pesos on the airport departure tax. This was when I started to drag, considering it was 8:00 and I still hadn’t gone to sleep, but once I got on the plane, I was lucky enough to move and claim a three seat row as my bed for the 4 hour flight, waking only for a yummy breakfast of jamon y queso sandwich de miga, fruit, and yogurt (again, last goodbyes!).
¡BIENVENIDA A LIMA, PERÚ! (Welcome to Lima, Peru!)
After getting my luggage and adding a new stamp to the growing collection in my passport, we were met by the smiling face of María Elena, one of the Lima ISA people. She gave us all woven satchels of different colors and traditional designs filled with maps and journals and information – it felt like Christmas! She also treated us all to a round of drinks, where we tried our first taste of Inca Cola, their most popular soda. It has the appearance of Mountain Dew but a taste like cream soda and bubble gum. I spent our bus ride in soaking up all the sights through the window while Maria explained the events for the next few days. I’ve found that the Peruvian accent is much easier to understand, I’m not sure whether it’s because they pronounce things more clearly or if it’s just more similar to what I learned in the United States.
When we got off the bus near the Universidad del Pacífico, where I will be attending classes, we were met by our families right away. Austry, my host mom, is really great. We hopped into a taxi with Lauren, another Multisa, and her host mom, who are our next-door neighbors. Ironic, because that is exactly how our arrival to Buenos Aires started out- Lauren and I grabbing a taxi with our host moms, who were great friends as well. It’s amazing how everything is so parallel, almost as if to highlight the differences.
Though I have to start over again with everything - learning a new city, adjusting to a new culture, words, food, and family - I feel much more at peace than when I first arrived to Buenos Aires. I just remember how disorienting everything was, like so many things were happening at once, as though every time I turned my head, I would just miss what I was supposed to see. I had no idea where I was, nothing was familiar and I was very overwhelmed and exhausted. But now, with my improved language comprehension and experience adjusting to a new culture, this seems almost like a piece of cake.
Once we got to the house, the first order of business after putting my suitcases upstairs was to head to the bank to take out nuevos soles (the currency in Peru; I think 3 soles equals about USD $1) and stop by the grocery store to pick up some food items for the next day or so. It was very different to be asked what I wanted, with Adriana I just ate what I received. For lunch, I wanted some typical Peruvian food, so we grabbed some lomo saltado con arroz from the Vivianda grocery store near my house. Lomo saltado is beef with potatoes and onions and this sauce that best can be described as spiced au ju sauce. It was a really nice grocery store too, it reminded me of an upscale store you would see in Boca Raton (Florida) or something. We came back to the house to eat the lunch, while the maid Glorinda set the table. At first I felt slightly awkward knowing there would be someone serving me, even though I know it’s quite common, but it was actually not as bad as I thought. Glori ate with us, and then both Austry and I helped clear the table and clean. Austry then showed me how to work the locks of the house and how to flip the switch for hot water to shower, which I have to do half an hour prior to using it.
After lunch, I was so exhausted from lack of sleep that I fell asleep until 21:00. Austry went to work at 17:00 (she works Public Relations at the casino New York) and I felt bad because I was so conked out that I didn’t hear any of her phone calls or Vicky’s (Lauren’s mom) calls to me from the door. When I got up, I fixed myself some chicken and leftover lomo saltado for dinner and assured them both that I was fine. It’s really thoughtful, Austry has called to check up on me twice since she doesn’t get off work until 1 am. I feel really at home already, Austry has even told me several times when I want to watch TV, I can go lay in her bed upstairs until she gets home. She even gave me a phone! I couldn’t believe it, I was so grateful. I was really fortunate to borrow an old one from Adriana and I didn’t think I would have the same opportunity here.
