Laurita en Lima

picture bolivia

2009-08-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

looking down over la paz, boliviatrying the local beer, pacena. tastes like natty light. bleh.

visiting the train cemetary. 100+ years old!
more old train action:checking out tons of salt in uyuni

leaping in salar de uyuni! kilometer after kilometer of salt.
isla incahuasi: coral and cacti
night one we stayed in a salt hotel! salt beds:

lots of ice in laguna colorada. brrr.
arbol de piedra: (rock tree)
rocks in animal shapes! what more could one want?

our group at laguna verde. teresa, laura, cristina, esteban, edu & amaia
not like the sky is blue here or anything.dr. seuss plants!ferry ride lake sparkle heaven.lago titicaca:isla del sol in lago titicaca:

attractive outfits to go mining in potosi:miners in the mines of potosi:

besos y abrazos!

you know you're in bolivia when...

2009-08-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Before I go on about the detailed trip, here is a snapshot into Bolivia living...

You know you're in Bolivia when:

1. A man blows his nose in his hands and wipes it along the building he is walking by.

2. A girl pulls down her pants in the middle of the plaza with tons of cars and people around and starts going to the bathroom in front of everyone, and her mom doesn't stop her, but merely shrugs.

3. A dog that is supposed to be guarding the store front of a refreshment place pees on the 2L bottles of pop it's supposed to be protecting. The owners see it and don't flinch.

4. Your guide just never shows up on the island she is supposed to be showing you around, and when she finally finds you the next day, she apologizes by giving you an assortment of yogurt/flavored milk in bags.

5. When on a bus ride, 10+ people that didn't by tickets are picked up in tiny towns along the way and squished in the aisle.

6. When on a bus ride, a women breastfeeds her child on your lap.

7. When on a bus ride, a man's knife falls from the overhead compartment, almost slicing your leg open, and he doesn't even acknowledge it.

8. When on a bus ride, a woman asks you to open your window to throw her bag of puke out it, dripping said contents on you.

9. Items 5-8 all happened on the SAME bus ride.

10. You order a restaurants "homemade cream of corn soup" and it comes out 3 minutes later, nothing more than just instant, packet made broth soup.

11. When #10 happens more than once, in different restaurants.

More later,

Besos y Abrazos

sigh

2009-08-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

Being back in Minnesota is so wonderful I have had trouble trying to bring myself to post about Bolivia.

Now that I'm home I've gotten to share all the stories I couldn't tell my family about for fear my mother would have a heart attack...like:

1. Masked gunmen outside our house in "safe" Jesus Maria
2. Getting robbed at night during Semana Santa in Ayacucho.
3. Roomates and I Getting attacked by a gang of young guys in Lima Centro.

You know, the usual stuff.

No, in all reality, there was plenty of scary stuff that went on in Peru, and although my blog has focused on the beauties of the country, there definitely is an uglier side.

I promise to do Bolivia posts soon (mainly for you, Uncle B!)

B y A

Spirit Airlines: Fail.

2009-07-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

I am currently in the Ft. Laud airport, getting Bolivia pictures together to put up here.
It has been an eventful (did I say eventful? I meant frustrating.) day thus far.

July 29:
Arrive to Lima airport at 8:10 pm
2 hours of waiting to check bags & customs in Lima.
I am told flight will be late. They won't tell me how late, or why. Just late.
Flight is supposed to leave at 10:54 pm.
Flight actually leaves at 11:50 pm.
During my time waiting for the flight, the entire crew; pilots, flight attendants and all were right behind me, gossiping. They were talking about their co-workers, along with making incredibly crude sex comments...while people were all around them...even small kids.
A few good lines include:

Pilot: Did you hear about the pilot for Spirit Air from Detroit Mike so-so? He's a registered sex offender.
(*wow. comforting.)
Flight attendant: Honey you should have come out with us last night. We drank so much. But this guy (points to co-pilot) left early to get a hooker. Again.
(*they all laugh. really!?)
Co-Pilot: Did you hear about so-and-so? She has slept with that pilot like three times
Flight att: Yeah, but who DOESN'T she sleep with?
(*SERIOUSLY PEOPLE?!?!)

July 30th:
Flight from Lima. No water/snack for 6 hr flight. Oh! But if you want you can BUY water for a nice $5. Cool.
Get into Ft Laud at around 7 am Florida time.
Hour in line for customs.
Go to do the "easy" rechecking of luggage for connecting flight, but no one from Spirit Air is there.
We are all directed upstairs. Those who missed flights because of delay are send to rebook.
I go to check my bags once again.

Spirit Robot Lady (in minnie mouse voice): Oh, you can't check your bags yet.
Me: But..I was supposed to recheck, but no one from your airline is down there.
Spirit Robot Lady: Your flight is not until 3:30 pm, so you cannot check your bags yet.
Me: When can I check them?
Spirit Robot Lady: 3 hours prior to flight.
Me: So...until then I can't enter the gates/restaurants...and have to lug my bags around?
Spirit Robot Lady: Yes. Or you can pay to store them.

Sigh. Of course. Paying more money is just what I want to do now, especially after paying 30 bucks for an extra bag, and then being told I'm not allowed to have another bag. Even though it was already paid for. Cooool.

So here I am, sitting in a chair next to construction area waiting for 12:30 to arrive. My food options are donuts and pizza.

I think I'll just fast.

Besos y Abrazos.

time to be sappy

2009-07-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

...aaaaaaaaand here is the sappy emo post that you will all roll your eyes at most likely, but hey, oh well. I can't see you do it, thus I don't care.

I leave for the airport in 3 HOURS (bah!) and I thought I would do a quick post to say a huge huge HUGE thank you to all of you that have kept in touch during my time here. As was evident by my blog, and to those who I spoke to, there were definitely times here I was pretty bummed, and getting emails, letters, and packages from all of you completely kept me going. I've learned a lot here, not only about Peru and the culture, but also a lot about all of you back at home. A lot of you surprised me with your thought and kindness in sending packages and letters, and emails commenting about this here blog.

Quick special thanks to the people who took the time out of their days to send me my favorite thing (next to raspberries and cheese popcorn): REAL MAIL! There were many that promised they would send stuff and didn't, but the following people followed through!!
Mom, Daddy, Lou, Ann&Brooks(cough cough rubber chicken), Kari, Eric, Patrick, Sam, and Bri. I know it wasn't always cheap and took some time out of your busy days, but I can't express how much I appreciated it all.

My next few days include:
6-7 hour flight
10 hour layover
3 hour flight
4 hour layover
1 1/2 flight

HOME!

During this time I'll be posting about Bolivia, so stay tuned.

Besos y Abrazos

alive

2009-07-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

i'm back from bolivia.

in one piece, believe it or not.

posts to come!

b y a

Cusco Trip POST #4

2009-07-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

And now, finally,

Day 3: Machu Picchu/ Huayna Picchu

I could talk about this day for hours.

I have not been this moved or impressed by scenery in my life, even when I was at Masada in Israel.

I know some have gone to Machu Picchu and loved it for the fact that it is a cool hike to accomplish, or because it is one of the amazing 7 wonders of the world.

There are others, like myself, who are total nerds when it comes to MP, and are absolutely fascinated by the history. Just thinking about my time there gives me chills. MP is often called the Lost City of the Incas, because it was never found by the Spaniards. When the Incas in the city heard of Spanish invasion, they fled for the jungle, thinking it would be a safer place to situate themselves. Well, as we know, the Spanish conquerors ended up finding these people, but never this city on top of the mountain, which historians have called Machu Picchu (Old Mountain). The first person from outside of Peru to find the ruins was Hiram Bingham from Yale University, led by a small local boy.

The city itself is supposedly about 80% finished, and after 135 years of building it, it could not be finished because of the invaders coming their way.

We started our hike at about 4:00 am, leaving early in hopes to get one of the 400 tickets to go to the tall mountain next to MP, Huayna Picchu. We hiked up the 2000 steps in the rain and fog to reach the top, got our tickets for Huayna Picchu, and walked amongst the ruins with our guide, Ali. It was unreal to see all of the temples, the sundials, the sacred stones still completely intact, untouched by Spanish hands. Unlike most Inca cities that were found and either destroyed or converted into Christian towns with churches, MP is just as it was left.

At around 10 am we all hiked up the slippery rocks and through tight caves to get to the top of Huayna Picchu (young mountain). From this point, MP looks like a center for ants. (zoolander, anyone?) The girls and I sat with a few members of the group on a huge rock at the edge, dangling our legs over thousands of feet of mountain. Little by little we hiked down, enjoying the ruins that were on this mountain as well, drinking a little wine, and pouring some on the ground to salute Pachamama (mother earth). After a few hours we made our slightly scary trek down back to MP, where we took more pictures and hung out with some llamas. (only in peru..)

