Tuesday was more classes at El Sol. Following we headed back to UNIFE to take a class in Peruvian literature. Poems in English are hard enough to figure out, so one can only imagine how our interpretations of Spanish poems were pretty far off the mark. After the class we visited the museum of gold and weapons. The museum included the sword of Francisco Pizarro, the first conquistador in Peru. In addition there was rooms and rooms full of Incan and pre-Incan gold. Everything from lip piercings, to cups, to large headdresses covered the walls. Afterwards, a bunch of us climbed at an outdoor rock gym nearby Miraflores. One of my teachers showed us an amazing video about a group of famous Peruvians traveling to Peru, Nebraska to share their culture. Everything in the video is similar to what we have been trying/experiencing, from the hairless peruvian dogs to the bubblegum tasting soda, Inca Cola. The video is 15 minutes long but worth the watch, as it is filled with "cultura de peruanos."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL9gsVy9gfU

   Monday started week 3 at "la Escuela del Sol." This included a change up of teachers. We now have a man named Romeo teaching our grammar class. Quite the change as he is the first guy I've had teach Spanish. It is good because I have become better at understanding women than men in Spanish due to the lopsided amount of time spent talking in Spanish to my previous teachers. After classes we headed over to UNIFE, an all-girls private university in Lima, Peru. There was an opening ceremony and some guest speakers from both UNIFE and Northeastern. We talked with the students studying translation for a little while, in both English and Spanish. Finally there was a performance of traditional dances in the courtyard. Over the next two weeks we will be working with the translation students in both languages to mutually improve our language skills. A coupe of us finished the day off at a local crepe shop near the school.

Weekend 2

   Sunday was a short trip to the Callao, the port of Lima. It is also the first district we visited, as the airport is located there as well. The visit included a tour of the naval museum and a Peruvian submarine. The Peruvians can label on a map, the amount of battles they've fought in over the years. All of them are in or very close to Peruvian borders and makes you wonder how America got so involved in other countries. Following the museum we took a tour of an old military fort. It reminded me a lot of Fort Adams in RI. The lavanderias here are not open on Sunday, and I am in desperate need of my clothes I dropped off a couple of days ago. Hopefully pick up will occur sometime tomorrow.

   5 am wake up call started our day trip to Caral, the second oldest civilization in the world (After Mesopotamia, and before the Egyptians). The ruins were four hours away, so I was able to catch up on some sleep. After a brief hike, we arrived at the archaeological site. It is located in a valley in the middle of a bunch of mountains which provided sanctuary. Still except for the one river flowing through the valley it was a dry desert. The ruins were either crumpling or restored, but that could only be expected for 5 thousand year old buildings. Following lunch there was of course, the long ride back. At midnight we went to a show/club that involved local Peruvian dancers and singers, as well as regular club dancing. They would do an hour of the show, followed by a free hour and then bring back the show. It was quite the experience and our group provided plenty audience participation. We are often called "gringos" here, but its not a negative as it can be in other countries.

   Friday was classes per usual, followed by a free afternoon. Some friends and I spent it visiting local shops and having an amazing lunch at the sandwich place "La Lucha." Afterwards we took a quick dip in the ocean, which was warm despite the warnings from our host families that it was too cold to swim in. A couple of us ate dinner out with another kids host father, who had lived in Miami for bunch of years and spoke really good English. It was interesting talking to him (we all started in Spanish and quickly switched to English), while conversation is much easier, there is more learning with my family who speaks none. We called it an early night on account of the early hour we had to wake up the next morning.

Our Week at the Peruvian Air Force School ("FAP")

   Thursday was our last day at the Air Force School in Lima (after the normal classes at El Sol), and we were sad to leave. Today a group of five of us talked about food and dance in America. For food it was tough to pick stuff that was truly American other than hamburgers, hot dogs, and mac and cheese. The same can be said for traditional dances, but we had the whole class do the hokey pokey, which was fun for all. The kids were only 11 or so and gave a presentation about food and dance in their country. This included samples of the food, and of course plenty of pictures before we left. We had our final history class at "FAP" as well, which included the past couple decades. There was a serious terrorist problem in Peru in the 80's and the country has made an incredible turnaround and currently has the most improving economy in South America. Our time their was wrapped up with a short ceremony where both sides expressed their thanks to one another for the opportunities given.

