So last night CIEE had another excursion for us. Doing possibly one of the most-touristy things in LIMA. A Mirabus tour of the city. It was a giant, red, double decker bus. And we sat on top. Since there was no way to avoid the stares and laughter of the limeños on the street, we decided to embrace it. Which included taking many pictures and waving to people as we passed by.
The first exciting sight was some Incan or maybe pre-Incan ruins. Pretty much just some dirt and rocks. Best part, listening to our tour guide's English explanations of what we were seeing. Best thing about the Incan ruins: they are open to the public from Wednesday to Monday. (strange way of saying closed on Tuesdays). Our first stop was at a park filled with different fountains.
We were able to get off the bus and walk around for an hour. It was pretty cool. There was this one fountain that was like a show, with music, lasers, lights and pictures being projected. It was actually amazing what they could do.
Some of the fountains you could run through and there was one that made like an arch walkway that you walked under. Then we got back on the bus and headed towards the center of Lima. Sadly it was getting dark, so picture-taking didn't go too well.
But I tried. Check out those wooden balconies. Pretty cool, huh? We then ended up at the Sheraton Hotel in Lima for a "coffee break" (called the same thing in Spanish, which I think is wicked funny). I had some orange juice and there were three little sandwiches. Yummy!! Then back on the bus to finish off the tour.
So then I got home safely and without any problems. Which is always an accomplishment. And I went to bed!! Woke up this morning and did a few errands with my host mom. Then I headed over to La Marina (one of the streets near the university) to meet up with some girls from my group at the Incan Market. Its a few buildings with little shops filled with all your typical Peruvian/Andean handicrafts and souvenirs. I mostly looked around and got some ideas for gifts for people. If you would like anything specific, let me know! I did end up getting a cute little change purse and a purse. Then we went to lunch at a restaurant called Sandwichs. Then I hopped on a micro and headed home, took a nap and tried to work out my class schedule. Then my host dad comes home and asks me "¿Vas a cenar? (Are you going to eat dinner?)" I said sí and he said "Pues vamos ahorita a una chifa para cenar (Ok, we're going right now to a chifa - peruvian chinese restaurant for dinner)". So that was yummy. Chicken and rice. So much rice. I had no idea that peruvians eat so much rice. Not only with chinese food, but with EVERYTHING. I probably have it at least once a day if not twice.
Monday is the first official day of classes at la Católica. The first week the international students can go to any classes just to get a taste and see if they like/can understand the professor. Then the following Monday (the 22nd) we actually register for classes and pray that the ones I want don't fill up before I can sign up. So it'll be a stressful next couple of weeks. But then I'll finally be able to settle into a routine and time will start flying! My host mom keeps telling me that once I've been here a month, the rest of the time will go by so quickly. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess thats alright, because I'll be coming back in the fall!
Tomorrow I'm going to go to church in Miraflores with my friend Laura. That'll be fun. Then I'll probably just lounge around in the afternoon and call the BBQ to talk with Dee and Emilio. =) Then I think in the evening I'm going to meet up with some christian girls from my program to hang out and probably have a time of prayer. I am so blessed to have found some christian friends here in the program. The pictures up there of me with other people are two of the girls - Amelia and Catalina (Caitlyn). Catalina was here last semester and became good friends with my friends Lauren and Kallee from Gordon. Small world.
And now, its time for bed.
So buenas noches (Señor Jesús).
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