¿Por qué no?

¿Por qué no? or Why not? This has been my motto while in Peru these past few weeks. With this motto, I have gone to The Killers concert, a soccer game, Lunahuaná, along with also trying new foods and meeting new people.

To start off, you have to know about the awesome Semana Santa, or Holy Week, that I had. We didn't have classes of Thursday or Friday so we left early Thursday morning for Lunahuaná, which is about 2 hours south of Lima. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a river that flowed through the city. On one side there were mountains and on the other side it was the town. B-E-A-utiful! Here is a picture to show you!

Beautiful, right? While we were there, we rode horses up to an old Inca site and we also went "water-rafting." It was no white water rapid, but it was still pretty fun! There I started to miss being able to drive through the countryside. Don't get me wrong, I have no desire to drive in Lima because it's so big. But oh Silvia (my awesomely named American car)- I do miss you! Dad, you better treat ole Silvia well! We were there for Holy Friday and got to see a procession that takes place in almost everywhere in Peru during Holy Week. Wow. It was super cool. I'm sure I looked like a super foreign nerd because I was super googly-eyed and everything, but man was it incredible! Below is a photo of the Jesus crucifix that they carried throughout the procession. These processions last all night and they carry statues and a band follows. Holy moly! It was absolutely gorgeous.

On Saturday, we headed back to Lima. I made plans to go to church on Sunday morning to celebrate Easter. I looked up the time of the service and everything. We arrived promptly at the methodist church at 11 am and there was no one. Not a single soul at the church. So we rang the door bell and the pastor came out in his pajamas. We were super puzzled because we were like today is Easter, right!? Haha- well turns out all the churches here have sunrise services at 6am. Soo- the pastor sat with us and gave us a mini-service. It was an incredible experience and definitely one that I will always treasure about my time in Peru!

Okay, enough about Semana Santa. These past two weeks, my school load has picked up and I have already have a few tests and papers due. Finally getting into the swing of things! I'm taking a class about quechua, an indigenous language of Peru. It has been super fun and crazy because here we are, like 4 foreigners, sitting in a class of 50 Peruvian freshmen. It's been crazy fun because most times we don't understand anything and we are always like, "wait... what?!" Haha! It's been fun.

A super big highlight from these past few weeks = The Killers concert!! It was a blast and definitely something I probably wouldn't be able to do as easily in the States! So my new motto, ¿Por qué no? Thats about it for this week. I'm super excited because I get to welcome my sister into Lima this Friday and I recently bought tickets for my mom and I to go to Machu Picchu when she is in town in May!

My dog ate my blog post

I know, I know. This in long overdue and I haven't written once in my month in Peru. I'll just use the classic "my dog ate my homework" excuse so I won't be lectured.

But no worries--- I have been having an awesome time!

The crazy thing is that today I just registered for my classes in Peru and Wednesday I am registering for my Fall semester back at Ole Miss.  I am going to be taking 4 classes that count as 4 hours each, including: Contemporary History of Latin America, Andean Ethnography, Sintaxis, and, my personal favorite, Quechua! But don't worry, I'll save you all of the exciting and mind-riveting details as to how my classes are going and what exactly they are about. In my short month in Lima thus far, I have traveled to Ica, seen much of the city of Lima, went to a professional soccer (or fútbol auténtico), booked tickets to see the Killers in concert, been to plenty of museums, burned so badly that I looked like a lobster, tasted so many delicious foods (such as cow hearts and ceviche) and not so many delicious foods (such as cow intestines- YUCK!), etcetera. You get the point. My Peruvian adventure has been a whirlwind, but only in the best of ways. I will tell you of just a few of the highlights.

Two weekends ago, we went to Ica, which is a municipality south of Lima. There, we saw sea lions, penguins, plenty of birds in Paracas, we went to the sand dunes for sandboarding, and lastly we toured 2 "bodegas" or wineries where they make Pisco (the famous Peruvian liquor) and wine. There wine here is superrr sweet, a bit too sweet for me. Guess I will stick to buying cheap Argentine or Chilean wines. The funniest thing about our trip to Ica was that lots of people wanted to stop and take pictures of us at the time, like everywhere. Then, it was really embarrassing, but that's Peru. I'm getting accustomed to people staring because I am soo pale. It's even becoming a little endearing (not so much so that I will miss it-ha!) when people refer to me by blanca (white one).

This past week, I had the opportunity to go to the fútbol game versus Chile and Peru. Let me just say, southerners, we are for sure missing out. Soccer games are freaking awesome!! It's like a Ole Miss football game times 5 without having to dress up and look fancy. Face-painted (yes, with actual paint instead of temporary tatoos), jersey wearing, hair up and all- I had a blast cheering on Peru who in the last minutes scored a goal to beat Chile 1-0. It was pretty awesome. No worries fellow Southerners, I haven't been fully converted. I just think we are missing out!

Well, it's time for me to sign off. I know I am probably forgetting a million and one things. Yes mom, I am taking pictures. Don't worry about me (or do because I might move down here when it's all over).


Salud!

Peru, here I come!

Dear Mom,

(This post is so you will stop worrying about me. I will be fine! Love you!!)

Peru, here I come!!

The day is finally here! I am now sitting in the Miami airport waiting until my flight to depart, which is around midnight. My journey just to the airport was long, boring, and hard, but the day is finally here!! 

Friday morning I will arrive into Lima around 5 am. On Monday morning, I will begin a Spanish language immersion course that will review and address many aspects of the Spanish language. This course will be around 3 weeks long so it will allow me to get settled and "get my feet wet" with all that Lima has to offer me. 

I just want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point. A special thanks of course is sent out to mis padres (Ken and Viv) for allowing me this opportunity. Also, thanks to my sisters who have endlessly encouraged me! 

I love and will miss all of you! Stay tuned for the awesome adventures that lay ahead in these next 5-6 months! 

Kendra! 

Bittersweet

This past week has been a whirlwind. I had to de-activate my facebook this past week for Gamma Chi (something for Ole Miss), so I can't update everyone on the awesome adventures of Kendra anymore.  

To start off, I must begin at last weekend. We went to Copacabana for the weekend. It was soooo relaxing. We basically sat on hammocks all day that overlooked Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) and slept. I will admit, me and my white/pale self got a little sunburnt on this trip, but it was so worth it. We went paddle-boating twice while there. It is a very quite town with mostly tourists, but it is still a pretty well-kept secret. Both nights, we went out and had the best food. I cannot even describe how great and relaxing that weekend was (definitely needed it!). 

 While that was the weekend, our week began with starting our research projects by surveying, interviewing, looking up a ton of statistics, and reading a lot of articles. My project is on Bolivian public health and the enculturation of Western medical methodology and indigenous healing practices. I worked a lot last week. However, work hard, play hard! Tuesday night, we went out to a salsa place and tried to salsa.. However, gringas and salsa don't mix too well (at least not for this gringa!). The next night, we went to Tiwanaku where the Aymara new year/solstice took place. It is a ceremony at sunrise (in the freezing cold). All week, I had begun to get a pretty nasty cold and probably shouldn't have gone. But I'm only in Bolivia for so long, right? Well, I froze my booty off, stayed up all night (or at least tried too), and got more sick! The next day (Thursday) we got home around 11 am and I was dead to the world. I slept all day and night and woke up only by a fever or migraine. The next day, I went to the doctor because I was still not feeling well. (My mom can attest to how bad I felt because she called me on Thursday). So Friday, I slept and took medicine for my really bad cough. 

So this weekend, it has been writing, writing, and researching for my project. Last night, we experienced San Juan (what's supposed to be the coldest night of the year) by eating hot dogs (how you celebrate San Juan), and cake for Leighton and Laura's birthday.  Well, I have finished a rough draft of my research project and turned that in. I am headed back to the States on Tuesday and it will definitely be a bittersweet moment. I love La Paz, Bolivia and its people. I think that since I am still sick, I am ready to go home and just rest. But, Bolivia, the culture, and the people will always be a special place to me. I have had so many incredible experiences (even if my camera was stolen on week 1). If you ever get the chance, visit Bolivia. It's awesome! 

Potosí and Sucre

This past weekend, we went to Potosí and Sucre. For all of you Latin Americanists, you should already know what and where both of these places are. But for you that are not, Potosí was once the world's colonized largest city at the high of its silver production. The mountain is literally called Potosí and inside there are many mines that, even to this day, extract silver and many other minerals.

While there, we visited the Casa Nacional de Moneda. It showed how the Spanish created a system to extract the silver and then make it into currency. It had more silver than I have ever seen in my life. It was a really cool and interesting place. They were definitely very creative with how they made the machinery to turn pure silver into currency, crowns, chairs, etc. After that, we visited a Clandestine Convent. Basically what this means is that once the girls joined the convent, they could not leave nor have any contact with the outside world (via family, friends or materials). Up until Vatican II, they could not even see the priest at the church. They had all of these special compartments and doors to avoid human contact.
It was really interesting to see because both of these places showed us how "Potosí had seen better days". Potosí is now a very poor city, but at the height of colonialism, it was rich and Spaniards were flocking there.

The next day we took a 3 hour bus ride to Sucre, which was Bolivia's original capital and still the home of the nation's Corte Suprema. This town reminds me a lot of Oxford, MS except a much bigger version. It was a very "homey", clean, and unique town that somewhat revolved around the university there (which is the oldest in Bolivia). We went to a lot of museums, then walked up this huge hill to see what I think is the best view I have ever seen. Pictures do not do it justice. After that, we watched the Entrada, which is basically a dance competition/parade between various fraternities (but not like Ole Miss greek life- these were fraternities of departments and majors). It was really cool because each fraternity would dance a specific, but different dance that was from Bolivia. We saw dances from the lowlands to the highlands. It was really funny because I was sitting by Leighton, a fellow Ole Miss student and member of a different sorority, who was with me on comparing how lots of these dances were vary similar to sorority dance competitions! It was too funny!

Overall, we had an amazing weekend. This week is our last week of classes and then we start our projects. This weekend we are going to Lake Titicaca on a more relaxing (less museum intense) trip. We are excited for another great weekend exploring Bolivia!