   Wednesday was made special by the soccer games played at the Air Force school. We started out at El Sol, per usual, but instead of going to a classroom to have conversations with the students, we visited an elementary school phys. ed. class and played with the kids. Afterwards, there was our history class followed by games of soccer with some of the older students. The boys ran circles around our team but it was a good time all around. There was much cheering for both sides from the sidelines that gave the game energy and made it special.

   Tuesday was another day of grammar, conversation and culture classes at "El Sol." Afterwards, we headed back to the Air Force School, or "FAP" as they call it. This time we listened to a presentation about Peruvian and American candidates as well as a little bit of Peruvian culture. The kids like asking about American singers or athletes like Lebron and Steph Curry. There was so much excitement around us coming that we couldn't help but smile. They also enjoy taking pictures with us after class. Another history class at FAP rounded out the day. Tomorrow we will be participating in a soccer tournament.

   Monday began week two at "El Sol" school. After classes, we headed over to the Peruvian Air Force school where the children of the mechanics of the Peruvian Air Force go to school. A group of five of us talked, in english, to a classroom about life at an American university and the students responded about the differences at Peruvian universities. The differences were many, including not living on campus, taking specific entrance exams, and free state universities in Peru. The students are around 15 and speak varying intermediate levels of English. Some are better at English than we are at Spanish, others are not. They are all really excited to see us, and a little nervous, they mentioned. There was also an opening welcome dance as well as a school rock band performance. They are so welcoming and happy to try their English and listen to our Spanish that everyone is smiling as soon as we get there. Unfortunately we only have an hour with them before the Northeastern students take a history class. Afterwards a couple of us played a basketball game with some of the girls at recess.

After being here 10 days I figured I'd to write a couple notes about my impressions of Lima and Peru and then do a second segment right before I leave.

• People use their car horn about once a block, and a city of 8.5 million makes for quite the annoying chorus of blaring.
• While the food is amazing, potatoes and rice are served with every single meal here. Every single one.
• Buses and other enclosed areas (like the school stairs) are not made for people around six feet tall, and I have gotten accustomed to ducking. 
• No rain and the most predictable weather of all time (75 and partly cloudy) is amazing. 
• I guess it gets hard to enjoy the good without the bad, as we already find ourselves like Peruvians, who complain and throw on a coat when it drops to 70.
• There are ruins and historical sights everywhere here, due to the lack of erosion because of the constant weather. When it doesn't rain in 47 years, all those ancient adobe ruins tend to keep.
• Americans may be known for creating quite a bit of waste, but sadly I've used more plastic water bottles in 10 days than I have in the last year in the states.
• God bless the dollar to sole conversion rate. While spending 50 soles in one night might sound bad, converting it to 14 U.S.D. is comforting.
• That being said, American things cost American prices, so you're better off with the Peruvian version here. (Ex. Oreos cost at least twice the knock-off Latin America brand.)
• American politics are in the global spotlight, many people bring up Trump in conversations. (And we couldn't even say whether there was a Peruvian president or prime minister before we showed up).
• There is no doubt that Trump is the most famous American right now, thankfully I have yet to here anything negative about us. So far we have encountered nothing but welcoming people.
• The Peruvians are having their own political struggles as the daughter of a former (now imprisoned) president leads the polls for their election in early June. It doesn't help that she's still leading after being accused of money laundering.
• And voting is mandatory here, so nothing can be blamed on people not getting out to vote.
• I feel safer here than in New York City due to the enormous police presence. When walking friends home at night there can be an officer found on almost every other corner.
• Still it makes you wonder why Miraflores PD is so large. And I'm sure that can't be said about the less affluent districts of the Lima.

