Traveling to Peru: Feasting on the Culture

Peru offers a wide array of food, and in Lima you find a large variety of tastes. Foods are prepared in different methods depending on the area and class system. You can have the same dish at twenty different places and each would have its own unique flavors.

Popular Dishes:

Cuy

This is a delicacy in Peru; and is one of the most popular dishes. Cuy is guinea pig, friend or roasted and served with rice and potatoes. At most restaurants you can even pick out what guinea pig you want!

Lomo Saltado

This is a classic. Lean cuts of beef in a vegetable stir fry served over rice and french-fries and, in some places, topped with an egg. Although the combination of French fries and rice sounds strange the combination is tasteful.

Llama and Alpaca

This meat is one of my favorites. It has the same tenderness as lamb, and is served with vegetables and rice.  In some places, you can find thin cuts of raw alpaca covered in a lemon-lime mixture.

Anticuchos

This is cow heart, slowly grilled to perfection. The first time I ate this it was delicious… until my father told me what it was. It became less and less appealing the more I thought about it. Going back to Peru the second time when I was older,  I found the dish to be perfection.

Sea Food

Lima offers a full array of sea food, including octopus and squid! These dishes are served in a variety of ways. My favorite is the sea food pasta; a variety of shrimp, clam, scallops, fish and other sea food served on top a bed of fettuccini noodles with a white wine sauce. Ceviche, raw fish marinated in a lemon-lime juice is another local favorite and delicacy.

 

When touring the Lima (or any of Peru's cities) make sure you take care not to eat foods that could put you at risk of getting a disease or becoming sick. After three years, here is my list of pointers when it comes to food:

 

• Do not eat salads unless you are at a high end establishment. Most places do not clean their produce when serving it raw, and unless you are accustom to the bacteria, it can make you sick.
• Do not drink the water from public fountains. Instead by bottled water. In some areas of Peru you should not buy water at restaurants even if it is in a bottle. Many places will take bottles and refill them to give to customers. It is safer to go with a soda, or a juice.
• Do not eat fruit that has not been washed, unless cooked.  The bacteria found of vegetables and fruit can make you sick.
• Do not eat mayonnaise from vendors. These vendors do not have proper refrigeration and often food is left out, or in rare cases a cooler. Mayonnaise can easily go bad if kept at room temperature and contains ingredients that can make you sick. This is especially true as most mayonnaise you will encounter at a street vendor will be home made.
• Be careful when eating meat, especially from venders- you can get food poisoning or bacteria like e-coli from spoiled or undercooked meat. Eating meat or fish that has been sitting in a lemon-lime mixture is less likely to cause infection or make you sick.

Be open to trying new things! I have had many experiences where I have not wanted to eat something, and then discovered I really liked what I was trying. In Peru there are a lot of new things to try from ceviche to grilled banana. You don't have to try everything, but try a few new things on your trip. This is an adventure after all!

Being Back and Going Back

The past few months being in the States has almost been as startling as living in Peru, you get used to things, and any change can be hard. I walked down every single grocery store isle when I got back and was almost amazed at the difference in variety and quantity. A month later I stopped and stared at the shelve of molasses. In the one year we were in Peru, we had only been able to find one jar of molasses, which went into gingerbread cookies at Christmas time. I hand washed ALL my dishes for the first month because I forgot we had the modern connivance of a dishwasher. I still  take cold showers because I don't expect to have hot water.  Other things have been different too. If I bump into someone, my first response in my mind is in Spanish. But the biggest change for me has been not volunteering, I really miss that. I do a lot of YSA/JAS (young single adult) activities and go to Institute every week, but I haven't been able to fill my time with volunteering or working and that has been hard for me.

I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had in Peru.

I have learned more about life in the past year than I have ever learned from a textbook. The lessons I have gained about humanity, and compassion and love will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Living in Lima Peru has been eye opening, and an incredible experience. I am blessed to have had such an opportunity and to have been able to meet so many amazing people, and to be apart of their lives. I am grateful for those who took time to help me, and to give of their time and efforts to volunteer beside me and I hope that you will all continue in your own way. If there is any lesson I have learned it is that, if you do good, it impacts your life in ways you never thought it would.

This isn't goodbye, not yet. 

 I will be back in Peru for a few weeks in December. I am so excited to be able to see my kids (the children at Westfalia) and to be able to see friends. I hope to be able to do something for the children this Christmas, even if it is something simple. I want to challenge you all to find a way to give to someone else this Christmas who is struggling, or just needs a little extra love. It doesn't have to be big. It's really the small things in life that matter the most. 

Think about it, and how you might be able to do something for someone else this Christmas season. If you need any ideas, feel free to comment or contact me.

I also just wanted to say thank you, for reading this blog and supporting me. It really means a lot to me, and I am very grateful to you all.

