Day 85: Parque de las Aguas

I finally went to el Parque de las Aguas with Abby! I was so happy! Last time we went, it was closed so I was glad it was open today. The entrance fee was only 4 soles. There was a show of the light and water. It started at 7:15 and lasted for about 15 minutes. This is one the best places to visit in Lima. Thank you for coming with me, Abby!

With Abby

Day 84: No Dance Class But...

After the class, I went to get Sushi with my friends again. We are so loyal haha I hope we are their favorite customers. Tobight I tried the Philadelphia rolls.

It was delicious but I liked Tako better. Also, I got Japanese beer tonight! I don't drink beer much but I felt like drinking it tonight. It was delicious! 

Next time I hope I can try Udon since they didn't have tonight.

I was supposed to have a dance class with my host mom, her nephew and his wife tonight but my professor couldn't come tobight. We didn't know about it so we were already ready to dance. But we ended up talking about the wedding and chose some songs for the dance we are going to have at the wedding. Even though we didn't have a dance, we had a  good night. I hope we have a class on Friday! Can't wait! 

Day 83: Class with Peruvians

Today I had a class with Peruvians. Je class I took was Asian Culture. Professor is Peruvian Japanese. We covered the Chinese history. I had learned the Chinese history before but I didn't remember anything. Also it was interesting to learn it in Spanish. I could understand only some. The lecture was interesting so I wish I could understand more. For next class, I was assigned to read a japanese story in Spanish. It will be interesting! It's going to be hard but I will try! I had a good new experience today!

Day 82: Ciudad and Parque de Agua

This morning I went to Ciudad to buy high heels for the wedding. It was the first time to go there by myself. Ciudad is a busy place because there are many markets. Traffic is crazy too.

My shopping was successful. I got high heels for 55 soles, two shorts for 18 soles, four coin cases for 7 soles, and a purse for 5 soles. How economic they are! Surprise! I really enjoyed Ciudad. 

After the class, I went to Makimona with my friends again. I got Orengi this time. It was delicious! But so far my favorite is Tako. There are so many varieties of makis there so it's fun to choose.

At night my friends and I wanted to o to Parque de Agua. But unfortunately when we arrived there, we found out the park was closed today... We decided to eat instead but we were still sad it was closed. But we will come back again! 

KFC, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks. This place is a heaven for American girls! 

Tomorrow I am attending a regular UPC class. I'm a bit nervous but hope everything goes well.

Day 81: Ficus & William's Birthday

This morning I woke up early to participate in Ficus, a volunteer group I've been helping. On the way to Las Paraderas, something surprising and scary happened. My friends and I were in a van and suddenly a lot of white smoke surrounded us. We couldn't neither see anything nor breathing. And one second after, the van crashed into another car. We didn't understand what was going on so we all get off the van and we saw a car burning. It didn't explode fortunately, but it was really scary. A few weeks ago, my surfing instructor's car was burning too. I don't understand this. Is it because the cars in Peru are used and old? Or is it just because Peru is too hot? Fortunately, nobody was injured today so everything was fine. But the van left us... they just run away so we had to take another one. Sometimes people are not nice here lol

Anyway, everything went well in Ficus and after getting things done, volunteers were invited to have beer (again) so we chilled a little bit and went to talk on the mountain. It was a little bit tough but the view was pretty. I saw some people claiming and going down the mountain to go to another town. I thought it was crazy because it looked so dangerous and what was worse, the sun was intense. I realized again that the lives of people live on the mountain are so hard.

Beer with Ficus

La Morina

After that, one couple invited us ceviche. I had to shoot a video of somebody cooking a Peruvian food for my homework so I did it there. It was very fun shooting a video and the ceviche was so delicious! Now I know how to make it so I will make it when I get back to Kearney.

Joel Cooking Ceviche

Around 7pm, I went home. I wanted to come home early because it was my host brother's birthday! I gave him a gift. I hope he liked it. His cousin and his finance came over to our place and we had pizzas together. Today I met a lot of Peruvians and I enjoyed spending time with them. Beautiful Sunday!

Day 80: Leaving Nazca

8:00 am

At 5 am, my family and I left the hostel. We are going home today because it's my host brother's birthday! I got a gif for him so I'm excited to give it to him. I hope he likes it! 

On the way home, we stopped by the place where there were Nazca Lines and we took some pictures on the mountain. Beautiful morning! 

3:30 pm

We had lunch (I had lunch twice today). We ate one on the street. I got noodle and soup. Another one was at the restaurant. That was my host mom's favorite. We had beans with rice. I liked all the food I had today.

