Dancing the night away, BBQing with Americans and Hiking all in one weekend!

This weekend was jammed pack with so many fun activities, I've hardly had enough time to breathe. :) Thursday marked week two of classes here, so what better way to celebrate than go to the discoteca and dance the night away, right!? I have been so lucky to have such great host parents here who are always so welcoming to my friends and I. We had a little get together here on the rooftop to "preview" ( their saying for pre game here in Lima ) before we headed out to the clubs. My sister Thalia was able to get us onto a list, so we were all able to get into the clubs for free!! It's so crazy re-reading that..I feel like I'm some sort of celebrity, or some important person or something (Which, clearly I'm not :)) Rooftop and on a "list" say what?? Anywho, We all socialized for awhile and then around 1130 we split up into taxis and went to the club, Arula, which is in Mira Flores. It was about a 30 min drive and only cost 5 soles for each of us--which is like 2 dollars! Now, I thought my friends and I back at home knew how to have a good time, but Peruvians definitely know where it's at! This club was definitely not like any bar or house party I've been to in Nebraska that's for sure :) We all had such a great time and definitely made some memories we will not ever forget..AHEM (Jorge).  :) I can't wait to check out some more clubs and see what they are like!

                                As you've read from all my previous posts, I've already done so many 

                                      wonderful things here, but one of the most memorable so far has been the BBQ            

    Amber took Finn, Marina, Emily and I to on Saturday night. Amber was connected by a friend back home to a group of missionaries, who are originally from the US, but just recently moved to Lima to provided services to those in need. The BBQ was to celebrate the opening of the church they just started here! I love Lima and all of the different people I have met so far, but it was nice to hang out with some Americans who spoke English, and also who live here and have experienced the same culture shock we are all experiencing right now! They live in this beautiful community and share one HUGE backyard between 6 or 7 other families'. All of the surrounding families of their neighborhood gathered for the BBQ as well, so we were introduced to even more friendly, peruvian families! It was so heartwarming to see how these two families from the US moved here to Lima for the purpose of helping other people. John's family has been here for 5 years and Josh's family has been here for a year. It was a definite eye opener and made me think twice before the next time I wish I was home or wish I had some of the luxuries I do back in the states. It is just another reminder to myself how lucky I am to be apart of this experience here in Lima! I was even able to talk with them about doing volunteer work within some of the lower socioeconomic levels here! Overall, they were so welcoming and told us that if we ever needed anything their doors were always open, which was the kind of reassurance I think we all needed to hear :)

So, we were all told on the first day of our intensive grammar class that we had a class hike coming up and that we had to be at the school at 5:45 AM for it... ayayaya! Well, that hike was today, and I think it is safe to say I got my work out in for the next few weeks :) No but really, this hike was absolutely breathtaking! We took a 2 hour bus up to the town, Matucana, which was the cutest little village where basically everything is hand crafted and made there by the local people. Our tour guide Ivane met us when we got off the bus and directed us through our 2 mile hike up the mountain! He told us so many fascinating things about the mountains and the community of Matucana, it was really interesting! He kept mentioning una cascada ( a waterfall ), and so we were all anxiously wondering when we were going to hit it. Once we did..I could not take my eyes off of it! It was such a refreshing and rejuvenating feeling, especially since I have never really seen anything like that before. Ah, why can't Nebraska have landscaping like this!? Nonetheless, we all survived the 3 hour hike and were all so very thankful that our professor was nice enough to take us there! It is definitely something I want to go back to when I hopefully return to Peru in the future :) 

I just can't get over how green it is! It's so beautiful and pure!

 Amber and I with our stylin' visors we got as a group for a souvenir!

You can't look at this and tell me it doesn't take your breath away! :)

Doce Dias already!?!? 

My oh my, where has the time flown!? It feels like it was just yesterday I was frantically running around my house anxiously packing my bags to head to Lima. It is crazy that I have been here for nearly 2 weeks now, however, I wouldn't change my experience so far for anything! First, I would like to start out by introducing everyone to my amazing host family, my time here would be nothing compared to what it is if it wasn't for them!
There are 5 people in mi familia: Jaime: My Dad, who is such a kind and funny man. He is so patient when speaking with me since he knows no English at all, and my Spanish isn't too up to par(it is improving though :)) However, he does like to make fun of my "deer in headlights look, or my constant usage of "sure" or "si, si, si" whenever I don't know what he is saying exactly :D Then, there is Giselle: My Mom who is such a kindhearted lady as well, who luckily for me, speaks very well English and can translate words/sayings for me that I do not understand. I also have 3 siblings: Jaime Jr. who is 26, Thalia who is 20, and Andres who is 23 I believe. Jaime and Thalia currently live at home so they help keep me company and also help me with anything in Spanish I may be confused about!