A train took us back to Ollantaytambo (after an hour delay because it evidently "slightly broke and derailed"...according to one of the train workers), where we met a bus bringing us back to Cusco. The girls and I got back to the hostel where we had a room reserved, only to find the night guard confused other girls for us, and had given it away. We spent the night allll squished together in two beds pushed together, that equalled the size of about a ping pong table. We were all so tired, you could have put us on a bed of nails and we wouldn't have cared.

I left the girls the next day to fly back to Lima, and my kind, young taxi driver home from the airport gave me his number and asked me to go salsa dancing with him. Sigh. You know you're in Peru when your TAXI DRIVER asks you out.

Here are only a few of the hundreds of photos taken (there are also a couple tiny ones to the top right of this page):

We made it to the top! Please note the long line to get Huayna Picchu tickets. And the intense fog.
Foggy ruins
Poles for hanging sacrifices on in a temple
Reflecting pools to see/read the starsAt the top of Huayna Picchu, looking over the edge.
Machu Picchu ruins, from the famous National Geograpic angle. the big mountain behind the ruins is Huayna Picchu, the other mountain we climbed that day.
Llama party '09

I will hopefully post more pictures later, but as of right now I am about to head to the airport to go backpack through Bolivia for the next 10 days!

Besos y Abrazos!

Cusco Trip POST #3

2009-07-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

(once again, please check out the previous cusco posts for the beginning of the trip!)

So now, to continue on with our trek towards Machu Picchu!

Day 2: Hike it out.

After an early breakfast, the group followed our new guide Antonio to the edge of the mountain we were about to climb down. He gave us a brief explanation about the history of the town that used to rest in the valley below before a landslide completely wiped it out. Throughout our hike he told us numerous stories about Quechua beliefs of respecting Pachamama (mother earth) and all that she has given to the people of the earth. Once again, I'll save you the history lessons, but if you want to hear about it later, let me know.

This hike was pretty easy, only about 18 kilometers over a 7-8 hour span. We ate lunch in the middle of nowhere at a tiny restaurant with people who were baffled why Esya, Sophia and I were vegetarians. (What else is new??). We walked through parts of jungle, where we saw incredible amounts of orchids, banana trees, waterfalls, coffee trees, huge flowers, and of course, bugs. I have quite a nice collection of bug bites. I'm planning on bringing them back to the States, along with my new sexy socks-tucked-in-pants bike style...I figure I'll get lots of phone numbers that way.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes, all beyond ready for a shower or three, only to find out that we got there during a time of "mantenimiento" meaning the water in the whole city was shut off to preserve it. Coooool. When it did come on a few hours later, we all got to take nice ice cold showers before a huge, unreal dinner. Nothing like shower of icicles, I tell ya.

Half the group joined the German guy Andre in his room for some amazing Chilean wine to toast to good luck before Machu Picchu the next morning.

Here are some photos from the day, MP post soon to come!!:

COFFEE!! All those years at Caribou got me excited to see these berries/beans
Our guide for the day, Antonio

Cusco Trip POST #2

2009-07-16T21:19:00.001-07:00

If you didn't see post 1, please check out the first few days in Cusco in my previous post!

And now, the 3 day trek to get to Machu Picchu:

DAY 1: Bike it out.

Esya, Sophia, and I woke up bright and shiny early to join our group: 1 woman and 2 men from England, 2 (very attractive) Israeli men, 1 man living in CA originally from France, and 1 man from Australia.

After a nice bus ride up to our 4,350 meter starting point at the top of a mountain in Abra Malaga, we were welcomed by fog so thick you could barely see a meter in front of you. (Oh god. I actually just used "meter" instead of "3 feet". Someone get me back to the States. Now.) After the guides checked to make sure the tires had air and that the brakes "sort of" worked, we jumped on our bikes and began down the mountain. I was blessed with a bike whose brakes "sort of" worked, which meant death grip on them the entire way down. We got to stop numerous times on the paved road section to take snaps of the valley below. After the relaxing paved road ended we were greeted by a rock road. No, not little gravel, ROCKS. Rocks that if you hit the wrong way, you and your bike tumbled to the ground, which although I managed not to fall, numerous people in groups did fall down. This includes someone from another group that fell off the edge of the mountain. When I finished that day, they still hadn't found him. Yeah. I'm not kidding either. (sorry mom, don't freak out, it wasn't me!).

We took a bus to Santa Maria, where the girls and I sadly had to leave our amazing group and guide to join our next group who was also only doing a 3 day trek. The 3 of us jumped into a cab (driven by what looked like a 14 year old boy) and took a terrifying hour long ride down the side of the mountain to Santa Teresa. The girls and I are now fondly calling that experience "Death Cab".

Arriving in Sta. Teresa we met our new group: 1 man from Belgium, 1 man from Germany, 2 guys from the Netherlands, 1 man and also a couple from France, and 2 boys from California.

After dinner we all went to a local club for drinks to numb the pain from 6 hours going over rocks on a bike. In hindsight, this may not have been the best idea since we had to get up early for a long hike the next day, but man, we all sure slept well.

Here's a few photos from the day, another post from Day 2 soon!:

Gloomy in Abra Malaga
The guide made me tuck my pants into my socks. Sooooo attractive.
"checking" the air in the bikes...
This picture isn't saturated. It's ACTUALLY that gorgeous here. Gah.
Sun finally out!!

Cusco Trip POST #1

2009-07-16T20:32:00.001-07:00

I have so much to say about this amazing trip, I am sure I will need more than one post..

Day 1: CUSCO

I arrived in Cusco early the 9th and right away found a few unsure-looking gringas who didn't speak any Spanish outside the airport. These new friends (Sophia and Esya) and I left to find a hostal and some coca tea.

Day 2: SACRED VALLEY
The next day we got up early to do a tour of the Sacred Valley, alternating between hour long hikes to ruins and seeing local goods. We visited Pisaq, Urumbamba, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero. In Chinchero we got to watch a demonstration of the ancient process still used in this town to dye and weave textiles, which brought me back to the old Science Museum of Minnesota days (Lou, you remember that, right??)

A few shots from the day:

Colorful growths on ancient Inca walls in Pisaq
Inca ruins, the constant theme running through this trip...
On top of mountain ruins looking down at Ollantaytambo
Can you see the profile of a man with a beard and a crown of towers in the mountain?

Our guide this day showed us a drawing the Incas had of their sun god, which looks exactly like the face in the mountain (the towers were built atop to be his crown by the Incas). Historians believe that one of the reasons the Inca people let in the first Spaniards was because when they came with faces with large beards like this sun god, the Inca people believe them to be messangers from their god.

We learned ridiculous amounts of history, but I will spare you all the lesson for the day!

The next day we spent purchasing local goods to bring back, and explored Cusco and its Plaza de Armas before going to bed early, ready to start our trek towards Machu Picchu the next day!

The next post(s) will have more pictures from that hike!

so my mom can sleep tonight

2009-07-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

i have arrived safely to cuzco!

i am staying with two lovely jewish vegetarians from boston, esther and sophia.

we booked our machu picchu hike for sunday monday tuesday!

love from the high altitudes!

terminada!

2009-07-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

finally finally finally

I am done with all of my exams, presentations, and papers!

I've NEVER been so happy to be done with school. I can easily say I would never study at PUCP again, and can't wait to get back to classes at Madison!!!

Katie, Ash and I had a final lunch with our favorite Peruvians, and said our sad goodbyes before taking the last micro ride home from campus.

Now that we are done with school, we are all free to travel, and believe me, we all can't WAIT to get out of Lima and have some fun!

While Katie and Ash are going to Argentina, I will be travelling alone to Cuzco.

I will be doing a 3 or 4 day hike to Machu Picchu, and for the rest of my time..well...I have absolutely no idea! I've made no plans, and intend to just figure things out as I go, meeting people along the way to travel with.

I'll be back in Lima for a few days before my trip to BOLIVIA, so I'll try to update with a post and pictures!

Hope you all are happy & healthy!

Besos y Abrazos

Coundown:

Leave for Cusco: 12 hours

Leave for Bolivia: 9 days

Leave for USA!!!: 3 weeks

ahhhh folklore

2009-07-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned in my last post, Katie, Mary and I all went to Brisas del Titicaca, a folklore dance and music show. It was absolutely fantastic! Between acts popular cumbia or salsa music would come on and anyone from the audience could get up on the stage and dance!

Here are a few photos....

plumas tan grandes, chicas con botas, y hombres como monstruos!

