Our journey to Lima, Peru began at the Eppley airport 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 1st 2013. I was droopy eyed and tired with an hour of sleep that morning, hoping the lack of sleep would entitle me to sleep on the plane. The first flight was on a very small plane, and was short-lived, only being a few hours to Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta airport had developed in its enormity, its own shopping mall, with concourses A-F and underground subways that find their way to each concourse. We encountered a seven hour layover that did not seem to last as long as one would imagine for we had many things to accomplish: Peruvian money was obtained through currency exchange, naps were taken, followed by Starbucks frappes and dashes to get 2 for $20 neck pillows for the upcoming seven hour international flight.
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| Beautiful sunrise before take-off from Omaha to Atlanta via Delta |
The plane to Atlanta was much larger, with small TV screens for every passenger, small pillows and blankets, and a couple snacks to hold us over plus a meal. We had enough time to watch several complimentary movies, which I took full advantage of. We finally arrived in Peru, and I was exhausted and ready to get to the hostel, so I could finally get my nights rest. Going through customs took longer than I expected. Gabby was the only one who got searched, but there was not any issues with our Biology equipment which was a huge "Phew" and wipe to the forehead. This was all very worth it once I saw our driver holding up a sign for our group. I knew we were finally getting to where we needed to be.
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| Our bus! |
We checked in to Casa Kopling Hostel. I get to share a room with Gabby and Lauren, each of us having a small cot and sharing the bathroom. I tried to speak Spanish with everyone starting with breakfast the next morning, but my Spanish skills are very limited. Sometimes I feel like a disgrace to the language with my horrible grammar and insight. However, I have an amazing time learning the language, and hope to be able to be a fluent speaker someday.
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| Casa Kolping Hostel |
We saw a fire juggler on the streets while we were in the coach style tour bus on the way to downtown Lima. You would never catch me driving in Lima, as I would not be able to keep up with all the honking and aggressive driving that Peruvians do. Pedestrians also run out on the street, and I definitely thought someone was going to get hurt while watching this occur!
When we were downtown, we were somewhat surprised by large crowds, many people dressed in purple, and music in Spanish. We soon found out that the celebration was Corpus Christi, a worship service for Catholics. There were many different colors of flower petals arranged in patterns of words and images which must have taken so much time to create. I thought this was very amazing they took the time to put on this religious event.
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| The banner of flower petals for Corpus Christi |
We proceeded to walk around learning about the city with our friends from UARM. We visited the Iglesia de Santo Domingo, where a Catholic service was being performed. We saw a diverse group of people on our walk, seemingly through wealth, race, and religion. I was very sad at the amount of homeless people and stray animals I saw. There were many dogs that looked looked scrawny and unhealthy. This was surprising to me that they were just stranded on the side of the road, especially because that does not happen in Omaha.
We stopped for a bite to eat because the crowd of Corpus Christi prevented us from visiting the Cathedral of Lima until later. During breakfast in Spanish, Dr. Garcia gave us an assignment to interpret some signs in Spanish. There was one that stood out to me that would not show up at a restaurant in the United States. It said, "Tomar bebidas alcoholicas en exceso es danino." I interpreted it as saying, to drink alcoholic drinks in excess is harmful. This would normally not be an advertisement, so I thought it was very neat.
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| The sign I deciphered during a quick bite to eat. |
Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown at a place called Chifa Ton Kin Sen, which I absolutely loved. We got a buffet of foods with different types of meats and appetizers placed in front of us. There was enough rice to feed 20 people!
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| The restaurant we ate at in Chinatown |
After the restaurant we were on the trek back to our bus and off to see the ocean in Miraflores. This was my favorite part of the day. I love seeing the ocean and feeling the ocean breeze. There were many happy couples and people playing soccer or playing with their dogs. It seemed as though Peruvians show affection more publicly than people in the United States. While walking on the sidewalk, I encountered a cute basset hound with a plaid shirt and a beanie! He was a preciously homeless and apparently someone thought he would be cold and needed the clothes!
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| Look at me! |
After the visit to the ocean, we made a trip back to the hostel to eat and then headed to the Parque de la Reserva. We could not find our UARM translator Frederico when we first got there, finding out that he was trying to meet up with us on the entrance on the opposite side of the reserve. Upon entering, there was first one fountain that caught your eye. Once approaching this fountain, you notice that there are other fountains of varying heights and gazebos with benches. Some of the group ran through the dancing fountains, trying to avoid the bursts of water that would come barreling out from the ground at different times. It was an amazing time! By the time we had to leave, my clothes were soaking wet, and my flip flops squeaked the entire walk back to our tour bus.
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| David, Gabby, Me, and Lauren at the tunnel fountain |
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| This fountain changes colors! |
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| Me running through the dancing fountain. |
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