Sorry I haven't been posting much. This past week and this coming week I have several tests that I am studying for. But next weekend Ane Kine and I are going to Chile so there will be some good pictures from that!!

EARTHQUAKE

Also there was an earthquake today south of Lima of a magnitude 6.6 -6.8. Apparently you could feel it here but I didn't..... Ane Kine texted me and was like "DID YOU FEEL IT??" and I was like, did I feel what?? Apparently in her class the projector and screen started shaking and everything for about 50 seconds! 

My first test aka I am a huge nerd

I had my first test in Peru last Thursday and it was in my History of Peru class. This type of test is called a "control de lectura" and most classes have them. It is basically a reading test where you have to know what the author says about the topic, not what you yourself think (which is hard for me cause as you all know I have many opinions). For this one, we had 300 pages out of a book about the Inca state, the conquest, and Spanish colonialism. It was a LOT of information to know! For the test we had 2 sections, each with 2 questions. For each section we had to pick one question and answer it in essay form.

The questions I picked were:

1) Based on the author's analysis, how did the Inca state organize the control over the Huarochirí lands and how did the local wak'as and Huarochirí special cultural characteristics have an impact on the special way the Incas organized these territories. Illustrate with examples from the reading.

2) Who were the "brokers" in colonial Andean society, and how did they relate to both Spaniards and the Andean population during the whole colonial period? Identify the benefits and problems that these people had to deal with in Huarochirí, giving specific examples and analyzing their situation.

We only had 2 hours to do this which was definitely not enough time. I was rushed and I definitely could have included more detail had we had more time.


Today before he handed the tests back, the professor made this whole speech about how a lot of people did very badly on the exam and only a few did really well. I hate it when professors do that I always get so nervous. And of course my test was one of the last to be handed back so I just got more and more nervous.

BUT it all worked out in the end because I got a 20 (which is the highest you can get because the Peruvian grading system is 1-20)!!!!!!! And I got the highest grade in the class!!!! I am such a nerd because I have literally been happy all day just because of this. Please excuse my obvious nerd status right now.

I want to live at Mistura

Last Friday I went to Mistura, the largest food festival in Latin America which is fortunately held right here in Lima! I went with several friends from all over -- Norway, France, USA, Mexico, and Peru -- so we were definitely an international group! Getting there was the hardest part -- there were special buses running there BUT they were all full....so the 6 of us piled into a taxi (after several attempts to get other taxis to take us but being denied because we were so many). I somehow ended up sitting on a lap, even though I am the tallest girl, so I spent the entire ride down to the beach bent in half....

Mistura is divided up into different "mundos" (worlds) -- they represent all the parts of Peru, as well as having an "oriental" world, a chocolate world, and a coffee world. There is also a whole section of stalls where people are selling their products, but also giving out a ton of free samples. This picture is of "Mundo Andino" (Andean world) which has food from the Andes, including Cuy (guinea pig)!!

I was looking forward to seeing cuy in person and Mistura did not disappoint...there were tons of places selling it! This place decided to put a stuffed guinea pig next to the cooked one so I just had to take a picuture. There was also a person in a cuy costume (kind of like basketball mascot costumes except a guinea pig).

Although I did not personally try it, the other people in my group bought cuy and ate it. You can't really see it in this picture but the foot still had the toes on it....

Ane Kine's first bite of cuy! 

This section was meat....just meat. Here are some alpacas being cooked.

closer up picture of the alpacas.

and this is just rows of pork...

This was a case just full of popsicles! They were expensive though so I didn't try one.

I FOUND VEGETARIAN FOOD! I don't know what the real name for this was but it was DELICIOUS. The one on the left is a pepper stuffed with some sort of sauce and with cheese baked over it. And the one on the right is a "potato cake" filled with egg and cheese.

This was in the free samples section and was a stall of just different salsas. The man working told us to try the spiciest one so we did....it was pretty hot but I survived.

This stall only sold olives. And they were delicious.

FINALLY I tried coca. This place was all things coca - coca pisco, coca desserts, plain coca leaves, you name it. I had the coca pisco and some sort of chocolate coca dessert thing.

