And so begins the Honeymoon Phase...

In Detroit ready to begin my adventures

!Hola de Peru!

I’m sorry for my silence, but it has been possibly the craziest few days of my life.  In one week I have moved to a new country, met my new family and started a new job.  I’ve also already seen a lot of the country, from the ocean to the mountains, the crazy city of Lima to the peaceful Sacred Valley.  Oh, and last night, I learned how to salsa!  So much to tell you...

Okay first, a week ago today I boarded that plane (my first flight solo!), had a smooth trip, and in Lima’s Jorge Chavez airport it was just like the movies where people hold up signs with names on it, but this time one of the signs was for me!  So surreal. 

"A great country.  Much to discover."

That night I met the others in the program (20-something college students from all over the US, most taking classes in Cusco, 5 of us volunteering at various agencies) as well as the coordinators, Andy and Kenner, who are AWESOME!  Luckily they speak English very well so we were all able to ease into the Spanish poco a poco in our time in Lima.

The next day we started our adventures together...

FROM CATCALLS TO CATACOMBS: LIMA
Our hotel was in a nice neighborhood called Miraflores, which was pretty, but overall Lima is NOT the city for me.  It’s not beautiful, it’s not very safe, and it’s huge.  Oh, and in the current season there a giant cloud just sits over the city and supposedly for months the sun never shines (see why it’s not a city for me?).  It doesn’t have the best reputation and now I can see why.  Much of the country is centralized in this city though - the government, the jobs, the power, etc.  Definitely an interesting dynamic.  

(Side note: In Lima, the catcalls that they warned us about are a very real thing.  Whistles, honks, comments, stares - we got them all.  Luckily Cusco hasn’t been anything like that yet.)

One of the main plazas of the city

The view from my hotel room

La Catedral

Monday morning we had orientation at a university in the city (ie a morning of a “lecture” full of tips about the country and what to expect).  In Chinatown we enjoyed some chifa, or Chinese food, which is really popular here - and yummy!  After lunch, we went to La Catedral de San Francisco.  The old, yellow, beautiful cathedral also happens to come with catacombs underneath.  So basically way back when, when the people of Lima died, they were laid on top of each other under the building and left there so that now there are piles and piles of bones...I could have reached out and touched countless skulls if I’d had the urge to.  Interesting and a little creepy.  A place to be respected though, that’s for sure.  The church also had the most amazing courtyard with beautiful architecture and flowers.

Dancing with El Diablo (the Devil) at dinner

For dinner we went to a fancy Peruvian buffet and had a delicious meal followed by traditional Peruvian music and dances from various parts of the country.  It was a blast and a great introduction to the culture.

The Park of Love

On Tuesday we went to an Incan Market where they sold all types of colorful woven products and other traditional hand-made goods.  Some of us went exploring with Kenner to the Park of Love and the beach.  I have officially been in the Pacific in the Southern Hemisphere (well my feet have at least...).  

We went to the neighborhood called Barrancos, which is artsy and bohemian, and there we walked the beach and had dinner, which consisted of Chica Morada, (my favorite drink here - it’s a sweet drink made from purple corn), anticucho (cow heart), and picarones (a sweet similar to a donut).  When in Peru, do as the Peruvians, verdad?  Then, at night some of us went out for more comida and to dance!

Anticucho

Picarones

Way too early the next morning we all left for the airport to finally start our summer lives!  I’ll leave that for the next post though...don’t wanna wear y’all out already with long posts.  I have so much to tell you about my new life in Cusco!  Basically, I'm in the "honeymoon phase" of the culture shock chart, meaning I'm loving most everything about my new country. More coming soon, I promise:) But now, it's family time (it is Sunday after all). Chao!