Olas (Waves)

I have officially been home for the same time I was in Peru. It felt great to land on U.S. soil, but I also sad at the same time. I was sad to leave behind: the country that kept me for 4 months, the culture (not the taxis), and most of all my host family. I actually cried on all three planes back because I was so sad. I have grown so much from my experience and have changed in so many ways because of it.

Olas = waves = waves of change. The title of my blog is Olas because I am going through a lot of waves of change and also because my host brother, Martin, wanted this to be a title. Many things stayed the same while I was gone: my friendships, how I interact with my family (even though my brother said everybody forgot about me), my room, my guitar was still in tune (that was crazy), and my car (I was so excited to drive again!!!). But there were also many things that had changed and continue to change: my sister’s feet are huge and she got so tall, my brother graduated high school, the kitchen cabinets were painted…again, summer has come and gone, but MY BROTHER GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!! I don’t think he’s old enough to do that yet! I don’t think I’m old enough to have graduated high school. I’m a Junior in college now. I AM GETTING OLD.

Another “ola” I felt was a wave of reverse homesickness. One morning I woke up and didn’t want to be here because I wanted to be eating breakfast with Carmen and looking at Alejandro doing his crossword. Don’t get me wrong, I love being back and being with my family and friends, but I miss some things about Peru so much. It is weird having to check the weather here all the time because it is constantly changing. In Peru, I knew the weather was going to be above 75 degrees and sunny every single day. I also just wanted to speak Spanish all the time again! I needed a challenge and it was weird speaking English again. When we flew into Houston I ran into a lady and said, “disculpa”, she looked at me like I was crazy for not saying sorry in English.

Reverse culture shock is real and I felt an “ola” of that too. While I was in Peru I noticed that my host family never really talked about drama (maybe I just wasn’t catching it because of the whole language barrier thing) and none of the girls in my group were really about drama either. It was a nice change from hearing about some people talk about stupid, material stuff. For example: “Oh my gosh did you hear about that girl that’s dating that guy?” or “I couldn’t believe a mom would even say that to me.” In the first week I was here, I heard more drama than I had heard in the 4 months I was gone and it was overwhelming to say the least. From time to time we can all be guilty of it, but being aware is what also brings about change. 

I have an “ola” of regret. I regret not making even more friends in Peru, I regret not speaking Spanish as much as I should have this summer, and I regret not taking more pictures even though I took close to 700 while I was there.

But most of all, and I know this sounds cheesy, I felt an “ola” of love. I got to surprise some of my friends and family when I came back early and I wouldn’t change that for anything, I have given several presentations on Peru which made me feel more love for Peru and the USA, and I have spent some much needed time with some amazing people in my life. I video chatted with Martin, Jenny, Fabrizio, and Rafaela this summer and I hope I get to do it again because I was so overjoyed talking with them that when we got off the phone, I burst into tears because I miss them so much.

What I have taken away most from the time I spent in Peru and the time that I have been back in the good ol’ USA is this: ALWAYS STAY POSITIVE AND PRACTICE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. I saw some people in some conditions that were not favorable, but they were still some of the happiest and most appreciative people I have ever met. I have heard many people before tell me how appreciative some of the Latin American cultures are and WOW... I got to know that for myself. We have so many wonderful opportunities to do great things to help each other, and when we can, we should. I have a deeper understanding now of what it means to serve others. Our money really isn’t our money. It is God’s money. He gave us the opportunity to obtain that money so we can better help others. We were all put here for a reason and maybe sometimes we don't recognize the reason, but I know that we were all put here for the purpose to love ourselves and others. I seem to know something...something...something... that I didn't know before. 

Con amor,
Mariah

Mi Ultima Semana

This is technically the last blog I have to write because classes are over, but I’m going to write one on my upcoming travels. On Friday the 100^th day in Peru was met!! I spent it laying in my bed and drinking tea all day because I decided to get a cold. All weekend while everyone was in Iquitos enjoying the Amazon, I was trying not to die of a cold. My host mom had me gargling lime juice and it actually helped! I didn’t do anything too interesting over the weekend so I’ll skip ahead to Sunday and the rest of the week.

The best group of girls I had the honor of spending 4 months in a foreign country with. 

Sunday was spent at my host dad’s brother’s house. We ate chicken and pork out of this cylinder thing. I’m pretty sure it was basically a smoker. I got to meet more family and practice my Spanish some more. Because of the traveling I have coming up, I had to say good bye to Martin, Jenny, Fabrizio, and Rafaela. I wasn’t expecting it and almost burst into tears in the middle of the nice family gathering. Somehow I held it together and we said our good bye’s.  

On Tuesday we got a taste of what it was like to be famous for a little bit. We thought we were just going to visit a school and observe in the classroom. We were totally wrong. All of the students were gathered in the courtyard of the school in front of a stage. They had a flag ceremony, sang us their national anthem, people danced, we introduced ourselves and sang "The Star Spangled Banner". Then we were bombarded with kids trying to take our pictures and get our autographs. I am not kidding. True story. We went into different classrooms and answered their questions. Some of the students even stood up to ask us a question. We were trying to walk back to the teacher lounge for some food they had prepared for us and the teachers had to body guard the students off of us so we didn’t have to sign as many autographs. It was absolutely crazy and I decided to give up on my dreams of becoming famous. I would not want to deal with that every day. Even though it was kinda fun for one day.

