Welcome to the Land of Hippies

I just got home from the most beautiful beach town in the country of Peru, but also possibly the town most populated by hippies. It was a great spring break. We spent most the time just relaxing by the beach. It reminded me a lot of family vacations we had when I was younger. There were even certain smells that brought me back to beach vacations in Florida. :-)

There were 9 of us on the trip. We took a 1-hour flight from Lima to Piura and then drove about 3 hours from Piura to Mancora. We left so early in the morning that we had the whole day on Tuesday to spend on the beach, but we were also so exhausted by the time we arrived. Good thing we went for a relaxing vacation! We rented a bungalow just south of the town of Mancora. The house ended up costing about $60 per person for the week--not bad! It was perfect for a group of college students, and it was nice to have our own place where we could cook some meals and just hang out. It also included a pool! The beach in front of our house was really nice, too. There were occasional vendors walking by, but otherwise it was pretty quiet.

Our house just far enough from Mancora that it was hard to walk to town, so instead we had to take "moto-taxis." It's sort of like a 3-wheeled motorcycle with a seat in the back and a cover over the top. It's a pretty logical means of transportation, considering the fact that the roads are all dirt and most people just want to travel just a short distance. But almost every time we rode in one, I was a little afraid we wouldn't make it in one piece! It was an adventure, that's for sure!

Mancora was such a strange little town. At first glance, it seemed pretty sketchy, but I quickly learned to love it! There was a cool craft market where vendors sold any and every type of jewelry. They also sold pottery, clothes, food, etc. It was easy to get sucked into the market...cheap and unique jewelry seems to be a weakness of mine. The main street wasn't very appealing to the eye, but we quickly learned that masked behind the dirty buildings are some of the most delicious restaurants! We ate at a new place every night, and each night the food was just as tasty as the night before. Mmm! Lots of seafood dishes with unique sauces and some GREAT desserts. And Mancora really is the land of hippies. Hippie-surfers who make jewelry when they're not riding the waves. In fact, there is a pillar near the beach that says (in Spanish) "The entrance of hippies, vendors, peddlers, and unauthorized persons is prohibited." See photo below. :-) After spending five days there, I realized that Mancora has this sort of captivating power. It seems that these hippies just happened upon the town and never wanted to leave. In fact, we met a woman who said she has been traveling all over South America but just keeps coming back to Mancora because she likes it so much. Maybe she just likes the marijuana and the Bob Marley music. Who knows.

We visited Mancora during the off-season. This meant that everything was cheap and there were no crowds. But it also meant that we weren't able to do some of the things we wanted to do. For example, we wanted to go to bathe in the mud baths near Mancora, but the roads were flooded because of the rain. It turned out okay, though. I caught up on sleep and got lots of reading done on the beach. And I saw some of the most breathtaking sunsets...

One of my favorite parts about traveling around this country is the people I meet. Kia and I met some people from Colorado and ended up touring their beach house and having drinks with them. They were some of the most interesting people I've ever met. Two of the guys from our group met Lucho Florez, a famous clothing designer, and were invited to lunch in his glass beach house. Even if I'm not meeting people, it's also interesting to see the melting pot of people in one small town. We saw people from England, Australia, Germany, and lots South American countries. I always have the urge to find out everyone's stories. But that's usually not socially acceptable. So sometimes I just make stories up as I people-watch. :-)

It was a great vacation, and now it's back to classes. Have I mentioned that it's a little difficult to find motivation to study when you're living in a different country??

Here are a few photos. The complete documentation is in my web album (you can find link on the right side of this page).

oh, life!

Well, the beach day was really fun. The only problem was that my camera ran out of battery. Sometimes I get frustrated when I want to capture something in a photo, but I just can't. Sometimes it's because I don't have my camera; other times it's because I'm in the back of a bus or a taxi and just can't pull my camera out. Still other times it's just because I simply cannot capture what I'm seeing. In The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Lena is a painter and in one part of the first book, she is painting scenes of a beautiful town in Greece. The author talks about how Lena just wants to put all the beauty she's seeing onto her canvas, but it's not humanly possible. So she concludes that sometimes she just has to see it...sometimes she just has to take in the beauty with her mind and love the fact that she's there seeing it, even if she can't capture it. Sometimes that's how I feel while I'm here. Some of the most beautiful or significant things I've seen so far just couldn't be captured on a camera. But that's okay! How great it is that I've had the chance to see them, even if I might never see them again.

Tonight at about 2 a.m. my group and I are flying to Máncora, Peru. We'll be there until Saturday. It's our unofficial spring break. We weren't actually supposed to have a spring break, but we finagled our way into getting one. We just had to switch a few classes around, and voila! We're spending a week on the northern coast! I'm so excited! I love Lima, but it is so wonderful to get out of the city and experience what else this country has to offer.

My Spanish continues to improve every day. Sometimes I feel like I wasn't really studying Spanish until I got here. Even though I've taken Spanish classes for 6 years, nothing compares to this kind of a language experience. I really, truly want to live in a Latin American country again. The perfectionist in me wants to conquer this Spanish thing. I know that the only way to really learn is to practice, and the only way to really practice is to be immersed in the language. I have discovered this passion in myself for learning in this way. It's hard to describe. And I guess I felt that I needed to write about this because I know there will come a time when I'm home again and I push Spanish aside, trying to convince myself that it's not that important. But it is important. It's become something I really want to pursue.

