Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Goons be lurkin'!

This last weekend could possibly mark one of the best weekends I have had here yet. We went to Cuzco for the weekend and it was absolutely AWESOME! On Thursday morning I got up before the birds at 5:00 a.m. to meet 3 of my friends at 5:45 a.m. We took a taxi to the airport and waited for about 2 hours to depart. While we waited we played a game with Spanish words which was pretty legit and ate an unbelievably healthy breakfast at McDonald's. I was pretty scared that I was going to get sick from the altitude (11,200 ft) because all the Peruvians had been warning us that some people get so sick they are unable to make it to Machu Picchu. To help this they suggested we stayed hydrated so by golly I did just that!...Thank goodness for closet sized bathrooms on the airplane! Once we arrived in Cuzco we took our bus to our super cute hotel and they provided us with this disgusting tea that is suppose to help you acclimate to the altitude. It tasted like a cup of liquid fish. I was going to gag it all down but then I decided that was dumb so I just drank about 5 horrifying sips. We then had about an hour to nap and relax before our tours began.
That day we went to an old Spanish convent which was built over Incan ruins. We also went to the Cuzco cathedral..it was soo pretty! After the tours we scouted out a little pizza place, ate, and afterwards a few of us stayed around the plaza de armas to look at the little shops. We knew it was dangerous and we needed to watch out for our bags but it definitely took a turn for reality. I walked across this little street to another shop and the lady there told me how dangerous it was and that we needed to be careful because she saw some man trying to pry his grimy little thief hands into one of my friends' purse. We all took her advice to be careful seriously, put our purses on under our sweatshirts, and went on our merry little way. When we were walking back to the hotel some girl with paint in her hair bumped into my friend Emily and got real mad at Emily. She was doin some serious creepin after that. Like she was walking right by Emily, at the same pace, with the same strides, and when Emily stopped so did this girl. We thought she was really freaky but we kept walking and eventually lost her. When we were almost to our hotel we stopped at a little market to get some snacks for the next day and sure enough the freaky girl with the paint in her hair showed up and was doing some more creepin. Some other students in our group showed up to the market and we told them about this girl and that is when we came up with our code. Every time someone was doing some major creepin' we would warn each other by simply saying "Goons be lurkin' yo!" This was perfect because even if someone knew English as their second language there is no way they would know what we were talking about. One of the girls in my group didn't hear the freak alert and was not taking the proper precautions for a creeper. She was paying for her snacks and had her wallet in her hand with her purse wide open. I saw paint hair girl eyeing her purse so we all started yellin "GOONS BE LURKIN, GOONS BE LURKIN!!!!" But my friend was oblivious and she leaned down to pick something up and her purse swung out from her body. This is when paint girl tried to make her move. She was swoopin in and moving her hand toward my friend's purse so I went over there and stepped between my friend and freak girl..at this time my friend stood back up which caused her purse to come back close to her body so Paint girl glared at us all and left the scene. All I have to say about this situation is GOONS BE LURKIN YO!
The next day we got up at 7 a.m. ate some breakfast and headed out for our tours. We went to some old Incan ruins and drove through many Quechua communities. We ended the day at an old Incan fortress. It was pretty tall and we climbed what seemed like 1,000 steps! I always knew I was a lazy pile, but dang I was tired climbing those things! That night, some friends and I scouted out a Bembo's (Peru's version of McDonald's) and ate some dinner then headed to bed.
The next morning my alarm went off at 3 am. Yep folks, 3 a.m. as in the middle of the night!! We got ready and headed to the bus at 4 a.m. One might think we would be bitter about having to get up at such an early time but nope...we were ecstatic because Machu Picchu was on the agenda!!!!!!!!!! One of the seven wonders of the world! It was soooo awesome! But, anyway..we took a two hour bus ride, then hopped on a train that took us close to the little town "Aguas Calientes" which is at the foot of the mountains. Once we got to Aguas Calientes we took yet another bus ride for 20 minutes which took us up the mountain to Machu Picchu. It was the prettiest bus ride I have ever taken! Once we got up there we met our guide and started the tour. We were walking and once we took the first corner, I looked up and there it was, in front of me was Machu Picchu. I thought I was going to die..it was sooooo awesome!!!!!! I can't explain how incredible it was! I have uploaded pictures but they do not even do that place justice. After our guided tour a group of us headed on a path to an old Incan bridge. It was like hiking through the rain forest! (I don't know what hiking through a rainforest is like but I imagine!) After that hike, we were all so exhausted so we took an ice cream break. Some people headed back to Aguas Calientes but I stayed with a group and we climbed a mountain to Sun Gate. Yep, you read that right...WE CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN! Now don't interpret the word climb as actually climbing...there was a path! But it took us an hour to get to the top and the view was simply amazing! Once we finished that feat, we joined the rest of the group in Aguas Calientes and hopped on the train to head back. I was sooo tired from the day so I slept on the train and bus because once we got back we were all going to head to a disco. I was really having a hard time deciding if I should go to the disco because I was exhausted and I was on the earliest flight the next day. But, my crazy side won the battle and I hopped on board to go to the discos because every Peruvian had told me the discos in Cuzco are amazing and I figured there was a huge chance that was the only time I'd be in Cuzco.
We got back from the discos at about 3 am and I had to get up at 5 am because my bus to the airport was scheduled to leave at 6 am. Do you think I woke up at 5? NOPE! I woke up at 5:53 and panic sunk in! I flung myself out of my bed and was like "EMILY!!!! WE HAVE 7 MINUTES UNTIL OUR BUS LEAVESSSSSSS!!!!"  We ran around and threw everything in our bags practically jumped down the steps to the first floor of the hotel and made it to the bus on time.
I made it  back to my "home" in Lima and have been studying like crazy because this is our mid-terms week. Every day I either have a paper due or a test. It is crazy tough because it is all in Spanish. In fact, I have an oral Spanish test in one hour so on that note I am going to end this blog. 
The liquid fish they call tea. My smile is a lie :P it was disgusting!

