It was pretty

One of our many breaks.

Mistura food!

My friend Alisa took this picture at Mistura. The dish on the right is some sort of empanada and I won't even try to define the other two.

Mistura, what an adventure

So, I was lucky enough to be in Lima for Mistura, the largest food festival in Latin America. On Friday the thirteenth, my friends and I decided to take a combi because we thought it would be quicker and after a bad experience in a taxi a few weeks earlier, we were wary of cabs. After an hour and a half on the bus anticipating the magical Mistura, we turned a corner and saw hundreds of tents lined up on a beach.

We exited the bus and entered into they mystical land. At this point, we were all starving and therefore attracted to pretty much everything so the three of us decided to go to the "Mundo de Sandwich" (World of Sandwich) where we each bought a sandwich to share around. After stuffing ourselves as much as possible, we checked our map and headed toward "Mundo de los Tavernas y Barres", where we had the most delicious mixed drinks of Pisco. I have no idea what type of fruit juice they mixed my Pisco with, but one thing Peru has taught me is that I should just consume whatever someone gives me and not ask questions. It always tastes good.

After filling our bellies, a friend of ours told us that if we went to the market section of the fair, we could essentially eat a meal of free samples. So that's where we went and our friend was absolutely right. I ate until I couldn't walk straight. In fact, I ate to the point that I had to take a quick nap and was awoken by a security guard who told us that we couldn't sleep there.

Before our nap, my friend and I planned to stay in the magical land of Mistura all day. When we awoke, we realized that we had lives outside of the festival; the words "There is life outside of Mistura" came out of one of our mouths. We wandered trough the festival in search of our other two companions and continued to eat. Honestly, I have no idea what I ate next but it was absolutely delicious. Per usual.

On our way to "El Mundo de chocolate", a man asked to take his picture with us. This didn't phase us  because people often want to take pictures with gringos. Unfortunately, as we left el mundo de chocolate to head home, we realized that the man with whom we took the picture actually just wanted to steal my friend's wallet. Instead of going straight home, we spent about an hour trying (without success) to work with a group of useless police officers.

Needless to say, the beauty of Mistura was tarnished and we hopped in a cab home. After a long, over priced cab ride with a very lost cab driver, we got out and walked home. Although the day had a rough ending, I maintain that Mistura is the most magical place on earth.

Hiking, definitely not my sport.

A few weeks ago, I decided that since I'm in Peru, I have to go hiking. After googling "Hiking near Lima" and clicking on the first link, I sent out a mass message to the other students about a place called Palakala Falls. On Friday, September 6, a motley crew of 8 gathered at a combi stop. We had heard that from that combi stop we might be able to catch a bus to somewhere near Palakala Falls. It turned out that from that combi stop we could catch a bus that took us to another bus, that took us to another bus, that took us to another bus, that took us to Palakala Falls.

After 3-4 hours in transit, we made it. We stopped for a quick snack break at the store and then made our way to the mountain, ready for our one hour hike. I, of course, had over packed (a change of clothes, hiking sandals and boots, first aid kit, sunscreen, bug spray, anti-itch cream, 2.5L water bottle, etc.) and was ready for a rest at the first bend. We continued along this way for a while, stopping and taking leisurely water breaks where we took pictures and chatted, not feeling much pressure about extending our one hour hike. As we continued to hike we asked people how close we were and they said things like "Just one more hour!" or "Just around the next bend!" After hearing those things over and over again for three hours we started getting a little suspicious. A member of our group asked someone, and it turns out there's a 1 hour trail and a 3 hour trail. In our excitement to start our hike we had accidentally hiked up the wrong trail and our leisurely breaks and inexperienced hikers were definitely extending the 3 hour hike.

After about 3 hours of huffing and puffing our way up the mountain--I did most of the huffing and puffing--we ran into a group of our friends who had left earlier than us. "Just another hour and a half". Those are probably the worst words I have ever heard. At that moment, I considered refusing to move. The little diva inside of me was ready rear her ugly head as I looked up at the path that seemed endless. Luckily, I wasn't going to allow myself to be the only one who quit and powered on. With the support of my friends, who did things like holding my backpack when I looked like I was going to pass out, or teaching me how to pee without pulling my pants down, I was able to continue in high spirits. In fact, the trip was actually a great bonding experience. We told each other life stories which lead to other fun and interesting conversations. Eventually, we made it to almost the top and a group of us decided that the falls weren't quite worth it while others plowed forward. Of course, ten minutes after making that decision we changed our minds and kept moving forward. Unfortunately, we realized that it was 4 o'clock before we got to the top and that if we didn't haul-ass down that mountain we were going to be hiking in the dark.

The hike down the mountain began in a joyful, excited place, and quickly went down hill from there. Although the conversation and morale boosting continued, things tend to get a lot more treacherous when gravity is working against you. Also, there was a group of middle school-aged kids hiking at the same time who had no sense of caution and if one of them went down, everyone in front of them was going down with them. After a perilous 2 hours descending the mountain, all we wanted was to go home. It was getting dark quickly and we started panicking a little bit when the bus didn't come. We then moved to the other bus station where we waited for a bus and also tried to call/hail a cab. With no luck we sat and sat and sat, just waiting as it got dark and we continued to realize that we were in some tiny town outside of Lima. Honestly, I don't even remember what it was called.

