Taking It Day By Day

So I'm going on about 10 weeks here in Peru and as I talk to my friends back home starting work or finishing up another semester of college I realize that 10 weeks is actually a fairly long time! I keep having to pinch myself because as much as I get frustrated some days with the language barrier or long hours of commutes by bus I am truly very happy to be tackling this adventure.

Last week I had a stomach virus of some sort. No need for details but it consisted of five days of no eating, going to the doctor Saturday, and now eating a simple diet of bread, chicken, rice, and bananas.  I knew I needed to go to the doctor when I was sitting in my Spanish class Friday about to cry because I didn't know how to do an activity. I felt so bad for my teacher who was just watching me completely fail and crumble before his eyes. Saturday I went to the doctors where I made my appointment speaking english to the receptionists but proceeded to a doctor where spanish was the only language I could use. So they asked some questions and hooked me up to come fluids just to get me hydrated again. I go in for a check-up tomorrow but right now I am feeling good!

Gettin the hook up in the hospital 

Anyways besides my run in with the runs I have also been enjoying the weekends here in Lima. Last weekend was a Wine festival in Surco (a district in Lima). My friends and I went to watch a parade one day and went back another for dinner, wine, and a beauty pageant, followed by some great music of course! Another friend of mine recently moved into a new apartment and they had a house warming party. It felt so American/Foreign to have a house warming party because that is not particularly popular here but I enjoyed the relaxed feeling of partying in a house and meeting other expats.

Plaza de Armas en Surco 

Apparently someone eats them . . .

Besides small day to day meet ups with friends I have been enjoying work. I still get new students every week and next week will start working more hours so I look forward to building more relationships. It's weird but I already see progress with some already just after a couple weeks of meeting up twice a week. I am excited to see how much the students grow while I am working with them. So really I can't complain! I think I say that every time but honestly I find joy in the simplest of things. The frustration that builds when buying one thing at the grocery store can take 30 minutes is combatted by the time the owner made a special dish for me last week after we explained to him that I had a limited diet because my stomach.  These simple acts are a constant reminder of why there is always a smile on my face!

Lucas the boy I tutor was hiding from me. He needs some practice. 

P.S. I did not take the time to read over this post so if it sounds dumb or there are errors I take full responsibility for them and all the other ones from previous posts.

Calling All Tall Men

Ok I get it finally! Back in the US I am not exactly what you would call a tall person. People like to say I'm short but I just respond with average. But here in Peru I feel like I tower over everyone! So tall men, I finally understand. Below is a picture of me on the bus (my maid mode of transportation) and there is actually space for my legs! I decided to document the moment because usually my legs are pressed up against the chair and hurt after a few moments so I choose to stand or get over it. Let me point out that I am only 5'5" (165 cm for everyone besides the US). So today was a good day!

So much ample space!

Anyways besides buses I am now into my second week with spanish classes and it is going well. I realized these classes will teach me all the grammatical errors I have been making and once I am done taking the classes it is up to me to study more words so I can put sentences together. Teaching is great as well. I like all my students.  One little boy is 5 so he speaks to me in Spanish and I respond in both English and Spanish so he understand the instructions, so really it's helping me practice more spanish.

So cute!!!

Anyways this past weekend I took a trip with 10 others to Las Islas Ballestas and Huacachina.  We left Saturday early in the morning to catch a boat out to the islands. Though we aren't able to go on the islands it was great to see them because . . . THEY HAVE PENGUINS!!! It's like that movie that ShisaLeBouff (beautiful man) did called Surfs Up. Anyways there were penguins, baby seals, and an ancient geoglyph usually found in Nazca. They are huge patterns in the land and no one can explain how they got there. Hmmmm. 

The geoglyph. 

 After Las Islas Ballestas we headed out to Huacachina. This is an oasis in the middle of some pretty impressive sand dunes.  We were exhausted when we arrived but decided to hike up a dune/mountain that took around 30 minutes going up but 5 minutes running down. After, we washed off in the water and had an early dinner. Considering there are around 10 buildings in the whole town it's safe to say the nightlife is pretty quiet. We chose to enjoy some beers while sitting on the street with the local dogs. Sunday we went on a dune buggy that takes you out for sand boarding.  Some people had snowboards while others had boards where you would sit on your butt or lay on your stomach.  I kinda thought I was gonna die but I think it was just the blood rushing from going so fast down a MASSIVE pile of sand.

Huacachina with the sand dunes in the back ground. 

