..Day 79...28 Days left..

Today marks day numero 79. What does that mean? Well probably not a lot to some people but to me that means I have breathed, ate, slept, partied, danced, studied, talked, dressed, and survived as a Peruvian for 79 days. 28 days left here in Lima. What does this mean to me? I have a lot of memories, studying, and crazy things to do before I leave. I know it's been a while since I wrote last, but my life here in Lima hasn't been to crazy and it almost feels like I've finally got adjusted to this lifestyle. So here's a little overview of my life these past couple weeks.

My family and I attended a birthday party for my grandma aka Victor's mom aka Daniel McKenzie's mom. We all headed over to their apartment and were celebrating this wonderful day for her. Jorge came and joined in the festivities because oddly enough my family really really loves him. Helen (one of the daughters) tells Jorge to tell me that there is going to be a surprise for the birthday girl; Norma (my grandma). They were going to have a Mariachi band come and play for her! I know cool right, her very own mariachi band for her birthday! When they arrived, they danced and danced the night away. Even with a sombrero and some cake and of course singing happy birthday in spanish!

Birthday Girl

Helen and I

School like always is just school. It is going good. Nikki and I started our research project for Dr. Miller’s psychology class. Our research is about family bonding here in Peru and also about meal times. We got a good start to our project, got our surveys handed out in no time, and now it’s time for the results and to write the final paper. On a side note, I think this week we have the chance to go into a school here so I am definitely excited for this opportunity. One thing I have come to realize while seeing students in high school or elementary schools here, they all wear uniforms. This was definitely interesting to me.

Last Friday night, something amazing happened, and that was Missy’s boyfriend Luke was coming to visit for 9 days. Even though he had no idea who I was, I was so excited he was coming, I think due to the fact that he is coming from Nebraska and seeing another Nebraskan in Lima, Peru was pretty darn exciting. He of course fit in wonderfully with our group. That Saturday we went to a beach in Asia. (Okay the pronunciation of this place is not Asia like the continent but instead it is pronounced hacia… this caused a little confusing in which I will explain later.) This beach was beautiful with no rocks, and lots of sand. We swam in the ocean (in which a wave kicked my butt and I swallowed a lot of the ocean..not so good) and played volleyball. It was a great day and due to Nikki’s expertise in flagging down a taxi, we rode comfortably on the way home. That night we went out to eat at Larcomar and then went to a discoteca. In the midst of these shenanigans, we met Omar who might possibly be the best bartender I’ve met in Peru. He was so much fun!! Maybe because we bought so many tequila shots! J  

At the beach in Asia. 

Ready for the discoteca!!

You would think that since I have grown up in Nebraska my whole life, my body would adjust to crazy weather and be okay with everything right?? Wrong…. Due to Lima, Peru having some ups and downs in their temperature all in the same day, I got a cold. I was not the only one suffering from this. My whole family was, so I guess it should be said for my family, if you’re gonna be sick, might as well be sick together! We are all slowly getting over it thankfully.

This past week, we went to a movie which was great but it was even better because we accompanied it with our Dr. Peppers that we oh so sneakily smuggled in. We also made another appearance at the Burrito Bar and the Parque de las Aguas aka the park with beautiful fountains. Not only was Luke here from Nebraska, but we also had another student named Megan, who was staying with Dr. Miller and Jeanie. She is here doing a research project so having not only 1 Nebraskan but 2, it was a little piece of home. The rest of the week consisted of hanging out and more laughter.

Last night, Brittney and her family hosted us a BBQ. BBQs always sound fun here because that means music and really really good food. We all headed over that at 9 and got the party started. We ate hamburgers (with cheese and bacon), hot dogs, chips, and of course a few cold beverages. It was so much fun and of course we had a blast dancing and making crazy fools out of ourselves trying to live up to the hip shaking dancing of the Peruvians. Hey I think we looked good no matter what. It was a great night with great people. 

As I have stated numerous times, these people I am here with are not only very near and dear to my heart but might possibly be the funniest people I have ever met. We have made some pretty fabulous memories and here are a few of them…

Bored sitting @ home-“Whatcha doing girl?”- Me

“Um…stuffing my face with popcorn and pinning!”- Missy

We have become champion Pinners.

Having a discussion in conversation table..

“Oh yeah like Libany… that’s a country.”-Me

“Um…no Fin that’s Lebanon.”- Missy

Waiting for the play….”Missy if fluent in Spanish. Let her have it! I’m almost fluent.”-Me

Missy may be fluent but Nikki knows about accent marks!