I had to talk in front of all these kids and I my heart was racing
so fast that I probably burned major calories.

These wonderful girls decided to pull me out and make a fool
of myself trying to salsa. Worth it. 

I told Rob he would feel powerful if he did this,
he enjoyed it way more than he let on. 

Last night we celebrated the end of our finals with our professors and our foreign exchange coordinator. We had so much fun... shed some tears, told great stories, taught our teachers how to Wop, and our teachers taught us one more lesson: how to salsa. The night was a legen-wait for it-dary. Legendary.

Monica: our exchange coordinator
and Rob: our grammar and conversation
professor, repping their new UNK gear

Since we celebrated 100 days in Peru, here are 100 things I love about Peru! Just kidding but I have been here 15 weeks so here are 15 things I love about Peru.

15. Something new to experience every day.

14. THE BEACH

13. The guys that ride around on bikes selling bread in the mornings.

12. Fruit. I know this goes with food, but the fruit is unbelievably amazing.

11. The food. Oh the food.

10. How cheap almost everything is!

9. Inca Kola. That yellow drink that tastes like bubble gum really grew on me.

8. Hanging my clothes to dry.

7. The laid back attitudes.

6. Of course I love the culture.

5. Dancing!

4. Greeting people with a kiss on the cheek.

3. The language.

2. The people that are usually very kind.

1. My host family. I would not have been able to make it this far without my amazing host family. From them taking me to the beach, visiting ruins, and talking with me, to welcoming me into their family. Ustedes nunca sabrán cuánto impactaron en mi vida. En inglés no puedo explicar o dar suficiente gracias por todo.

I will only post one more blog I promise! I’m so excited to do some traveling this weekend and tell you all about it!

Classes are over and summer has arrived. Enjoy your weekend,

Mariah

Peru, Nebraska

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." – IBN Battuta

That quote could not be truer. I have been speechless on countless occasions while in Peru and now I have so many stories to tell. I can’t fit them all into my blog, otherwise you would be reading a novel every Thursday. All of those speechless occasions have either shown me a different way to look at the world or brought me closer to God. Or both.

Ministry of Education - Look at the architecture!

I don’t have very many crazy stories for you this week. Last weekend I was given the opportunity to go to the Ministry of Education building and I took it. The building was shaped like books stacked on top of each other and we were able to see many different parts of the building. We were joking a lot that it could have been like the Ministry of Magic from Harry Potter and I’m not going to lie, there were different things in there that could have been Ministry of Magic material (like a hall of elevators that could have been fireplaces). I also met some more Peruvian people my age and one of them taught me how to salsa! Finally! My last month in Peru and somebody finally taught me how to salsa! It is surprisingly close to swing dancing.

I'm so fortunate this girl talked me
into coming to Peru! 

The guy on the far right taught me how to salsa!
Gracias Angelo!

There is a sushi place here close to campus called Makimono’s that we love SOOO much. The owners even know who we are and when we walk by. And they make a point to wave and say hello. Other than eating sushi, watching Netflix, studying for some hard tests next week, and hanging out with my friends, I have not done anything too wild.

I forgot to mention that elections were on Sunday for the new president of Peru. They were not allowed to buy or drink alcohol from 8 a.m. on Saturday until 8 a.m. on Monday. Everybody is required to vote here, otherwise they get fined. All of the voting happens on Sunday and they use computers on different Universities or facilities. They voted for 13 candidates, I think, and there was not a clear winner so they have to vote again for the top 3 in June. 

Of all the places I have been in Peru, there is always a conversation that goes like this (in Spanish of course):

Peruvian: “Where are you from?”

Mariah: “Nebraska in the United States. It is right in the middle.”

Peruvian: “Nebraska Peru? Like the commercial?”

Mariah: “Yes except I have never been to Peru, Nebraska.”

Here is the link to a commercial made in Peru, Nebraska. Several famous Peruvians heard about Peru, Nebraska and went there to teach them how to really be Peruvian. Please enjoy! It was a very clever and hilarious idea! I also put the subtitles in English so you can understand the Spanish parts!

Wish me luck on my studying! I hope I can find the motivation to study!

Mariah

4 seconds left, down by 2

Last quarter, 4 seconds left, down by 2, DaMoude shoots from the 3 and… I don’t know what happens next. I still have 3 tests to take, homework to complete, and a 14 hour trip back to the United States to know if I made it or not! I have less than 4 weeks left, and just like in a basketball game, those 4 seconds can go so fast and so slow at the same time. That’s what it feels like right now. If I score that 3 I will have improved my Spanish so much! I think I’ve already scored a few 3 pointers in the game, but it’s the last one that wins or loses it for me! I need to take full advantage of the rest of the time I have here and try to push the limits of my Spanish abilities.

