Back to Lima

Back to Lima... but the good news is that it was sunny for most of the day! I am still amazed by how the sun can change my attitude! I love the sun... the way it soaks into my skin, the way it makes everything look prettier, and the way it makes it WARMER outside! wooo love the sun!

The past couple of days have been pretty good. Today I had a weird realization... my last class is in exactly one week... it is actually insane. My last night in Lima will be a week from tonight. I honestly cannot believe it! I have probably seen my actual host madre for about 30 minutes total, and I feel like I am just now getting to know Morena. Add on to the fact that I dont normally get home from school until just before dinner time (too busy parading around the city of course) and then Morena goes to bed around 8 30 normally. And then I havent spent an entire weekend in Lima since I have been here. It just made me start thinking a lot about how little we actually spend here!

Anyways... what have I been up to the past couple of days?

Monday... first day back at class. Nothing too exciting, but I spent the whole day at school sans a small reprieve to the grocery store haha. I stocked up on snacks again and THANK GOODNESS. I was starving all day for some reason... couldnt tell you why though. I wasnt so good at actually doing my work though unfortunately. Instead I hung out with people and looked at pics of everyones family. Its funny, I feel like I know these people so well. We talk about digestion problems, funny communication errors, and stories about getting lost, but I couldnt tell you much about their friends from school or what their family is like. You catch bits and pieces here and there, but nothing too specific. I just find it so funny that we talk about bowel movements ten times more than anything it seems haha. So we hung out at school all day because we had to watch a movie premiering at 6. It would be silly for me to go all the way home, so I was perfectly content with just staying. The movie was filmed in both UVa and in Peru featuring the Shining Paths effect on areas around Peru. However, once we all sat down, we were instructed that the movie would be entirely in Spanish and that we should probbaly just go if we dont have at least 2 years of language behind our belt. Since Gabby had to stay anyway I did homework for 2 hours until the Pizza came (Pizza Hut!). We left after that. Monday was a pretty bland day... but thats ok. I was still so tired from the long long bus ride!

Tuesday
Lots of fun! Went to class for awhile, and Elise was feeling better. She felt sick after 2 hours though so she had to go home... lots of people have been feeling sick lately again... I have definitely not been eating the meat at the school lately and that seems to help haha. Once she left, my professor and I just sort of talked more about Peru. The classes have been going by quite slowly and we are learning a chapter a day, so its really hard to remember everything. I think he gets frustrated with us sometimes, but normally a chapter at school would be covered over 2 weeks... just too much information to cram into your head! And I could go home and study, but that does not happen at all. I would rather do other fun things after school haha. He let me out 10 minutes early again though! A group of us had been craving some American food, so we considered going to McDonalds near my house haha, but ended up just staying at school. Katy, Lauren, Shelly, Liz, Kathleen and I ended up wanting to explore though... Giancarla (one of the professors who I have fallen in love with... she played tennis at Arizona! From Peru but went to the states to play tennis, and now lives in Houston! Rachel, she demanded that you go to her Zumba classes!) wanted to take a bunch of us shopping in an Incan market in Miraflores and we had to meet up with her at 5. So we piled into a taxi. Yes, 6 people can easily fit into the back seat, and headed over to Parque de Amor! Its sort of a racy park... lots of PDA all around (Ma, that means public displays of affection), but it is really cute. Lots of love quotes all around the serpentine esque walls. The white sheet was over Lima that day for sure, but we also saw the largest island in Peru way off in the distance. The way the sun was semi hitting it made it look like heaven! After exploring and taking pictures here, we walked right past by apartment and up the main road of Miraflores. It felt so good to actually explore this area more... we often stay so close to school in Pueblo Libre because thats where everyone lives and transportation can get a little pricey (but not really... still WAY cheaper than in the StatesS). I felt so good because I knew where I was going exactly! As we walked along the main strip (if you googled Miraflores you would probably see exactly where Im talking about. Parque Kennedy is the name of the park, near Calles de las Pizzas) we stopped at a couple of book stores. One of the professors wrote a book, and so many people wanted to buy it. The place where we were meeting up with everyone, Cafe Haiti (really famous! Also where we met the first night before we went to the Chifa), is right next door to McDonalds.... so we stopped! Its like an actual nice place there! There are 3 stations... one coffee area that looks like a legitimate Starbucks, one with regular food, and an entire separate ice cream station! We got McFlurrys that were very good, but different than the ones in the States... but so yummy. You can also get passionfruit sundaes! Passionfruit is sooooo delicious here. Passionfruit juice is my absolute favorite thing, and I dont normally like juice! Finally a huge group of us walked over to the Incan market which is really close! Got some stuff for good deals, but I definitely want to get more! This market was actually more expensive than normal because its in Miraflores and the vendors werent as willing to barter unfortunately. Our last stop was in the main Parque Kennedy for the vendors. FINALLY found a small leather purse that I have been dying to get since I got here. For about 13 American dollars. WOO. It made my day. After that I walked home! It was soooo nice to just walk home! I am getting slightly tired of 45 minute taxis to and from school... I love walking around! So finally when I got back I realized that I still had 2 papers to write.... grrr. Ate dinner and worked on those... but ended up just going to sleep because I didnt want to work on them. Intended to work on them this morning... but the computer was no longer there! Turns out my madre had to take it to work today... that was slightly unforutnate. So it is what it is... the papers are actually the worst thing I have ever written, but I have learned to get over it! Whatever. THe class is pass fail, so hopefully I will pass it just by turning it in.

