This is a Day Late (Sorry Dad)

Yesterday (May 29th) was a very busy day, so I didn't have time to write this. But better late than never, right?

I went to class and probably paid attention a little more so than usual because it was my last day of classes for the week.

After school, we went to the Air Force school for our last day as teachers. I worked with the Upper Level Plus students. They are 14-year olds who are very advanced at English. Most of them are fluent or very close to being fluent, so we had a great time. These students were more open than my other classes and we got to talk about everything. Most of them actually are trying to go to college in the United States, so we talked a lot about the differences between universities in the states and in Peru. In the US, you take the SATs or ACTs and every college accepts those scores. In Peru, you have to take a different entrance exam for every college to which you apply. It's very time consuming and tedious, so most students only apply to one or two schools. And it's rare that they go away to school. Most kids live at home during their university years and commute. Sorry mom and dad, I did not want to do that!

After our lessons, we had a lecture on the Peruvian economy which I found very interesting. Then, we left school and had about an hour and a half to kill before our night time activity. I went and got pizza and beer with some friends. For you bargainers, happy hour dinners here are pretty great. For 7.50 soles, (about $2.70 USD) we got two slices of pizza and two beers. As a college student (kind of) on a budget, I'm all about those deals.

Anyway, we ate and headed to a fountain show which occurs in a park near central Lima. It's an area with a bunch of different fountains that light up at night and just look pretty awesome. Every hour there is a 20 minute show with lights, music and water which is also pretty cool. Some of the students did get a little wet, but I'm smart and kept my distance.

Final thoughts...

After last night and a nice chat with my host mom this morning, I've come to realize how lucky I am to be living in Miraflores. There are many parts of Lima that are unsafe and target foreigners. With my red hair and fair complexion, I don't exactly blend in. Last night at the fountain show, the tour guides urged us to stay together and wear our backpacks or purses in front of us. In Miraflores, that's not an issue. I also feel completely comfortable walking around the area. It's so safe and so pretty and the people are so friendly and I'm very lucky to be living here.

Crafts and Culture

Our second day as teachers was much easier than the first. I went with six other students to a different class. This class was 15-year-olds who were a little shy. We immediately split into groups and got right down to talking. My first group was three students. One was a volleyball player, one was a chef and one liked water sports especially scuba diving. They were very nervous about their English, but I can say their English was much better than my Spanish. We switched groups halfway through class and I got to talk to two boys. I asked them questions in English and they answered in Spanish, so I did get to practice Spanish a little bit too.

After teaching, we had a lecture on the independence of Peru. The seniors in the school sat in the lecture with us and helped answer our questions slash translate. I'll be honest, by that point in my day, it's difficult for my brain to keep up with the Spanish, so my good friend Franco (one of the students) translated almost everything for me. This lecture included crafts, races and free chocolate.

The final (and best) part of the school day is recess. So today we got to play football, volleyball, frisbee and other games with the students. That was the best part. Just hanging out and playing.

Próximo

My host mom has three students from our program. But there are also two other students living here. There were three, but one left this morning. The other two are Keita and Rebecca. Both go to my school and both are very interesting. Keita is 30, from Japan and studying here for a year. His company is based in Lima, but has offices in Mexico, Chile and Japan. So it's very important for his job that he learn Spanish. Also, his name translates to "respect the fat man." Rebecca is very intelligent. She is 27 and from Philadelphia. She works for UPenn and they are paying her to be here. She only has a week left though. But once she goes back to the states, she's starting medical school. Busy girl.

Teaching Is In My Genes, So I Should Be Good At This...

After the usual morning of school and learning, we headed back to the Air Force school for our first day as actual teachers. Myself and three other students were assigned to Señora Alegre's class. Alegre means happy in Spanish, so she told us to call her Ms. Happy. My class was an upper level class with 14 and 15-year-olds. We were supposed to teach our class about crime, which I think is a pretty bleak topic. Instead, we decided to break up into groups and just practice English. My group was shy at first, but they warmed up to me and we had a great time. These kids are incredibly intelligent and it was so fun listening to them practice English. They all said they were nervous to speak to a native speaker, but they were awesome! I made them feel a little better by showing them my Spanish and letting them know they had nothing to be embarrassed about!

Some of the students in my group

I came back to Miraflores and skyped my family for the first time since arriving in Peru. (I was kind of obligated to since it was my sister's graduation and my brother's birthday) I took my first bag of laundry in too and went for my second run of the day. That sounds a little crazy, but I really can not get enough of the runs in this city. At night it's great running along the cliffs above the Pacific because you can see so many beautiful lights and light displays in the distance. Plus you can hear and smell the ocean which is always a bonus. Morning runs on the cliffs are great because it's so peaceful and the ocean is calmer. Plus it's dewy and calmer and just absolutely perfect. Tonight I went running with my friend Michaela and her host mom just got a puppy, so I got to play with the dog before the run. Seriously it was the cutest thing ever!!