Roommates for the weekend! 

inside the convent

The cathedral in Cuzco

The fountain in La Plaza de Armas de Cuzco

At the Incan Ruins...just a tad chilly!

The old Incan Fortress

Boarding the train

The city of Aguas Calientes

My first view of Machu Picchu!!!!!

Another view of Machu Picchu

Our victory picture after climbing the mountain

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

How many donuts are in a cup of juice?


With our picarones AND chicha morada 
Even though my Spanish is growing and growing, I will never completely rid myself of mistakes that make for awkward situations! This last Friday night Derek, Laura, Mary, and I took a taxi to Parque de Kennedy to walk around, look at the cats that roam there and try some picarones (Peruvian donuts). We got to the little street stand that sells picarones and started to look at the menu. The menu listed different combinations that you could get and one was called "chicha" and it was 1.50 soles. Chicha Morada is the typical drink in Peru. It is a purple juice of some fruit. We all thought that "chicha" was just them trying to be cute when naming a specific size for a plate of picarones. Because none of us were very hungry (we had just downed like a million pancakes that we made at my house) we were going to split a plate. So I went up to the lady and said "Cuantos picarones hay en una chicha? (How many donuts are there in a glass of juice?)" The lady then looked at us weird and told the man who was cooking that we wanted a "chicha". We waited about 3 minutes and then the lady handed us a plate of six picarones and a glass of chicha morada and said 5.50 soles por favor. We all looked at each other and were like "what in the world??" But then after like 5 seconds of complete confusion it clicked. "ooohhhhhhhh it was 1.50 extra soles to have a cup of chica morada with your plate of picarones!!!" We all felt real stupid, paid the 5.50 soles,
and ate our picarones with our chicha. 



Almost the whole group on top of one of the towers
This weekend we also had a field trip for our grammar class. We went to Felipe Real which is an old fort here in Lima. It was a lot of fun! We loaded a bus at 9 am, drank some Coca-Cola that they provided, and drove for 40 minutes to get there. Once we arrived, we took a tour of the towers and different rooms inside. In one room there was a "statue" of a pirate but after about 2 minutes he jumped out and scared the ba-jeebies out of us all. He then lined us up and went around asking our names and acting out his prepared skit. I'm still not really sure what the point of him was, but he was funny none the less! After the tour, if we wanted, we could stay with our teacher and eat at a fish joint. I hate fish, but decided to be adventurous and go for it. The fish place was closed so we ended up at a little place across the street. I had some not so good chicken and everyone else had some not so good seafood but I am definitely glad I went because it was fun to get to know our professor outside of class. After we ate, we walked to a beach, ate some ice cream, then found a bus stop to catch a combi back home. The whole time, our professor kept telling us that we were in a not so good area and needed to stay together. Once we got on the combi he told us in English (to make sure we all fully understood) "Remember how I told you it was dangerous here? Well this district is really dangerous, please shut your windows" This just reminded me that I really don't know what I would do sometimes without the Peruvians. How in the world would I make it around this city without being killed or mugged?! Needless to say though, we all made it back safely.

