UPDATES

Holy crap, I don't remember the last time I sat down and wrote in this blog. A lot has happened in the past two weeks and it has honestly been pretty rough to say the least. I don't really have any pictures to share with you, and I don't have much to say about the events that have taken place in the last few weeks, so here it goes.

For starters, UNK gave us the no-go on our trip to Macchu Pichu. I was really hoping that this blog post would be chalked full of beautiful pictures and experiences to share with everyone, but I guess I will have to save it for another time. There has been a kidnapping warning that went out to all American travelers through the Embassy here in Peru and they advised that it isn't safe to travel to Cusco and the area until after February. So, unfortunately we had to cancel. We are all hoping and praying that we can reschedule it for little or no cost during the month of April..so I will update on this situation when I know more later in the month! 

To make matters even worse, my debit card number somehow got hacked, so when I tried to get money with my card through the ATM, it ATE my card and left me with nothing. So, I had no cash and no credit card that allows cash withdrawal. And I am in South America. Ahh. Luckily I have another card coming in the mail hopefully soon, and a friend had some money to spare that I could borrow from them until I have a card of my own. Thank God! 

Another big even that occurred this last week was that I decided to move host families. I very much enjoyed my time living with Fabricio, but I found that living with two men in their late twenties and early thirties was not so easy for a 20 year old girl like me. It was not an easy decision to make, and it was a struggle living out of bags for almost a week, but what I am about to describe about my new home life will definitely prove that it was worth the trouble.

I talked with Cynthia in the International Office and she helped me find another family that possibly wanted to be my new host. We visited them after I had class on Wednesday and I instantly fell in love with the house and the people who could potentially be my new family. I was excited to hear that they accepted me into their home and I just recently moved in this Sunday. Besides the fact that I have an awesome mom, dad, and brother here....I think my favorite part has been the AIR CONDITIONING! I feel so spoiled. I am so very thankful to the Patrucco's for taking me in at such late notice and for treating me like one of the family after being in the house for the first 20 minutes. I've only been here for 3 days and I've been served some of the best meals I've tasted in Peru. I go to bed at night now finally feeling like I have a home and I belong somewhere. Sometimes I get teary because I can finally be at peace and have the consistency of home life here in Peru.

One fun thing that happened yesterday was the birthday celebration for my new Peruvian brother, Iván. He turned 20 yesterday, so there was a big supper with lots of family members that lasted from about 8 until midnight. It was so fun to meet everybody and experience some amazing Peruvian food. I think I'm going to have to go on a run or two this week to make up for the amount of food I ate yesterday! 

This new family life I've experienced this week has really helped sooth the homesickness that has become worse since these issues have arose. I miss my puppies, my boyfriend, my family, and my friends so much it hurts. These last few weeks were really rough for me, especially without all of those wonderful people here physically to support me. However, I can't thank all of my friends here that have lent a hand. Whether is was lending me money, giving me a place to stay, or simply asking me how I was holding up, I will forever appreciate it. I have gained some great friends here in Peru, both from Nebraska and Lima as well. Everyone has been so willing to help and support me, no matter what it was that I needed. 

This week is pretty packed with exams, homework, and lots of tasks to do for my two online classes. So, this is why my blog post is pretty straight and to the point. On that note, I better go finish up my studying for my literature exam. Adios!

Mi Aventura a Arequipa!

Well, a LOT has happened since I last updated this blog. Nothing too exciting happened during the week. But, this weekend was such a blast! Me and 8 of my classmates from Nebraska journeyed to the beautiful Colca Valley near the city of Arequipa!

Our plane left on Friday morning bright and early at 6:00am. The problem is, we (thought we lived) live close to an hour away from the airport and we wanted to be there within at least 1.5 or 2 hours early. To make matters worse, our professor, Marta from UNK came down with a terrible case of food poisoning on Thursday evening, so she was unable to make the trip with us. We were so bummed for her! But, we met with Marta before we left and of course she said the show must go on. After some rearranging, we all met at UPC at 2:45am...some of us with only an hour or less of sleep. But, we were off!

