The Stupid Gringa

Two days in Lima have already come and gone! Things I've learned so far: Coca Cola means crazy (loca), tomatoes help cure sunburn, and I am a lot dumber than I thought! 

I arrived in Lima late Monday night (around 10:30 p.m. Eastern time). As I flew into the city, my first thought was, "Wow, there are a lot of streetlights in Lima!" In reality, there is a lot of everything in Lima! A lot of traffic, a lot of noise, a lot of people, a lot of restaurants, a lot of buildings! Lima never seems to go to sleep. It's  busy, busy, busy all the time! 

I got through customs with no hassles and then found my group: Lali (the program director), Fabi (one of our "patas" or Peruvian friends), and two other U.S. students. We then waited, and waited, and waited for another three students to arrive. By the time everyone got there, we crammed into a very small taxi, and made it to our hotel it was almost 2 a.m.! I was very, very tired and understanding less and less Spanish as the night progressed! 

Luckily, we got to sleep in a bit and met up around 10 a.m. the next morning. We walked to the IFSA-Butler office in Miraflores (the neighborhood where I'm living) where we had a first lesson about what to expect from the program. It all sounds exciting, especially the excursions to Caral, El Carmen, and Cusco! After that, we walked down to the Larcomar, a mall built right into the cliffs overlooking the ocean! Tan bonito! We ate lunch at a buffet-style restaurant called Mangoes where I was able to sample different Peruvian foods and, best of all, many Peruvian desserts! Yum! After lunch, the "patas" and "gringos" took a walk along the cliffs and then down, down, down to the beach! It was absolutely beautiful! 

We had another lesson in the afternoon and then, at last, met our host families around 7! My mama, Marta, and brother, Ignacio, met me at the office. They are super sweet. Ignacio is a 27-year-old teacher at La Catolica, the university I'll be attending! At home I met Rosi (a friend?), Frida (aunt), Angela (maid), and Ramon (dad). Everyone was very nice and they fed and fed and fed me! I feel bad because I need so many things repeated and I feel like such a dummy! They've had six previous students though so I'm sure they're used to it! I just have to be patient with myself too! 

The house is very nice. It is pretty big and has a front and back garden. I have my own, fairly large bedroom and my own bathroom! They also have wi-fi which makes me super happy! It will make it much easier to Skype and email with my family and Andy! 

Today was another busy day. I walked to the office with Rosi and then went to a cell phone store with my pata, Brenda, to get my Peruvian cell phone! It's super basic but is mostly for texting or calling my family or friends here in the country. I'll probably try to stick to Skype for those in the U.S. Later, we had a long lunch break and several of us took a long walk along the coast to Parque del Amor and then to the Larcomar where we ate gelato for lunch (umm oops?) The Parque del Amor is beautiful!!

This afternoon we had a long Spanish class. Good practice, because I feel like such a stupid gringa when I can't understand or communicate. Adding to the feeling of stupidity, I got fairly sunburnt on our walk despite sunblocking this morning. My skin is sensitive anyways and going from Iowa winter to South American summer is a bit of a shock for it! Well the Peruvians are horrified! Lali kept patting my head like "It's going to be ok dear" and when I got home Marta and her nurse were very concerned! The nurse cut up and applied tomato all over my skin and I had to sit wearing tomatoes for 20 minutes... 

Two more days till my brief return to the States! I wish my trip back were in a month or so. That way I could settle in a bit here and I would be missing my family a lot more by then. It will be nice to see them though! Hopefully I'll have a few more adventures to share!