In a couple of days, I will have been in Lima for a week! Yay! I am adapting pretty well.
I get a better grasp on Spanish more and more each day! I took four years of Spanish before coming Peru, which is very helpful! However, the dialect is different from what I learned in the states. For example, they say "para" for friend instead of "amigo." Moreover, Peruvians talk really fast!! On top of that, they shorten and blend words haha! Some of my new friends have told me that they have traveled to other Spanish-speaking countries in South America and people in those countries don't always understand them because of how fast they talk haha! Imagine how I feel haha!! But I am told I should be fluent in 2 months. Yay!
Peruvians are so friendly and welcoming! They are very affectionate, too haha! You can tell they are when they greet you by kissing you, even if you are a complete stranger! What we would consider "flirting" in the U.S. is simply the typical behavior of a Peruvian haha! Although Peruvians are very nice in person, they are not in the streets when driving! Traffic here is crazy! People only care about themselves when they are driving. Everyone speeds up really fast only to slam on the brakes a second later. You will also hear a horn being honked every 5 seconds. In Peru, if you want to drive in the middle of a two-lane street, go for it! If you want to cut someone off, go for it! If you want to turn in front of on-coming traffic that is 5 feet away, go for it! Whenever Peruvians do something, they do it slowly or as long as they want because they live in the moment! However, when it comes to driving, people are always in a rush. I mean for crying out loud, they have clocks on the traffic lights that counts down the seconds until the red light turns to green right away! On Thursday morning when heading to Spanish class, a couple of traffic lights were not working. OMG! What a mess! It took us like 15 minutes just to drive two blocks haha!
The Rotary dinner was great! We had to wear blue blazers, the international symbol of Rotary. All the exchange kids exchanged pins from their countries as well as business cards. Here is a before-and-after picture of my blazer haha:
The dinner was great! We did a presentation of flags where someone from each country carries in the country's flag. Then we all sang our national anthems! We then had Brochetta (chicken, tomatoes, and onions on a stick) for an appetizer, pollo filet con arroz (chicken fillet with rice) for a main course, and cheese cake con sauce (a fruit grown in the Andes in Peru). Peru is truly the expert in gastronomy! Everything was delicious!
Language class has been great! We do fun games to practice Spanish! Plus, were learn interesting things concerning Peru's history and geography. For example, Peru has three different geographical regions: the coast (la costa), the mountains (las sierras), and the jungle (la selva). Moreover, Peru has different climates due to it geography and the Andes mountains, El Nino, and the Humboldt current. Lima is locate on the coast of Peru. Right now it is winter! The temperature has been a steady 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Although that seems warm compared to Iowan winters, it is still pretty chilly! I did not pack much "winter" clothes. So I am going to go shopping soon! YAY! Miraflores has a lot of awesome shops! In my Spanish classes, I have learned that Peru has a sad history in reference to border wars it had with Chile. Peru lost some cities in the south to Chile a while ago. I have been told that many older people still hold grudges. I have also learned cool traditions such as the Marinera dance. Traditionally, the girl dances barefoot while the boy rides around on a horse. Yikes! I can see where that would go really wrong! Here are some pictures and video to give you an idea:
Check out this Marinera video!
I can't wait to dance here!! It looks so fun! Another dance they do here is the Bachata. I already know how to do the Bachata, as well as the Merengue (which they also do in Peru)! The Bachata is the "slow dance" of Latin music, it is very romantic. In Peru, however, the dance is much more intimate than how I learned it!
Bachata!
Peru has very beautiful music. It is an interesting blend of Latino, African, and Incan beats. A popular percussion instrument in Peru is El Cajon. The Cajon is from the African culture. Peru adopted this instrument when they enslaved Africans to work on plantations long ago.
My host uncle, Michel, plays the cajon! Que chebere! (How cool!)
Ok, that is enough history and geography today! I have a funny story for you! The apartment building I live in is old. Consequently, we have to turn on a knob on the toilet to fill it with water so that it may flush. My host mother demonstrated for me how it works. I thought I understood. I followed her directions, but the toilet never seemed to work correctly. Finally, I asked my younger sister to help me while the rest of the family was out. While we were looking at the toilet and turning the water on, all of a sudden the toilet flooded onto the bathroom floor! YUCK! When my mother finally returned home Sofia and I told her what happened. She just laughed at us and said it was fine and could be repaired. Apparently, because the building is old it has small pipes. Pipes so small, you cannot flush paper down them. The toilet paper must simply be thrown away in the trash can haha. My mother apologized for forgetting to tell me something so small! Haha! I guess that was like the first "big situation" that I had to deal with with my new family! I am glad we could resolve it so easily! My host family is great!
Later on tonight I have a dinner at my host grandparents house! That should be fun! And delicious!
I start school next Tuesday. I'll be honest, I am little nervous. I want to get along with everyone. I am sure everyone will be friendly like they have been. I am also scared I won't be able to keep up in class due to the language barrier. But I can only go about the situation by being confident and willing to try!
Being away from home is getting easier and easier each day. However, I still miss my friends and family!
Until next time, chao!
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