Saludos!
I can't believe I am well into the second week here. The time is quickly passing!
I went on some tours this week-end to learn a little bit more about the country of Peru. On Saturday, I went with three other women to Centro Lima where our first stop was the Museo Rafael Larco Herrera. It was fascinating! The museum was filled with over 42,000 artifacts from Peru. I posted some photos in the photo gallery (for some reason some of them rotate and I am unable to rotate them correctly). The outside grounds were absolutely beautiful and there was so much history that we were able to take in. There was one part of the museum with a couple of rooms of glass cabinets from floor to ceiling that were filled with artifacts they didn't have out for display in the museum. We also visited many of the cathedrals. Peru is 97% Catholic, so there are many beautiful old Catholic cathedrals. There were three we visited on Saturday and all three had weddings in process. Catholic weddings here last a long time. One was still in process 90 minutes later as we walked by.
Sunday, I went with two fellow students on an excursion the school had posted. One of the students is leaving this Friday and she asked me if I wanted to join her. Also, one of the young men from school who is from Switzerland joined us. We were all supposed to meet at a certain spot in Lima at 5:45 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. departure. My hostess from my homestay arranged to have a taxi pick me up at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning, I wake up and it's light outside. NOT a good sign. I look at my clock and it is 5:44 a.m. I jump out of bed, throw on some clothes and grab my bag as my hostess is very sweetly and quietly calling up the stairs, "Patty! Patty!" I run down the stairs and out the door and she is standing right outside her bedroom as I run past her apologizing in Spanish for the driver waking her up. Got in the cab, we took off and got there to find one of the streets closed. So, after taking many side streets I made it to a full bus that was about ready to take off. And then...the fun begins.
We rode the bus for four hours to Paracas, which is south of Lima. From there we get on a boat to visit las Islas Ballestas where sea lions, birds and penguins live. It was absolutely beautfiul! The penguins were adorable to watch and the sound of all the sea lions echoing in the rocks was fascinating. One of the photos I posted is labeled, "Face of Christ." The Peruanos named it as it looks like the face of Chist looking down. As you look in the center of the photo, there is a dark, almost black, silhouette of a face.
We ate lunch and then headed by bus to Laguna Huacachina. When I read the brochure, it sounded like we were going to a lake where people could swim and in my dictionary one of the words translated as "spa." One part of the brochure referred to "adrenalina," which I knew was adrenaline and that whatever that activity was I wouldn't be doing. As I read a little bit more, I translated that it involved tubing and sandboarding. I knew I didn't want to do either of those. WELL, we arrive and lo and behold we are all going to take a ride in a dune buggy (translated tubulares)! So, off we go! I have never been on anything more terrifying in my life! We head up to the first crest and as we get to the top, all one can see is sky and nothing underneath us on the other side as the driver heads down going every which way. Mind you the driver is not creeping along. Every time we started up another high hill, I kept thinking about what was on the other side (i.e.what goes up must come down). There was a man sitting next to us that leaned into his wife, covering his head with his arm and eyes closed tightly for almost the entire ride. People are screaming! I am so terrified that nothing comes out of mine. I almost had to peel my hand off of the bar I was holding onto when we stopped. I prayed a lot on this journey, asking God to get us safely back to where we started; praying the driver didn't take a wrong turn, etc. (How does one know where ones's going? There aren't any markers in sand that has nothing growing in it.) You can see by the photos, I was happy to be back and standing on the ground! Praise the Lord! When we landed safely back to where we started, the woman I went with stated, "That was awesome! I love roller coasters!" It's all about perception I guess! The next morning one of the sisters at the homestay told me that when she and her husband did this, he actually starting crying he was so scared! Hmmm...I have a ways to go in my Spanish translations!
Monday morning, we started learning past tense of all of the verbs and different uses for prepositions, etc... I was hoping to volunteer some while here, but I am finding my days full. I found a nice quiet library where I can study. I usually go there for 2-3 hours in the afternoons after lunch. I also have two one hour private lessons this week. I am finding myself in somewhat of a routine now. I will say that I will be happy to be in a smaller city in a few weeks. Lima has around 9 million people. Lots of noise and traffic.
Do you remember the older gentleman that I spoke of in one of my first entries? Well, the last two days he has been out on the plaza as I am walking home from the library. I usually stop to chat with him for a few minutes. He is a very sweet man and always asks how I am doing?
Well! More later as I am off to bed!
Chow,
Pat
