La Dama Juana

Today, I headed to school early in order to re-check out my book for Ethnography.  I'm still enjoying reading it which is good.  I probably should focus on finishing this one VERY soon, so that I can start on the one that is in Spanish.  I only have a couple weeks left to finish them, which seems like a lot, but for me it's not, especially for the book that is in Spanish.  Anyway, I had ballet today, too.  All is still going well with that.  I talked to Lucia again today and she can't do lunch tomorrow now because she forgot she has something at 2 p.m., but luckily we're going to go out at 6 p.m. :)  Also, we're going to San Antonio, a restaurant in Miraflores that I have already been to three times, so it's perfect.  I'm excited for it.

After ballet, I headed to Deporte y Vida.  We have two taxi drivers that take us to Deporte y Vida, one is Santiago and the other is Daniel.  Well, Santiago is very quiet, but Daniel talks the whole time there and back (2 hours).  Today, we had Daniel!  Sometimes I am tired and I only want to sleep in the taxi, but Daniel definitely keeps things exciting and honestly, as much as I may want to sleep sometimes, it's such good practice for my Spanish.  Sometimes he is hard to understand and I don't always catch everything he is saying, but I can usually figure out the point he is trying to make.  Also, it's great for my speaking skills, too, because I can't just sit there and listen, I have to say stuff to contribute to the conversation, so it's perfect!

Anyway, at Deporte y Vida today, I did a little bit of addition and subtraction, color by numbers, learned about the difference between physical characteristics and personality traits, and I did some algebra (which I haven't done in who knows how long).  I felt useless to the girl I was helping.  The problem was (4a + 3)^3!!  I don't think I've done that stuff since High school, so I was lost.  Luckily, I had examples to go off of in order to remember the formula that is used, but it was difficult, even with the formula. :)  Anyway, I was called Andreita again today,too, which I just love hearing. :)  It makes me smile everytime.

Okay, now on to tonight.  We had a CIEE cultural activity today, which involved going to La Dama Juana.  La Dama Juana is a dinner/show restaurant at Larcomar in Miraflores (literally two blocks from my house).  The buffet was great and so was the show.  I obviously got seconds on the lomo saltado.  But, putting the food aside for a second, the show was awesome, too.  We got to see some Peruvian dances (some of which were ones that we actually learned during our Taller de Danza).  So here are three videos of Peruvian dances we saw.

This first one is of the Alcatraz (the one with the fire :P).  I'm really sorry, but the video is sideways and I can't figure out how to flip it.  I'm actually kind of mad at myself that I accidentally taped it like this.  I'm sorry you have to put up with it, too, but I hope you still enjoy it.  I'll explain the concept of the dance again.  Here's the jist...if the partner isn't moving their hips enough, they get set on fire. :)  This video is from the end of the dance and the girl was doing a great job, so the guy cheated a little.  You'll see what I mean. :)

Okay, these next two videos are of the same dance. But first, a little detour... Remember when you were little and your parents told you to never run with scissors.  Well, this dance completely goes against and beyond that rule and it's awesome!  It's called the Scissor dance.  See for yourself!

Okay, well that was what my day consisted of.  I hope that todo está bien contigo (all is well with you).  I will blog you mañana.  Hasta luego y buenas noches!

Cajero automático estadounidense

So, today I only had two classes out of the usual four.  I took the micro to PUCP and actually made it to my Peruvian Social Reality class, unlike on Monday. :)  Today, we talked about race again.  We've been talking a lot about race lately, but at least it's still interesting and it's a very real thing here in Peru and in other places.  We talked about the Afro-Peruvian race today and the difference in treatment between light- and dark-skinned people.  It's actually really sad.  Pretty much it's this vicious cycle of discrimination.  We talked about how racism is "positional" meaning it matters where you are in the country.  For example, my professor said that in Puno he is seen as a gringo, but in Lima, he is seen as having a dark complexion.  Also, discrimination is all relative.  A person may be a victim of discrimination for being dark, but that same person who is discriminating against them is also a victim to someone else.  That's where the vicious cycle comes in, because there is always a person lighter than you who will discriminate against you.  Crazy and sad, huh?  Also, though, we learned that it's not just about the physical traits.  It also has to do with social class, language, and culture.  For example, a person may have a dark skin tone and another person may have a light complexion, but if the dark-complected person speaks castellano (Spanish) very well or even English and is from the upper class, then they are seen as more "blanco," than the lighter-skinned person who may speak Quechua and of the lower class.  Now, I'm not saying this is right by any means.  I'm just telling you how it is.  Again, sad, I know.  Okay, one last little story:  Apparently a few years back, there was an African American student studying here in the same program that I am now.  This guy was trying to get into a discoteca or something and the guachimán (watchman/bouncer) told him he couldn't go in because it was a "private event."  Now, obviously the guy started speaking Spanish and trying to figure out why he couldn't enter and the guachimán realized that he was North American, well needless to say, he was left in after the bouncer realized that, but that story just shocks me.  I wish that stuff like that didn't still happen, but it does, and not just here, but in the U.S., too.

