Today was a lot of fun! It was our last group field trip and it wad for Fernando’s literature class. We all met up at the fountain and took a bus to our location. The first stop was at a Museum about Peru’s history. It was a very interesting museum and what caught my most attention was the way they were tortured. Many people faced horrible deaths that were probably normal back in the day. It is kind of like when they would leech the African Americans. I ended up talking a lot to Fernando because Danny did not tag along. I didn’t know he was a musician but he likes to play guitar. We talked about my experience thus far in Peru. We arrived at the museum and learned about Peru’s history. We then wen to place I’ve wanted to go. The San Francisco Church also known to have catacombs bellow. The church itself is beautiful however I will admit the most interesting and fun part was definitely going through the catacombs. It has prohibited taking picture while we were under there. All I could see were bones; skulls, femurs, radius and so much more. My professor even mentioned that he wandered off on his own during the guide and he felt very uncomfortable as if there were some supernatural thing. The guide mentioned there were more paths below the catacomb we were in, however due to construction reasons they decided to stop discovering new paths. Afterwards we went to eat as a group and then headed home afterwards. I’m defiantly glad I came on this trip. Although it seemed like we didn’t do much it lasted a while. I will never forget the catacombs and the last day spent with our professor. He was very understanding and kind. Overall, it was a great field trip!

This weekend we went on a trip to Ica-Paracas. I was not sure what to expect but I was very opened minded about the trip. I had just gotten back from Juliaca and I’m now heading to this weekend trip. It took five hours to get there and we took a bus called Cruz del Sur. This is a bus company I’ve wanted to take for a while so it was nice to see the difference between their services compared to other companies.

Once we got to our hotel I was astonished. The hotel was beautiful and we were told it was five star. Not that it matters, however it was nice having that kind of hotel to stay at. We waited two hours before checking in and had three people per room. The first day I decided to take advantage of the pool and swim for a while. We then later in the day all decided to go sand boarding. We had to climb this hill that took forever to climb! I’m usually used to climbing hills and not getting very tired, however this hill was hard to climb! It could have been because of the sand but I could literally touch the ground by reaching my hand in front of me. Thank goodness they had a string to help you climb up. There were some handmade stairs but they were falling apart. We all waited in line for our turn and saw each of our classmates go down the hill one by one. I was very excited but a bit nervous. Some people went down standing up like snowboarding or skiing. However, I had never done any of those so, the rest of us went down the hill sitting on the board. From down the hill looking up it doesn’t look too steep, but you can tell it was steep. However, as I was sitting there listening to the guide’s instructions it looked very steep! I was actually nervous! I felt as if I was going on a roller-coaster or skydiving. Maybe not that extreme but it was a bit scary. However, I had to go down the hill. Going down the hill was fun! I was going very fast and afraid of falling I tried stopping and sand got all over my mouth and myself! As I reached the bottom I was relieved that I didn’t roll down the hill. It was fun and scary but I wanted to do it again! Later that night we wanted to go dance however every discoteca was closed. A lady in a coffee shop was kind enough to let us play music and have our own little dance party. The next day we had a tour lined up for us and we went on a boat ride to see some sea lions and lots of different birds on an island! It was a beautiful sight! That was my first time seeing sea lions for the first time! We headed back and had the rest of the day free! I enjoyed my time at the hotel by spending time at the pool and going down the slide!  The rest of the weekend was just spent relaxing and getting ready to leave. Overall, this trip was short, very short however it was fun! A great way to relax and enjoy my time here while I still can because when I head back to the U.S. I will return to my busy life. Here I can relax, travel a lot even within Peru and do what I enjoy to do. 

