What Holy Week Means In Peru

Holy Week takes on a whole new meaning to the people my age here in Peru.  I like to call it the "Unholiest of Holy Weeks".  We don't have classes Thursday or Friday and most college kids take advantage of this break and go to the beaches an hour and a half south of Lima.  We were invited by a friend to stay with him in his house in Punta Hermosa so Thursday morning we headed there at 7 in the morning to beat traffic.  My host dad told me that all the people in Lima travel that weekend so we had to leave early in order to make it to the beach in a reasonable amount of time.  Three of us girls went together that morning and spent the whole day relaxing on the beach waiting for our Peruvian friends to come.  When we finally got to meet them that evening, I had managed to burn the entire front side of my body really badly.  I had sat under the umbrella all day but I hadn't put sunscreen on because I thought the umbrella would protect me.  Big mistake.  There is not enough aloe vera in the world to take away the pain of that sunburn.  I never learn.  Anyway, that night we stayed in the house and two more of our girls came.  There were about 7 Peruvians there that night and they were so fun to get to know.  We got to practice a lot of Spanish because none of them spoke very much, if any, English.  It was a really fun night and we got to make a lot of friends, which has become one of my favorite things to do in Peru.  I have never enjoyed meeting new people as much as I have the past 3 months here.

Friday we went down to the beach together and I decided to lay on my stomach to let the backside of my body get tan.  Another huge mistake.  I burned my back almost as badly as I had burned the front of my body the day before even though I had smeared on the sunscreen.  I seriously never learn.  We laid around for most of the day and then got ready to go out.  We went to a disco at another beach called Asia and danced for a few hours before coming back home because we were exhausted.  It was a very impressive place but everything was incredibly expensive.  I am pretty sure that everyone works all week and then goes to Asia and spends their entire paycheck there.  It was way too expensive for me.

Saturday was my favorite day because there were about 25 of us in the house that day and there was always something going on.  I didn't let myself go to the beach so my skin could try to heal.  We laid around and got to know the newcomers.  That night we went out to a disco close to the apartment and we got to dance to American music for the first time since we have been here!  The DJ played music in English from 11:30-1 or so and then switched to Peruvian music for the rest of the night.  I got to dance until early in the morning and it was such a great night with all of our new friends.  I am really getting good at dancing to the different types of music here finally :)  We somehow managed to fit 25 people into the 5 beds and 5 blow up mattresses to sleep that night.  It was quite the slumber party.  Needless to say I spent Sunday sleeping since there wasn't much sleep to go around this weekend.

It was a really great weekend, but seeing pictures of my family at home made me a little bit homesick on Sunday.  It is hard to miss out on holidays and spending time with the people I love the most, especially with my cousin's baby growing so quickly.  But I am enjoying every minute here still because I know I will see my family soon enough.  The next 5 weeks will fly by and then I will be so sad to be leaving.  

Missing all of you at home more than you know.

I went to Parque De Las Aguas on Wednesday evening.  It was beautiful

I seriously love these people.  Punta Hermosa was amazing.

Jorge is a keeper

The view from the house we stayed in

Shipibo, St. Patty's Day, and Swiming

Tuesday morning I got to go to the Physical Therapy clinic of my dad's brother-in-law.  My mom drove me and it took over an hour to get there since traffic was so bad.  We walked around the office and I got to see how PT here compares with PT in the U.S.  Overall the facility was pretty nice, but was less private and formal than what I am used to.  There were many "rooms" created by curtains, a medium sized gym, and a small hydraulic room.  I recognized a lot of the equipment as the same things we use at the hospital in Kearney, but it wasn't as nice or new.  I was very impressed with the office though, and was actually surprised by how advanced the equipment was.  I have learned that PT isn't nearly as good of a job here as it is in the U.S. because they don't have to go to school as long here and don't get paid as much.  But the therapists seemed very happy and very knowledgable, and I am very grateful to have been able to visit the clinic.  That evening Abby came over and we sat by the pool for a couple of hours while I cuddled with my alpaca blanket from Cuzco.  It was very nice and we laughed so much and I am so thankful to have such great friends on this adventure with me.

Wednesday we got to go to an elementary school for about an hour and play games with them.  Some of the kids spoke the indigenous language of the forest, which is called Shipibo, so we read a story with them in Shipibo and then in Castellano (or Spanish).   We played Simon Says for a little while and then our game turned into playing tag with all of the kids in the school.  It was so fun and it made my heart ache for the poor conditions of the neighborhood in which they live.  It made me feel so humbled and blessed to have such an easy and spoiled life.  Those kids really touched my heart, and it was a trip I will never forget.

