Ice Cream Break: A Short Story of Procrastination.

Disclaimer: The following story is true, but contains very little insight into Peruvian culture. It is purely for entertainment purposes and a method of further procrastination on my part.


            It was a Friday afternoon. Early enough that I couldn't detect signs of the sun setting in the sky, but late enough that I had made it out of bed. No class on Fridays. I had spent the previous hour organizing my notebooks and updating my calendar, writing down the reading assignments that I had to complete over the weekend. They were plentiful. I could feel the stack of readings growing larger...taunting me...beckoning me to sit down and spend my entire Friday afternoon fawning over them.  "No," I thought. "Not yet." You see, I couldn't work under these conditions. Trapped within these four walls, yet feeling the breeze of the outside world wafting through my window. I couldn't spend my entire afternoon indoors while the rest of the world bustled about Lima, enjoying the clear, sunny skies and 75 degree weather. No, I needed a taste of the outside world. Something that would give me the motivation and energy to sit down and read a hundred pages of Peruvian history. I needed ice cream.

            I knew just the place to go. I slipped on my shoes, scrounged around in my purse for a few soles, and made my way down the outside stairwell. With pep in my step, I walked to the corner and crossed the street to the Vivanda, cheerfully ignoring the money exchangers who are always waiting patiently on median for some gringa to come change her US dollars to soles. Not today, boys. I've got all the money I need in my left pocket! In the Vivanda, I go directly to the ice cream cooler and pull out a Fria Rica ice cream cone. The cashier asks if I need a bag, but I think she is just mocking me. She knows I am going to open up that ice cream cone as soon as I step outside. I politely say "no gracias" and make my way back to the house. As I am walking, I spot one of the countless yellow-vested bicycle ice cream vendors just across the street from my residence. I wonder to myself if I would have bought my ice cream from this man if he were there when I left the house. Probably not. To be honest, the street vendors scare me a bit.

         Back in my room I stand at my open second-floor window, enjoying my ice cream cone and the refreshing breeze. Across the street is a very tall apartment building with balconies of the apartments facing my window. I often enjoy sitting at my desk and "people-watching" the residents on their balconies across the street. On this afternoon, there was a middle aged couple on the lowest balcony of the building. I noticed that the woman began to do something strange. She tied a string to a green plastic bag and began lowering it down to the street. I couldn't tell to whom she was lowering the bag because a tree blocked my view of the sidewalk. But then I figured it out. "She must be lowering that bag down to the ice cream vendor I saw earlier! She is buying ice cream from her balcony!" This thought contained much more excitement than was necessary, but I was fascinated. I watched as she began to draw the bag back up from the street and waited with anticipation to see what was inside. I even secretly wanted her to look up and catch my gaze once she had retrieved her delicious treats. As her eyes caught mine I would nod my head and slightly lift my cone as if to say, "cheers; to ice cream." As the bag reached the railing of the balcony, the woman took something out of it and handed it to her (I'm assuming) husband. He began shuffling the object in a way that made it look like he was counting money. I slowly begin to realize that she wasn't exchanging money for ice cream. She was exchanging money for money. Disappointing. I also begin to realize that it might seem strange that I have been watching this exchange from my window for the past five minutes while eating an ice cream cone. Satisfied with the amount of interaction I had with the outside world, I closed my window, sat at my desk, and transported myself from Peru's present to its past.

Beaches, Classes, and Hospitals...Oh my!

Hello faithful readers. I know some time has passed since my last update, but I have been very busy! So, I will (hopefully) talk about a few interesting things in this post. I'll start with something fun: the beach!

Last Saturday the whole ISA group went on a day excursion to a beach that is about an hour south of Lima. We weren't just dropped off at some patch of sand by the water or anything, this was a fancy private beach club. There were umbrellas and chairs out on the sand, various restaurants with waiters walking around the beach bringing you food and drinks, a pool (if you're too good for the ocean), and a little water park. The beach was beautiful, with white sand and some of the biggest waves I've ever seen in the ocean. I know that isn't saying much due to the fact that I'm not a big ocean-goer, but these were some powerful waves! The water was freezing, but we braved it, slowly submerging ourselves one inch at a time. That is, until a big wave would come and douse our whole bodies in the freezing salt water. But anyway, it was a blast. Occasionally, we could even see dolphins swimming by in the distance! (No, they weren't sharks.) I'm glad we got to visit a beach in the south because most of the coast near Lima is very rocky and doesn't quite have that charm of a white sandy beach. In case you were wondering, yes, I did use sunscreen, and yes, I still got sunburnt.

