Si no tenemos nada...

Its been a crazy and somewhat stressful week. Classes started at la Católica, but I still don't have a definite schedule, which is a bit frustrating for me. Those of you who know me really well know that I like to have things organized and all planned out. Not all the time, but with things involving school, thats how I like it. Fortunately I've had some experience with chaos and uncertainty through Mexico Outreach. So now it frustrates me, but its also oddly freeing to not have a set schedule. But it does make it hard to set up Skype dates. So good news is that I'll be registering for classes on Monday and then I'll finally be able to settle into a routine. That will be nice...

So I'm hoping to register for Musical Appreciation and Current Literature. I was able to get the music class to count for my fine arts credit for core at Gordon. Thank goodness. In the lit class we will be studying Peruvian poetry. Sounds pretty interesting to me. But the final grade is based off two grades - 40% on the Midterm and 60% on the final. Nothing else. So I'm either going to hit or miss. We'll find out. I've done some work with analyzing poetry before, in previous classes, so I'm fairly confident. But we'll see.

Thursday night I went out to dinner with some of my friends. We went to Pizza Hut. Now hold on, I know what you are thinking. Pizza Hut? Well let me tell you that it is a nice classy restaurant here in Lima. And pizza has never tasted so good. Well thats a lie, my mom's pizza is better (I'm not joking, my mom's pizza really is the best. Ask Jenna or Suse if you don't believe me).

So anyways, we had pizza and just sat around and talked for a while. Its nice to be able to just talk and joke in English. We are all having similar experiences and feelings of inadequacy. Its hard to be constantly surrounded by Spanish. My brain has to work double time just to understand people, so forget about trying to respond or contribute to a conversation. Sometimes I'm just tired and it feels like I don't even speak Spanish. They say that we have the speaking ability of like a 6 or 7 year old. Its hard to communicate and get your point across with such a limited vocabulary. I feel like people don't think I'm very interesting or funny because I can't convey that part of my personality. Hopefully it will get better. I'm sure it will, I just need to be patient and keep working at it.

Saturday CIEE took us on a tour of Villa el Salvador. Its one of the newer and poorer districts of Lima. What happens is that when people can't find anywhere to live, they move in and start inhabiting the areas around the city and start up their own districts. Villa el Salvador is 39 years old. It started with a bunch of people deciding to start building their homes in the middle of the desert. Their slogan or phrase was "Si no tenemos nada, lo haremos todo."

(If we don't have anything, we will make everything) They wanted to build a community, not just a place for people to sleep and then go and work in other parts of Lima. There is a very specific plan for the city, with parks, health centers, schools and sport centers spread evenly throughout. Its pretty cool to see, but there is still a lot of work to be done. And it also has its problems, including a growing gang population. Its a slow process because the people basically just took the land for themselves and are now trying to get titles for the land that they have been living on. Electricity is the first thing to come to a new area, but some places are still without running water. We visited one area called Deporte y Vida where I hope to be volunteering during the semester. This part is 16 years old and does not have running water. They have cisterns outside the houses and have to buy water every few days and it is very expensive. They are hoping to get water within the next few months. Here are some pictures of the area of Deporte y Vida:

Its pretty because its right on the coast. But see those big circle things near the bottom? Those are huge tanks of petroleum. Bad news. PetroPeru the oil company has a plant right next to Villa el Salvador and is polluting the air. There isn't much that the people can do because PetroPeru was there first and they just recently got titles to their land. But they are fighting. I hope that something gets done.

It looked similar to parts of Tijuana that I've seen. But this area here is a bit more developed and planned out. I will be volunteering with the center that works with the youth. I'll be helping out with basically anything, tutoring, crafts, games and just playing with the kids. I'm super excited to get to work with kids. I was thinking today of some fun songs to teach them. Have any suggestions? I'll probably uses some from my Mexico trips, like mono loco and boom chicka boom.

