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!