Check out those waves!

We spent pretty much the whole day there, swimming in the pools and the ocean, digging in the sand, drinking fruity drinks, and eating merrily. It was good bonding time for our study abroad group. But speaking of eating, I wanted to order something from a restaurant while I was there, but I wasn't sure what to get. So, when the waitress came over I asked for her recommendation. "Baby chicken," she said (in English) and pointed to the menu. Sure enough, listed on the menu was "baby chicken." I do not know why this was the only item on the menu that they felt the need to list in English. And I do not know who thought that "baby chicken" would sound appetizing to customers. But yes, I bought it. Don't worry, it wasn't a bunch of little chicks fried up like nuggets or anything. It was more like the cornish hens that my mom cooks on special occasions.  It was delicious.

My next topic is slightly less exciting than the beach, but still fun. Classes! I've now had two full weeks of classes and I am finally getting into the swing of things. Mondays and Wednesdays I have history of Peru and Quechua. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Peruvian literature and Linguistics. I'd have to say that Tuesdays and Thursdays are my more stressful days mainly because of the literature class. It is very difficult to stay focused on what the professor is saying...in Spanish...for two hours...about literary criticism. Next week he is going to start picking out people specifically to answer questions for part of our participation grade, so I'm going to try very hard to understand the large amount of readings I have for this weekend. Luckily, tutors are included in our program fee so the U.S. students in the class will probably get together with a Peruvian student in the class once a week to make sure we aren't completely lost. But hey, all my classes will transfer as pass/fail credits! And for some of these classes, I will consider a passing as a great accomplishment.

Ok, last topic! This one isn't as fun as the beach or classes, but still slightly interesting. Also, a warning. This paragraph may or may not address the topics of illness and bodily fluids, so if there are any children reading, prepare to giggle inappropriately. That being said, I was told by someone recently that you haven't really had the full Latin American experience until you have vomited and had diarrhea at the same time. When I heard this, I laughed uncomfortably and thought, "that's a silly stereotype; it can't happen to people that often; it definitely won't happen to me, with my immune system of STEEL!" Think again, Alice. Think again. I did get sick. It was awful, it was scary, and I wanted to run home crying. But alas, I survived. I had been feeling down in the dumps all day, but once I started getting a relentless fever and throwing up, my host mom decided to take me to the hospital at about 10pm, just to be safe. I really don't know much at all about the healthcare system here in Peru, so I will just tell you about my specific experience in the hospital. It was a very small clinic, so there weren't many people waiting when I got there. Once I proved that I had insurance I was immediately taken back into an exam room where I was poked and prodded and, well, examined. I thought it was interesting that I didn't have to fill out any paper work or give my life history to the doctors before they started messing with me. I don't think doctors in the U.S. will get near a patient unless they know the complete medical history of that person and everyone in their immediate family. They did, however, ask me if I was allergic to anything, so I guess that's the most important part. They gave me IVs of three different fluids. I know one was full of electrolytes, one was antibiotics, and the other one was probably full of Pisco or something, who knows. I was too out of it to ask. I was out of there by about 1:30 in the morning and only racked up about a $400 dollar bill, including the medicine I had to get from the pharmacy for the following week. Not bad! All in all, everyone was really nice and I got tons of support from my host mom and site director. 

At least I can now say that I have had the full Latin American experience.

My Face isn't Red from Embarrassment; that's just Sunburn...

When you find yourself in a new place with a different language and culture, expect to make a few embarrassing mistakes. But if I have learned anything during my 21 years on this earth it's that sobbing and running away doesn't solve anything. Usually. Just pick your pride up off the ground, dust it off, smile...and move on. Here's a short post about some of mistakes I've made since my arrival in Lima and how I've handled them.

• Hand gestures. Here in Peru, body language is slightly different. I've already mentioned how I've had to get used to touching cheeks and making a kissing sound whenever I say hello and goodbye to anyone. I've actually gotten pretty used to that! But there is one gesture that is really hard to get the hang of. You see, in Peru, when someone wants you tell you "come here," they make a hand motion that most people from the U.S. (and probably other places) would interpret as "oh my God, get away from me!" Below is a drawing to help you get an idea of the hand motion. Anyway, of course we were warned during orientation that this would confuse us but when I actually encountered it, I was still caught off guard. So, after my first class at PUCP I was going to go talk to the professor and introduce myself. I begin walking over and, of course to be friendly and welcoming, he waves me over. I'm like a deer in the headlights. I stop in my tracks. I take a few steps back. "What have I done?" I think. "Why doesn't he want to talk to me??" The professor stares at me for a moment, probably just as confused as I am, and then makes a larger waving motion with his arms that I recognize to mean "get over here, stupid!"I scurry over, laugh,  mumble something about hand gestures, and move on with trying to make a better first impression.