Discussion about which beach.

“Oh yeah Missy said we’re going to a beach called Asia.”-Me (I thought the place Asia was spelled Hacia.)

“No I think that’s Asia like the place where the beaches are.”- Jorge, Adam, & Nikki

“No Missy said Asia. That’s in Hacia right?”-Me

“No the places is spelled Asia.”- Jorge, Adam, & Nikki

“So it’s spelled like the continent?”-Me

Getting a taxi in Asia was a little difficult but thankfully Nikki flagged down a van that was so comfortable. Minus 20 minutes later a cop was pounding on the window. No worries we made it home safely!!

I guess it's a thing here to eat Halls as candy where as I thought they were only cough drops?? Crazy I know.

Jorge, Amber and I will produce either the next Step Up 5 or Stomp the Yard 2. Coming Soon in theaters.

A La Playa!! 

These of course are only just a few of the crazy memories we've made here but are yet again some of the best. When I started this adventure, I was going to be here for 107 days and now that I am on day 79 with only 28 left I am so excited but also very sad. I have become accustomed to this life here and even though I miss my family and friends like crazy I am going to miss my family and friends here like crazy when I go home. I talked with my host mom today and we both cannot believe I only have 4 weeks left. It is beyond crazy how fast this experience went. I look back and I know sometimes it was going so slow and I would ask myself, Jen are you really cut out for this? but now that the end is coming so fast, I know that I was and I am so happy I chose to do this. I will be able to see my friends and family 4 Sunday’s from now and I am already thinking…how the heck and I going to get everything packed up let alone run through the airport with all of my bags?? Well I will decided that when the time comes!! Adios!! Besos

 

...Day 64---> 43 days left...

So today is day 64 if you couldn't tell in my title and as my title states, I only have 43 days left. Holy crap!! That's all I keep telling myself or saying outloud when someone tells me. Well here is a little overview of the last couple weeks in Lima, Peru.

Last week consisted of school, school, school, and more school. It is going good but we have now had our fair share of tests and even had our first test in Peruvian Literature! Believe me, it was as scary as it sounds. But thank goodness our teacher is super chill and so nice that it wasn't as bad as we all were imagining. So other than big ole scary tests in lit, grammar, and psychology, school really isn't too bad. It is going to start getting a little busier because next week along with us being on campus and taking classes, the actual semester for the Peruvian students starts to UPC is going to be a whole lot busier. Which to our grammar teacher, Roberto, that may be a good thing and might make us make friends with some other Peruvians. Along with our normal classes, Roberto, has asked us to do a conversation table with other peruvian students on Tuesday afternoons. This is going good but kind of makes the weeks even busier. I am super excited because I think within the next couple weeks we will be able to go into some of the schools here in Lima and see how their classrooms work!! That's exciting!!

Last week, some of us treated ourselves to some wonderful pancakes at this restaurant in El Polo. These pancakes are to die for!! They have so many different kinds and some including ice cream and nutella! How amazing right?!? We also went to a movie, The Legend of Hercules. Good movie... but also very cheesy! Nothing wrong with that. Later in the week, Nikki and I were determined to send some post cards, and Jorge was determined to find his long lost package. After traveling by taxi to 2 different locations, we still had our post cards and no package. We were not okay with paying 30 soles for each post card!! So kind of an epic fail all around. That night we went to the Burrito Bar in Barranco and met up with some (okay only 2) of our conversation friends. We went to a discoteca and danced the night away! So much fun!!

The rest of the weekend consisted of watching Netflix and doing little homework. I need to get my priorities in line I know! :) But sometimes Netflix is so much more appealing. On Sunday, I went over to my grandmas apartment for a birthday party. It was a party for Helen, one of my Peruvian friends but also like my family as well. It's all kind of confusing. We spent the afternoon listening to music, drinking pisco sours, and eating great food (minus the cow heart that I didn't know I was eating.. Thanks Jorge!).

Happy Birthday Helen!!

On Monday, Missy, Jorge, and I were feeling adventurous and wanted to go to the district of Gamarra. This place is known for it's shopping and the oodles and oodles of stores. But it wasn't exactly what I pictured. It was like a huge mall, with dirty streets, very overwhelming, and wasn't really my favorite place to go. But it was an experience and that's what I am here for. That night, was amazing! I received a save the date from the best aunt in the whole world and my package from my bestest friend ever, April. I was so excited and once again couldn't even speak spanish to the guys downstairs. She is the best, not only did she send me an awesome easter basket, she sent me girl scout cookies!! Amazing!! I love her.