Today I was able to go to church with a few of my friends. Its so nice to be worshiping here in Lima knowing that at the same time, my church family is worshiping back in Peabody. Its a cool connection. The people are so welcoming and want us to come to the youth gathering on Saturday nights. I'll try to go soon. When I got home I ate a little something and then called the Rowley BBQ. I talked with Ben (for a few seconds), Dee and Emilio. I hadn't talked to Emilio since before I left for Mexico, so that was so great. It just makes me so happy inside that everything is going well there. Such an answer to prayer. I can't wait to go back this summer and visit. And eat cornbread and mashpot and swtpot FF and pulled pork. And impress Emilio with my Spanish skills. And see JimJimJimmyJimmyJim. It will be great!

But I've got a ways to go before then! And so much to do and experience. My friends and I are planning to go to Ica for a 4 day weekend during Holy Week. I'm super excited to travel. Next weekend, CIEE is taking us to Lunahuaná. Which from what I hear is wicked awesome. I'll let you know!!

My love to you all!!

I Wish I looked more Peruvian

So my mom would always take a picture of me on my first day of school, all the way through high school. So here's another one to add to the collection!

Today was the first day of classes at la Católica. Which means that all 20,000 students where on campus. Wow. Thats a whole lot of people!

I had two classes today, both through CIEE. First up was Peruvian Social Reality. The course seems like its going to be very interesting. We have 5 major topics that we are going to discuss. For each topic we have to do a blog entry, I'll put up the link to my blog for anyone who is interested. (It will be in Spanish, by the way) The topics are

1. Cultural Diversity in Peru

2. Race and Ethnicity

3. Poverty, Marginalization and Social Distances

4. Identity and National Image

5. Gender in Peru

Sounds pretty cool, right? I think so. In the afternoon I had Spanish class - Advanced Syntax and Composition. Doesn't sound quite as interesting. But its with the same professor from my 2 week intensive Spanish class, who I like very much as a professor. And its a small class (5 students) which is always nice. So tomorrow I'm going to attend my first direct enrollment class with other peruvian students. Scary. I'm going to go to Musical Appreciation. My friend Caitlyn said that it was a pretty easy class, which will be good for me. I don't want to completely overload myself. Then I'm going to go to an Anthropology class in the afternoon with Amelia. This week all the international students can go to whatever classes they want to kind of test them out, its like a trial period. Then next monday we have to choose and pray that the classes we want haven't already filled up.

So it was a bit strange for me to have so many students on campus, since I'm used to cute little Gordon College. The class sizes here aren't wicked large, so it's not so overwhelming all the time. But I definitely wish that I looked more Peruvian sometimes. But I don't. And there really isn't anything I can do about it. The other students may be staring at me because they can obviously tell I'm a foreigner, but I've decided to just let it go and not worry about it. I can't try to be something that I'm not, or in this case try not to be something that I am. Besides I'm hoping that the other students have some respect for us as exchange students. We're coming in here and don't fully know the language and are studying at the best university in all of Peru. Thats legitimate.

On another note, I had a great Sunday. I was able to go to church with some of my friends and I think I'll continue going to that church. There is also a youth group on Saturday nights that my friend Laura attends that I'll probably end up going to as well. After church on Sunday I took a micro over to the church where my peruvian family goes to mass on Sundays. I waited in a park behind the church that overlooked the ocean and took some pictures.

This part of Lima is called la costa verde (the green coast). There are some beaches, but they are mostly rocky. But people still go. There are also people surfing and parasailing. It was such a beautiful day yesterday as you can tell from the pictures. (Sorry to everyone back at home who is drowning in rain.) Then in the evening I met up with some of my christian friends in the group and we hung out in another park down by the ocean and watched the sunset.

These are the real colors. No photoshopping. Absolutely beautiful. And it makes me think of this song:

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful, you're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

"You're Beautiful" - Phil Wickham

Why yes, I am a tourist.

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).

So much Happiness

Last Saturday we had our first CIEE Cultural Excursion. And we went to the BEACH!!! YAY!!

