class, then mancora!

Just another weekend in el Perú. Thursday after class we headed to our hostel in San Bartolo for the night, took a couple taxis there … bought our supply of drinks for the night, and started playing cards. The boys of the group decided we would play Circle of Death, Peruvian style, and they made up their own version.. which was completely ridiculous and funny.. and long story short we started at 9pm and we were all toast by 9:30pm. We were about the only ones in San Bartolo it seemed like and… well we were really loud and quite a sight and entertainment for the hostel owners. And we wonder why Americans have the name they do – we weren’t loud and obnoxious at all! Lol. A few hours later, after a cruise down to the beach, and after one of us was done for the night after throwing up (not me!!!), we were hungry of course after our hard night of drinking, so we asked the hostel owners if they’d cook as food and they made us all chicken breast meals (except I wasn’t there when they served it!!) lol. It was quite a night and we all got up the next morning for our free breakfast and hunt for the beach. I woke up with a huge slash across my foot – about 2 inches and ouch it hurts when I walk!! So the beach in Santa Maria didn’t do my cut any good (which is now infected!), but oh the beach was beautiful. We laid out all day in the sun then grabbed a late lunch of mariscos, ceviche, lomo saltado, and pescado. Then we headed back to Lima for our intercambio. Last night most of us went to Peter’s host dad’s concert, Ruben Florez, which was quite entertaining and interesting. We all got formal invitations and the concert was in a castle in Castallao. Then we went out for Kelly’s birthday to a club in Barranco and today I laid around and studied. My life is so hard I know! Lol. The life here is so rich. This coming week, after class, we are going to Mancora, a city in the north with the richest beaches in Peru! For our spring break. Here is the site of where we are staying and what there’s to do in Mancora.. if the sun, sand, and ocean breeze isn’t enough for you. http://www.mancoraperulosalgarrobos.com/condo/index.html
vivamancora.com
Pretty excited!! Spraaaaaaaang breaaaaaak baby – Mancora 09’. Very excited, but I have a lot of reading to do while I’m there! (after you see this place you will see exactly how much reading I’ll get done……….!!) Miss and love you all! I hope everyone has a good week!! Have fun on spring break gfs, - have fun in cali grams! – visiting Pres dad – in DC ma - and at work everyone else :P – and Presy with his new teefers!! :)
Besos de Peru!!

busy busy - beach nite!

It’s been a while! Sorry everyone! I’ve been super busy non-stop, trying to find time to rest lately! Last week Paige and Carly came to visit – it was AWESOME! We did well, umm…. Everything! We did a LOT! Lot lot! They got the historical view, el Congreso, la Inquisición, la Catedral de Lima, la Iglesia de San Pedro, changing of the guards, Chifa (Peruvian Chinese), chichi morada (purple corn drink, they weren’t too fond of it!), we visited Pachacamac – ancient ruins that we made up stories to because we were without a guide, they met an ex congressman during Fuijimori’s era, and the first indigenous congress woman of Peru – Paulina Arpasi Velásquez, they got the night life, Barancco, Calle de las Pizzas, Larcomar, we went to a club with one of my new Peruvian friends, Alessandra, which was a ‘baller’ time, we danced on a couple bars and got on stage at the club with Alessandra, lol. We drank and got into clubs free almost every night. We met people from England and US Southern Command Military. We ate at almost every restaurant ever in Miraflores – it felt like anyway – we basically didn’t stop eating! Lomo saltado, ceviche on the beach, inka cola, amazing peru juices, lucuma ice cream, pisco sour ice cream, pisco sours!! Cusqueña beer... they got the taxi experience, combi experience, the broken down combi experience on the highway!, the crazy peru traffic and la hora punta (rush hour), we met the good, and we met the dangerous J lol. Oh and we also went hang gliding! Really hung over too… and Carly and I both got really sick.. but still awesome! They got the fam experience and met my host mom, Pilar, and sweet Elisabeth, and Carly got made fun of in the street for being white and American a lot.. lol, and so did Paige for that matter. Was a good time. And now I have a mountain of homework to catch up on! But it was def worth it! I was really sick this weekend, probably from all my going, and I couldn’t even get a word out, but now I am better and about 98% and going at it again. School is still.. hard. Tonight after class we are going to San Bartolo, a cheap beach resort the boys stayed at the other weekend and loved it! So we are going to be out on the beach tonight, then lay out in the sun tomorrow – then come home and get ready for our weekend all over again! I love it here, I love Peru. I have a really amazing group from Luther, we all get along really well and.. we are all here for the same reason – we want to learn and explore and have the time of our lives! Which we are doing. Last night I got to watch my Presy babe roll over on Mandy’s blog! Oh he’s so big! I miss him and everyone! I love your calls and your letters, although the letters aren’t necessary you know! I’m known as the girl who has gotten the most mail in ISA history.. so thank you for all your love! J Time is flying, I can’t believe it’s almost the end of March, it just turned March! I love it here, and I think of you all very often! It’s sort of like a double negative… I miss you tho!