My wonderful Easter basket :)

On Tuesday, we decided to go to the play Incendios which is down in Miraflores. However, after being super excited all day and contemplating what I was going to wear, we go to buy the tickets and guess what... oh they are sold out for tonight. So after running home, getting ready in a matter of minutes, and running to vivandas, the tickets are sold out!! Well I guess a good thing is that we bought the tickets for next week so we are guaranteed to see it!! Thank goodness. A couple of Peruvians both named Maria Fernandez were going to go to the play with us but since it was sold out we decided to go to El Polo and get some ice cream. **Just a side note, I don't know what it is about the sweets (chocolate, ice cream, candy, etc) here but us Americans can not get enough of them. Everything tastes so good!!!!
Okay back to what I was saying, we all went to this restaurant in El Polo to get ice cream. Well some of us get ice cream, some of us get cheesecake, but Missy and I got fondu.... and it was amazing!! Best idea ever!! We definitely had no problem finishing that. It was a good time being with the family and also with our new Peruvian friends Maria Fernandez, and Maria Fernandez. :)

Thursday is the day I think we were all looking forward to.... Soccer game!! That night we were going to go watch La U vs Brazil and we were excited. I had been to a soccer game in Costa Rica and that was so much fun and it was raining so I could only imagine how fun this game was going to be since in Lima, Peru it hardly rains. The game was at 9:30 so we head down early due to traffic being crazy and we wanted to buy a jersey. We arrive 5 -8 blocks away from the stadium and it is already crazy and it's an hour and a half before the game. My thoughts were...okay soccer games don't correlate to peruvian time and holy crap Peruvians like to go hard!! Missy, Nikki, and I buy ourselves a jersey and we walk towards the entrance.... Well we thought until we had to back track and go to a different entrance. We finally make it to our section and get our seats (which are not assigned... first come first serve). I never knew picking seats and where in the section was so important until now. Thank goodness Jorge knew because half of the section is crazy and the other half is kind of mellow. However, the north section of the stadium.. saying it is crazy is an understatement.... there were guards lining this section!!! I mean it was cool to see but I don't think so cool to be sitting over there! :) Even though La U didn't play very good and scored a goal for Brazil and lost.. it was still so much fun!! I mean I thought they were playing good, but according to our soccer connoisseurs Missy and Jorge, they told us (Nikki, Adam, Emily, and I who had no idea) that they were playing pretty bad. Oh well we cheered anyways!

Go La U!!!!

The soccer connoisseurs & I 

That would be the North section- Crazy!! 

Go La U!!!!! 

That brings me to today, Saturday, March 15th. First and foremost, I want to wish my sister Kate a very very Happy Happy 25th Birthday!! I wish I was home to celebrate but I'll be there soon enough. Missy, Adam, Emily, and I wanted to have a beach day so thats exactly what we did. We left Surco to go to Miraflores around 11. When we got there we treated ourselves to some wonderful Oreo shakes. These things were to die for... see I'm telling you I have no idea but the ice cream is so good here. We then walk to the not so rocky beach and set up camp for the day. Well I,  being not so smart like my good friend Missy who actually put on sunblock, got real real sunburnt! But my thought was I wanna be so tan when I head home so as Adam said, "I hope all of my progress isn't wasted." My thoughts exactly. So we go grab some lunch and some divine cheesecake and head for home around 4:30. It was a great, relaxing day. We decided we need to take advantage of the beaches since they are non-existent in NE.

Best sand castle ever!!

So as I stated in my title, today marks day 64 which means I only have 43 days left here in Lima, Peru. As I type this I feel a rush of emotions including, excitement, happiness, but also sadness. As our days have started to really get fewer and fewer, the plane ride home is actually starting to sound more and more real and not so far away. Also as we (we as in the people I now consider my family:  the other students) talk about going home, we are all so excited but also sad at the same time. I will of course miss Peru so much when I am not here. I am going to miss my family who is wonderful, the life style here, the struggle of speaking spanish, also the fact I am improving/learning so much, the weather because it is beautiful, but all in all I am absolutely gonna miss my friends the most. We have become so close in such a short amount of time, it's almost unreal. There is nothing we don't know about each other which might freak some people out, but I have learned that by studying abroad you meet the coolest, most generous, open-minded people, and I have made friendships that will last the rest of my life. These 9 other people I have shared this crazy experience with, all hold a special place in my heart and I am so lucky to have been able to travel and get to know them. I am so truly thankful and blessed for that. I miss my family & friends back home so much I cannot wait to see you!! Adios!! xoxo 

More Adventures in Peru---> More Memories for a Lifetime

Hola! This past week and couple days have been fun, spontaneous, relaxing and exhilarating all at the same time. How is that possible? Come live in Lima, Peru for 4 months then you'll understand. So here we go....

