Well, I made it to Lima last night around 11:30pm. Thank you all for praying for safe travel. The 6 1/2 hour flight went smoothly and I actually slept the last two hours and did not wake up until the plane's wheels hit the ground.
I flew from Baton Rouge to Houston and in Houston while waiting for the flight to Lima, I met three of the other girls who are a part of my group. That was a nice surprise! It has been fun getting to know the other 14 girls. We are from several different states and four universities-- Iowa State, Montana State, Mississippi State, and the University of Alabama. 
Here is some of the group. Haha we stick out like a sore thumb!
Last night we had a 45 minute bus ride from the airport to the hotel so we didn't get to bed until around 2 am. Our hotel is great, not luxury living, but very appropriate for us. The fifteen of us are spread out over two flours. There are two or three of us in each room and it is pretty much just us staying here-- It almost feels like I am back at the Chi Omega sorority house! I love it!!
Hotel Yeyas!! My home/sorority house for the next 28 days.
Thankfully I got a great night of sleep. I was so thrilled to find a fan in our room that makes noise just like the fan in my room at home. The four of us that flew from Houston to Lima together and got in late last night slept in this morning. Unfortunately that meant sleeping through breakfast, but we didn't even care because we were so excited to met the other girls any get out to explore the city. Lima is a HUGE city -over 8 million people. It's just a tad bigger than Starkville (HA!). The district we are staying in is La Molina. It is a very nice and relatively newer area. Dr. Marquis, my professor/tour guide for the month, said that Lima is doing really well economically and as a result, there is construction and newly built buildings everywhere. There is a lot of US influence. There are brand new, very nice Starbucks, Chili's, McDonalds, and even Popeye's Chicken spread throughout the city. There also are a lot of casinos. This was my favorite:
Mardi Gras Casino!!!! A little taste of home :)
We were told to be ready this morning for 12:15 to be picked up and taken to the Miraflores district for a "brunch." I thought brunch was usually before noon, but not here! All of the meals here are eaten much later than we do in the US. No Chi Omega 11 am lunch and 5 pm dinner! So we were taken to Miraflores which is right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. IT. IS. BEAUTIFUL. The restaurant was called "Mangos" and we sat on a patio on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Our view at "brunch"
The view wasn't the only great part. The food was AMAZING. It was a buffet, but not like the Golden Coral in McComb, MS. The food was authentic Peruvian delicacies. Gourmet unlimited buffett! I tried everything!
That is cow heart on the skewers. It was yummy!
Rice pudding, chocolate mousse, fresh pineapple, sweet potato doughnuts with vanilla bean sauce, tres leche cake, passion fruit cheese cake...SUGAR COMA!!!
Every thing was delicious. With the exception of the tamale...not spicy at all. What a bland tamale!? I didn't know there was such a thing! Notice the GIANT corn kernels (the white chunk at the bottom right). Best corn I have ever had. Taste nothing like corn in the US. I don't even know how to describe it. The pinkish lumps in the middle of the plate is Ceviche. This was by far my most favorite dish to try. It is actually raw fish that is briefly marinated in lemon and lime juice which denatures the proteins so the texture is like that of cooked fish. It is SOOO good!!! So fresh!
Well, enough about food. After we all ate entirely too much, we decided to walk it off and we walked around the Miraflores district. There were a lot of luxury shops like Marc Jacobs, Prada, etc. It was nice to walk around and take in the beautiful views. The landscaping throughout the city is awesome. Unfortunately a lot of my pictures of scenery did not come out well because there is a constant cloud cover over the city. It is very smoggy.
One of my favorite's! Haha giant ducks made of greenery and flowers.
After exploring for a while we headed back to La Molina to the hotel then we set out for an adventure--we went to the Super Market. Oh man. This was interesting. One of the girls described the way Peruvians shop at a super market as being similar to the way they drive. Loud, pushy, overcrowded isles, long lines. Even with all of this and a 30 minute wait to check out, we still enjoyed it AND we found peanut butter! Like the frugal/typical college students we are, we bought peanut butter, bananas, and bread to pack for lunch to bring to class.
This is a friend we made while walking around Miraflores. There are puppies and dogs every where!! And not rabid ones! People love their dogs here just like we do in the states.
Tomorrow morning we are going to the research institute where our classes will be held. I believe we are just getting an introduction to the institute and we will meet the Peruvian students that we will be in class with!!!!!!!! I am so excited, if you can't tell by the exclamation points. Then we will take a tour of some local markets!
That is all for now. I will post again soon! Good night friends!
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