Also on our field I met Taylor Lautner!!! Well, not really. BUT while we were eating lunch some friends of mine and I realized that one of the guys that came with our professor looked like a Peruvian Taylor Lautner! Sooo, I asked him for a photo. 
Taylor Lautner!

 
My friend Derek has a host sister who has a boyfriend who lives in the “country” of Peru and we went to his house on Sunday. They call it the country but really it is not the country at all! It is most definitely a city! There were stores, houses, taxis, everything! We played soccer, volleyball, swam in the pool, and ate some chicken for lunch. We also told jokes with the family. Many English jokes do not make sense in Spanish! Especially knock, knock jokes. It was hilarious because we would tell a joke and they would all have puzzled looks on their faces and be like “QUE?!” Don’t worry though, it wasn’t just them who were puzzled…some of their jokes took a while to click for us as well.

This week will be a “short” one. We only have classes Monday-Wednesday because Thursday morning we fly out of Lima and head to Cusco!!! We are going to see Macchu Picchu this weekend and I could not be more excited! I am quite scared though that I will get altitude sickness. I have heard from multiple sources that the altitude can affect people so much that they sometimes puke and are too sick to make it to Macchu Picchu. However, if I get sick, I do not care if I have to crawl…I WILL get myself up to Macchu Picchu!!!! 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Peanut Butter

Today is my 39th day in Peru..but who's counting?! Since it has been over a month, things here are beginning to become normal and "everyday" life sort of things. For example, the danger I encounter when crossing the streets is no longer weird for me! I have learned to just do as the Peruvians do...find a small little gap, and saunter  across the street like you own the place. When I come back to Nebraska actually waiting for a light to change, and using a crosswalk will be soo strange! I have also formed some sort of structure to my days. Mondays I head to campus around 11 am to practice grammar with Kathy and I stay there for lunch and class. Tuesdays I help teach in an English class from 10am-12pm so I then eat lunch and stay on campus till after class. On Wednesday's and Thursday's my mornings are free and I go to class from 3pm-6pm. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are "free" all day but we usually fill them to the brim with exciting activities!

This past Friday some friends of mine and I went swimming, played tennis, and of course ate some Pizza Hut. (Where else would we choose when American food is an option??) Saturday we went to the Indian Market in the morning and bought some traditional gifts for our families. It was so much fun because there you can barter and see how low you can get the price. At first, we were all shy but soon we were owning it! Sunday, I hung out at home, did some homework, and went to the mall and movies with Fabricio and his girlfriend. The movie was in English with Spanish subtitles so it was quite nifty for me! How strange though! If I was watching a movie at the theater in the US I would not want to pay to read! I would want them to dub that thing with English! 

At the Indian Market
Derek, Laura, Mary, and I

Yesterday, was my friend Derek's birthday and Mary had coordinated with his family to throw him a surprise birthday party. After class, Mary, Laura, and I stayed with Derek and distracted him while the rest of the students walked to his house. That morning his host parents told him he could bring a few friends over, so we walked with Derek after some time had passed. On the walk there my phone began to ring and it was a girl in the other group.."Nicki, we don't know Derek's house number, we're on the street but can't remember which one it is." I couldn't remember either and neither did Laura or Mary! How were we going to find out without completely giving it away!? Well luckily, props go to Mary for this one, she played dumb and started a "conversation" about how she doesn't understand the numbering system of the houses here and proceeded to ask Derek what his house number was. I then texted it to the other group and we walked realllyyyy slow as to give them more time. We got to the house and his parents showed us to the room and everyone yelled "surprise!!" It was a great party. His family is sooo nice! They had pizza, hamburgers, cake, cookies, and other sweets there for everyone. 

