Still in Peru!

Hola!

This week has been pretty good so far. Tawnya was sick over the weekend, we think it was a bacterial infection from something that she ate =(. So that was a bummer. But the good news is that she´s all better and back to her regular amazing self! Needless to say, we´ve been careful around any Peruvian dairy products ever since.

So these first few photos are from Peru´s national museum. For those of you who may not know a lot about Peru´s history (that was me seven months ago), these photos will be a bit shocking.

In the 1980s, the Shining Path was the most formidable rebel movement in Latin America, waging a brutal war with the Peruvian state. Not only did the Maoist group control large areas of the countryside but it also struck at targets in the capital, Lima, prompting fears it could eventually take over the country. Some 70,000 died in the rebellion and the counter-insurgency campaign it triggered. The violence only abated after Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman was captured in 1992. It officially ended in 2000...only eight years ago.




Personally, I had no idea until the first time I visited Peru, that such atrocities were taking place, and without any intervention.

Above: This is probably one of the most beautiful/tragic photographs I´ve ever seen

We went out about twelve times for Anna´s last night, the photo below is from night one. It´s at this chifa restaurant in Surco, where we´re staying. It´s really yummy Peruvian/Chinese restaurant...well, they call it Chinese food but it´s like no chinese food I´ve ever had (not that American Chinese food is authentic either, i.e. Chang´s) but chifa has a certain Peruvian flair. It took us forever to order, it was hilarious. We were all taking out our Spanish to English dictionaries trying to understand what we were about to eat--only the words were like the Peruvian version of Chinese words so they weren´t gonna be in any dictionary that we had! So funny.




Yesterday, we all went out for a little tour of downtown Lima. It was fun, we saw the catacombes, the church, the central square, etc.

You know, I thought Tawnya was getting better until I saw the state of her tongue! I´m not sharing water bottles with her anymore!

Everyone was like: Erica, you´re surrounded by beautiful architecture and you decide to photograph the pigeons?! And I was like: yeah guys, second time, second time. And this pigeon is friggin awesome!

The buildings below represent the three major sectors of power in Peru: the first is the religious power, the second is the government, and the third...it´s where the president lives? I don´t remember, I think I was distracted by that amazing pigeon while the guide was explaining it.

I got bored while eveyone else was getting the tour of old town Lima

below: Clariza and Tawnya start a puzzle

The photo below is taken from a highway in Lima. It´s of this really neat little town on the hill, where most of the houses are painted with all different fluorescent colors-it really brighens up the town! Oh, and it´s not blurry, that´s just the air quality! Wow, I can´t believe that it´s even brownish on film.

We went out again the night that Anna left. It was a quarter to nine, we hadn´t even ordered yet, we had walked to the restaurant, and her cab was coming to take her to the airport at 9:15...yeah, she was pretty hilarious.

Tawnya and Clariza

Anna takes a picture, Tawnya humors me!

Mmm, extra virigin olive oil goes down extra smooth!

We had yummy desserts and then returned to the casa, where Anna made it just in time to catch her cab! Aww, we shall miss her.

Deborah, Clariza, Anna, Me, Tawnya (the other girls were in Cuzco)

I know my updates have been few and far between, and I´m sorry! This whole not having the internet at the house thing really sucks. We only have two more days with most of our new friends, so there shall me many more photos in my next post.

Because Friday is Nicole´s last day, we plan on taking some photos at Mother Teresa´s, the kids love it when we take photos, and then show them to them in the view finder-- and the nuns love it when we print them out and bring them in--they don´t really have any photos of the kids on display as of now. It will be good because I´ll finally be able to show y´all where I´ve been working for the last two weeks.

until next time...

Love ya, mean it

E