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