7:30 pm

I finally got home safe. It was a long road trip but I enjoyed everything I did during the trip. Agin, thank you so much Beatriz and Francisco. 

Day 79: Puerto de Lomas

This mornig my host family and I left the hostel at 5 am to go to the beach. In Puerto de Lomas, my family has a house so we visited there. The view was beautiful! The house is still being constructed. Surprisingly, my host dad is constructing on his own. He hires some people to help him. He is so cool! In the future, he wants to own a hostel there. How exciting it is!

Later we moved to another beach in the same area where we can swim. This beach was beautiful. The best beach I've ever visited in Peru. The view was like Paracas. There was desert around the sea. And the water was very clear and the color was like emerald green like the one I saw in las Islas de Ballestas. And the beach was sandy like in Mancora. The peacefulness was like in Los Organos. Puerto de Lomas was perfect for vacations. 

At the beach, I met one guy from Nazca. His name was Jesus. He showed me....

Later we went to see fish. The place he took me was breath-taking. I saw many animals there. I realized how beautiful Peru is! 

However, my host mom and I saw something sad. The family sitting next to us on the beach left all of their trashes. It was terrible. I couldn't stand so I went to pick them up. I told my host mom, "Peru is a beautiful country but it's dirty." She agreed with me. Peruvians need to learn to take care of the environment. This problem doesn't matter if people are rich or poor. Anyone can pick up trash. I hope Peruvians realize this problem and solve it soon before it's too late. 

I'm so happy I could spend time on the beach today. Beautiful holiday so far! 

Day 78: Road Trip to Nazca

From today, Peru is on holidays until Sunday. It's is called Semana Santa (Holly Week). My family took me to Nazca  for Semana Santa. My host dad is from Nazca so we are visiting his hometown. Unfortunately, my host brothers couldn't come with us so just my host dad, mom and Bella (dog). 

We left home around 5am and arrived in Nazca around 8pm. On the way, we stopped for breakfast in Santa Maria where we visited before and for lunch in Paracas. I ate parihuela for lunch and it was super delicious. 

Breakfast in Santa Maria

Paracas

Parihuela

                                               

Picarón (Peruvian Donuts) 

 

Later we stopped to see the Nazca Line. We didn't see it from the airplane so it was a little hard to see but still I was amazed and happy! It was beautiful. Luckily, we arrived there around the sunset so the view was very beautiful! 

At night we stopped to eat pollo a la brasa for dinner. The chicken was the best! 

Thank you for everything, Francisco and Beatriz! I'm really thankful! 

Day 77: Sushi with Friends

I went to Sushi place, Makimona with my friends after the class. It was near my house. I tried Tako (Octopus) and  Kamikaze (Salmon). Both were so delicious! And they weren't expensive at all. There were a couple working at the restaurant. The husband was Peruvian who speaks perfect Japanese ( I think he is Peruvian Japanese) and his wife was Japanese. She told me she moved to Peru two years ago because her husband was from Peru. I think they are in 40s or 50s so I thought it was a huge decision for his wife to move to Peru because Peru is a developing country and many things are different from Japan. It is so hard just to get used to a different environment but also there is a language barrier. I thought this couple was cool. The sushis were delicious and the people were nice there so I will definitely come back!

Tako

Day 76: Shopping for My Host Brother

Today after the class, I went to the Jockey Plaza again. This Saturday is my host brother's birthday so I wanted to buy something for him. I was looking for a small towel that he can use at the gym but I couldn't find any so I got a large towel instead. I hope he likes it. I can't wait till Saturday! Tomorrow I will go drink with my Peruvian friends so I'm excited!

Day 75: Bad Day...

This morning I went to surf. I chose to have a class at 8 because I get sunburned too much when I take a class at 10. However, surfing wasn't as much as it used to be. I don't know why... I decided to take the rest of the classes in April right before leaving for Mancora. I want to say goodbye to my instructors and friends before leaving.

Later I went to the post office. Today I had to wait for an hour and it cost 80 soles to send a document... sigh...

And I got lost so I had to walk so much under the strong sun and later I was supposed to pick up my dress before the class but I couldn't find a place and I was late for the class.

So nothing went well today but I want to stay positive so I will stop complaining and fry to find good things happened today.

1. My friends made my day. Just talking with them relieved my stress.
2. The moon was pretty.  I appreciate the nature.
3. I could eat my favorite foods, ramen, ice cream, chocolate, and peach juice.

