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!
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| Beachin with Shelby |
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