Anyway, after discussing this horrible issue in Peruvian Social Reality, I went on to my Living and Learning class.  Unfortunately, we didn't go over anyone else's curious and obvious pictures, which made me sad, but the activity we did was still kind of fun.  It was titled "Mid-semester Reflection."  I'm not too big on the whole reflecting thing, but it's part of this cycle of learning and apparently if you don't do every step of the cycle then you fall short.  Needless to say, we were forced to reflect on things that we have accomplished so far and how our goals that we set at the beginning of the year are coming along.  We were given writing prompts to write about.  We had to pretend that we were just the ideal study abroad student and we were on the plane back to the U.S. already reflecting on our experience in Peru.  I answered the question of "How has your experience abroad changed you as a person?"  Well, this was kind of hard to answer considering we had to do it from the point of view of having been the "ideal" study abroad student (which is impossible), but I tried my hardest and one of the main things I talked about was self-confidence.  If there's anything I gain from this experience, I hope that it is self-confidence:  Self-confidence in my Spanish skills and in life, in general.  We then discussed our reflective papers a little in class.  We talked about the attitudes and actions that we can have/do in order to complete this transformation in ourselves.  I'd say I already took step one by asking Lucia to lunch with me on Friday.  I mean it only took me two months, but I'm getting there.  Anyway, our homework now is to re-look at our goals and revise them to match how we want to feel when this is all over with.

After this class, Tonisha, Sheila, and I ate lunch and headed out.  Tonisha and I spent most of our afternoon at Café Z, which was great.  I tried this delicious strawberry frozen drink, which was amazing and I will definitely get it again soon.  We also bought our tickets to Iquitos for next weekend.  Yep, that's right, were heading to the Amazon, to a place that is not accessible by road.  At least were not doing the boat thing.  Two guys in our group, Mark and Kevin, are leaving this Friday for a boat trip there.  They are going to take the rivers all the way there.  They should be there by next week.  If I didn't worry so much about having to go to school, I would probably consider it, but plane just seems better. :)  Anyway, Tonisha and I got some homework done, too, at Café Z.  Not a ton, but it doesn't matter anyway because I don't have anything due until next Tuesday, except for reading my two books, which is an ongoing thing.  Tonisha and I both have a love for dance so we spend a lot of time talking about that so it's great.  What else?  Oh, I had the unfortunate experience of exchanging money on the street (don't worry, it's legal).  Yea, I went to take out S/.140 out of an ATM and instead I took out $140.  That was an annoying mistake!  I'm going to blame Tonisha because I was talking to her during this particular transaction. ;)  Anyway, so yea rather than taking out what I thought was around $50, I took out $140!  And really, U.S. dollars don't help you out too much here, but at least now I have more emergency cash if I ever need it.  Anyway, long story short, there are luckily official people on the street that change Euros or dollars to soles, so that's good.

Tonight, I've just been hanging out at home.  My mom sounds a lot better and can talk, but she says her throat really still hurts.  Luckily, I'm still feeling great so that's perfect.

Anyway, I want to end this blog by demanding that you tell your family and friends that you love them.  Let them know that you are happy that they are in your life and make sure they know that you appreciate them.  Also, if they are near to you, go ahead and give them a hug, too, because they might not always be there. Buenas noches.

Sólo otro día

Okay, so first of all, thank you to all of you for "forcing me" to ask a girl in my ballet class to lunch!  Come to find out she lives in Miraflores, too, and she has Fridays off, as well.  So it's perfect, we're going to eat lunch this Friday somewhere in Miraflores.  It really wasn't scary at all, just kind of awkward because I'm not used to asking random people to go and get lunch, but I'm very excited for it now.  It will be great practice for my Spanish and also were both interested in dance so we shouldn't run out of conversation!  Anyway, I really am glad I told you guys about that or I probably wouldn't have done it on my own.  Thanks for holding me accountable. :)

