La Tercera Semana en Perú

¡Buenas tardes!

This past weekend was a lot of fun and a lot of dancing! On Friday evening we went to La Parque de la Reserva, which is a newly constructed park with 13 amazing water fountains, lights, and music. It was cool to see all the different fountains, and you could walk inside some of them! After the park we went to a Chifa, which is a Peruvian Chinese restaurant, for dinner with Evelyn and our friend Margarita. Margarita is going to be the new Peruvian foreign language assistant at Holy Cross for this upcoming school year. Later that night we went to a discoteca in San Isidro with Margarita, Evelyn's cousin Juan, and Juan’s friends. It was fun to learn some dances to music such as salsa, reggaeton, and merengue. On Saturday night we met up with Jenny, Fernando, and some of Fernando’s friends in their apartment before going out in Miraflores. We spent the day on Sunday resting, doing a little homework, and having lunch with the family and grandchildren.

Una Fuente en La Parque de la Reserva

Una Fuente en La Parque de la Reserva

On Monday we had class again and drove through el centro de Lima and all the way up a very steep hill to get to Cerro San Cristóbal. Cerro San Cristóbal is a cross at the top of one of the highest hills in Lima, and on a clear day you are supposed to be able to see all of Lima. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the top of the hill we were surrounded by fog and clouds and could barely see in front of us! For a minute or two some of the fog went away and we were able to snap a few photos of the small villages right below on the outskirts of Lima. We all decided that we have to return to this point sometime in Peru’s summer, when we will hopefully be able to get a better view! That night we went to a show in Miraflores with Margarita called La Ciudad Suena. It was a musical performance without ordinary instruments, kind of like the Peruvian version of “Stomp”. It portrayed a few different typical scenes of life in Lima, such as a soccer game, a combi ride, and a bar. We all really enjoyed the show.

El Show de La Ciudad Suena

After class yesterday the HC group went to Barranco, which is a nice area of Lima right past Miraflores. We went to the Museum Pedro de Osma which is an old mansion that displays colonial art from Lima and Cusco. After, we walked over El Puente de Los Suspiros and down a path that leads to a beautiful view of the ocean and Lima.

This coming Saturday we leave for our 8-day trip to Puerto Maldonado, Cusco, and Puno. I am so excited to have the opportunity to see so much: the rain forest, the mountains, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca! I will write some more when we return!

Nos vemos,
Michelle

Vista del Cerro San Cristóbal

Cerro San Cristóbal

Diferencias en la vida diaria

The other day Meredith and I were talking about the random differences that stick out in our minds about life in Lima, and I decided it would be a good idea to write some of them down here:

- Families are very close; for example, children generally live at home until they get married, even if they are in their 30’s
-The school system is set up so that you attend primary school for 11 years and university for 5, compared with the U.S. system of 12 years and then 4.
-Most people either do not go to college or do not finish on time because of money or other commitments. It is quite an accomplishment for someone to say that they completed college in 5 years.
-Public hospitals are generally for the poor while clínicas (clinics) are the preferential option for those who can afford it.
-You cannot throw any toilet paper in the toilet, but must throw it in the trash can next to the toilet instead.
-Taxis and cars are never afraid to beep, even if it’s at a policeman!
-There are no set prices on many commercial items and even taxi rides, so bargaining is an essential skill. For example, yesterday Meredith and I wanted to buy flags from a street vendor selling them for the upcoming Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day - July 28th). Originally the vendor told us the flag would be 45 soles (about 15 US dollars), but after some careful bargaining he cut the price down by more than half to 20 soles.



Here are a few more photos from last week:

Afuera de La Fortaleza Real Felipe en Callao

La Plaza de Armas - La Catedral

La Plaza de Armas - El palacio del gobierno

Lima, La Ciudad de Los Reyes

The HC group in front of La Municipalidad in La Plaza de Armas

The catacombs underneath La Iglesia de San Francisco

La Iglesia de San Francisco - with so many pigeons outside!


El parque de amor in the Miraflores district


La Costa Verde de Lima

This week has been flying by! On Monday, the fellow Holy Cross students and I started our four-week language course at La Católica. Although it can be tiring having class for four hours each day, it has been very helpful to work on some of the vocabulary and grammar that we've forgotten over the past few years. I know I have a long way to go before I feel completely comfortable speaking in conversation, but I have been improving a little each day - especially after having nightly conversations with Señora after dinner. In and out of the classroom we've also been learning common Peruvian phrases and jerga, or slang. For example, we learned from our new friend Rey in the cafeteria of La Católica that the word "chévere" is what the young people use to say "cool".

After class every day we've had the chance to travel to several sites throughout Lima with our director Evelyn. On Monday we took a bus tour of Miraflores, a nice district of Lima known for its shopping, restaurants, night clubs, and coastal parks. After the bus tour we walked through some of the parks, including the famous parque del amor. All of the parks are on top of the huge cliffs overlooking the pacific coast down below, and we got to see some beautiful views. On Tuesday we went to el centro de Lima, where a lot of the museums and government buildings are located. We toured La Iglesia de San Francisco and got to see the catacombs buried below the church. After, we walked around the main plaza in Lima called La Plaza de Armas, where we saw El Palacio del Gobierno, La Catedral, and La Municipalidad. We also browsed through some of the stores and stopped for some pisco sour ice cream.

On Thursday we went to Evelyn’s house for lunch after class and I got to meet her mom and three of her cousins. All of her cousins go to school at La Católica and it was nice to meet some people around our age, since we are used to chatting with adults like Señora and our professor. Last night we went to the movies with a fellow HC friend named Jenny who is in Lima visiting her boyfriend. We saw Harry Potter, which was in English since it just came out recently but it had Spanish subtitles of course! Our friend Jenny and her boyfriend Fernando decided that on the way home it would be a good time for us to learn how to take the public buses rather than a taxi. The buses are a very lively spot and you need to know exactly where you are going before you get on. On the bus, called a combi, the boy collecting money for the tickets and yelling the bus destinations out the window was no more than ten years old. For me it was sad to see such a young person working a rough job late at night, but it also made me more aware of the difference between my own culture in the United States and the culture here in Peru.

We have some exciting plans for this weekend that include getting together with Jenny, Fernando, and some of Fernando’s friends on Saturday and going out with Evelyn and some of her friends tonight. It’s nice to start getting accustomed to daily life here in Lima, and so far I am very satisfied with everything I have learned and experienced.

Chao,
Michelle

Las Fotos del Viaje a Ica, Nazca, y Paracas

The group of HC students outside of Museo Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima

View from the boat ride to the Islas Ballestas in Paracas

The flight over the Nazca lines

The desert in Ica

Standing in front of the dune buggy before sand boarding

Mi Primera Vista de Perú

Today concludes the first week of my trip to study abroad in Peru. A little less than a year ago I decided to apply to spend six months here in Lima studying at La Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru. Last Saturday the group of five other Holy Cross students and I spent the entire day flying to Lima, and here we are! The official start of the semester, which is PUCP's second semester and the equivalent of Holy Cross's first, is in the middle of August. Right now we are in the orientation period, where we spend four weeks taking a Spanish language course and two weeks traveling through Peru.

During the entire flight last Saturday I was a mix of emotions: nervous to be speaking in Spanish and trying to fit into a new culture, excited for the upcoming opportunity, and sad to say goodbye to my family and friends for six months. As soon as I met the family, however, a lot of my worries went away. Meredith, a fellow Holy Cross student, and I are both living with the de Elías family here in a small middle class section of Lima. Our Señora and the rest of the family are so welcoming and told us they will be our new "familia" for the next six months.

This week has been full of new experiences, as we have been getting to know Lima and our families. Our group, along with our two cultural directors, have been touring the city and the University and enjoying some of the typical Peruvian food. On Tuesday I was able to try Ceviche, a very popular seafood dish, and I loved it! I have really enjoyed all of the food that we've tried so far and it's been nice to try foods that are very different from what I'm used to. I even tried a taste of a dish called cau cau, which is actually cow intestines. I want to experience life here with a very open mind, and I guess trying new foods is a start!

Later in the week our Holy Cross group traveled to Ica, Nazca, and Paracas. All three of the sites were amazing! We were able to go sand boarding in the desert in Ica, where a sand buggy drove us into the dunes and we got to stand in the middle of miles and miles of desert! Standing there I felt so small, and it was probably the most beautiful view I have seen in my life. After a museum in Ica and Nazca, we took a flight over the ancient Nazca lines. The Nazca lines are a stretch of enormous designs carved into the rock on the ground, and the only way to see them is by plane. Little is known for sure about the lines, but many scientists believe that they are from the Nazca culture sometime around the birth of Christ and they served an astronomical purpose. After Nazca we drove to Paracas, where we took a boat ride to see an ancient geoglyph carving called the Candelabra as well as the Islas Ballestas. The trip gave me a glimpse of the diverse beauty housed in this country and excited me for future adventures here in Peru!

The other Holy Cross students and I are getting ready to begin our first language class at the University tomorrow. I'm excited to start a routine and this class should be very helpful for improving our communication skills.

¡Hasta luego!