I absolutely LOVE the ocean and I'm so glad that I am still close to it here in Lima, although its a different ocean from back home. But the effect is still the same, a day spent relaxing with friends, enjoying warm weather. A plus about the beaches here in Peru is that you can do some shopping while sitting in the sand. Vendors walk up and down the beach trying to sell you things. And its a wide array of things: bracelets, jewelry, clothing, wraps, ice cream, drinks, books, pirated music and DVDs, sunglasses. Its great, you just sit there relaxing and they come to you. My friends and I decided that its like online shopping, only better because you don't have to pay for shipping and handling. Although it can get a bit annoying when you really don't want to buy anything. If you show any bit of interest in their product, they keep pestering you for a bit. I was told many times by a lady that I was very pretty and that I should buy a pretty bracelet to match my pretty face. While I appreciated the compliment, I wasn't interested in what she was selling.

Being in the water was probably the best part of the day. The water was warm, way warmer than the Atlantic ever gets up in Gloucester during the summer. Usually up at home, I have to wait for my body to go numb so I just can't feel the frigidness of the water. But here, once I adjusted it was quite refreshing and relaxing. The water was wicked salty and I floated easier. There is just something that I really enjoy about swimming in the ocean. Its like being a part of something bigger than yourself, something that is so powerful and that you really have no control of. I like being able to just let go and float with the waves.

Here are some pictures

La playa el Silencio - now even though it looks cloudy, I still got sunburned. =(

A pelican

A fisherman coming back from a day of fishing

Me and my friend Amelia

So that was a SUPER day. Then this week was the second of my two-week intensive Spanish class. We focused this week on other Latin American countries and looked at their music and their literature. Lucky for me, I had already read most of the stories that we were reading in class, so that made homework a whole lot easier this week.

We read some Juan Rulfo, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, and Jorge Luis Borges. Who are really some of the best Latin American authors of all time. Then we checked out some música, Ranchero (Mexico), Tango (Argentina), Bolero (Cuba), Son Cubano (Cuba), Cumbia Colombiano (Colombia), Vallenato (Colombia). Best part of class today, when my prof told us that later on in the semester we would be analyzing some songs from a popular Colombian artist - JUANES. That easily made my day.

Other things that contributed to the overall happiness of the day:

Seeing a man shaving (with an electric razor) while driving today.

Calling home and talking to my Mom and Dad.

Having ice cream for dinner.

Calling and talking with Mrs. Dee.

Finding out that everything is going well at the BBQ.

Having someone today on campus apologize to me because he didn't speak Spanish very well.(Little did he know that I would have understood him if he spoke English)

Finding a really great song on my iTunes: "Melody" by Kate Earl (Check it out)

(This happened a few days ago, but...) My tattoo:

"And I know that I'm never alone

And I know that my heart is my home

And the music within makes me whole

A world that I built on my own"

-Melody by Kate Earl

Aren't you proud of me?

I am now relatively confident using public transportation to get to and from school. Anywhere else and I need help, but to and from la Católica, I've got it down.

So for those of you who aren't familiar with the public transportation in Lima, I'll fill you in.

There are two people working on the micro/combi, the driver and the cobrador (the guy/sometimes a lady) who stands in the doorway to let people on and off the bus. The cobrador is the one who is actually in charge. He tells the driver when to stop and pull over or when to go. He does this with hand signals out the window and by banging on the side of the bus. The cobrador is also the one who comes and collects money for the ride and gives you a small paper ticket. Whenever the micro/combi comes to a stop, no matter where, even at a stoplight, the cobrador yells out the names of the streets that his vehicle is going to pass through. So as long as you know what main street you are near, you can find one going there and tell the cobrador when you want to get off. To do that you have to say "bajo en la esquina" (I'm getting off at the corner) or "al paradero" (at the bus stop) or in the morning when I'm going to school "bajo en la católica". I'm pretty sure that I stick out like a sore thumb on the micro. But oh well. Thats just how it goes. My ride to school can take anywhere from 45 minutes when there is minimal traffic up to an hour and a half in the evening during rush hour. My ride costs 1.50 S./ (about 50 cents), although my peruvian mom says that it is 1.40 S./. I've argued with the cobrador once when he wanted to charge me 1.60 by telling him that I always pay 1.40 and he seemed upset with me. But I didn't have to give him any more money.