Reflexiones Finales

• Peruvians are very short. The doors and ceilings are shorter in most places than in the United States. It's funny watching the tall guys in our program ducking under doorways.
• People don't put milk or creme in their coffee.
• The identity of the city is very unique as far as buildings go. My host father is an architect so he likes talking about this sort of stuff. In Lima, there are very modern buildings next to some classicly beautiful older buildings next to run down shacks. It's different than the United States or Europe or any where else I've ever been.
• I've figured out that the Peruvians have been able to preserve all of these historical sites because it never rains here. The Incan and Pre-incan ruins, the Nazca lines have all survived because there isn't any rain to wash them away or erode the buildings.

No Voice, No Worries

Back to reality today. Kind of. Not that any of this trip has been reality, but I did have to go to school today. I lost my voice this weekend, so speaking in class was comical.

After our school, we went to the Air Force school in another district in Lima. We will be spending the week here working with different students and groups of students. We started the afternoon with a school tour from a student. My student's name was Franco and he was 14. He spoke a little english, so we talked in Spanish. He was very interested in computers and plays five different instruments. 

After the tour, we sat with older students who were about to graduate. They spoke English very well and were excited to practice with us. Plus there were little chocolate cookies and I ate about six of them. I'm looking forward to coming back to the school this week and learning more from the students.

Arena, Brujas y Pingüinos. Ica Weekend

For those who don't know, Peru is made up of 25 regions and one province. This weekend, we had a little getaway to Ica, an area south of Lima on the coast. Friday morning we left bright and early for a five-ish hour bus ride to Ica. Our first stop along the way was a restaurant/vineyard. We ordered lunch then took a tour while we waited for our food. It wasn't a wine vineyard, but a Pisco vineyard. Pisco is a type of alcohol native to Peru and the Pisco sour (Pisco, egg whites and lemon juice) is a local drink. The tour lasted about 10 minutes and after which our tour guide gave us a taste test (aka we got to try six different shots of Pisco) Not exactly my drink of choice, but when in Peru...

Anyway, we arrived in Ica, had some time to relax by the hotel pool and rest before a big night of karaoke and dancing. The next day we headed to Huacachina for a sandy morning. Huacachina is a small region near the city of Ica. The actual town is built around a small lake in the middle of the desert, and the village is surrounded by these massive sand dunes that spread for miles. We were lucky enough to take a crazy dune buggy ride through the dunes where we stopped a couple times for pictures and sand board rides. Even though I'm still washing sand out of my hair, it was worth it. And probably one of the coolest things I've ever done.

After our morning, we headed to Cachiche another village outside the city. I would compare it to Salem, Massachusetts. In Cachiche, many people were tried and killed for witchcraft. There are legends and stories about the witches that still haunt the village and to be honest, it's a bit eerie.

Sunday, we spent the morning in Paracas. It's a region in Ica right on the ocean. We took a boat out to one of the Paracas Islands where we saw Peruvian penguins (didn't know those were a thing) and sea lions. We also got the whole boat singing some classic hits like Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" of course.

Afterwards, we went to Chincha Alta, another village. Here we went to a house in town where a family puts on a show. The mother introduced herself and told us about her 15 kids (seriously!) most of whom were in the show. They proceeded to blow my mind with some crazy dance moves and some awesome music. I can't even explain how incredible it was to watch. Everyone in this family was incredibly talented and it was amazing. They gave us some lessons, but I definitely need a lot more practice.

I have to say this was one of the most amazing weekends I've ever had. I never in my life would've thought to take a dune buggy ride or go sand boarding or go watch a dance show in a random woman's house, but I'm glad that was the plan for our Ica trip and I hope some day to go back.

No Chili Pepper, No Salt, No Sex

Most people know something about the Incas, but there were so many other groups of people that inhabited Peru. We took a trip to Pachacamac today. It's an archeological site about an hour from Miraflores. It was built around 800 CE by the Lima society. It was then inhabited by the Huari people, then the Ichma and finally the Incas.

The site was dedicated to the god Pachacama who was worshipped by the first three societies to populate the area. There were several pyramids and other buildings on the site. Only the elite members of society actually lived on the site. The rest of the people lived in the outskirts of the ruins, but now there are houses and businesses built on that area. The Pachacama temple was very beautiful even 1200 years later. The outside was painted yellow and red and entering the temple was tricky. You had to fast for an entire year before you were allowed in. Fasting in the Ichman society meant no chili pepper or salt on food and abstaining from sex.

When the Incas took over, they still let the Ichma people worship Pachaca, but they created a much more elaborate temple for their god (the Sun god), so everyone would know he was more powerful. The Sun god temple was on top of the hill and was a very grand six floor building. The Incans did sacrifice humans to their god while Pachacama only asked for animal sacrifices.

 

Entonces...

We go to Ica this weekend, which is another state in Peru. I'm so excited for that trip! (Although we do leave at 6 tomorrow morning...) Next post won't be till Sunday or Monday.

