Falda de Marinera!!

I just got my new Marinera skirt!!!! It's soooooooo beautiful! I have a class presentation on May 14th, so I'm super excited to have my new skirt to dance with.

L

Wheelchair Project

   Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday of last week were some of the best days of my life! It was Rotary Club San Borja Sur's annual Wheelchair Foundation project. 24 Texas Rotarians joined us for the week and went with us to all of the ceremonies. Our first day, we went to the National Military Hospital where we gave 150 wheelchairs to veterans and military families. That day was filled with ceremony mostly. As exchange students, our official duty there was to translate for the Texans to the Peruvians. I was on a team with Martha and Guy the first day. I had a speech from them to say to each person receiving a chair about how God is sending his love through the chair and through Rotary. Martha also asked me to ask the families if she could pray with them, and of course they all wanted to. They also gave out bibles to the families and patients. Their presence was such a warm one that lifted the needy up. 

   The president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, was supposed to make an appearance, but because of a last minute ordeal in Cusco, had to cancel. I was disappointed after getting so excited to meet him. The ceremony went on though, with a high ranking officer. They showed us 4 traditional Peruvian dances and there were a ton a speeches which pretty much all said the same thing.     

The huge group of recipients with their new wheelchairs. 

   Day 2 was when we really got to give chairs to the poorest people. Manchay is a part of the district of Pachacamac, so we took a tour of the ruins in Pachacamac in the morning and then boarded the bus to the Central Square of Manchay. We had 63 chairs to give that day. For the second, easier half of the ceremony I was the general translator, and I also was with Martha and Guy again. I also helped some other groups since we were a little short of exchange students that day. The faith is very strong in Manchay, so almost everyone wanted to seek out the prayers of the gringos. 

The extravagant town square stuck in with the poverty.  

The cathedral in Manchay. 

   Our last day of service was Saturday when we went up to Ventanilla. We'd been there before for a medical clinic and for Christmas. We left the house early and got to the clinic just in time to be split into groups. This time I was with Beverly, the project leader from Texas, and her daughter Lauren. We were with the littlest kids with the hardest disabilities. In total Rotary and the Wheelchair Foundation gave away 150 chairs on Saturday as well. 

   I was the official ceremony translator for the third day, which was way harder than it looks! I did okay, but I would have liked to be perfect. I did get a ton of practice though, and that's good for me. 

Tiny wheels... 

Getting pumped to translate.

This is me translating.... badly. 

Relaxing at lunch.

   It was hard saying goodbye to the Texans when I left the after-party. I know I'll be taking a big trip down there soon! I had a wonderful week!

L

Oxapampa Day 2

  After our crazy first day in Oxapampa, I was ready to keep going! We drove out to the tribe called Tsachopen where they mostly just dress up for tourists. It was really fun to see some of their crafts and original costumes. 

A truck got stuck, so we all helped out so we could pass.

They tried to teach me how to shoot, but I stunk. 

The tribe leader as of now. 

   We all piled back in the car to go to a little ranch. Their big appeal is the fact that they have Emus! They were very tame Emus and we all got to pet them. My favorite part there was the little Tigrillo that was at the other end. 

So pretty!!

   We went out to the big rodeo next, which was definitely my favorite part of the trip! There was a big rainbow before we got there. There was bull-riding of little bulls ridden by little boys, and adult bulls with the big 'vaqueros.' They also did something called the tumba where 2 men wrestled down a bull. I loved the whole rodeo, including the hot cowboys! 

Great, huge, full rainbow! 

My seat for the rodeo because I couldn't see from the ground... too many people.  

I think the bull won! 

However, the cowboys get him down in the next round.

Tug of war!!

   We met up with some old friends of my padres at the rodeo and we went to their beautiful vintage house after. The kids played with other kids and I talked with Otilia. 

I just loved the pink beday. 

Brunito playing around!

  We left Oxapampa early the next morning for the long drive back to Lima. I had a great time on the trip. We even got to hit the highest part of road in all of Peru!  

Scary tunnel!! 

Highest point of road in Peru!

L

Semana Santa in Oxapampa

   The Thursday and Friday before Easter weekend are vacation days for all of Peru. Since the country is Catholic, Lima is filled with parades, ceremonies, and church services during the long weekend. We decided to use our break to drive out to the jungle for some family bonding time! Because we left a bit late, we ended up hitting big traffic leaving Lima and probably had 2 more hours in the car than usual, but it was a nice drive. The drive is about 2 hours on highway and 6 hours on pothole-covered dirt (mud) roads or winding mountain roads. It was a pretty tedious drive, especially for a girl who is very afraid of heights on a very thin road on the side of a mountain. Plus, my host dad drives like a bat out of hell which didn't help my nerves at all. We only got pulled over once for a security check, so it was calmer for that. I should have taken more photos of the roads we were on. They were pure mud and full of holes and bumps, but still considered national highways. We also climbed and fell in altitude a ton on the trip since we pass right through the mountains. That didn't help poor Paulo at all. He doesn't do too great in the altitude, but he managed to keep every fluid inside for this trip. 

