One thing that everyone needs to make wherever anyone studies abroad are some friend’s from that region of the world. If there was one thing that I should have made more of, it was just that. I made some through my host family and Jacobs host family but apart from that we didn’t make very many, I wish I would have. There were a few Peruvian friends that I did make through some of my UNK friends and they were a pretty good time. They took us to a number of different places that I don’t remember the name of exactly, but they had spectacular views of the city, I’ll include the views in the pictures portion of the blog. Talking about friends, I became pretty good friends with everyone on this trip. Before this semester abroad I didn’t know a quarter of the peoples names but now I feel as if we all know one another fairly well, some may even know me better than some of the friends I have back at home. If there’s one thing that studying abroad will do besides help you learn a new language and culture, it is long lasting friendships. I am almost certain I will continue to keep in touch and talk to many of the friends I have made here in Perú on maybe not daily basis, but fairly often. I could not have chosen a much better group to have experienced this study abroad journey with.
There are many different factors that go into making or breaking your experience on a study abroad journey, but one of the most important would have to be the host family that you are assigned to. There are families that tend to keep to themselves and others that ask near perfection from you. In my case I had a little bit of both. I will begin by talking about the host kids. Although they always tended to keep to themselves, there were multiple times they were pretty rude, not just to me but to their parents and the housekeeper as well. Whether it was because of the cultural differences or because they were still young adults I don’t think it was acceptable the ways they behaved at times. As for the actual hosts, I could not have asked for anyone better. They were always pretty nice and always came home asking what new things I had tried that day or what new things I needed to go out and try. Another plus was that they would constantly give me things! I was shocked the first time I arrived home to a bag full of t-shirts laying on my bed. When I asked the host lady she said she grabbed them on special with an unbeatable price and could not pass them up. It was one of the many nice gestures I would receive from them this semester. Another thing I really liked about the family I stayed with was their family. About every other weekend on Sundays we headed to my host lady’s sisters house for brunch. They would sit around a table and talk about new things that were happening around the city or around their households. Although I was the topic of conversation a good 10-15 percent of the time they always had pretty nice things to say so I didn’t mind it much. Some things that I believe would have helped make my stay a little smoother in the beginning would probably have been to receive a key as soon as I got there. Although there was always someone home that was able to open the door, they would go to bed about 10P.M. and it would bother me having to wake someone up for me to get in. Eventually I just kept the key they would let me borrow. Another thing that would have helped was their Wi-Fi. It only reached just passed their living room and halfway through their kitchen. It was difficult for me to call home. When I would call my parents (I speak to them in Spanish) there was always someone in the living room listening to everything I said, I had no privacy. Overall although it had its ups and downs of course, I would recommend my hosts to another study abroad student. The hosts themselves were very nice people and always offered to help if I ever needed anything. They would take me on trips around Lima and always had me trying new things.
I have requested that they send me a few pictures so I could put up on the blog and will put them up as soon as I receive them. The day started way too early… 5:30 A.M. early. I was having second thoughts about whether I had made the right decision between missing a class field trip to the center of Lima or going on a daylong tour to Lunahuana. We began the tour by heading to a smaller town roughly an hour south of Lima named Serro Azul. It was called this do to the coloration of the mountains that had certain minerals in the rocks that made it appear to be a darker bluish color compared to its lighter brown surroundings. We were taken onto a pier where the tour guide gave us the history of the place. In the 1600’s it used to be one of the main ports the Spaniards had used to export goods, it was also said to have been one of the places gold was hidden by the Spaniards that no one has been able to find after many years of searching. After Serro Azul and many bumpy pave less roads we made it to Lunahuana. Here we were going to spend a good majority of the day doing different activities. To start off a group of six of us including Grace, Jackie, Traysea were dropped off at a restaurant to meet up with people who were going to take us rafting! After a few minutes of waiting a van pulled up with a raft and a kayak on the roof of the car and we all jumped in. Here we met our guides who were really interesting people. One of them had travelled to just about every country in South America to Kayak and Raft and she was only about twenty-three years old! What am I doing with my life?! Once we got to the river and saw the current all of us had second thoughts about whether we really wanted to do it but it was too late, we were already there. After a few quick instructions we were off. The guide shouting over the sound of the rushing water “Pa delante!” “Para atrás!” “Alto!” The tour at this moment maybe halfway done for the day propelled itself to being the just about the best tour I had taken in Perú, Machu Picchu being the one tour outdoing it. After the canotaje we made our way back to the restaurant where our meals were already being prepared. They immediately brought out our appetizers with a glass of wine. I had sopa seca which the name may sound a little strange but it too like the trip had been going so far, was great. After the meal we all jumped on the bus and made our way to another location, a bee farm. Here we were all able to taste different types of honey and were told the health benefits to the different types of honey. Following the honey tasting we once again separated from the group and went on a horse ride. We got to see part of the town and some surrounding mountains. Everything after the rafting was just a huge plus. Once we finished up with the horses we caught up with everyone doing a wine tour and were still able to get some wine tasting in! By this time it’s 5:20PM and I am exhausted, luckily it was time to hop on the bus and head home.