When I was in Juliaca that week I decided I wanted to go to Bolivia. Actually, that was one of my goals when arriving there. It was only four hours away from their hometown that I did not want to miss the opportunity. We left early in the morning and took a van to Puno. Puno was great! It a lot poorer than what I expected. In literature class we are talking about how there is racism here in Peru. There is racism among Peruvians. The people in the city discriminate people that were born in the urban areas. In the past they were viewed as uneducated people. My host mom and people in the Puno area speak a language called Quechua. This is their native language. People in Puno speak Quechua and Spanish is a second language. People in the city speak Spanish. Normally, Peruvians that live in the city are middle to higher class. The Peruvians that are low class are the ones that come from the urban areas to make a better living (people from Puno). You can defiantly see the difference from Lima and Puno. Lima is a city that is modern and up to date on technology. Puno is a city but has a lot of the poorer buildings. When we went to eat at our friends cookout at the country later that night we went to dance. Afterwards our friend Carlos complained about his throat. We had to take him to the emergency room and he was there over night. In the emergency room I was surprised by how much better our hospitals are than Puno. Lima’s hospitals are of course more advanced but in general, we are blessed to have the technology and advanced care that we do in the U.S. Back to my trip, we arrived in Bolivia and my host family showed me around. They go to Bolivia often for business and she took me everywhere! We went to the Paz and went to the central of Bolivia. One thing I can say is that in the poor parts of Bolivia it is poorer than Peru. Of course, there are richer parts of Bolivia and it is beautiful! The buildings are different and Bolivia has more color to the country than Peru. Bolivia is so cheap! I got myself two hats and dance shoes! We stayed in a hotel and the next day did some more shopping. We tried a food called empanada but it is nothing like what we make in Mexico. This was so delicious! It looked like an empanada but it was huge and with cheese inside. They told me they only sell them in Bolivia. We took this transportation where you get on a fairy and you get to see all of Bolivia from the sky! They told me that it is only a year old so they had just constructed it. We went to take pictures where the government building was located and there were military soldiers!  The building was beautiful and was lit with different colors. We walked around the city and there were so many people selling on the streets. Overall, Bolivia was a great experience and I’m glad I went. To return to Lima, we took a bus to Arequipa in the morning and took the latest bus to Lima ( 10:30 p.m.) Arequipa was beautiful! We got there and there were police officers playing in a band! I tried queso helado and it was delicious! I saw four people getting married that day. They say it is good luck! We walked around a lot and took a lot of pictures. We went to see a lot of the touristic areas. We met up with a friend there and he took us out to eat and a drink. I wish we could have stayed longer but I am planning on heading back. We rushed to the bus station because we were running behind but arrived on time. Honestly, I have not had internet for almost three straight weeks. There were times when I could access internet shops but traveling around Peru so much limited my use of internet. However, I would not have it any other way. It amazes me that I have explored more of Peru than I have my own country (Mexico). I have explored a bit of the Untied States but agree that there is more to see. Overall, traveling has defiantly been a great experience for me (good and bad) I expect to continue doing this for as much as I can. If I have a goal in mind, I will achieve it.  

This week instead of heading back to Lima with the rest of the group I decided to go to Juliaca. This is the hometown of my host family. That same day I had to go to the bus station through a taxi and find a bus that went to Juliaca. Thankfully I did, I had to wait about an hour before the next bus left. However, during that time I started talking to this family next to me. They are involved in the company Herbalife. I thought this was interesting because before I left I got involved in a company called Amway. I have heard of Herbalife and we started talking about their business and life. We talked the whole hour, and they even gave me their phone number. Once I got on the bus I was ready to see and meet the life that my host family grew up in. It was a six-hour bus drive and when we arrived at the town my first thoughts were, this town is poor. Coming into the town there was no pavement just dirt roads. The houses and building looked old. I am one of those people that like to experience the culture through the locals. Not so much the touristic places although those are fun. The bus stopped at the bus station and my host mom dressed in the Peruvian outfit was waiting for me at the door. I had never seen her like that and asked why she was dressed that way. She said she was dancing in the Carnivals. How excited, they took me to their house where I placed my stuff and then took me to the party. This week this town celebrates their carnivals. Keyla had told me it is one of the best carnivals in Peru. The party was amazing! I sat down and started talking to people, since it was early there were only adults there. The younger adults like my age were at another town but would arrive later in the day. Young kids would spray some sort of foam at each other and so would the adults! There was music, beer, food and laughter. What caught my attention the most was how much youthful spirits the adults had. They were not afraid to have fun spray each other with foam, run around and dance. This was a different culture of Peru that I had not met yet. Later that night everyone started dancing and they invited me to dance. They showed me the steps and I was having fun! It was a little difficult at first but I got the hang of it. The younger adults and my roommates came later that night and we had a great time. The next day was the parade. They asked me if I wanted to dance in the parade and I said yes. That morning everyone was rushing to get ready and the mom had to get a dress for me. I did the girls makeup and we got the costume on and thankfully it fit! We practiced the steps for five minutes and left the house. We didn’t have to leave until 2 p.m. so we waited at their aunt’s house and watched some of the dances from the door. Then we had to be at the door, and Keyla talked to the President in charge of the Parade. She wanted to make sure we danced in front of them. We waited about an hour before it started and let me tell you, it was cold! I was actually freezing, however once the parade started I warmed up. I can honestly; say this was the best experience ever! I felt so famous! People kept asking to take pictures and while you are dancing they give you drinks! We danced for two hours straight. There was so much music, laughter, cheering, pictures and videos. All I could think of was smiling and performing. I thought of everything I’ve learned as a performer and applied it to the performance. I was able to do well because of my experience with choreography and dancing. We took pictures and sang along! When we arrived at her aunts block they gave us whiskey, it is a tradition to give the dancers you know an alcoholic drink. After two hours we had five more blocks to go, however I was way to tired to continue and if you would have worn the boots you would have understood. I actually left five blocks before we were done. I think my roommates continued because they were tipsy. I went to the house to change and eat and my roommates had another dance! However, I was too tired to dance so they changed and left. We then went to go watch them but it was late and by the time they arrived at the block were we awaited them they were drunk.  So the family didn’t give them any whiskey. But the rest of the night we tried to convince them to come home and eventually they did.  When we got home they went straight to bed. That night we were suppose to go to the disco because of Keyla’s birthday but in a sense I am glad she slept because I was tired! The next day Keyla was disappointed because she wanted to go to the discotheque. That day we celebrated Keyla’s birthday. It was so much fun! We ate and the young adults (us) were in the living room. We all talked drank and played games. Keyla got drunk again, but it was so much fun! We didn’t go to sleep until 3 a.m. On Wednesday Keyla had to return to Lima and I stayed. Gabby and I went to a cookout with some friends and hung out there all day. These people lived out in the country but it was beautiful. There were mountains and had a huge house! We then went to the bar afterwards, talked and danced. To truly experience a culture in a country you need to spend time with the locals, travel like the locals, and think like the locals. I truly feel that I have done that through my traveling around Peru. 