Derek's Birthday Party
Now to tie in the title of this blog. PEANUT BUTTER. I cannot express how much I miss peanut butter! Last semester I would eat peanut butter toast all the time for a snack and it was more than delicious. The first time I went to the grocery store here I scouted some out but to my disappointment it was like over 20 soles for a dinky little jar! That is like $10! So I have suffered without it. I had kinda forgotten how much I miss it until this Saturday I went to my friend Mary's house and we had a snack. Earlier this month her loving parents (hint , hint mom) sent her a package filled with American goodies and among them was peanut butter. She asked if I would like some bread with peanut butter and her next question was even more exciting. "Nicki, we have a toaster, would you like to toast it??" She could not have asked a better question! I ate two pieces of PEANUT BUTTER TOAST that night and like 10 crackers with peanut butter on them. I have not tasted something so delicious in well...39 days! 

Monday, February 6, 2012

A whole month already?!

Today is February 6th which means I have been living in Peru for exactly one month! How crazy is that!? I cannot believe it! If someone told me that just yesterday I was packing my bags and freaking a leak because I was leaving for Peru, I would believe them. It feels as if I have hardly been here! But at the same time when I think about all that I have experienced and all that I have gone through it feels like I have been here my whole life! So many things are different here than in the US it is just crazy! I have learned to adjust, adjust, and adjust some more! Below is a list of things that are either strange or took some getting used to here in my first month.

1. Toilet Paper!!! You cannot flush the toilet paper here..it goes in a trash can. 
2. The milk in the grocery store is not refrigerated...Can't believe they're allowed to call it milk! There is no way that stuff is real! However, it does taste pretty decent! 
3. The voltage for electronics is really high as well. On my first day I tried to use my hair dryer and it started making this crazy sound and smoke started coming out so I quickly shut it off and it has been collecting dust in my drawer ever since! Now whenever I want to dry my bangs to straighten them (which is every day) I open my window and stick my head out and let them dry in the wind while soaking up the scenery.
4.  The cars are like a video game!  My family told me they have driver’s tests here but something tells me not to believe them! Maybe I have doubts because stop signs are only to enhance the scenery, painted lines are invisible, and blinkers either don’t exist or are on as long as the car is.
5. The language was, and still is, obviously a big adjustment! I knew I was going to need to speak Spanish while I was here but it’s hard to even fathom just how many words you do not learn in a classroom setting! Especially at the beginning, I found myself wanting to say things or tell stories but I didn’t have the correct words to do so! I am continually getting better at working my way around words I do not know and finding ways to tell my stories. Also, by the end of this experience, I shall be the champion of charades!  
6. Table manners?! Everyone here is sooo polite at the table it is unreal! Before this trip I would have never put a knife on the table for a bowl of rice with pieces of chicken in it. But, here , by golly, you use a knife with literally everything! Fabricio gave me a lesson on how to use a knife because boy do I struggle! While they are cutting their food so neatly I am over there digging and flinging that thing around trying to pry off a manageable piece of meat. Also, what really through me off guard is that here French fries are not finger food! They eat them with forks!
7. Etc. etc. etc…there were so many adjustments, it would take days to type them all out!  

This past week was great! Classes are going well and I still really enjoy helping in an English classroom. On Thursday, a group of friends and I went to the casino. That’s right folks, I gambled at the mere age of 19! I felt so old sitting there on a stool in front of a slot machine! (I had no idea how to play so I just sat there and aimlessly pressed buttons) But! I won one whole sol! That is equivalent to about 40 cents…better than nothing! On Friday night, we made some French toast for some people we met here because French toast does not exist in Peruvian cuisine. What a shame! On Saturday morning, some friends and I made pancakes for my family, got a pedicure, and had a movie night. And what an adventure Sunday was! Raul took a group of us to the center of Lima to see the catacombs and attend a mass in a gorgeous church. The catacombs were…a little creepy! We went to the basement of the church and walked in tunnels and on the sides of us were huge wells filled with real human bones and skulls. There are over 25,000 skeletons in there. After the catacombs we attended mass and walked around La Plaza de Armas. What a good day to go because there was a festival going on with a parade of traditional dancers. We were able to take photos with many of the groups! We also got a tour of the Municipal Palace in of Lima and did a little shopping.
Gambling tokens!


FRENCH TOAST


posing with a group of dancers


The Municipal Palace of Lima


La Plaza de Armas

This week will be busy as well! We are starting English conversation tables with some UPC students to help them improve their English. I am so excited to get started on this! Also, on Wednesday we have our first oral exam for our conversation class. For this, we have to memorize a tongue twister in Spanish and pronounce it correctly. This is definitely a challenge! I can’t even do tongue twisters in English! I am not sure what the plans for next weekend will be but I am sure it will be packed like the rest have been.