You're shakin' up the snow globe!

Well folks, what can I say? I'm livin' the life. I wake up in the morning and have breakfast waiting for me...usually cold because I wake up whenever I feel necessary, but that's not the point...I prepare myself for the day and around 1pm every day almuerzo is ready, home-cooked for me and at night I am offered a little snacky snack. Peruvians are definitely the most welcoming people I have ever met in my life. The Peruvians I have met anyways...I mentioned that once to a Peruvian friend and she was quick to correct me that not all Peruvians are kind. I believe her, I don't care to find out for myself. I was placed with an awesome family and I am very lucky! We learn more and more about each other every day. Talking is becoming more common and I am starting to feel more comfortable...like I'm a part of the family :) I am going to miss them when I come home, I hope they will some time be able to come visit me...preferably not in the winter because I would be afraid they would never come back. 

Some of us waiting in line to get into the club!

This week has passed by ENTIRELY too quickly, I actually refuse to believe it has been a week since I posted on here. I catch myself thinking I'm on top of the game but then, BAM...it's been a week. Days just sneak right on by. This weekend we took a short little trip over to Barranco (and by short I mean just a taxi ride lol), a district 20 minutes from where we live to go to a paint party with a couple of our Peruvian friends...since we were SUPPOSED to be in Cusco we weren't going to be able to go to said paint party...but thanks to the kidnappers we got to go!! Lose, win situation. Positive Patsy. That's what life is about right? I had that attitude until about an hour after we got into the club and I was literally sweating from my head to my toes. It was disgusting. I allowed myself to drown in my sweat and the sweat of the other 700 Peruvian people in the club while smelling everyone's body odors for about an hour before I had to come up for air. Haley and I walked up with Kevin (Sam's host brother...aka DJ Agua) toward the bathroom to breath and we were all kind of confused of what was going on with the group because we had yet to see any paint...we did however get water and other liquids sprayed on us sporadically...ANYWAY I became a bit of a party pooper because I couldn't stand the sweaty mess that I had become so Whitney, Sam, Kim and I walked outside to hail a cab. Our friend was very worried about us getting our own cab, but we did just fine...that wasn't our first rodeo ;) I suppose you're wondering what happened next....well, THE PAINT CAME RIGHT AFTER WE LEFT. Whatever, you win some and you lose some. It was a fun experience overall, I think the best part was that we went with our Peruvian friends and they are very much fun! 

Saturday I went over to Lanisa's house and we booked flights from Lima to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile for 10 days and MY DAD IS COMING TO PERU...and ARGENTINA AND CHILE!!! How cool is that? I am very excited to be able to show him what we have been doing, except now I really need to figure out where to take him in Lima. Definitely the water circuits we went to earlier this semester...I'm gonna have to think on it.

After we booked the flights Lanisa's family had invited me up to join their BBQ on their roof patio. It was fun to sit and chat with her family. The food was also very good, we had grilled cheese sticks which were interestingly tasty. 

Sunday...I left my bed twice the entire day...to breakfast and to lunch. You might call that lazy, but I prefer to call it "Peruvian style Sunday activities". 

Monday we didn't do too much, class and started making a brochure for Marta's class. And then I was just jealous of everyone who got to watch The Bachelor while I have YET to watch it. It's okay, I will watch it sometime. Hopefully before he proposes to someone and I have to read about it all over the internet. I've been counseling myself on how I'm going to handle that when it happens next Monday. It's inevitable and I am not happy about it. Deep breaths. 

Tuesday we had an exam in grammar and it was alright. A test is a test, ya know? Luke informed us that we shouldn't study before the exam because it "shakes up your snow globe, and it doesn't have time to settle before the exam"...we all had a little bit of a laugh out of that, but Luke is just a funny fella. 

Today we had a test in Peruvian Literature where we had to write an analysis over a piece of peruvian lit pin pointing one section/theme from one story we have read and analyze it. If you could have seen my face when I patiently let Christian explain how this test would be, I'm pretty sure you would lose it. Classic Danielle "You have got to be kidding me" face. For all of you who know the face, enjoy visualizing that. 

Because we haven't been on any trips recently, this blog is a little bit of a ramble write, but you do have a sweet blog to look forward to around March 17 because I will have been on TWO trips in the span of a week and a half :) 

AND we may still have a possibility of going to Cusco, so not everything is a bust with that...take that kidnappers! 