There have been many great things that I have been a part of in my life but I have never been part of a proposal. This last week has got to be not only one of the best times I’ve had in Perú, but a time I doubt I will ever forget. One of the many good friends I met here in Perú had her boyfriend of many years come visit her. Unbeknown to me or any of us, he had a plan, he wanted to propose. I got the word the day he told one of Jackie’s close friends Grace a few days before he planned on doing it. When Grace told me she was nearly jumping she was so excited. But us as friends had a job to do, keep it a secret and help make it perfect for both Brandon and Jackie. We had been receiving information from Brandon with the details of how he wanted it to happen.
The location was going to be Parke del Amor in Miraflores. Time was going to be about 6:20(Sunset) and the date was set for a Friday night. Jacob, Jaime, Grace and me showed up an hour and a half early. If you couldn’t tell, we were all pretty excited for them. We wanted to hold up our end and help try and make it perfect. Our tasks for the event were to record, take pictures, play music and stay hidden. As 6:20 slowly crept up on us we were all becoming a little more nervous. Brandon and Jackie were nowhere in sight. Everyone was in his or her position to stay hidden yet able to either record the event or see what was about to happen. Just after 620 the sun still just above the horizon Brandon and Jackie came into view. They had crossed a bridge onto the park came to the stairs in front of the center sculpture and took a seat. This was my cue, I had to walk up and set a speaker to the side of the sculpture and play Marry Me by Train, the song Brandon had chosen. They start slowly walking down the steps taking her hand in his. She immediately recognizes what is about to happen. After the proposal, don’t worry everything went well… SHE SAID YES! We all went out for a nice dinner and celebrated the occasion. I’ve never been a part of a proposal but it has got to be one of the greatest things I have been a part of. Have you ever gone swimming in the Pacific Ocean? Have you ever gone swimming in the Pacific Ocean with Sea Lions? I have! It was an early day for me, I had to be up at 9:45 AM, could you believe that? I know, ridiculous! A group of about seven us met up at UPC to head over to Plaza Grau in a district that I have now forgotten. We jumped in a combi that was supposed to take us directly there but not knowing the directions he got lost and made the 35-minute combi drive into an hour and fifteen-minute drive. Once we got there we were greeted by one of the tour guides and taken to a ferryboat, which took us onto the boat that was going to take us on the tour/swim.
