After getting back from the trip we had only a night to relax before orientation/enrollment the next morning (March 11th). It was pretty hectic with all international students speaking in Spanish and other languages as we were shuffled into room after room. Our pictures were taken for student ids, we got a tour of campus and filled out forms. We also got a compañera – a student from the university to befriend us. Her name is Jade and she is nice and helpful. That night we tried to go out to see Sweeny Todd at CinePlanet in el Óvalo Gutierrez, a very ritzy roundabout area, but we arrived too late and Ann, Rubie and I couldn’t get into the movie. Apparently Tuesday nights they have a special reduced rate and the theater was full. So we walked around and checked out the Starbucks and ended up at Chili’s at the Margarita bar. It was so funny to be in an American restaurant in Peru because back home it’s just Chili’s but in Peru it’s a nice restaurant that Limeños (people who live in Lima) want to take their dates. The bartender started getting friendly with us and offering to show us around and share his Peruvian music with us. He seemed nice enough but when he started telling us there was tequila back at his place where we could go, Ann was quick to ask for the check.
After Chili’s we met up with the rest of the crew who had seen Sweeny Todd and headed out in cabs to Barranco. First we tried Sahara, this basically empty discoteca with cute décor in a middle eastern theme. We danced there for a bit but left because our waitress was being so rude. Then we tried out Hakuna which was a lot more hoppin' and talked and danced there for a while. All was fine and well until the check came and it became obvious that the waiter was trying to rip us off (probably because we’re obviously foreigners). When we refused to pay more than we owed, the manger called security on us and Melissa ended up paying the 15 soles they wanted just to be over and done with the whole thing. Way to go Hakuna, you got 15 soles ($5) and you lost the business for 10 American college students for the next 5 months. Good business move.
Yesterday (March 12th) we relaxed and picked up our laundry from the lavandería which was very nicely cleaned and folded. We also got some groceries from Metro, the huge supermarket 6 blocks from our house, which is always an adventure/chore due to the fact although I understand Spanish, I can never figure out what the people at supermarket registers are asking me. For dinner the ten of us headed out on foot to La Pizzeria Romana recommended to us by our madre because Julia and I had a hankering for Italian. There are a surprisingly large amount of pizza places all over Lima in addition to the Chinese chifas, although we are still working on finding Thai… The food at La Romana was excellent though and the ambience was very nice, it was totally like the experience of a nice Italian restaurant in the US, just cheaper and everything in Spanish. After dinner we reconvened next door at Ann and Rubie's place in a lovely outdoor sitting area and hung out all night. We even succeeding in making our own pisco sours (without egg whites though). Towards the end of the night Jesse taught us this group sign game that everyone is obsessed with now. Hasta luego!
