Peru 2016: Paracas and Birthdays

Monday it was back to the "real" world and time to focus on classes again. I went to campus at 10 in the morning to pre-watch a peruvian movie for one of my classes and to study. We had class from 4-7, during which our professor named Rob taught 11 girls the words for boxers, thongs, and underwear (among other clothing items). He was a little embarrassed so of course we gave him a hard time and by the end of the lesson I was laughing uncontrollably. After class I came home and had a nice dinner with my family. I love listening to them talk and they are always very good about including me in the conversation (which is easier now that my brother can translate for me). After dinner I sat in the kitchen with my brother for almost two hours talking about life and making plans for the months I have left in Peru. He made me laugh the entire time and I have decided that we are going to be best friends.

Tuesday I had class from 10-1 and then we watched the movie I had seen the day before in a classroom with other peruvians. The main actress from the film is a friend of our professor so she came and we discussed the movie with her after watching it. The conversation was way over my head because the peruvian students sprinted through their words while they talked, but I got the gist of a few topics. After the movie I went to Miraflores to meet with one of my peruvian friends at his house. We bought some pisco and he taught me how to make maracuya chilcanos, which were really good. We then looked up recipes for pisco sours (which I am proud to say I could understand really well) and tried to make those as well. He ended up not bothering to follow the recipe and tried to make them on his own. Needless to say they did not turn out right. I don't know what he did wrong, but it tasted like pisco and egg whites. I also got to meet his dad, who tried to practice his English with me, and overall it was a great night.

Wednesday was fairly uneventful, but after class I ate dinner with my parents and my dad was cracking me up the whole time. He told me he is the king of salsa and then he started doing some disco moves with a huge grin on his face. I then watched the soccer game between Peru and Brazil with him while I worked on homework until we all went to bed.

Thursday we went to the U.S. Embassy for class and learned about the embassy and all of the different issues and topics that it is involved in. It was interesting and we were excited to say that we were on American soil! We then went to Barranco for the afternoon and evening. I went with my friend Emi and we got tacos and margaritas together before going back to El Gringo bar and waiting for our friends to join us. We celebrated Shelby's birthday and I bought her a tequila shot (there is no such thing as a single shot here. Whenever you order a shot you get a double so you have to be ready to go for it.) We stayed there for a few hours and then went home to get some sleep before going to Paracas.

Friday morning we boarded our bus at 7 to drive 4 hours to a town called Paracas. This town is right on the beach and we stayed in an incredible 5 star resort for the weekend. We spent Friday relaxing by the pool and ocean and swimming around like little kids. For dinner we went to the restaurant in the resort and I ordered linguini with calamari, shrimp, octopus, and scallops. It was delicious. I have really grown to love seafood here. We also sat in the hot tub that night until our two blondies' hair turned green as could be from the chemical imbalance. Their hair is still green... We showered and slept in air conditioning for the first time in 2 months and we all slept like babies and soaked in the luxury.

Saturday morning we got up at 6 to eat the best breakfast I've ever had at a hotel. Or maybe anywhere. There was every kind of breakfast food you can think of plus mimosas. I ate fresh pineapple until I couldn't feel my tongue anymore. No regrets. We then got on a boat and went out to an island about 20 minutes out. We saw two groups of about 10 dolphins each feeding by our boat on the way there. It was hard to keep myself from diving in and swimming with them. We also passed a sandy island with a mark engraved on it. Our tour guide said that it has been there since the B.C. era, which I think is amazing. When we got to the islands we saw hundreds of sea lions, thousands of birds, and three penguins!!! The islands were gorgeous and it was fun to listen to the sea lions cry to each other. We were told that around the islands was a great place to catch sea creatures and I really wish I could have gone scuba diving there. After boating all around the islands we headed back to our resort and laid around until I had sufficiently sunburned my chest (I think I am partly ginger. I lay in the shade most of the day while everyone else is in the sun. And I'm the one who gets fried). We ate at the restaurant and I ordered salmon and gnocchi, which was so delicious I ordered it the next afternoon as well. We went to bed early again and I was out in seconds.

Sunday we got up at 6:30 to go paddleboarding in the ocean while it was calm. It was my first time paddleboarding and it was really fun! We got to watch the birds dive into the water around us and enjoy the early morning air. We then ate so much breakfast that my stomach hurt and I wanted to throw up. I still have no regrets. After breakfast we rallied and went to play tennis, grass volleyball (it felt so good to touch a volleyball again), did flips on the trampoline, and tried to walk on a tight rope. I have never sweat so much in my life. It was dripping down my shins like it was raining outside. But it was a blast and made me all the more excited to hop in the pool for the rest of the afternoon (after my roomie, Mariah, was willing to touch my sweaty back long enough to apply more sunscreen of course). That afternoon we left at 4 to head back to Lima and begin another week of classes. However, Monday was my brothers 25th birthday, so he had a party Sunday night with his friends and invited me to go celebrate with them. So when I got home Sunday night at 9:15 my brother told me that I had 30 minutes to get ready. I ran around my room to get unpacked and look like I hadn't been laying on a bus all evening (I even wore my jeans for the first time so I would look a little more formal than when I wear shorts). We went to Jockey Plaza where 20 or so of his friends met us. I had met a few of his friends a few weeks ago, but it was really fun to meet everyone else. I luckily sat by a guy at dinner who spoke English pretty well, so we talked for a majority of the night. I also met a girl who goes to UPC so we got each other's information so that we can meet up soon! It was a really great evening and I got to practice Spanish with people my own age, which was really fun/embarrassing/hilarious at times. After dinner a few of us went to a karaoke bar and stayed there until 4:30 in the morning. I sang a few songs in English, but I mostly listened to everyone else singing songs in Spanish. We eventually crawled our way back home and I fell asleep instantly.

Today I slept in until 10 and then worked on homework and getting my life back together. I had class at 4 and then I came home, ate some dinner, and now I am about to work on more homework before going to bed really early.

It was another amazing week in Peru and I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

Struggles of the week:
1) Remembering how to spell English words (I had to look up "actress", "gnocchi" and "gist" to write this post)

2) Remembering how to speak English (Sometimes when I talk in English I say things in the way that they would translate into Spanish)

3) Calling a safe taxi. My host brother had to call a taxi for me because I had no idea what they were asking me. I was actually stressed out for the first time since I've been in Peru. He is a life saver.

4) Telling people what my name is. It has been spelled Cler and Cleerck so far. I never knew that Claire was a tricky name, but it is difficult for a lot of people to say here.

5) Avoiding sunburns. It's simply not possible with my skin. My peruvian friends asked me why I wasn't tan after coming back from the beach this weekend. I told them that I am in fact tan right now.

Anyway, I love you all and I wish you were all here with me. Besitos!!