Buenas!
Another week in my new home away from home has already passed. The days are so long, yet the weeks seem like only a couple of hours. Last week we go into the groove of school as syllabus week passed and homework has begun to pile up. My teachers are wonderful, the classes are...well class. 3 hours to sit in one room and discuss the same subject can be mentally exhausting, but I guess it pays off in the end not having class on Fridays and even getting some Thursdays off!
This past weekend I went on a whirlwind of adventures starting on Thursday. My group and I took a field trip to San Isidro which is another district within Peru. We went there to visit the Centro Cultural Museum to see the Picasso display. We thought the visit would take us around 2 hours when in reality we walked around for about a half hour and were out of things to see. I don't think anyone was too deeply impressed or inspired, but all in all, it was an experience. After taking a gander at the painting we decided since we drove all the way to San Isidro, we might as well get a feel for the district and adventure a bit. We walked for awhile before stumbling upon a restaurant (typcial Mallory Move here...I never knew the name of the restaurant nor asked anyone nor really cared, so unfortunately I do not have those details to share), but all I do know is that they offered everyone in my group free Pisco Sour if we ate there! At first I thought this was so awesome, until after the rest of this weekend I was offered free Pisco Sour about 10 move times by men shouting out the windows of their restaurants begging for costumers. Nonetheless, free is free, and pisco sour is pisco sour. I also got to try one of the my food bucket list iteams, Causa. It is basically a sandwich except instead of bread it is squishy potato circles (potatoes here are EVERYWHERE and are served with a lot of meals). Inside the "sandwich" is crab meat and avocado. I love all 3 of these items so was sure I would love it. Little did I know the one I chose was covered in Aji sauce, a yellow, thick, cream sauce that I initially thought I enjoyed and then later realized it becomes sickening very quickly. My family seems to put it on literally everything though, so I better get used to it! Also, the best part of my meal was the fried octopus that they put on top! Delicioso! After eating we were craving some ice cream and asked some men to point us in the right direction. We wandered for probably an hour or 2 just looking for an ice cream shop, asking countless people along the way. What's a girl gotta do to get some ice cream up in this country???? After a few hours of struggling we came across a coffee shop that sold over sized (what looked like hershey kisses) but the brand is Havanna. It was equivalent to probably Godiva chocolate, yet I have decided that nothing compares to America chocolate. There is something funky about chocolate in South America and I just cannot put my finger on it. But regardless, chocolate is chocolate, and if you have met me for 5 minutes or less you would know it is my favorite food category.
Friday was another fun, adventurous day as we went on a group Wine Tour around Lima! This has definitely been one of my highlights during the 2 short weeks that I have been here! I would not say that I love wine (well before this tour anyways ;)) but then again I don't really like alcohol, so usually Pink Moscato is my go-to since it kind of taste like candy. But, this wine tour changed my mind about wine. Oh Mom, I'm turning into you...uh oh! We first traveled to the top of a mountain so that we go overlook the entire city of Lima, it was breathtaking. Our tour guide explained to us that 70% of Lima is under the poverty line. We gazed out over the multitudes of shanty-town like neighborhoods. Houses barely standing up, ready to crumble to the ground if the wind picked up even a little. Our guide also said how surprisingly though, the poorest people in Lima are the most welcoming, caring, loving and giving. They love their life, and are truly happy. Amazing. Everyday that I am here I am reminded of how much I have, and how much of it I do not need. After snapping some pics of the view, we traveled to the winery to start taste testing! They had plates of cheese, crackers, olives and meat to go with our wines. I never knew that each wine is particularly supposed to be paired with one of the prior. We started with the least sweet wine and headed toward the most sweet. Sweet is my middle name, so I obviously ever so much enjoyed the sweet wine and Moscato at the end!
Saturday was yet another adventurous day as a couple of us headed BACK to the Centro de Lima for round two. BUT this time we had a Peruvian with us and there was no riot going on, phew! The day was hot and long as we meandered through the stores of stuff, upon stuff, upon stuff, upon more stuff. Seriously it is incredible the odd things they will try and sell, or the tattered clothes that look like they are from the 90's. So strange, yet so interesting. It may not be my favorite section of Lima, but it is definitely an area true to the character of Lima and rich in culture. When we returned Saturday night Jaime and I wondered around different sections of Surco (that is the district we live in). We came across more shops selling more odd things, a market full of food that I will be taking full advantage of, and store that sold movies for $1. We picked up a movie and some popcorn with the intentions of having a movie night, yet to return to Jaime's house and spend hours upon hours trying to plan a Spring Break trip. Although the planning is monotonous, I know that everything will somehow work out and we will have a wonderful week long adventure to another part of Peru!