Anyway, so ballet was great!  My day was actually great, in general.  I sat outside after lunch and read my Ethnography book and napped.  Unfortunately, it wasn't sunny, but it was still nice to read and nap outside.  In my book right now I just finished a section on the roles of the husband and wife in the Bajo Urubamba, which was interesting.  It's the man's job to hunt/fish and find a place to settle and it's the woman's job to make manioc beer for her husband and cook the food.  The book said that the man's job is not 'work,' but it is only 'searching,' but the woman's job requires 'work.'  That just made me smile.  The book did go on to explain some of the man's 'work,' but that's not important. :)

In Cine tonight, we watched Belle de Jour (Bella de día, Beauty of the day), a French movie.  It was a pretty interesting movie, kind of risqué, so I really don't know what to say about it.  I will say it was a little confusing because it switched from reality to fantasy and it was actually hard to follow which was which.  Anyway, while I was sitting in class, I was thinking that I really enjoy taking this class, because I love movies.  Also, so far I have watched movies from other countries that I haven't even heard of, so it's great!!

Anyway, sorry not much else happened today or tonight, but I hope you all are having amazing nights.  Buenas noches!

Pushing boundaries.

So today was pretty interesting.  My alarm didn't go off.  And no this was not my fault.  I set it.  I didn't push snooze, I didn't turn it off, etc.  It simply just didn't go off.  I think the battery is startying to die, but I'm not for sure.  I have set an alarm on my cell phone for tonight just in case.  Anyway, I woke up when my first class was supposed to be starting, so obviously I missed that.  When I got to the university the class was ending, so I caught all my classmates on their way out and asked them what they talked about.  They were talking about race again and they said the class was kind of sad.  I'm upset that I missed it.  They went through quotes that were said in the time during this past presidential election.  Apparently most of the quotes were vicious thoughts of what people feel towards the people that live in the sierra.  Now, obviously, I wasn't there for class, but I can say I do know that people from Lima and people from the sierra have conflicting views.

Anyway, on to a lighter topic.  Today, four other girls and I had Mochas with Marion.  This consisted of drinking coffee (well, I chose orange juice) and talking with one of our directors, Marion, about our classes, homestays, problems, etc.  It went pretty well and was helpful.  I expressed my concern for meeting Peruvian friends and practicing Spanish and she pretty much put a fire under our butts.  She explained that we only have two months left so we should start doing what we've been wanting to do.  For example, talking to that person in your class, asking that person to lunch, etc.  Anyway, I plan on asking some girls in my ballet class to get lunch sometime or something.  I'm telling you this because I can let myself down with this, but I can't let you down.  Therefore, now I have to do it, so that I can tell all of you that I did it!  Tomorrow, I plan on asking some girls to coffee, lunch, or at least for their Facebooks, so that I can contact them.

Anyway, then I went to my Spanish class, we got our midterms back and I am quite happy with my grade. :)  Other than that, we really didn't do anything in my class and since I didn't have Ethnography, Tonisha and I left the university early.  When we got back to Miraflores, we went to SuizaLab to get her yellow fever vaccination and then we walked through Parque Kennedy to Café Z.  We got a little food: her- manjarblanco pancakes (yum!) and me- warm apple pie and ice cream (again, yum!)  We planned on doing homework, but I think we did more talking (some in Spanish), then homework, although I did get some reading done.

Okay so now I have three things to tell you that I just forgot to tell you in those last two paragraphs...

1.  On the micro this morning, a girl got on and played her acoustic guitar and sang.  She did soo well so I gave her some money.  Well, not only did she do well, but I also knew that I couldn't ask her what the song was called without giving her money.  So, of course, I asked her and she told me...and luckily, I found it.  Yay!

2.  Remember, my library mishap where I am suspended from the library...well, Tonisha had a genius idea.  "Why don't I check out your book for you?"  Duh!!  I have such a smart friend!  So that's how I was able to "read" at Café Z, because Tonisha checked the books out for me.  Thanks, Tonisha!

3.  On the micro back to Miraflores, Tonisha and I both had conversations with strangers!!  We didn't miss out on the opportunity to engage in conversation and practice Spanish!  We were both talking to each other about places to visit and Arequipa is a possibility on our list, but we both were unsure of what's there.  So again, genius Tonisha said, "Why don't we ask?"  She turned to the person next to her and I turned to the person next to me and we both asked what was in Arequipa.  It was the best feeling in the world and we definitely high fived each other after the micro ride was over.  It wasn't so bad afterall.  I should probably do stuff like that more often, especially considering I only have two more months left!

Anyway, tonight after rocking at Spanish on the micro and after chatting doing homework at Café Z, Tonisha and I went to Metro (grocery store) and bought tickets to a theatre/dance event that's happening this weekend.  Just so you understand, if I ever talk about buying tickets at a grocery store it's because the grocery stores (Metro, Wong, and others, I'm sure) have places called Teleticket, where you can buy tickets to different events in Lima.  Okay, so we bought these tickets to Bochorno (that's what the show is called) and I'm really excited because it is a show choreographed by the head of the Dance school at PUCP.  I've actually met the woman, so I'm very excited to see her choreography, too!!

After that, I came home and didn't really do much of anything.  My mom sounds a lot better and feels, so we chatted a little.  And as of right now, her bedroom is in another area of the house because her floors are getting redone so that was funny to see when I got home.  Other than that I skyped a few people (you know who you are :P) and I wasted my time on the internet.  I actually found two really good quotes though, here they are:

I obviously like this one because I am traveling right now and I just think that it meshed nicely with this blog.  :)

This one is the perfect quote for studying abroad or life in general, but especially, studying abroad.  It's really important to do something everyday that scares you, whether it be talking to a stranger on the micro or asking a girl from your ballet class to lunch.  You really have to push yourself and test your boundaries.  Sometimes doing the things that scare you can improve your life and help you to learn.  Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I won't push my boundaries too far, but just enough to help me succeed here. :)  I love you all and hope that you all have beautiful days tomorrow!  Buenas noches!!!

Otro día tranquilo

So, what to talk about tonight...  Well Tonisha and I had the plan to do aerobics in Parque Kennedy today, but those plans fell through.  I slept in and Tonisha and I didn't really contact each other so we didn't go.  Maybe next week though.  I really am excited to check it out.  At first, I felt guilty for not going because of the brownie and ice cream I had last night, but then at lunch my host mom said she thought I had lost weight.  To me, that just seems strange because I'm eating sweets 24/7, but she said it was probably from dancing. If that's true, then I guess that should be a life lesson.  Stay active.  It's good for your health. :)  I still think she's crazy though.  I guess I'll never know though, well I won't know until I get back to the states anyway because having scales in the home is not a customary thing.  The only time I've ever seen a scale here was in the street.  A guy was taking money so that people could check there weight.  Next time, I see a guy like that I might have to take him up on his offer. ;)

Anyway, my host mom and I stayed in for lunch today since she's still sick, she actually is sounding better though.  We had a pretty quiet lunch though, I didn't want to make her talk to much.  In the late afternoon, I went to Café Z by myself in order to get some reading done for my Ethnography class.  I actually got a fair amount done.  At first, it was difficult to read because I was too busy trying to listen to Spanish conversations and I'm pretty sure the Shrek soundtrack was playing in the background, but then I was able to focus on the book.  The book is actually pretty interesting so far.  I'm just worried for the Spanish book that I have to read, too.  Plus, I still haven't figured out the whole PUCP library situation.  We get suspended every time a book is returned late.  Well, to avoid this you can renew the books online.  I went to renew my book online yesterday, however, since midterm week is this week, it's not permitted to renew books online (which, of course, I didn't know).  It's quite frustrating actually, because I don't have Ethnography at all this week, because we're supposed to dedicate the time to reading our two books.  Well, not that I would've actually spent that time reading, but still now I don't have the option because I'm going to be suspended from the library for a couple of days.  It's pretty frustrating, but I'm not too worried about finishing the books (yet).

For dinner, my host mom and I stayed in again and she made this chicken that I really like and we had more of a conversation.  Her voice is getting so much better.  She actually sounded pretty good tonight.  I'm hoping that I don't catch anything.  Apparently this is the time of the year in Perú where a lot of people get sick.  So far, I'm feeling great though.  Everything is going great so far, too.  I feel pretty accustomed here, but sometimes it hits me again that I'm in Perú!!  And I've been here for two months!  It's actually a pretty strange feeling.  I feel pretty comfortable here, but at the same time, I know it's not the United States.  I love it here, I love that the sun is coming out, and I love that I'm experiencing so much (and not missing out), but I know I will be excited to come home, too.  I hope that all of you are enjoying and loving your home right now, too.  Don't take home for granted!  Some people don't even have a place to call home.  We are all lucky to have homes, whether it be a physical place and/or the people that fill it.  Remember to thank God for the homes you have and thank Him for the people in your life.

Buenas noches. :)

Gracias

So I was debating on not even writing a blog today because nothing really happened, but I figured I would go ahead and write a short one about my day and then dedicate the rest of the blog to thanking you, my readers.

