Last Saturday I went to the centro of Lima on an excursion with Martin - it was quite a trip. Our taxi ended up getting in a fender-bender because there was a festival going on and a lot of traffic. The hit wasn't so scary, but the road rage afterwards was very uncomfortable. We ended up in "Chinatown" where I found a bunch of really cheap materials to make necklaces! Freshwater string of pearls for like $1.50, so I bought a bunch of material and have been making (a lot) of necklaces. We also ate choclo con queso from a street vender (corn on the cob with a piece of cheese - its one of my favorite things here, I think I might just turn into a choclo one of these days!). The vendor, a nice old lady, told the 2 of us (in a soft voice to prevent others from hearing her) that there were 2 guys in stripped shirts were follow us and watching us pretty closely; she was afraid that we were going to get robbed. (Mind you we looked way out of place..) But thankfully we ate our choclo con queso in peace and went on our merry way.
Last weekend was my madre's birthday; I decided a nice gift for a person that doesn't need nor want anything was a fresh bouquet of flowers. But it was not just any bouquet of flowers, I went to a flower market (in a pretty sketchy part of Lima called "Las Flores") and individually chose each flowers (which was actually really hard with literally thousands of choices!). It was so much fun making the flower arrangement!
We had the going away party on Saturday night with program people, my housemates internship friends, Peruvian friends, Spanish friends, etc. It was really fun - we served Ahi de Gallina (a yummy Peruvian dish), Spanish tortillas, and hamburgers. For drinks we had Inca cola, rum, pisco, wine, and RC (which is a sweet alcoholic beverage that literally tastes like honey). My housemates from Spain leave Saturday. 
They've been fun.
They've been fun. I just received my absentee ballot via email. I ended up hearing Roanoke VA on CNN's International news because they were saying that VA may vote democratic this election! I contacted Roanoke Co. and tomorrow I'm off to the post office to mail my ballot. GO OBAMA! 
A little political propaganda never hurts.
A little political propaganda never hurts. I attended a pilates class, which was affiliated with my deportes (sports) class yesterday. I tried to go to Bikram yoga last weekend but class was canceled; I was bummed out, but I'm going to try again this weekend.
I spent the afternoon washing clothes the Peruvian way - by hand, and wow, my arms hurt! My madre taught me a few weeks ago the proper way to wash clothes - soak clothes in water, remove clothes, add soap, let sit, scrub like heck, rinse, rinse, rinse, hang to dry. The alpaca chompas (sweaters) that I bought needed washed. The rest of my clothes I take to the lavanderia, where they wash, fold, and put my clothes in a bag. Its pretty convenient, but because I didn't bring a lot of clothes, I usually have to go once a week. But I must say that I'm pretty spoiled here, as I don't have to wash clothes, make the bed, or prepare food.
This week I've been having lunch at Martin's house. I'm trying to convince his cocinera (cook), Mari, to come back to the states with me. She prepares a different dish, as well as a different juice, everyday (and for me a special vegetarian "tofu" option Just a sample of what she has cooked: fried platanos (bananas), papa rellena (a fried mashed potato with eggs, olives, spices in the center), yuca, sweet potatoes, choclo, chicken soups. Today I tried my first peruvian ice cream "D'onofrio". I always hear the whistling from the ice cream vender while working in my room, walking to class, running, etc.. They ride around on bike and apparently sell s/1 (or $.33) ice cream cones. In the summer, its a big deal, but right now, they don't have a lot of business. I must admit, what a cool job, I mean riding around Lima on a bike selling ice cream!? What could be better?!
Just a sample of what she has cooked: fried platanos (bananas), papa rellena (a fried mashed potato with eggs, olives, spices in the center), yuca, sweet potatoes, choclo, chicken soups. Today I tried my first peruvian ice cream "D'onofrio". I always hear the whistling from the ice cream vender while working in my room, walking to class, running, etc.. They ride around on bike and apparently sell s/1 (or $.33) ice cream cones. In the summer, its a big deal, but right now, they don't have a lot of business. I must admit, what a cool job, I mean riding around Lima on a bike selling ice cream!? What could be better?! 