Today the taxi ride took forever again. I have been trying to do the massive amounts of Spanish workbook in the taxi on teh way to school... but both times I have done this I have felt sick... I just never want to do the actual work! Sometimes I forget that I am technically here for school... I feel like Im on vacation all the time haha. Class went by slowly, though our professor got there about 45 minutes late... oh how Peruvian time is sometimes nice! Nothing too exciting for the rest of the time. Our final is scheduled for Monday because Tuesday is a national holiday, but we are supposed to have classes... Im not going to tell him that though haha. Wednesday he just wants to talk haha. And this Friday we were supposed to go on a fieldtrip... he wanted to leave school at 7 AM, which means I would have to take a safe taxi by myself at 6. That would be expensive and I would have to get up early. Then we would take a 2 hour bus ride to Pachacamac... then more looking around. I would like to go with him, but he is also going with a large Jesuit group and we have to go to a lecture at 930. It kind of works out for the better I think... and then I wont have class on Friday after the lecture! Its the last lecture for the series about Tarma.

I had a really big problem concentrating today during class though when I saw the sun come out. All I wanted to do was go running. I had the biggest craving for it. I havent run in literally a month, and its getting to be really hard. I am constantly fidgety and shaking and my legs hurt. THey are literally aching to be used! But the sun stayed out all day, and it was absolutely wonderful! During our trip to Tarma and the jungle, I loved how sunny it was all the time. I still have yet to see actual rain, but the clouds are generally always there in Lima. Crazy.

Anyways, I printed out my awful papers, turned in a 3rd, and Kaitlin, Gabby, Carlin, Shelly, Kevin, Charley and I went to another market closer to the school. I am shopped out. I didnt get anything... there were wayyyyyy too many choices that I couldnt decide what I wanted. Too overwhelming. Took a taxi home with Kaitlin and Gabby, but I felt sick again... sooo hungry! We had Arroz de las Cubana (?) today for lunch, which is actually one of my favorite things here... rice, fried egg and plantains, for lunch, but I was still starving. Another thing I have learned... saltines and peanut butter are an amazing snack to have on hand! So just munched on a bunch of those, and now I smell the cauliflower balls (not quite sure what they are called) baking in the kitchen now! Morena is singing along like always! I wish I could tape her secretly... shes so cute.

I hope you all have had wonderful days! Talk to you all soon... LOVE LOVE LOVE