There have been a few injuries along the way (slicing my heel open), times where we were losing (homesickness), times where we were up (Machu Picchu), and a few time outs when we just needed a break (no class on Friday’s and Netflix).

Our group was split up into small groups based on our interests and majors. In these groups we have been attending Peruvian classes on campus. For us education majors, we have to go to another campus that takes about 45 minutes to get there because of traffic (it should really only be about a 15 minute car ride). We have the opportunity to sit in on a bilingual education class. It’s really interesting and I won’t go all teacher geeky on you and bore you with the details, but the professor is awesome and I’m actually learning some cool stuff in there!

A few of us ventured to a place called Polvos Azules to look for some cheap movies last weekend. We were not expecting to find a huge mall full of anything you could imagine. The competition is really intense there too so everything is really cheap. I took full advantage of the movie wing of the building and got 15 movies for $10 (about 75 cents a movie). Some of them are movies that just got out of theaters like a month ago. People pirate movies like crazy in Peru, so they make them really cheap so people don’t do that. We also got lost in the shoe part of the store. There had to have been at least 30 different shoe stores, if not more. I also took full advantage of the souvenir part.

On Sunday, Jenny and Martín took me to Pachacamac. They were ruins of the Incas that lived near Lima. The view of the ocean was absolutely incredible when we got to the highest peak in the ruins. Their niece, Leslie, came with us and she reminded me so much of my cousin Morgan. They are the same age and have the same personality! It actually made me kind of homesick because Morgan has been my best friend since the day she was born and I miss her so much! I got to meet some of Martín’s family after visiting Pachacamac (another niece, his dad, sister, and brother-in-law) and his dad took a picture with me and told me I was his American girlfriend.

One of the girls in our group recently lost her best friend in an accident. It has really been on my mind and I cannot imagine what I would do if something happened to any of you. Please buckle up, no texting or snapchatting while driving, tell somebody you love what they mean to you, but most of all enjoy every second of this amazing life we have been given. God has blessed us to have met each other and to whoever is reading this, thank you so much for being in my life and supporting me on this journey I’ve had over here. Only a few more seconds left and we’ll see if the shot was made.

Con amor,

Mariah

Random Things

• I saw a Herbie car the other day and I laughed so hard when I saw it.

• There have been a few pump trucks driving through town here and every time I see one, I think of my awesome dad!

• They pronounce Google, Googlie, here. It’s so cute!
• Nike is also pronounced differently. Basically they say it like “Mike” but with the N in front. Probably like it should be pronounced according to the rules of the English language. 

My host mom taught me how to make causa
yesterday and I'm so excited to make it in the USA

Explosions, Easter, and a Gorilla Attack

Happy Easter!! Easter in Peru is a little different from Easter in the United States. They call the week of Easter, Holy Week. They start celebrating on Thursday and celebrate until Sunday evening. Most work places are closed, there aren’t any classes, and everybody seems to travel. My host dad told me that traffic is horrible going out of Lima because most families tend to travel to the North, South, or East. Basically any direction opposite of Lima.

Thursday my host family was gone other than my host sister. Ahnika and I had ice cream for lunch that day and we were so happy to make an adult decision to not eat real food. We went to mass together and it was different from any church I had ever been to (probably because I’m not Catholic). There was a huge procession with way more people than the priest, amazing live music, and people lined up on the sides of the church to get in on the mass. I felt bad for them because mass was 2 hours long and I felt like my butt was going to fall off. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been to stand the whole time. There was also this cute pregnant lady sitting next to us that helped us follow along and know what to sing.

On Friday my extended host family (my host mom’s daughter and family) invited me to go to their pool with them. The pool was not too far away from my house and I was actually very surprised that the place was called a country club! There were different team events and tents set up for the next weekend, tennis courts, restaurants, ice cream stands, conference rooms, two pools, and probably more that I didn’t see. We relaxed, swam, and I ate the best sea food and rice that I have ever had. (The restaurant we ate in was air conditioned. I almost cried because it made me so happy.)

Chaufa con mariscos = sea food rice

Saturday was definitely my most interesting day. It takes me 10 minutes to get to campus from my house and I walked to campus that morning to meet Abby for the day. On my walk way too many things happened to me in 10 minutes. As soon as I stepped out of the apartment complex, a creepy van drove by and the guys stopped in the middle of the road to yell about how great I was looking (I had just rolled out of bed). Then I was walking by a car that was revving it’s engine for a long time, some guy was pounding on the door, and then all of a sudden the car engine exploded!!! There was smoke everywhere and the hood had kind of popped off the front of the car. I just kept walking because I didn’t know what to do and some lady kept looking at me like I did it. When I finally got to campus, I was waiting outside for Abby and two guys walked really close and fast towards me and I thought they were going to rob me, I guess they were just in a hurry (not something you see with people walking around here).

Please excuse the broken egg in the front.