We were fortunate enough to hit a lucky streak this weekend. While taking a taxi into the local city to get a bus back to Lima our driver "knew a guy" with a bus and we decided to trust him. Best decision ever! His friend was driving back to Lima and said he would take us for cheaper than the other buses. We didn't know we would have our own private tour bus! He picked us up and we sprawled out all over the bus relaxing, post cerveza stop may I add.  Overall it was a very good weekend and I will hopefully get pictures from friends for Facebook soon!

Big pimpin' in our own bus.

A Lot Of These Babies > !!!!!

Finally 23 and I feel like a changed woman!!! Haha well not really but all in all it was a good week and birthday. For starters I am taking a spanish course for the month of March. I start at 9:00 am every morning and study for four hours. It's a bit grueling but I am glad I am doing this to jump start my spanish.

The city of Lima is famous for balconies like this one.

On top of my classes I am also working so I study for four hours in the morning then am off to work every afternoon. So if you are trying to contact me via internet through my iphone it might be a bit rough because I am out of the house from 8-8 pretty much. But I am enjoying my classes and teaching. I started working with an older lady who is going to the US in April for her sons wedding and it's always a pleasure to talk with her about Lima and her life.  I also have a roommate who wants to get into running more so we have set up a calendar of our running schedule and hope to accomplish 20 kilometers within the next month! Yay for running!!!!

Danny and I about to blow out our candles. 

Saturday I went to the catacombs with a couple friends. Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures but it also is a little creepy being that its bones organized in circles on the ground or set in storage areas.  The church is in Central Lima so we took advantage of the trip to walk around the old buildings and plazas. We also went to the central market to buy party favors for Saturday night. My roommate and I had a conjoined birthday party on Saturday with balloons, party hats, 2 cakes (sparklers as the candles), and a piñata!!! It was great to see so many people and cultures come together and I think it's safe to say we all enjoyed the party and dancing! Tuesday was my actual birthday and after class and work I went to Central Lima once again for a Pisco Sour (national drink) with a couple of my friends!!! Girls night holla!!!! After we went salsa dancing. I impressed myself with how much spanish I was speaking but I know the Pisco had a part to play in that as well! So I can't really complain right now. I do miss y'all but know a lot of love is being sent my way!!!!

Pisco Sours on my actual birthday 

Had to throw one crazy one in there :)

My lazy thought provoking week

As much as I want to update you on some grand adventures I really haven't had any recently. Last week I was very lethargic and took a lot of time reading, watching movies, and once again analyzing my life.  Every day I think of what I need to do and the fact that homework is never on the list still confuses me. The past few years of my life were homework assignments, random part time or summer jobs, and planning my future after college. Now that I am here I don't know what else to plan so I'm starting to realize that scheduling my future should not be part of my actual plan. I have been starting to take each day as it comes and grow and learn from that.

The lookout point by my house

            Work has been going well. The first couple weeks were quiet and I just came in and out and then would go home but I have started to befriend the other teachers and look forward to building those relationships. I have also enjoyed the connections I am making with my students. The more I work with them the more I get to know their personality and hobbies. On Monday I did have a little boy get a nosebleed.  He also lost his tooth that morning and spilled his cup of water all over the books at the end of the hour, so it was an entertaining morning for the both of us.  

My street at night . . . quiet for once

            I am also considering taking some classes to improve my Spanish. My work schedule is still a little up in the air but hopefully within the next week or two I will be able to find a Spanish class that works with my work schedule as well. Hopefully I can get something going so I can be a bit more conversational with people rather than constantly having a deer in the headlights look. 

Exploring the city with Nina

             I am starting to get into a schedule as well which I rather enjoy. Monday nights my friends and I have decided we will make dinner with wine and watch Girls, the ultimate average woman show. I'm sure the future will bring more traditions and more friendships as well.  But I have been perusing around Peru more seeing what the city has to offer. The old downtown area has a small china town and a shopping area. My friend and I went there and were overwhelmed by all the shops and people but I loved being in an area where Peruvians shop rather than the high class malls made for foreigners. 

Main plaza in downtown 

The pictures on this post are a little random but I just wanted to share some more sights of Lima!

Rafting with 5 Women

Last week was the start of Carnivale. Here they celebrate by throwing people in pools of water or throwing water balloons but the clubs also celebrate it as well. My friend and I joined in on the festivities on Thursday and went to a club named HELP. At midnight they started throwing out confetti and small bottles filled with paint and it turned into a battle on the dance floor. A small marching band of ten people or so were walking through the crowd at the same point. The paint war went on late into the night. I did wash my clothes but now my t-shirt looks like I tie-died it. It was awesome to join in on the festivities and here is a picture to prove that it was very colorful!

After the paint war.