"son guapas, bailando la marinera, nuestras mujeres peruanas!"

.... hope this video works, enjoy!

In other news, we now have 2 new girls living in the house with us, both from the east coast.

Also, Tuesday is the end of the school road for me (FINALLY) with 2 finals, a commentary, and 3 final papers (ouch). Wish me luck. I am going to need it.

Besos y Abrazos!

dia de independencia y amistad

2009-07-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 4th everyone!

I've gotta say, being in Lima is a little bit of a bummer, but not quite as bad as in 2005 when I spent the 4th in Poland! It's Dia del Amistad here, (Friendship Day) so at least there's that!

To take a break from studying, and to celebrate the 4th the best we can, Katie and our friend Mary and I are going to a folklore dance show, at a place called Brisas del Titicaca.
It's multiple hours of different types of music, shows, and dancing!

So it may not be BBQs or watching fireworks on Bald Eagle, but it should be a good time.

Entonces, otra vez, Feliz Día de la Independencia!

Besos y Abrazos!

love affair

2009-07-03T15:19:00.001-07:00

....with Skype.

Come on, how cool is it that I get to see my Mom, Dad and Uncle B who are 4000+ miles away, for FREE?

Countdown:
Last final exams: 4 days
Leave for Cuzco: 6 days
Leave for Bolivia: 14 days
Leave for USA: 26 days

Besos y Abrazos!

strike!

2009-06-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

ah yes, i love strikes.

no, wait, i don't. unless we're talking bowling.

as i have mentioned before, our main transportation here is the combi (or micro) system. we find our that most of the combi workers have gone on strike because they want the fines the police charge them to be less.

um..yeah..that makes sense..."we did something illegal but we don't want to pay for it!"

also the government tried to mandate that the combis could not be more than 25 years old. which made everyone very angry evidently.

so because of this, we took a taxi home from school (and felt very carrie bradshaw about it).

yay peru.

besos y abrazos

one month

2009-06-29T12:04:00.001-07:00

I am absolutely baffled as to where the time has gone.
In exactly one month from today I will be leaving South America to return to the USA!

To all of you back in White Bear and Madison, get ready for ridiculous amounts of...

Besos y Abrazos!

arequipa post II

2009-06-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

A few photos from the Arequipa trip:

Church in Arequipa: Estilo Barroco Criollo

Andean Condors! (9 ft wing span. Like to eat donkeys. Good.)

Colca Canyon: Largest canyon in the world

Hiking day 1: 20 miles.

Aaaand getting lost for the second time. This time on the way to Cabanaconde Plaza.

Baby Lamb in Chivay! Ahhhhhhhh!
Ancient Inca terrazas. Holy. Amazing.

The whole group with our guide, Omar
4,900 meters. Insert inability to breathe here.

pase mula, pase!

2009-06-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Arequipa, ya te extraño.
Ash, Katie, Jake, our friend Jennasen and I loved our mini-trip...

We got in town around 5 am Friday, and after relaxing a bit at our fantastic hostel wandered to the Plaza de Armas where we laughed at the menu at the restaurant we ate at. The attempted English translations were great, such as:
Palta Rellena a la Jardinera (Veggie filled Avocado)= "Padded Avocado do to the Gardener"
Bistek de Alpaca (Alpaca steak)= "Bistek of German nikel"

After wandering through countless agencies, we finally found a place to book our Colca Canyon tour, and spent the rest of the day on a city tour, going to lookout points to see the unbelievable mountains and volcanoes surrounding the town.

The next morning we woke up bright and happy early at 3:30 am to bus out to Colca. After stopping to see the famous Andean Condors, our group was dropped off in the middle of the mountains to start our trek down the canyon.
(Let me add that right before they dropped us off the guides were talking amongst themselves about an Israeli girl that was lost in the canyon...whose body was just found a month ago. Oh god.)
TREK DAY 1:
3 hours down: hot, but full of singing songs to our guide Omar.
1 hour up: lunch was waiting for us, as well as more much needed water.
Get lost take 1: Omar hadn't taken this trail in a while, which led to us accidently coming upon private property, which led us to get chased by a group of terrifying dogs, which led us to have to backtrack and hike even more, which led to it getting darker than we planned.
2 1/2 hours of flat, up, up, up, down, up, up, up: My calves hate me.
1/2 hour of down in the dark: Will I trip and fall off the mountain edge? Who knows!
Arrive at "Oasis": Since we got there when it was dark..and since there was no electricity...we could not see anything, but I'm sure it was pretty! Omar tells us we just walked about 30-35k (20ish miles). Hmm..that would explain why my legs feel funny...After a much needed dinner and lemongrass tea we hudlded in our bamboo thatched bungalow and prepared to get up at 4:30 am to hike up the canyon.

TREK DAY 2:
4:30 am: Shouldn't we be leaving?
6:00 am: Omar comes pounding on our door...informing us he slept through his alarm. Oops.
6:30 am: We start our trek up the largest canyon in the world, which let me tell you, when you are climbing out of it, you can sure as hell tell it is such. Gah.
3/4 way up: Jennasen and I are out of water, walking slowly upwards in the sun, blisters getting bigger and better with each step!
Last 1/4 way up: We get to ride mules the rest of the way! YES! My mule, Luisa (Haha Lou, there's a mule in Peru named after you), decided she didn't want to go up anymore, and when her owner wasn't paying attention she made a break for it and whipped around on the tiny path trying to go down, not caring about the little gringa girl that had nothing but a small wedge to hold on to for dear life as she dangled over the canyon. Benito, the owner got her back in line and profusely apologized to me. "Disculpame senorita! AY! Disculpame! AY! Mula! Mula! Pase!"
The end of the hike since we made it to the top? : No. Omar waits for Jake to make it up, and tells us that the bus is just a 10 minute walk away. Hahaha. Right. Well, after walking for a while, we come to a fork in the road. With no one in sight to ask, we chose the path that looked the most worn. 5 minutes later, another fork in the road. Hm. We get passed by a herd of sheep and realize we are lost. After hiking through the fields towards some houses we ask men where the plaza is. The point across all the fields to the opposite end of the city. Awesome.
The end of the hike since we made it to the plaza?: YES! 10 minutes later we left Cabacabonde, finally getting something to eat!

After stopping to see the hot springs in Chivay, ancient Incan terrazas and at the highest point in the area to further increase my already raging altitude sickness, we returned to Arequipa.

A few things I must say about this trip:
1. If I had to settle down in Peru, I would absolutely live in Arequipa. The city and the mountains were unbelievably gorgeous, despite the freezing nights and the nearby active volcano...Also, the town is full of ruggedly-good-looking-muscular tour guides.
2. Colca Canyon is a hike I would suggest for anyone who is in kick-ass shape, has no problems with altitude, isn't currently sick, and has had a good night sleep before. (note:I was none of the above when I went)
3. I will post pictures of all of this in a post soon to come!

But now we are back in Lima, getting ready for class presentations and our first final next week, along with 3 huge final papers and 2 more final exams the next week. If any of you feel like sending me some luck, raspberries, or spicy tofu from muramoto, please do.

Besos y Abrazos

gettin' out of lima.

2009-06-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard me mention (okay, complain) about Lima weather, it's grey here.
And cold.
And foggy.
I miss the sun. Truly.

So Ash, Katie, Jake and I are headed to Arequipa wayyyy down south at 3:45 am this Friday. It's going to be ridiculously cold there since it is in the mountains, but at least there will be sunshine!
Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, with almost 1,000,000 people and is surrounded by three gigantic volacanoes.
We will be busing to Colca Canyon (which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon) to go on a tough 2 day hike. The first day is straight downhill, then we'll be staying in the canyon (brrrr) overnight, and the second day is a treacherous hike back up. The canyon is known for being home to the Andean Condors, and also has natural hot springs which we hope to hit up during our stay in Chivay! I have been warned about altitude sickness, and we all know how well my trek in Huaraz went, so wish me luck...

On a completely unrelated-to-peru-note: We found out my sister will be having a baby girl in November! If you know Ann and Brooks, send your congrats!

Hope you all have a happy summer weekend, and Happy Father's Day on Sunday, mainly to the best father on the face of the planet (mine, of course).

Besos y Abrazos

soapbox

2009-06-11T17:18:00.001-07:00

I know just as well as anyone else how easy it is when you are living comfortably in the U.S. to forget about looking into what's going on in other places of the world. Sure, we hear and talk about the shocking, big story events like the Swine Flu (excuse me, H1N1), and the terrible AirFrance tragedy, but how often do we really take the time to find out what is going on elsewhere? If it isn't put directly into our lap by CNN or told to us at the water cooler at work, when do we take the time to find out what's up? There have been many sad deaths due to both political unrest and poverty here in Peru recently, and I am guessing most of you haven't heard much about them.
Please take a minute or two out of your day to look at these links attatched about two stories currently in the news here.