Central Lima

I live in Miraflores which is about six miles away from Central Lima. Today after school, we went to the center of the city for three very interesting tours. We started at the Congress building. Peru has a multi-party system and a unicameral Congress. There are 130 congressmen (and women) who are each elected to 5-year terms. There is a President of the Congress who is different than the President of the Republic.

The second museum was right next door. It was the Inquisition Museum and it was really interesting. The museum was actually built on the site where the trials and torturings took place. For part of the tour, we walked down these stone stairs where you could see the chambers for prisoners and they looked pretty bleak. The Peruvian Inquisition started in 1570 and lasted until about 1820. Most of the people tried during this time were Africans, Jews, Women, Mestizos and Protestant Europeans seeking refuge from religious prosecution. The museum set up some pretty elaborate displays of the torture methods. People were whipped, choked, stoned, water boarded, drawn and quartered and hung. This museum was the most interesting to me because those events actually took place where we were standing. (Plus the tour guide spoke slowly, so I could understand most of his Spanish)

The final museum was the Museo de Sitio Bodega y Quadra. It is the house of the Bodega y Quadra family. And they found objects from the Colonial and Republic periods under the house. Not only is the museum about the actual archeological site, but it also provides a lot of information about preservation. It has been a struggle for the city to restore and preserve some of it's historical sites. Bodega y Quadra is one example. It's a new site that is still be excavated. The house and part of the site have been turned into a museum.

After the museums, we had a couple minutes to walk around La Plaza Mayor, which is the main square in central Lima. There were so many people and some very beautiful buildings. We didn't have enough time to take it all in, but we are going back later in our program, so that's good.

 

Finalmente:

I mentioned yesterday that it never rains. So there are certain things that can be outside because there is no danger of them getting wet. One thing in particular is pianos. There are pianos in random places (usually parks or open squares) that are available for anyone to use. Anyone can sit down and play a song or two or a whole set. It's a pretty easy way to provide music to the city and usually the performer draws some sort of crowd. I've never heard of any other place having free pianos, but I think it's pretty cool.

Historia y Mas Historia

Today was a big history day. I learned about the Caral and Chavin societies in my history class today. Caral was the first actual city in the Americas and the society lasted from about 2000 BCE-1500 BCE. They lived in an area about 100 miles north of Lima. The Chavin people lived from 1400 BCE-400 CE. Their society existed about 320 miles northeast of Lima in the mountains.

Of course you can't have too much history! After school we went to el Museo Nacional De Arqueologia, Antropologia y Historia. (The National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History) We learned more about the Chavin people and then our guide discussed other societies of Peru. There was the Paracas, Mochicas, Nazcas and much much more. I only really knew about the Incas, but these other societies were very interesting. They had their own systems of irrigation and trade. They sacrificed animals and humans and had very complicated burial rituals.

Center of the Museum

A stone tablet from the Chavin period

Replica of an ancient tomb

Otros observaciones sobre Peru...

• I learned yesterday that many people (including my host family) eat lentils on Monday. They believe it will bring you good luck for the week.
• It never rains here. Ever. And because it's winter, it gets dark really early which is actually harder to adjust to than I thought it would be. Actually June 21st (the day after we leave) will be the shortest day of the year here as far as sunlight goes.
• The drivers here are pretty obnoxious. The horn is used for pretty much everything. If you're passing another car, you honk. If you're going through an intersection, you honk. If a light is about to turn green (there's a countdown), you honk. It's a little ridiculous. My Spanish teacher says that's the only bad thing about Lima, so I guess if that's the worst of their issues, the city is not too bad.
• I went on a run with my friend Sam this morning and we stopped at one point to put our feet in the ocean. Peruvians say it's cold. It's not. It's really nice, although there aren't actual beaches. It's mostly rocks.

La Palma de Palma

Today we spent our afternoon at La Casa de Ricardo Palma. He was an important figure in Peruvian history as a writer, librarian, journalist and politician. He was exiled to Chile during the Pacific War which made things difficult as all of his books were destroyed, but after the war he came back to Lima and created the National Library of Peru.

During his life, he also wrote a number of novels, poems, history texts and other things. In his house, there is an x-ray of his palm because he wrote so much and people thought the only way it was possible was if he had an extraordinary hand. (He didn't)

Other fun facts. Palma was married to Christina Román, and they had three kids, two of which went on to become prominent writers. He died in 1919 at the age of 86. And there is a ceramic statue of his dead face on display in his house.

Some of the volumes Palma published

Palma's "creative room"

Tambien...

Today was also the first day of classes for all of us. I am taking a Spanish language class and a Peruvian history and culture class. Both were interesting and both went by pretty fast. We reviewed the present subjunctive verb form which I really needed. And then in the history class we learned about the pre-historic civilizations of South America like Caral, Chavin, the Paracas and more.

Otras Notas

• My host family is amazing and my mom is an incredible chef. (She studied at Le Cordon Bleu)
• The people in Peru are incredibly friendly, more so than I could've imagined.
• My favorite thing so far has been long runs along the cliffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean.