Week 10/11: Short, Sweet, and to the Point (Pt. 1 and 2)

Yet another week comes to a close here in Lima, which puts me one more week closer to being home. I still haven't decided if that's a good or a bad thing. This week's blog post will be fairly short because, quite frankly, I didn't do much.

The beginning of the week was spent in typical fashion going to class and occasional trips to our favorite sushi restaurant. One new experience I did have, though, was my first (and hopefully not last!) trip to Parque de las Aguas. It is basically a park in Central Lima full of lit up fountains. Every night, they offer three water shows with choreographed water exhibits on the main fountain set to music. The show was jaw-dropping and one of the coolest ideas I've seen. One of my favorite parts of the park was a lit up tunnel made from water that people could walk through. If you knew where to walk, you could stay dry. I didn't figure that out until halfway through the tunnel and by that point, I was already soaked anyway and decided to just embrace it. Just when we thought we had seen the whole park, we stumbled upon an underground tunnel that led us to a completely different side of the park across the street! This side was a little smaller, but equally as beautiful. This side offered a rainbow fountain, which was a big hit with all of us (photoshoot ensues).

By Thursday, I was a little stir crazy and decided to go to the beach Punta Hermosa for the weekend. Wanting to beat traffic, Claire, Danielle, and I left Lima at 7 A.M. to catch the bus there. Turns out traffic was actually fairly minimal so we were one of the first ones on the beach. Oh well, because we got the best spot on the beach! (That's what I told myself, anyway). By 4 PM, we had been in the sun for almost 7 hours, I was fried, dehydrated, and hungry. We decided to go eat and wait for our friend's with a beach house to get there so we could meet up with them. When they finally arrived, we discovered Angelo, Danielle's friend, wasn't with them yet so everyone was strangers to us. Thankfully they knew we were waiting and welcomed us into their group immediately. They spoke very little English, but soon we got into the hang of speaking Spanish with them and learning some new (mostly appropriate) words and phrases.

The next day was Friday and I had an internship interview via Skype that afternoon, so I headed back to Lima by myself so that I had Internet and could do my interview. My interview time came and passed and no one dialed me in on Skype, so I opened my email to see if something had changed and realized I got the dates mixed up and my interview isn't until next Friday. What. So basically I made the hour and a half trip back to Lima that day for nothing and was so disappointed, especially after all the stress I went through preparing for it the first time. Anyway, I decided to head back to the beach Saturday morning and go out with the group Saturday night. The discoteca they took us to was probably the most fun one that I've been to since coming to Peru, so I'm so glad I made the trip back. We all headed back home Sunday morning exhausted, sunburnt, and full of memories and new friendships.
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I decided to add week eleven with my previous week because it was a fairly laid back week and I didn't have much to write about. By "fairly laid back" I mean really laid back. Unfortunately, my host mom's mother passed away last week, so I was home alone by myself for a majority of last week/weekend and the beginning of this week. While I enjoy my independence, it created a bit of a difficulty for me. When my family is gone, I can't leave my house without getting locked out. There is a thick wall surrounding our house and the door to it automatically locks, so I was more or less on house arrest for the majority of the week. I also had no food and could not leave to go get any (back to that dang lock), so by the time Monday rolled around and I had to leave my house for class, I thought I was going to wither away. After class on Monday night, I came home to an empty house and had to wait on my front step for my family to come home for about three hours. They eventually came home, and now the schedule is more or less back to normal. I feel absolutely terrible for my host mom's loss and would sit outside all day without food if need be.

Besides that, my week was spent catching up on homework, watching the NCAA basketball championship (one of the greatest games I've ever seen), and reading my book. All Marki approved activities and I was perfectly content. Besides the no food thing. The next seven days are going to be spent counting down the days until the Amazon Rainforest, which I've been looking forward to for a couple months now! Believe it or not, only two weeks left of school, a week of travel, and then I'm homebound. It's amazing how quickly time goes by, especially as it winds down. Love from Lima!

Week 9: A Little Lima Love

After taking a break from traveling outside of Lima the past couple weeks, I have had a chance to better explore this city and what is has to offer. One thing I'm sure of is that I'd take a small town over a city of 10 million people any day for one reason and one reason only: traffic. Growing up in Valentine, the only bad traffic I ever experienced was when people took their horse and buggies down Main Street (an actual event that happened one day when I was already running late to work) or there was a parade. Now, we have to plan our excursions around when traffic will be the worst and still end up sitting in a taxi for an hour to and hour and a half just to get to another district. In the meantime, taxi drivers are weaving in and out of lanes, honking at everyone, slamming on their brakes, and making their passengers sick (me). I see my life flash before my eyes at least once almost every taxi ride.

The bright side of living in such a big city is that you never run out of things to do. After last week, I can finally say I've been to my first international concert and it was everything I could've hoped for. It's no secret that I'm a self-proclaimed concert addict and, at all times, have at the very least one or two concerts lined up. Right now, that number is at five and continually growing. I have been going crazy not hearing live music or having a concert to look forward to since being here so when I saw that Skrillex was going to be in Lima, I jumped at the opportunity. We arrived at the concert around 9 P.M. but in typical Peruvian fashion, everything happens a little later than usual. By the time Skrillex finally came on, it was past 1 in the morning. That's a lot of time to pregame. Too much, really. At one point I thought I was resting my head on Abby's back, but it was actually a random man standing in front of me. Jaja. Thankfully I livened up as soon as his set started and it was amazing. By the time I got home that night, it was 5 A.M. and my feet hated me. You know it was a late night when the doorman of my neighborhood greets me with "good morning" instead of "good evening." The only negative was that I got my phone taken during this outing, so I'm now without a phone until May. Very unfortunate situation from both a personal and photography standpoint, but heaven forbid my life ever be easy.

My Skrillex girls!

The next day, we had an afternoon luncheon at Brisas del Titicaca in Central Lima. The luncheon was an afternoon show where a band and Peruvian dancers perform while you eat. The show was almost four hours long, but it was fantastic. I wish I had photos of the afternoon (no phone problems) because the costumes that the dancers wore blew my mind. The band performed throughout the whole show and was a mixture of choreographed numbers with the men and women dancers and songs where the audience could come onto the stage and dance. These two adorable older women took an interest in our table of white girls and dragged us out onto the dance floor to salsa with them every song. I was reluctant to go at first, but they made the experience so much more fun and memorable. My salsa skills are still horrible, though. But improving! The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from my late night the evening before and coming to the sad realization that I just can't stay out like I used to. Man, 22 is hard. :(

Our professor took us to this park and we then found out later it was empty because
there was a shooting there that week. Always finding the best spots in Lima to hang out. 👍🏼

Okay, I made it through that so now I can get to my favorite part. Last Wednesday, our group from UNK had the opportunity to go to a Shipibo school in Lima. Shipibo schools are schools for children whose indigenous parents or grandparents migrated from the Amazon Rainforest into Lima. In some cases, these children were the first generation in their families to learn Castellano (Peruvian Spanish) as their first language instead of Shipibo. Driving into their community, it was blatantly obvious the poverty that these people lived in. Once we got into the school, though, the children welcomed us with open arms and completely melted my heart. My group taught a group of girls how to play BINGO using math facts and then I got to experience my first recess in about 10 years. Kiara, Alcemy, and Lucerma #1 and 2 (a popular name, apparently) were so sweet and begged me to let them keep the BINGO boards I made. Before I left, Kiara grabbed my hand and led me back into the classroom and showed me that she had hung her board up on her desk and was so proud of it. I'm tearing up thinking about how grateful these children were for the smallest things, even just attention. I wish I hadn't been so apprehensive before going because it was truly the best experience I could have asked for. Kids are awesome.

Kiara and I. Completely melted my heart (and my face because it clearly was so hot that day).
Our Spanish Professor, Rob: You girls all got sunburnt!
Us: No Rob, white people's skin turns red when we get hot.
(Cultural learning goes both ways)

The next day was St. Patrick's Day, so naturally we had class at an Irish Pub in Miraflores, complete with green beer and everything. Before that, though, we watched the changing of the guards in Central Lima and Barrio Chino (Chinatown). The best part of the whole day, honestly, was probably the taxi driver giving us his auxiliary cord and letting us blast American rap music the whole way to Miraflores. Music has never sounded so good. The next day, I dedicated almost the entire day trying to figure out how I could watch March Madness from Peru. I FINALLY figured it out after about four hours, more than a few dollars, and my Aunt Kim's DISH password (thank you!!!). I don't think anyone understands how much I've missed being able to watch any form of sports for the past few months besides soccer. From that point on, I was pretty much glued to my computer screen the rest of the weekend, but I have no regrets. As my time here winds down, I'm realizing how much I still want to do and see, and look forward to a busy next few weeks. Sending love from Peru and Happy Easter to everyone!

Week 8: Significantly Insignificant

Fact: After seeing one of the wonders of the world, you tend to be a little speechless. I'm blaming my inability to write about it on that, anyway. I've never had writer's block before, but after a weekend in one of the most breathtaking places on the planet, it has taken a toll. Typically the title of my blog is the last thing I write. Half the time I have no clue where my writing is going to take me and when I'm finished, I base my title on where it does. In this case, though, it hit me immediately at Machu Picchu what I wanted to title my blog for this week and what I wanted to say; the trouble has been finding the words to say it. After four days, though, the awe is finally wearing off and so, alas, my blog for the week begins.

Last week was basically spent counting down the days until we flew to Cusco, but one new experience I had in the meantime was my first movie in theaters in Peru. Our professor gave us coupons so we went to "How to be Single" (as if I need any lessons on the subject) for only about $1.50 in theaters, which goes without saying is a bargain. After the movie, I then proceeded to fall down the stairs outside of Shelby's apartment and almost put a potted plant through the glass of a second story window, so yeah. That's how to be single. (haha lol but really)

On Friday morning we flew from Lima to Cusco to begin our weekend. The first day was spent traveling and then touring ruins right outside the city, the historic center plaza, and the Cusco Cathedral. The church was jaw-dropping but unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside. I considered sneaking some photos, but it just felt wrong seeing as I was in a church and all but don't worry! I pulled some images from Google because it's worth seeing. I also stumbled upon "Paddy's Irish Pub" in the center of Cusco, which made my day. Anyone who watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" will understand. Shoutout to all those people.