Before arriving at our destination we saw the ruins of Lima’s old prison El Frontón. Housed here were some of the most dangerous people Perú had to offer, and politicians. Once housed here was two time ex president of Perú Fernando Belaunde Terry. After a huge riot broke out in I believe 1986 the president at the time of Perú declared the island a war zone. It was then bombed and everyone on the prison along with some guards were killed. Once we arrived at our swimming location, which to me looked dangerous. We received directions for what we were to do/not to do once in the water. Although it was really nice day out and the tour guides had told us the water would be refreshing and not cold by any means, they lied to us. The water felt as though we were swimming next to a glacier in Northern Canada by Greenland. After swimming about 25-30 yards from the boat we were where we needed to be. The Sea Lions were now swimming feet if not inches from us. At times you might even have one of them swim right under you and if you were lucky you’d get to feel one of the with your toes. We were allowed to swim with them for about 20 minutes. It was a really neat experience. It was our first week in Lima and being as anxious as we were to be in a whole new country and ready to learn and see as much as possible a group of ten of us headed towards the center. The center of Lima is a great place to be, if you know your way around. To begin our journey we all made our way onto a faded orange 1960’s school bus that for some unknown reason was still running. It took us roughly an hour and a half to make it to the center after also having caught a taxi to take us in a little closer. Once in the center I believe we all got the sense that we were now in a completely foreign place. There was so much going on all around us that there wasn’t one particular thing that really grabbed your attention. You could hear numerous people honking their horns at the same time in the background, kids zooming around you, people coming up to you asking to purchase their merchandise, stepping over water flowing on the street, hurdling dogs. It was chaos. After a few moments we composed ourselves and were able to continue our adventure. We saw many great things that day, street performers wearing their traditional outfits resembling that of jaguar hide and necklaces of sharp teeth about an inch in length. We also saw artists that would create stunning portraits with a white sheet of construction paper, paint cans, and a lighter. After having witnessed a numerous of new things we continued to walk and actually wound up in the middle of an enormous protest. Although I would have liked to stay and witnessed the outcome we had to continue moving and head home. Many of the girls didn’t enjoy the trip to the center of Lima due to not being aware of our surroundings and the vulgarity of the people, but the center of Lima is a great place to be, if you know your way around.
On March 5th at approximately 7:30 A.M. or bus from Cruz Del Sur company made its way out of Lima, heading towards Ica for our trip to El hotel Las Dunas, Las Islas Ballestas, y Huacachina. El primer día de nuestro viaje no habíamos hecho planes para que disfrutáramos del impresionante hotel. Las chicas se broncearon mucho de la tarde al lado de las piscinas al cual tiempo nosotros chicos nadábamos. En la tarde el hotel tenía diferentes actividades para los huéspedes y esa tarde de el primer día estaban ofreciendo sandboarding gratis en una de las dunas cercas al hotel. Todo el grupo menos la profesora Anita y Monica fuimos a ser sandboarding. Después del sandboarding tuvimos una fiesta en un café cercas del hotel. El próximo día temprano fuimos a Las Islas Ballestas. Allí hicimos un tour de las islas y vimos muchos diferentes tipos de aves y animales del mar. Tuvimos la oportunidad de ver muchos lobos del mar que creo era unas de las mejores cosas del tour. Esa noche todos nosotros de UNK salimos a una discoteca. Allí conversamos con mucha gente de Ica y nos contaron y enseñaron mucho de su cultura. Era una experiencia inolvidable. El sábado en la mañana me levante a las 10:30A.M. y me cogí un taxi hacia Huacachina. Antes de venir a Perú vi una foto de Huacachina y me quede fascinado. Desde ese tiempo supe que tenía que ir a Huacachina no solo para ver la impresionante vista del oasis en el desierto si no que también quería tomar la oportunidad de ir sandboarding y tomar un tour del área en un dune buggy. Disfrute todo del viaje.
It’s been a few weeks since my last blog post and since then there have been a number of things that have occurred. I will try to cover just about everything I’ve experienced or done throughout these last 3-4 weeks.