I believe good things will happen if I stay positive so I hope tomorrow would be a better day!

Day 74: Volunteer, Beer and Lunch

This morning I went to do volunteering with Ficus Perú again. This time there were more students. Today's mission was a little bit different and difficult. We had to interview people in the community.      I tried to do that and my friend tried to help me but it was still too difficult for me so I asked them if I can help in a different way. Today I felt I was growing as a person. When I was in Nebraska, if there was something I couldn't do, I got depressed. I couldn't do anything. But today I could tell them that I can't help this so I want to help other things. I'm definitely changing and it lets me feel confidence. The good thing was that people there understood me and tried to help me so I really appreciate them. So I was supposed to help interviewing people but I helped making soil. Like last time, I mixed the garbage, paper and sand. Now I know how it works so I could help them more than last week.

Ailin, Camila, Diego, Maria, Me, Stacy 

After doing projects, the people in the community invited me to have some beer so I stayed with them and talked a little bit. They also gave me lunch. People in this community are so kind and loving!  Even though they are not rich and their lives are tough, they offer drinks and food. They know to share. I learned a lot from them and now I want to become a person who is kind, loving, and welcoming everybody like them. It turned out a beautiful day. Thank you all who made my day! 

Day 73: Shopping Day

This morning I went to the Jokey Plaza to look for black high heels. I need to them for the wedding of my host mom's nephew. I couldn't find any but I ended up buying new swimwear so I'm satisfied!

Later my host mom took me to the shop that fixes the size of my dress. It cost only 20 soles. I will get it back on Monday so I'm excited! I'm getting ready for the wedding!

After that I went to Gamarra with my host mom. I bought one blouse! Today is a shopping day! In Gamarra there were so many people like last time. My host mom bought me limón dulce (sweet lemon). It was so sweat and I liked it! But she told me not to buy food except fruits because foods there are not clean. My host mom and I will come back to Gamarra soon to do more shopping! 

At night I went out with my new friend, Diego whom I met through volunteering. We met in Miralores and I wanted to eat a churros so we went to Manolo. Manolo's churros is know as the best churros in Miraflores. It cost only 5 soles for 1 and it was so delicious! 

Later we went to a Draft Bar and enjoyed beer.

Then we went to la Playa Makaha and Wikiki where I usually practice surfing. I wish I live close to the beach so I can come whenever I want. It's so relaxing to sit down on the beach and look at the waves. I can't wait till I go back to Mancora! Because I still can't forget the stars I saw on the beach at night. They were breathtaking! In Peru I realized how much I love the natures. I was born and raised in a big city in Japan so being surrounded by natures makes me so happy! I learned to love natures, animals, and plants in Peru! 

Day 72: Meeting Other International Students

Ughhh... I couldn't get up for my surfing class this morning. It was literally impossible... I kind of regretted but I will go on Monday. I changed my schedule and from now on I will go surfing at 8 am because after 10 am the Sun is too strong and I'm worried about my skins and eyes. I will have to leave home at 6:30 but I hope I can make it on Monday.

At 1:00, I went to UPC to attend an welcoming event. I saw many international students there. The majority was from Mexico. I talked with a few students. I might be able to attend a UPC's regular class some time soon. I think I will attend the Asian culture class.  I am a little nervous but also excited to see what it is like. And I hope to meet students from other countries in the class.

Tomorrow I am going to meet a new friend whom I met on Sunday while volunteering. I can't wait!

Day 71: Happy St. Patrick Day!

Today the class was held at el centro de Lima. My friends and I took a taxi but the traffic was crazy today. We ended up getting off and walking. We visited Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martin. I like the view of downtown. The buildings are very beautiful. My friend, Danielle who has been to Spain before told me that the buildings in downtown really looks like the ones in Spain.

Later we visited the China town to have lunch.  It was the first time to try Chinese food in Peru (I know, I can't believe myself too). The China town was a lot smaller than I was expecting. Also, what I found was that I didn't see any Chinese people here. There might be more Japanese people than Chinese in Peru.

Later we went to Gran Hotel Bolivar to drink pisco. My professors bought it for us. Thank you! It was really a good pisco. I liked it a lot. And we moved to Houlihan's (Irish Bar in Miraflores) to celebrate St. Patrick's day. Peruvians don't celebrate this day and some people don't even know what it is, but we enjoyed celebrating!

I had a good time all day long today!