Eventually we made it to the grocery store to get some eggs and food dye. Dying eggs is not a thing here and neither are white eggs. All of them are brown. We decided we needed to color them anyway and got red jello powder and chicha powder (traditional Peruvian drink that doesn’t taste like anything I can describe) to color the eggs. It worked. The eggs all ended up a red color, but it worked! We also made brownies in the microwave. I suggest separating the batter into small coffee cups and not trying to cook the whole bowl.

Side Note: My host parents just made me run into their bedroom because the news was showing a gorilla attack at the Henry Doorly Zoo! I just caught the end of it but he was jumping towards the glass with an evil look in his eye. I don’t think anybody was hurt.

On Easter we went over to Patty and Juan Pedro’s house. A lot of other family showed up and we were also celebrating my host dad’s birthday. We ate some amazing sea food paella for lunch which is a traditional dish that comes from Spain. I got to FaceTime with most of my family at my Grammy and Poppo’s house. All the kids were in one room, all the adults in the other, and my Uncle Brad was sleeping on the couch. It was all a very familiar scene! Easter egg hunts are not a thing here, but chocolate eggs with prizes in the middle are. These are illegal in the USA because kids could try to eat the whole egg and choke on the prize in the middle. My prize was a temporary sea horse tattoo that I had to put on right away.

Most of the family is in this picture from Easter,
excluding 3 of the younger kids. 

Sea food Paella

This weekend we are planning on going white water rafting so stay tuned to see if I capsize our raft!

Con todo mi amor,

Mariah

Random Things

• It is normal for movies here to be in English with Spanish subtitles.
• I have drank cantaloupe juice for breakfast all week and it is surprisingly delicious!
• There was hardly any traffic here this weekend and that was scary.
• We talked about a newspaper ad in class. The ad wanted a woman to be a receptionist that had good people skills, previous experience in sales, a clear complexion, 18-23 years old, and a minimum height of 1.60 meters. This was an ad from that week in the newspaper. I was absolutely appalled and I cannot believe it is okay to put an ad like that in the newspaper here. 

Spring Fever

Homesickness. I have had a lull in my traveling and experiences here in Peru and that has allowed enough time for homesickness to set in. Throughout my time in Peru I have felt many different things and I have felt homesickness before, but it never hit me as hard as it did this last week. When I am speaking English with my friends from UNK, I do not feel homesick because it feels familiar talking with them. As soon as I am on my own, I start to think and thinking is not good. Usually I am thinking about verb conjugations or what tense I need to be using in Spanish, but recently I have been thinking about spring because it just turned to “fall” here. Fall means the weather will not be above 85 (apparently). Ever since coming back from Machu Picchu I have just been ready to go home. The weather there felt like Nebraska in spring. Even though there was a weird thunderstorm with lightning, snow, hail, and rain I still want to be home! I am diagnosing myself with homesickness and Spring Fever.

Last Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day.. We had class in downtown Lima to watch the changing of the guard at the government palace. There was so much traffic and our taxi driver took the sketchiest route to get us downtown. A couple times throughout our ride I thought she (first woman taxi driver I have seen) was taking us to the slums to sell us. Finally we got close enough to walk downtown. Lots of roads were closed off and we had to find a different way to the main square. On our walk we went down a street that was lined with about 100 men ranging from 25-85 years old. As soon as we started walking down the street the whistles started which turned into cat calls and yelling. That was probably the most scared I have ever been in Peru and I road on a bus, down a mountain, without guard rails, at night. We finally made it to the main square, but the changing of the guard had just finished. Everything in Peru starts late and the changing of the guard is the only exception. It started and finished on time. We ended up going to China Town and ate some awesome Chifa that we couldn’t even finish for under $4. After that we went to an Irish Pub called Houlihan’s to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. We got our faces painted and even met some American’s from Mississippi State University. Their professor was dressed up like a Leprechaun. He was getting some weird looks from Peruvians because they don't celebrate St. Patrick's day. The owner of Houlihan's was from England which was the only reason it was being celebrated! 

I went to the beach last weekend and this is when the homesickness kicked in. After we got back from the beach on Saturday afternoon, I sat in a room and played Solitaire on my phone for 5 hours because I knew if I tried to think or talk in Spanish I would just break down and cry. There was even a surf competition going on and even that did not interest me. That was when I decided I was homesick. When we got home from the beach on Sunday I watched Up, Tangled, and Shrek the Third all in one night. Everybody is going on Spring Break in Nebraska and I watched Netflix like my life depended on it. I got to Skype my mom, Aunt Ann, and Demi so that made me feel a lot better!

This weekend I am staying in Lima while my family goes to the beach. Abby and Ahnika will be here this weekend and I think we are going to color some Easter eggs. It’s not a tradition or custom to do that in Peru so we might have to dye them with Kool-Aid! Peruvians celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week), so starting today until Sunday most of the stores close up and most people leave Lima to go to the North, South, or jungle to celebrate with their families.

Have a safe and happy Easter everyone! Drive safe on the roads and eat some jelly beans for me!

Mariah

Random Things

• Peruvians know their way around a chicken wing. I have never seen a bone so clean before I came here.
• I ate chicken foot soup the other day. My host mom was eating the feet and told me doctors recommend chicken foot soup for cancer patients because they have something in them that’s good for your bones. She was just eating it because she liked it.
• Traffic has gotten worse because of school starting.
• Our campus is filled with people, and I about have an anxiety attack walking to class every day. 

I don't have any pictures from this last week so here are some that never made it to my blog! 

The Kearney group at the awesome restaurant outside of Cusco.

My little friend Fabrizio from the Shipibo school.
He broke my heart because he didn't know how old
he was or when his birthday was. 

Most of the churches here are this intricate. 

On the side with the stoplights it says
"respect the red light". People tend to run red lights here. 

Little Bit of Everything

I have recently started counting down the days until I get to be back in Nebraska. One day I was so homesick that I counted the days on my calendar 4 different times. The day never changed so I have no idea why I thought the days would be less if I counted just one more time. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here! But I just really miss my family and different familiar things (driving, Walmart, fishing, thunderstorms, my dogs, my room, and most of all water from a well that does not have to be boiled). Even though I have been a little (a lot) homesick, I have done a lot of things this past week to keep my mind off of it.

Last weekend I went over to Claire’s house so we could sit by the pool and play some guitar. Yes, you read that right, she has a pool. On her roof. On the top floor of their apartment. Private to them. Why was that my first time there? I have no idea. We enjoyed the pool on a very hot day and then sat around for a couple hours playing my guitar. We got in a much needed country music jam session. We also thought that we sounded so good together that we might need to start a band. Stay tuned.

Side note: I had a very weird day over the weekend. On Friday morning I laid on my bed face down and listened to a Jimmy Buffet album on repeat for 4 hours until it was lunch time. I have no idea what was happening to me, but I felt better after I did that. It was the first time I had even heard some of the songs on the CD.

One of the traditional Peruvian dances. 

On Saturday, we had class at a place called Brisas de Titicaca. It was a cultural dinner dance thing. We saw many different dances that come from all over Peru and ate traditional Peruvian food. I loved it so much and took some great video! The show lasted about 3 hours with some salsa dancing for the audience in between dress changes. There was one family that was celebrating their grandma’s birthday and at the end I watched as they all danced in a circle around her and took turns going into the middle to dance with her. It was so cute and I am going to initiate that at my grandma’s birthday (Dad and Uncle Brad, please don’t think it is stupid, you WILL participate. Love you guys).

After the show, I went with Danielle, her real momma from the United States, and her host parents to downtown Lima. Having Danielle's mom here made me wish my mom could have come because I know she would have loved it all so much! We went through the catacombs again and saw some different rooms that we had not seen the first time. Then we walked around the center of Lima and bought different Peruvian desserts from vendors that were set up on both sides of the street. When it got dark, we headed to Parque de las Aguas. This time I got to watch the water and light show that they put on instead of just watching the water and lights change. I was very impressed with what they were able to do with the lights and put videos up with the water. It was absolutely amazing! 

While trying out different desserts, we also
saw lots of different Peruvian food. This is the
delicacy, cuy-cuy (guinea pig).

Mama Carmen took me to mass with her on Sunday. I am not Catholic so everything that was going on there was new to me and it was in a different language so I felt very out of place. It was a great experience for me because I was able to hear more Spanish and I can say that I have been to mass.

Today we went to a school in a lower income neighborhood to read with the kids and play some games. We played Simon Says with our group and then it was recess time. It was absolutely crazy. There were kids running everywhere, soccer balls flying around, and kids jumping all over us! Our group wanted to play water and cement which is basically freeze tag. I had so much fun playing with all of them and I was really sad when it was time for them to go back to class and for us to leave. These kids had classrooms with horrible lighting, concrete to play on for recess, and a small swing set/jungle gym for the littler kids to play on. They did not complain about one thing. They were some of the sweetest and most grateful children I have ever met and I only knew them for one hour. One of the little boys in my group gave me a bracelet that says suerte (luck) on it for a present. We all got so many hugs, smiles, and thank you’s when we were leaving that I don’t think any of us ever wanted to leave. Those little kids have my heart overflowing with absolute joy.

Our group from the Shipibo school. 

One of the other girls posted in her blog that we have less and less to talk about because we are becoming so used to taking taxis, the food, and traffic that it just doesn’t sound as interesting anymore. We are really becoming like Peruvians. Lima is becoming our home and I couldn’t agree more. This place will forever have a special part in my heart. Other than the constant honking from the taxis of course.

Chao chao for now,

Mariah

Random Things

• I have never seen regular coffee beans here. The coffee is a powder that you just stir into hot water.
• They cut their piece of bread in half and then take out some of the middle and throw it away. The middle is the best part!
• A pineapple here costs about 75 cents. All fruit is really cheap here which explains why I get fresh fruit and juice every single morning. I absolutely love it.
• Today I found food that I do not like in Peru. Hígado, better known to us English speakers as cow liver. 

This is a picture from our University of the
bathrooms. I thought it was pretty funny. 