We arrived at the airport in Arequipa at 7:30am and had about a 2 hour wait for our guide to pick us up.  Gonzalo picked us up and helped us carry our luggage to the bus as we met the other passengers from Peru and Chile who joined us on the journey. Colca Valley is about a good 3 hours or more from Arequipa, so we had a long day ahead of us. To top it all off, we were driving up into the mountains at a very high altitude. Needless to say, after the first hour or so of driving many of us were already feeling sick. Our first stop was at a little store with a restroom and people selling homemade goods. Here, we also tried mate de coca, which is pretty much hot tea with coca leaves in it. (tasted like green tea to me) It is supposed to help cure the symptoms of altitude sickness and make you feel better. Thankfully it helped for a while, but the trip kept getting higher and higher. After a while, the tea wore off and we were all ready to get off of that dang bus!

After we arrived at our hotel in Chivay (in Colca Valley) we took a short siesta and got ready to head to the hot springs with the group. The pool looked really dirty, but it was very relaxing...as it was natural, hot water being filtered into the area. After the hot springs, we got ready and ate supper with the rest of the group.


We went to a nice little restaurant that had live entertainment for us. There were four men singing and playing instruments, and every once in a while there were traditional dances performed for us. During a few of the songs, the dancers would pick people out of the audience to come up and dance with them. Of course, I was the lucky one.


The dance I was talked into doing was a very odd one. It involved a piece of fruit being carried around by one dancer and the other dancer chasing after it. Once they receive the fruit they fall to the floor because it was apparently poisonous. In order to wake up the poisoned dancer, the other takes a whip-like rope and hits the unconscious dancer's legs with it. After finally awakening the sick dancer (the woman), the male dancer throws the female dancer over his shoulder and carries her away. Of course, when I was asked to come up and dance I got to reenact this. Yes, I was whipped fairly roughly on my legs and yes I was thrown over a dancer's shoulders like a sack of potatoes and carried away. It was a great time.

The next day, we woke up and began exploring Colca Valley very early around 6:30am. We stopped at many different view points and got some great pictures. (Check Facebook to see more!) Unfortunately the later it got, the cloudier it got so after a while we didn't have the best view. This was especially disappointing when we got to "el cruce de condor" where we were supposed to have a good chance of seeing condors. When I say it was cloudy...I mean we were literally IN the clouds. It was so weird. Luckily, we did see a few condors but they were so far away that it didn't really seem to affect me. I am, however, glad that this was really the only disappointing factor of the tour.

After touring more of Colca Valley, we returned to Arequipa and found our next hotel, which was really like a bed and breakfast. It was very, very nice and it had a full kitchen and living room that we were allowed to use whenever we wanted. Since we ended up spending more money on food during the tour than we thought, we decided to hit up the local grocery store and fix up a good old' supper of mac and cheese with ham sandwiches and fresh fruit. It was so delicious and we had a good time making it together! This will always be a special memory for me when I think about the trip.

One pretty scary thing we found out when we were traveling in Arequipa was the fact that there were about 18 deaths in Arequipa due to the insane amount of rain. Apparently this day was the most rain that they had ever had! We didn't see much of the destruction or flooding, but some of us had host parents and Peruvian friends calling/texting us to make sure we were safe. We had no idea rain could be so deadly!

After eating, we played cards and hung out together. Then, we decided that we wanted to go out downtown and see what the discos were like in Arequipa. We had a blast and danced until we were exhausted! We were all ready to go home the next day, but it was pretty hard to leave such a beautiful place!

This week has been pretty busy with homework for classes here and for my online classes, but nothing too interesting has been happening so far. I am really excited to say that next weekend (Feb 21st) I will be heading to Cusco to see Machu Picchu! I am so ready to go and I can hardly wait! Thanks again to everyone reading this and keeping tabs on what I'm up to. Homesickness has definitely started kicking in...especially when February rolled around. But, I am loving my time here and I can't believe how fast time has flown.

Hasta luego!

