En la Ciudad de los Reyes

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”― Eleanor Roosevelt

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A few photos from the Santa Cruz Trek

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A few photos from the Santa Cruz Trek

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Laguna Churup, Huascarán National Park, Perú

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Welcome to Huaraz

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First day in Huaraz

Today was a fantastic day. Nate and I arrived in Huaraz at 6am. After wandering the town a bit we found an awesome hostel with a location right next to the market. Sleeping on the bus was difficult, so we napped from about 9am until 2pm. At 2 we wandered over to the local market. Here we purchased some onions, eggs, avocado, and hot peppers to make an egg scramble. (Our hostel has a community kitchen and wifi!) we then wandered the market picking up some less than essential items(I bought myself a sexy sweater). At 5:30 we went to the bus stop to pick up Eron, our other friend who came on a later bus. After that we went straight to the market to buy some supplies for dinner. While in the market we heard live music coming from next door. We went next door and were greeted by about a hundred Peruvians shocked to see gringos coming to hear the music. We were asked to dance by some hot peruanas (average age 60). It was tons of fun and gave us a chance to see how the locals spend some of their time. For dinner we made pork with quinoa and used some of he left over peppers and onions left from lunch. Topped off with some Chilean wine. We ate outside and enjoyed the stars. hopefully out in the national park, the stars will be even more phenominal. Word to the wise, Do not touch your eyes after cutting South American hot peppers. I was regretting this mistake for about an hour. Tomorrow we will be headed out on a day trek to Laguna Churup. This is a glacial lake, and the pictures look beautiful. Leaving the hostel at 6am tomorrow, but returning to Huaraz tomorrow night. Today was fantastic. The town here is so authentic, and all the people are extremely friendly. Prayers are appreciated for the hike tomorrow and as we set out on our 4 day Santa Cruz trek starting Monday morning.

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Welcome to Huaraz

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Final Days

Tomorrow is my last day of classes. My time here has flown by. I've met so many great people, and had some experiences that changed my perspective on the life I live. Very busy last couple of days, here's an update:

Tuesday night I went to the National Stadium here in Lima to watch a charity soccer game. The game featured Lionel Messi, Neymar, Sergio Aguero, and some of the other premier soccer players in the world. The game was certainly a high scoring affair, ending 8-5. 

On wednesday evening one of the host families invited us over for a dinner fiesta! We enjoyed Civiche, Pisco sours (the national cocktail of Perú), and great company. We were able to go up the roof of their building and take some great photos! I even was able to play the guitar they had and led the group in some sing-a-long numbers. Felt great to pay again after a month of missing my guitar. 

My best friend here, Michelle. She's Peruvian! (but actually from New Hampshire)

Tonight was the Fourth of July/ Farewell dinner for my study abroad program. It was great to see everyone together for one last time, but sad to know this will be te last time I see some of these new friends. We were entertained by some fantastic musicians and dancers who demonstrated some of the traditional dances for us.

Doing America proud in Perú with my buckeye friend Nate.

Kelly and I. Kelly is one of the nicest individuals i've ever met. She's the one who lent me the camera.

Tomorrow will be a busy day as well. Tomorrow I will be presenting my final project for my marketing class. The assignment is to take a product that isn't currently available in Perú and go through the process of bringing that product to and marketing that product here in Perú. I chose the music streaming service Spotify for my project. Check out this add I created for my Spotify Perú Project:

The ad translates: "You share moments with your friends. Now share music also. With Spotify, it's easy to share your favorite music. Try it for free today." Spotify has been successful largely thanks to its connection with facebook, and the ease with which the program allows users to share songs with their friends. Community is a large part of Peruvian culture. This can be observed through the closeness of families, and the intimacy of their friendships. My project is focused on emphasizing the community aspect of Spotify, hoping to get users and their friends onboard.

