Preparing for Peru

They say you have not experienced Latin America unless you have had food poisoning. Well, now I can say without a doubt that I have had a genuine South American experience! I have just recovered from the most miserable day of my life! I am not sure if it was the empinadas, the chifa or the beso de mosa that I had eaten that day...to be safe, I am just going to go ahead and stay away from those items for the time remaining.

This weekend we are planning on going to Mancura, a beach about 3 hours from here. Rafael and I will be leaving at 5:15am Sunday. We will spend the day on the beach and visiting the town, then head back to Piura around 6pm.

Here in Peru, I have been living with an alumni from

I cannot believe there are only 2 weeks left of this adventure. It has been a really eye-opening experience!

I am in the 4th week of my journey abroad and feel much more settled now. The weather is nice. We are in the begining stages of "winter." It is about 75 °F and sunny. In the mornings it is approximately about 68 °F minimum but everyone wears jackets and scarves and complain how cold it is!! Hahaha....if they only knew what winter in the northern hemisphere is like .

Unfortunately, working in a foreign country is nothing like touring a foreign country. I have only been able to see one other town in Peru!! Well, of course that is if you don´t count the 6 hour layover I had in the Lima airport. I went to Catacos and the Narihualá ruins. Catacos is only about 30 minutes south of Piura by taxi (our taxi-driver got us there in 15...yeah I was kind of scared for my life going 60 mph through a neighborhood...but we made it out alive ...it is a very small town with a blue cathedral in the plaza. There is also a market where they sell hand-made pottery and jewelry. Everything is beautiful and I could not believe how cheap everything was!

The Narihualá ruins is only about another 10 minutes further south by mototaxi. It sits in a very small village (maybe 100 people live there). The dirt in the area is adobe so the houses are made with the adobe and logs. There was no electricity/water that I could see and all of the kids (I mean 6 years and younger) beg you for money. Just in front of the entrance to the ruins there was a small stand selling hand-made crafts and honey. They insist you try their honey. As soon as I tasted mine, a small girl reached for my plastic spoon. I gave it to her, thinking she was going to throw it away, but she took it in hopes of licking off any remaining honey.

Also, at the ruins, there was a small museum where you can learn about the history of the people in the area. The ruins also showcase Peruvian dogs. These dogs are medium/large-sized dogs (approximately 50-60 pounds), they look like a hunting dog, but they have no fur! They look like they came from the movie Resident Evil...haha...definitely UNIQUE!! They seem to be quiet-tempered, but as with all of the dogs here, I wasn´t going to try to pet them.

I have been taking a lot of photos but have not yet found the time to actually upload them onto the internet. Hopefully I will get some time very soon to do that so! I am missing everyone a lot and I hope I can see you all when I return!

Take care for now!

I have been in Peru for almost 3 weeks. It has been a crazy trip but really fun all-in-all.

My adventure began May 9th. After 2 days of travelling, which consisted of 5 flights and a 17 hour lay over in Ft. Lauderdale, I finally arrived in Piura, Peru at 6am on Mother´s Day. I was really tired so decided to spend most of the day sleeping.

I am working at a food processing company. I am working in the laboratory of their shrimp aquaculture division. I have a learned a great deal about identifying the different algeas and bacteria in the water, etc. However, working in Peru is really different than the States. It is a 6 day (48 hour work week) and I am earning a whopping 2 soles per hour (less than $1)!!

The people are really nice here and I am adapting the culture well. I really like the food here. Some of the biggest culture shocks I have had are:

1. No hot water!

2. Mototaxis: These are motorcycle-taxis that fill the streets here, honking their horns as while driving 3 abreast in a "2-lane" road. The roads are not 2 car-sized lanes, but more like 2 motorcycle-sized lanes.

3. There is a huge US culture influence here. The young generation is obsessed with MTV and US movies. Not to mention EVERYBODY wants to practice their English (which gets really annoying after awhile).

I have managed to visit a small town called Catacos where they sell pottery and jewelry (for CHEAP). It was a great trip and I was to see some ruins just outside of the town of Catacos.

For now, I must go as but will fill in more details soon. Miss all of you!!

I am waiting to hear back from the Peruvian consulate. I hope my passport wasn't lost in the mail....I will be leaving May 9th for my extended voyage to get to South America. A total of 3 days and I don't know how many thousands of miles...but I will pack up right after my last final and head south for my internship. I will be staying in Piura, Peru and will be working at a food processing company called, Ecosac.