Mi Ultimos Dias Parte Uno

Hello from Utah!

It's been a hectic few days. Thursday was my last day in Peru and Friday we flew to Atlanta and then to Salt Lake.  We ran into a few problems with immigrations and security along the way. Is there a way to travel without being hassled? I didn't think so.  Saturday was spent with my cousins and getting groceries. Now we are just settling in and getting used to being back. The differences between here and Peru are as great as an ocean. I miss Peru but I am happy to be in Utah. It's a bittersweet experience because I miss the sweet kids at the orphanage and volunteering, and all my new friends but it's exciting to be here and be with my family and start a new adventure.

My last few days were spent with friends, family, adorable kids and volunteering with Express Connect.

I have loved working with Express Connect. Going to schools and talking to children was a great opportunity, to both practice my Spanish, and become more educated on issues like abuse and bullying but really the best thing was being able to help kids in a small small way.

The last two weeks I went to two different schools to talk about self esteem and bullying with kids. With our self esteem presentations we bring out a mirror and have people say what they like about themselves, something inside like a talent or trait they have and one thing that they like about the way they look. 

 

I've learned a lot about my self while volunteering and the importance of thinking of yourself and being okay with yourself if not happy with yourself. 

My last time I went to a school, was Monday and we visited the Alexander Flemming school, one that I have been to before and talked about before on my blog and as we were doing the last presentation and there was a boy who was autistic and he wrote down on a piece of paper "this is CNN" and I wasn't sure why, except that maybe that was the most English he knew and he helped with a part of the presentation, we were doing roleplaying with the kids and after we left and he came and gave me a big hug and then he slipped the little piece of paper into my hand. I saw him after in the hall while he was putting his coat on and he gave me another hug. It was a good feeling being hugged by a boy who has seen you once but as so much love for all those around him, friend or foe and I wish that everyone could feel the same feeling I did because it is a truly amazing feeling.

Kids are so loving and kind and patient, I think we could all learn a lesson from them.

Two Days

I only have two more days in Peru. Two more days to volunteer at the Orphanage, two more days to see Alexandro and Eduardo, and two more days until I say goodbye and start a new adventure.

Two days. That's only 48 hours.  So little time to get everything ready for the next part of my life. I feel like I am at the end of a chapter in a book and it was just so good I don't want it to end but at the same time I want to see what the next chapter holds. It is such a bittersweet feeling. A happy, sorrowful, beautiful, tragic feeling.

A Busy Week

This has been a busy week. I've barely had any free time, between volunteering and getting ready to go home. I can't believe how much time has passed so quickly. I leave to go home on Thursday and it just doesn't seem like I've been here for eleven months.

I spent Monday and Tuesday with Express Connect. We went to a new school and gave multiple presentations about Self Esteem.

Wednesday, as per usual I went to the orphanage.

Thursday I volunteered again with Express Connect, we went to the Alexander Flemming school again, the school we first visited in November. We gave five presentations about bullying.

Friday I was back at the orphanage of course spent some time with Alejandro and Eduardo. Ale played with my camera, and took lots of selfies, which I think are absolutely adorable.

How can he not make you smile?

Today we went to the Inca market and bought some souvenirs and a few gifts for friends. We also walked around at Locomar and made a visit to the Gap store. I bought a hoodie that says GAP Peru. It was a fun day with my family despite preparing for leaving.

It feels crazy to be going back, and I am sure it will seem as alien as Peru did at first when I go back.

 

An Armadillos English

Today I visited the orphanage with my brother Marcus and as I didn't have a fluent Spanish speaker with me I had to try really hard to speak to others. Luckily there wasn't too much to say to anyone over five, however I managed to thoroughly confuse Eduardo. He is a sweetheart though so he didn't seem to mind too much, although it could have been due to the fact that I brought him food. 

The kinders were really cute today, they were coloring giraffes when we got there and after lunch had a small party. They were doing renovations in the kindergarten room so we were all outside today, luckily it wasn't too chilly.

 

I brought the kinders tangerines and chocolate milk, which was good because otherwise Ricardo, Xiomara and Angelo would not have had anything for lunch. 

 

Marcus and I played soccer with Eduardo while Alejandro was doing lessons with a tutor.

 

 

And of course I fed him cookies, and when Alejandro came out I gave him a pack too.

 

Alejandro played with my camera as per usual and we took some pictures together.

 

 

I'm not completely sure what we were doing when Alejandro snapped this, but I was definitely trying to give Eduardo some bunny ears. Look at his smile. Is he too old to call cute?

 

I loved watching the kinders dance, and of course I decided to join them. If you have never danced with a bunch of little kids, you should add that to your bucket list. Seeing how they dance and watching the girls talk and giggle was very amusing.