Time Flies...

I can't believe that I am almost a 3rd of the way done with studying abroad! Don't get me wrong, I am more than excited to go home and kiss my puppies and see my family and friends, but thinking about leaving behind all of these wonderful people I've met already brings tears to my eyes. I've even had dreams about it...so crazy.

Anyway, last week it seems as if I was buried under a mountain of homework. After the weekend, I feel as if I have somewhat recovered from that overload, but looking at my planner and to-do list it seems like this week won't be much different. One fun part of my week was making spaghetti with Fabricio! He recently accepted a new job, so we decided to celebrate and cook together. It was really good! Nothing special, but we added a few spices that made it Peruvian spaghetti in my eyes.

On Thursday, I went with some friends to TGI Fridays and we had some awesome "American" food. (I put this in parenthesis because I am told that Peruvians are also considered "Americans", so I suppose  "North American" food would be more accurate) One cool thing we saw here was their birthday celebrations. They don't mess around with the free piece of cake and ice cream here, oh no. If it is your birthday, the servers come out and present you with a shot of what I'm assuming is tequila. Then they play drums and tambourines and sing a song, in which you are required to dance to in front of everybody. It was so fun to watch!

On Friday, I had a pretty lazy day. I went with a few friends to the mall and FINALLY found a personal fan for my room. Now, I don't have to sleep with my window open and worry about hearing car alarms, honking, and getting bit by bugs at all hours of the night. :) Around 6:30 Haley, Luke, Sam, and I met some Peruvian girls for the evening and they took us to Barranco.  It is a little area about 20-30 minutes away from the university with lots of old buildings and restaurants...and it is right along the beach, too! I was so happy to finally become within walking distance of putting my feet in that ocean water!  After much walking and walking and walking, we were all ready to go home and get some sleep.

We had a great time walking around Barranco and looking at some popular sites in the city, such as the bridge called "Suspiro." I don't know much about it, but Claudia and Joseline (our Peruvian guides) told us that it is a very romantic spot and on Valentine's day this place is packed with couples. Of course, we had to stop and take a quick picture at this romantic site. Haha :)

On Saturday, I had my first adventure surfing!! It was a blast! We left a little before 10am and finally returned home around 4 or 5pm. It was a long day, but so worth it. We rented a wet suit and a surf board, along with a short lesson for close to $10. I couldn't believe how cheap it was. We didn't even have a time limit!

 We had a terrible time trying to get me into my wetsuit! It took two people plus myself to finally jump into that thing!  Every time I think about it, I laugh out loud because Sam and David hand to stand on each side of me and lift up my suit--suspending me into the air like they were trying to give me a wedgie. Haha :)  I wish I could say that I was  a pro and I rode every wave that came my way, but that would be a lie. I hope to try it again sometime before I leave because it was a great time!  Next time, however, I will make sure to put sunscreen on my face, because I have the worst sunburn I've ever had in my life on my face. It is already starting to blister and I am radiating heat 27/7. 

Thanks to Haley for being a trooper and watching us surf all afternoon. And of course, for taking some pictures!












Sunday pretty much consisted of napping and homework for me. I did, however take a break late in the afternoon to eat lunch with my friend, Hector, and his family at this really nice restaurant on the beach called "Hornero". The food was outstanding, and the view was even better. I was really nervous to go because I was to meet his entire family...but they were very welcoming and we had a great time trying to communicate with each other.

After lunch, I watched the first half of the Peru vs. Chile soccer game, and then decided I needed to take a siesta before I could start anymore homework. Quite a few of my friends got together to watch the Superbowl at a casino downtown, but I decided that I better finish my homework instead. It was a hard decision to make, because I really wanted to watch Beyonce at the half time show. That was really the only reason I wanted to watch the game. (Because the Packers weren't playing, of course.) So, I caught up on some homework and got to bed at a decent time for once.

