Tailgating Jesus

            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!

¡Muchas Clases!

      Hello all! First of all I would like to start this post by wishing both Eoin and Paul Irmiter happy birthdays. You guys rock! Congrats on not dying yet! Eat lots of cake for me! I hope you like your presents!

    
Into the sea!!

      So last week I got to go to the beach with my IFSA peeps. It was pretty fantastic. We went to a really good pizza place for lunch and then chilled at the beach until the sun went down. I made fun of people for saying the water was cold. It was great. I mention this partly because I love the beach, partly because I want to make you lot jealous, and partly because I actually have pictures of it.

The beach crew

Seaside Sunset

On campus!

     The rest of this week was spent at la Católica trying different classes. The first week of classes is called shopping week for exchange students. This means that we get to spend one week going to as many classes as we want to try them out before we sign up. The good part about this is that it lets us eliminate classes that are too much work, not the subject we thought they were, or that have professors we straight up cannot understand. This has proven very helpful as I tried at least two classes in which I understood not even one word that came out of the professors' mouths. The not so good part about it is that I ended up spending a ridiculous amount of time at the university this week. I was also stupid enough to try out an 8am class one day. Turns out both the class and professor were really cool, but that was not enough to stop me from nearly nodding off in class. Leaving the house at 6:30 is not gonna fly. I also tried out one night class on Andean Technology, but when the professor walked in looking like an old, frail Popeye the Sailor and began speaking in extreme Spanglish, I booked it out of there. I am, however, super psyched to announce that I will not have any classes on Fridays! Plus, what I will be doing with that time is volunteering at the archaeological site in Miraflores called Huaca Pucllana. Free field school? Hell yes! I cannot tell you how excited I am about this.

Yep, I get to work here.

On Monday all the international students officially matriculate and sign up for classes. This process starts at 9am but apparently people start lining up at like 5am to get the classes they want. For this reason, myself and a few other IFSA kids are seriously considering spending the night at la Católica, just to beat the rush. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned to hear what classes I actually end up getting into!

Another campus shot.

      Also, next weekend I am heading out to Ayacucho for la Semana Santa, or Holy Week(end). We have Thursday and Friday off of school so we are getting on an overnight bus on Wednesday night. I am super excited. Ayacucho has the biggest Semana Santa celebration in all of Peru. It is meant to be just amazing. Basically there are loads of parades and religious celebrations up until Good Friday. Then people party it up because they believe there is no such thing as sin until Easter Sunday when good old Jesus Christ gets resurrected. It promises to be absolutely fantastic. Francesco, one of my host brothers, loves Ayacucho and has promised to tell us all the best places to go. He is also studying music in school and has agreed to give me guitar lessons which I am SUPER EXCITED about. I know what you're thinking: "Adrienne? With a guitar? Why would anyone do that to the institution of music?"But hopefully I won't be too terrible.

Last but not least, I spent yesterday doing a bit of wandering and a bit of shopping with some friends by Parque Kennedy. This park is a main center of activity in Miraflores and is filled with ridiculously well-fed, super friendly, stray cats. Yep, that's right. There are loads of them. It is actually super adorable.

So many cats! Meow!

That's all for now! ¡Un abrazo grande!

Bones y bebidas

So, many things have happened since I last posted. All of them are very exciting. Let's stick to chronological order, more or less.

I visited the center of Lima last Saturday and it was amazing!! La Plaza de Armas is the central governmental plaza and it is beautiful.

First things first, we went on an amazing tour of the Cathedral on the plaza. The tour was fascinating. Did you know that the robes of a catholic priest were sometimes decorated with real gold and silver and could weigh up to 10 kilos! I did not. The cathedral was choc full of Jesus on the cross and Virgen Mary, and also the Peruvian Saints, whoser names escape me. Every display was more colorful and gilded than the last. Absolutely gorgeous!

A view from in front of the cathedral.

And one from inside

Another awesome inside view

This is the front of the cathedral, and some of the other people in the program, looking enthralled.

Also, this guy. Why is he holding the heart and standing on the head of some other guy? Damn good question.

After the cathedral we went to the Barrio China (Chinatown, basically) and had chifa for lunch. Chifu is Chinese food with a Peruvian twist. Better than Americanized Chinese food, but still not my favorite. I also got to try Inka-Cola for the first time. It's pretty good, but does in fact taste like bubblegum. Then we went to the Monastery of San Francisco, which I loved!!! It had the most amazing library with  enormous skylights, beautiful winding staircases to the second floor balcony, incredible old books, and some fantastic old hymnals that were at least three feet tall. It was the best library I've ever seen and it smelled just the way a musty, old library should. But it got even better. The tour continued down into the catacombs where hundreds of old bones are arranged in full view. Skulls stared down from the walls while femurs and humeri formed patterns in deep pits. I loved every minute. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside, but feast your eyes on this one of the outside. Also, there were a hell of a lot of pigeons outside. Apparently if you hold food in your hand they will land on you and eat it. Gross.

After our final tour we were set loose in the city. I went with a few others from the group to the bar that claims to have invented the Pisco sour to try one out. Newsflash: they are delicious. No wonder these are the national beverage of Peru. They are made with Pisco (a clear brandy made from grapes), lemon juice, sugar, and egg whites. Yum!!

Once again my thanks to google. But mine did look just like this.