Well, needless to say, we made it home that night. At 11:30 pm my friends and I wandered into a Chinese restaurant, covered in dirt and grease, and ordered whatever looked appealing. Honestly, it was the worst Chinese food I've ever consumed--yeah San Wah, I'm calling you out--but it was also one of the most satisfying meals I've ever consumed. Needless to say, I slept well that night. Hiking definitely is not my sport, but I absolutely want to do it again.

A few photos from Nazca and Ica

Sand, so much sand.

I spent this past weekend in Ica and Nazca. At 7 am I boarded a five-hour bus to Ica, a small town just South of Lima. Once we arrived, we checked into a fantastic hostel and set out to grab some lunch and then check out the sand dunes in Huacachina, a very small neighboring town. My memories of Huacachina's sand dunes are some of the best I've ever made--and of course my camera died just as we got there. Between my five awesome friends and the thrill of the dune buggy and sand boarding, very few things can compare. Once we got into the dune buggy all bets were off. Although there were a couple times when I was honestly concerned that the buggy would tip over, those moments just added to the thrill of speeding through the Huacachina's impressive dunes. Shortly into the trip, we stopped for a quick photo-op and ran into a few of our other IFSA friends. We then found a few dunes and tried sand boarding. I quickly found that I should stick to other sports (there are plenty of pictures to prove it). After boarding down a few dunes (or in my case, falling) we hopped back into the buggy for the most thrilling/terrifying ride yet. Needless to say, we were sad to say goodbye to our guide, Julio, when we came back from the dunes.

Luckily for us, the fun continued. We found a small restaurant and sat down for a long dinner with great conversation. As we walked to hail a taxi, we heard American classic rock and sprinted into the bar from which it was blaring (the bar turned out to be empty). We proceeded to spend the next three hours blasting American hip-hop from my iPod and learning to salsa from a few locals (most of them related to the bar tender). Although the night was not at all what we'd expected the spontaneous adventure was fantastic.

We awoke the next morning and ate breakfast at a small restaurant after checking out of our hostel. We spent much of breakfast wandering in and out of the open cafe to take pictures of the lovely town or soak up some much needed sun, as we hadn't seen much in Lima. After breakfast we wandered into downtown Ica and took the next bus to Nazca.

 Two hours later, we arrived in Nazca, a slightly larger town. We checked into a wonderful hostel where the owners were extremely helpful and accommodating. After a quick dinner, we headed home and spent the evening relaxing in our room and on the rooftop terrace.

The next morning we wandered around the Nazca market briefly, where I had a small ice cream cone and a few of my friends found desert tamales. After the market, we embarked on a tour of the Nazca lines. When the van pulled up to the rusted set of stairs and my tour guide explained that that was where we would have the best view of the lines, I was hesitant, but after the perilous climb I realized it was definitely worth it. From there I was able to see an ancient, massive drawing of a family. From there we went to a museum dedicated to a German woman who preserved the lines. Though it's pretty awesome that she preserved them, it sounds like she was batty--she stopped the installation of an irrigation system for the desert because it would ruin the Nazca lines... I guess everyone has their priorities. The most exciting part of the day came when the sandstorm began. As we drove from the museum to the next viewing area, the storm picked up to a point that we couldn't see more than 100 feet ahead. Honestly, I stayed in the van instead of climbing up to the see the next lines. I swear I could see those stairs blowing in the wind. Our last stop was at a giant sand dune, which we climbed to get a better view. This time I braved the sandstorm and got a few blurry pictures. Honestly, the sandstorm spiced up what otherwise might have become a monotonous sight-seeing tour.

My time in Nazca and Ica was fun-filled, but it also helped me realize a few things about myself. For one, when it comes to packing, I really don't need a ton of "options". Packing light is easier and better. I also learned that I have defined myself based on the limited experiences I've had so far in life and those definitions aren't necessarily correct. This trip helped me understand that although I love my clothes and a good pedicure and I'd never deny it, I also enjoy traveling without a bunch of crap and just focusing on the adventures that I'm having and the people with whom I'm spending my time.

Classes

Today I registered for my Peruvian classes and I could not be more ecstatic. I am enrolled in two IFSA-Butler classes (Peruvian Social Reality and Spanish) along with two other PUCP classes--all four are taught in Spanish. I spent last week shadowing classes and today registered for Urban Anthropology and Ethnic Minorities and Ethnicity. I am going to spend the next four months learning about Peruvian culture, honing my spanish, learning about afroperuanos, and studying the distinct cultures of Lima.

Although I am excited about the subject matter, I am also a little bit anxious about the language barrier. Though I haven't had too much trouble so far, the hundreds of pages of reading are a bit daunting. I have already made a few Peruvian friends so hopefully study groups are going to be super helpful.

Overall, I love my classes and I love my teachers. I just need to keep reminding myself how much these classes will help my Spanish improve.