Classes

We started class this week - and it's already my weekend! I made it so I don't have class on Thursday or Friday so I can travel more on the weekends - but most of my friends have class at least on Thursday so I'm not sure how much it will actually matter. Plus, we don't register until Monday, so I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to get into all the classes I went to this week!


On Monday I had the Psychology of Learning which seems like it will be interesting - although very hard to understand! The profesora is very nice but speaks very fast. Hoping it will get easier as the semester goes on! At least I have a background in psychology classes to get me started.


I also had Amazonian Ethnography on Monday and Wednesday - a class that seems a little interesting but isn't what I thought it would be. I'm still deciding if I'm going to try to register for that one! 


On Tuesday I went to a class called Cine ("Theatre") where we just watch movies and discuss them. This week we watched a German film with Spanish subtitles called The Lives of Others - very good! Watching movies in Spanish is very helpful for learning new vocabulary - I write down all the words I don't know and try to study them later. We've actually watched a movie every night here in the house with Spanish subtitles - including El Discurso del Rey (The King's Speech) which I really liked! 


Yesterday I had a class called Actividad de Anthropología, or Activities of Anthropology. This class is probably going to be my favorite - we're going to study shamanism in the local Lima area and go on field trips to visit shamans and watch them do ceremonies and all sorts of stuff! It's only once a week and 2 credits.  


I'm hoping all goes well and I can actually take the classes I want - I have some back-up classes like gardening and ecotourism if I can't get into those ones. Classes are obviously difficult because they are in Spanish, but they are also hard because every lecture is 2 hours long! I'm used to my short and sweet 50 minute lectures in Madison - paying attention for that long in a different language is something I need to accustom myself to. One benefit here is that classes never actually start on time. Everyone is so lax with time that the professor won't even come until 4:10 or 4:15 if the class is scheduled for 4. Also something that would never happen in the States - but something I can get used to! 

Weekend before school...

On Saturday night we had a barbeque on our patio! Really fun. Margarita made us chicken, zucchini, onions, peppers, and potatoes on the grill - soo yummy. 

Sunday night Kalli, Nick, Kris, and I returned to Larcomar for sushi - on the way there we saw a parade for a candidate - elections are coming up in April and there are crazy ads for voting. There were even guinea pigs (kuy) in the parade!

Once again there was a beautiful sunset - a great way to end the "summer" - although I'll have summer as soon as I get home to Madison again! This will be the longest summer season of my life and I'm very happy about it :)

2 weeks already?!

Time is FLYING by. I already start classes tomorrow! This week was filled with festivities for the last week of Summer. Strange to think that my fellow Sconnies at home are on Spring Break and I'm just starting the semester tomorrow!

We went to a lot of markets this week where they sell traditional Incan things - I bought a big tapestry for my bed, a purse, a scarf, earrings, a ceramic vase, and a headband - all for under $30 total. Everything is so cheap here, it's great! 

One of the many markets we went to 

One market we went to had lots of clothes in little booth-like things. When I wanted to try on some pants, the woman brought me into the booth and held up a sheet. I was thinking "oh, so this is the dressing room." Talk about trusting a total stranger to not drop the sheet!! 

On Wednesday my friend Kris and I went to Miraflores to this mall called Larcomar. It is built into the side of a cliff and so pretty! We didn't end up buying anything besides some margaritas and a very nice restaurant called Mango. We sat out by the ocean and saw a beautiful sunset! 

Part of Larcomar

Mango and Strawberry :)

View from our table

Kris and I 

Afterwards we came home to a pizza party! Carla, the manager of Kusi Wasi, treated us to Domino's - it was even better than in the US. I find it funny that there are McDonalds, Domino's, and KFCs here... trying to stay away from the American food while I'm here (although I do admit going to McDonald's yesterday and the fries were amazing). 

We had orientation on Wednesday and Thursday and I loveee the campus. We semi-signed up for classes but starting tomorrow we just go to whatever classes we are interested in taking - kind of like a "test drive" week. After a week we actually register for classes. I'm nervous I won't be able to understand my teachers but I'm here to learn so I'm ready for the challenge. Part of me wants to not start school and keep adventuring every day, but I'm also very excited to start classes! I think I'm taking a photography class, ecotourism class, an anthropology class about Andean people, and I'm not sure what else. I have some work to do today! Some pictures of Catolica:

We were going to go to the beach this weekend but couldn't because of the tsunami. Although everyone was very nervous, it "hit" and didn't cause any damage or chaos. Thank God! 

Ciao, 

Emilia 

Mailing Address

In case you wanted to mail me a card or letter or anything, here's my mailing address! I just hope it will get here by July... we'll see! :)

Emily Welch

Jirón Marte 776

Cercado de Lima

Urbanización La Luz

Lima 21 Peru

Wonderful Weekend

I had a really great weekend, besides one thing. On Friday an ATM ate my debit card! As in, wouldn't give it back. But no worries, I called and canceled it and they're sending me a new one. Apart from that bump in the road, my weekend was fabulous!

On Friday we had a party at Kusi Wasi with all of the newcomers - so fun! We taught the non-Americans games from Wisconsin and had a really great time. 

Sandra (Peru), Laurie (Belgium), Sylvain (Belgium), Kris (UW), David (Mexico), me!

Saturday we woke up and went to Playa Silencio, a beach about an hour and a half south of Lima. Playa Silencio means "Silent Beach," but it wasn't very silent at all! The beach was crowded with tons of vendors walking around with various ice-cream treats and dresses and jewelry. However, it was still very fun. We met up with 2 girls from our program there who are living with host families - nice to see some familiar faces. 

huge waves at Playa Silencio

Pretty beach - just crowded!

Few things I find more beautiful than a sunset on the beach.