Just some guys scooping trash on the roadside.

How cute is this little banana?

No Thought

We’ve heard about it, we’ve read about it in books, we’ve seen it in movies, and this last weekend we saw it for ourselves. I have said many different variations of that since Friday. All of the reasons I have said that are for one thing: Machu Picchu. One of the Seven Wonders of the World. I actually learned that it is pronounced Machu Picchu (peek-choo) because of the two C’s in Picchu. I also learned that it means Old Mountain in Quechua (one of the three languages spoken in Peru).

We started our trip off Friday morning at 4:30 to be at the airport by 6. For some reason we were told to be at the airport by 6 to sit around until we boarded at 9:30. Security wasn’t even hard to get through. They let us take liquids through and didn’t make us take our shoes off or anything. Peru operates differently in the airport security department. We indulged ourselves at Dunkin’ Donuts before boarding the plane for an hour flight to Cusco. When we got to Cusco we drank some mate de coco tea so we would not get sick from the altitude there. We ate some lunch and then went on a tour of Cusco. One of the places we went to were some ruins called Saqsaywaman (pronounced as sexy woman). Some of the girls were able to go down a natural rock slide and most of us made it through the tunnel to the underworld. We came out on the other side of the huge rock, but we had to squat to get though. It was so dark and I got so claustrophobic that I almost had a panic attack and went back up. I pushed through though because the girls ahead of me said that they saw light ahead. We also toured a church in Cusco that reminded me a lot of the Notre Dame. 

I used to think that Cusco was the town where Machu Picchu was. I need to take some geography classes again. We got on a bus at 6:20 in the morning on Saturday and took the most beautiful 2 hour bus ride through the mountains to a train station. We then took an amazing 2 hour train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes, which is at the base of the trek to Machu Picchu. There was so much plant life on the train ride and sometimes I felt like I was in the mountains, jungle, and the hills in Blair, Nebraska all at once. Upon arriving in Aguas Calientes we got on the scariest 30 minute bus ride up the mountain to the entrance of Machu Picchu. I will leave how scary the bus ride was to your imagination. Just know that there were no guard rails and it was mostly a straight drop down. The turns were also very sharp and there was a constant line of buses coming up and down the mountain.

Our bus stopped a couple times on our way to
Machu Picchu so we could take some pictures!

Machu Picchu here come some Lopers! 

Another stamp was put in my passport after we went through Machu Picchu!! We climbed a few flights of rocky stairs to get an amazing view of Machu Picchu. Pictures don’t even begin to show how amazing this place was. Some people say they feel something spiritual when they see Machu Picchu. I am not going to lie, I think I felt that something spiritual. There was a time while I was looking at it that I was completely speechless and I did not have a single thought in my head. Based on what I know about spiritual enlightenment, no thought is one of the most powerful things you can experience. For one of the first times in my life, I had no thought. We did not have much time to look at it though because our tour guide, Nilo, moved us along so fast through everything that we did not have time to just relax and look. I learned some cool things from him about Incan history, but I would have much rather spent my 3 hours in Machu Picchu wondering around on my own and taking my time. I can’t even begin to explain, even in English, how amazing it was there so I will just let the pictures do the talking.

I had an apple for the llamas and
they swarmed me so I threw the apple and ran.

Sunday we toured more of the surrounding towns of Cusco and saw some more ruins in Sacred Valley. We also got to shop around in some markets and I thought I might have bought more than I could get back to the United States, but I put it all in my suitcase when I got back to Lima and luckily it all fit! I just cannot buy anything else. There were some little girls in one of the markets that we could pay 1 sol to take a picture with and I couldn’t resist because they were just so cute!

Terraces of the Incas.

They were so cute!!! 

We ate at the most amazing restaurant I have ever seen. Just because it was a buffet with incredible Peruvian food was not the only reason it was the best restaurant I have eaten at (although it did play a part). When we got there, there were birds in cages outside surrounded by beautiful plants and trees. The place where the tables were looked out at the Sacred River and we were surrounded by a very beautiful landscape with the flowers, trees, and berms (as the daughter of a former landscaper, I can appreciate the work that went into that). There were also llamas and an alpaca there that we got to take some pictures with and feed! Unfortunately I do not have any of those pictures with me right now. That night we all went into the main square of Cusco and we split up to go to different restaurants and eat. Such a small world because we saw some people from Nebraska that told us they go to college in Wayne and Chadron and are here backpacking for 12 days!

Main square in Cusco. On the left side of the picture is the
church we toured that reminded me of the Notre Dame. 

Go Huskers!!

Mariah

Random Things

• Facebook is just called “Face” here. One lady asked if she could have my face and I was a little confused until I remembered that “Face” is what they call Facebook!
• School has started and I can hear little kids crying every morning because they do not want to leave their parents.
• There are 3 official languages of Peru and one of them was spoken in Cusco. It is called Quechua and is spoken by the people that live in the Sierra. 

Halfway Through!! Almost Home or Almost Leaving?