After resting on Friday some of my friends and I went to Lunahuana a small town in the hills for rafting.  There was 5 girls and the guide in the boat so we started off on a bad note with not having enough man power. Everything was going swell until we hit a rock which flipped our boat over. Luckily 4 out of the 6 were able to climb onto the rock and get the boat back over and situated. While this was going on I was floating down the river with my friend Florie fighting the rapids.  Fortunately we had helmets and life vests on. After 7 minutes or so another boat ahead pulled me out of the water and even though I wanted to rest for a second I had to start paddling right away to go get Florie who was still flowing down the river.  It felt like hours because in that moment I was trying to comprehend what just happened but was also being told what to do by these random people in Spanish who also had a little 5 year old in the middle just sitting and staring at me. We were able to get Florie and finally get back to our own boat. As scary as it was we laughed it off right after. I am a little sick from taking in all the river water and Florie has some aches and pains as well but all in all it was a . . . memorable rafting experience. The rest of the weekend we enjoyed the sun and went down to the beach on Sunday for some surf and sun.

Sunrise outside our tent

Lil John say Whhaaaa

So I started work this week but lets be honest the most momentous part of my week has been buying a bike!!!

I still need a name! Any suggestions?

So here I am in Peru now riding my bike everywhere. It's a little different than Chico considering I'm dodging three different types of buses, numerous taxis, other automobiles, potholes, and construction sites that are blocked off with a couple of orange cones.  Using my bike though is much faster than the public transport so I can't complain.

Work has been easy so far. Just starting with 10 hours the first couple weeks because of summer but I have worked with all ages and personalities already.  Today one man I was working with is going to Fashion Week in Vancouver in a month so I told him to bring in some of his pictures and samples and we could help him build a portfolio in English. I am happy to be building relationships with my students in that way.

This past weekend was a whirlwind of partying. Two roommates had birthdays last week so Friday we decided to have a house party that rolled into going out dancing and getting home around 6 a.m. The next day was National Pisco Sour day, which consisted of multiple samples of Pisco Sours in the park.  Sunday was the same. I guess it was a national weekend rather than a day :) Besides the dancing and sampling I met more friends and enjoyed the beaches so can't really complain about too much yet.

Barranco Beaches about 10 minute walk from my house

The best part of my week so far though has been the reaction from a little boy last night after he saw three white people walking in the streets. I am used to the cat calls, whistles, stopping of traffic, kissing sounds, even some growls  (weird, I know!) but this little boy was with his mother and grandmother and turned to look at us and yelled "que! what!" (Picture this said in a high pitch exaggerated/ lil john type of way). This was the highlight of my night and if kept us laughing for some time.  Just the usual while living in Peru I guess.  

Thanks for all the support and positive vibes coming my way. It's awesome to see my life growing here in Peru!

Looking at the city set up on the cliffs

And Spanglish Was It's Name-O

Today marks two weeks that I have been living in Peru and things have turned around for the better! The first couple weeks were hard in realizing that this is nothing like study abroad (Partying for 4 months with other Americans where you travel and aren't challenged too much by the cultural or language differences). The realization that teaching at an international school requires more than a college diploma and some actual teaching experience . . who would have thought.  And coming to terms with the fact that the transit system here is crazy with buses going every which way and live entertainment with people preaching the good word, serenading us with their guitar, or people selling candy (which I should really consider considering we are in such close proximity and I doubt my breath always smells like roses).

Enough complaining now onto the good things!  I am starting work next Monday at an English School so it's pretty much tutoring but I will be working in an office and start with 12 hours. It's summer here r so people are out traveling.  Once the school year starts in March I will be working more hours.  I have been hanging out with some of my roommates here in Barranco and going to the beach or shopping and enjoying good company and great conversations. I also have been looking up club like groups online for dancing, running, reading, ect. Whatever it may be I am getting out there and meeting new people. And as always I am practicing my Spanish. People like to strike up conversations because I am a foreigner so it gives me more practice each day. I went to the beach yesterday and the lifeguard started talking to me and I know what you are thinking but sadly no. He did ask to show me around the city considering I know nothing about it but I told him I have friends who are doing that with me. The house I live in is a constant battle between English and Spanish where the conversation will start in Spanish and then switch over to English and someone will come into the room and depending on their strong language it could change back over.  For someone still learning it is entertaining and draining and sometimes I just mix all of it in one sentence.

Sorry I don't have any pictures this time but next time I will add some more. I'm considering getting an instagram but I don't know the first thing about it, don't even know how to spell it     (is that the correct way) so I will let you know if I have a change or heart.