Week 3 Our conversation/grammar professor took us to Matucana, which is a small town in the Andes to go on a hike to Antakallo waterfall. We began our journey by leaving UPC bright and early at about 8 A.M. reason being we had a two-hour bus ride ahead of us to Matucana. On our way we had to cross much of Lima and little towns. We were able to see first hand why people say 70% of Lima is composed of shantytown communities. Although we’ve had the chance to see those communities from afar before, this was one of our first times going through such areas. Although they say people in these communities are usually the happiest, it makes me thankful for all I have and have taken for granted. Once we arrived at Matucana and gathered ourselves we began our hike on the side of a mountain towards the waterfall. It was a great experience, I had always wanted to go on an actual hike and knew I would enjoy it, this trip made me realize that I was right! After a little less than two hours we arrived at the waterfall. The sight was breathtaking. Dark green vegetation covered everything surrounding the falls with the rocks directly under, being the only exception. Spring Break Spring Break week was nothing but beach, beach and a little more beach. Jacob and I had previously gone to a beach with his hosts Americo and Carlos with big waves and unlike San Bartolo that is rocky, had soft fine feet soothing sand. We gathered just about the whole group and headed towards the beach most of our free days that week. I found the place with the best ceviche so far for the best price! 20 soles, which would be the equivalent of $6.60 for an appetizer and the main meal! Cusco/Machu Picchu The Cusco/Machu Picchu trip has got to be about the best part of this study abroad trip so far. On Thursday I began my day off early, 3:30 A.M. early. Our flight was not set to depart until 6 A.M. but with little to no traffic it still takes 40 minutes to make it to the airport from Surco. Once arriving at the airport it was as if I was running late being an hour and a half early! I felt as if I were an ant in a colony of thousands trying to make it to my destination going against the flow. Once we arrived in Cusco, I immediately felt the difference in elevation. Although my ears did acclimate to it and popped once I got off the plane, there was now pressure building up in my head. The whole day and the day after I had a constant headache that only seem to let up for short periods of time and then would come rushing back. On the first day of our three-day trip we toured the Cathedrals in Cusco. It was crazy to see how the Spanish used the Incan’s bases they had built for the new buildings were creating. On our second day, Friday our tour guide took us to various different locations where there were Incan ruins and told us stories at just about every location. It’s impressive to listen to all of the things the Incas were able to accomplish with shear manpower. Some of the places were visited were Pukapukara, Saqsayhuamán (closely pronounced like SexyWoman), Q’enqo, Tambachay, Ollantaytambo, and I think that is all but I might be mistaken. On the third day we had to be up bright and early. We left the hotel at about 5:15A.M. so we could start our roughly 4 and a half hour trip to Machu Picchu. We went on a bus to a small town where we then jumped on a train to a bus/train station where we hopped on a bus that took us all the way up a side of a mountain to arrive at our destination. One at our destination our tour guide gave us some brief information about Machu Picchu and then led us in. At first sight of the place I was in awe. The buildings all looked in perfect condition and were beautifully made. I would have liked to have been able to climb a mountain that oversaw everything called Wayna Picchu but sadly we did not have the passes and were short of time. I can’t even come to imagine how long it would have taken to build everything. I would have like a little more time to explore everything but all in all it was a great experience. One world wonder down, six left to go. Two weeks have gone by since first arriving here in Perú and I would like to start off by saying that everything is going well! We are slowly but surely becoming aware of our surroundings in the district we’re living in which is Surco. After having stayed somewhere for two weeks you would think you’d know every inch of the area you live in, but this place is pretty big. Since my first blog post we have done a number of exciting things. We have made our way to Miraflores (district just north of ours) a couple of times, gone on a wine tour, went on a trip to Nazca, and had many group get togethers of which one of them was the Super bowl!
Our trips to Miraflores have both been pretty good. The first time we made our way up there I went with Abi, and Elise. We visited some popular tourist places and spent much of our time walking around soaking in the new sights. The second time we made our way up, we went as a group of 13. This time we were on a mission. The Burrito Bar. Some of the people that had come the previous year had told us one of the things we definitely had to have was a burrito from The Burrito Bar. After wandering different streets and asking a numerous amount of people we found it. It was definitely not a let down and although it was delicious, I was not able to finish it, which was awesome, I now had a snack for later that day! We all made a friend one of those days that week on a wine tour! His name is Edwin, our wine tour host. He took us to a few different places in Lima and told us about the history the city. He has got to be one of the friendliest people all of us have met and his tour didn’t let any one of us down. I’m definitely looking forward to what this upcoming week has to offer and will keep you guys posted on what happens. Thanks for reading! |
Daniel Peñaflor21 Years old. Studying Abroad in Lima, Perú.
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