Day 43: U.S. Embassy

I visited the U.S. embassy for the class today. We had a speaker and she explained what the embassy is for and what she does for her job. She told us 70% of Peruvians have a positive feeling about the U.S. It was interesting to know.

After that I met my friend and we talked for a while. I understood what he said this time more that the last time so I feel my Spanish is improving. Around 7:30 I told him that I needed to leave for Barranco. I was going to ask how to get there by bus but he took me there! He was very kind! 

In Barranco I met my friends and we got some drinks and celebrated Shelby's birthday! Happy birthday Shelby! El Gringo Bar was nice and comfortable. Now I know why my friends like there. We all had a good night tonight. I hope Shelby did too! 

Day 42: Ready to Become a Peruvian!

I'm becoming a Peruvian! Because I surfed in the morning and danced salsa at night!

I took a surfing class at 10 a.m. in Miraflores. Well, I was supposed to arrive 15 minutes earlier but traffic was crazy and it took 1 hour and half to get to the Playa Makaha. In the bus, I didn't know where I was supposed to get off so I asked some people then people started panicking because a little asian girl who doesn't speak Spanish doesn't know where to get off lol But thanks to people's help I could get off at the right place! And I met a surfer guy from Australia on the way to the beach. He said he was visiting his wife's family. Lima is cool because there are so many tourists from all over the world! I like it so much. 

I took a class at Pukana Surf. It cost only 240 soles for 4 classes. It was a group lesson unlike in Mancora. Professors were so friendly. My instructor, Oscar was surprisingly a friend of my instructors in Mancora. What a coincidence! And classmates were nice too! I hope to see them again in the next class. The class was good but to be honest  I didn't like the ocean there because of the rocks and small waves. Hopefully it gets better next time. 

At night my host mom hired a salsa dance teacher for me, her newphew and his wife. We danced for an hour. The teacher danced very well so we all decided to have a private lesson for us every Wednesday and Friday. I'm excited for it! I'm getting busy and I love it! I'm ready to become a "Japanese Peruvian"!

Day 41: Met a Peruvian Actress

In the class, we watched a movie "viaje a Tombuctú." And the heroin visited our class. It was so cool! I met a Peruvian actress! Andrea played for Ana in the movie. She said this movie was the first time for her. I wish I could understand what she said more but it was such an amazing opportunity!

At night I went to walk. I wanted to arrive at Pentagonito but I found out it was a little dangerous to walk there alone so I gave up.. I think I'm going to give up to go to a dance class at Pentagonito at night...

Day 40: Watched a Peruvian Movie

I watched a Peruvian movie for the very first time. It is "Viaje a Tombuctú." The movie is about a couple who suffers from terrorism in 80s. It was very difficult to understand the movie. It reminded me of when I watched movies in English and struggled. I hope by when I leave Peru, I would be able to understand more!

Day 39: Happy Valentine's Day

I finally came home from Mancora! I missed my home so much! I am happy to see my family again and eat Peruvian home food. When I got home, I saw a flower and a box of chocolate. It was very nice of my family to do this. I feel so much love from this family! Thank you! At night we had supper together. We never eat together unless we eat out. My parents don't eat supper at home. One day I asked my host brother where his parents eat supper, and he told me they don't really eat. I think this is why they eat lunch late and their lunches are bigger than that in the U.S. I like the Peruvian lifestyle. I feel it is healthier. They wake up early and eat breakfast and lunch well. They  eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, meat and fish. I really want to make this my lifestyle!

Day 38: Good Bye to Mancora

Today was the last day of my staying in Mancora. This morning my friends and I walked around in Organos to find a surfing school, but we couldn’t find one so we ended up going to Mancora. After walking under the strong sun, I became sick so I chose not to do surfing this time so I hanged out with my instructors, Dubi and Pelsi on the beach. My first instructor, Dubi told me he saw a turtle in the ocean and asked me if I wanted to see so I said yes. Then he took me to the ocean with a surfing board, and we found a turtle! It was a female turtle. Dubi told me she was sick so she cannot swim. Dubi put the turtle on the surfing board to put it back to the deeper place. I surfed with a turtle! What a beautiful experience. Later we floated in the ocean and enjoyed the water. Today the ocean was so beautiful. Water was clear and the color was emerald green. The temperature was perfect. Both of my instructors were happy today because of the beautiful ocean. I really liked people’s lives there. People are happy when the ocean is beautiful. They appreciate the nature. They wake up early and enjoy the ocean. They enjoy meeting tourists from all over the world. They have very different lives than I do. I told Dubi and Pelsi that I was leaving Mancora today. Both of them said to me, “come back some day. You have home here.”  I am glad I could meet such nice people. I appreciate everything they did for me.

After my friends finished surfing, we went to a restaurant. It has a nice view of the ocean. I chose seafood for my last meal in Mancora. Calamar was so delicious. I’m going to miss seafood here.

Later my friend went to get tattoo. It was first time to see somebody was getting tattoo so it was interesting. In Mancora, there is only one tattoo place, but it does a very good job. My friend was satisfied. 

At 5:30 p.m., I left Los Organos. I am sure I will miss Mancora. I will miss friendly people, delicious food, and beautiful nature, but at the same time I don't want to leave here, I feel it’s time to go home. I miss my host family and friends there. I am ready to tell them my experience in Mancora.

Day 37: One Day Trip

I took a bus tour with my friends today. To be honest, I don’t know where I was. I paid $40 for this trip, and they took me to 4 different places, 2 beaches, river, and a crocodile park. It started at 9 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. It was a long trip. What I liked about this trip was that they took us to a nice restaurant and I could eat seafood. I also liked second beach because it was so beautiful. I also liked to see crocodiles. However, they should have told us more information about where they are taking us and what we are going to do. Our trip was very different that what they explained before. But we learned that we should ask questions and clarify everything in advance.