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!
My daily life here in Peru defiantly varies from week to week. Since I traveled a lot within the country I haven’t truly been able to see what my daily life here would be like until now. I have gotten into the routine of waking up at seven thirty or eight in the morning. I eat breakfast relax and I always go to the gym. I enjoy having my mornings available because I am able to do all the things I want to do during this time. Sometimes after the gym I practice and I always go to el Mercado to buy food usually fruit on my way home. I eat lunch and then homework and usually by then it is time to go to school. At night when I can I head to Barranco and practice with the guys. Lately, we have been having class only on Mondays and Tuesdays. The rest of the week after going to the gym I head to Chorrillos and dance at the dance studio. Afterwards I hang out with friends all day and sometimes dance in Barranco or another place at night. I will be honest I love it! I love being able to have time to hang out and grow a lot as a person and a dancer. I’ve learned more during my time in Peru than my many years in Nebraska as a dancer. I defiantly want to return just for that! This Friday I did a Hip-Hop workshop for the multicultural organizations on Fridays at the UPC. It was great! Rob was there and seven students showed up. That was plenty of students because I had to teach in a classroom and there wasn’t much space. The students were great and I enjoyed teaching dance in Spanish. It defiantly was a challenge and something I’ve never done before but I knew that this was going to force me to use Spanish in a different way. The class went great and hopefully we can do it again. One of the main reasons I hang out a lot with my Peruvian friends is first of all I don’t know when I’ll see them again. Secondly, It challenges me to use Spanish. Yes, I am fairly fluent but I am very used to speaking in English that sometimes it is hard to explain what exactly I want to tell my friends.
Sunday was beyond amazing! I decided to go an all style battle in el Sur with my D1 dance studio friends. Yes, they are different from the ones in Barranco. I met up with my friend Luis in Angamos and from there his friends had a car and we drove to our destination. The ride there was a little scary because the guy was driving fast and reckless, but we told him to be careful. The two guys in the front were also smoking, but we had the windows open. When we got there it was like a summer vacation resort. The battle didn’t start until five thirty and we arrived at one. We relaxed by the pool for a little while and then got in. The campers that paid for the three-day workshop were talking a afro dance. It was fun to watch and I tried learning the moves from the pool. It was great seeing all of the people in the studio there. Everyone knows each other and they act more like a family. I think that is what attracts me the most about this group. The vibe was amazing! Dancers all around! We were relaxing, swimming and talking. After a couple of hours I went to change in the bathroom. There I met this girl that drove two and a half hours to come compete. She talked about her life and her love for dance. However, what caught my attention the most was her personality. She had the rawest, outgoing personalities I have ever met. I’ve never met anyone like her. She inspired me to be more outgoing and to not be afraid to speak your mind. You can tell right away that she was bold. She told me about an international hip-hop workshop in May that I will attend. Afterwards Luis and I went to the beach, which was right across the resort and then headed back to eat lunch with our friends. After lunch we all gathered at someone’s apartment and heading to the battle spot! I was surprised to find that it was at a skate park but it was sweet! The dancing was incredible! Words cannot describe how amazing it was to see the talent these dancers in Peru have. It is so original and different! They all have some sort of Latin spice to their dancing, which is something I want to start incorporating. I learned to be free and don’t be afraid to do anything! Every movement counts; you can make it into anything! It’s about what you put into your dancing. When you freestyle it’s about how you feel the music, how you dance to the music and how you connect with it as well. Dancing is not only moving your body but ACTING as well. That has a lot to do with it. Fierce, I will remember to continue to be fierce and make eye contact with the opponent. Our friends ending up winning and afterwards everyone danced. We then headed back home. As I was heading back home I ended up missing my stop to Puente Primavera. I had to take another bus back to Puente Primavera and I made it home safely. I will never forget this day. My daily life consist of gym, homework and dance. Chao for now! This trip has defiantly been a different experience from what I was used to. However, personally it was one of the best experiences so far here in Peru. We left early morning to Iquitos, Peru. Iquitos is the city close to the amazon and when we arrived I noticed the difference in the air. It was more pure; in Lima there are so many cars that the air is polluted. The sky in Iquitos was clear and blue. When our driver picked us up we were surprised because he spoke English! What is an American doing in Peru? Apparently this guy lives in Peru and has an incredible volunteer program that has helped many children in Iquitos. We ate a quick breakfast and waited a long time until we left for the Amazon. It was an hour and a half ride until we got to our destination. From there we had to take a boat to our cabin. I thought it was going to be a quick ride however the boat ride lasted for five hours. Yes, it was long and it was hard being on about for such a long time. However, when we arrived there I was astonished by how beautiful and humble the place was. It was beautiful because pure nature, the rain forest and the river surrounded it. The actual house was build by the villagers using the trees from the Amazon. The majority of the house was hand made. We arrived and our first meal was fish! We ate a very late “lunch” and then settled into our rooms. The beds had netting over them to prevent the mosquitos and bugs from bothering us at night. Once it got dark, we realized there was no electricity. During our whole trip in the Amazon there was no electricity and we used candles fro lighting. Although most of the girls did not like the idea of no light, I loved it. It was so different and it forced me to admire the beautiful night in the Amazon. We had hammocks and a hanging bed! The moon was full and bright and I spent the rest of the night laying in my hammock and watching the starts from the window. Another great addition to that is that I actually went to sleep early! We all went to bed at nine thirty! There was nothing else to do so we went off to bed. I enjoyed every minute of that night. The tour guide took us to the village next to our cabin. When we arrived the first thing that came to my mind was how poor everyone was. Nobody had a sturdy home. There were to actual doors and the houses were made of wood. They looked more like a temporary shelter place than a home. There was no furniture except for maybe a few tables and hammocks. I couldn’t find a home with an actual bed! This struck me as surprised because yes I have seen places in poverty before. However, not this close and what struck me the most astonishing was how everyone was happy. The villagers were walking around their park and inside their homes watching television or just laying in the hammock. I kept thinking how fortunate I am to have the life I do. It also made me think about how I don’t need all the fancy materialistic objects in my life. I could defiantly get rid of a lot of stuff I don’t need. That is exactly what I’ve going to do when I get back. Slowly get rid of all the unnecessary items. The next day I decided to talk to the villagers that cooked our food. The mother’s name was Flor and she had two daughters that helped her cook in the kitchen. I would talk to her about my culture and she would talk to me about hers. I even helped them cook! It was great talking to them because it allowed me to understand how and why the villagers live the way they do. That day we went on an all day boat ride though the Amazon. They had made lunch before and packed it for us to eat on the boat. It was great seeing how vast the Amazon was. It was a little hard because I wanted to go walk and see all the exotic animals. However, since it was rainy season we didn’t get the opportunity to do that. However, I got the opportunity instead of walking through the amazon canoeing through it. Alex our Amazon tour guide got his small canoe from his house and took me into the Amazon. It could only fit two people so it was just he and I. It was very beautiful and exactly what I pictured when we entered the Amazon. I was able to see the monkey up close and all the insects! We even found a young tarantula! He described what the plants were and knew everything about the Amazon! I felt like I was on one of those shows on animal planet. Later that night Nikki got to do the same thing except this time they went to go look for crocodiles! They brought a small one back and we took pictures with it. Alex saw a boa and grabbed the snake. It was very scary. The next day was fun because we went canoeing and hiking! My experience in the Amazon personally was great! I enjoy being outdoors and I enjoy being in nature. I defiantly want to come back. The trip has taught me to appreciate what I have but also to learn to be happy with less.
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AuthorLife is a beautiful structure of art. An art that God has created. Travel as much as you can. Be active, and eat healthy. Archives
April 2015
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