Where Did the Month Go?

Figure 1: Day #1- Miraflores

It seems like yesterday I was excitedly writing "Peru Meeting!" on my calendar and anxiously waiting to hear what all we would be doing for the month of June. I would pretend to be really upset that I wouldn't be able to spend all summer with my friends in Florida or at home with my family working in a restaurant. As much as I miss them all, I knew and have now proved that this was the most exciting thing that could have happened this summer.

Figure 2: Miraflores

In a journal I wrote down things I wanted to remember like places we went and small occurrences. It started in January when I began preparing for this trip. Peru was the only thing that kept me sane throughout the tests and essays I had my second semester. I wrote a passage at the airport when we were sitting at the gate. Most of it was pure joy and disbelief that we were all actually following through with the plans.

One of the first pages has important streets written on it. This includes Arequipa, Arenales, Salaverry, and Cuba. Now, those are the first few in Lima that we needed to know in order to get back to the hotel, now there are so many I can't keep them straight. I have a receipt of "My First Peruvian Purchase," which was simply the drinkable yogurt Dr. Brown had talked about so much (I went on to buy a lot more of it). I also have my first public bus ticket taped in there. Its from our first day trip to Miraflores, which we will be back in tomorrow.

Figure 3: Graffiti

Mr. Taco, of course, made the journal. The ticket reads that my first meal at the stand was a Completo. Likewise, Nova Cafe is present on the next page. Numerous other restaurants were recorded, but my goodness, there is no way to remember them all.

Most of my writing the first week or so tracks my Spanish growth and getting accustomed to the city. I was aggravated that I couldn't understand people and think quickly enough to respond.

On one of the bus rides, an adorable elderly man offered me his seat when he was exiting the bus. He actually touched my arm to get my attention. This small little gesture  totally made my day and made me fall in love with Peru that much faster.

During our walks we saw a few protesters. All of them were peaceful and they seemed to be quite organized, with one person talking through a microphone or even an outdoor television set up. At one, while we were trying to decode the banners, a guy approached us and told us all about his beliefs and what he stood for. The problem was that it was all in Spanish, so I missed a huge portion of what he said.

At the zoo, we saw hundreds of school children who thought we were an extra exhibit. They loved trying to communicate in English and ended up taking pictures with us. I admit I felt a little bit famous.

Figure 4: Tiger at the zoo

These were just a few summaries from my notebook from earlier this month. All of these things feel as if they happened a year ago. Although I have an extra week or two in Peru after class ends, I am not looking forward to home at all. I am going to miss so much about this place, including the language, the people, the sights, and the sounds (which mostly consist of car alarms).