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?