1. Puno. Puno is a city in the south of Peru, where temperatures get very cold in the winter, and because of the extreme poverty, every year there are many deaths. Recently over 150 children died across Peru, (35 of them in Puno) all because of a combination of lack of proper food, clothing and heating. See here: http://www.peruviantimes.com/puno-regional-president-accused-of-negligence-in-child-deaths-from-cold/

2. Protests over the Amazon. This is currently a VERY heated topic here. Current President Alan Garcia had made a plan to open parts of the rainforest to foreign investment (AKA mining, drilling for oil). As you can imagine this has sparked extreme anger from not only the indigenous people living in the area, but people all over Peru. HUGE protests, road blocking, and numerous deaths have occured in the North. Sympathy protests are now occuring in Lima, Cuzco, Arequipa nd other areas. Today a bunch of kids from my school went to participate in the protest in Lima. I didn't go, as I was scared because if U.S. citizens get caught protesting in anti-govt events they can be jailed and HELD! GAH! Glad I didn't go, my roommate Jenna went and got tear gased. Bah. Check out this story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/groundreport/up-to-250-indigenous-peru_b_214517.html

Money and clothes are now being given to help out the people in Puno and other areas, but there is a lot of anger about the government not taking precautionary steps earlier in the year.

As for the Amazon issue, this is something I forsee going on for a while. Stay tuned.

Besos y Abrazos

for anno

2009-06-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

To please my lovely sisters, here are some updates:

1. I survived my first oral presentation in class...and let me tell you, everyone looked positively riveted. Did I say riveted? Shoot. Riveted can't be used as a synonym for "baffled by my terrible accent in Spanish" can it? No? Oh. Well then.

2. I had the pleasure of changing Ash's hair color so she would appear less gringa-ish. Didn't work, but at least she looks cute ---------------------------->

3. Turns out winter here actually is quite chilly. Now, nothing like WI or MN winters, since there isn't any snow...or even rain...but since it is so humid here it's like walking through a cold heavy foggy mist all day. (yay!) To combat this gloomy atmosphere (and to keep my toes from getting stepped on the Micro rides) I bought new shoes. (Louisa, I know you'll approve)

4. A guy that lived in this house in 2006 is here to visit until the 3rd of July, so we have another roommate! Jake is a high school Spanish teacher from Indiana, and the family is obsessed with him.

5. We celebrated Senor Dante's 70th birthday! I walked into the party, said "feliz cumple!"---his response? "Quieres whisky?" Oh sir, you know me all too well.

Unlike the picture from Esther's birthday, this actually has everyone in it!
Senora Esther, Cynthia (in black), Natalia & Danny holding their son Alessandro behind their daughter Luciana, Senor Dante holding Camila next to her parents Mariana & Jorge, with their other 2 children Mauricio and Marianita.

Hope summer is treating you all well, enjoy the sun for me!

Besos y Abrazos

zmr

2009-05-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

although this blog is intended for peru related things, since i can't be there to annoy him and give him embarrassing amounts of birthday attention in person, this post is dedicated to wishing the fantastic Zachrey a HAPPY 21st!

21 Besos y Abrazos !

important things peru: school

2009-05-29T19:12:00.001-07:00

In the spirit of staying in on this friday night to study once again, I thought I would make this third installment of important things peru about the lovely university I attend, La Catolica.

To understand school here, do the following:
Step 1: Think of the basic organization of a university in the States, like UW Madison.

Step 2: Forget all the basic organization of a university in the States, like UW Madison, it will do you no good here.

CLASS/TEACHER:
Madison: Class size 300. Trying to meet with your teacher is like trying to get penciled in for lunch with the Queen: Difficult, but possible.
La Catolica: Class size 25. Trying to meet with your teacher is like trying to catch a unicorn. Impossible. Unless you are on some kind of drug. Then maybe you can imagine it. Still, imagining will get you no help on finding theses for your three 15-page final papers.
(Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture??)

LIBRARY SYSTEM:
Madison: Need a book? Go to the library. Find it yourself. Browse if you like. Check it out. Hang on to it for a while, eventually give it back.
La Catolica: Need a book? Go to the library. Write your name, student ID, book ID, author, title, date, signature, name of your first born, favorite season and the square root of 3423294 on a tiny sheet of paper. Hand it to grumpy looking man along with your ID card. Check it out. Return it within 3 days (yes 3) or else your card will be frozen and you can't check out books for a week.
(Um...really?)

CLASS MATERIALS:
Madison: Buy expensive books or receive packets from teachers. Sell back books at the end of the year. Get a little money back to go spend on beer to drown your sorrows that you only got $16 back when you paid $400.
La Catolica: Teacher scribbles article/book name on board. Go to the photocopier and tell them you need one copy of [insert book title] for [insert teacher's name]'s class. Wait anywhere from 5 minutes- 1 hour to get your copy. Extra $ to get it spiral backed. Read it, never get to sell it back or use it again. This sounds not bad right? WRONG. This is what you have to do about every week. For every class. Over and over. The best part is when the teacher assigns a book, but doesn't leave it in the photocopier. This means you get to RUN to the library before the other kids in your class get there, check out the ONE copy of that book, and bring it to the photocopier (and return it in 3 days of course). If the book isn't available at the library? Tough luck.

Oh Peru.
Well, I must get back to reading my 250 page book (or, well, photocopy of a book) on the history of colonial views in spanish america!

Besos, abrazos, y happier posts to come!

[thanks to alicia groh, from whom i took ideas for this post!]

updates

2009-05-24T17:32:00.001-07:00

Not much has been happening since our return from Ecuador, unfortunately.

A few highlights of the past week or so include:

1.) Sharing how to make s'mores with our Peruvian friends. After we made them for them, their response was "Que Rico!" (shocking, I know)

2.) Getting an A/B on one of my Literatura papers. After the way midterms went, looks like I'll be needing to get a 4.0 next year @ Madison. Oh well.

3.)Opening up our host family's world to velveeta shells and cheese! A friend sent me a HUGE box of it in a package a while back, so Ash and I made it today. What they said after trying it? "Que Rico!" (GAHHHHHHHH)

4.)Celebrating our host mom's 73rd birthday! If I look as good as her and have as much energy when I'm that age, I will be incredibly lucky. After the party ended SHE went out more! Not us!

Mariana, Marianita, Camila, Senora Esther, Alessandro, Mauricio, Senor Dante

And, on a non-Peru related note:

5.) My darling sister completed the Mad-city half marathon with a time of 2:32:49. She's insane and fantastic, I know.

6.) I was informed I got the job I applied for with PAVE, an organization I've been volunteering with dedicated to ending sexual assault and domestic violence. So I am now the '09-'10 Volunteer Coordinator!!!

Besos y Abrazos!

midterm update 3:

2009-05-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Midterms: 1
Laura: 2

I should clarify, just because I got a point, this does not mean I got an A. This just means I passed.

(Mom, go ahead and have your heart attack now)

midterm update 2:

2009-05-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

Midterms: 1
Laura: 1

midterm update 1:

2009-05-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Midterms: 1
Laura: 0

más montañita, por favor

2009-05-15T18:38:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up to you all, when I win the lottery, I am going to buy a house in Montañita, Ecuador. You're all invited to visit any time.

After a luxurious flight to Guayaquil Friday we grabbed a bumpy bus to Montañita, town of 1,000 people on the coast of southern Ecuador. The town is known officially for 2 things: tourism & surfing. It's also known unofficially for two things: hippies & marijuana.

To sum this town up: it smells like coconut, it sounds like Bob Marley, it feels like warm ocean breezes, it looks like rows of tiki-huts, and it feels like...total relaxation. The entire town has a relaxed surfer vibe, with everyone walking around in swimsuits and sarongs or laying in hammocks soaking up the sun.

Katie and I tried surfing the next day, and instead of taking a lesson we just grabbed a board and had our a Dutch friend we had met the night before show us the ropes. For those of you who think surfing is probably some easy sport anyone can do: you. are. wrong. It's incredibly easy to underestimate the power the ocean has...and not only is your body being rocked by the waves and undercurrent, the surfboard you are attatched to also is. Thus, when it goes flying, so do you! Especially when you are a 5'2'' girl. Once I got the hang of flipping the board over to go beneath the waves, it got much easier, and Joe helped me catch a bunch of waves! Unfortunately..(or maybe fortunately?) there are no pictures of me making a fool of myself on the ocean, so you'll have to do with a mental image.