Getting pale!

To start this blog post off, I want to start with a disclaimer: anyone who sees me when I get home, I will be very, very pale. It is winter in La Paz. It doesn’t help that we are also at around 12,000 feet high, which makes it very, very cold at night. Yes, this means that I am a lot closer to the sun, but no matter how much sunscreen I wear (I wear like 50 SPF everyday), I still burn, then turn pale again. Not fun at all! Ha-ha!

This weekend has definitely been one for the record! On Thursday night, all of the roommates went out to see a dance called the Saya, which is an afro-Bolivian dance. It was really cool to see a native Bolivian dance while in La Paz. On Saturday, we went to Gran Poder and the fútbol game of Chile and Bolivia. Gran Poder is a festival that focuses of the great power Jesus. However, when I saw this festival, it was much more than an American festival. It goes on literally all day and the costumes and preparations for this one-day are incredible. Basically, there are many fraternities that are organized around and for this one day. You can spend lots and lots of money and time just to be in Gran Poder. It is native and unique to Bolivia.  Below, I have put some pictures of it. These pictures are understating the wonderful colors, spirits, and decorations of the day. We went in the afternoon for two hours then went back at night to see more. It was incredible! It was just amazing to see all the individuality in each fraternity. Also, throughout the day, you can get delicious street food and any and every trinket imaginable. Street vendors sold glow stars, balloons, scarves, gloves, stuffed animals, tissues, etc- literally everything!

In between each time we went to Gran Poder, we went to the Chile v. Bolivia fútbol game. It was incredible. To just describe the stadium, imagine the size of Alabama’s stadium, with a backdrop of the mountains. It was beautiful! I added some photos of it just to show you. It was a very fun/intense game to go to. Many Bolivians are still bitter to Chileans about the War of the Pacific, in which Chile took Bolivia’s seacoast. Many explicit words and phrases were said. It was pretty funny because most of the time we understood what was being said by everyone (including little kids that were probably 7-10 years old). It was definitely an experience. Unfortunately, Bolivia lost 2-0.

Today, we went to the witches market and the municipal cemetery. It was really cool expect that I caught something yesterday and have been a little under the weather.

Well that is it for now. I am going to sit here and continue to listen to the Spanish Nsync CD that I did not know existed until I got here. Enjoy the summer heat, while I continue to bundle up here!

First Two Weeks!

I told my mother last week that I would write soon, so I cannot let her down. Tomorrow, I will have officially been in La Paz for 2 weeks. I am loving learning about Bolivia, its history, and its future. So when I last wrote, we had just gone to the large night of museums (la larga noche de museos). We had an awesome experience there. Since then, we have gone to the Calle Jaen museums (national museums; mostly about the Chaco War, cholas, gold, silver, and the Pacific War with Chile). We also went to the US Embassy here, which was very interesting. Next was the National Art Museum (you can see pictures on my facebook album). That was week one.

This week we have met American journalists and documentary film makers that are talking about what is going on in Bolivia. It was really cool to see what you can do with a degree in some type of international studies. I will have to be creative with my future, but a lot of stuff I want to do is definitely possible! We also went to the National Museum of the Revolution, which is the 1952 revolution in which the MNR gained power.

Today was an awesome day. We went to Bolivia’s Library of Congress. There, we roamed through archives and got a tour of the really old and rare documents and books from Simon Bolivar to Che Guevara. It was awesome! They let us hold some of the protected documents, which is something I’ve never gotten to do. Towards the end, when we were leaving, we were told that we had to leave rather quickly because CNN (en español) was about to conduct an interview with the Bolivian Vice President. We didn’t get to see the VP, but we got to see the CNN guy interview other important people. It was sooo cool!!

Tomorrow we have a free afternoon in La Paz. I am hoping to go back to the “Witches’ Market” which is where they sell a lot of cool stuff, such as llama wool sweaters, kitchen supplies, etc. (No worries- I will not be bringing home a dried llama fetus which is what this market is famous for. Look it and Pachamama up if interested) However, while walking down from the market on Saturday, I got my camera stolen. (No worries mom, I was being very careful. Just stuff that happens in a big city!) Yesterday, I went to the “Black market” which is basically just 2-3 streets filled with electronic shops. I got a new, really nice camera for really cheap when compared to the States’ prices.

Our entire group is so excited for this weekend! Saturday is a big day for La Paz. Not only is it Gran Poder (a festival where there are a ton of dancers and people that basically put on a parade through the city (please google this!)), but it is also the Bolivia v. Chile soccer game. No worries, we are definitely going to both. The soccer game will be exciting because most of Bolivia still dislikes Chile for taking their sea coast. (However, all of our Bolivian students have told us that Bolivia is not that good in soccer. L)  It should be a very exciting day!

I will have an update probably next week. We are just always on the go, so it is hard to sit down and blog!

Love you mom and don’t worry about me! 

 (Above,  a picture of the Calle Jaen Museums)

 (Above, a picture of the Bolivian seal made out of painted feathers. At the Bolivian Library of Congress)

(Above, an exact replica of Che Guevara's daily journal, up to the day he was killed in Bolivia)