One more very important thing to report. I went swimming in the Pacific Ocean!! It was amazing. I walked to the beach on Sunday afternoon and was undeterred by the clouds that covered the sun as we arrived, unlike my fellow beach-goers. I sat on the beach with two other girls from the program for a while. However, we soon discovered that sitting too close to the edge can be dangerous. There we were sitting on an entirely dry area waiting for the waves to reach our feet, when out of nowhere a wave crashed down over our heads and drenched us. So obviously it was time to go swimming. The beaches in Miraflores are actually made up of stones as opposed to sand and there is a steep incline as you approach the water, so walking in was a struggle. Not to mention, the waves break pretty close to the beach and as they wash in they bombard your legs with rocks. But I finally made it through and it was absolutely worth it. Swimming in the sea without feeling like you might at any moment turn into a block of ice was a pleasant change, although the water close to Lima is a bit dirty. After I managed to climb back out of the water, another struggle with the strength of the waves. Of course, the Atlantic Ocean off of Drumnacriag Beach will always be foremost in my heart but there is nothing better than feeling the rise and fall of waves all around you. I will most assuredly be taking advantage of the fact that I can walk to the ocean in 45 minutes. Thats's all for now! ¡Un abrazo grande!

I don't have any photos of me in the water, so here's one of a kick-ass beach view.

Los venados

 Today was my first day at la Católica (which is what the cool kids call the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru, that and PUCP). It was fantastic to see the campus and it is beautiful! The entire place is perfectly groomed and very green.





Here is a rather sub-par photo of the entry way, where you can just see the PUCP letters that have been artfully worked into the grass. One interesting thing that I found out today is that PUCP is a closed campus. You have to go through a gate and show your student ID card to get inside. Very fancy.







We went in today to meet the director in charge of international students, get our pictures taken for our ID cards (mine is sure to be awful), open Peruvian bank accounts, and take a Spanish placement test for the IFSA classes we are taking. IFSA, of course, is the shortened name for the program I am here with. My favorite thing about walking around campus was seeing los venados roaming about. Los venados are small, tame deer that are live within the grounds of PUCP and wander about eating hibiscus flowers. They are adorable.

We had pollo saltado for lunch today in el comedor (the cafeteria) and it was delicious. This is a classic peruvian dish, from my understanding. I would like to add, for the skeptics out there, that my vegetable intake has been higher than usual and I have been trying everything. I ate many, though not all of the onions and peppers in my saltado. They were actually pretty good. I also ate all the onions and cucumbers on my salad, but not the olive because olives are a food from hell. 

Note: This is not my photo. Thanks Google.

It was a day full of spanish and lines but it was very fun. We rode the combi to la Católica, which took ages. A combi is basically a bus here in Lima but they are far less organized and completely terrifying. It went pretty well though, I still had my camera and my cell phone when I got off.
Again not my photo, and they are not all quite that full, but this is the gist of what a combi ride is like.


Tomorrow I head out to the center of Lima! Pictures and stories to follow!

Los primeros dias

Things have been a complete whirlwind since arriving in Miraflores. The very first day, after being picked up in the airport at about 5am, myself and two other students were dropped off at a hotel (after I gawked out of the taxi window for 20 minutes) and told to be ready the next day at 10! The grogginess from the plane had yet to wear off and we found ourselves a bit bewildered. Finally we pulled ourselves together, put on the coolest clothes we could fish out of our bags and took our first walk through Miraflores. We made our way towards the ocean and were rewarded with one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen.
















We spent the next hour wandering about, trying to make our way down to the beach. Finally we arrived! I promptly clambered down he rocks to dip my feet into the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. It was fantastic. However, my ambitions overwhelmed my practicalities and I ended up getting rather more wet than I had intended. On the other hand, this short visit was enough to enamor me with the idea of surfing lessons. We headed back to the hotel with the sound of the waves at our backs.

The next day was full of orientation madness: meeting the other students and staff, talking about the do's and don't's of Lima, and meeting our host families. I decided my host mom was amazing about two seconds after meeting her. She is incredibly kind and super helpful! We drove back to our house where I met Giancarlo, Gianluca, and later, Francesco. Gianluca, the youngest at 10, chatted with me about snow and favorite foods while I unpacked, although sometimes all I could do was smile and shake my head when I couldn't understand. I also met Samba, the boxer dog. She is very sweet, and hearing the familiar boxer dog snuffle in the house is incredibly comforting. My room here is brilliant! It's enormous, with loads of closet space and it's own bathroom! Talk about luxury!

Today is Wednesday, another day of orientation. Francesco showed me and Steph, another IFSA student who lives just across the beautiful park behind my house, how to take the combi (the bus) the the program office. Although it will definitely take me a while to be comfortable with particular mode of transportation. Later we went with our patas (Peruvian students with IFSA, pata means friend in Peru) to the store to get cell phones. Very exciting! Mine, like everyone else's is a black brick phone but it's Peruvian and I love it! Then we had the safety talk (how to make sure you don't get kidnapped by taxi drivers, that kind of stuff) and learned how to swear properly in Peru, which are both extremely important, obviously. I had dinner with my family and they helped me with some Peruvian slang and told me that they are firm supporters of the San Francisco (American) football teams, the Dolphins I believe.

Thus far Peru has been utterly fantastic despite the fact that speaking Spanish all the time is threatening to fry my brain. I can't wait to visit the University (which, I have been informed, is colloquially referred to as el Católico, rather than the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) and pick out my classes. I'm leaning towards a Peruvian or South American history class, along with a couple in Anthropology or Archaeology. We'll see how it goes.