ALSO: I managed not to see any sharks this week. (Kari Mickelson, I know you're happy to hear this)

The rest of the days blur together a lot, because they were mainly spent with our new Australian friends Shane and Steve getting fresh fruit for breakfast, spending the day at the beach, and going out for dinner and drinks.

One evening the 4 of us (Ashley was unfortunately sick at the hostel) went down to the beach to build a bonfire. We were all relaxing together when out of nowhere a group of about 15 locals decided to join. All were thoroughly drunk and on anywhere from 1-5 drugs I would guess. One started going on and on about Mother's day and about how important moms were, how beautiful the female body parts were, and how abortion was the worst thing in the world which led to a heated debate in Spanish with another local. I must say, never did I ever imagine my vacation would include a debate in Spanish about abortion between 2 drugged out hippies. Awesome.

Probably the best part of this place, besides the beach and perfect weather, would be the never-ending juice bars. There are all these tini tiki-like huts where for $1-2 you can get a huge blended juice drink with as many kinds of fresh fruit and alcohol as you please. They are all on one long road, and everyone sits around them on plastic chairs telling stories and dancing. The smaller ones normally just have one person and one blender, and one of them we went to had this crazy old man dancing as he made our smoothies. After he handed them out to us, he came around to each glass pouring more rum into each glass. My kinda guy. Yessss.

The only downside I could possibly find from the week would be the killer mosquitoes...And the allergic reaction to the itch-cream I used on them. Which I find slightly ironic. Itchiness made itchier. Eh, so my legs look like I have a slight case of leprosy. Minor price to pay for a week in heaven.

Hope you all are well & surviving finals.

Besos y Abrazos! (Please see following pictures for the YMCA...leaping on a beach in Ecuador style)

never will i ever...

2009-05-07T11:46:00.001-07:00

...take having my classes in ENGLISH for granted again.

Wow.

I just finished up my midterms here at La Catolica, and it was definitely harder than any round of exams I've had in Madison, mainly because of the language barrier.

On my exam today, a question used the word "alcance", which according to my dictionary either means:

"reach" or "range" or "deficit" or "pursuit" or "talent"

Um awesome. About 3 of those definitions fit in with the question, and since the teacher was not present in the classroom to explain which definition is actually the common use of the word, I just guessed. Hurray.

With midterms behind us, Katie, Ashley and I are heading to ECUADOR tomorrow morning!!!!! We will be flying into Guayaquil, and then busing it to Montanita, a tiny town known world wide for surfing. I actually think I might take a surfing lesson, despite my completely large and irrational fear of sharks. Here's hoping my surf instructor will be a Julian Wilson look-alike!

So until the 13th I'll be relaxing in a hammock holding a drink with an umbrella, forgetting all about midterms, the smell of Lima, and the disgusting thought of Brett Favre being a Viking.
Until then,

Besos y Abrazos!

this has NOTHING to do with peru.

2009-05-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

joe mauer is back in action.

he'll be playing tonight.

against the royals.

in minnesota.

gah.

too bad i'm 4,000 miles away.

if one of you could send him to me, you would get points. MAJOR points.

i have a cold, not the gripe de porcina

2009-04-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

thus far, no swine flu outbreaks in peru (knock on wood).
other south american countries are not allowing in travellers from mexico...as far as i know peru has not put something like that into place...yet.

there were cases cited in WI-so to all you mifflin-goers: stay away from the octabongs. get thoroughly wasted by drinking your own beer, please.

cuídense mucho,
no besos or abrazos this time, sorry.

important things: palabras

2009-04-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had the chance to read the first installment of "important things"!

(Please, keep in mind with these posts that this is all in good fun, I like Peru, love my friends here, and respect the people, this is just to give a little -sarcastic- view into my life here.)

With no further adieu, I present take 2,
"Important Things Peru: Palabras"

I've found when going to a country, it's good to know the native language. (smart, right? yes, it's how I got into Madison, thanks.) Knowing the slang and common phrases? Also good, but much harder to prepare for. I've been in Peru for almost 2 months now, and have compiled a list of common phrases/words that are must-knows for this dear country.
So here goes:

"¡Qué rico!" I have put this first because it is by far the thing I hear most often. All the time in fact. About everything. Gah. This literally would translate to "How rich!" and is most often (but not limited to) describing foods.
El jugo (juice) tonight? RICO!
La sopa (soup) tonight? RIQUISIMA!
El postre (dessert) tonight? RIQUSISISISIMA!
Pisco sours, Vino tinto? I'll let you take a guess at it
(I get a rich dessert, but orange juice? dude it just tastes like Tang.)
As you can tell, it doesn't com.plete.ly grind my gears or anything.

"¡Qué raro!" Literal translation: How rare! It would be a nice phrase if it was also, similar to its sister phrase above used every once and a while. But it is used often, and in situations where something a liiittle kinder than just "how odd" is due.
A friend is late to dinner? QUE RARO! (understandable)
Men with guns outside the house? QUE RARO! (not "que TERRIFYING?)
World War III is starting in Peru? QUE RARO! (not DUCK AND COVER?)

"Chévere" Translation: Awesome! Sweet! Cool! If you are young and in Peru, know this word. You will use it/hear it all the time.

"Chelas" Translation: Beer. Of course, as we all know, the most important words to know when going to any country are "bathroom" and "beer". Sure, you can use "cerveza" here, but "chela" is the slang.

" xD, :S, =S, u_u" Now, while most of us got over the "emoticon" phase when we were 7th graders on AIM, Peruvian youth seems to have missed the memo.

"China/Chino" Anyone of any even remotely Asian-looking descent. But according to them it's not them being racist. Hm.

"Broaster" GAH. This one gets me almost as much as "que rico". In the USA, nowadays a lot of the frat types use the word "Bro" to call each other by. Here is Peru, they use "broaster". Take the amount I hate hearing the word "bro" in the USA and multiply it by 16. Luckily, the guys I hang out with here don't use it. Much like the great guys of 525 back in Madison. Thank. God.

"Que Vergüenza" Now, in good old Spanish 101 we were taught this means "embarrassing". Thus, when my roommate was telling a peruvian friend about a robbery and he replied "que verguenza" to her my immediate reaction was "thanks for the sympathy, jackass". Turns out here it also means "how shameful". He was being nice. Oops! My bad.

Alright, this should be sufficient for now...

Besos y Abrazos!

heaven

2009-04-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

i must admit, i have been missing the states during the past few days.

my friend eric sent me a package with one of my favorite things: velveeta shells and cheese, which is my total comfort food. i asked our maid, mariluki if i could use the stove someday to make it...

being her fantastic self, she didn't make me wait to have to do that, but instead surprised us at dinner by making her peruvian version of mac & cheese.

it. was. delicious.

although it wasn't the same as enjoying this dish with some of my favorite people back home, it was so nice to know that mariluki was looking out for me while i was feeling down.

(no worries mom, you aren't being replaced. she isn't as cute as you are)

so when i get back to the USA, my regular shells and cheese lovers (zach,casey,eric & jeff), i expect bowls and bowls ready when i step off the plane.
but for now, i will sit back and enjoy this new multi-colored-noodle-gooey-white-cheese goodness in peru.

we're on the corner with the church...um..

2009-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

If you like Catholics, go to Peru, they are everywhere.

If you REALLY like Catholics, go to Ayacucho, Peru, where 99% of the population is Catholic.
No, really. There are 33 main churches in this town, one for each year of Jesus's life.

For Semana Santa, the celebration of the week before Easter, the girls and I went to Ayacucho, which was rumored to have the 2nd biggest celebration in the world. Yeah.

I won't go into great detail of the weekend, or else this blog would be a novel.

Highlights:
- We stayed in a elementary school with 3 peruvian guys. Awesome.
- We ran with bulls. Not big scale like in Spain, but plenty terrifying.
- We went to numerous fairs where we rode on a ferris wheel that would never pass safety codes in the States.
- We attended a party in the plaza that was a combination of Mifflin Street Block Party, UW Madison football game days, Spring Break, and 4th of July. People were dancing, singing, chanting, building human pyramids and drinking excessive amounts of beer. (As one local told me, "Jesus liked to drink, so do we."

-We stayed in the plaza all day Saturday and at night there are huge bonfires, dances, fireworks, and a procession at 5am, which everyone stays in the Plaza for until all the festivities are over.

Lowlights:

- RAIN. Wait, let me reiterate: MONSOONS. I guess that's what you get when you're in the mountains during the tail end of the rainy season. Damn.

Enough talk, enjoy the pictures:

Olive picture for Daddy- Fair in Ayacucho.
Storm coming-- View from el Mirador.