WELL ONLY 70 DAYS LEFT AND I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YET!  YOU ALL SHOULD COME HERE :) SEE YOU ALL SOON, AIRFARE IS ONLY APPROX. $1100 ROUND TRIP. ***SHELB, KRIS, ABBS, KEISHY, SAR, HAN, LYSSY, MADDAWG...GO TO GI STEAL VANESSA AND GINGER AND LILY AND I WILL PICK YOU ALL UP FROM THE AIRPORT <3 much love***

¡Hasta luego, mis amigos!  

Kidnappers = No Cusco

Unfortunately we are not able to go to Cusco this weekend because of potential kidnapping plans than a super secret organization has in the area surround Cusco and Machu Picchu. The American Embassy has put out a security alert for American citizens stating it is prohibidibabido (...movie quote, laugh if you get it...if you don't it's from Fired Up, watch it) to go into Cusco. Therefore, our $600 pre-planned trip to Cusco is postponed until further notice. Although this is frustrating news, I would rather be free in Lima than kidnapped in Cusco :) AND we had an extra class today since we were supposed to leave early in the morning tomorrow, so tomorrow we don't have class...therefore for us Wednesday=Friday. 

This last week has been pretty relaxed because we were trying to rest up for the trip to Cusco, so now we all must come out of our coma and participate in the real world. Perhaps we will go on a little class excursion tomorrow, or perhaps I will sleep all day tomorrow. My future is still uncertain. 

This last weekend Lanisa, Kim, Allie, and I went to a zoo here in Lima with our conversation partner, Adrian. It was a wicked hot day so naturally I got some sun. I have told you before...I am becoming a Peruvian. Also, let me tell you something about Peruvians (in general...not all are the same, obvio), I think they would DIE in Nebraska summer...when it hits 80 degrees here, they are bedridden and immobile because it is so hot. Granted, it is pretty hot being this close to the sun...but I don't think they would appreciate Nebraska's ever changing climate. The zoo was interesting because it was very spread out and the animals were sporadically placed throughout. We may have just been there at the hottest part of the day when all the animals were taking a nap but we didn't get to see too many of the animals in actions. Granted it was a cool experience :) 

As for you, here is a picture of what I will not be seeing this weekend...but I WILL see before I leave Perú!! 

Perú is Beautiful, and English is HARD.

Call me Yoda, you can. I've been putting off writing this blog for the past couple of days, just because it takes all of my mental capacity to write in English. So please excuse any confusing sentences are bound to appear throughout this blog. Unfortunately, I have not switched completely to Spanish yet, I would call it a bad case of Spanglish. I even talk to my family in Spanglish...a lot, and I think they are more happy that I am actually talking more. So that's encouraging.

We have been doing a lot of writing in Spanish for our courses and I think that is why it is becoming so difficult to form English oraciones (can't think of the work in English...). Don't have time to dictionary it. Classes are becoming easier, because we are getting really good at juggling our homework and fun times.

This last weekend fuimos a Arequipa and went on a 2 day one night tour of the Colca Valley. It was incredibly beautiful. We started our trip at 2am on Friday the 8th and I think I finally left my zombie state of mind Monday around 9pm. Sleep was scarce and the fun was endless. Friday we drove the majority of the morning/afternoon and saw some of the most incredible sights anyone can ever dream of seeing. Definitely worth waking up at 2am. We drove from Arequipa to Colca Valley, a four hour drive stopping multiple times along the way. First to see llamas and vicuñas and alpacas, then onto a little market where they sold coca tea. Coca leaves in hot water is supposed to make you feel better with the altitude sickness. I'm not exactly sure how much it helped, but it was an experience. We arrived to Chivay (the main town of the valley) to lunch and we had a buffet. Some brace souls ate alpaca...but I will leave it to them to describe how that poor little animal tasted. RIP alpaca. After lunch Lanisa y yo went to our room and I wanted to nappy nap a little but ella wouldn't let me...she just kept talking because she didn't want to fall asleep in the short twenty minutes we had before going to the hot springs. We went to the hot springs in the evening, and me being the BEST suitcase packer in the world, forgot to pack my swim suit so I just hopped right into the water with some extra shorts and a tank top. It was very relaxing, until my fingers started to prune...then I had to get out of there real fast. That evening we had dinner while traditional music and dancing took place.