Sunday rolled around and you would think that Jaime and I might be up for a day of rest...oh wait, my name is Mallory Placek, I can sleep when I'm dead! ;) Jaime and I took a taxi to Miraflores to check out yet another popular district of Lima. A lovely part of Miraflores is an outside/inside shopping mall called Larcomar. While inside the mall the roof is open. This seems peculiar because what happens if it rains right? But wait, this is Lima, Peru where literally they don't even sell umbrellas here because it NEVER rains! No complaints here :) I love sunny with a high of 75 everyday! While looking around Larcomar Jaime and I came across some bikes for rental. We figured that it would be so fun to take the bikes around, but we are so unfamiliar with the layout we were nervous to get lost. Luckily, the man there was offering a (what was supposed to be 2 hours but turned into 3.5 hour) tour of all three of the main districts in Lima: Barranco,Chorrillos, and Miraflores. It was a wonderful way to get some exercises and see the districts without getting lost! We saw amazing cliff side views of the ocean and came across a restaurant where men dressed up as Monks jump off the cliffs into the ocean water every couple of minutes due to an old myth about how the daughter of a noble family fell in love with the servant's son. The young girl became pregnant and the two fled. They came across a pack of monks and the servant's son then decided that this relationship was impossible so he jumped off the cliff and then the girl followed. This may not be the hottest attraction in Peru, but I love coming across random little things like this! Overall the bike ride was a total success. We may have had some near death experiences trying to navigate a bike through 8.5 million people on a sidewalk only 2 feet wide, but the views were well worth it. We ended our time in Miraflores that day with what tasted like the most amazing burger and fries I have ever come across. Peruvian food is good...but American food is American food.
XOXO,
Mal
Another week in my new home away from home has already passed. The days are so long, yet the weeks seem like only a couple of hours. Last week we go into the groove of school as syllabus week passed and homework has begun to pile up. My teachers are wonderful, the classes are...well class. 3 hours to sit in one room and discuss the same subject can be mentally exhausting, but I guess it pays off in the end not having class on Fridays and even getting some Thursdays off!
This past weekend I went on a whirlwind of adventures starting on Thursday. My group and I took a field trip to San Isidro which is another district within Peru. We went there to visit the Centro Cultural Museum to see the Picasso display. We thought the visit would take us around 2 hours when in reality we walked around for about a half hour and were out of things to see. I don't think anyone was too deeply impressed or inspired, but all in all, it was an experience. After taking a gander at the painting we decided since we drove all the way to San Isidro, we might as well get a feel for the district and adventure a bit. We walked for awhile before stumbling upon a restaurant (typcial Mallory Move here...I never knew the name of the restaurant nor asked anyone nor really cared, so unfortunately I do not have those details to share), but all I do know is that they offered everyone in my group free Pisco Sour if we ate there! At first I thought this was so awesome, until after the rest of this weekend I was offered free Pisco Sour about 10 move times by men shouting out the windows of their restaurants begging for costumers. Nonetheless, free is free, and pisco sour is pisco sour. I also got to try one of the my food bucket list iteams, Causa. It is basically a sandwich except instead of bread it is squishy potato circles (potatoes here are EVERYWHERE and are served with a lot of meals). Inside the "sandwich" is crab meat and avocado. I love all 3 of these items so was sure I would love it. Little did I know the one I chose was covered in Aji sauce, a yellow, thick, cream sauce that I initially thought I enjoyed and then later realized it becomes sickening very quickly. My family seems to put it on literally everything though, so I better get used to it! Also, the best part of my meal was the fried octopus that they put on top! Delicioso! After eating we were craving some ice cream and asked some men to point us in the right direction. We wandered for probably an hour or 2 just looking for an ice cream shop, asking countless people along the way. What's a girl gotta do to get some ice cream up in this country???? After a few hours of struggling we came across a coffee shop that sold over sized (what looked like hershey kisses) but the brand is Havanna. It was equivalent to probably Godiva chocolate, yet I have decided that nothing compares to America chocolate. There is something funky about chocolate in South America and I just cannot put my finger on it. But regardless, chocolate is chocolate, and if you have met me for 5 minutes or less you would know it is my favorite food category.