• Getting Lost. Don't worry, that wasn't the first embarrassing thing that happened to me on the first day of classes! I wanted to be organized and prepared for my first day, so I wrote down the names of the classes I had that day and the numbers of the rooms they would be in. I made it to the university a full half an hour early...yet I still ended up being ten minutes late to class. You see, when writing down the room numbers, I wrote down the first room that was listed for the class schedule. The rooms change depending on what day it is, so I assumed it would be listed as Mon, Tues, Wed, etc. Nope. It was the reverse. So I waited in the wrong room for five minutes until I finally decided to go find someone who knew where in the world I was supposed to be. Luckily, I wasn't the latest person to class on that first day.

• Getting Lost (Part Two).  The other day I was trying to walk to a supermarket called Metro. I had walked about two and a half blocks when I realized I was definitely going the wrong way. I needed to turn left at the previous block. But did I turn around in the middle of the sidewalk? Heck no. I didn't want all the locals to see this lost gringa retracing her steps and looking confused! I kept my head up, stayed focused, and walked all the way around that block until I was once again headed in the correct direction. We will just call it the scenic route. 

• Lost in Translation.  After my first day of classes I was in the ISA office at PUCP just hanging out and talking to some Peruvian students about my classes. I wanted to say one of the simplest phrases in the language, but of course my intentions were misinterpreted. I wanted to describe a teacher as "nice" so I used the Spanish word "simpatico." It is one of the first descriptives words you learn in Spanish. How would you describe yourself? Yo soy simpatica, comica, y estraña. Well, apparently in Peru "simpatico" means handsome rather than nice. So one of the Peruvian students gave me a weird look and giggled and the other was nice enough to explain my mistake. I now know to use the word "amable" when saying someone is friendly or people might get the wrong idea.

• Just Smile and Nod. Or do the opposite! I often find that when interacting with people in everyday situations I usually miss a few words or phrases. If I am being told something that I don't fully understand (and I don't think it is imperative for me to know the information) I just smile and nod. But if someone asks me a question that I don't understand, I usually just put a confused look on my face and say "no." If they asked a question that cannot be answered this response, I just hope that they also get confused and move on. This can be tricky though, because I don't what I am turning down. I still have no idea what I was asked at the cash register in the Vivanda yesterday, but whatever it was, I was having none of it. (Evelyn, if you are reading, I was not being asked to donate 10 centimos to anything because I was prepared and listening for that question...and slightly disappointed when they didn't ask.)            

I'm sure I'll have many more embarrassing, uncomfortable, or silly situations like this in the future and I'll be sure to tell you about them. I'll just keep laughing it off and moving on!

Mist Walking, Bargaining, and Graffiti.

I noticed that in all of my other posts the titles contained exclamation points. Please note that I controlled my excitement when titling this post.

Today is Sunday, the day of rest, and that is exactly what I am doing! Yesterday I think I walked about ten miles (approximation) so I am spending today writing this blog, watching tv, and eating delicious food. Agata and I live in a district called Magdalena del Mar and our friend Evelyn lives just a few blocks away. Yesterday we decided to go for a long walk to the Miraflores district in order to get to know our surroundings better. Our destination was the mercado Inca of Miraflores. It was a nice day to walk because the city was covered in a very thick mist so we had some protection from the sun. From what I understand, this misty weather will become more frequent as we move into winter.

The misty Miraflores coast.

I now understand why Peruvians usually take a bus or taxi to get around instead of walking. This city is nearly impossible to navigate. Lima is actually known for having some of the worst urban planning in the world. We had a map with us so every once in a while we would hide behind a tree and try to decode the labyrinth of diagonal streets, straight streets, dead ends and roundabouts. Finally we figured out what direction we should head in order to get to the Inca Market and after walking for 15 minutes we would realize we somehow had arrived nowhere near where we thought we were going. At one point I think we actually teleported to another part of the district, but who knows. One really fun thing about walking in Miraflores (and in other parts of Lima) is seeing all of the graffiti. Now, I'm not talking about the type of graffiti where someone just puts their name or profanity, but occasionally we will come across long walls of really impressive graffiti art. Yesterday we actually got so see some of these works in progress. There were just groups of guys all along the wall with cans of spray paint and paintbrushes. I took a photo but I was trying to be nonchalant about it so it isn't the best quality.