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day!!  Our class met with our UNK professors in the center of Lima that morning to watch the change of the guards in front of the President's house.  It was incredibly hot that day and I felt like I was melting in the sun.  We walked through China Town, which is very different from the China Town in NYC, and ate our fair share of Chifa (chinese food).  We then stopped by Hotel Bolivar, which is a very nice and fancy hotel.  It supposedly has the best pisco sours in the entire world, so our UNK professors were kind enough to buy us all a pisco sour.  It was super strong and we were all a little tipsy after just one!  We caught some taxis to go to Miraflores and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening drinking at an Irish pub called Houlinan's.  I had green beer for the first time and got my face painted by the bar owner.  Once we got hungry we went to Pizza Hut and I ate my first slice of American-style pizza since I have been here.  It was honestly the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life, probably because I was starving and have been craving greasy pizza for months now.  We then went to Emi and her boyfriend's (who came to visit her from the U.S.) house to pregame before going to the disco Gotica.  It was a lot of fun but ended up being a mess of a night, which I won't go into detail about.

Friday I went to campus to meet the interexchange students who will be starting classes today.  They are mostly from Mexico so they are of course fluent in Spanish already.  It was fun to talk to a few of them and we got some great food for lunch!  Afterwards a few girls came to my house to swim and we had a really great time together.  We went to Miraflores to get sushi for dinner, but EDO (the sushi place Gio took me to) was closed.  So we went to Chili's and had the worst service of our lives.  Our waiter never said a single word to us, didn't check on us, and seemed annoyed with us the few times he saw us.  He was very polite and kind to the Peruvians at his other tables but he was really good at ignoring us.  My friend Danielle complained to the hostess at the front because she was really angry with the way we were being treated.  The hostess brought us a free dessert but said that our waiter couldn't be blamed too much because he didn't speak any English.  That didn't make sense to me though because we had ordered our food in Spanish like pros.  It was an awkward situation and I was really glad when we finally left and went to walk around Kennedy Park.  We met some girls from Connecticut in the park and I hung out with them when Danielle and Shelby went back home.  We held the cats for a while and then I took them to Houlinan's since they wanted a chill bar to go to.  They were all super nice and it was fun to talk to some new people.  I hung out with them until Gio got off of work and then I met up with him to hang out for a while.

Saturday Gio came over to my house to swim and he made some chilcanos, as usual.  I have really enjoyed getting to know him because he has such a different view on the world than I do.  We talk a lot about the differences between our cultures, which is fun because we have both studied abroad in each other's countries.  Peru is much more conservative and traditional than the U.S. regarding things like gay marriage, birth control, and male dominance in the household.  It is so fun to compare our views on these kinds of topics since our world views have been created in different countries.  We have some very interesting conversations to say the least.  That evening we ordered pizza from Papa John's, which was absolutely incredible.  I didn't realize until this week how much I have missed greasy pizza, and I can't believe I was lucky enough to eat it twice in one week.

The next day I went to Gio's house and we had the most relaxing day I've had in Peru so far.  We watched movies, laid around, talked with his parents, and made tequeños and lemonade.  Lemonade here is really limeade because they don't have lemons.  But limes are called limóns in Spanish, which is why it is called lemonade.  It's confusing, I know.  Anyway, it was the best lazy Sunday and it got us both ready for classes this week.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Cuddles from Peru!

Playing tag with the kids

Their school's playground. The rooms are surrounding it.

Trying to take a nice photo did not work out

I swear she liked me before this picture

We visited a pretty walkway area that used to be the nicest in Lima

Listening to her read the story in Shipibo

The PT gym was small but nice

He was very nice to show me around the clinic

My mom made me pose in front :)

China Town!!

Abby and I cuddling by the pool

The best Pisco Sour in the world

Enjoying our pisco sours at the Hotel

Houlinan's with my favorite lady!

We got the bar owner to paint our faces

Gio struggling to make tequeños

Country music + Beaches = Perfection

I spent another incredible week in this beautiful country that now feels like home.  Classes went well and I spent my free time shopping, hanging out with my girls, meeting up with Gio in Miraflores, staring out at the ocean from the malecón, and going to discos on Wednesday and Thursday.  Thursday I went to a disco called Gotica and it was incredibly packed.  I felt like I was on Spring Break in Florida again.  It was really fun and I got to practice my dancing skills with Gio for a few hours and meet some of his friends.  In the stores in the mall they have put out their fall clothes, which include sweaters and coats.  It seems crazy to me that people actually wear such warm clothes here since during the winter it is still about 60 degrees on average.  Needless to say I had no luck trying to find a swimsuit and dress to wear to the beach.