Now I’m just reading through my course syllabus and information about Lima while listening to reggaton and Spanish pop music videos while sitting on the couch in the living room. The downstairs mostly consists of a dining room, the living room, the kitchen, while upstairs are the three bedrooms. I even went up the stairs outside the kitchen to discover they led to the top of the roof! It was awesome to see the clouds and a few stars, though I could still make out the ever-present fog in Lima along the horizon. Well, I'm going to get started on unpacking.
Coli
My new house in Lima, Perú
(AN: In reference to the blog title, Buenos Aires means "good air" in English and Lima signifies "lime")
I am overwhelmed with happiness right now. I just got into my house a little bit ago in San Isidro, Lima, Perú. San Isidro is a ritzy part of the city, and I’m in a really nice area. The house is gorgeous, I have a room that is probably double the size of the one I had in Argentina with a queen size bed and a window that opens up to a tiny courtyard below.
First, recap our last nights in BA:
Our last class was on Thursday but it just consisted of us turning in our papers and waiting for them to be graded (grading scale is 1-10 here). After an ice cream shop, we headed down to the Microcentro and Florida Ave, and then visited Barrio Once, where I bought a pair of those crazy genie pants. At night, we went to a boliche called Lost. It felt like a homesickness cure, all the music was hip hop and reggaton that has been popular in the US in the last 10 years and I had the absolute best time dancing the night away. There was even a break dancing competition - I have no idea how they can move their bodies like that. We stayed until the club closed at 6 am and then headed home on the Subte that had just opened- so convenient!
After sleeping for a couple hours, we had our goodbye lunch with the ISA office members at a place called Deli Wok, an interesting buffet combination between Chinese, asado, and assorted high-class foods. I loved the fresh kiwis with cream and a crepe with banana and dulce de leche.
After lunch, I went to Recoleta (count it, forth time) to see the Museo de Bellas Artes. We stopped back into the Recoleta Cementario again right before it closed so some of my compañeros could see Evita’s tomb. We had just found the Duarte family mausoleum (where she’s buried) when I heard a voice next to me ask, “Don’t we know you?” We realized it was two British guys that we had met in Iguazú Falls weeks ago! To make it even more amazing, we had seen another pair of British girls that we met at Iguazú at the La Bomba concert earlier in the week. Small world is all I have to say.
So they accompanied us to the museum, which was huge, free, and housed some incredible pieces. It had everything from pre-Columbian art to European classics (by every famous artist you could imagine- Monet, Rodin, Goya, El Greco, Cezanne, Manet), a large Argentine painter collection, modern art, and, one of my favorites, a special photography exhibit.
After my last meal with my family that night, I began to pack all my stuff and then went out with a couple girls to Palermo. We started out in this one bar, where I got my final licuado, and headed up to the swanky rooftop area, where there were secluded plush seats and alcoves with trellis everywhere. The roof was completely open and it was a beautiful night, with a perfect view of the stars. I even saw a huge shooting star! It was incredible.
We continued to bar hop, stopping at another nice bar with posh pool tables. We were forced to buy AR$10 worth of menu items to enter, so I ended up getting my final extra cheesy pizza. Our traveling continued, and we found this awesome place that wasn’t really crowded but had really plush couches and great music. At about 4:15 we had to book out of there to get home in order grab our suitcases from our houses and meet at to the university. Kara and I took a taxi/bus combo since we didn’t have enough money and I got home with 15 minutes to shower and pack everything into my backpack and purse. Somehow I successfully accomplished this mission and Liz and I took a taxi to the Universidad de Belgrano right on time to take our bus transfer to the airport. Guillermo, our ISA program director, gave us little goodie bags of alfajores, so I really feel like I’ve been getting a final taste of everything.
Everything went smoothly getting through the airport (besides the fact that a zipper on my big suitcase and small suitcase both fell off this morning) and I spent the last of my pesos on the airport departure tax. This was when I started to drag, considering it was 8:00 and I still hadn’t gone to sleep, but once I got on the plane, I was lucky enough to move and claim a three seat row as my bed for the 4 hour flight, waking only for a yummy breakfast of jamon y queso sandwich de miga, fruit, and yogurt (again, last goodbyes!).