Trip to Ica

   Our final morning in Ica was followed by various stops on the long ride back to Miraflores. The first was on the coast in Paracas. We boarded a boat and sailed around a couple of islands. There were dolphins in the water and many birds. In addition, we saw a couple of penguins and sea lions hanging around on the rocks of the islands. While the boat ride reminded me of hometown SK, the coast is much different in Peru. The waves wash into beaches or cliffs that immediately turn to desert. There are no grass dunes or trees near the coast and there was even a large symbol written in the sand dunes for passing boats to see that was said to have been there for a thousand or so years. There were many theories as to why it got there, the most interesting being a group of pirates carved it to mark Paracas as a good place to pillage. After docking, we took a trip to an Afro-Peruvian home and watched an authentic song and dance be performed. Their were children as young as 5 participating and the group had us get up and join the dance at one point. As a musician myself it was moving to see how performing brought the family together and how every single one of them was having such a good time as they played. Duck and rice for lunch was followed by sleeping the entire ride home.

   Day 2 in Ica would prove to be just as busy as the day before. The day started out with an early two hour bus ride to the Nazca lines. We first visited a spiral well that had drinkable mineral water and aqueducts that the ancient people used to transport water and cultivate the dry desert land. Afterwards there was a short hike to a vantage point where we could see one of the Nazca lines, shallow trenches in the desert that form large figures thought to be pictures for the gods. Throughout the day we would see the loom, lizard, spiral and a couple other figures made in the lines. Next was a brief visit of some local ruins before a lesson on how the ancient people made their pottery. Following the pottery lesson there was a demonstration of how gold mining works in Ica. It is done entirely without machinery, much different than the Alaskan gold mining on TV. The day was capped off with a delicious dinner and some dancing later in the night.

   Friday began at the early hour of 5 in the morning. After a four hour bus ride we found ourselves in the city of Ica at the Hotel el Sol. We would be there for two nights and the hotel was right near the main plaza and included a pool. The day started off with a crazy dune buggy ride that rivals 6-Flags rollercoasters for in terms of drops and speed. We stopped on top of a large dune and pulled out some wooden "snowboards" made for the sand. We rode them down the side of a couple dunes and, while nothing like skiing, was an experience like none other. Its was amazing how quickly we were parched walking in the sand. The desert around us looked straight out of a desktop background picture. It most definitely is at the top of my list of most beautiful places I have ever visited. It also gets you wondering how difficult living in the desert is for the local people. The ride began and ended from an oasis, a pool of water surrounded by trees in an otherwise endless sea of dunes.
   After lunch, we made our way to a vineyard were we were shown how the grapes were crushed (using the feet of the workers) and developed into wine or the stronger "pisco." Unfortunately we couldn't crush them ourselves as that occurs in March, but we got to sample various wines, liqueurs and piscos. After the vineyard we took a tour involving the "Brujas de Ica" (witches of Ica). This included a monument and tree said to be cursed by the witches. Our guide compared what happened here to Salem, Massachusetts. The people here actually thank the witches now however, because without them their city would not be as large or as well known as it is in the present day. Finally we visited their church, which was a converted tin warehouse because the large cathedral looking one had been partially destroyed in an earthquake. Dinner was followed by a dip in the pool before heading off to a club for some good natured karaoke with the group.

Week 1

   Thursday classes were the last of the week, and the shortened school week was much appreciated by all. Following the classes we had just one activity planned for the day. It was a short day trip about an hour or so outside Miraflores to the ruins of Pachacamac. There we took a tour of the museum and then the ruins themselves. There are six archeologists working at the sight to restore/preserve the ruins. There were many similarities between these ruins and the ones at Huaca Pucllana. They were made in the same "libros" style of brick-laying but were created totally different periods, Huaca Pucllana being the older of the two. It was an early night in order to prepare for the bus ride at 5 in the morning on Friday.

   Wednesday began per usual with more Spanish grammar, conversation and culture classes. I really like El Sol, both the teachers and the facility itself. Lunch at the school is the last thing we do before we leave and beats out any school lunch I've had in the past. Today there were three tours in store for us. First we visited the Peruvian Congress. While the interior reminded me of the capitol building, it was much smaller, as to be expected. The security was pretty strict, we needed passports and had to wear long pants (a gesture of respect). Afterwards we walked to the AfroPeruvian museum. The stories that were told about slavery and the eventual freedom of slavery were much like the ones in America. Colonialism in the Americas seems to follow a pattern. Finally we visited La Iglesia San Francisco. It is the largest church in Lima; the tour included a trip to the catacombs. All the bones in the catacombs were authentic, and the tunnels were erie and a bit claustrophobic. This seems to be our last super busy day before the schedule involves a little more free time.