Thursday morning I got to Skype with Hannah, Zach, and our best friend Lesley.  It was so great to see their faces and catch up on our lives over the past few months.  It made me really miss them, but also thankful that technology allows me to talk to them from so many miles away.  That afternoon my friend Mariah came over and we swam and then played her guitar and sang every country song we knew for a couple of hours.  It felt so good to play the guitar again even though my fingers hurt since my callouses have disappeared.  I have missed my guitar jam sessions with my siblings back home.  My host mom has been suffering from pain in her back and her right arm has been falling asleep.  So that evening I went with my parents to the house of my dad's brother-in-law who is a Physical Therapist.  He speaks English, but he looked at my mom's x-rays of her spine and explained everything in Spanish first, and then added a few things in English for me.  I was so proud that I knew exactly what he was talking about when he spoke in Spanish.  It was really interesting and he talked about how her vertebrae don't have enough space between them so the nerves are being pinched.  He invited me to come to his clinic this coming week, and I am very excited to be able to see what Physical Therapy is like in Peru.  

I spent Friday catching up on sleep and also began to feel sick that evening.  Thankfully I felt better on Saturday because my class went to a show where we got to eat lunch, listen to a live band, and watch dancers perform traditional dances.  We also got to go out on the dance floor and try not to look too white as we struggled to copy the movements of those around us.  It was a really great afternoon.  That evening I hung out with my brother for a few hours and he told me about all of the places I still need to visit while I am in Peru.  I am hoping that I have the time and money to go everywhere he told me to, but it will be difficult to do.

Sunday I got to go to the beach, Punta Hermosa, with Danielle and her mom who came to visit from the U.S.  We took a little bus that was so packed that we had to stand up most of the time and were butt-to-butt with the other people around us.  It took us about an hour to get there and when we finally got there I was so ready to lay by the ocean.  We rented an umbrella and chairs and spent the whole afternoon drinking beer and pisco while talking about life.  Spending time with her mom made me really miss spending time with my parents, especially when we drink together :) We found some really cute babies and spent a lot of time playing with them while their parents kind of laughed and were kind of annoyed with us.  One of the moms had us each hold her little boy, Nicolas, so she could take pictures of us.  Nicolas really liked me and stared at me for an hour, which his mom thought was hilarious.  Danielle's mom gave the group of guys next to us a few beers, so they returned the favor later and gave us a really big beer, which we struggled to finish together.   I do enjoy Peruvian beer more than I do Busch Light, that's for sure.  In the late afternoon we met up with a guy named Angelo, who is the friend of Danielle's host sister.  He was really nice and let us come see his house that he shares with 6 other friends.  He has invited us to go to the beach with him the next few weekends and I really hope some of my friends will go with him since I plan on being in Asia with Gio, Shelby and Rodrigo.  We eventually got into a bus that took us back to Lima and I finally ate for the first time since breakfast.  The beach had exhausted me so I went to bed at 9:45 and slept longer and better than I have for a long time.

Since I didn't have a lot to talk about this week or many pictures to add, I decided to put up a mixture of pictures from my time here in Peru to remember all of the amazing things I have done in the last few months.  I have found that I have less to talk about each week because things that used to be blog-worthy, such as the food, traffic, taking taxis, going to class, and getting stared at, have now become a part of my normal life and don't stand out to me anymore.  But I think that this is a sign that I am really becoming a part of the culture here and can live like a Peruvian.

I miss you all at home!  I hope the Spring weather is treating you well.  Hugs and Kisses.

Celebrating my brother's birthday

A view of campus

Kennedy Park is still one of my favorites

The view from my pool. Perfect place to play guitar.

Catacombs in central Lima

Llama 1

Llama 2

Huaraz

Huaraz - climbing to Lagoona 69

Mancora - Spring Break!

Mancora - surfing was amazing

Paracas - visiting the sea-lions' island

Going to the soccer game with my parents and family

Machu Picchu!!

