Sorry
about the delay in posting!! It’s been a very busy couple of weeks. I have
officially started classes at la Católica. I am enrolled in Prehistory and
Civilization, and History of Peru: Formation until the 18
th century.
Thus far both are very interesting, History of Peru promises to be challenging
but the professor is really friendly.
In
other news, I was robbed in the street on Friday. Drama! I am fine, but it was
a definite shock to the system. I was walking down the street with a friend
when I felt something pull on my purse. At first I thought the dog we had just
passed was attacking me, which was terrifying, but when I turned around I saw a
man running off with my purse, he must have cut through the strap. I am rather
proud to say that my first reaction was to start yelling and run after said
thief, although I quickly realized that was not the best idea and stopped. It
has certainly taught me to pay more attention to my surroundings while I’m
walking. Fortunately, I wasn’t carrying much money, which gives me the
satisfaction of knowing that the thieves basically went to all that trouble for
about five bucks and a tube of lipstick. Serves them right.
 |
| Alpacas! |
More
importantly, let me tell you all about my recent trips! First of all, I went to Huamanga, Ayacucho for Semana Santa, of Holy Week with two other girls from my program,
and the boyfriend of one of them. It was an amazing experience, if a little
overwhelming. We took the overnight bus from Lima, which was not the most fun
thing I’ve ever done. I was very glad to finally arrive in Ayacucho after
spending 8 hours on a pepto-bismol colored bus with an overly aggressive
driver. However, it was totally worth it! We met Rita, the women who owned our
hostel and dropped off our things. Then Rita introduced to her father, who took
us on a tour of the city center. It was great! We drank freshly squeezed juices
and saw some alpacas. We also discovered that when people say that there is a
church on every corner in Ayacucho, they are not exaggerating. On Thursday
night we attended the parade of the seven churches, which was beautiful and we
saw some people doing the Danza de Tijeras, or scissors dance.
 |
| The streets of Huamanga |
 |
| Devan, Steph, and I outside one of the main churches. |
 |
| Jesus, in the Virgen Dolorosa parade |
On
Friday, we went to mass. I thought it would be fun to check it out. However,
while it was interesting, it turned out to be the mass of the seven phrases, in
which there is a sermon for each of the seven things Jesus says on the cross.
After an hour and a half we were only three sermons in, and decided to go to
breakfast. In the afternoon, we went to lunch at a beautiful restaurant on an
overlook of the city. The view was breathtaking. On our way back, we stopped at
a monastery to listen to the beautiful singing we had heard from outside. That
evening we went to the parade of la Virgen Dolorosa. It was beautiful, although
there were a number of candles that came dangerously close to my hair as people
moved through the crowd.
 |
| Pascua del Toros! |
On
Saturday morning we went to la Pascua del Toros, or the running of the bulls.
Everyone was dressed in red, in addition to being incredibly drunk for 10am. We
got to see horseback rider in traditional clothing ride around the square
before the main event. More people on horseback led the bulls, more or less,
through the streets on long ropes. Despite the ropes, the bulls managed to
score pretty solid hits on a few people in the crowd. Later that day we decided
to get away from the crowds and walk up to the artisan district. There was a
beautiful little fair going on, and we spent the afternoon wandering around
looking at all the different textiles and ceramics. That night we saw some of
the most fantastic fireworks. They set off the main fireworks show directly
above our heads, so close that you could sometimes see the sparks hit the roofs
of buildings. Definitely not the safest of fireworks displays, but absolutely
amazing. They also had towers set up around the central plaza with pyrotechnics
attached to them. When lit they would light up, the wheels on the sides would
spark and spin, and finally the tops would shoot off into the sky. It was
fantastic, if a little smoky.
 |
| Jesus resurrected, this parade was worth the 4am wake-up call. |
We went back to the hostel to take a nap before
the final parade on Easter morning. This parade happened at about 6am Sunday
morning, just as the sun was coming up. They carried an enormous tower covered
in candles, with Jesus on the top, around the central plaza. It was an amazing
sight. We spent the rest of our Sunday lazing about in the hostel before
getting on a night bus back to Lima.
Me! At the top of a mountain!
 |
| One amazing view |
 |
| The IFSA group at Caral |
Last
weekend the whole IFSA group went on a day trip to Caral, the oldest
civilization in South America. It was really cool. We drove for three hours out
into the desert to get there. Then we walked along this path out of the valley
and up into the mountains a bit to get to the ruins. It was certainly a new
experience to be in the desert that way. Lima is in a desert, but you can’t
really tell when you are in the city. Once we got there we went on a tour
around the pyramid-like building of the city of Caral. It was really
interesting. I should’ve put on more sunscreen because I was bright red by the
time we walked back to the bus, but what can you do. We stopped on the way back
to get lunch at a beautiful restaurant and I had arroz con pato, which was
pretty delicious.
 |
| Caral! |
 |
| Caral up close |
 |
| I am in love with this view. |
That’s
all that I have to say about that. Until next time folks! ¡Un abrazo grande!
