Day 2 - Orientation

Orientation was today at 10am at the ISA office which is right next to the University. Emily got in really late so I didn't see her until this morning. We got up at 7:30 and ate breakfast then started getting ready because Alejandra had class and was going to walk us to the office. Again, wish I had practiced my Spanish. For everyone back home in Spanish classes that are taught in Spanish it's nothing compared to being out in the real world, they don't prepare you for this kind of Spanish.

The ISA staff is really helpful and the campus is gorgeous; it's very small compared to TX State, I think only a few thousand students. I'll try and post pictures another time. My classes are actually on campus, they are a few blocks away at the Language Center where Peruvian students learn English. There are only 3 other ISA students in my class so hopefully we get a lot of help on holding a conversation and it helps refresh my memory. I should have brought at least one of my Spanish textbooks from home, oh well I'll just have to make due and hope they give us a book. Peruvian students can purchase photocopies of their textbooks instead of buying the expensive books, completely illegal but Michelle (our ISA director) told us there are no copyright laws in Peru.

From about 2pm until 5pm we took a tour of the area around the University...a lot of walking, you'd think walking around TX State was hard try walking on blocks in humidity, dust, and car exhaust. The humidity doesn't bother me like some of the other students, I actually can't tell there is a lot of humidity. We walked all around the Lince area and in San Isador (I think that is the district). We went into two grocery stores, a small one and a big one called Wong. It's amazing how much fresh food they have out. We also saw down the street were Starbucks, KFC and a Pizza Hut were located. Hopefully we get to go into Miraflores soon, that is where all the major shopping is :).

I have class at 9 until 2 tomorrow and then I might try going to Wong again and purchasing a local cell phone pre paid so I can text back home and make international calls for cheap. Hopefully my next post will have pictures.

Flying to Peru+ Day 1!

Before arriving to Peru...Sitting in an airport-
My first flight (to Miami) went good. Nothing to crazy, and no I didn't get to see the giant oil spill when we went over the gulf. Once I got to Miami I started to get really nervous and felt really alone (welcome the beginning of culture shock). People all around me were speaking Spanish and I definitely felt lost. Now I'm sitting at the gate for my next flight, to Lima (it's about 10p.m. in Miami). I'm starting to get worried that my Spanish isn't up to par for this trip, I really hope I'm wrong. I met these two young women not much older than me that are going to Machu Picchu just to go and don't speak any Spanish so that made me feel better, I can at least understand some of it. Then I met two extremely nice women on the plane. A woman of Korean heritage was on her way with her church for a mission trip, there seemed to be a lot of mission trip groups on my flight-it was packed by the way, who would have thought. The other woman is from Lima and was visiting with her American husband and children for the first time in 3 years.
It was really hard to leave my mom and stepdad in Houston, I am still nervous about doing this by myself. I talked to Emily (my roommate) today briefly through text. I'm really excited to meet her and my host family. I know once I actually get there everything will be alright because I will have tons of helpful people around me.

After arriving in Peru - Very early and very cloudy. I'll tell you Lima taxi drivers are way more intense than NYC. So right off the plane two ISA directors met me and Paul, speaking entirely Spanish. This is were I start getting worried. Then driving through Lima early in the morning is an experience. I arrived at my host family at around 7am and none of them speak English, Alejandra speaks some English but prefers Spanish, which I understand. So I can barely understand them and I'm extremely tired at this point. Their house is gorgeous with very large and ornate (I believe that is the word I want to use) furniture . I'll post picture tomorrow, I have to use the offices ethernet until they setup the WiFi. I ate breakfast with mi madre de Peru Victoria and mi hermana Alejandra, then attempted to try and sleep. My nerves were on edge and my phone wasn't working at this point. Eventually I fell asleep and woke up around noon, took a shower and unpacked. Then Alejandra and I figured out how to hook my computer up to the ethernet, I showed her what Skype was..she loved it. Then we had a late lunch which was very good with stuff I couldn't tell you what, but we did have some watermelon :)

I also found out my classes start Tuesday (martes - see I'm trying already) and are back to back starting at 9:30 until 2p.m. Hopefully they will go easy on us the first few days, it's suppose to be completely taught in Spanish (what was I thinking signing up for this trip, oh the once in a lifetime excursions that's right). My classes are Spanish Grammar and Culture, Composition and Conversation.Later there was music coming from outside and my host family took me out to see this shrine of Mary being carried around to different houses also with shrines to Mary. It's a religious ritual, not sure what it's called but I will find out. They paraded around the entire neighborhood and stopped at various places. Then they walked me down to the University of the Pacific and the ISA office where we have to go tomorrow. They showed me the best way to walk there and back. Then madre Victoria and I went to a fellow ISA host family that is only a few blocks away where 2 girls from the program are staying because like Victoria said "4 es better than 2" -all with hand signals mind you but I got the point, already a protective mom :). Here brought another awkward moment of not being able to converse in Spanish, I hope one of those girls can speak Spanish well. Now I'm just waiting for Emily!
This is a picture of the shrine to Mary they were carrying through the streets, it's HUGE. When I can post more pictures those will show the detail, it was very pretty. Below is a small boy next to one of the shrines in front of a house, they stopped and set the large shrine on the flower picture of Mary.
P.S. my phone finally works, so readers with my number can call BUT I'll be charged $2 per minute because of roaming...email works just as good :) and my computer is dying so no more blogging tonight!

LOVE!

Last Few Days in the States

I'm back in Orange for the week to see my parents and Saturday I'll be flying out for Peru. It's starting to set in that I'll be leaving Saturday to spend a month in a foreign country, by myself. Well I wont be by myself once I get there but the traveling down there I will be. I'm trying to think positive and not psych myself out about the flights. I'm flying out of Houston with a connection in Miami.

I've been talking to my roommate, Emily, on Facebook lately. She's from Kansas and goes to school in Nebraska. I'm excited to meet her! I think we are going to have a lot of fun and it seems like her Spanish is better than mine so hopefully I can learn from her.

The last of my errands are almost done. I got my yellow fever shot (since I'm going to the Amazon) and contacted American Airlines, turns out my checked luggage will have no cost! I still need to get another gift for my host family, I already got them a TX State magnet. I also need to get some type of raincoat or poncho for the Amazon trip.

Here's a schedule of the excursion trips:
Excursion
ISA students will enjoy a wonderful city tour of the Historic Center of Lima.
Sat. 06/05

Excursion
Overnight excursion to Iquitos (Amazon Jungle) and the beautiful Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
Fri. 06/11 - Sun. 06/13

Excursion
ISA students will enjoy a multi-day excursion to Cusco and the mystical Machu Picchu.
Sat. 06/26 - Tue. 06/29

I'll try and update again on Saturday before I leave, maybe from the airport.

Shopping for Peru, the Amazon, and my Host Family

I don't think I have been this productive since school ended last week. Here is a break down of what I did today: work 8 to 12:30, lunch with Jessa (a coworker), San Marcos Municipal Court (don't worry just turning in defensive driving certificate), Jiffy Lube to have my cars oil changed and Target (where I spent way to much money). Proud to say I completed these tasks by 3:30 today!

At Target I think I managed to get everything I need for my trip, including a flashlight and a small can of OFF for the Amazon! After I posted my entry yesterday our itinerary for the Amazon excursion was sent out. We will fly from Lima to Iquitos and then to the town Nauta. From there we take a boat down the Ucayali and Maranon River, the start of the Amazon River. Like I said in a previous we are staying at the Pacaya Samiria Lodge. There we have the chance to go hiking through the rainforest, observe night animals and the "pink" dolphins. At the Japon and Plantano lakes we have the chance to go canoeing, bird watching or go piranha fishing! I am so excited right now it's hard to focus on things!



Last week my host family assignment came in. My host parents are Maria and Maciel Paz, they are both lawyers. They have two children who are students, Maria and Hector born in 1990 and 1992. They also have a maid named Elisabeth she is 21, my age. According to the papers they live in the Lince district of Lima, I looked at a Google map and they aren't that far from the Pacific Ocean! And it's 10 minute walking distance from my University, five by bus. It seems like they have a large house, it says they have five bathrooms but it says three living areas, not sure if that is the same as our bedrooms or living rooms. I'll be sure to update y'all on that one as soon as I get home. They seem like they'll be really nice people, they open their home like this because they want their children to learn about other customs and ideas.