 

After we said our goodbyes, and I promised Alejandro and Eduardo I would be back on Friday, this time with Laura we left. Marcus and I decided to grab some lunch and see if we could find any bottled milk at the store.

 

We ate at a sandwich shop at La Molina Plaza before shopping at Plaza Vea. I ordered myself a sandwich and coke and Marcus a hotdog without any condiments and an inca cola and thought I had done a pretty good job ordering in Spanish. My confidence only lasted until the food was brought out and the only thing placed in Marcus' basket was a small baguette, not even cut.

 

We both looked at each other and I apologized before bursting out laughing. Marcus found it more of a nuisance than he found it amusing.

 

 

He angrily chastised me on my poor Spanish skills and said “Your Spanish is like an armadillo's English" I stared at him blankly before he continued, “...except an armadillo doesn't even know what English is, which is more the point."  I asked him where he had heard that and he looked at me with a serious face and said, "I made it up myself."  Funny kid. If you can make any sense of Marcus' armadillo analogy let me know.

 

Happy Wednesday!

The Power of Words

Three  years ago I picked up a book. On a car ride home we stopped in Palmyra New York at the Deseret Book Store. I quickly picked out two books to read, one was Spare Change by Aubrey Mace.  

 

In Spare Change, Riley Madsen has a New Years resolution to save all her Pennies for a year and donate the money  to a Cancer foundation. Of course it grows when her friends ad family help her by saving their pennies too. Add in a budding romance a secret admirer it was just the book I was looking for.  The story was well written, funny, and sweet. 

 

 It got me thinking; here I was, on a family vacation, just back from a month long summer camp and asking for a Nook for my birthday and of course a bunch of other little things. I was being selfish. I already had everything I needed and more. Then I thought, why can't I do something to help someone else?  College was still a few years away and I didn't have anything pressing I needed to save up for. I did quite a bit of babysitting for a few families in the ward and neighborhood.

 

As I thought more about this I remembered the kids at an orphanage in Arequipa we used to visit. We would bring cookies and play with the kids on Sundays. Sometimes we would bring old toys to donate or blankets and supplies. I remembered the feeling I got when I did something to help them and how fun it was seeing them play with their new toys and get a simple treat like cookies. I decided then that was what I should save up for. I figured in a few years I would donate the money. I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to come back to Peru.

 

My goal was 50,000 dollars. I now realize how unrealistic that goal was. Nerveless, I saved 90% of all my babysitting earnings, leftover lunch money, and all the coins I found floating around the house. If it wasn't in someone's bedroom, or in their personal belongings it was fair game.  In the first three months I had scraped together a little over 300 dollars. I started spending evenings rolling change so I could take it to the bank. It was a lot of work. 

 

I didn't make my goal of 50,000- not even close, but for being one person, and only babysitting I think I did okay. 

 

That book may not have been all that inspired me- but it gave me an idea, pushed me in the right direction. Would I still be here if I hadn't read the book? I don't know. Would I have still saved like a mad woman? I don't know. I don't know if it had a big impact- but I am a firm believer in the ripple effect and maybe along the way other ripples effected my course- but that first idea, the first drop in the pond, was there.

 

So that is how it started. On a road trip, with one book, and a lot of time to sit and stew about my life.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Words have the power.To create ideals, to destroy faith; To make critics into believers and dreamers into realist.  A few words inspired me to do something selfless and kind.

 

Be careful with your words- They are Powerful.  

Count your Blessings

When you're worried, and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep, and you'll fall asleep counting your blessings.  -Bing Cosby

I have been learning a lot about blessings lately... I have really learned to appreciate things like washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, electricity, long hot showers, water...
 

Especially water.

If you have ever been in a power outage or bad storm where you have lost water and heat and electricity for a while, you know that it sucks not having water. You can deal with the power outages, and loss of heat- those can easily be remedied with blankets and flashlights. Water is pretty important though.

Today they shut our water off to do some maintenance at 9am. It's now after 9pm and it's still off. Let me tell you, spending the whole day not being able to wash your hands is pretty uncomfortable. It makes me appreciate hand sanitizer and the fact that I live in a time where it's expected of people to shower daily. 
 

Not having water  makes me think of when we used to live in Arequipa... I was about eleven and I hated wearing my shoes.  If it wasn't absolutely necessary, chances are I wasn't wearing them. My feet used to get so dirty   my dad started calling me Black Foot.  Once he made me wash off my feet before company came over. Tonight my feet are charcoal black and I can't wait to wash off the grim of the day.

It was easier being a child-when things didn't matter. You didn't care if your hair got wet in a rain storm because you were having too much fun jumping in the puddles. When you just wiped your mouth on your sleeve and went about your day.  It's easier not caring what you do, how you look, or what people with think of you. Although I still like rainstorms and particularly dancing in them. 