Besos de Peru

i dont think you'd know me anymore!

First, I can't believe it's March and then some already! How fast that time went by!! Wow!
If you saw what I was eating you wouldn’t know me. You wouldn’t believe it. I eat so many weird random things.. every single day. From my not eating any of the main meals, rarely touch meat, and pick at everything at home, to just my salads and sweets at school and never the main dish, none of you would think I was the same person! Many times I have no idea, not a clue, what I’m eating. I don’t know if it’s a fruit, a vegetable, a meat. I just open my mouth, close my eyes, and hope that it’s not a hot dog and that I can swallow it. A lot of times it’s good lol. I mostly eat the meat I am presented with (I know rents – can you believe that!), or at least try it if I must. I will not try cuy tho (guinea pig!! ick! i wouldnt even eat that if you cooked it dad!!). But I did just agree to Pilar that I will try cow heart.. what!! Lol. Some of the stuff I eat looks so weird.. I had a salad for a while with bright pink and purple stuff on it, no idea what it was. The stuff I eat can be green, yellow, pink, purple, orange, any color, and any texture. I ate the other day like corn mush with spaghetti sauce on it, I actually loved it, but for the longest time had no idea what I was eating. And nothing has the nutrition facts on it – I know I’m a nutrition facts freak! But – ya just go with it here. And I can’t not try something that Elisabeth gives me, she’s so so so so sweet. And if I don’t like it, she just laughs. I try my best to cut it into tiny pieces and move it around, and hide it under rice, but Elisabeth always knows. Some other people’s maids will get mad if they don’t like something, so I am very lucky that I have Elisabeth. I also get a fresh salad every day before meals with palta (avocado) sooo yum! Which I’m very lucky too because some people don’t see vegetables at all or not-fried food, and I rarely have fried food (except for fried bananas that are pink with egg and rice, my host mom’s favorite meal – I know right?) I eat ice cream now too (everyone does every day.. it’s to die for! Sooo so so so good! And it’s so hot here too, it’s def necessary.) and I drink juice. The juice they have is amazing!! And Elisabeth will put it in a shake with sugar milk and sugar and it’s sooo yum. And they don’t drink milk here, so I don’t either – only the sweet leche in my coffee in the morning (I know ma – we are going to go through like a gallon a day when I get back!) So you wouldn’t think I was the same person if you saw my eating habits from now and before!
One thing that is just really different is how we are treated here. We talked about racism and discrimination here in Peru the other day in Ethics class and.. it’s kind of harder to tell and see, but the lighter skin you have the better you’re treated. Of course, that’s everywhere, but there are so so so so many different shades of skin here, and it’s not like.. obvious how people are treated? There are different class levels that everyone knows, that I can’t even see. We also have to interview people on the street for class (I hate doing that!! It’s so embarrassing!) and they said that it’s definitely evident, if you have too dark of skin you can’t get into certain places and clubs – I had no idea! The other night, in Barranco, we weren’t even on the list and we got in before the whole line did, I’m assuming just because we are white. It’s weird too, people just want to take pics with us sometimes. If we are at a club people will just be like, “Can I have a pic with you?” or they will be like, “Can you take a pic for me? Thanks, now you get in it too!” It’s like – what?? I don’t know you! One time in a taxi cab that we were sharing, a the taxi cab driver said, “Omg you are Americans! My wife loves Americans!” then he proceeded to call her and awkwardly handed the phone to us to talk to his wife who loved Americans, then after he got done telling his wife how he was driving Americans, he started to take a video of us with his phone! Completely harmless, but weird! There are so many instances where.. we get to go first or free or get free drinks. We are going to a dance club tonight where everyone in our group get in free (YES!) and the girls get to drink for free! How cool is that? We are taking private salsa lessons, had our first one last night, and it was awesome! Tonight we are going bowling (I don’t know why that’s considered a fun thing to do, I really don’t!) and then out to the dance club. Paige and Carly are coming next week and I’m excited! I live in a small apartment so we are basically going to be sleeping and breathing on top of each other for the week, but it will be fun! As for before then.. I have ‘un montón,’ as my host mom, Pilar, would say, of homework to do!!
Love and miss you all sooo soo much!
besos!!