On Saturday night Jitka (Czech Republic) took a few of us to a club called Dream's House (pretty sure that's a mistake translation haha) for salsa dancing! We met some of her friends from Catolica (my university) and had lots of fun. Although everyone was staring at me and the other Sconnies for dancing American-style and not shaking our hips like Shakira, I didn't care at all. EVERYBODY stares at me all the time because of the blonde hair! And it's only getting blonder... but oh well! 

Sunday was my favorite of all days. We were going to carnaval, a sort of Mardi Gras type celebration, in Barranco, a nearby district. I didn't know what to expect, but I came downstairs ready to go in a sundress and with my purse and camera and such. When I was told to dress less fancy and not bring anything, I thought it was because Barranco was a dangerous neighborhood and I should look not as American/not bring anything so it doesn't get stolen. I was SO wrong!! The reason I had to wear crappy clothes and not bring any valuables was because at carnaval, everyone paints their whole bodies and throws pant and water and powder and glitter everywhere over everybody. We got there and instantly had a GREAT time. We got paint alll over all of our clothes and bodies and belongings and there was a big parade and a fake "battle" between 2 teams - the cyclops and the pirates. Imagine Mifflin - but with 5,000 Peruvians covered in paint, a parade by the ocean, loud music, drums, pisco jello shots, dancing, sunshine, the works. It was the most fun thing I've done since we got here!! It's Tuesday afternoon and I STILL have remnants of paint on my arms and legs. Here are some pictures from Kalli's camera:

All of us post-painting, before the festivities really started!

The parade 

I love this.

Pirata!

More of the parade

The family :)

Kalli, Kris, and I 

Yesterday (Monday) we woke up early and went to a different beach - Playa Leon Durmido (Sleeping Lion Beach). It's called that because there's a huge rock formation in the shape of a sleeping lion. This was byfar my favorite beach - big rocks, gold specks in the water that made it shine like crazy in the sun, a couple of caves, and weird waves that went sideways and in all directions. Oh, and the best part - there were probably only 20 people in total on the beach - and only ONE vendor! So relaxing and fun and beautiful. I had to wear my hat all day because my nose and forehead got burned at carnaval. I also had tan lines from where paint was the day before - very comical. One girl, Laurie, had a hand print of paint on her back that is now a hilarious tan line! The beach was further away - 2.5 hours by bus - but still well worth it. 

Can you see the "sleeping lion"?

Me and Kalli in the cave 

Last night we went to a concert at a charming bar called La Noche. It was a singer who starred in the movie called "La Teta Asustada"(The Milk of Sorrow). It's a Peruvian movie that I believe won an Oscar for best foreign film - or was at least nominated. She had a fabulous voice and we had a great time at her concert! 

Magaly Solier - the singer

Kris (UW), Kalli (Oklahoma), Nick, me, Drew - Nick and Drew are from my high school!

The cab ride home from the concert was super fun - our cab driver cranked American tunes for us all the way home. We're such gringos! 

Bicicletas!

What a fun day we had yesterday! In the morning 8 of us went to a bike store and rented bikes - 10 soles per bike for one day. (About 3 or 4 dollars). Great deal! Biking around Lima was nerve-wracking to say the least, but also very fun. Adrian led the way and we followed - it's unbelievable how many times I got whistled at! I'm pretty sure any Peruvian can spot me a mile away with my blonde hair and blue eyes. I must have "FOREIGNER" tattooed on my forehead to them. Oh well! 

All of our bikes lined up at the bike store!

There was a very beautiful sunset last night so a few of us went to the park across the street (the one with the ruins) to take some pictures! We also took some pictures from the rooftop of Kusi Wasi - you can see the mountains and our university from up there! We're actually planning on having a small fiesta up there tonight :)

park during sunset

That reddish brick building on the far right is Kusi Wasi

Keeley (UW), David (Mexico), me, Laurie (Belgium) - on the ruins!

rooftop view - love these colors!

Adrian (Peru), David, me, Keeley, Laurie

In the evening 11 of us biked to Miraflores for a "bike gala" - it was kind of a parade of a bunch of bikers (maybe 200? but actually no idea). We all dressed up in nice clothes - the idea of the event was to promote bicycling in Lima and show people you can still be "fancy" while riding a bike. With the bike ride to Miraflores, the actual event, and the bike ride home, we biked 40 kilometers or more! (Bonnie and Steve, you would be so proud!!) I am soo sore today but it was so fun. My smaller camera isn't the greatest at night pictures... so this is the best I could do for the bike gala!

look at all of these people!!

During the "gala"

After the gala we biked down to the ocean and rode on the bike bath that wraps around the ocean - so relaxing to hear the waves and smell the salt of the sea while biking! After hanging out by the ocean for a while we went to a pizzeria and had very delicious Peruvian pizza before returning back to the house around 1 am. I was sooo tired from all that biking! Very sore today!! But content of course :)

Lima Centro

"Centro Lima" or the "center of Lima" is a very old part of the city with big colorful buildings and fabulous architecture. Yesterday a few of us from the dorm took a cab to Iglesia de San Francisco (Church of Saint Francisco) and took a tour. Our tour guide spoke Spanish and although she spoke very slowly I barely understood anything. If that's any preview for how my classes are going to go this semester (all in Spanish)... UH OH! Oh well, I'm sure I'll get used to it all very soon. The church was beautiful regardless - with catacombs! Underground we saw bones from 75,000 decomposed bodies, I think dating back to the 16th or 17th century. Very eerie but cool! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the church, but this is what the outside looked like:

cute Peruvian kids playing with all of the birds in front of the church

Some other cool historic building! Keeley (UW), me, Laurie (Belgium), Ina (Norway)

More buildings I loved in el centro: