¿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!