Travels

Sorry for not having blogged in a while, its been a pretty busy last couple of weeks. I am now officially in love with Lima. I actually find myself thinking, "I can't imagine leaving Peru" and "This is the best thing I've ever done." Its actually a really refreshing feeling, knowing that you are completely happy with where you are and what you are doing. And then I think about enrolling at OU next semester, and senior year, and then i start freaking out about the future. So, I'm trying to live in a solely Lima state of mind.

School has started to gear up. In fact, I just got back from my first test, which I know I aced! They are very official at la PUCP. For tests, they have a proctor, in addition to your teacher, you only write on official university paper, and you ID is checked during the exam. I felt like I was taking an IB exam AHH!!I was pretty stressed before the test, trying to finish the readings before class. I broke my peanut butter (which pisses me off because peanut butter is expensive here!) and fell asleep multiple times. Its surprisingly hard to keep interest/track of a book about Peruvian society when they change presidents/leaders every 6 months!! Anyway, if you're interested in Lima's middle class, feudalism in the 19th century, or Mariategui's views on the agrarian problem, I'm you're girl!

Probably my absolute favorite thing about Lima is the combi. (Never thought I'd say that, but there it is). Ok, Lima has no metro system and it makes it sort of hard to get around...but theres not better way than the combi. Broken down, dirty, cramped and unsafe...I look forward to riding one to school every morning. There's never two the same. Although a few I have been one are literally held together by wood or tape, I never feel unsafe. Combi drivers are unusually skilled in narrowly avoiding people, other cars and buses, and even speedbumps. Here they will drive up on the sidewalk to avoid a speedbump. Although the cobradors (people who call out the destination of the bus and take the money) are sometimes mean or try to rip you off, you have to respect them. I've seen some dash across the road to buy the bus driver a water or ice cream, run down the street to pay the man in charge of the routes (still not sure how that functions) and even as they scream for you to GET OFF the bus, they always soften and help an old person mount the bus. (Yes, i just realized I said "mount the bus" meaning "montar albus"....my english has been suffering since I've been here. Either I attempt to translate a spanish thought into english or I speak how my non-native english speaking roommates talk.)

Combis are also decorated impeccably...from Loony Toons stickers, including Bugs bunny grabbing himself giving the middle finger, to Barbie sized horses glued to the front. My favorite aspect however, is the music they play. In Lima, there are three main radio stations, La Karibeña, La Calle, y Oasis. Theres nothing like some good techno or reggaeton in the morning. But theres no competing with "Oasis" tunes from the 80s and 90s. Its really hard not to break out laughing when you're scrunched up next to a smelly middleaged man when Tina Turner's What's Love Got to Do with It" starts to play--like it did on my way home tonight.

Thus, I am in a great mood...and am prepared to blog my heart out about the last two trips I've been on sense last post.

NAZCA

Two weeks ago, I traveled with my roommates to Nazca to see the famous Nazca Lines. I was told by multiple people that if I didn't see the lines, I would be in trouble.

Its about 6 hours to get from Lima to Nazca by bus. My first experience on a bus wasn't all that great. Of course, I was the lucky passenger who ended up in the only seat that didn't recline on a night bus. And of course the lady in front of me is leaned back the entire time...giving my knees a total of, oh...NO SPACE! The bus leaves from its terminal in the middle of the city and immediately a man starts to sell products, cure alls for any ailment you could think of. The bus company left the lights on for him and his spiel lasted for about an hour. "Friends, do you suffer from arthritisis, diabetes, canker sores, cancer. Misters and Misses, friends, I have the cure." Luckily there was a cute baby who wanted to play in front of me. After the traveling salesman had his say, the shut the lights off and started a movie. You can only guess...The Godfather. Try to sleep during the Godfather!! I'm surprised the babys on board weren't scared out of their minds.

Our hostel in Nazca was amazing.We spent half the time talking to the owner and playing with his nephew, both of which were under 5 feet tall lol. Our hostel arranged for our flight over the lines, our visit to Chauchilla cemetary, and our sandboarding adventure. Our taxi drivers were always talkative and the people on the streets always willing to point out the way.

The 12 seater plane

The Nazca lines were amazing. The place seated 12 and the turns and twists it made even made me feel a little weak. At first it was hard to spot the lines, but once you knew what to look for, it was much easier. I personally don't think they were made by aliens, but who knows for sure! Below are some photos....

Hummingbird

Tree

After lunch, we took the 30 minute drive to the cemetary, where the ancient Nazca people mummified and buried their dead. Yes, I was scared. Yes, Georg managed to make me scream twice. Yes, I was and am embarassed. But you would be scared too, just look at these creepy mummies with their long hair and empty but searching eye sockets....

The graves and skeletons

There were only a few burial sites available for view, because the rest of the sites had been destroyed and ransacked for their expensive antique pottery. Remnants of other sites were added to the open graves, which resulted in stacks of bones and skulls all together in the same pit. The wind was unbelievably strong and the sand gusts unrelenting. Safe to say I was happy to leave.

Flying in the wind

Then we were taken to a pottery shop, where they recreated the pottery the Nazca people made using the same techniques and materials. Basically, she gave a crappy 5 minute presentation and then we were taken to the gift shop...where i'm sorry to say we all paid too much to buy something. These Peruvians are good at what they do. Later we were taken to a display about mining for gold. The man was freaking hilarious...its hard to explain. He insisted on speaking in "english" even though we all understand Spanish. It went something like this..."rock, hit the rock, take material, water, add water, shake, find." His vocabulary was pretty restricted to nouns and verbs that were not formed into sentences. To top it all off, he gets out a bottle of mercury (very toxic) and sprays it all over these sediments to show us the process. Then we were herded to the gift shop...but we had already learned our lesson.

Tired, sweaty and sandy, were were ready to call it a day and leave in the morning to go sandboarding. Until we found out that Nazca is home to the TALLEST sand dune in THE WORLD! For some reason, we were all compelled to climb it and sandboard down...even though none of us had experience. That lead to us roaming the streets with our guide, looking for sunglasses and proper shoes...since we were totally unprepared.

The hike was set to start at 2:00 in the morning, to avoid the harsh sun. Yeah...2 hours of sleep...thats enough to climb an almost 4,000 foot high pile of sand right?? Flash to all four of us waking up suddenly to the doorbell. CRAP, we overslept. Running around like chickens with our heads cut off...forgetting things and freaking out. It was a pretty funny situation.

Needless to say, it was all worth it. The hike was hard, the view was perfect. Walking in the dark with only one flashlight on dangerous drop offs was probably not the best idea. However, I have never ever seen stars so beautiful or so bright. I felt so close. Im talking about being able to see the Milky Way. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I say two shooting starts and stumbled my far share of times, looking at the sky instead of the path.

Once the sun came up, the view was even more spectacular. Making it to the top of Cerro Blanco took some work...especially in my $2 thrift store grandma shoes. There were times I had to crawl up sand slopes, because it was impossible to walk without the sand shifting and sliding down, crumbling the mounds and leaving you again at the bottom.

Hiking up Cerro Blanco

Once at the top..our boards were tied to our feet and we stood looking down a steep sand slope. "just shimmy your way off the top" was the instruction. It was super scary...but actually quite easy to manage. Although the one time I attempted to change lead feet ended in catastrophe, I was pretty good if I do say so myself.

At the top of the tallest sand dune in the world

The final slope was 330 feets...impossible to make it all the way down without re-waxing your board, but eventually we made it all the way down. Only to face an hour hike back to the road, this time in the scorching sun. Over all, it was totally worth it. How many people can say they've climbed the highest sand dune in the world?

Surfing down the dune

AYACUCHO

Last weekend was Semana Santa, and I was lucky enough to be invited by an Ayacucho native to his hometown for the weekend celebrations. Ayacucho is well known throughout Peru as the biggest Semana Santa celebration in Peru. They weren't lying.

The city is about 9 hours by bus from Lima, and situated high in the Andes mountains. The city is actually still under safety advisory, during the 90s it was completely under the control of the Sendero Luminoso. Tickets were pretty expensive to go during Semana Santa, so the bus line we ended up taking wasn't exactly the best.

I would retell the horrible bathroom situation...but its to scarring to recount. About 7 hours into the trip, after winding up and down switchbacks on the Andes, an indigneous woman was allowed on the bus to sell us mate de coca (tea from coca leaves). The coca leaf, although completely illegal in the United States (because obviously the leaf and cocaine are one in the same, right?) is sacred in Andean society. Its medicinal qualities are many, and it tastes really good. The tea really helped to relieve the altitude sickness I was beginning to feel.

Local woman of Ayacucho

Being in the Andes was absolutely amazing. The clouds were so close I felt I could reach up and touch them. Everywhere, women were in traditional dress and I really felt immersed in the culture. Andean women in Ayacucho are amazingly beautiful and the babys are probably the cutest living thing I've ever seen. No wonder half the postcards you find are of Andean babys!

Our lodgings for the weekend were an elementary school. A little weird, and totally unexpected, but it was nice to have somewhere centrally located in the city, free to sleep. Isaac's grandparents run it, and there were beds and everything, so it all worked out well.

Where we stayed the weekend

The first day, we took a bus to a neighboring city, Huanta, in order to hike to the waterfall there. The city is pretty small, and hardly ever sees tourist. This was obvious by the people straight gawking at the 4 tall/blonde germans I was traveling with.

Gawking children

On our way to the waterfall, we were advised by the locals to hike up the mountain to see the crucifixion of Jesus. On the hillside is a giant white statute of Jesus. It was a touch climb, but I was determined not to be passed by every old woman with a huge pack tied to her back. Its the air...its so thin, i had to catch my breath fairly often...which I tried to disguise as only wanting to take in the view. lol.

Getting passed by an old lady

Taking in the view

We finally made it to the top, and were immersed in the carnival like atmosphere. They weren't kidding when they said crucifixion either...pretty soon we saw "jesus" coming up the mountain dragging the cross with him. After several minutes of poorly acted whipping, Jesus and two other men were tied to the crosses and slowly and cautiously hoisted into the air. The people were enthralled. Honestly, a little too morbid and ridiculous for my taste. But it was interesting to see, as I noted the whole weekend, the pure and honest faith and devotion the people have to Catholicism.

Waiting for Jesus

After they were crucified

After the killing of Christ, we continued on our way to the waterfall. The path was muddy and I fell flat on my face, but overall it was a nice hike. Along the way we encountered a woman and attempted to converse with her in Quechua. It was surreal being in the countryside. A little boy came out from the village and showed us the way to the waterfall, were we all spontaneously got half naked and ran under it. The water was painful as it pounded your back and freezing too, but totally worth it...until we began the walk back.. and then I wished I hadn't of done it, ha.

The waterfall

Back in Ayacucho that night we watched the procession of Jesus' casket down the streets. Candles were lit, women were veiled, and tears were shed...it was crazy.

Jesus' coffin

To follow this came the period of celebration. Jesus is dead, there is no such thing as sin. Lets get drunk and chase bulls down the street and build human pyramids. Which is exactly what we did Saturday morning. The local firetruck was on site in case there were any accidents..that or to spray the crowded plaza de armas with its fire hose...which was quite refreshing.

Human pyramid

We attempted to make our own pyramid, but it ended up in us falling over. I have the bruise to prove it! After dancing in the town square, we went to get lunch at a local fair. The fairs are pretty equal to the Oklahoma State Fair...not really on par with the Texas State Fair though. They sold good food, although I was iffy about all the meat, produce, fruit and had a few games and rides. The pictures can probably explain better than I can.

Traditional Peruvian dance

Food!

Games!

Unfortunately Serena, Moritz and I decided to return to Lima Saturday night, so I was unable to partake in the huge party into sunday morning. But before we left, we had a try of cuy...fried guinea pig. Its sad because all weekend we saw them at the markets, alive and squealing...and here it was..fried up, head attached, laying crispy on a bed of potatoes. I tried a bite, and it was tasty, but i couldn't bring myself to eat more.

Alive and Happy

Dinner :(

Overall Ayacucho and Semana Santa was great. Even though I was unprepared for the mud, the rain and the cold, I really loved my experience there. I'm back in Lima, Jesus is alive again. All is good.

New Friends

I've finally started to become accustomed to my new life in Lima. After returning from Punta Hermosa, I had time to soak in my new surroundings and get to know my roommates and the city.The day after the beach, Serena and I met with Jorge (our friend who we met at OU last semester) and we took a tico to Plaza San Martin. It was my first experience in the historical center of Lima. It was difficult to walk past without taking photos..but i got by with snapping just a quick few. I have to remind myself that I live here. I don't have to take pictures of everything, becuase they will still be here in 5 months...as will I!!!!

A few words about Ticos...Daewoo Ticos manufactured starting in 1991 are apprarently moving death traps...this i was told at international student orientation after already having ridden quite a few. Ticos were especially popular in Peru and run on some sort of alternative fuel. I don't know that much about cars, but all Ticos in Peru have what looks like a huge propane tank in the back compartment and apparently fuels the car. If rear-ended, this is not a good situation. For more information, I reference wikipedia...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tico

Calle Union connects Plaza San Martin with the Plaza de Armas. You can then make a large circle from the Plaza de Armas to Ave. Abancay where you find a lot of small tiendas and restaurants. Once to hit Parque Universitaria (a beautiful patch of green and intimidating trees amongst the chaos of the city...often know at the reunion spot for intellectuals to discuss politics and the state of Peru) you can connect the circle and return to San Martin. Probably the same path as those gaudy bright red tourists buses...but on foot and not obnoxious.

President's House in the Plaza de Armas

We entered just one of Peru's many churched. Because Lima was once the viceroyalty of

Spanish territories in the new world, there is no shortage of catholic symbolism in Lima. Its been stated that a any one of Lima's "churches" would be considered a grand cathedral in any other city..and its true. The church we entered, close to the Plaza de Armas is absolutely georgous. The huge mahogany carved alters and the golden tributes to the Passion were breathtaking. Because a lot of the artwork was commissioned by the Indigenous peoples of Peru, many "indino" influences can be seen throughout the church, including darker skinned figures and symbols alluding to sun (the Incan god).

Grand Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas

Apparently the other churches in Lima awaiting my visit include the catacombs housing over 75,000 bodies and the catedral housing the two patron saints of Lima. Jorge is a fan of theology and it was interesting to hear his take and information about Catholicism in Peru. The faith in Lima, as in many South American countries i'm guessing, is palpable.

One of the many "other" churches in Lima

I have now met with my "compañera de PUC" twice and she became a fast friend. Of course it helps that she already knows some of my friends from her experience at OU. And we can equally talk as much about Lima as we can about Norman. Last Friday we met Lisset at the Antigua Taberna Quierolo. Its located in Pueblo Libre near the more historic part in Plaza Bolivar...duly named because the plaza is centered around Simon Bolivar's house. Thats right, we live/d in the same neighborhood. Though I might be the only person who thinks thats cool.

My compañera de PUC Lisset and our Piscos!

Anyway, we sampled pisco sours and pisco Algarrobina (pisco with milk, egg yolk and algarrobina-a syrup from the algarrobo tree, go figure). After that we crossed the plaza to have a sandwich and met possibly the nicest restaurant owner in Lima. She had studied in Texarkana when she was 15 and was all too happy to talk to us in English. A taxi ride to El Centro followed for more pisco at a bar located on the square. If you don't know where the bars are, you won't be able to find them. Its uncanny how well they blend into the beauty that is Plaza San Martin.

Finally, this past Saturday we had our first party at the Casa Rio Grande. It was our roommate Emeline's birthday. Everyone in the house cooked different foods and we were told to dress oddly. I acheived this by wearing pink tights, a pair of boxers, a bat winged purple sweater and a scarf as a tail. My roommates did an even better job!

Some of my roommates (from left to right) Carolina, Serena, Moritz, Emeline (birthday girl), and Laura.

I sampled a German cheese spread, Taiwanese bubble tea, Patatas bravas, Italian stuffed peppers, Peruvian pisco, wine and beer and i made a Texas 7 Layer Dip. I had never made it before, but it was a hit!! I've been told to make it once a month while I'm here...I might open my roommates up to the wonderful world of fajitas soon..they are missing out!

Luz, Serena, George, Carolina, Monica and Laura sampling our buffet.

After the house celebrations we took a carivan of taxis to Barranco, the club district of Lima, no joke. Music spilled out from every building of every street. Vendors sold cigarettes, snacks and sandwiches :) from the street corners and apparently if you want drugs...Barranco is the place to get it. Apparently also if you want to be roofied or robbed, Barranco is the place for that to happen as well. As our unfortuate birthday girl will tell you, as her purse was taken before the night was through.

I salsa'd. And I salsa'd my little heart out. My roommate Jorge (George, from Austria) was my dance partner/victim. It was awesome getting to know my roommates. While I was slowly but surely getting to know them, after Saturday we are all the best of friends.

George "dancing"

I am also due to start my German exchange program soon lol. This entails me and Serena teaching George and Mortiz english slang and them teaching us common German/German slang. I've learned Shlack-tee (obviously spelt phonetically) which means "going away." Careful though, because if you say it more like Shleck-tee it means "lick me." I have to take a second foreign language for my Spanish major, and I've been increasingly more interested in German listening to my roommates converse in their native tongue.

On the way back from Barranco on Saturday, sweaty, tired, and flushed...I thought to myself, I can't wait to get home and go to bed. Then I realized, I'm calling it "home" and it hit me I'm really here to 5 months. I am very happy :)

Things I can now successfully do:

-navigate the streets around my house

-walk to the grocery store, market, and centro commercial

-catch combis (the crazy buses) to my university and the historical center of lima

-pick out the safe taxis from the ghetto ones and negotiate my way home

Things I can now say I've done since being in Peru:

-surfed

-drank pisco sour

-salsa'd in Barranco

-ate anticucho (cow heart...I know)

-become addicted to Inca Kola

Classes start today...lets hope they go well!!!!

Punta Hermosa

Ahh, I keep getting woken up in the mornings before I would like to be awake. For the past three days, its been because the sun was streaming into my room and the sounds of the waves crashing and Peruvians splashing stirred me from my dreams. Today, it was because theres construction going on in some godawful "building" thats behind my house. Its complete concrete, i don't know how they'll ever turn it into anything. But that might just be my annoyed and tired self talking.

View from my house in Pueblo Libre, Lima

So for the weekend, Serena and I went to Punta Hermosa. A beautiful beach town in the South of Lima. Its one of the most reliable places to catch some good surf waves. We took a city bus there, for for 4 soles or $1.40 we took a 2 hour bus trip to the beach. The traffic in Lima, well, *#&$(#*&@. Its crazy. There is no such thing as stop signs or pedestrian crossings or lanes for that matter. The number of near accidents we got in was ridiculous. And this isn't somebody talking whose just used to Oklahoma blue hairs driving 20mph all over town. I've been around, and traffic outside the U.S. is pretty bad, but Lima...beyond words.

"Care for your life, Don't Cross!"

We got to see some of historic Lima on our bus trip. I'm looking forward to touring the more colonial areas of the capital. From what i glimpsed on Thursday, the colonial architecture is beautiful and brightly colored--although heavily gratified. It was a shock going from seeing hundred years old statues and buildings in their grandeur to the "publeos jovenes" or shanty towns built up on the hills of Lima.

View of the slums from the bus

The quick change from wealth (as defined by Peruvian standards) to extreme poverty was definitely an eye-opener. I thought I knew what to expect being in the huge South American capital city and in a way its what all the books say, but actually seeing it, and smelling it. It really makes me feel like something has to be done to change the stituations as they are...specifically by the Peruvian government. I'm a big fan of the new regional alliances being created in South America and of U.S. non-intervention in Latin American affairs. But don't get me started..

View from our room on the beach

Anyway, Punta Hermosa was amazing. What a great choice for the beach. Serena and I must have been the only "norteamericanos" there. Which was nice. There weren't any ritzy hotels or gaudy bars, just Peruvian families out enjoying the rays and waves. And thats exactly what I did as well. Our room was amazing. It was above a restuarant and have a magnificent view of the beach. The smell of delicious food often wafted up through our open window and the sounds of the waves lulled us to sleep embarrassingly early.

Serena, fresh juice, and a tamal

We were up by 7 everyday, walking to the center of the city to get freshly made juices and testing our nerve in the ice cold water. The first day was overcast, but the cold water was surprisingly refreshing and easy to become accustomed too. Serena was anxious to try her hand at surfing again, and I was convinced to try as well. (although i'm a pretty poor swimming, so i'm surprised i'm not at the bottom of the pacific right now). We rented boards and truly made fools of ourselves for about 10 minutes until Alfonso, the surf instructor came out and decided to give us lessons.

Me surfing, NOT

The idea of surfing is relatively easy, as long as you have a good sense of balance and timing....which I was positive I had, until I tried to surf. Alfonso was a great instructor though and became our first Peruvian friend. They took some pictures of us out on the waves to advertise their surf camp and we all exchanged information to meet up in the city sometime. I ended up riding a couple of waves on my knees, but the few times I actually got up on two feet, I feel off pretty soon afterwards. He could tell we were afraid of the waves, some of them were really big, even as close to the shore as we were. But overall it was a really fun experience and we plan on trying again before the summer is officially over.

Punta Hermosa during the height of beach activity

Didn't plan on being as sore and sunburnt as I was the next morning. We still had two days left on the beach and I was in pain. We made the best of it. I don't know if the air is thinner up here or the sun is just more fierce this close to the equator, but getting that burnt on an overcast day was not expected. The sun came out the nextday. The cold water felt good on our sensitive skin and we managed to survive the rest of our stay at the beach with generous amounts of sunblock and renting a beach umbrella (which every Peruvian on the beach needed, and for good reason I guess.)

View from under my umbrella

The ride home was crazy, as it goes on combis (Peruvian mini-buses). Serena threw up, poor girl. Motion sickness is surely a pandemic on Lima public transportation. The door to the bus is located right in the middle, where the exit usually is. A worker stands there, hanging on to the pole and constantly swings the door open and closed, even at high speeds, yelling out where the bus is going and screaming for people to "sube" (get on) or "baja" (get off). Even little old grandmas who can bear stand up straight are command to "Sube, sube, sube, sube!!!!" Its crazy. They even have a game called "Crazy Combi"!

See the guy hanging out of the bus..he's the one yelling.

But, I'm already getting used to the challenge of it (public transportation) and am looking forward to taking the bus to school everyday. They each have so much character, and no two bus has the same picture of Jesus pasted on the ceiling.

More of my roommates are returning from their vacations. The house is almost full! I've now met the two men of the house, a German and Austrian. Their spanish is a little hard to decipher from their thick accents, but they are very nice. As is Emilen, one of my French roommates. She just returned from Bolivia and apparently is the one who brings the pretty potted plants into the house. Heading to the Plaza de Armas tonight and orientation for "La Cato" (slang name for our university) tomorrow. School starts soon!!

Miss you All!!

First Day

WOW...what a start to my time in Lima. Nothing too enthralling happened today so i won't bore you with too many details. I'm also dead tired and heading to the beach in the morning, but just to give this day some justice..here goes.

*I went to the supermercado with my 3 Taiwanese roommates: Luz, Carolina and Monica. They are all very nice and helpful. My other roommates are Laura ( a wonderful girl from italy who studies Indigenous Human Rights..we have a lot to talk about!), and people of the following ethnicities whom I have yet to meet: 1 Austrian guy, 1 German guy, and 2 French girls. There is also Lucy, she cleans in the common areas in exchange for rent. She is Peruvian and really nice as well.

*Serena and I got lost every time we attempted to walk home. Its difficult when you think you recognize everything, and most of it is things you recognized when you were going the wrong way and didn't know it and still dont. If anybody knows me, they know I hate being lost.

*Tried both the national ham (?) and national non-alcoholic drink of Peru: Chicha, a sweet juice made of black corn. It was ok, a little too sweet and not my cup of tea at the moment. Also had my first Inca Kola, tasted subtly like bubble gum, but quite quenching.

*Met with Lisset, my University friend. She took us to the Plaza San Miguel and I took the craziest taxi ride of my life. Almost crashed (no exaggeration) and barely slide by, and saw a completely naked man walking down the side of the road while "Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith playing on the radio. I wouldn't have minded missing that "thing."

Blisters galore on my feet and I'm about to pass out, but thats ok because tomorrow its off to Punta Hermosa and Playa Santa Maria for 4 days of beach lounging, pisco drinking, and ceviche eating. Not in any particular order.

Miss you all!

My New University

In less than a month I'll be the newest student at the Pontifical Catholic University of Lima. Its Spanish initials are PUCP, commonly referred to as La PUC (a name I think I'll need some getting used to cause it sounds kinda gross). I've been told by both my advisor and Peruvian students that its a demanding university. Jorge, my friend who studies there now, says its the best University in Peru and has a great reputation in the rest of South America. I've also been told by my friend Kevin, who studied there last year, that it can be easy if you pick the right classes. Lets hope i do!

Conflicting information has inspired me to do some of my own research.

Founded in 1917, the Pontifical Catholic University was Peru's first private school for higher education, it also claims to be the first institute in Peru to use the internet and have e-mail. While it carries the title of Pontifical university, it is not governed by the Catholic church. Its composed of over 17,500 students (+me!!) and 3,000 staff members.

Apparently the majority of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission after Fujimori was composed of PUCP professors and notable alumni include Alan Garcia (current president of Perú). I'm really interested in human rights (as a career and in general) and Jorge said "los derechos humanos" is basically the most said phrase on campus. One of the reasons I chose Lima over other locations in South America.

From all that I can tell, meaning from what I read on wikipedia,

La PUC is pretty impressive. The only thing that worried me were some of the images that resulted from my google search. Mainly though, just this drunk/dead squirrel...I've been told theres a lot of wildlife on campus, including free range dear. The campus is gated, so the animals can run free, and only faculty, staff and students are allowed in. This makes the university one of the safest places in Lima, a huge capital city, which true to form, has its fair share of crime...but I'll talk about my new home in the next post!

Most institutions in South America run on Latin Time...which means whenever you feel like it. Its expected for everyone to arrive late, and "pressing matters" don't really exist. However, the Intercambios office at PUCP seems on top of everything. The actually respond to e-mails! And I've already been contacted about getting a PUC Buddy, their version of OU cousins. An instant friend whose going to help me get used to the school and the way things work. Even though I don't know any of the classes I am taking or what to really expect from my new university, I'm not worried. La PUC sounds awesome!!

Welcome to my Blog

Only 16 days until I leave for Peru and I'm getting more and more excited! I've decided to start a blog to chronicle my adventures and I hope you'll find it interesting and be jealous...more to come soon.