Not like the sunsets are gorgeous here....

The people of the town cover the streets with these mural- COMPLETELY made of flower petals. Seriously. Look at that. Amazing.

Procession night 1: Church figures carrying Jesus replica

Plaza pyramids Saturday morning...
Part of the firework show Saturday night

Enough for now, more pictures later!

Besos y Abrazos!

important things: PDA

2009-04-07T22:19:00.001-07:00

For those of you that don't already know about comedian Demetri Martin, do yourself a favor and check out his stand up comedy acts, or his new show, Important Things.
Each week on his show he chooses a topic to focus the jokes/skits on. Thus, I have decided to do that here in Peru.

So for my first installment in the series, may I present:
Important Things Peru: PDA

Public Displays of Affection (PDA).
At certain times, and in certain places in the States, certain PDA is accepted and allowed.
Hand holding in a park? Yes.
Little kiss on a picnic? Sure!
Under the shirt at a funeral? No.

Here in Peru, they have similar values.
Oh wait, I'm sorry, take out the similar and replace it with "completely different".

Here is a brief breakdown to how I feel about Peru's PDA at my university, Pontificia:

Hand holding while walking to class: Cute

Little kisses before going to class: So cute I could puke.

Making out in front of the room I am trying to enter: Gross.

Feeling each other up in class next to me: Puke.

Sucking on each others' fingers DURING class: So gross I could puke.

Being practically horizontal outside the class I'm leaving: So gross I would like to shake them so hard they puke.

As you can see, clearly PDA here doesn't bother me at all! (Man I hope sarcasm bodes well over blogs).

Hope you all have a fun, safe, and PDA free weekend. The roommates and I will be in Ayacucho until Monday!

Besos y Abrazos (more than usual, unfortunately)

parque del amor, meet your match.

2009-04-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

One would think that a place with a name like "Parque del Amor" (Park of Love) would be the most romantic place in Peru, right?

Humor me here and say yes.

Well, one would have imagined wrong.

Parque del Amor, meet your competition: Parque de la Reserva.

This park is the world record holder for largest fountain complex...and should probably be world record holder for worst place to visit single. Just sayin'.

The roommates and I went to this park last night to see the fantastic fountain display. The 13 gigantic fountains all have assorted and changing colored lights as well as music that the water shoots out to. The park itself is an incredibly large area with a winding walkways, columns laced with flowers, and benches everywhere for couples to sit and enjoy the shows.

I've attatched pictures, but they do not to the place justice by any means. Between the lights and music and elegant flowers, there is this overall good-feeling vibe that you really have to witness to fully understand.

So if you are looking for a place to be in/fall in/see/hear/feel love, come on down to Parque de la Reserva. It won't disappoint. For more images, click HERE

not your MTV spring break.

2009-03-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

While I was jealous to hear about the times friends back home had on Spring Break, I have to say, after this weekend, my jealousy went out the window.

The roomies and I decided to take a vacation to get away from the stress that is school here in Lima, so we grabbed a cab to the good old Soyuz bus station to head South.

Our cab driver was thrilled we were from the USA and wanted to know all about which Sex & the City character American women were most like. Immediately after he asked us about what we thought the cause of AIDS was. His opinion: you get AIDS when you do not eat well.

Hm.
About that...

We spent the night in Pisco, met some other people at a bar and then travelled to a night club, where I was taught the basic merengue steps by an Usher look-alike. Not bad, not bad at all.

Bright and early Saturday we jumped on some big boats in Paracas to visit the Islas Ballestas- often called the "Poor Man's Galapagos". The islands were filled with thousands of sea lions and over 700,000 assorted birds- including..wait for it...PENGUINS! The islands are rocks that are white and yellow on top- which with that many birds- you can guess why they are those colors.

Thoroughly wind-blown, we headed to Huacachina to go sandboarding. The dune buggy that took us out there were a blast- it was like a rollercoaster...

Except with no tracks. Or seat belts that fit. Really not safe at all actually.

The dune buggy rides were almost better than sandboarding itself. We were first brought to a low hill, where we were told in Spanish

"lie down. keep your arms in or else they will break, keep your head up or else your teeth will get knocked out. if you put your legs up, you'll go fast"

Great.

Good thing they told us- a girl in a group before us had the board smash her in the face and knocked her teeth out. How's that for a nice vacation?

After going down on our bellies down a much much much steeper hill, we were brought to 3 consecutive hills to go down on standing up.
And the directions this time?
There weren't any.
Of course.

Considering I have no experience snowboarding...or actually any balance whatsoever, I didn't completely embarrass myself! Success!

After enjoying the sunset over the sand dunes we buggied (and boogied-no-Peru has not made me any cooler unfortunately) back to our heavenly hostel and went night-swimming at the pool before spending the night playing drinking games with new friends from Holland.

Sunday we went back to Ica to visit Bodegas (wineries) to go wine and pisco tasting. The wine was all fantastic, although pretty sweet. The pisco on the other hand...

At the first bodega the bartender told us to sip a little first, then drink it all fast, because if you swish it around, it will burn your mouth.

Nothing like gulping rubbing alcohol, let me tell you!

Back in Ica centro we grabbed some great food and returned to Jesus Maria, with sand in more places then we cared to have it and cumulatively about 1400 pictures. Not bad, not bad at all.

So to those of you who went to PCB, or like my family to Cancun, I hope you enjoyed your tanlines and margaritas. Next year, may I highly recommend watching the sun set over the sand dunes in the south of Peru after a day cruising on the ocean with penguins and bouncing around in a dune buggy overlooking an oasis in the desert.

Just a suggestion.
Besos y Abrazos!

cheddar salt?

2009-03-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

If you have not seen Slumdog Millionaire, GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW.
Seriously.

The roommates and I went today, and it was absolutely fantastic.
What was even more fantastic was that all together the ticket, popcorn, and drink added up to only $6.00. Yes. You can't even get the ticket for a movie for that price in the USA.
We asked for salt for the popcorn and got cheddar powder. God I freaking love this country.

Dinner tonight was lively as ever.
Our host sister, Cynthia, who is about 28 I believe told us about her travels around the world and the prostitutes she's seen in Japan, Germany, and Holland. She told us how to sneakily take pictures of them, and that the blonde boys on corners in Japan are the hookers. Great.
Included in her detailed talk was a story about her friend and friend's husband going to a redlight-district area and entering a brothel that had a MENU of things you could order, including a "trio".
Oh, and not to worry, Peru is no exception. Our Señora let us know that here in Miraflores, late at night around the park there are young guys standing on streets, and older women drive up in their cars to "pick the boys up".

See mom and dad, I am learning so much here in Peru.
So. Much.

no me digas!

2009-03-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, not much has been going on here in Jesus Maria. Other than attempting to stay awake in my 4 hour long straight blocks of classes and struggling through the all-Spanish reading assignments, life is still relaxing.

Thursday the roommates and I met up with a large group of exchange students in Miraflores at a bar, where if you are a lady you get your first drink free. Hey, I'm not going to argue that.

I once again attempted to salsa dance. Epic fail. One of our fellow exchange students is from Mexico, and is a bailarin, meaning he is a FANTASTIC dancer. At one point when we were dancing I told him I couldn't do a certain move, and instead of telling me I could he bluntly said in Spanish that I was right, I couldn't and I shouldn't try.

Awe. Some. Nothing like getting that ego deflated a little bit. Yesss.

The Peruvians we danced with there were relentless as ever, trying to tempt us with their so-called perfect English skills. ("Ah dis song ees so Fuuuhhhnnkkyy! We are de rieesky guys").

Similar to my dancing attempts, their pickup attempts : Epic fail.

On Saturday K.O, Jenna and I ventured South to Playa Pulpos, a fantastic sand beach on the ocean. There were huge waves, so we got a chance to body surf...which sort of ended up just us getting owned by the ocean. I think I swallowed enough salt water to last the rest of my trip.

My family maid has been making great vegetarian food...with the exception of the lack of understanding about tofu. The point is to mix it in with other sauces and food so it can take on that taste...she just chops it up without cooking it and puts it on top of my vegetables. Ay. Hey, points to her for trying.

To all in WI: Hope spring break treated you well, and sorry about the B-ball loss :( Besos y Abrazos!

Attempt at dancing: Take 4. Still a mess.
Enjoying cerveza at Bierhouse in Miraflores!

Playa de Pulpos (octopus).
Gianfranco, Katie, Me, Rodrigo, Diego, Jenna, Tapio and LynnPhoto courtesy of Rodrigo: Who says Gringas can't jump?