I am officially halfway to the end of my journey in Peru! Everybody told me it was going to go so fast and guess what, it definitely has. As much as I am excited to go home, be with my family, and eat a good steak; I am also sad to leave this beautiful country with the culture and people it has brought into my life. I just haven’t learned enough Spanish yet to leave! But I don’t want to think about the negatives of only having two months left. I want to talk about the positives!

The beach. Even though there has been some nice 60 degree weather in Nebraska, it is not quite beach weather yet. A couple, friends of Martin and Jenny, were at the beach too this weekend. The girl had studied abroad in Germany when she was in college and stayed with a family over there too. She understood exactly what I was going through and had so much patience with me, talked slow, and tried to include me in almost everything! She was so great!

One of the lookout points at San Bartolo beach

I made everyone French toast at the beach this weekend. Martin saw me mixing up the eggs and milk and told me that was a very strange combination. Apparently I also need to make scrambled eggs for them too. Those will change their lives. They did not know exactly what syrup was and they kept calling it honey. It said maple on it and they pronounced it mah-play. Good stuff that mah-play. As far as I could tell they all liked the French toast.

Rafael, surfer dude. We switched hats for this
picture. He is an honorary Nebraskan. 

The waves were huge this weekend and Martin took me to a safe spot where I could enjoy jumping around and diving under the huge waves without being run over by a surfer or pulled out to sea. Speaking of surfing, I got to do it again (kinda)! My host mom’s nephew is a big surfer guy and he took me out into the water and had me ride the waves on my belly because the board was too small for me to stand up on at this point in my life. He told me that I have the stamina to be a surfer, so that was encouraging. Now we only need to get some waves like that in Nebraska and I could have a career!

 

The chicken wing

One night we had a big cookout with a bunch of different things on the grill. There was sea food, anticuchos (cow heart on a cabob is growing on me), sausages, and BBQ chicken wings. One of the family members was trying to explain chicken wings to me and started flapping her arms. I could’ve told them I knew what chicken wings were, but I did not want to stop the charades show. I was laughing so hard. This weekend at the beach I think I really gained confidence in my speaking ability and I think I am understanding anywhere from 50-90% depending on who is talking. I talk the most with Jenny, Martin, and Fabrizio so I understand them the most.

One day a couple of us went to the movies to go see Zootopia. Turns out the movie was all sold out for the night so we bought some popcorn and sat in the food court talking to Abby’s friend from crossfit. That was probably better for our Spanish than a movie because we got to talk and practice as well as listen. The crazy thing about the movies was that we could get in for $3 on a normal day and $1.50 with a coupon!! Also, a huge bucket of popcorn and two large pops were $7 total. I don’t know why I haven’t been going to the movies this whole time!

Let me tell you about the struggle of wifi here. It is terrible how much I rely on it. I could not do any of my homework, talk to my family, or plan things with my friends because the wifi was out for about 5 days. It wasn’t all that bad though because I could walk to campus for wifi if I really needed it and it really opened my eyes. I did a lot of reading in The Power of Now over the course of those days and I am learning how to be more present in the Now. I realized it is the only thing that is really real and I can’t focus on the past or worry about the future because they aren’t here. The only thing that is here and now is the present moment. With that being said, I am not going to worry that I haven’t learned enough Spanish or seen everything that I thought I needed to see because I am here in Peru at this moment and I need to put my full attention into that.

This weekend we are traveling to Cuzco to go see Machu Picchu!!! I got all packed up for that today because we are leaving early tomorrow morning! This morning I was working out in my room and I sliced my heal open on either my bed frame or my suitcase. I was bleeding everywhere and it’s a good thing Carmen came home right after I did it because I was about to cut my foot off, I was so mad at myself (not that it was going to help the situation).  Good thing we don’t have to climb up a bunch of steps or hike up a mountain this weekend… oh wait. I have a band-aid and some iodine stuff and I am ready to go.

Stay tuned for my blog on Machu Picchu!

Mariah

Random Things

• They call syurp, honey.
• The sound of the ice cream man is not pleasant here. It is more of a dying bird sound than an ice cream song.
• You should not trust the wifi man alone in your room. My host mom watched him like a hawk the entire time he was here. When he left she said he was looking around too much and probably wanted to steal something.
• School has just begun for some students and they will all be in school by March 21^st. Apparently this means the traffic is going to get worse. I find that hard to believe, but they told me it will be worse.
• Cookie dough here is just the powder in a bag. I was very disappointed to find this out. 

Every night people put their trash out on the
corner and some magic garbage guy on a bike
comes and gets it in the middle of the night.

These trees have beautiful red flowers in them
and would make a perfect tree house tree.

I get to walk passed this awesome business
every day on my way to class. 

As I was writing this blog I was visited by this
huge, un-killable bug. My window is shut now.

USA, Paracas, and Memories

We traveled to the United States this week, southern Peru, and Lugar de la Memoria. We got a lot done and might have even cried a little bit.

