Pictures!

Wonderfully lovely Marinera!

I tried to make it upright, but it's me in my Marinera costume!

It's been crazy!

I think that this month in Peru has been a crazy roller coaster!! I definately have had ups and downs. Today was crazy with dancing and all sorts of other fun! I danced in a Marinera showcase kind of thingy...  I was HORRIBLE!! But watching the other dancers was great! I'll just post some pictures and be on my way!
L

In this video you get to see how awesome Valeria is at Marinera, and how much I stink! lol It's pretty hilarious!
L

¡Marinera!

Yo puedo bailar Marinera! I got to dance with a guy at Marinera last night in class. Honestly, it was very humbling! I kinda suck, but it is sooo fun to dance that I don't really care! I think I learned more spanish today because after the earthquake it gt kinda crazy and I had to know what was going on, so I turned on my Spanish ears and understood a ton! Don't worry though, I didn't even feel the quake, but my friends did! It was very far from us so it wasn't bad!
We had rotary tonight as well, and it helped me realize more of how different doesn't mean bad! The girl there presented about her exchange to Switzerland, but she got to visit all of Europe too! I was so jealous! Then I realized that I get to visit all of the great sites in Peru and in September some in Chile as well! Different is not bad, just different!
L

San Bartolo

The place we stayed at the beach! Jealous? You should be!

Bloggity blog

Things have been of the wall recently! This weekend was our first inbound orientation. I thought it was gonna be in some boring, cheap hotel, but it wasn't! It was in a resort on the beach, but since it's winter here, no one was there! I did dance in the waves though, even though it was freaking cold! Some kids swam, but I wasn't brave enough. Instead while they were swimming, three other girl exchange students and I walked in the surrounding town. We bought Inca Kola and ice cream of course! My favorite ice cream, is vanilla and lucuma covered in chocolate!!! Then we climbed a hill with a cross on it! They are everywhere here. Maybe I'll start a collection! That night, I got to write in my diary with the waves pounding outside my window! What a beautiful weekend!
   The views of people here are so different than how, as a general population, we think in the US. If you don't greet someone, it is soooo rude! Like, really insulting! And they don't eat vegetables as part of a usual meal out! It's all meat! I love it!
   I also have realized how different someone from the same country as you's views can be too! I was talking to the other exchange students this weekend, and I heard somethings that I hadn't even heard of before! It was very eye opening with the semiars, but also the other students.
That was my weekend in a nutshell I think!
L

Illin'

The crazy has started! I'm starting to get frustrated over the language barrier, from my eyes, the other students are progressing, and I'm not!! I was sick today, and stayed home and slept all day, but 5 minutes of spanish and I was pooped again! Marinera was pretty fun tonight! We learned some new stuff, and I got scolded for not using my hips enough! What can I say? I'm a white chick!!
My mama gets me so much stuff here, I feel like I should pay for stuff but she won't let me!! After we were done dancing we had salchipapas, pretty much fries with hotdogs! Yummy!! I can't think very straight today so it's time to relax... Again!
L

Campamento

This is me at Camp! As you ca see, the weather is beautiful!
Oh, also, marinera is danced without shoes, so I have crazy blisters on my feet!
L

Crazy fun!

So the time that has passed since last Thursday has been crazy busy and super fun! The Saya classes made my legs hurt until the next sunday! I decided not to do them anymore because the school is very far from my house and my parents would have to take an expensive cab ride there and back three days a week. I didn't feel good about that. The girls in my school were dissapointed, but they'll live. This weekend was awesome despite the soreness ;)! I went to the Campamento El Fortin in the mountains! I was a junior leader sort of, and the kids were all from the same school. They focused on teambuilding activities and some just fun! I met a few new people, and some great new friends there! I think I learned some new Spanish too! The climate in the mountains is totally different than in Lima, we drove for and hour and a half and it changed from cloudy and chilly to sunny and hot!! I even got pretty good sunburn! The worst sunburn is in my hair part though!! OUCH! I spent two nights there, viernes y sabado, and we had a great campfire! Everybody cried at the end! The funniest thing was that the kids were going to see each other the next day, but they all cried like they had to leave forever!
   Camp was awesome, but my favorite that happened recently was my marinera dance class tonight! It was awesome, and I was way better at it than Saya!! Then I came home to homeade Arroz con leche! yummm!!! School has gotten a bit better I think, but it's still hard to understand what is going on! There is one class where I'm not sure what the subject even is! I'll figure it out soon enough I'm sure! My legs hurt and I'm tired! I hope I didn't leave anything out, but I probably did!
Good night!
L

A wonderfully painful day!