When I woke up this morning I was shocked to see October 1st on the calender.  I must have been in so much shock that I couldn't function today because during the day, I literally did nothing, except for watch TV and do a little homework. :)  It was sunny and beautiful today and again I opened my window and laid in the sun.  It was wonderful!  I haven't been spending too much time with my mom because she's been pretty sick lately.  She hasn't had a voice for 3 days now, so it's kind of hard to have a conversation in Spanish with her.  It seems like she is getting better everyday though so that's good.  Tonight, I went to Cafe Z with four friends.  I had a cup of tea and then, of course, I had to satisfy my sweet tooth and get a brownie and a scoop of ice cream.  I plan on going biking or doing aerobics with Tonisha tomorrow, so I always say that makes up for all the sweets I eat.  That was honestly my day.  Although, it may sound like a lazy day (which it was), I loved it!  Also, I would like to say Happy Homecoming to everyone at Carthage!  Oh and one thing that made me really happy tonight is that a Peruvian woman told me, "Tu polo es bonito" (You're sweatshirt is pretty).  Guess what sweatshirt I was wearing...my Carthage one!  It made my night!

Okay, now I would like to thank every single one of you for reading my blog.  I wish I knew who all of you were so that I could personally thank you, but that's kind of impossible.  I wish I could express just how blessed I am that I have dedicated readers such as yourselves.  And if you're not one of those dedicated readers and you only stop in once in awhile, I still want to thank you, too.  Thank you.  So far I have been on Blogger for 68 days, I have had 67 posts including this one, and I have had 2,172 pageviews from 8 different countries.  Now, obviously my blog hasn't gone viral, but that's not what I expected.  Honestly, I have already exceeded my expectations.  These numbers average to approximately 30 pageviews a day, which makes me so incredibly happy.  I am so thankful for all of you!!  I know that I may not be the best writer, I may not have the best grammar, and not all my posts are the most exciting, but you guys still hang in there with me.  I truly feel like you are experiencing this adventure with me day to day.  I'm trying my best to not miss out while I'm here and I hope you all are still living you're lives with this attitude, too.  Again, thank you so much for reading my blog and I hope you continue to enjoy reading it.  I hope you enjoy it enough that you share it with your family and friends.  Thank you all!  Each and every one of you is important to me and this blog.  Hang in there and I'll try to hang in there with you. :)  Have a good night!!  I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Helado

So yesterday morning (Friday) I did absolutely nothing.  But, my afternoon was packed full of excitement.  Tonisha, Emily, and I went to Deporte y Vida for the final day of Semana Primaveral (Spring Week).  But, before I headed there, one of the saddest things happened.  I got an ice cream cone with two scoops.  One scoop of chocolate chip and one of lúcuma.  As I was walking and eating the first scoop of lúcuma, I got almost done with it and I was so excited for the upcoming chocolate chip scoop when it fell off the cone and onto the ground.  I exclaimed "¡No, qué triste!"  This was pretty funny because a guy was walking next to me and just started laughing.  I, of course, was laughing, too, but it was sooo sad.  Good thing I was heading to Deporte y Vida, so I knew that would cheer me up.

At Deporte y Vida, the kids were crazy!  Not really "crazy," they were just very excited that it was a fun day.  We got there and helped a few kids with their homework, but then it was time to play.  The time went by so fast.  Everyone split off into a different section and played different things.  There was hopscotch, jumping rope, foosball, musical chairs, potato sack races, and dancing.  Tonisha and I manned the musical chairs station to make sure noone was killed, while Emily did the more difficult job of swinging the jump rope for a huge group of kids.  Now, pictures!!!

Hopscotch

Potato sack race

Foosball

Jump rope

Dance competition

The previous picture was taken by one of the little girls at Deporte y Vida.  They are all fascinated by cameras and wanted to take pictures so right now I do have a lot of random pictures on my camera, but at least they had a blast!  Also, I got called "Andreita" there today.  -ita is a diminutive form that you can put on the end of any word to make it smaller or using it with a name is kind of a term of endearment.  Example: perro (dog), perrito (little dog), Andreita (little Andrea, or a term of endearment).  It made me smile because I've never had the diminutive used with my name.  Also, here's the video that I tried to load from yesterday...

Of course, after Deporte y Vida, Tonisha and I got ice cream since I was devastated from my previous experience.  It was worth it.  I had this delicious chocolate ice cream that had brownie in it.

Last night, I went to a vino y queso (wine and cheese) party at the house of all the UW-Wisconsin girls' house.  It was really fun.  We started out the night speaking Spanish which was good practice for us, but then unfortunately we switched to English.  It was a good time though and they have a nice house with a terrace on the roof, which we hung out at.  Today so far again, I've done nothing, but a little homework, but maybe the day will get more exciting.  Also, Happy Homecoming to Carthage!!  Have a great day!!!