Now, being from Boston, I thought I was used to crazy drivers. But oh no. I think we spend the majority of the time in between lanes. They can cross three or four lanes of traffic in a matter of seconds and come within inches of other vehicles. Also, sometimes when there isn't a traffic light at an intersection, there is a person directing traffic with a whistle.

Que vida la mía

Ever have those moments where you realize how much you enjoy life? Little times throughout the day when you find yourself smiling for no apparent reason and the feeling that you are exactly where you're supposed to be.

Well thats what I've been feeling recently. Sure things aren't easy, I'm not fully adjusted, I miss home and would kill for some American BBQ food right now, but I LOVE my life.

Here are somethings down here in LIMA that make me smile:

Passing a BBQ restaurant everyday going to and from school.

The musical group that performed on my micro the other day.

Listening to Alfredo (my host father) laugh at his own jokes.

Seeing a kid walking down the street with a handful of rats and a rat tail haircut. (I'm pretty sure the rats were fake. But still, how random is that?)

The teatro that I went to with my family on Friday night.

Shopping at the beach.

Being able to prank call the BBQ all the way from PERU.

Picarones.

Dunkin Donuts in LIMA. No joke.

All these things make me terribly happy.

"Que vida la mía" (What a life is mine)

Tengo Familia

Complete craziness is probably the best way to describe my past few days.

Friday and Saturday were filled up with orientation powerpoints, driving through Lima, eating at really great restaurants and sampling typical Peruvian food, and walking around Miraflores (one of the prettiest and nicest districts in Lima). Then on Sunday morning we met our families!! We were all in the basement of a hotel conference center and they brought all us students in and had our families stand up and call us over. I was the first one to be called over to my family. So now I am a part of the Gomez family. The parents are Ruth and Alfredo. Also at the breakfast was my brother Mario (28 years old) and his girlfriend Maira. I have another brother who lives in the house as well. His name is Yuri. Unfortunately he is currently wicked sick with a bad fever, so I haven't talked with him much. After meeting our new families I had a bit to eat and then we all left with our families. So right away my parents took me to mass (Mass, I'm not really sure if it should be capitalized). It was interesting and I was introduced by my mother as "mi hija" (my daughter) to all her friends. Ruth is so sweet and welcoming. Alfredo has a funny sense of humor, a little similar to Uncle Steve. Unfortunately, I haven't quite grasped humor yet in Spanish, so I never quite know when he's joking or being serious. But I like him anyways.

So after mass, my mother gave me the option of either going home with my parents to settle in and just hang around the house for the afternoon or to go with Mario and Maira to a beach club that Maira's family is a member at. So I was feeling a bit unsure of myself and nervous, but I went for it and decided to spend the afternoon at the club.

Its sort of like a country club type thing, there is a pool and small restaurants and a beach area at the ocean. Maira's family either rented or owns (or something) a bungalo (at least thats what she called it), like a small little apartment in the club. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, but we went in the pool anyways. The water was wicked warm, like a bath. My fingers got a bit wrinkly. After lounging in and near the pool we decided to get something to eat. Mario and Maira decided ordered some of their favorites for me to try. I tried some mussel dish (I know, I know. I'm being crazy adventurous aren't I?) where there was onions, the mussle, maybe peppers and lots of lime juice in the mussle shell. Its called choros a la chalaca. Here are some images from google:

Then next was ceviche. Basically the dish of Peru. Raw fish cooked in lime juice. So delicious!!

There it is. With sweet potatoes and corn. Yum!!

After the club, Maira's uncle drove us back home. We got here around 8:30 or something. I wasn't very hungry after trying all that new food so I just unpacked my room and got settled in. And also had a few conferences and lessons with my mom about how things work in the house.

Then today (Monday) was my first day of classes. I have Spanish class (I placed into the highest level, by the way) for six hours every day for the next two weeks. Oh my goodness. So much Spanish. But my professor is really great and knows how to make things interesting. I already have a small homework assignment. I need to give a presentation on Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon either on Wednesday or Thursday and then hand in a written essay about it. Its been a while since I've had homework. We'll see how it goes. So I should probably get started on that.

I'll fill you in on the whole public transportation thing later. Because to be honest, I still haven't gotten it quite figured out yet.