Today began week 5 of classes at UPC. Time is flying so fast, and I'm having mixed emotions about it, but trying not to worry about time and think more about all of the adventures that are in store for me the next few months. We are in the process of planning trips to Iquitos (the Amazon) as well as Cusco and Ica. I am really excited because this weekend I am flying with some of my classmates to Arequipa for the weekend. We are going on a tour at Colca Valley and it should be a great time. Hopefully my next blog will have even more beautiful pictures to share with you all!

Semana Cuatro

It has been a crazy week! I have been so busy with homework and activities/trips I've taken with my class. It's been exhausting, but totally worth it! The rest of last week consisted of homework, homework, and more homework. And a little sleep, too. Haha :) With 2 online classes and 4 three-hour classes here in Peru, I am always busy doing something. On Friday, we took a trip as a class to Centro de Lima and visited La Iglesia de San Francisco. It was so beautiful! Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures on our tour inside, but we managed to take a few in front of the beautiful architecture before we left. I also took a few pictures of other cool buildings we saw. It was VERY hot outside and most of us got pretty sunburned no matter how much sunscreen we put on. :(

When we arrived back home around 7 on Friday night, I finished some last minute homework and went to bed early to prepare for our trip to Matucana at 7:30am on Saturday. This trip was by far my favorite thing I've experienced in Peru the whole month I've been here. It was a very hard climb, as I am not in shape whatsoever, but the waterfall at the top of the mountain made it all worthwhile. Once again, it was very sunny and warm outside, so most of us got sunburned pretty bad again. We had a blast climbing up the mountain, through a "rock forest", and walking through the freezing cold stream of the waterfall. It was definitely a day that I will never forget. How many times do you get to say that you climbed a mountain to a waterfall in South America? Now I can officially say that I have and it is a memory I will cherish forever. We also got to meet the mayor who represents quite a few districts around Matucana. She gave each of us a book that talks about the history and culture of Matucana, so that was pretty awesome too! 

It looks like the rest of this week with consist of more homework and catching up on some sleep. Still trying to recover from the long hike this weekend too. It's been nice keeping myself busy because homesickness is definitely starting to kick in. Also, it doesn't help that EVERYONE has a dog here in Lima. And for those who don't have one, there are plenty of strays. Makes me miss my puppies like crazy! Also starting to miss my mommy and daddy like a little baby. (maybe my sister...only a little) ;) and of course my boy and all of my friends back home. The only disadvantage of having such a wonderful support system of friends and family...having to miss them all so much when I'm gone this long! Hoping this homesickness will start to wear-off after a while. 

Anywho, I better get ready to head to the university for my Advanced Grammar class. Thanks for checking in on me! ¡Chau!

¡Ay Dios Mio!

Well, I can't believe that I am almost done with my third week of classes in Peru! Last week, I woke up everyday and had to remind myself where I was. It was the weirdest feeling. I am now finally remembering that I am in another country! Sounds so strange, but true. I'm at that stage where I ask myself..."am I really studying in Lima, Peru right now?" What in the world am I doing here? But it isn't a bad or sad feeling. It's just hard for me to believe that this is actually happening! It is like a dream.

Along with the joys and fun I've had during this 3rd week in Peru has come an overload of homework. I have been staying up very late into the morning every night studying and writing and reading and trying to understand what will go on in class the next day. Sometimes it is enjoyable, while other times my head hurts so bad I want to smash it into the wall. Haha :) To make matters worse, we were having troubles with our internet at the apartment last weekend so I wasn't able to work on my homework for my two online classes. It was a nightmare trying to catch up with the assignments I missed, but I am finally back on track and the wifi is up and running smoothly. (Cross your fingers it will stay that way!)

It is kind-of hard for me to think all the way back to last Tuesday and update everyone on what I've experienced since then, so I will try my best. Here goes nothing: Classes went pretty smoothly last week. On Thursday evening, I went out with some friends to Miraflores at a discoteca and had a blast. Then on Friday it was EXTREMELY hot outside. But, besides me and Haley's best efforts, we couldn't find a place to swim! The pool at my apartment and our friend Sam's apartment both were closed for the day. Just our luck. :) Saturday, Haley and I went South of Lima with Fabricio and his friends to a discoteca and it was a lot of fun. We danced until our (my) feet hurt and spent most of Sunday sleeping and trying to catch up on some last minute homework. One memorable moment from Saturday/Sunday was the fact that there was somewhat of a chicken/rooster farm right next to our hotel room. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep do to the very loud, annoying noises of those dang chickens!