Tomorrow after classes end, my friends Nate, Eron, and I will be setting off for Huaraz, Peru. Huaraz is a town out in the Andes mountains. From there, we will be hiking the Santa Cruz trail. This is a 4 day 3 night trek through the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. This will easily be the highest altitude i've ever reached, topping off at around 15,580 feet high. This hike is rated as one of the top 20 trails in the world by National Geographic. Here's a link if you'd like to read a brief write up about the trail:

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/worlds-best-grail-trails/#/cordillera-blanca-santa-cruz-trek_56333_600x450.jpg

I will be returning to the US on July, 16th. Check back for mountain pictures sometime around the 15th. That was a long one, but so much has happened these past few days. Hope to see you all when I get back to the states! God Bless America on this 4th of July.

What i'm listening to (click the artist/album name to be directed to spotify to listen):

Spoon - Gimme Fiction

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Happy Fourth!

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My Peruvian Family!

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Some unedited pics from this weekend's trip. Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu, and Cusco.

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Peruvian Generosity

I have really been touched at how generous people are here. From my host mom having a cellphone ready for me, to Rosa Maria over feeding me everyday, people here love to give. Today the Peruvian spirit of giving touched me again. My uncle John works as a photographer. He very generously offered to send a camera to me down here to use (americans can be generous too :D ). The camera should have arrived last week or the beginning of this week but for some reason it was being held at the DHL location in Lima. As I am somewhat timid to talk to people on the phone in spanish, I went to the study abroad office for help.

Kelly, a peruvian girl who works there called DHL many times for me inquiring about the package. They told us that the package would arrive today(friday). This was perfect timing as the group leaves tomorrow at 5am for Cusco and Macu Picchu tomorrow(saturday) at 5am. When I went by the office this evening after classes to see if the package had arrived, the package unfortunately was not there, and Kelly had left for the evening. I sent Kelly an email telling her what had happened but thanking her for all of her help.

As I was packing this evening, the doorbell rang. Pepe, my host mother's adult nephew, answered the door and then came to my room telling me it was a girl down stairs for me. This was very strange as I don't really get visitors here out of the blue, we americans like to plan when we're going to see each other. I came downstairs, and was surprised to find Kelly waiting in the living room, holding a camera case in her hands. She told me how sad she was that the camera had not arrived, and how it would be a shame to not be able to take photos during this exciting part of my trip. She then offered me the camera case which contained her personal camera. She told me she wanted me to have it for the weekend and to fill the rest of the memory card with photos of my friends and I at Machu Picchu.

This is part of why i've fallen in love with the people here. The people are not afraid to give all they have to you. To Kelly I am probably just one of many students her office works with here in Peru. But to me, her actions and the actions of the other people in my life( John, Austry my host mom, Rosa Maria, my peruvian friend Victor) have spoken volumes about how generous people can be to one other. Adios amigos y familia, voy a Machu Picchu!

note: I should be in bed as I leave for Cusco and Machu Picchu tomorrow at 5am but I wanted to send out one more post before the weekend.

Look for posts next week from the land of the Incas!

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There are 4 students here from Ohio State. I've hated all of them since the day I met them.

Plaza San Martin en el barrio centro de Lima.Notice how this poor buckeye couldn't comprehend the concept of sleeves.

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Food Explosion

This weekend Lima showed me what seafood is all about. If you think you know good seafood, but have never been to Lima, you simply don't know good seafood. My new friend Victor and my host family introduced my palate to a multitude of new flavors. Here are some photos from a weekend of culinary excellence. Happy Fathers day to all of the dads out there! A special happy fathers day to the awesome David Johnson! Love you! Shout out to Nancy Nguyen who has been asking for more pictures of food. 

Ceviche

Ceviche with more Leche Del Tigre. The marinade that cures the seafood in ceviche is called Leche del Tigre(in english, tiger's milk)

Granadilla. Looks like frog eggs on the inside, but is undeniably delicious.

What i'm listening to:

The Crane Wives - Fool in Her wedding Gown

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Clases de Cocinando

Today I helped Rosa Maria, the house keeper here, to make a big lunch. We made Ají de caiguas y pavita. This is a stew type dish made with chicken, and caiguas, a vegetable I had never seen before. With this we made a salad flavored with lima and salt. The end result turned out quite delicious!