I have survived my first week of Spanish classes at Peru...yay! It was very intimidating at first, considering we only have one 3 hour class every day, but the time seems to go pretty fast. I think the most difficult thing right now is the fact that you HAVE to stay focused for the entire 3 hour period. It is very hard to write down what a teacher is saying while they are saying it because you want to try and translate it and make sure you understand it. My brain usually feels pretty fried after class is over, which makes it very hard to come home and work on homework and online classes. But, I'm surviving!
I have ate some pretty awesome food here so far. The chicken here is so fantastic and flavorful! There are lots of different types of potatoes, and sweet potatoes are very popular here too. I had an awesome pork sandwich with onions and a sweet potato on the sandwich. It was so good! Also, Peruvians make the BEST smoothies. I have already decided that they are the number one food/drink item I will miss when I go back to the states. There are also a lot of really interesting fruits in the markets. Earlier this week, Fabricio and I went to the market and got some fruit for the apartment--one of them is in the picture below. It is called "granadilla" and it is muy delicioso! It reminds me of a pomegranate. The texture of the seeds like jello-like and then as you eat them it is crunchy. Very hard to explain, but very good.
We don't have class on Fridays, so a group of us students from Nebraska decided to go out on Thursday night to Miraflores. We packed 7 (yes, SEVEN) people in a taxi and had a very uncomfortable 15-20 minute drive, but it was a very fun place to go with lots of restaurants, shops, and bars. First, we stopped at this restaurant and ate some good ole' cheese pizza. Then, we walked around for a while to try to find a "disco" (club) to go to. We ran into a guy that told us a fun disco to go to and offered us a free "pisco" drink when we got there. Pisco is a very popular drink that is traditional here in Peru. Not my favorite, but it is ok. The club we went to was called "Sabor Peruana VIP" and we all had a blast dancing and hanging out! Below is a picture of Sam begging (yes...on his knees) Haley to dance with him. I think it is pretty known that our goal by the end of the trip is to get Haley to dance! Hopefully it will be a success. :)
Later that weekend me, Haley, Fabricio, and a bunch of his friends went to this exclusive club called "Bach." It was about 30 minutes away and you have to have your name on a list to get in. There had to have been nearly 1000 people waiting in line to get into this club at 11pm. That's when it opened! It was so crazy! After a little over an hour, we finally got in and had a great night dancing and talking with new Peruvian friends. I have blisters on my feet from dancing so much, so I will take that as a sign of a very fun night! On the way home from Bach (at 6am) we had the unfortunate opportunity to see a very bad car accident and a dead body on the side of the road. We couldn't see the entire body because it was covered up, but the feet were sticking out. To make matters worse, the man's intestines were scattered all over the road as well. Yiiikes, I keep trying to get this image out of my mind. So sad and so scary!
One more exciting thing that I've been doing in Peru is....driving! Fabricio has taken me on the roads a few times and showed me the ropes. (Even though there really aren't any rules.) I told myself I'd never in a million years want to drive in Lima, but I said "what the heck!" It isn't too bad, just a little stressful when traffic is high. (I don't think I've told my parents about this experience, so surprise mom and dad!) Crazy driving is definitely something I'm having to get used to here. Slowly but surely...
I am very excited that the students from Nebraska, and myself, are going hiking with our grammar teacher, Roberto, on Saturday! My first adventure in the nature of Peru! The only downer is the fact that we are leaving at 6am. Ahh! I haven't been up that early in forever (unless I am out on the weekends until that early in the morning, of course.) But I am still anxious to experience my first hiking adventure.
Maybe I should start updating my blog more than once a week so they don't blabber on and on and on...? Thanks to everyone who is keeping tabs on me and reading this! Hopefully my blogs in the future will be more organized and not so all-over-the-place. Adios!
You'd think we would be worried about Whit while she is driving, but probably more worried about the poor peruvians in her path #seriousroadrageissues
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