Wall of graffiti in Miraflores.

I would love to do something like this. Maybe when I get back home my parents will let me use the side of our house to practice! Anyway, after a few minor setbacks and some sore feet, we finally found the Inca Market. It's a really cool place, and if I decide that you are worthy of receiving a gift from Peru, this is probably where I will buy it. They have tons of hand made crafts and souvenirs for pretty reasonable prices. Speaking of prices...one thing about Peru is that bargaining is very common, especially in markets and taxis (they don't have meters, so you decide on the price before you get in). Well, I am very proud of myself because I bargained for the first time! Granted, it was unintentional, but still an accomplishment in my book! You see, I was thinking about buying this little stuffed alpaca doll so I asked the woman in the shop how much it costed. She replied, "seis soles." In response, I said "Oh, seis soles?" In my head I was thinking "Oh, only six soles, that's not much at all!" (That's about $2.25). But the woman interpreted it as, "What? Seis soles! I'm not paying that!" So she promptly responded, "ok, ok cinco (5) soles!" I was very pleased so I purchased the little alpaca doll and he is adorable. His name is Carlos. 

I think that's about all I have to talk about for this entry but I'll leave you with a Peruvian food update. I had a dish the other day called "arroz tapada." It is a layer of rice, a layer of meat sauce and peppers, and then another layer of rice stacked in a small cup and then flipped over to make a nice tower of rice and not rice (I really have no idea what was in it so please excuse my vague description). Once again I forgot to take a picture before I ate it so here is one I stole from the internet!

I also got to try "Chifa," which refers to a style of Chinese food that has a little Peruvian influence. It was delicious. Well, classes start tomorrow so it should be a busy week! I can't wait to start LEARNING! Let's just hope I can understand my professors...

Lima: The Land of Free Ice Cream!

Today...I turned down free ice cream. It was the third day in a row that someone wanted to purchase ice cream for me and today I decided to have some self control. You see, the gelado here is so good that I am afraid I will soon become addicted if I start off eating it every day. Before I know it I will have sold my returning plane ticket to the U.S. for more money for gelado and I'll have to hitchhike my way back home. I wanted to be adventurous with my ice cream selections, so no chocolate or vanilla for me. First I tried the Pisco Sour flavor. It tasted a bit like a margarita. The next day I went for the camu camu because I was drawn to its bright pink and yellow coloring. Camu camu apparently is some sort of tropical fruit but I have only eaten it in ice cream form. There was some mango in there too.

You will soon come to realize that the majority of this blog will be dedicated to discussing food. And animals. What else is there to talk about?

Well, I can talk about the transportation here! I have to take a bus to get to PUCP and it takes about 20 minutes. It's pretty exciting. I like to think of it as a game. If I am the last one getting on the bus I see if I can grab onto a rail before the bus jumps to warp speed and I fall on an old lady seated by the door. These are little buses so I think they have about 20 seats in them and some more room for standing. I really am glad though that I can just hop on a bus right by my house here and get off right in front of the school. I will be able to use the 20 minute ride to make sure I am fully awake to tackle my classes! Also it only costs one Sol, which is about 35 or 40 cents in USD.

At PUCP yesterday, ISA introduced us to a group of peruvian students who can show us around and help us practice our Spanish. One of them lives only a block from Agata and me so he and his friend accompanied us to Parque Kennedy in Miraflores last night to meet up with the other international students to check out some of the night life. We all had a really good time and it was nice to have some locals with us to show us the ropes!

Ok, I am going to talk about food again. For dinner, Magda (she works for Ana and comes every day to clean and cook in the house) made Aji de Gallina and Causa a la Limeña. I'm going to try to document a lot of the Peruvian foods I eat here so I can try to recreate some when I return. I intended to take a picture of the dishes (they were beautifully arranged) but my camera was upstairs and once I saw the food, there was no turning back. But luckily there is this thing called the internet so I found pictures of the dishes!

Aji de Gallina

Causa a la Limeña

My housemate is a vegetarian so the causa only had avacado and tomato inside (I'm not sure what's inside the one in the picture) and the outside yellow part tasted like lemon. The aji de gallina did have chicken in it though so I do get to try the dishes with meat in them here too. As a side note, I bonded with another girl in the group today over how much we both love food and Arrested Development. Perfect.