The next morning we ventured out to the Cruz del Condor, a place where tourists can go to see condors flying. We were not able to see any there because it was so foggy, but we were able to see one at one of our next stops. It was awesome, they are the biggest flying birds in the word. Incredible. After lunch, we headed back to Arequipa...a four hour drive. It was rough, but we made it and after a little bit of disputing at our hostal we finally were able to get settled into our rooms. That evening we decided to walk around the Plaza de Armas and buy some Mac'n Cheese and stuff for sandwiches. It was a fun evening to say the least. We all went out on the town and danced until the wee hours of the morning...which didn't turn out to be a good idea and 100% contributed to my zombie state. But it was all worth it :) Memories that can never be replaced!!

This weekend we don't have anything planned because NEXT weekend we will have the pleasure of seeing Cusco and Machu Picchu. I am VERY excited for that trip, even more excited knowing I can check a suitcase for free and don't have to follow the tiny liquid laws of the United States!

Just for you all to gage how hard English is...I began writing this at 2:22. It is now 3:23.

Until next time!! :) BYE!

Week 5...¡qué buena!

Well folks, we started our fifth week of school here in Lima, and it's almost unbelievable. This week or so has been pretty dull consisting highly of homework and sleep. My goal to become a Peruvian at heart is becoming a more doable reality...the more naps I take the closer I get.

Since I didn't really do too much this week I would just like to list some observations I've made throughout my time here in Lima (stealing this idea from Luke)...first I will briefly overview my week for you:

Wednesday 30- I did homework.

Thursday 31- I did homework. And drank sangria with my family...then proceded to take a sangria-induced nap. 

Friday 1- I did nothing; I was tired of doing tarea...there was more to do, don't let me confuse you. 

Saturday 2- I went to a BBQ with my family for my "cousin" Omar's 15th birthday. Turning 15 is like our "Sweet 16" so it was an all day event. I was given enough food to feed an army, and when asked why I didn't eat it all..."no te gusta?" Yes, I liked the food... "comes comes!!!" (eat, eat!!!)...so I ate. I could have burst. It was really fun getting to talk with all of my "aunts and uncles and cousins" the whole day...they are proud that I am responding to them in full sentences now as opposed to when I met them on day 5. I am proud of myself too. 

Sunday 3- SUPERBOWL SUNDAYYYYY! Don't let my written enthusiasm lead you to believe that I even knew who was playing in the Super Bowl...because I didn't. I don't watch NFL. I had never even watched a Super Bowl (for the football anyways) until I watched the Ravens and 49ers play in Super Bowl 47 (I'm showing off that I remember and know these facts). Haley, Kim, Sam, and Sam's host brothers David y Kevin and I went to the Casino Fiesta in Miraflores to watch the Super Bowl. When we got there I decided I was going to "go for the red team"...aka the 49ers. We almost pulled through and beat those dang birds but it just wasn't meant to be. We didn't get to see any of the iconic Super Bowl commercials, but we did see one commercial 1,000 times in a row. After pretending that I was sad that "my team" lost, we got a taxi and headed for home. Overall it was nice to hang out and explain to the Peruvians our absurd sport called Football. 

Monday 4- I went to class and did homework. 

Tuesday 5 (TODAY)- Went to class...and I'm not going to do any homework...except study all evening for a test tomorrow morning :) 

You have to be thinking, "is all they're doing in Lima is doing homework?" and the answer is yes. Yes, we only do homework. But that's part of the experience...to learn Spanish...and I sure as h-e-doublehockeysticks plan on learning Spanish. So it's not at all bad! 

Some observations I have made regarding Peruvians:

• Peruvians love Fanta.
• Peruvians love Crocs. 
• Peruvians love American people. 
• Peruvians love driving straight at you while you are crossing the street. 
• Peruvians love honking their horns. 
• Peruvians love walking slowly...painfully slowly...coming from ME, that's pretty slow. 
• Peruvians love eating...a MONTÓN of food. 
• Peruvians love talking at the speed of light. 

Some observations I have made about our American group 5 weeks in:

• Americans fear for their lives every time they cross a street.
• Americans have learned to love Coca-Cola...I refuse to do so. 
• Americans are no longer "muy blanco/a"...we have bronzed quite nicely. 
• Americans have learned phrases to tell Peruvians to talk slower. 

...last but not least...

• Americans are having the time of their lives in Lima, Perú and we can't believe we are already a 1/3 of the way done with school and our time here in Perú!

This Friday we are going to Arequipa which is around 600 miles south of Lima and one of the largest cities in Perú. I am very excited to see the Colca Valley (4 hours out of Arequipa) which we will see on a tour. I will be sure to post some pictures for next time! 