United States (embassy that is)

Last Thursday we got to go see the United States Embassy and listen to a speaker there. Due to security reasons, we were not allowed to have our phone to take pictures. So, unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of that amazing place. We felt air conditioning for the first time since we have been in Peru and it was glorious. The lady that spoke to us has been all around the world and can speak several different languages because of her job. I would love to be able to speak a second language fluently and hopefully that is Spanish because that’s kind of why I am in Peru. It was great to be on American soil for a short time!

Paracas

Friday, we got on a bus for 3 hours to go to the city of Paracas found in the southern part of Peru for a field trip. We knew we were going to be staying in a hotel there, but little did we know that the hotel was going to be a 5 star resort with a gigantic pool and a beautiful view of an ocean bay. We got to go kayaking, paddle boarding, and relax at the amazing pool. Best field trip ever (sorry Mrs. Lindekugal, the Dancing Leaf Earth Lodge just didn’t compare)! That wasn’t even the best part.

On Saturday we got to go to Islas Ballestas, which are a group of islands about a 30 minute boat ride from the main land. On the boat ride we passed a pod (pack?) of wild dolphins and everybody freaked out because… DOLPHINS! I think that is pretty self-explanatory. When we got to the islands we got to see thousands of birds, hundreds of sea lions (sea wolves if you translate from Spanish), and three penguins! We also passed by a beach on the island called Playa Maternidad (maternity beach) and there were tons of little baby sea lions! There were so cute and I wanted to hold one so badly but I don’t think a protective mama sea lion would’ve liked it if I swam into shore and grabbed one of her babies. I just don’t think she would have liked that very much. The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pool. That night we got to play Monopoly Peru edition. We thought that was so much fun because there were places on there that we had been and places that we wanted to go to. (Pictures of the island at the bottom!)

Sunday was spent stuffing ourselves with all the fresh fruit and bread at breakfast. I am really going to miss the pineapple and pineapple juice here because it is so so so so so good! I can’t even describe how good it is. You’re just going to have to come try some. Some of us played some volleyball after that. It was kind of hard to move, or breathe for that matter, but somehow we played anyway. We also found some snorkel gear at the kid’s club (we still act like kids) and took it to the pool! As soon as the goggles we on our heads, we instantly started acting like 3^rd graders again. We were doing handstands, trying to walk up the stairs in the pool on our hands, yelling at each other underwater, having underwater tea parties, and doing flips. It’s just a reminder that no matter how old we think we are, the kid inside of us is still alive. Something just has to trigger it (like a pool and goggles), and when it gets triggered, the little things bring us the most joy.

That night I got a taxi home by myself from the bus station. The taxi driver was older and he must not have heard the correct address because we ended up 30 minutes away from my house. I felt so bad that all I had to give him was 20 soles (6.50 American dollars), 50 cents, and an American dollar. It was originally only supposed to be 18 soles, but I felt bad and gave him everything I had. I could’ve thrown in my chapstick too, but for some reason I don’t think he wanted that very bad.

This week for our literature class, we took a field trip to Lugar de la Memoria (place of memory). This was all about terrorism in Peru from 1980-2000. The building was split into three levels. Level 1: terrorism and how it all started. Also, what they did and how people were treated. Level 2: How Peruvians reacted to terrorism brought on by their own people and how they got rid of it. Level 3: A memorial to the victims. There were several times throughout that I felt really sick to my stomach, confused, and shocked. The pictures were very graphic, there were videos of the victims speaking about what happened to them (really cool because the screens were big and made the people look like they were standing right in front of you), and drawings from kids involved in the terrorism; those were definitely the most disturbing. They drew the terrorists shooting their families, but the terrorists were smiling in the pictures. If you want to learn more about the terrorism in Peru here is the link. I highly recommend watching it. It was very eye opening that something like that ended here only 16 years ago. This was definitely one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to. They don’t call it a museum though because they want it to be a place for people to realize that this happened and they can’t let such devastation happen ever again.

Next weekend we go to Machu Picchu and I think we are all very excited about that! It’s so hard to believe that we are almost to the half way point of our trip. I feel happy because I get to go home and see my family, but also sad because I have to leave this wonderful place and I just haven’t learned enough Spanish to leave yet.

Keep the kid alive,

Mariah

Random things

• They say snack in English, but they pronounce it eh-snack. They also do this with other words that are English but start with S. I can’t think of any more right now, but I’ll try to come up with some more.
• Ice cream shops here sell the BEST ice cream. Nothing gets better than homemade ice cream, of course, but this stuff comes pretty darn close.
• I am becoming very good at talking people down in prices.
• Almost all shirts here are called polos because of Ralph Lauren. These shirts don’t necessarily have to have a collar though, they can just be a t-shirt.
• I think they might just create jobs here. There are people standing around gates to get paid, others that sweep the streets, and some people even sweep the roofs. What? 

3 Cactus Thing. I obviously don't remember
the name for it. But you can see it 7 miles away!

Awesome sea food pasta I had at the resort. 

Some sea lions just lounging around

Sea lion haven

I just thought this would make an awesome picture.
And it did. 

The ladies sweeping the roof outside my
bedroom window.