I want to write about every single detail but then I would have to spend half of my time typing and less time doing awesome things. The only slightly negative part of my time here is that my body is having some trouble adjusting to the new environment. The sun here is very strong so I'm looking a bit red and I am either getting a cold or something here is bothering my allergies. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow because there is a little game of futbol (soccer...) with ISA students and some Peruvian students.

Time for Nyquil and sleep!

Ciao

So much to see in the first 12 hours!

So, I arrived at 5:30 am, made it through customs, found my luggage, and only had a slight heart attack when I had to wait fifteen minutes for someone to come pick me up. I was sure they had just left me there to die in the airport. But alas! I am here and it is joyous!

Let me begin by saying that my host mother, Ana, is amazing. She is so sweet and helpful and does everything she can to make sure I feel at home. After I had a quick nap, she rode with me on the omnibus to my school, La Catolica, and back to the house so I could practice using the public transportation. Then she drove me around la Magdalena and Miraflores districts so I could get a feel for the area and take some touristy photos.

Only a few hours here and I already feel like I am experiencing the Peruvian life! I was jolted around in the small public buses and sat next to a young couple who were making out the whole trip (. I walked in the beautiful parks along the coast in Miraflores and watched the paragliders (I guess that's what you call them). I have turned down a hundred offers to buy ice cream from venders on the streets (this takes strong will). And I even met a few people and awkwardly did my best to master the hug and slight kiss on the cheek greeting that is customary here!

My housemate is supposed to get here late tonight. I can't wait to meet her! Well, Gonzalo (Ana's son) just hooked up a television in my room so I'm going to check out what sort of awesome tv shows I can watch here. I'll keep you updated on what I find.

Adios!

Airport Adventures and Acceptance Speech!

Can you tell that I am a fan of alliteration?

Hello again!

This post is being written in the Miami Airport. It will not, however, be posted from this location because I refuse to pay for Wi-fi in an airport. I paid 5 bucks for a vitamin water, 10 bucks for a meal from Nathan's hot dog eatery, and about 1,200 dollars for my plane ticket. They (whoever they may be) are off their rockers if they think I am going to pay fifteen more dollars to access facebook on my computer. Jackson may not have the biggest airport, but at least they have the decency to provide free internet. Also, check out this strange architecture that is in front of me. I feel like I'm about to be sucked into a wind tunnel.

Wait, why am I here again? Oh right, Lima!

Well, obviously I am not actually in Lima yet so this post will just act as my acceptance speech. You know, like when Puss N' Boots won the Oscar for best animated pic-- what? It didn't win? This is an outrage! Well let's just say it did win for the purpose of my analogy. So the film Puss N' Boots is like my trip to Peru. And I am the director, so I have to thank everyone who made this possible! There's no music to play me off, so we might be here for a while.

Firstly, I must thank my parents. I feel like I've done everything in my power to bankrupt them, yet they continue to throw money at me! I just hope I turn out to be a good investment for them. This is probably just part of their life-long scheme to guilt me into taking care of them when they are old. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to find a nice nursing home for them. I am pretty sure this is the meanest thank you ever given. In all seriousness though, I am so lucky to have so much love and support!

Secondly, I must give a shout out to the sweetest of suite mates, Ginny Sanborn, who is also studying abroad this semester....in South Africa! Ginny was the one who convinced me to take a leap and apply to go to abroad. I'm so glad she helped me find the courage to do this!

My last thank you goes to Pazzy. As your little, I know I should be their for your senior events and graduation and recitals and I am truly sorry that I'm not. But Paz never even let me think about considering that as an excuse not to go. She was the most supportive person I encountered and never once jokingly told me to stay. Hearing people say over and over again "don't leave, don't go, you have to stay here" (even when I know they were just saying they would miss me) starts to get to you at some point. Paz always reassured me and kept my confidence up throughout the whole process. I knew she was good for something!

In conclusion, I'd like to thank the Academy and everyone else who made this study abroad possible.

UPDATE: Hi, me again. Still in the airport. It is about 11pm. I met this lovely older Peruvian man who talked to me for a long time about Peru. Basically he told me short stories about himself and anyone he ever knew who had been robbed in Lima. At first I was suspicious that he was subtly trying to get this gringa to leave immediately and stay out of his country but I eventually concluded that he just wanted me to be extra cautious in a new big city. I am now a little more paranoid, but maybe that will be beneficial. "Just always be aware of your surroundings," he told me. He was sweet, and his name was José.