The Gringa Returns from Gringoland

After a long overnight flight, a very busy few days, a cancelled return flight, and, at last, another long flight, I am back in Peru! Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, well wishes, and phone calls!


The end of last week was busy (of course!) Thursday included a trip to the Museo Metropolitano-- an interactive museum about the history of Lima! It was a very cool experience with photographs, 3D videos, models, and even 4D experiences with shaking chairs during an earthquake! I would definitely recommend it if you decide to visit Lima and have a little knowledge of Spanish! In the evening, a couple of friends and I visited the local supermarket and then I took a long walk with my aunt Frida to see various important spots in the neighborhood (the laundromat, church, parks, etc.)

Surco, a little park right next to my house in Miraflores

Friday was another full day. We took our first ever combi (crazy, teeny tiny buses) to La Catolica-- the university I'll be attending. The campus is beautiful! It's very green and spacious and there are small deer that roam around freely! We also stumbled across some pre-Incan ruins-- very cool! We toured the campus, got our ID cards, and ate a very nice lunch in a cafeteria. In the afternoon, we took Spanish placement tests for our Spanish class... ugh. Last but not least, we had a lesson about "surviving Lima"-- all the scary things that could possibly happen to us and how to avoid them! We rode the combis home, I ate a super fast dinner, and then I took a taxi to the airport!

The huaca, ruins, at La Católica

I was hoping I would be able to get a lot of sleep on the overnight flight, but unfortunately Delta decided it would be a good idea to serve dinner at 2:30 a.m., drinks throughout the night, and breakfast around 5:30! All in all, not the most restful night. When I finally got into my hotel in Kansas City around 2:00, I slept and relaxed most of the day!


Sunday, my family arrived! It was so nice to see them. It's funny: no matter how long I'm gone, it feels like forever, but whenever I am back with them, it's like no time has passed. I guess that's the great thing about family. We had a nice day together, walking around and exploring the area. In the evening, I went to dinner with the other Truman finalists at a local Thai restaurant. Afterwards, my mom helped me prep for my interview and I tried to get some sleep!

Awkward picture of me by myself pre interview

I got to the District Courthouse a little before 8:30 on Monday morning. The other finalists and I spent the day together in one room while we were called out for interviews in another room. My interview wasn't until 2:00 so I spent most of the day just trying to stay relaxed and getting to know the other finalists. It was really awesome to meet so many passionate, interesting, and intelligent people! I feel like my interview went pretty well, too, so now we'll just have to wait until March 30 to hear the results!


Monday evening, my family and I headed to Johnny's Barbeque. The food was really good and I loved spending the evening with my family! I was really sad when I had to say goodbye to them Tuesday morning in the airport. 

I l-o-v-e my family! 

Then my flight was cancelled due to electrical problems! I got put up in a local hotel overnight and, at last, left on Wednesday afternoon, a full day late! The return was fairly uneventful and I met my nice taxi driver at the airport, got to my host family's home, and slept! I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to make it to the Truman finalist interview and see my family a bit more. Now on to more Peruvian adventures...

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!