¡BIENVENIDA A LIMA, PERÚ! (Welcome to Lima, Peru!)
After getting my luggage and adding a new stamp to the growing collection in my passport, we were met by the smiling face of María Elena, one of the Lima ISA people. She gave us all woven satchels of different colors and traditional designs filled with maps and journals and information – it felt like Christmas! She also treated us all to a round of drinks, where we tried our first taste of Inca Cola, their most popular soda. It has the appearance of Mountain Dew but a taste like cream soda and bubble gum. I spent our bus ride in soaking up all the sights through the window while Maria explained the events for the next few days. I’ve found that the Peruvian accent is much easier to understand, I’m not sure whether it’s because they pronounce things more clearly or if it’s just more similar to what I learned in the United States.
When we got off the bus near the Universidad del Pacífico, where I will be attending classes, we were met by our families right away. Austry, my host mom, is really great. We hopped into a taxi with Lauren, another Multisa, and her host mom, who are our next-door neighbors. Ironic, because that is exactly how our arrival to Buenos Aires started out- Lauren and I grabbing a taxi with our host moms, who were great friends as well. It’s amazing how everything is so parallel, almost as if to highlight the differences.
Though I have to start over again with everything - learning a new city, adjusting to a new culture, words, food, and family - I feel much more at peace than when I first arrived to Buenos Aires. I just remember how disorienting everything was, like so many things were happening at once, as though every time I turned my head, I would just miss what I was supposed to see. I had no idea where I was, nothing was familiar and I was very overwhelmed and exhausted. But now, with my improved language comprehension and experience adjusting to a new culture, this seems almost like a piece of cake.
Once we got to the house, the first order of business after putting my suitcases upstairs was to head to the bank to take out nuevos soles (the currency in Peru; I think 3 soles equals about USD $1) and stop by the grocery store to pick up some food items for the next day or so. It was very different to be asked what I wanted, with Adriana I just ate what I received. For lunch, I wanted some typical Peruvian food, so we grabbed some lomo saltado con arroz from the Vivianda grocery store near my house. Lomo saltado is beef with potatoes and onions and this sauce that best can be described as spiced au ju sauce. It was a really nice grocery store too, it reminded me of an upscale store you would see in Boca Raton (Florida) or something. We came back to the house to eat the lunch, while the maid Glorinda set the table. At first I felt slightly awkward knowing there would be someone serving me, even though I know it’s quite common, but it was actually not as bad as I thought. Glori ate with us, and then both Austry and I helped clear the table and clean. Austry then showed me how to work the locks of the house and how to flip the switch for hot water to shower, which I have to do half an hour prior to using it.
After lunch, I was so exhausted from lack of sleep that I fell asleep until 21:00. Austry went to work at 17:00 (she works Public Relations at the casino New York) and I felt bad because I was so conked out that I didn’t hear any of her phone calls or Vicky’s (Lauren’s mom) calls to me from the door. When I got up, I fixed myself some chicken and leftover lomo saltado for dinner and assured them both that I was fine. It’s really thoughtful, Austry has called to check up on me twice since she doesn’t get off work until 1 am. I feel really at home already, Austry has even told me several times when I want to watch TV, I can go lay in her bed upstairs until she gets home. She even gave me a phone! I couldn’t believe it, I was so grateful. I was really fortunate to borrow an old one from Adriana and I didn’t think I would have the same opportunity here.
Now I’m just reading through my course syllabus and information about Lima while listening to reggaton and Spanish pop music videos while sitting on the couch in the living room. The downstairs mostly consists of a dining room, the living room, the kitchen, while upstairs are the three bedrooms. I even went up the stairs outside the kitchen to discover they led to the top of the roof! It was awesome to see the clouds and a few stars, though I could still make out the ever-present fog in Lima along the horizon. Well, I'm going to get started on unpacking.
Coli
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