Dios mío!! My hips feel like I was run over by a bulldozer! And my hips don't lie! School has gotten better now that we are doing things in class! I also realized that my class has major senioritis, which is a huge cause for stir in the class! We take so many subjects here! I thought that the maths would be the easiest for me, but oh how wrong I was!! It's Trigonometry, and not like basic, but really hard, involved stuff that I haven't learned at all yet!! Everyone wants to help me though, so I think I'll get it soon! The other subjects are totally unrecognizable to me because I can't understand anything yet! I can sort of get concept, but the words are lost on me!
Today was my our first day with P.E. And it was kind of hilarious to me! Our activity was called gymnastics, but we just moved our arms in patterns for two hours! It actually hurt my arms quite a bit! Then I stayed with the class for leg exercises too! But after school was the real exercise! I participated in the school's Saya dance class! It is rediculously fast, and intricate! It's fun, but after an hour and a half of dancing, my calves burn really good! It's so late!! I've been tired for 4 days straight! I'll only get like 5 hours tonight too! Oh well! Buenas noches!
L

First day of school!

I started my day with a nervous knot in my stomach! It lasted through breakfast and all the way to school. As soon as I got my first kiss on the cheek and my first huge smile from the security guard, I knew I'd be ok here! I didn't understand a single thig the teachers said all day, but I tried to make a good first impression anyway. It's more difficult in another language because everyone thinks you're stupid! They don't mean to, but they do.
One thing I assumed abou going to another country in a private catholic school, was that the students really wanted to be there to learn! I was really excited for a good learning environment, but I was so wrong! I actually think the classroom was louder here than I've ever heard in the US! To me it seems so disrespectful to talk and yell across the room while the teacher is talking! Maybe that's the norm here, I hope not, but if it is I'll adjust!
There is so much food here!! I tried ceviche last night, and it was ok! I think if I liked limes it would be heaven! My favorite is still papas con carne en arroz!! With inca kola and arroz con leche after!!! I think that's all I have!! Everyone was so nice to me at school today!
L

Embarrassing!!

How bad my blog is embarrassing. Talking in front of a group is embarrassing. Not knowing the language is embarrassing! But the most embarrassing thing is the fact that I never let myself do things that might embarrass me! I would never sing in front of people who I want to be friends with because what if I only think I'm good! I'm a crazy person! I am learnig here that the people who take risks and put themselves out there are the ones that are liked the most and that have the most new friends!
L

Rotary District Event

Today was the big rotary huha for the district 4450. It really was huge! We got there at like 5pm and got done at like 11:30! Dinner was served at 10!! It was crazy! There were two presentations of dancing. One was marinara I think and the other was more modern, but still with traditional flare! They were beautiful! Once I get my computer up I will post pictures. I felt like a gringa really bad today! I miscounted the change I got back from a man in the market so I thought he had shortchanged me, but really I was just stupid! It was soo embaressing! Then when the lady asked me "for here or to go" I said "sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon please"! Then I paid too much for something! It seemed cheap to me, but Valeria said I got ripped! Boogers! Oh well, I got to be noble and give up my seat on the micro for an abuelitta!
I bought my school uniform the other day! Pictures soon! It's red based and a ottos bit horrible! It's something that mos people wouldn't wear even for money! I'm starting to understand a bit more of what people are saying, but they really talk so fast!! I think I'll finish rambling for today!
L

Really I do!

I understand mom and dad, that you want me to post on my blog, but I also need to know what you want me to post! The best way would be to comment on my posts with questions I can answer for you!! I'd love to tell anyone anything, but I can't just say ever detail of my days! Also, if you want pictures of specific things, you have to tell me! In Lima, I'm already a gringa, or white person, and taking my camera out and clicking everything is not a good way to fit in!! I want to keep you informed, but if I answer everything I think you might want to know, I'd be writing essays, not blog posts!
Love you all
L

Observations anyone?

I think that the way I saw Lima in my head before was a bustling metropolis with chic shops and diverse people. Now, some parts of Lima are like that, but in Salamanca, most people have dark hair, dark eyes, and darker skin! I stand out like a sore thumb here! I get so many stares and looks! It's uncomfortable sometimes, and sometimes the guys will whistle or say "Hello Baby." I've learned quickly to just ignore it. Lima is just so much different then the small town I come from! It's way more dirty then I thought and the homes are tiny! I love the city despite it's flaws! The fact that you can buy bottled water for 1 sol, like 30 cents, is awesome! The market filled with fresh fruit is my favorite though! Oranges are so cheap here tha in order to spend a dollar, you have to buy a huge bag! It's great!
L

Crap lol

I wrote a huge explanation of my last few days, but the computer killed it all... crap... I will rewrite it later, but I need to do other things now!
L