Pucha.

Remember that time when I promised that I would post on my blog every week? HA.









I'm here in Perú during an extremely exciting, but also very emotional, time. Perú is in the process of electing it's next president. Since I've arrived I've heard endless discussion about who is the best candidate and why and who is most likely to win. Every person in Perú is required to vote by law so people are very involved and knowledgeable about politics. There are two rounds of elections: one to narrow the candidates down from eleven to two, and then another to select the next president out of those two. The first round of votes took place last Sunday and I actually got to go with my host mom and siblings to vote. Pretty uneventful, but interesting nonetheless. Then we had a big barbecue at our house with my host mom's sister and her family. The meal basically consisted of an array of meat and I think there was some bread, too. Oh, and octopus, which again, we (yes, we) ate with a mayonnaise/olive sauce. Yum?










Anyway, so we played an interesting game of charades that evening and then gathered around the fuzzy TV to watch the results of the election. As they were announced, I could feel the heavy weight of disappointment descend slowly upon millions of Peruvians. These are the candidates that they have to choose from in June:

Ollanta Humala: A leftist military man who many compare to Hugo Chávez. In fact, Hugo Chávez endorsed Humala's campaign. Many expect that if he wins the election and gains power, he will try to turn Perú into a socialist nation and become a dictator who will refuse to leave office at the end of his term.

Keiko Fujimori: You might recognize this name. Keiko's father was the president just two terms ago during the financial crisis and the age of terrorism brought about from Sendero Luminoso (the Shining Path). By the end of his term, he fled back to Japan at which time it was revealed that his Peruvian birth certificate was forged. Alan Garcia, the current president, headed a campaign to extradite Fujimori from Japan, which they were unable to do. Finally in 2009, Fujimori was convicted for charges including embezzlement, human rights violations, murder, and kidnapping, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison... And now Perú is about to elect his daughter for president because she's actually the BETTER candidate for president.

I'll let you know how it turns out.









Other than that, I've been doing a bit of traveling. I went with my program to Ica and Paracas the weekend before last. Ica is an oasis in the middle of the desert where I enjoyed talking to all of the hippies making their way through Perú to other places in South America. We stayed at a pretty sweet resort where we hung out by the pool and went sand boarding and sand... duning? in the desert. That night was Justin's birthday so of course, we had to go out and celebrate. Our 20-something year-old senses allowed us to quickly sniff out the nearest discoteca and dance the night away in an all but abandoned nightclub in the middle of the desert. All of us then enjoyed dragging ourselves out of bed at 6 in the morning for an early breakfast before we headed on to Paracas. Paracas is the area around Pisco--a port city on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Just a short boat ride from Pisco are the Islas Ballestas which are home to thousands of sea lions, pelicans, penguins, and even a few dolphins. I marveled at the impossibly huge and noisy groups of sea lions basking on the rocky islands despite the nausea partly brought on by the rough sea and partly brought on by the numerous beers consumed the night before. Apparently, I wasn't alone (see photo).









The next weekend, when my housemate and a few friends went to Ayacucho, I opted to stay behind and enjoy some much needed alone time. I headed out that weekend to see the museums and parks I'd been dying to visit since I'd arrived to Lima. I wandered around Barrio Chino (China Town), explored the huge markets displaying colorful, exotic fruits on one side and large varieties of meats hanging in the open air from hundreds of metal hooks on the other. I stumbled upon an organic foods festival and tried a thousand varieties of quinua, grains, fruits, honeys, and piscos from all over Perú. I went to the Palacio de Gobierno where Yale University has GRACIOUSLY (note the sarcasm) allowed Perú to display the priceless artifacts from Machu Picchu for one week that they have refused to give back for almost 100 years. I sat at the beach in Barranco and hung out with a group of hippies while they practiced their juggling tricks. I bought an earring with feathers in it from one of them. He told me that the feathers came from the Amazon, though they sure looked like pigeon feathers to me...









That was Saturday night, and by 5:30 it was starting to get dark. Since I started my day in Miraflores at 7am to catch Ciclodia (every Sunday, the city closes down one of the major streets in Lima and only allows pedestrians on foot, bike, or skates), I decided to go ahead and call it a night. The only problem was that I didn't exactly know how to get back home. But I wasn't worried and I wasn't in a hurry. I simply sat in the park and watched the buses go by until I found one that I thought might get me to my neighborhood. I figured that even if I got on the wrong bus, worst case scenario, I would just hop off somewhere and grab a taxi or try another bus. So I saw one that read "Javier Prado" and "Guardia Civíl." Perfecto! I hopped on, confident that I had found a workable bus to get me at least to walking distance of my house. As I sat uncomfortably, but confidently and contentedly, I let my mind wander and take in the sights of Lima as we passed it by. But whilst appreciating, I started noticing a lot of things that I had never noticed before. And then a neighborhood that I had never seen before. Turns out, Guardia Civil is a very long street that, when taken in the opposite direction from my neighborhood, actually leads up to one of the poorest shanty towns in Lima. Yep. One of those clusters of monotone earth-colored shacks settled into the hillside with tin roofs and dirt roads.

"Well, maybe they're just going to drop people off and then circle around back to my neighborhood," I conjectured. "Nope. Still climbing. Ok. I am obviously on the wrong bus, but still, nothing to fear. I will simply pay for an extra trip and ride the bus back down to Barranco where I got on." Meanwhile, darkness descends swiftly upon the city (haha). And as we climb, more and more people are getting off the bus, and no one is getting back on. Finally, I am the last person on board and the bus pulls into a kind of "station," which was actually just a small hut with a bunch of other buses parked around it. The driver puts the bus in park, turns it off, and then notices me in the back. "Where are you supposed to be going?" "Um... San Borja?" Puzzled, yet humored, "San Borja?" Then I commenced trying to explain myself in Spanish and ask them what I should do. Apparently, no more buses would be heading back to Lima that night and the taxis aren't safe. Great. So he instructed me to stay put, and while he and the other drivers discussed and pointed and laughed at the poor gringa, she quietly grabbed a few Soles and stuffed them in her bra, just in case. Turns out, it was completely unnecessary because once again, I was shown why Perú is known for the friendliness of its people. My driver and his cobrador boarded the bus and set off for San Borja. Although their jobs were finished for the night, they made another route just for me, made sure I knew where I was going when I got to my stop, and didn't even make me pay for my ticket. Plus, I got some unforgettable views of the city from that hill and got to sit in the very front seat next to the driver, which I'd always wanted to do!









Before I came to Lima the first time, I was really nervous about seeing it and hating it and then having to spend the next five months in a city that I despised. Luckily, all of the unflattering things I had heard about Lima I hardly noticed. I've been too much in awe of the kindness of the people, the gorgeous architecture, the art, music, and dance, the perfectly green parks which seem to pop up around every corner, the world-famous food... Gosh, there's so much more to tell. However, I do have to get up very early tomorrow to head to the AMAZON! Woohoo! But really, I have to leave at 4am. Another update soon to follow, I promise.