The First Week of Classes

Hey y'all! I know it's been about a week since I've updated this, so I have a lot to catch you up on! I'll try to keep it succinct!

We'll begin with last weekend. Many firsts for me. I went paragliding over the Pacific Ocean. One of the best experiences of my life - I got an entirely new view of a part of Lima I'd seen many times before, soaring over buildings and flying at the same elevation as some birds. My mom wasn't too pleased when she found out I had done it, but she'll be ok! (Love you, Mom!) :).


I'm the one on the left!

That same evening, a group of students, including Peruvians, Germans, a French girl, and Americans went to El Circuito Mágico del Agua (essentially a park filled with various fountains. As things in Lima tend to be, it was absolutely stunning. Every half hour or so the park puts on a show at the main fountain, using a variety of special effects, images, and lights to astound the crowd. We were no exception. See the photo below for proof!



The next day, my program partner, Lucho, his girlfriend Carla, and my Peruvian friend Cynthia and I went to Plaza de Armas, essentially downtown Lima. Our first stop was the second most important church in South America, the Peruvian Franciscan Church from way back when the Franciscans dominated Lima. With 4 soles, roughly $1.80, we got a guided tour through the church (though we were not allowed to take any photos). The last part of our tour was the best: we went and saw the Peruvian equivalent of the Catacombs, an underground chamber filled with bones - skulls, femurs, funny bones - by the thousands. Our tour guide informed us that there were over 5,000 bodies in that dungeon....creepy, right? Nonetheless, I loved it.

After seeing the dead bodies, we went and purchased some churros stuffed with apple. For those of you who don't know, churros are a fried dessert (kind of like a doughnut) covered in sugar/cinnamon that originated in Spain. Peruvians, per usual, put their own twist on it by stuffing it with apple and some special spice that the vendor wouldn't disclose. Regardless, they were fattening-ly delicious!

Unfortunately, all of the fun had to come to an end (for the time being), as classes started. This week was essentially a shopping week, during which we got to attend various classes to see which professors we preferred and whatnot. I didn't really go to a variety of classes - I was pretty much set on what I was taking (described in the last post). I do, however, loathe my literature course. Only because it's a literature course. I enjoy reading, just not for a class. The professor is very sweet and open to international students, but I could just care less about the material. She also talks too much, so I space out very easily...during the two hour class period. So let's hope that's not going to come back and bite me! So far I think my favorite classes are my History of the Peruvian Amazon and State and Politics in Latin America courses. The professors are both highly intelligent and have my academic respect.

The highlight of my week, however, was when my History professor agreed to work with me on my Senior Thesis, meeting with me to discuss ways to better improve my research methods, telling me who to talk to, helping me revise my interview questions, and trying to secure me connections in the Amazon so that I don't head to the Amazon and have no one to talk to! Though it is currently too dangerous to travel to Bagua, the area my research focuses on, my professor has a variety of alternatives for me to pursue!

Funny stories of the week:
1) The world is so small - I think I actually met my history professor while working at the Bursar's Office. While he did go to the UW for a period of time, he doesn't remember if he ever went to the Bursar's Office or not. Nonetheless, he also knows the professor with whom I'm doing my research project.

2) There's another exchange student from the US that attends my University. I met him at debate camp 3.5 years ago. I know. It was shocking to me, too! :)

Until I post again!