Highway nap for Otilia, great photo op for me! Jaja

At the highest point along the way. I just loved the snow and mountain lake.

   When we did arrive in the lovely little German settlement of Oxapampa, we headed straight to be to get ready for a big next day. That big next day consisted of HUGE things! Our first stop was into the 'deep' jungle to see the waterfall of the Tiger River. I got eaten alive my bugs, but it was so beautiful and calming. There was a little ways to walk up to the waterfall, but it was so worth it. The whole place was covered in butterflies! 

Me by the 'Catarata del Rio Tigre'

I found a butterfly friend! His name was Spottie!

   Coming back down from the waterfall was quite interesting as well. We had to pretty much drive through the river to get back! It was madness! There were some boys there to help push the cars when needed.

Bruno and I showing off the view! 

About the cross the river! I was freaked!

   Obviously we made it across okay because we headed back into town for some cool tours. Our first stop was to a famous cheese factory from the original German days. I don't know if you know, but Peru doesn't have the cheese that we eat back home. They really only eat queso fresco which is a very salty cheese that doesn't melt. I don't like it at all, but the Peruvians all think that our cheese is weird. I used my chance to buy some mozzarella and gouda! I've already eaten 3/4 of the gouda. 

Saying HI to the factory workers!

   Next we hit up the Wharapo, where they make alcohol from sugar cane. The alcohol is called wharapo like the distillery and it's a liquor very similar to Brazilian cachaça. The distillery is using the same machines and techniques that they used when they opened in 1890. I got to try a bit and it was actually pretty good! Shhh don't tell Rotary.

The distilling barrels. 

Cool map of Oxapampa out front.

   After Papa bought some wharapo, we got back in the car to go to a cave! The story of the cave is that a young princess fell in love with a warrior and wanted to marry him, but her father, the chief of the tribe, said no because of the man's dangerous job. The princess and the warrior ran away and hid in the cave until it was safe to escape. However, the chief put a curse on them that if they tried to cross the river, they would  never get across to escape. When they finally did tried to leave, they turned to stone in the middle of the river where they still are today. 

   The cave was really pretty and rare for Peru. It was also very slippery and muddy! 

Bruno and I in the cave! 

Chilling out! 

And my turn to chill!

The cave was VERY muddy!

  We'd had a long day and were ready for dinner and bedtime after the cave. So we headed back for some Lomo Saltado and Inca Kola. We slept very well that night!

L

Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola

After our trip to Northern Peru, we all started our classes at USIL. I recently found out that because the director couldn't get any response from the nursing school, that I won't be taking any nursing. I'm a little disappointed, but I understand the problems. I am however taking a couple of classes in USIL. Every exchange student is taking Spanish class (I'm in intermediate, but some are in advanced.) I started taking a class on Social Science, but because the class was in English, I was discouraged from taking it. I chose Professional Ethics instead! I'm really liking Ethics, even though I don't really understand it at all. Our first reading assignment was the first book from Aristotle's 'Nicomachean Ethics.' Needless to say that is would be tough in English, but it killed me in Spanish. I'm pretty sure I totally failed the quiz on in.
    I'm really enjoying Spanish class too. The teacher is very nice and knows how to explain things in a simpler manner. I know all the vocabulary in the book, but the grammar is totally foreign.
  I know I'll have a really fun and educational semester.
L

El Señor de Sipán

  After relaxing on the beach, it was time to get back to work. We bused ourselves a little farther south to visit every museum possible. An hour or so outside of Chiclayo, lies the final resting place of the Lord of Sipan, an ancient Mochian ruler. We fought our way through biblical floods to see the awesome ruins and it was so worth it. 

The crazy rains of the north!

First glimpses of Sipan.

   As we visited site museums, it saddened me how much was told of the nobles of the era, and how little could be told of the common folk. The main artifacts of the time consist of ceramics and precious metal offerings to the sun and moon gods. Most of the pieces came from nobles' tombs and not from the town living areas. 

Lost-wax casting process. Still used today to make jewelry!

The Lord of Sipan's original tomb.

   After spending the whole day on buses going from one site to the next, the interactians of Chiclayo took us out to see the city and to have dinner in the mall. It was a very interesting day for all of us!

Rachel and I eating our 'cono.' Note that mine is with sprinkles for Manon!

L