Week One and my Peruvian Birthday

I arrived in Peru, eight days ago, and to the relief of my parents, my family and of course, myself, there were no problems; no delayed or canceled flights, no lost luggage, and I made it through customs without them tearing apart my luggage.

In Huacachina

Last week, we (the 6 holy cross students and one of our advisors) visited Ica, Laguna Huacachina, Nazca, Pisco, and Paracas. Everything was amazing! In Huacachina we went sand boarding; it was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. We were sledding down huge sand dunes on “sand-boards” and driving up and down the enormous sand dunes in a sand buggy. As far as I could see, there were just miles and miles of nothing but sand dunes. The next day in Nazca, we took two small planes up to see the Nazca lines. These lines were constructed by the Nazca culture thousands of years ago, sometime between 700 B.C. and 200 B.C. and it is incredible how long they have lasted and in such great condition.  There are endless geometric shapes like trapezoids, but most impressive are the lines that outline animals such as a spider, a monkey, and birds. On our final day, we took a boat, in Paracas, to see the Islas Ballestas, which are home to an array of animals including penguins, sea lions, dolphins and pelicans.

In the Parque del Amor in Miraflores, Lima. This is a famous statue, "El Beso" ("The Kiss") by Peruvian Artist Víctor Delfin

Finally, to top off a fantastic weekend of travel, we arrived back in Lima on Saturday, July 11, to celebrate my 20th birthday. That night we had a party at my house before heading off to the discotecas. My Peruvian “parents,” Selma and Augusto, prepared carne asada, rice, and macaroni salad, followed by a delicious cake from a local bakery. I also met the new Peruvian Foreign Language Assistant (FLA) for Holy Cross next year, and had a chance to meet up with a friend who graduated from Holy Cross in 2008 and is spending her summer in Lima.

Today, July 13, after a week of relaxing travel, we began our Spanish language courses that will prepare us for the writing, listening, and speaking skills we will need to use all year both inside and outside of the classroom. As much as I do not want to be in school right now, I am excited to improve my Spanish! Over the next couple of weeks, the six of us will work with our two professors Monday through Friday who will help us improve in all aspects of our Spanish communication. It is great to have such a small intensive course to help us brush up on anything we need help with. Talking to students who are part of exchange programs through other Universities, they are jealous of Holy Cross’ language and cultural immersion program, which includes these Spanish classes in addition to travel in Lima and around Peru in order to better acclimate us to Peruvian culture.

The past week has flow by and we have done so much I cannot believe it has only been 8 days! I’m off to bed now after a long day—I have to wake up early tomorrow for Spanish class and then I am off with the group to Centro de Lima (the downtown of Lima).

Ciao, Peter

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