Friday was another fun, adventurous day as we went on a group Wine Tour around Lima! This has definitely been one of my highlights during the 2 short weeks that I have been here! I would not say that I love wine (well before this tour anyways ;)) but then again I don't really like alcohol, so usually Pink Moscato is my go-to since it kind of taste like candy. But, this wine tour changed my mind about wine. Oh Mom, I'm turning into you...uh oh! We first traveled to the top of a mountain so that we go overlook the entire city of Lima, it was breathtaking. Our tour guide explained to us that 70% of Lima is under the poverty line. We gazed out over the multitudes of shanty-town like neighborhoods. Houses barely standing up, ready to crumble to the ground if the wind picked up even a little. Our guide also said how surprisingly though, the poorest people in Lima are the most welcoming, caring, loving and giving. They love their life, and are truly happy. Amazing. Everyday that I am here I am reminded of how much I have, and how much of it I do not need. After snapping some pics of the view, we traveled to the winery to start taste testing! They had plates of cheese, crackers, olives and meat to go with our wines. I never knew that each wine is particularly supposed to be paired with one of the prior. We started with the least sweet wine and headed toward the most sweet. Sweet is my middle name, so I obviously ever so much enjoyed the sweet wine and Moscato at the end!
Saturday was yet another adventurous day as a couple of us headed BACK to the Centro de Lima for round two. BUT this time we had a Peruvian with us and there was no riot going on, phew! The day was hot and long as we meandered through the stores of stuff, upon stuff, upon stuff, upon more stuff. Seriously it is incredible the odd things they will try and sell, or the tattered clothes that look like they are from the 90's. So strange, yet so interesting. It may not be my favorite section of Lima, but it is definitely an area true to the character of Lima and rich in culture. When we returned Saturday night Jaime and I wondered around different sections of Surco (that is the district we live in). We came across more shops selling more odd things, a market full of food that I will be taking full advantage of, and store that sold movies for $1. We picked up a movie and some popcorn with the intentions of having a movie night, yet to return to Jaime's house and spend hours upon hours trying to plan a Spring Break trip. Although the planning is monotonous, I know that everything will somehow work out and we will have a wonderful week long adventure to another part of Peru!
Sunday rolled around and you would think that Jaime and I might be up for a day of rest...oh wait, my name is Mallory Placek, I can sleep when I'm dead! ;) Jaime and I took a taxi to Miraflores to check out yet another popular district of Lima. A lovely part of Miraflores is an outside/inside shopping mall called Larcomar. While inside the mall the roof is open. This seems peculiar because what happens if it rains right? But wait, this is Lima, Peru where literally they don't even sell umbrellas here because it NEVER rains! No complaints here :) I love sunny with a high of 75 everyday! While looking around Larcomar Jaime and I came across some bikes for rental. We figured that it would be so fun to take the bikes around, but we are so unfamiliar with the layout we were nervous to get lost. Luckily, the man there was offering a (what was supposed to be 2 hours but turned into 3.5 hour) tour of all three of the main districts in Lima: Barranco,Chorrillos, and Miraflores. It was a wonderful way to get some exercises and see the districts without getting lost! We saw amazing cliff side views of the ocean and came across a restaurant where men dressed up as Monks jump off the cliffs into the ocean water every couple of minutes due to an old myth about how the daughter of a noble family fell in love with the servant's son. The young girl became pregnant and the two fled. They came across a pack of monks and the servant's son then decided that this relationship was impossible so he jumped off the cliff and then the girl followed. This may not be the hottest attraction in Peru, but I love coming across random little things like this! Overall the bike ride was a total success. We may have had some near death experiences trying to navigate a bike through 8.5 million people on a sidewalk only 2 feet wide, but the views were well worth it. We ended our time in Miraflores that day with what tasted like the most amazing burger and fries I have ever come across. Peruvian food is good...but American food is American food.
XOXO,
Mal