Llama 3

Mad alpaca

The show we went to this weekend

Traditional dances and outfits

I got to sit by Danielle and her awesome mom

Machu Picchu: One of the 7 Wonders Of The World

This week we had tests in most of our classes because it was the end of our second section.  On Monday, I managed to write a bad word in Spanish all over my paper.  Instead of writing pájaro (bird) I wrote something else very similar that means something that is too vulgar to write in my blog. My teacher walked around and checked all of our papers and when he got to mine he looked at me and immediately looked a little embarrassed.  But he proceeded to explain what the word that I had written a million times meant and we all laughed and it became the joke of the rest of the class that day.  It's a good thing my professor has a good sense of humor.  We also went to our first movie in the theater on Tuesday, and we went to see Naughty Grandpa.  Luckily it was in English with Spanish subtitles so we could really enjoy it without concentrating too hard.  I don't really enjoy watching movies that have been voiced over into Spanish because it doesn't seem nearly as funny to me (I tried watching the Big Bang Theory like this but it drove me crazy to not hear their actual voices).  The movie was hilarious and it only cost $1.50.  I will never go to a movie in the United States again.  Later that evening I rode a bus by myself for the first time to meet up with my friend, Giovanni, in Miraflores.  It cost 1 sole on the bus instead of 20 soles when I take taxis so it was well worth the extra time the trip took and pushing past people to jump off at my stop.  I was a little nervous but mostly excited for this small adventure by myself.  It was really difficult to figure out where I was supposed to get off at because nothing looked familiar until I got to Kennedy Park and then realized where I was at.  That park is a life saver.  Gio taught me a few salsa steps and made maracuyá chilcanos again (this has become my favorite drink).  We had a great time together and it was nice to get in some guy time since I'm surrounded by girls 24/7.  Even though I love them, I can only handle being around all girls for so long.

Wednesday we had another test, which I felt went pretty well, and when I got home I felt my first earthquake!  There have been numerous earthquakes while I have been here, but they have been at night while I was sleeping and they didn't wake me up, even though some of my friends have woken up before.  That night I had planned to go out with my brother, but he wasn't feeling well.  So I went to Miraflores by bus again to walk along the malecón (which is the walkway along the ocean) by myself for a while until Gio got off of work.  It was so relaxing to listen to the waves and look at the stars and have some quiet alone time for what seems like the first time in a long time.  When Gio finally got off of work we walked along the malecón together and then hung out at his house that evening.

Thursday morning I got up and met up with Shelby at UPC where Gio's friend Rodrigo picked us up to go to Miraflores to eat sushi during Gio's lunch break.  Rodrigo is a clown and is probably the funniest person I have ever met.  He makes me want to fall on the floor and curl up in a ball because he makes me laugh so hard.  Gio tells me he is funnier in English than Spanish, which is weird but actually makes sense since it seems that you can say more things in English than you can in Spanish.  Gio told me he likes English better because you can be more accurate with what you mean and it is funnier.  Anyway, the place we went was absolutely amazing and we had the best sushi I've ever had in my life.  One of the rolls tasted like ceviche and it was heavenly.  Gio and Rodrigo are my favorite people I have met in Peru so it was a great lunch date and it went by far too quickly.  Afterwords, the boys dropped us off at the malecón on their way back to work.  Shelby and I walked down to the beach and watched the surfers for about 45 minutes, during which I managed to get pretty sunburned.  A guy around the age of 40 changed from shorts into his swim suit right next to us with a little towel covering him, so it got awkward fast and we decided to walk back to the main street to catch a bus back home.  But on the way a man heard us speaking English with one another so he started talking to us.  He was nice at first, but then he started asking personal questions and asked us if we wanted part time jobs.  He said he could get us into some event where we would get paid to be there and smile since we are foreigners.  You can imagine what that could mean.  He then kept asking us if we would go get drinks with him if he bought them and would not stop harassing us.  So we said no and hightailed it to our bus before the creepy guy said anything else to freak us out.  Shelby and I laid by my pool when we got home and talked about life, which I needed.  It is so nice to have these girls to share my life with and get advice from.  After dinner I packed and got ready for Cusco and went to bed early.