Thalia, me, Giselle, Jaime, y la Mama de Giselle

This picture was taken at one of my families' clubs they are members of, on my first day here! It reminds me of the country club in Kearney, just way fancier and with the ocean :) That night Thalia invited some of her friends over and we got some Peruvian wine from a local store here and had a relaxing evening at our house.

Maria, Thalia, Nathalia and I on our rooftop enjoying el vino!! 

These first two weeks have felt much like a vacation and it has yet to seep in that I am here until the end of April, but luckily we have multiple trips set up for the near future, so I'm sure that will keep us busy and from getting home sick :) (Even though I do miss all my friends and family dearly!) My first two weekends here have been exactly what I needed: TOTAL RELAXATION! Our first weekend was a bit of a confusing weekend trying to get used to the city and how to go about finding each other and things we need. For example, we all live very near in walking distance to eachother, but upon first arrival it seemed as if we lived miles away. Luckily, my sister Thalia and her friend, Nathalia navigated Finn, Emily, Missy and I around so that we knew how to get to and from eachothers houses by foot without getting lost :) After, we all voyaged to Jockey(minus Thalia and Nathalia) to purchase our phones. Next time I want to shoot my brains out at Verizon, I will think again! This was much longer of a process..took nearly THREE HOURS! Nonetheless, we paid equivalent to like 50 dollars for a phone, dinosaur phone may I add, and minutes. But hey, now we all have a way to communicate with eachother when we don't have internet!

Missy, Finn, and I were feeling brave the night before classes started and decided to take a taxi to Jockey(a HUGE shopping mall here), I even bardered with the taxi and made it so we had to pay less soles :) We ate at the cutest little restaurant and had our first cocktails here in Lima. It was a great time to catch up and wind down a before our first full week of classes! However, it was quite the process getting home because we told our taxi the wrong entrance, but luckily Missy's Mom Ayita picked us up and we all made it home safely!

And yes, I am aware that I am muy rojo, but it has now turned into a tan, and YES I did wear sunscreen:) 

Mi Universidad: UPC!!!

I am so in love with UPC's campus. It is absolutely beautiful! 

Every professor I have or have been in contact with has been so nice and welcoming, it's so great! 

However, each one of my classes meets once a week and is three hours long, so you can imagine how that goes :) 

They actually haven't been to bad at all, and I feel like my Spanish has improved tremendously already! My first prueba is tomorrow so we will see how that goes!!

Ah, sorry my first post is so long, but I've just done so many fascinating things while here so far :) But here are a few of my favorite!

Of course the first one has to be LA PLAYA!!!! It was my FIRST TIME EVER at the beach and it was definitely a sight to see when I hopped into the cold, salty water! We went to a part of the ocean that had rocks instead of sand, and lets just say the rocks did not feel too great when a huge wave came rolling in, but nonetheless, it was beautiful and I want to go back every chance I get!! 

Las chicas!!!!

I had a small little get together at mi casa as a celebration of our FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES! It was so much fun! We all went to Vivandas and purchased some beverages, and I stuck to what I know best, el vino hehe, and we all went back to my house and hung out on the rooftop! My Dad set up some speakers for us out here and played us his music, which was a combination of classic rock and mexican salsa music. Jorge and Daniel were drinking tequila and it just so happens my dad won a shot contest once in Cancun with tequila, so of course Daniel and Jorge gave him a few shots! My brother Jaimie and his girlfriend and one of his friends' joined us as well and we all chit chatted until about midnight and then all went our separate ways :)

 Mi Padre was so excited to hang out and chit chat with us :)

Whew, alrighty, that is it for now! Tomorrow will be my 2nd full week of classes, and boy am I ready for it to be el fin de semana! We plan to go to one of the discotecas here, so I am beyond pumped to let loose and BAILAR! 

Oh and here is a little fun list of random things I've noticed while here in Peru:)

1.) The people are SO kind! 

2.) Whenever you greet someone for the first time, or really just in general, boy or girl, you greet them    

with a kiss on the cheek. So don't be alarmed if I kiss you on the cheek when I'm back in the states :)

3.)Traffic is LOCO! I really don't think I've ever seen a speed limit sign here..and road lines or blinkers? pssht who needs to use those anyway!?

4.) Rice chicken, meat, and more rice and more rice and more rice is a main food of choice here

5.) CAR ALARMS! Oh my goodness, this is really one of my ONLY pet peeves here so far. I swear I hear at least 20 alarms go off a day. And they aren't just your basic alarms..they last for like 1 minute and are the most strangest sound i've ever heard!

6.) They eat a big breakfast and a big lunch and just a small snack for dinner ( No wonder they are all so skinny here :) )

7.) The Cambis.....Oh The Cambis..There is really no way to describe these until you experience riding one for yourself. No seats? No problem! Just stand and hold on to the handle bars for your life and you'll be just fine :)

Okay, that is all I have for now! Hasta Luego mis amigas y familia!