One month has come and gone

Wow it is hard to think that one month has passed since being here! seriously time has flew by so fast. This is the last week of class and then next week I´m off to climb Machu Pichu!!! However there is a lot to still get gone before that time comes.

This week was a little more laid back then the last. Our group had an economic speaker come in and talk about the differences in Peru economics compared to the US. It was verry interesting from a business major point of view to hear how things are run here. Very much different then the US and what the government lets ¨slide by¨ here in Peru. Tues we then visited a Museum of Currency and we got to see all the different currencys Peru has had over the years. It was very interesting to see what their coins and bills looked like years ago and what they are currenlty look like and called. Some time ago it was called ¨Real¨ then the ¨Sol¨ and now the ¨Nuevo Sol¨. Anyway, Wed. was an exciting day for everyone. Jerrell and Jane (our leaders) tricked us all and had on the schedule that we were going to a bank. However, they didn´t share with us that we had actually gone there on Tues. so Wed. was spent talking and handing out envelops to each person. Inside each envelop was our placement for service. We waited and then opened them together. As i opened mine and read it, I learned I would be in a city named Caraz in Ancash. It´s about 7 hours from Lima. There I will be working as a teacher assistant in a preschool! How weird is that. Not like I haven´t spent time in a classroom helping my mom out or anything! :) It should be a great learning experience, since hey i get to go back to Preschool again except this time i get to learn Spanish! Emily and I will be living together in the same house, but doing different service assignments. The both of us will be within walking distance of Ben an donly an hour or so away from 2 other groups of 2. From what i have heard it is very nice and beautiful. We are right next to the 2nd tallest mountain in South America so we plan on spanding some time climbing up a little ways.
Friday we spent the entire day driving to Chinca and seeing the vast difference between busy Lima and Chinca. Things were a lot more calm and peaceful as well as more run down. It was a nice break from what we have been seeing the past month and we got to climb up a mountain or hilll i´m not really sure what it was but i had a blast and got some pretty sweet pictures!
OHHHH best part! Believe it or NOT! But i chewed on COW STOMACH! yup i sure did! I tried to swollow it but to spare you all I´l just say it wasn´t going so i didn´t swollow but it was in my mouth and chewing on it for a good amount of time. it was like rubber and weird texture but hey Funk paid me a sol to do it, which now thinking aobut it is only .30 cents haha but whatever! I did it anyways! :)

Eventful week!

I have got to do many things this week that were ohhh so fun! On Tues. I got to meet Victor Delfin who is an amazing artist and very popular here in Peru. I felt so honored to meet such a great man! His house was enormous and it gave me a very different view of how some people are very well off and last week i saw how many people live a completely different life. I couldn´t look anywhere in his house without seeing some kind of art he had made. it was amazing and it really inspired me to want to be so artistic. From there we went to a University where my host father works as the Director of the school. I got to talk with students there in spanish and english and eat lunch the SST group. From there i got to go to a baking class and make the famous arroz con leche (rice with milk, like pudding in a way) and 2 other things that go on top. Everyone loves it here, except for me! All well. A handful of us went and saw Angels and Demons in theater and i really liked it. The movie was in english and based on Cathedrals and and religious land marks in Europe. I enjoyed it and it was nice to feel at home even for a few hours (their theaters remind me of home)!
Wed.- I got to visit a Cathedral and the catacombs. I´ve seen many cathredrals but never catacombs that i can remember and it was intersting. Way to many real bones and skulls from the 16th century for me! It was cool though.
Thurs.- We had a lecture on Peruvain dancing and then other people came in and taught us some of the dances. This was very interesting to see and then try and reanact! haha it was more funny watching other people try to dance. I aenjoyed it and my back didn´t hurt to much afterwards which i was never greatful for! I went shopping in Miraflores at a small market and found many hand made cravings! They were really nice and getting to see the person who took so much time in making such things was sweet!
Fri.- SWIMMING with the SEA LIONS!!!! i took to motion sickness pills and well lets just say they didn´t really help... I got on a boat out in the Pacific and it took about an hour to actually get to the island where the Sea Lions are located. From there the group put on wet suits, jumped in the freezing cold water and swam near the sea lions. At points i was a foot away from them but never actually touched one. They started making scary noises so the 10 of us out there backed off and gave them their space. it smelled like garbage out there with over 8,000 sea lions but it was sweet to swim with them and chugging the water was disguising. Let me tell you first hand! :) Besides that it was a blast and my motion sickness. Once on the boat the tour company gave us food and drinks! Jerrell and Jane (my leaders) made a picnic for all of us at a beach and they gave us PB&J sanwhiches. I have never seen so many of us so excited for PB&J!!! it was amazing and ohhh so comforting.
Next week marks 1 month being in Peru!