Monday, I unfortunately didn't make it to my class at 2pm. I have been dealing with a lot of stomach issues and was pretty miserable all day. But I did, however, HAVE to get some homework done, so I went to Starbucks so I could use their wifi. I'm pretty sure I'm the only "gringa" that goes to this Starbucks frequently, and I think they know I live with Fabio as well. They know my name is "Whitney" but they write it different on my cup every single time. This one was my personal favorite. :)

Monday evening, Haley and I went to TGI Friday's with Fabio and friends to celebrate our friend Hector's birthday. His birthday was actually on Tuesday, but in Peru it is common to celebrate the birthday at 9 or 10pm until midnight so you can sing happy birthday to your friend right as their birthday begins. We learned that this celebration was called "quema." It was so awesome to have some familiar food, as well!

Well, the rest of the week looks like it should be pretty eventful for me! On Friday, I am going with my classmates and our grammar teacher to downtown Lima for the day to sight-see and visit churches/museums/other fun stuff. Then, on Saturday we are going hiking at 7am (Yikes) with our grammar professor as well! I am so excited to finally be able to witness the beauty of the nature here in Peru. Should be a great weekend. On that note, better keep on keepin-on with my homework.  ¡Adios!

My First Week in Lima! (and then some)

I can't believe its been a week since I've updated my blog. It feels like so much has happened since then! I keep telling myself I should write things down after they happen so I can remember what to put in my blog, but I haven't followed through, so here it goes!

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!

Well, I'm here…and I'm alive! I survived my first crazy weekend in Lima and had a blast. It still hasn't sunk in that I am actually in Peru. It seems like it was only last week when I was getting my passport and filling out paperwork. I'm finally here…and it's like a dream!

First of all, the trip here was much more of a breeze than I thought. The only problem that I had was the fact that I am not a patient person. It seemed like it took forever to get my luggage! But, before I knew it, I met Fabricio and his friend Hector at the airport. They kissed me, handed me some beautiful yellow flowers and we were gone! 

We got back to the apartment and I was pretty tired, so I went to bed right away. The next day, Fabricio took me around the city and showed me how to get to the university. It is about a 5-10 walk so it isn't bad at all. 

After giving me the grand tour, Fabricio told me that we would be going to a party "a la playa" with his good friends Hector and Erick. It was a great time, but I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into! We left the apartment at 8ish and went to South Lima. There were lots of restaurants and shops, and quite a few bars/clubs as well. At about 1am, we went to the actual party at a really fun dance club. I was already yawning, and everyone laughed at me! They said it was too early to be tired…so I downed a couple of Red Bulls to wake up. I had absolutely NO idea that I would be up until 8:30am the next morning! Ahhh…I thought I was going to die. Aparently, this is a normal weekend in Lima. There were even people much older than me at the club, dancing their butts off all night long. Es muy loco!

Needless to say, Sunday was dedicated to sleep and getting ready for orientation on Monday. It was very nice and the campus is very beautiful. It isn't too big, either, so it is easy to get around. I have one class every day for 3 hours…except Fridays. Monday-Wednesday I go to class from 2-5 and Thursday is from 4-7. (Each day is a different class) Today we had our class with Marta Moorman (the professor from UNK that traveled with us) so it was nice to catch up with the other UNK students and share stories from our first adventures. We also decided to go to Jockey Plaza so some of us could shop and get cell phones. It was quite an adventure getting there, as it was my first ride on the crazy combis. 

Today I have my first real Spanish class at the university, and I am very nervous! It is a grammar class, and I have a feeling it isn't going to be easy. On that note, I better start mentally preparing myself for that! Adios!