This week was our trip to Cuzco. I just got back from Mancora the week before, so I am excited to see how different the culture from Northern Peru is in comparison to Southern Peru. Cuzco was cold, but a very urban culture. When people think of Peru I would assume Cuzco is the place they have in mind. There you can see many people dress more like the culture. This is something that you do not see in the city. We arrived in our hotel and got accommodated well. The first day I went to walk around the town and get to know the new place. I came across a vegetarian restaurant and talked to the manager for a while. That was a great experience, later that day we went on a field trip to around the town. I really enjoyed the structure of the town, it was old but beautiful at the same time. The next day was a full day tour; we visited places that resembled Machu Picchu. It was all very beautiful; we visited so many places in one day. Our tour guide Nacho did a great job at showing us around and explaining the history behind every site we visited. There was a lot of Cathedrals that were beautiful. There is one church that was beyond beautiful! I wish I could have taken pictures but it was prohibited.  I was personally amazed at how much history my religion has. Personally, it was something to be proud of and something I respect a lot. Lunch was provided that day, which was great, and more pictures with lamas were taken. The next day we had to wake up at 5 a.m. to head to Machu Picchu. It was about a two-hour bus drive to the train station. I had never road on a train before so this was very exciting for me. What was more astonishing was the view. Peru has so much beautiful scenery. You can se the Andes Mountains so clearly. A river flowed down the mountains and with the mountains there was a mixture of what seemed like a forest. It took another hour to get to the city of Machu Picchu. We took a bus to get to the very top of the mountain (where the actual Machu Picchu is located).  In order to be able to explore all of Manchu Picchu it takes all day. We hiked and went through all of Machu Picchu and it was a beautiful experience. The most amusing part for me where the lamas. There were lamas just walking around. We got to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I was so impressed by how the Incas were able to create such a beautiful structure with no technology. Imagine how long that would have taken. There are rumors that there is another site like Machu Picchu and even more beautiful. However, it is difficult to locate. This trip was very different from Mancora.  They both have one similarly, tourism. In Mancora the tourism consists of tours like swimming with turtles, boat rides, visiting crocodiles, zip lining etc. In Cuzco the tourism consist of taking picture with the lady’s in their cultural clothes, pictures with lamas, Peruvian folk music, traditional food, Machu Picchu and much more. In comparison to the United States it is very different. When you visit different cities, town in the United States you will find different customs. It is the same here in Peru. Every part that you visit has different customs, for example Lima is a city. In Lima you will be surrounded by the city life, of course with a touch of Peruvian style.