I need to bring a gift for my host family. I was going to get a Tx State magnet for them but I want to bring something as too. If you have any suggestions let me know.


This is a pink dolphin, hopefully I can get my own picture! There is an Amazon River Folklore story that goes with the pink dolphins. I found the story on Wikipedia, I'm sure there is more details if you Google it and look. It's very interesting.

I plan on doing some major laundry and packing tomorrow. Wish me luck!

The Dreaded Packing Day

In about 4 days I'll start packing for a month in Peru. Kind of overwhelming to think about it. Actually I'm hoping to start packing a little sooner than that but we'll see how motivated I get. Not only do I have to pack for tropical winter in Peru I have to pack for a week in my hometown, Orange, TX. I'm flying out of Houston on the 29th and my dad wants to keep my car while I'm gone so next, Monday I'll be driving the 4 1/2 hours home to spend a week with the family before I leave. Packing 2 suitcases, one with jeans and jackets and the other with shorts and tank tops, is NOT fun. I hate doing this kind of packing. I had to do it when I went to New York in December because Orange, TX and NYC are completely different climates.

Tomorrow I'm going to spend my afternoon running errands. I need to get things to bring with me to Peru (first aid items, migraine medicine, hair items, contact solution...if you can't tell I'm making my list while I type this). On top of that I need to get my oil changed in my car before I go home, last thing I need is my car stopping on I-10.

Here's a little update for anyone wanting to go to Peru: flight delays out of the country into Lima are constantly being delayed, sometimes it can be hours after your scheduled departure.

Katelyn, a worker from Career Services where I interned this year, left Sunday for her study abroad in Cuzco. She messaged me on Facebook and said her flight was delayed 5 hours out of Houston and a man who travels frequently to Peru told her that was not uncommon. I found out later that's because of the fog in Lima, it causes flights into the country to be delayed for hours. Should have figured that, Lima is in a bowl surrounded by mountains, thanks Google. Perfect. At least I'll be delayed in Miami, even if I can't leave the airport.

Look for an update tomorrow on how successful my errands will be, I'm hopeful!

Summer Abroad - The Decision

Last summer I decided to finish my final two semesters of my foreign language credit abroad. Now keep in mind I'm a small town girl, that has never been out of the South (except a week one summer to Colorado) and I've NEVER flown before. So throughout the fall semester I was going back and forth with myself; can I really do this alone? can I afford to do this?

Finally I caved and started really looking at study abroad programs. There was of course the standard summer in Spain, Mexico, or Costa Rica. Then I found International Study Abroad. They offer so many different programs in areas that I never considered studying in. I turned to the South America section of my booklet. Peru, Argentina, or Chile; places I definitely never considered but was intrigued by. You don't here many students say they've studied in Peru or Argentina.

So by October 2009 I had narrowed it down to those three places. Then I started researching the different countries. I was immediately sold on Peru. The country is beautiful and it's a place that I would normally never think of traveling to for fun. To fix the "haven't flown before and I'm 20 years old" problem, I went with two of my best friends from high school on a trip in December 2009 to New York City. Let's just say a four day long trip turned into a week long stay with plenty of snow, that's right we got stuck in the first blizzard of the 2009-2010 season. Three girls from Texas and enough snow to stop any transportation out of the city deserves it's own blog to tell that story.

So back to my newest adventure; some of you might be asking what are the perks of this month long stay in Lima, Peru since I'm going for school and will be taking two Spanish classes. On top of spending a month in the historical capital of Lima this trip will have two excursions. The first excursion is to the city Cuzco where Machu Picchu, dubbed the "Lost City of the Incas" and one of the 7 Wonders of the World, is located. The second excursion that I chose is to the city Iquitos the largest city in the world that can only be accessed by boat down the Amazon. We'll be staying at the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.

I am beyond excited to start this adventure. I fly out on May 29, 2010 and will arrive in Lima at 4:30 a.m. on May 30 and wont be back until July 3. It's my goal to update this blog while I'm down there, not just for my friends and family here in the States but for my own benefit. I don't want to forget any of this trip and I know I wont but this is for future reading and reflection.

I hope I don't screw this up :). Enjoy!