Being Blonde in an Unfamiliar Country

Saturday Rachel, Liz N. and I decided to go to the Flea Market. this would be Rachel and I´s 4th time going but I loved it so much it didn´t even matter! Every time I buy more and more things because they are so amazing! anyways, as Rachel and I walked back to her house we stopped and got a pop to drink as we were thirsty. We paid and left. Within a few minutes i had hopped on a combi and was heading home. The combiador came over to where i was sitting and asked for my money. I looked at my purse and was searching for my wallet. It wasn´t on top which i thought was weird because i had just bought the pop. So i dumped my entire purse out and gifts on the seat next to me and nothing. CRAP! but to my brillent mind i keep money in my pocket for the combi fairs in case there is no room to dig through my purse. I pull out of my pocket 3.5 soles and it only costs me 1.20 to get home! Wow that was close. how would i have explained to the person in spanish that i lost my wallet and can´t pay him. Thank the Lord that wasn´t the case and i´m always prepared. Once i got home i told my family what had happened and that i´m pretty sure where it was however, there´s no garuntee it is still there. I called Rachel and had her and her mom go back to the store to see if they could find it by the register. 20 minutes later i get a phone call saying they have it with everything inside!!! WOW i´m lucky, but i´ll find out for sure if anything is gone tomorrow at class. Let´s just say i´m not letting my wallet leave my side again! that could have been awful, but i thank the God that it turned out well for me! :)

Other than that i´m enjoying my time here and i love my family. I can´t wait until Friday when our group gets to go swimming with Sea Lions!!! i´ll let you know how it goes!
Until then have a great week at work or school or summer for some of you!
Rachel good luck on your exams and same goes for people in Goshen!

New Expereince with Food!

Happy Mother´s Day!
I celebrated my going to my Grandma and Aunt´s house! While there i asked what we were having for lunch and my mom proceeds to say speghetti. The night before I distinctly remember her asking if i like speghetti and I said,¨yes.¨ So i look at the bowl on the table all knowing that we stopped at a the ¨Chifa¨(a chinese restuarant) before we came to my Grandma´s house and there sat noodles and chicken with a type of chinese sause. All thinking to myself this was not what i pictured but i told my mom i liked speghetti the night before so i had to eat it! in the end i actually really enjoyed it and got seconds for once since being here!

Part 2 of Food:
Today the group broke off and we were able to go out and eat at any restuarant of choice. It ended up being Rachel, Julia, Jordan and I in a group. After walking for some time and trying to find a decent looking place to eat we find one and order the ¨Menu¨ which is different here. The ¨Menu¨ includes an appitizer, main dish, and drink all for 6-7sols. After sitting down and ordering our appetizers we then ask how much it will cost and our waitress says 5 sols.- mistake one!
She kindly brings us our soup and I look at it and all i see if a chickens FOOT!- mistake 2! like the skin and everything in tack. I lookk over at Jordan who starts to smile and i try to not make any facial expressions. I just tkae the entire foot out of my soup and only eat the noodles! when i was done i put the foot back in and handed the waitress my bowl. the main dish comes and i ordered steak because all I´ve had here is chicken and wanted something different. This is the main reason I always order the same thing because i know what i´ll be getting in the US. She hands me my plate of beans, rice, cole slaw, and ¨steak¨ All that the steak is a little sliver of meat covered in fried Grease! - mistake 3 If you know my well you know how sensitive my stomach is to grease, so i took a few bites but i couldn´t even taste the meat so all i ate was the rice! And the pure fact that we couldn´t see the kitchen which we were advised to go somewhere the kitchen is in view, which we didn´t do! - mistake 4. Needless to say it was an experience but the 4 of us had a great time and we tried to have fun with our mistakes! Let´s just say now we know! and with the 2 sols we saved from eating out cheap we went and got some icecream in a package from a lady on the street! :) ohhh good times in Peru!