Friday morning I woke up at 4:20 to get to the airport at 6 for our 10:20 flight. We were told by the guy who set our trip up to get there that early, but of course we ended up just sitting around for a few hours. We finally boarded and were in the air for an hour to get to Cusco!! We had a bus waiting for us and we were taken to our hotel. We ate some lunch and then went on a bus tour around Cusco and got to go to some ruins and walk though one of the tunnels. At one point in the tunnel we had to squat down until our butts were touching our feet and waddle through.  It was pitch black during that part as well.  I've never seen such darkness before in my life.  I got claustrophobic and freaked out so I started joking around to keep myself from panicking as I crawled until I could see the light again.  We made a few other stops to walk around and it was an interesting day even though we were all exhausted.  We ate dinner at our hotel and then we went out to get cake for dessert.  On the way back someone on one of the buses threw some kind of liquid right into my eye.  I started laughing and was impressed by how good his aim was, even though I have no idea what the mystery liquid was.  We went to bed early again and during the middle of the night I heard a guy running through the street next to my window screaming bloody murder.  I was sure I was about to die and my heart started racing, but luckily nothing happened and I eventually fell back asleep.

Saturday we got up at 5:30 to ride a bus for 2 hours, a train for 2 hours, and then another bus for 30 minutes in order to get to Machu Picchu.  I was so excited the entire time we were traveling in anticipation of finally getting to see Machu Picchu!  When we got there we hiked up to get to a panoramic view of the ruins.  We took a million pictures and enjoyed our first moments of being in the presence of one of the 7 Wonders of the World. We then got to hike to the bottom and walk all throughout the ruins and learn about the different rooms and architecture strategies. We got to spend about 2.5 hours there and I soaked up every second of it, knowing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  We got lucky with the weather because it was sunny and gorgeous even though it was supposed to rain that.  I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for this day.  Afterwards, we went back down into the town and ate at a buffet before traveling back to our hotel.

Sunday we got up early again and got on our bus to go to Sacred Valley and a few towns that were a couple of hours from Cuzco. It was a fairly relaxing day and I actually bought some souvenirs.  The girls always make fun of me for never buying anything, but I have always hated buying things I don't need.  I also find shopping here to be more stressful than figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life because the vendors are constantly shoving things in your face and asking what price you are willing to pay and then keep talking you up until you're so frustrated you just walk away.  And then they keep calling after you angrily.  But I struggled through and splurged by buying myself a gorgeous alpaca blanket and an alpaca scarf.  We ate lunch at another buffet that was very nice.  I had sushi, tried alpaca meat (which tastes like dry roast beef), cow stomach (which was slimy and chewy), and ate my weight in dessert. We took more pictures with llamas and I got terrified that one was about to spit in my face so I screamed and laughed while I ran away from it (see picture below).  We rode back to Cuzco and ate dinner in the plaza.  The food was good but the service was so slow that it took half of an hour to get our lemonades.  But we stuck it out and finished our 4 course meal there.  We came back to our hotel, used an oxygen machine (it was supposed to help us sleep since the atmospheric pressure is lower at that altitude) had some girl talk in one of our rooms, and then went to bed.  Overall I had a horrible time sleeping in Cuzco and never got more than 5 hours of sleep at night.  I would wake up a million times and feel restless, even after using the oxygen.  So by Monday I was ready to go back to Lima to sleep in my own bed.

Monday I was awake off and on from 3:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. which is when I finally decided to go eat some breakfast.  A few of us walked around Cuzco for a couple of hours and I fell in love. With a dog.  I named him Jacky.  He found us when we got to the plaza and led me around while keeping an eye on me to make sure I was following him.  He laid behind me while we sat on the steps of a church and I scratched his belly.  A while later I woke him up when we decided to go to a coffee shop and he followed me and slept under my legs when I sat on a bench.  He eventually saw another dog running down the street and decided to dump me for her, but we really had a great connection and I was seriously considering adopting him and hiding him on the plane.  We hung out until our bus came and picked us up to take us to the airport at 10:50.  I got home to Lima around 4 in the afternoon and talked to my brother for a while before unpacking.  I caught up with my parents during dinner, studied for my test I had on Tuesday, and then slept like a baby for 10 hours.

So overall it was another incredible week and it made me fall in love with Peru even more.  I'm spending quality time with my Peruvian family and friends knowing that I have less than two months left in this beautiful country.  I've heard the weather is getting better back home!!  I hope you can all start enjoying some Spring weather.  Sending love and kisses from Peru!

Beachin with Shelby

Our first day in Cusco

We slid down these stone slides

The scary tunnel

This is an absolutely amazing church we visited

On the train

The city below Machu Picchu

We Made It!!!!

The main entrance of the ruins

Of course I fed the llamas

This is where we had lunch one of the days

Terrified it's about to spit in my face

The city of Cusco where I found Jacky

Typical street vendor set-up

Jacky was my favorite