This past winter, I decided to drop the "Education" part of my Music Education major. In the fall, as I was applying to study in Peru, I finally decided to consider a Spanish major, solely for the reason that I will only have two more Spanish classes to take after I return home to compete the major. Let me tell you, these two decisions were perhaps two of the best decisions I've ever made. I've always been passionate about music (and don't get me wrong, I still am!) but I always figured I should study music because I'm good at it. Somehow, in the past two months, this opportunity has showed me that I'm passionate about a lot of things. Music makes me come alive. But so do traveling and meeting people and loving people...and a lot of other things. And I think that's a gift. I have no idea what I'm going to do after I graduate, but to me, that is SO exciting.

Sorry this was such a rambling post...

Before I left, I got a lot of comments like, "You're going to grow and learn so much!" or "I hope this is a great experience for you!" or "This semester is going to change your life." At the time, they all seemed so cliche. But I'm half-way done, and I can't even begin to tell you what a difference this semester has made to me.

Dog Update...

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk working on homework when suddenly, Flubber (the family's black lab) came into my room, walked over to me, and set his head right on my lap. I gave him a wondering look and after much hesitation, I scratched him behind the ears. As much as I'm trying to resist, I think Flubber and I are becoming friends. And there seems to be nothing I can do about it.

In other news, the ten Luther students are taking a trip to the beach tonight. It seems like such a glamorous life...I've been to the beach almost every weekend since I've been here. It makes me think, "why wouldn't I live in a city near the beach?" Anyway, I'm excited for a little time to relax with friends. I totally believe that the sun can do wonders for a person's well-being and overall mood. And I hear that it's been making more frequent appearances in the Midwest lately, too. :-)

peace & joy.

Say "Pachacamac" 5 times fast...

I think about blogging a lot, but lately I've felt like nothing blog-worthy has happened... Which is why Kia and I sat down together yesterday to plan some weekend trips. Our weekends are quickly disappearing, and I want to see some more of Peru! So we made some plans, and I'm excited for some new adventures.

Today we took a day trip to the ancient ruins of Pachacamac and spent the afternoon at the beach in Punta Hermosa. It was a gorgeous day. Blue skies until the sun set. :-)

My salsa dancing skills are improving immensely. I think salsa is becoming a new love of mine. It's just so fun! We're taking private group lesssons with a salsa instructor twice a week. On Friday we went out to a salsa club and I danced for hours. There was a live band and lots of great dancers. Like I mentioned before, it's all about the guy. If a great male dancer asks you to dance, you'll look like a pro.

I am currently avoiding a paper which is due tomorrow. College life isn't much different in another country. There's still homework...and there's still procrastination.

A few pictures from the day...

Homesickness

When I was young, I used to get homesick all the time. I rarely spent the whole night at sleepovers. I would have my mom come pick me up so I could be home and safe in my own bed. I hated when I had to spend a week at a relative's house while my parents were away. But at some point between then and now, my homesick feelings took a complete turn-around.

Right now, I have a home--as in, a house where my parents live. But I spend less than 3 weeks per year at this home. Really, where is my home? Sometimes it's at college. Sometimes it's at camp. Right now it's in Peru. And I love that about my life. I never get homesick anymore because I'm always just adding to the "homes" in my life.

But I do get people-sick. Naturally, I miss the people I love when I'm not with them. But it's more of a "I'm so glad this person is in my life and I would love to have him/her here with me" kind of missing.

I also find myself missing silly things about home. For example, I really miss driving in my car with the windows up and the music as loud as I can handle it. This is perhaps my favorite time to sing. I haven't had a chance to sing at the top of my lungs since I've been here.

Ironically, I was driving home from the beach today with my host family. We were listening to some Latin American music (which of course, I've learned to love) with the windows down and the wind blowing in. And I was thinking about how much I will miss moments like that.

So home or not, windows up or windows down, it's great that I don't have to choose. I can love Peru and Wisconsin. I can love silence and noise. I can love being near and far. And what a blessing it is to be able to have both in the same life!

Yes. Life is good.

Visit with Mom & Dad

My time with my parents was delightful. I'm so glad they came to visit! And they survived it all, you'll be glad to know. They even picked up a few Spanish words along the way. Plus, they got to see Machu Picchu before I did! :-)

Just buy it in the street!

I'd like to take this time to tell you about all the things you can buy in the streets of Lima. Or on the beach. Or in a park. Or sometimes on a bus.

A blender.
Knives.
Fruit.
Shoes.
Pirated DVDs.
Sunglasses.
Ice cream.
Clothes.
Scissors.
CDs.
Gum.
Purses.
Dish towels.
Cell phones.
Cell phone parts.
Candy.
A taxi sign for your car. (Now anyone can be a taxi driver!)
Steroids.
Vegetables.
Attachable bra straps.
Flowers.
A plate of cooked food. Where did it come from? Who knows.
Jewelry.
Books.
Computer parts.
Tools.
Musical instruments.
A telephone.
Table cloths.

Why go to the store when you can simply take a walk down the streets of Lima?

I think it would make for a really fun scavenger hunt...