¡Hasta luego chicos! 

It's really happening isn't it...

Lanisa, Kim y yo 

...I'M TALKING MORE SPANISH!

Well folks, it's been just shy of a month that I've been in Lima. I have already done so much and learned so much. Last week I started volunteering to help in an English class for the University students and it is very interesting to see how they teach English here. It was a big relief that they didn't catch onto English easily, because I know that Spanish speakers learning English understand how I feel learning Spanish. That has helped me to be more comfortable with talking Spanish.

I can't  believe it's been so long since my last post, but I really don't have enough hours in the day to get everything completed! We need about 8 more hours each day to get everything done :) and to sleep. Homework, school, volunteering, and making time to go out on the town take up all of my time. It is nice to be able to have some down time in the evenings to chat with friends and family from home, although it is not always the easiest thing in the world.

Since my last post I have been to Centro, Lima (downtown) twice. The first time was to see the Circuito de Las Aguas. It was incredible to see all of the different fountains and the way they made the water move. Some seriously nerdy people were in charge of that magic...I was in awe. Here is a picture of some of us that when to Centro with two of our Peruvian friends Adrian and Xiomara. They are very friendly and offered to meet us at UPC so we could take a taxi together to Centro. It was about a 45 minute taxi ride because we went in "rush hour" (as if that makes a difference in Peruvian driving habits). 

Note the small cup...and no free refills here in Peru. *babysips*

Later in the week, not sure exactly what day because they all run together, the Americans decided it was time for some McDonald's. For me, this was my first taste of "American" food I had eaten since January 3rd. It was wonderful...and I don't even like McDonald's. Don't get me wrong, the food here is absolutely amazing and I want everyone to eat it when I get home but having something familiar is a nice change sometimes. 

The birds

Our group in front of the church

Me with the waterfall

Our second trip to Centro was with our grammar teacher Roberto, he kindly took us on the metropolitano...and I will kindly decline any offer to ride that horrid thing ever again. It is more stressful than anything. But I imagine if I lived in a big city, like New York, I wouldn't be as closed-minded to the public transportation...BUT I don't live in a big city, so I would rather take a taxi where I only have to smell the armpits of my friends and not the BO of strangers. Anyway...we got to Centro and walked for about 30 minutes to La Iglesia de San Francisco. It was very pretty and HUGE. We paid 7 soles ($4) for a tour in "English"...I put quotes around it because I think I may have understood more of what she said if she spoke in Spanish. You win some you lose some. The church was one of those iconic "pigeons pooping and walking and being disgusting on the front steps to the church" churches...I'm not much of a fan of the birds here...they actually prefer to fly directly at you rather than flee from our scary human selves. Overall, it was a very good day and I got sunburned. 

With the Mayor of Matucana

The following day our class was able to go to Matucana (about 2 hours away from Lima) to go hiking in the Andes mountains! It was absolutely amazing...pictures don't do it justice and it doesn't even matter that I couldn't move the next day from exhaustion. We left around 7am and got home around 6pm. We hiked for 14miles (more or less...personally it felt like a million miles) and finally reached our destination, which was a "little" waterfall coming from a HUGE laguna at the very top of the mountain. It was completely worth the hours long hike up and down. When we got done hiking we just so happened to run into the mayor of Matucana (and when I say "we" I mean our guide Coco (aka Jorge) ran into her). She was very nice and offered to even give us a tour of her building, it was a very neat surprise! We then ate at a little restaurant before heading back to Lima. When we got back to Lima, I headed straight for my shower because I was nasty...hours in the sun and sun burns require a cold shower. I'm happy to share that my sunburns have magically disappeared (basically) in the span of a day and a half...with surprisingly little pain. I will admit that I layed in my bed all day Sunday feeling like death with sunburns but other than that, I did good. Later that evening we went to Sam's host family house to play some games and hang out, it worked out well because Peruvians like to practice their English...but like us to speak Spanish to them so we played games where Americans had to answer (with aided Spanglish) in Spanish and the Peruvians had to answer in English. It was a very fun time, but we were all tired really early so we headed home. 

I've been nursing a bit of a cold, but I have recently (last night) come to the conclusion that it is allergies...Zyrtec has saved my life. And for that, I am eternally grateful. 

And here I am, Tuesday afternoon, avoiding studying for a rather large quiz I have today, writing to you all for pure entertainment. I'm having the time of my life, and I don't think I'm going to ever want to leave. Our Kearney group has grown closer together over these few weeks and I think that helps us suppress homesickness. We've even made some inside jokes...and I'm not going to tell them to you cuz they're for my friends, and you wouldn't think they're funny. 