Thai sin Thai

2009-03-18T19:50:00.001-07:00

The ladies and I were excited about this Thai Festival in Miraflores and hoped to find some Pad Kee Mao.

Problem: There was no Thai food at the Thai festival.
WTF.
Get your act together with your festivals Peru.
Psh.

um, they weren't kidding.

2009-03-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

First day of classes = terrifying.
Katie, Ashley and I found ourselves in a 5th cycle Lit class somehow, and between the multiple books we must read, there are 112 other readings and many exams.
Awesome.
Good thing alcohol is dirt cheap here.
My $7 bottle of Bacardi and I have a date tonight, that's for sure.

pineapple and cheese empanadas. mm-mm.

2009-03-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

It's been odd and wonderful adjusting to life in Jesus Maria.

Everything is at a slower pace here...to me it feels lazy.

In Madison I would be up early, running errands, making my own food, cleaning up after myself, doing my own laundry (and the laundry of many of my old roommates at 525...) etc.

Here, we get up for breakfast which our maid Mariluki makes and clears for us at 8, then normally go back to bed for a bit. We slowly get ready and decide what beach to go to. We drop our clothes off at the Lavanderia, which for about $6, people wash, dry, fold, and fix rips/tears in your laundry. Then we stroll home for dinner which Mariluki has ready for us, we chat with our host family about our day, get dressed up, go out dancing, come home around 2:30 am, and then do it all over again.

Jealous yet?

Now, this is not every day, but definitely a typical weekend day.

New Things:
-I've been learning to salsa dance, which of course I look like a complete fool doing.

-We learned there are cockroaches EVERYWHERE on the streets at night.

-Evidently Pontificia Universidad Catolica is the best school in Peru. We found this out by the fact locals CLAP for us when we tell them we are going there. Awesome.

- People don't go running here. Katie and I went for a run the other morning and people looked at us like we absolutely crazy.

-Since I am so tan, my host mother calls me "negrita". Yikes.

-The ladies and I went to our first Chifa (chinese restaurant). It was heaven.

The other day the roommates and I ventured to Miraflores to visit the beach and El Parque De Amor. Let me tell you, being at the park of love when you're single is quite the treat. There are people selling roses to the couples cuddling in the shade and mosaic benches with famous love quotes in Spanish. At the park we met a Peruvian named Rafael, who ended up showing us around Miraflores and Barranco. That night we met up with him and his friend Eric in Barranco and danced the night away at the crazy packed Discotecas. The dancing is interesting, because unlike the glued-to-each-other-grinding that occurs in night clubs in the States, they actually DANCE. Sure, there is still plenty of sexuality if one so chooses, but the people dance salsa, cumbia, and more.

Next to my love for being picked up when someone hugs me is my love for being spun around while dancing. Hands. Down.

And now, a few pictures...

Orientation at PUCP includes penguins! YES!! Beautiful artwork in Parque Kennedy Another day at the beach in Miraflores...
One of the mosaics in El Parque de Amor...

Free balloons thrown out during dancing at Hakuna. Random much?

Salsa dancing with an old man in the plaza in Jesus Maria. In athletic shorts. Definition of classy. It was a dance with a band for senior citizens...and somehow Katie and I got pulled into it. We got plenty of "dumb Gringas" looks. Shocking.

Besos y Abrazos!

free cotton candy? si, por favor.

2009-03-11T19:24:00.001-07:00

I always thought that running away to the circus was the only way to get free cotton candy.
I was wrong.
Ashley, Katie, and I were walking through a supermarket today, and I see people holding cotton candy.

----For those of you who really know me, you can guess how long it took me to find where the source was.
----For those of you who don't: it took under 5 seconds. In a double-level market the size of a large department store. Yes.

And it was free. Free. Naturally I took a picture, I am that cool.

Katie and I have 2 more roommates, Ashley is also from Madison, and Jenna is from Indiana. Orientation for school was today which was even more boring than SOAR, which I did not think was possible. The only interesting part was at the end we had a safety lesson. We get to the room, and the powerpoint was entitled "Survivng Peru".
Not "Living safely but having fun in Peru"
SURVIVING.
Awesome. Love the optimism in this country.
Our teacher was very animated in explaining where we should sit in the taxi ("behind the driver so he can't as easily pull a gun on us, and plus we can choke him if we he tries anything funny"), how to be safe alone ("you are NEVER safe alone"), etc. The best part was that she was saying all this in rapid Spanish with elaborate motions and sound effects. It was like a one-woman comedy act...but TeleMundo style.

It's hot and humid here, not to rub it in to those of you in chilly MN or WI...
To make you feel better, Katie and I had gotten cocky about sunscreen, and when in Huaraz on our hike we wore hats and put sunscreen on our face- but forgot our ears. (yes mom, I know, you are shaking your head at me right now). Needless to say we now have lovely blisters. Definitely going to get myself a Peruvian boyfriend with like this. Mmmm-mmm. Nothing says sexy like bright red ears.
Speaking of Peruvian boyfriends....

So, our Señora (host mom), is a feisty 70 year old who speaks her mind and encourages us to do the same. Last night at dinner, the 4 of us were chatting with her after dinner about novios-boyfriends. 2 of the roommates have them, and Ash and I were joking with her how we need to get one as well. She promptly replied "Ay Laura, no. No necesitas un novio, necesitas un "amigo cariñoso"".
Translation: Laura, you don't need a boyfriend, you need a "caring male friend".
Caring male friend? I'll let your imagination go to work here.

Tonight we ended dinner with a shot of Divino Pecado- a liquor that has Lucuma and Pisco in it.

Between free cotton candy, great advice from my host mom, and now knowing how to choke a taxi driver, I do believe I will LOVE living here.

turns out, breathing is a good thing.

2009-03-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Symptoms of Altitude Sickness:
Fatigue, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, shortness of breath, pins and needles.

Side effects of my Altitude Sickness Pills:
Fatigue, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, etc.

Anyone else see a problem here?
Thought so.

Katie and I just returned from our adventure to Huaraz, a city about 8 hours North of Lima by bus. Our first day we went on a tour that took us through the Cordillera Blanca y Negra.
Some highlights included finding beer flavored ice cream in Carhuaz, seeing a beautiful memorial/cemetary in Yunguay for the 30,000 people that died in a 1970 earthquake, trying Cancha (toasted/seasoned corn) in Caraz, and hiking around Laguna Llanganuco (even though we got rained out).
That night we laid low at our hostel, meeting a crazy Irish guy who told us to go to Bolivia because "La Paz is a coke den. You go to a bar, and instead of ordering a drink, you order a line."
Excellent.

We woke up at 6 am the next day for our Trek to Laguna Churup. Along with us on our hike was a boy from England named Oliver, and a guide whose name I absolutely cannot spell or pronounce. We were told it was a simple, easy hike. Hah. Not only did we hike up to 4,500 meters, or 14,850 feet (which for you back home, this is higher than the highest point in all the Rocky Mountains), we also lept across rapids and scaled vertical rock walls, without ropes. To make this all more fun, it was the rainy season in that area, so all the rocks were wet.
Although I had taken my clearly useful altitude medication, I still got altitude sickness, and had to stop a few times on the way up so I did not pass out and fall down the mountain. That might have been sliiiightly embarrassing. The pins and needles thing? Totally true. My whole face and both my hands tingled even 3 hours after the hike was completely over.
Once we reached Churup, it was all worth it. We could see for miles, and the lake was a gorgeous clear teal. (The picture on the right of my blog under the title was take in front of the lake!)
After our sandwiches con queso and bottles of water, we realized somehow we had to get back down. Let me tell you, scaling vertical rock walls going UP is one thing. Going down? Whole different ball game.
Then it started to sprinkle: No biggie, we were hot after the hike.
Then it started to rain: Eh, Dad always said I wasn't so sweet that I'd melt.
Then it started to pour: Okay, kind of hard to see.
Then it stared to HAIL: No longer okay.
Then the wind picked up: FUN FACT: the wind on top of a mountain hits you a lot harder than on the flat old plains of Wisconsin.

Clearly we made it down okay, since I am here to write this oh-so riveting blog.
Tired from the hike, we spent the night with Oliver learning English card games and their ridiculous lingo. Dodgy.

Our last day in Huaraz was a lazy one, and before we knew it, we were back on the bus home to Jesus Maria, with some attractive Israelis to chat with about how lame the on-bus movie was (Matrix reloaded. Boo to Keanu Reeves. Enough said.)

Below, just a couple of the hundreds of pictures taken:

Gorgeous cliff in the Cordillera Blanca:

Flower field in Yunguay:

Memorial in Yunguay:

Boats on Laguna Llanganuco:

A view from the beginning of the Churup TREK:

A little further...