I really am so thankful for water, and electricity.  I am grateful I live in this generation. I don't think I express my gratitude enough-  I don't think we realize that these things are not guaranteed. We expect so much when we don't work for it or even appreciate it.  I mean, how many times a day do you sit and think "I am so grateful to have a dishwasher." I mean, we have all grumbled over loading the dishwasher. And why? It makes our lives easier, it gives us more free time- yet we don't see that. We just see how much work we have to do. 

I am so blessed and am so grateful for these seemingly small blessings we have. What's the saying- you don't appreciate it until you don't have it- that is definitely true... I don't think I had ever given a thought to water, or electricity before. I just expected it. I never realized how important the small things were.  I will leave you will a quote I read today that made me really think about myself:

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" -William A. Ward

 

Shopping

We went to the mall on Saturday,and while my mom was busy looking at table cloths or something in her favorite store Casa & Ideas, Marissa and I went into Saga Falabella to look for some hair clips. Shopping is shopping so we figured we would be okay.

It is the most confusing, annoying process.

 Let me explain.  There are little kiosks all over the store, with merchandise around it.

 So you choose your merchandise, and then you give it to the lady at the kiosk by it. She then prints you off a receipt and sends you to the Caja- the cash register. There you give them the receipt and pay. And then they give you another receipt. You then take your receipt back to the kiosk where they check it and give you your stuff along with another receipt.

 

So by the time you are through, you have talked to several people, been in several lines, and have a dozen receipts in your pockets.While we were there we saw this giant ostrich display with the jeans.   We took pictures (of course).

 

The Science Museum

Last Friday we took a trip to a science museum. It was interesting. 

It was in a large warehouse and had  different sections.

I liked this one. The object was to use your weight and work together to balance or tip the scale to get the basketball from the top to the bottom and through another hoop. 

 I cringed at the sight of this structure.

 I was positive that it was going to collapse at any moment.

The fearless ten year old tried it anyway. Props Marcus. 

And then he rode a bike, so you could see the way your bones move.

There was a warning sign on it:

Drive with Caution.

Oh the irony of it. Peruvians don't drive with caution... at all. 

Nothing was holding the blocks up but the blocks themselves.

There was an earthquake room, although I don't know why, because earthquakes are quite common. 

We had two early this morning. One at 2am and one at 4am. 

I don't know what this is, but they had fun with it.

Marcus on a bed of nails. Apparently it was pretty comfy. I didn't try though.

Want to learn about the dental system? They had that too.

And the birthing process... 

just in case you missed health class.

My personal favourite was the big pregnant lady.

 You know, just in case you wanted to see how the baby grows. 

Why is it so big? Yeah, we don't know either. 

Marissa and Mom, looking cute as always.

There was a random information desk, so we posed. 

I was employee of the month.

 Mom was sleeping on the job.

And that was our exciting trip to the museum!

A Very Boring Week

Hello Everyone!

This week was a bit boring. I had made plans to go out and do some volunteering, but it fell through. So I spent most of the week sulking in my room. On Friday though all our things came. I was really  excited to have new sheets and a mattress cover/ pillow top. It was heavenly to sleep in. I organized everything in my closet. I really didn't bring very much but I don't mind.

Our water keeps going out. It isn't too bad during the day, unless you need to shower. When the water finally comes back on all we get is really cold water so taking showers kinda sucks. I have to remind myself that there are people who don't have water heaters.

Here are a few pics. Last weekend we went to the Inka Market and found a few things there. I got some bracelets and we found Marissa a really cute sweater made from alpaca. We got Zach a few things too, and a few gifts for family.

I spy a... skateboarding dog? and other things

I had quite a day yesterday... paint balling and then hanging out with the family. 

Marissa & I went paint balling with some of the youth in our ward.

 And I have some lovely bruises from it. It was lots of fun though, so it was worth it. 

After we drove along the coast and walked along some of the shops. We had a lot of fun as a family eating lunch and just talking as well as looking at the shops and walking around. 

 

 We ate at TGI Fridays. Marcus had salchipapas (hot dog and fry's) 

 We all had to have dessert (of course!)

 Mom and Marcus shared a brownie with ice cream. 

 Marissa ate two ice cream cookies all by herself. She was really hungry (:

 I shared a key lime pie with my dad. After sneaking a bite (or two!) of the others desserts,I have to say that the key lime pie was the best of them. It was delicious. 

 We walked around a bit, and later, because we didn't get enough sweets, 

we stopped at Starbucks for hot chocolate and triple chocolate cookies. 

 It was a bit windy and misty and cloudy yesterday but also very beautiful. We all enjoyed walking around together. 

 While there taking pictures we saw a very cute bulldog skateboarding. He was really cute. 

Here is the video I got of him. 

We also saw an exhibit of dresses made all out of natural/ recycled materials. 

The newspaper one was my favorite.