   Tuesday began the start of a routine as classes in the morning followed the same schedule as before. Classes were followed by a bus ride to the National Peruvian Museum of Anthropology and History. The museum had artifacts from early civilizations, Incas and Spaniards, the most interesting being silver and gold ornaments that were buried with the ancient people. After the museum there was a brief wine tasting at a local winery before we drove to the park with the circuito magico del agua. It was a park full of water fountains, the largest reaching 80 feet. There was a brief laser and lights show projected on a fountain of mist. Most agreed that they had never walked so much in one day in a long time and after dinner with some friends at a local restaurant I returned home for some much needed rest.

  Sunday was our last day before we started classes so there was a lot of free time. I spent the day at the beach and the surrounding parks, watching the surfers and paragliders. Dinner was at the restaurant Huacu Pucllana, named after the ruins ten feet from the patio we ate on. Before dinner we got a tour of the ruins, where the various functions of the ruins were described as well as how and why they were built. Earthquakes and humans are the only danger to these ruins, as it never rains here. The menu included salmon tartar, beef heart, goat cheese salad and grilled sea bass. There was also a local desert with chocolate and caramel as well as pisco. Quite the spread and we were all tired and full by the end of the night.
   Th next day was the first day of school. The school is a short walk away and starts at nine. The classes break down into grammar, conversation and culture. Its more Spanish than I've ever taken before and definitely wears one down a little but will obviously help with my skills. School was followed by a tour of the museum of Ricardo Palma, a famous writer of Peru. The museum is actually a house he lived in for six years. The curator was very good, mixing stories that kept us interested with facts about Peru and Palma.
  Afterwards we took our second Marabous tour. This one was at night and we got to get in and out of the bus at various places. We stopped in downtown Barranco and took a short walk around the area. There was also a coffee break due to the 3 hour length of the tour.

 Day one in Peru started on Saturday, as the flight didn't land until 1 in the morning. Jorge, the father of my host family, valiantly stayed awake until I arrived at their apartment at 2 in the morning. They live on the 18th floor of an apartment complex off of the busy Avenue Jose Pardo. There is a beautiful view of the city from my bedroom window, I have my own room with a double to myself. The Pacific Ocean can be seen from the family room window. The couple, Elena and Jorge, have at least four children, maybe more, but live by themselves now. Their kids will visit often they promised. From what I understand I am their second student from Northeastern.
   Desayuno was turkey and cheese on rolls, papia juice and what i thought at first was wine, but ended up being grape juice. So far they only know "thank you, money, and ok" in english. Communication is tough but not as hard as I would have thought, hand signals are the universal language and do wonders to accompany my Spanish. We talked about school in Boston and Lima amongst other things. Donald Trump was brought up and Jorge described him as "loco," I agreed and tried to explain how he was a bad example of an American.
   Me and Jorge walked around the city for awhile, my first impression was of how much I stuck out. The average height can't be more than five feet tall here and I have both Jorge and Elena by over a foot. (I cannot walk directly under their chandelier without hitting my head which they think is really funny.) My light hair and tee-shirt were another reason. Apparently 70 and cloudy calls for jackets from the locals here. Elena was afraid I would be cold on the walk, needless to say, I was sweating.
   Almuerzo was at a Norky's restaurant and was pollo with fries and a salad. After that was a bus tour that was touristy, but allowed us to see the whole district, including its many parks. Some friends and I spent the rest of the day walking to the coast and watching the surfers.
   Cena was made by Jorge and was a meat, potatoes, rice, onions, and peppers dish. I forgot the name but will ask him later, he said it was he said it was a sort of ceviche with cooked meat instead of raw fish because the fish is really expensive here. Afterwards I met back up with some friends and sampled the local pisco sour on a nearby street.