just a weekend at the beach..

Right now I’m in my apartment with internet! Yes! It’s completely random and always chance on and off and never on of course when I need to look up things for homework, oh well tho! I live in Larcomar! This weekend was really really fun. Friday we actually just chilled out, we don’t have class on Fridays, and we went shopping (uhhh.. yeah I need to stop that pretty quick here!) and had a girls day and ice cream.. you know. Then we got together that night for a ‘baby shower’ for Michelle from the ISA staff. They call it a ‘baby shower’ here, there’s not translation lol! Weird I know. And the baby shower.. well it’s kind of a big deal! There was a commentator, a singer, background music, dancing, games, professional dancing of the National Dance, and sooooo soo many balloons and then all the food you can think of too, with their mini palta (avocado – they love avocado here, and so do I so I’m thinking I’m in the right place!) sandwiches, wafers, the best fruit you’ve had, mini potatoes, and Inka Cola of course! (It for real tastes exactly like bubble gum and even adults drink it and like it! :P) Then we just went to Mango’s, a bar in Larcomar, and had drinks outside overlooking the ocean (I def need to stop that too – drinks are expensive! But we like to buy really pretty ones just because we can J) And I talked to my gfs at Luther on Skype!! Oh I was so excited you don’t even know girlsies! Everyone was like, “What’s your deal Molly, why are you so happy?” and I was like, “I just saw my gfs!!!” Ooo I hope we can soon too! That was soo amazing! Saturday Amanda and I spent the day at the beach in Barancco. Oh I loved it. So soo so relaxing, beautiful. There’s people selling everything, we got ice cream (lucuma of course!) and I bought these really beautiful hand made earrings from 2 kids about my age. I should have bargained for them for less, but they were so nice and they made them themselves! Only 20 soles, which is $6 for really beautiful earrings, I think that’s ok! And.. I am soooo soo burnt. It’s so painful I can’t wear a bra today and it hurts to move. You’d have thought I would have learned my lesson from last time, and I did, but the tiniest parts I didn’t put sunscreen on are crisped right now – like my legs and like my armpit area? Totally random I know, but the rest of me is ok because I put sunscreen on every 20 min! Except for those parts of course and now I’m paying for it! Ouch! Then I was super tired and got ready for the evening out and got to talk to the Ma and Paige – who is coming not next week but the next!! Excited! Then we went to a club where Peter’s host brother and a couple bands sang acoustic for a benefit concert.. was soooo sooo soo good, and we got front row cause we just know the right people (aka Peter’s fam lol) – then we met up with our Peruvian friends and went to this club in Barancco that had a list to get in – but we got in and danced til about.. 4am. We always go in a big group (sometimes it causes a lot of attention, but we are always with Peruvians who know what’s going on) and I always call my host mom at 2am to tell her what I’m doing for the night, so you don’t have to worry rents (you will, you always do!). I called Pilar at 2am last night and my Castellano was a little less than perfect to say the least lol. It consisted of me saying, “Kelly, I have no idea how to say this in Spanish right now – help me!” “Ok Molly, just tell her…” lol. And now I’m here in my apartment awaiting to do alllllllllllll the homework I have for this week. I love everyone’s messages, notes, calls and skypes!! Even if I don’t reply right away, I always take time to take a big breath, relax, and read them. I just got done watching vids of Presy.. 3 times! Oh I miss him so - I can't believe how much he is moving Mandy!! I need to hear my baby talk soon, and his jungle molly monkey better be his fav toy!! :) This week should be busy.. we are hopefully going salsa dancing 3 times this week.. along with all the mountains of homework. I love and miss you all!! I think of you often!
Besos