Laguna Churup..Before rainfall (hailstorm):

Myself in very becoming hiking gear with Katie and Olly looking happy as ever.

Rock wall on the hike back to Huaraz:

Besos y Abrazos!

you could a teach me the english?

2009-03-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

ah, good day.

A day of first peruvian love (beautiful boy on the bus), first peruvian pick up line (you could a teach me the english you have boyfriend?), and first peruvian ass grab (katie did NOT love that).

The bus system here is crazy. they are called "carros", and if a school bus and an AstroVan had a love child, the "carros" here would be what that looked like. They are all different colors with locations painted on the side of them of where they go. One person stands in the doorway screaming out in spanish where it's going with a neon sign, whistling, yelling, snapping at people trying to get them to come aboard. To go anywhere it only costs 1 nuevo sol, or about 33cents in US dollars. They drive like MANIACS and cut each other off. If you need to go somewhere, a bus will come for that place about every minute. Literally. So cool.

Katie and I went to La Punta today, which is this fantastic rock beach. (see pics below).

view looking out at one of the many piers and boats. ah, palm trees.

Katie is the pretty lady in purple on the left, behind us is a statue of soldiers loading cannons.

Right now we are packing for our trip to Huaraz. We leave tonight at 10pm, and return Tuesday at 6 am. Which means no internet for a while, thus you all can happily take a much needed break from this blog! We will be trekking, hot spring-ing, going to the market, and hopefully going out on the town!

espero que ustedes tengan un buen fin de semana!

besos y abrazos

appreciate your tap water, USA

2009-03-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Highlights of the day:

-Going to the mercado and hearing "Happy Birthday" while buying food.

-Homemade strawberry papaya juice with breakfast.

-Trying the local drink, Inca Kola, which was rumored to taste like bubblegum/banana cream. It totally does. Strange.

-Attaining five 2.5 liter bottles of water for our fridge (can't drink the tap water here)

-Investing in our first Peruvian candy, FrutiFrus. Look like Mambas, taste like Tums. Bleh. What I wouldn't give for some sourpunchstraws!

So we are living in Jesus Maria, a district of Lima. Consider it a nice suburb. Nice being theoperative word. Nice by Peru's standards, not so nice by USA standards. Nevertheless, Katie and I have explored and feel 24504858345083409 times safer here than in Lima. Our house is yellow with 3 stories (and yes mom, a HUGE locked gate is surrounding it so no one can get in.)

This is a view off our stairs (we live on the 3rd floor), if you look to the bottom right, you can see the metal spikes that are guarding our house! (click on the pic to see better!)

The family is a 70 year old couple and their youngest single daughter, Cynthia who is a professor at our college here, PUCP. They have two other children (Dante y Mariana) who are older and married and live outside of the house. The little kids they both have come over during the daytime and are so adorable they could easily be on the Gerber labels or LIFE cereal boxes. Fact. We eat breakfast and dinner with them, which our maid, Maria Luisa both makes and clears for us.

Dinner tonight started with a shot of Cachaça, which is a liquor similar to rum but is made with sugarcane & not aged in barrels. Our host sister brought it back from Brazil to share! Dinner was amazing tonight. I have no idea what our first course but it was tasty. Some kind of lettuce and cold boiled potatoes in a yellow sauce with spices? I am great at explaining things, I know. Second course was pasta with the best homemade pesto ever. Juice tonight- Drinkable! YES! They said it's made fresh from the tree outside. Speaking fluent Spanish was easier tonight, and our host parents are hilarious. They were asking us what we liked to drink, where we go out, and then warned us about the "women of the street" late at night in Lima. Nothing like talkin' about hookers and booze at dinner.
Amen.

Besos y Abrazos

also:

2009-03-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

check out what's RIGHT next to my bed ^^^^^

ah, love being a Jew here.

recibí mi primer beso en Lima hoy...

2009-03-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Yep, first kiss. From a girl. Oh god, it was on the cheek, calm down.
Random lady doing a mayorial campaign.
Later recieved them from maid, host mom, host dad, host sister.
Guess I won't have to worry about a lack of love while I am here.

Which leads me to...

The catcalls of Lima.
The occasional "hola lindas", "Ay..tan hermosa" or "niñitas" is better than the hisses, whistles, and obvious sexual grunts we also heard from men EVERYWHERE. Even the police officers. Creepy.

K.O and I went to explore Lima Centro today, and got to witness the changing of the guards at the President's house! Very cool- a band plays for the crowd standing outside watching.
Lima Centro is crazy; it is full of (but not limited to)
-narrow streets and markets that could get a person lost (see next PP for details)
-5-year-olds trying to sell you candy
-ceviche (raw fish in lime juice), chifas (chinese style restaurants), Norky's (like KFC?)
-people that look at katie and me like we are white aliens
-the worst traffic I have ever witnessed (no street signs, no use of traffic lanes, no right of way, no stopping for pedestrians, constant horn honking)

So...naturally since it was our first day, Katie and i decided to get lost.
Couldn't find our hotel for an hour. Damn those winding streets that all look alike.

We made it to Jesús María by 4:30, more about our host family later.
Dinner consisted of arroz (white rice), papas amarillas (pureed potatoes with milk), neon-pink puddingy stuff...and our beverage- which I do not know the name of, nor do I care to.
We see it in a pitcher, thinking it's lemonade by the color.
WRONG.
Hot (as in like slightly cooled down from boiling hot) and a flavor mix of bubblegum/lemon/melted down suckers that you get at the doctors/vinegar.
Bahhhhh.

I am all about trying new things but MAN. Shudder.

Also: we only speak Spanish. Yes, I realize you may be thinking "Um DUH LAURA it's Peru". Clearly I realized we would speak Spanish here, but going from never using it, to having to understand and speak in it fluently in ONE DAY is rough.

Okay, this is long.
Write to me:

Elias Familia
CO: Laura Podlich
Jr Caracas 2625
Jesus Maria, Lima 11
Peru

besos y abrazos

Como se dice "SHENANIGANS" in español?

2009-03-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

Yikes.

Well, our layover was surprisingly nice; we got to go outside and enjoy the Florida sun and listen to Air Jamaica flight attendants bicker incessantly.

Then...we landed in Lima.

The line for Customs was hot but only took about 30 minutes.
I went to get my passport stamped, but the man refuses to do so without my StudentVisa. I explain in broken Spanish that we wouldn't have our visas until we visit the Peruvian Consulate. After some pleading and promising I would get my visa right away, I was let through.
Whew.

So we jumped into a Taxi Green, and expected to breeze right to our hostel with no worries or problems.
Spoiler alert: This did not happen.
Our driver Carlos pulled over numerous times, scaring us more with each stop. He drove down terrifyingly tiny streets that were dark and full of people drinking, peeing, chasing dogs and sleeping on no more than dirt. The buildings were full of broken windows, graffiti and rusted metal bars. He kept trying to persuade us to go to a different hotel, and continued driving around warning us about the danger that was Lima.
Cool.
We arrived at our hostel, only to find that they didn't have a room for us.
Cool.
We were brought to a different hotel, argued about the price of the room, got hit on by the receptionist, but finally, FINALLY arrived to a room that seemed as safe as one can get in downtown Lima.
Cool (sans sarcasm).
Around 2 am, we actually got to bed.

The view out our window includes a deluxe brick wall, hanging laundry, dirty windows and ash.
Breakfast was heaven. It's amazing how a cup of coffee can make everything seem alright.

K.O. and I are on our way out to walk around Plaza de Armas, wish us luck.

Besos y Abrazos

welcome to miami

2009-03-03T07:08:00.000-08:00

After a ridiculously early and a no-free-beverages SpiritAir flight, the lovely Katie O'Brien and I have arrived safely in FL.

7 hour layover, here we come.

cinco días

2009-02-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

First, let me say, I don't like blogs.
I don't even like the word blog.
Seriously.

But, I realized that as I head off to Peru for the next 5 months, sending out mass emails to everyone I know would be not only annoying for those who didn't want to recieve them, but a pain in the ass for me to keep up on as well.
So thus, I jumped on the nerd bandwagon, and have created this blog.

I'll be updating it with photos and stories from my time in South America, hopefully keeping them as entertaining as humanly possible. Please leave comments- just don't insult my postings too much.

As for the members of my family reading this, I apologize ahead of time for any swearing. (Mother- I am 21 and work in the restaurant industry. I swear from time to time, sorry.)

I will be in Madison for the next 5 days and would love to see anyone who will be in town.

To those I am unable to see before I leave, I hope winter/spring/summer is lovely, and I hope to see you all when I return in August.

Besos y Abrazos,
Laura