Last week, we had school. School is school but holy crap it's a lot of work. Which I mean, is the reason why I am here to learn so I will embrace it and learn as much as I can. However, the amount of homework and studying I have to do is not so fun sometimes! But last Thursday, Missy, Nikki, and I tried to go to a movie with Missy's family. However, when we got to the theater it was packed with people and the tickets were sold out. So we resorted to going back to Surco and drank some wine. The next day Friday, Missy, Jorge, Adam, Dan and I went to El Centro de Lima. It was beautiful down there. Here comes the spontaneous part of last week. On the way there, the taxi driver told us of a tour we could take to San Cristobal. So as soon as we get out of the taxi, we buy our ticket 5 soles (super cheap) and go on this tour. We go up this hill where there is a huge cross and overlooks all of Lima. We could even see the ocean. It was beautiful. Up there, we could also buy candles and light them. Each candle stood for something else. Purple- health, White- family, Pink- friendship, Red- love, Orange- education, and Yellow- luck. Amazing experience! After this we went to a pancake restaurant with THE best pancakes I've ever had in my life!! They had so many different kinds including, Nutella, Nutella w/ strawberries, different kinds of ice creams and fruit, and more!

On Sunday, we left for our trip to a town called Icas. We rode a bus for 5 hours but even though this doesn't sound fun, it was comfortable, played movies, and had WiFi. So it was a great bus ride. We then arrived to our resort for the next 3 days, Las Dunas. This place was fabulous. We ate lunch then went sand boarding and sand buggying. By far, one of the funnest things I have ever done in my life!! That night we drank some wonderful wine and played Cards Against Humanity. I agree with Nikki West when I say I think I am biased, but I am pretty sure I have traveled with the best group ever!! 

The next day we traveled to the city of Paracas and took a boat ride to Las Islas Ballestas. I knew this experience was going to be great but it  turned out to be amazing. We saw "Candalabra" which is a crazy, awesome rock formation in a hill. There are theories that say it was made by the Incas but others say, like the Nazca Lines it was made by aliens. So cool! We then arrived to the islands and saw so many amazing things for example, Pelicans, Bottle Nose Dolphins, Sea Lions, Blue Footed Boobies (a type of bird), and Penguins!! Yes, Penguins!! Since they are my favorite animal, I was jumping with excitement. When I saw the sea lions, I wanted to swim over and give them a hug and when I saw the penguins I wanted to take one with me and walk like they do! So exciting! We then spent the rest of the time in Paracas doing some shopping at the markets. 

The rest of the time at Las Dunas was spent relaxing, laying by the pool, getting a massage (best thing ever), drinking some wine & pisco, and hanging out with La Familia! :) This weekend was short but relaxing. I think it was the perfect time for this trip because of the craziness of school, a break from reality was nice. However, coming back to reality was not so exciting. If given the option, I think we all would've stayed at Las Dunas until April 27th. We only have 53 days left here and it is going to fly by! It is hard to believe but exciting at the same time. Love & Miss you all!! Abrazos y Besos! Adios.

Some event/memories/mishaps I never want to forget..

    -While in Ica- Extreme Pillow Fight occured: not only did it happen so fast, it was boys against girls, & the       look on everyone's faces, they were out for blood! Especially Nikki, who may have swung a little to        hard at Adam! :)

    - While in Ica- we made a band using no instruments only sound effects. I myself think we have a shot at            making millions but we may need a little practice. Our band- Me: bass/drum noises, Nikki: harmonizing          beautifully, Emily & Marina: starting us off with the words, & finally we have Adam: some crazy bird              noise.

    - While walking back from El Polo- All of a sudden a huge crashing noise. "Oh, someones muffler just fell          off."- Jorge. All of us laughing and looking back and realizing he was completely right but have no idea          how he knew that by the sound. The guy driving the car then gets out and looks at the curb as if it

         made the muffler fall off his car! Priceless. 

    - While having conversations about magic & playing Cards Against Humanity with Missy & maybe a little         wine- "Como una broma?"- Missy. "No."-Me (everyone talking) "Como una broma?"- Missy. "No,             that's bruja."- Me. "My life is a broma!"- Missy. :)