These were supposed to be fruit flavored but the one I tried just tasted like grape cough syrup :(

This was the weirdest/best thing ever. This stall sold potatoes and potato bread and they had made a man out of potato bread! The man pictured was like brushing the potato man for some reason...he also told us the potato man's name but I don't remember it.

Of course we had to take a picture with the potato man. Right before we were going to take the picture the stall owner handed Ane Kine a bag of potatoes which is why we look slightly confused. 

There were different dance groups throughout the day that would go around the whole festival. This one is from the Amazon.

"Higher up in the mountains better grows the coffee berry" -- I love it when translations are just slightly off

This place had THE BEST frappecinos. We tried one as a sample but then couldn't resist...they were SO GOOD. 

cases of chocolate in chocolate world

the brazilian embassy had a stall in chocolate world with cool chocolate sculptures. Me and Ane Kine also got free ceramic to go mugs from here that say I love chocolate in portuguese with the brazilian flag.

case full of chocolate desserts

Chocolate sushi!!

cool chocolate art

Dancers and musicians, this time from the Andes. 

This is "queso helado" (cheese ice cream). It basically tasted like liquified cheesecake....

In true peruvian tradition, there was a whole world dedicated to taverns and bars

Here is a picture of me having my picture taken with my free brazilian mug...I don't know why this picture was taken but it is funny so I kept it.

Me and Ane Kine featuring Idunn and Tor's backsides (they said that they were going to ruin our picture but I think it turned out funny)

Me and Ane Kine overlooking the beach and Mistura

view of mistura

our last look at mistura and the beach

Just got back from Mistura. IT WAS AMAZING. I had so much good food! Pictures will be coming tonight or tomorrow!!

I am going to Mistura tomorrow. Mistura is a huge food festival held in Lima every year with chefs from all over South America and abroad! It is actually Latin America's largest food festival. Should be fun (and delicious)!!

Tour of my house and neighborhood

I have a camera now so here is your virtual tour of my house and neighborhood:

The outside of my house! We have the big gate with spikes you see here and also a gate in front of the door so it is very secure!

closer view of the house/gate

inside the house right as you walk in the front door. my room is the door you can see right at the top of the stairs. if you go down to the lower level the kitchen is to your left.

my room! 

the view out my window! 

there is a cactus growing outside my window on the wall...his name is Oswaldo

the view down my street

the view down my street 

one of many gates in my neighborhood....they are open at different times. this is open from 7am to 10pm. but even when they are "closed" you can open them by hand if you are a pedestrian.

another view of the gate

a stop sign. 

apparently i like taking pictures of stop signs.

a huaca down the street from my house. for the Incas and other pre-Hispanic societies, huacas had sacred powers over the land and the people. they took the form of rocks or mountains or rivers or even the mummies of ancestors. However now the word is often used to just describe an archaeological site. I don't know the history of this one.

closer view of the huaca

a pretty park in my neighborhood

lots of cute cacti and other plants!

these trees are so cool

a shrine to Santa Rosa of Lima I think

this is slightly concerning....

all the streets in my neighborhood are named after female saints! 

i love these 3 houses! such pretty colors!

this is the gate i go through on my way to the university every day. there is always a man sitting there "guarding" the gate.

here is the corner store in my neighborhood where i usually put more minutes on my cell phone. when i went in the other day they had fresh chicken....with the feet still on.

here is a corner store i go in a lot because it is on my way to/from the university. notice the ice cream case placed so you HAVE to look at it when you walk by. i have fell into that trap too many times.

a chicken restaurant next to a chinese chifa restaurant. aka lima in a snapshot.

street vendors selling food and snacks near the university.

the view down avenida bolivar. the tall building is part of the university!

avenida bolivar with a good shot of a university building

avenida universitaria. the university is on the other side of the road.

the university gate.

the main transportation system of lima is these small van/bus hybrids called combis. some of the stops/destinations are listed on the side but you basically just have to ask if you are not sure. 

closer shot of a combi