Finding my way around this Large City

So it all started friday afternoon. We got out of class early and Julia and I decided to walk home with Rachel Funk and visit where she lives and possibly meet her family. Well this was Rachel´s first time walking home without one of her family members with her. All she remembered was that she had to walk through 2 parks to get home. On the way there we got lost... more like Rachel forgot what street would take her home. So i told her to pull out her map of her city. I looked at it turned it the right way and we were on our way again. finally after what should have been a 30 minute walked that turned into an hour we finally made it! once there Julia and I met Rachel`s mom, sister, and brother. We decided to then walk to the grocery store and but some food that we were craving. mainly an apple and ice cream for me! After some time we left and went back to her house. it was nearly 5pm and time for me to start going home if i didn`t want to be walking in the dark (it gets dark around 6 here). Once Rachel`s mom called my mom to say that i was on my way home on a Combi (small bus) she put me on my way. After some confusion on what bus i was taking and where it would drop me off at i asked a girl on the bus and she said yes the bus stops at your desination. thinking to myself ok great but all knowing that this was a different stop than what i`m used to. I only know one way home and this combi was not going that way. an hour later i was dropped off. now it is 6:45 and dark out. i get off the bus look around and just head into a neighborhood having no idea where i was at. All i knew was that i was somewhat close to home but yet i had no idea where it was or where i was for that matter. i found a park and went to the middle so maybe people wouldn`t be able to see me. Got out my map of where i lived and looked at what parks a could be standing in. i think i know where i`m at and start walking again. a man playing soccer with his kids accidently kick the ball my way and i hand it back. I stop and think maybe i should ask for some help because i really don`t know where i`m at. i try and speak in Spanish and the man says, ¨it`s ok i know English!¨ what a relieve!!! Needless to say i was walking in the opposite direction of home and he walked me to a corner that i was familiar with. i finally made it home at 7:15 safely! Thank the Lord!

Tomorrow is Mother`s Day which is a very big deal i`m told, but i`m not sure what my family is doing to celebrate... guess I`ll find out.

Fiesta!

In celebration of my brothers 22nd birthday we had a party here with all of his friends. I got to meet 3 of them that he studies with at the University. It was exciting be be able to speak in English with the his friends and actually have them understand me! I learned things about Peru and they in return asked many questions about the United States which I was happy to know they were interested in my culture and where I´m from as much as I was interested in their culture. They gave me their telephone numbers so that we can hang out which I thought was very nice of them.

I ran for the first time today... since I was put in a home where a park is just a few houses down and my mother saying you like to run, right? I now feel obligated to run ALOT and who knows it is probably for the better since I eat lots of rice potatoes and chicken. I need some way of staying in shape! I mean volleyball will be here before I know it and it will come in handy later... let´s just hope i keep it up. Ohhh... plus there are benches made of stone that seem like a great height for a jump box to improve my vertical! :) oh how I can´t wait to do those. Anyways, it has been very overwhelming but I´m getting more relaxed and not as many headaches from not understanding the Spanish. Off to finish up my homework for the first day of classes.

° All my UT friends: Good Luck on your finals! Last week of school and you are done for the summer!!! :)

I´m Here

Well I made it safe and sound! The first 2 days were just orientation and becoming familiar with the culture and customs here in Peru. Some being very different then what I´m used to in the United States. I met my host family yesterday (Friday) and i'm thankful that i have one older brother, Carlos,22, and two sisters Norma and Gloria. Carlos and Norma both speak English so they have been veery helpful when I do not understand my parents. This morning i woke up and my mother asked me if I would like to go somewhere. I thought we were just going next door to get water since the water stopped working this morning. To my surprise i walked out of the house and went to the grocery store with my pajamas on! I missed the store part when she was speaking in spanish. While there she helped me pronouicate the different kinds of fruit and whether I liked them or not. She then asked if i liked cheese (in spanish of course!) i said yes not knowing that it would be my breakfast this morning! so far are is well and Í´m learning alot. Classes start Monday and I will have to learn how to ride a combi (small van) negotiate a price and know where to get off... I´ll tell you how it goes later. I´m very fortunate that my family has the internet and a park where I can run and be safe!

Lindsey