Note: I did NOT take these pictures! I followed the rules!

Saturday was the day because we got to go to Machu Picchu, which I've been looking forward to since before the semester even started. The day began at 6 A.M. with a two-hour bus ride to the train station, then a beautifully scenic two-hour train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes. It reminded me a lot of Estes Park in Colorado, and I immediately fell in love. From there, we took yet another bus to the top of the mountain to Machu Picchu. From there, it was a short hike to the actual site. As you can see, this trip had many different legs. The suspense was killing me.

Finally finally FiNaLlY we came over a hill and there it was: Machu Picchu. I honestly was speechless. This wonder that I've heard so much about was actually in front of me. I was there. It was one of the coolest feelings and in that moment, I felt significantly insignificant. Here I was, in the midst of one of the more significant events in my life, and all I could think is how insignificant I felt. And I mean that in the best way possible. I was looking down upon these breathtaking ruins and realized the amount of history I was seeing. Billions of people have walked this planet, and I am only one of them. The issues in my life that I considered so massive suddenly seemed infinitesimal. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that the world revolves around me, but I realized how preposterous that idea really is. It's a wakeup call I think everyone needs from time to time, and one I won't soon forget.

We spent the afternoon exploring Machu Picchu, and I was amazed at the intricacy of the ruins. There were handmade sundials, wind rooms, built-in shelves, the list goes on and on. The ruins were built on what can best be described as a raised island without the water. Every time I got to an edge of the site, I found myself looking down a cliff. For my fellow Game of Thrones nerds, it reminded me a lot of the Eyrie, with its main protection being that it was raised on all sides and difficult to reach. The backside even reminded me of the sky cells where Tyrion was imprisoned by Lysa, and I made sure not to get too close to the edge just in case. Okay sorry, I'll stop because I've probably lost most of my audience. Don't get me started on GoT. :) Anyway, we only had about three hours in the ruins, and I easily could've spent an entire day there.

"Runnin' outta pages in your passport."--Drake

Eerily similar to how I picture the entrance to sky cells (*backs away*).

We spent most of the day Sunday exploring more ruins outside of Cusco, buying souvenirs at the markets for all my day ones back home, and eating lunch and dinner at two of the most lovely restaurants I've dined at since being in Peru. As we returned to Lima on Monday, I came to realize my wanderlust meter, which was already extremely high, got turned all the way up to ten (ten being the highest). I feel such a desire to keep traveling, and I'm panicking at the thought of returning home and this adventure coming to an end. So here's the thing. Mom and Dad: I know you're reading this. Please consider this, with my other readers as witness, my open plea to let me backpack Europe as my graduation gift in December. You're more than welcome to join. Let me know. You know where I live. :)

Thank you to everyone for reading and keeping up with me. Less than 50 days until I call America home again! Doesn't even seem real. Much love from Lima!

After lunch, I sat on a bench overlooking this river and couldn't help but feel like I was back at home overlooking the Niobrara. It made me a little homesick, but so happy.

View from dinner overlooking Plaza de Armas after the day at Machu Picchu.

Week 7: It All Started With a Sunset

I'm not sure when it happened, exactly, but over the past two months I've done some serious soul-searching. It all started with a sunset. Since I've been in Peru, I've sat down and watched the sun set more times than I can keep track of. Before I came to Peru? Not even once. The first night I watched the sunset, in fact, I told the girls how cool it was for me because I'd never watched one before. I've seen hundreds of sunsets in my life, of course, but they were always just background to whatever else was happening in my life at that moment. It never was the moment. I'm only 22 years old, but I realized I've already just been going through the motions in my everyday life, not actually living it. Somewhere in the midst of school, work, and extracurriculars, I lost sight of what's really important. People keep asking me if I even go to class while I'm here and while I'll admit I only have class once a day, four days a week, I've still learned more in two months in Peru than the past few years combined. I'm not going to come back to the United States knowing everything there is to know about Spanish, but I'm starting to understand that was never the point. I've learned more about myself, my life, and what I truly want than I even thought possible and in the end, that's all that really matters. The things I learn in the classroom, money I earn at work, people I see on the weekends; none of it matters if I don’t discover who I am as a person and what I'm capable of. If I don't find that along the way, then how will I know where I'm going or if I'm taking the right roads to get there? Maybe a sunset is just a sunset, the end of another day; but maybe it's so much more than that. Maybe it's about living for the first time in my life, not just existing. Inevitably days come and go, but it's up to me what I make of them. I was given one chance at this life, and I don't intend to waste it. I don't know yet what God's plan is for my life but I do know this: I'm not going to watch it as it happens. I'm going to live it.

Máncora, Perú 2016