Day 70: Visited an Elementary School

This morning I visited the community of shipiba of Cantagallo with my class. We went to an elementary school. The school was a lot smaller than I was expecting so at first I was like, is this really a school...? I was a little bit nervous but a teacher and kids welcomed us so we broke the ice very quickly. My group was consisted of 4 boys and 4 UNK students. We read a story in Shipiba and Spanish and talked about it a little bit. Later we played "Simon says". We practiced to give orders in Spanish. Then we played in the play ground that is in the middle of the school. The kids there were so friendly and adorable! I loved hanging out with them. While we were playing, two kids from my group came to talk to me and gave a wrist band saying "Eres mi cielo (You are my sky)" on it. It was so nice and sweet of them! People here are so cariñoso (loving)! I will definitely miss these kids. Thank you boys!

Elementary School

                                      

Elementary School 

Gift from Kids

Elementary Students

Day 69: "Today I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything"

This morning I had a quiz in the literature class. I always srruggle in this class but I liked the story that I had to read for today. It was "Al Pie del Acantilado" by Julio Ramón Ribeyro. The story is about a father and his two sons living near the beach. Not only I enjoyed the story, but also I learned about Peru. The life of poor people is tough. They don't have a nice place to live nor a job that they can earn money to live. Police is like their enemy because they expel people from where they stay. I will read the story again so I can understand it better.

After the class, I didn't do anything. I had things to do but I didn't feel like doing them so I was just relaxing. Sometimes it's good to do nothing and take a break from everything. I've been busy with surfing and dance so I might need a break. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I'm visiting an elementary school in the morning. I have a class and dance class later. Excited! 

Day 68: Beautiful Start of the Week

I went to surf this morning. I usually go on Wednesday, but I get too exhausted with class and dance on Wednesday, I changed my schedule. I was expecting that I would have a beautiful morning, but actually today I didn't like surfing for the first time. I felt I am not improving any more. I used a 7.5 board for the first time but I wasn't excited as much as I was expecting. I know why. I can't puddle well and it is making everything difficult. If I can't puddle, I can't catch a wave. I didn't know if I wanted to continue taking a class. I think I need a break. I know I love practicing surfing so I hope time solves this problem.

Day 67: Volunteer

At 8 am, I went to Vivanda to meet Nicole who is a member of a NGO, Ficus Perú. I had never done volunteering until today so I was very excited. We took a bus to el puente Primavera and took another one to Ciudad. Ciudad had a lot of markets and it was very busy even though it was early Sunday morning. Nicole told me there are a lot more people during the week. In Ciudad, we took another bus to Las Praderas. Las Praderas is in the hill. We had to walk a lot. This place was very different from where I live. There were a lot of trash and rubbles. It was dirty. I saw the reality.

                                         

                                                Las Praderas

In Las Paraderas, I met a lot of people who help Ficus Perú. Diego told me that this town does not have a water system so people have to get water from the pipe that is connected to the water tank. However, the tank has been broken so people has not have water for a week. I knew many places are like this in Latin America, but I was still shocked. One day my house was out of water, and I was almost panicked because I had never had that situation before. I had never thought I would run out of water. No washing hands, no shower.... It was a tough time to me. When I imagine, it lasts for a week... The economic difference is really huge in Peru.

Diego also explained what the mission of Ficus Perú. They collect trash that can be compost, such as fruits and vegetables. And mix them with sand so they can make good soil. It takes about 1-2 months to make soil. They want to make a lot of soils and create a park for kids and a garden where people can grow fruits and vegetables. Although many of them are from Las Praderas, students are from other districts. It was very nice of them to care about people in poor areas and actually help them because many people in the middle class or higher seem not to take action for those who are poor. They told me the Australian Embassy has just accepted to help this organization. I was really happy to hear that.

Today we collected trash and mixed them with sand and paper. Also, we moved some plants so we will have more space for the park. And we set up a flag? a tent? Lima gets humid in the winter so they can collect water by using the flag thing. They want to collect water from the cloud. I was very interested in everything they do. I learned a lot from them in one day. I really enjoyed helping them so I will definitely come back. Thank you all and see you next Sunday!

Parque Ficus

The flag that collects water from the fog and cloud 

Mixing compost and sand 

Day 66: Brisas del Titicaca

Today I went to the restaurant, Brisas del Titicaca. This restaurant has cultural dance performances. The show started around 1:30 and went till 5:30 and the VIP cost only 30 soles. I liked all of the performances. They were beautiful. However, my most favorite was the first Marinera. It was breath-taking. Beautiful! I am so glad I got to see this dance. Other dances were beautiful and interesting too. Peru has the beautiful dance culture!