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