Until next time! ¡Besitos!

I'm an unofficial member of the BAU.

I didn't realize this post was going to be as long as it is, so I apologize...but still read it. I'm a really good writer. 

Two weeks have already flown by! It's unbelievable how much fun I have already been having, that when I remind myself I've only been here for two weeks it makes me even more excited to see what future outings and experiences we will encounter!

American NyQuil was probably the smartest thing I packed for this trip, granted I can think of about 14 other things I should have brought as well...oh well. I've only had to take NyQuil twice to help sleep, but I think I'm starting to get acclimated to the traffic and noise and light in the morning. But those two NyQuil nights were the best nights sleep ever. 

So far I've watched an entire TV Series on Netflix, called My Boys...great show. I can't decide if it's a bad thing that I watched all four seasons, but YOLO. I've started from Season 1 of Criminal Minds, and if all goes as planned I will have all 7 seasons on Netflix finished by the time I get back. Morgan and I will also be happily married by the time I return, we are registered at Target and Bed Bath and Beyond. Feel free to send any gifts to our newly built mansion...address to follow. 

One of my favorite things to do in my free time is stream The Bachelor through some super sketchy website. If you know me, you know that that was sarcasm. It takes me four hours to watch one episode. Dedication is what that's called folks. Or boredom with free time...fine line between the two. 

On Tuesday night we were told that we may not have water for the next two days...but my house was spared. I think they stole our hot water though...because I've been taking less than warm showers for the past three days, at least I have a shower right? That could be a nightmare. One thing I have given up on is keeping my feet clean. It's next to impossible. 

Wednesday is Peruvian Literature...and it's terrifying. I'm sure once the whole speaking Spanish thing starts coming easier to me, so will analyzing Peruvian Literature. High hopes. 

Thursday we all went out to Miraflores to a hyped up club called Karma 181. It only took us four taxis and an hour to find it...and when it was found there was four men singing karaoke. Needless to say, we decided to find a different venue. Overall, the night was very fun and we had lots of laughs. 

We were going to go on a class excursion to the Andes and go hiking this Saturday, but it has been pushed back until next Saturday. Tomorrow we may go to the Circuito Mágico del Agua, which from my understanding is magic water. It should be fun because we are going to go with some Peruvian students who live around the area and know when the best time to go for the show! I put a video of some of the fountains that we would see...enjoy! 

¡Hasta luego! 

11 days down...

Lanisa y yo en UPC

Eleventh day here in Peru, second Grammar class, second Tuesday. It feels like I have been here for ages. I'm not upset about that statement, it just seems unreal that I have only been here for 11 days. It's getting a little to the point where I'm becoming restless because I feel more comfortable with doing new things, I just don't know how to go about doing them. 

My Spanish has been improving, although I'm not always completely comfortable talking in Spanish so I go to my brother or sister as a scapegoat and talk in English to get a thought across. I am going to be trying to eliminate my use of English as much as possible...but in all reality I know that I won't just stop speaking English. Keeping my hopes high. 

On Sunday, I went with my family to my grandma's house for a BBQ for my aunts birthday. We left our apartment around 6:45 and arrived to my grandma's around 7. Almost all of the houses in Lima are directly connected to the outdoors in at least one area, and my grandma has glass doors that she opens leading out to her backyard. We were the first to arrive for the party and so I sat on the couch and chatted with family while more brothers and sisters kept coming. When everyone arrived I was told that no one was to speak English to me, and as a joke they said "Vas a sufrir" (You are going to suffer) and that I did. But I survived...and I ate cow heart. The Peruvian dish that is common at barbeques is called "anticucho". Anticucho is cow heart cooked on a kabob and it looks like you are eating beef...but it's beef heart. Of course I didn't know what it was before I ate it, but after I ate it I understood why it was extra chewy. Overall, my first Peruvian parrilla (BBQ) was a success! 

Today was our second grammar class and we had a test. Here in Peru, a 100% is a 20. We were all a little anxious to get our first test out of the way, who wouldn't be? Lanisa and I met up at UPC around noon to go over some last minute studying and to eat some lunch. We ate at a cafe above the Starbucks on campus. So far, my eleven days here in Peru have been great and I'm excited for what's to come. We have been assigned places to look up to travel to for our class with Dr. Moorman so I am excited to get started on our adventures!!