Arrival!

It's only been 2 days since my arrival and I feel like I've already done so much! Here's a quick run down:


Saturday night (after a 26 hour total travel that I don't want to talk about) we got picked up from the airport by a taxi driver named Raul and he took us to "La Escuela" where we're living. We got lost a few times but he eventually found our street - La Calle Maria. I will post a mailing address soon! A sweet woman named Margarita greeted us and gave us our keys - she is kind of like the "mom" of the house who cooks for us and looks out for us. I was sooo tired but after the best shower of my whole life I went back downstairs and Margarita made us tea and some tortilla with potatoes. She talks really fast and I am not the best at understanding Spanish when I'm so tired! I went to sleep in my room - which has a twin sized bed, a desk, a dresser, and my own bathroom with a really big shower! I'll post pictures soon. The view out of my window is a park across the street with funny zig-zag looking branched trees and also pre-historic Incan ruins! 


Sunday (yesterday) - I woke up early and met a bunch of people who live in the house: Ina, from Norway, who has a Peruvian boyfriend named Adrian... Laurie, a really nice girl from Belgium... Paul, a guy who works in Peru but he's from France... and Tomoyo, a girl from Japan. It's so fun to hear all of these different Spanish dialects! Adrian took all of us (plus Drew and Margarita) to a nice restaurant where I had a tomalito, a sort of corn-ish thing that I can't really describe. But it was good! Then we walked around town a little more, got a glimpse of my university (looks super nice!) and headed back to Kusi Wasi. Oh, PS I learned that Kusi Wasi means "happy house" in Quechua, a language spoken by very ancient Peruvians. Margarita, Drew, Laurie, and I went to a market just a few blocks from the dorm to get some food and toilet paper (it wasn't provided in our bathrooms, so weird). I got some rice and strange spaghetti sauce in small bags and some fruit!! Including grenadillas, these amazing little orange things that I ate all the time in Ecuador and haven't had since. 
Later in the day Margarita made us pisco sours, the signature drink of Peru. (Grams, yes I consumed alcohol, sorry! It's legal!) They were super good! It's kind of like brandy but mixed with the juice from a whole pound of limes (yes we squeezed that many limes) and an egg white and ice. After hanging out at the house for a while we all piled in taxis and went to Miraflores, a really nice "neighborhood" for Arabian food. I had antecuchos de pollo, which are basically chicken shishkabobs, Arabian style. Yum! When we drove to Miraflores we took the route right by the ocean and it was soo pretty even though it was dark. The waves were so huge! I was very very tired when we got home and starting to get impatient with all of the Spanish so I went to sleep early and slept for a long time.


Today a few os us are going to a soccer game (futbol) at the university to watch Guillermo and Michael, some of Margarita's friends, play their championship game. We met them last night and they were very nice and know a lot of English - although I'm trying to speak as little as possible! I spoke more Spanish yesterday than I probably have in an entire semester of Spanish class. Anyways, after the futbol game we're going to Miraflores to check it out during the daytime. I'm also buying a cellphone today to make local calls so I can keep in touch/coordinate with friends I meet down here, including the other Sconnies that are staying in a different dorm or with host families. 


Overall I love it. I was a little weary at first when we came on Saturday night and I was exhausted and just wanted to be home but I told myself to just stick it out and here I am! Yesterday was soo fun and I really like everyone who lives here and Margarita and the city and culture and just everything. Except for my terrible sunburn from being outside for about 25 minutes yesterday.... 


More later! With pictures! Ciao! 

Studying Abroad at O'Hare

Here I am in the O'Hare airport and it's getting close to 2 am! My friend Drew and I have been here since 9 pm (Friday)... we set up camp outside of security - we can't check in until 3:30 am. I'm so tired but there's no comfortable place to sleep! Hoping I can catch some Z's on the plane to Ft. Lauderdale (where we have a 4 hour layover!) We are arriving in Lima around 8 pm tomorrow... or wait, TODAY! I've been on a roller coaster of emotions - tired, excited, inpatient, excited, sad, excited, uncomfortable, excited... but the excited part is definitely starting to overpower the rest. The actual travel part may suck but at least after the 26 hour journey I will finally be in Lima, Peru - a place I've been wanting to go for the last year and a half. I'm so excited to see the city for the first time and get settled into my own room at La Escuela - and I'm sure  have the most anticipated night of sleep ever.  The reality of it hasn't set in yet but I'm sure it will soon! Adios, America!!

Querer es poder - to want is to be able

Going Away Fiesta!

My Mom threw me a going away party on Sunday and it was a BLAST! This week is filled with final goodbyes before my big adventure... My friend Drew Lynde and I are leaving from the Chicago airport at 5 am on Saturday morning but unfortunately nobody wants to take us to the airport at 2 in the morning so we have to take the bus and get there super early! Oh well, we're going to watch some movies in Spanish and I'll probably have lots to do in that time anyways. 

I'm getting really excited!! We've made arrangements to be picked up from the airport by a taxi service that will take us to La Escuela, the place we're living. It is an international student housing dorm - people from all over the world live there who are going to school in Lima! Including 4 or 5 people from my UW program. I  have my own room (with my own bathroom!) for only $195 a month - wayyyy cheaper than anything I would ever find in the USA! 

I'll start packing today, oh jeez what to bring. I've gotten a lot of new shorts and summer clothes in preparation for the daily 81 degree weather :) Can't wait to get out of this slushy mess of Wisconsin! 

Sticks, me, Nick, and Logan at the going away party!

Georgie, me, Auntie Phyllis, Megan, and Grams :)

15 days!

Wow, I leave so soon! Made a packing list the other day... oh boy. How am I supposed to fit 5 months worth of things into one suitcase? Worst part is that on February 1st the airline I'm flying with changed the 50 pound checked baggage limit to FORTY. Seriously? Ten pounds is a lot of stuff.

This below zero weather has made me soo excited for the 80 degree weather every single day in Lima. Partly cloudy is much better than blizzarding with 19 inches of snow! And with the lowest low at night being around 67 degrees... ah, so excited.

I bought a DSLR camera yesterday finally! The Nikon d3100. So excited to start using it, but I haven't found any especially interesting things to photograph with it being so dreary all the time outside. Did I mention how excited I am for 80 degree weather?

I leave 2 weeks from tomorrow from Chicago O'Hare - I don't think I've ever been so excited and nervous at the same time! Getting used to speaking only Spanish might be a tough transition but it will totally be worth it in the end when I'm (hopefully) fluent.

LOVE this Spanish proverb:


A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar.


(Kind of the equivalent to Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die)