Unlike in Mexico where they shortened "buenas noches" to "buenathnocheth," here they just say "bueeeeeeeenas." Also they say "ciao" all the time, which pleasantly surprised me! My Italian heritage unexpectedly earned me some bonus points with my family, because they went on for a while about how awesome Italians are and how much they love music. I hope I live up to their expectations, because I have been known in the past for denouncing my heritage (the Lotus Club said it all. I can't name the Asian countries though), and this year I almost forgot it was the Fourth of July. But don't worry, I celebrated it by going to an Irish pub in Peru with my French brother (other exchange student who lives in our house). It was a very diverse day for me! The pub, however, was on the Calle de las Pizzas, so I did indeed retain a bit of my heritage. Not all was lost.
Anyway, onto more interesting topics....On Sunday we went out to lunch and were served an enormous buffet. First we had appetizers, then dinner, then another dinner, then dessert. Then I went up to get more dessert because the Peruvian sitting next to me informed me that the rice pudding I was eating was meant to be eaten with something else, which I had disregarded. Also we had drinks too. So I basically ate a 6 course meal. Let's round that up to 10. During that meal I tasted cow hearts, which are called anticuchos (I think that's how you spell it) de corazón. They were a bit chewy but afterwards I felt like the Grinch, whose heart swelled many sizes on the night he served the roast beast! I wonder what my real heart was thinking as it saw some other hearts pass it on their way to my stomach. I also had the option of eating some guinea pig, but I decided to save some of my eating adventures for another day!
On Monday our program director, Julio, took us to our future school and showed us around. I felt right at home because he, like my mother, knows everybody, and introduced us to about 500 people that he ran into. Then we ate a gourmet lunch in the faculty dining room, and upon Julio's recommendation we all ordered his favorite dish, Pollo Saltado, which consists of cooked onions, chicken, maybe some other random vegetables, french fries, and rice. It's very salty and the french fries are a bit soggy because they're mixed in with everything, but it was wry tasty! Fun fact about the school - many deer wander around the campus and they're so domesticated by this point that you can practically pet them (I did not take the risk. I also have absolutely no idea where the deer came from). Apparently there used to be two of them, and now there are 30. I will get back to you on how I feel about this incest.
After the school, we went to a museum and I did my best to understand everything Julio was saying about the 500,000 clay pots. Seriously there was actually a room with thousands and thousands of clay pots in tall shelves. Come to think of it, it sort of reminded me of the room in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with all the Prophecies in it. Previous sentence not relevant to anything but the train of thought in my brain. My favorite part of the museum was the section on arte erótica, which had many interestingly shaped pots in it. I only wish my mother's friends could have been there, because it would have been a wonderful source of inspiration for their future cakes. If I had my camera I would have taken pictures.
The good news is, I am going to be able to fulfill one of my life goals here (besides learning Spanish), which is to learn to surf! There are surfing classes - or, as they call them, clases de soorf - here, and I am determined to take one once it gets warmer! Finally, I can become a surfer dude!
Anyway, this entry is getting long and I am getting tired - all this talking in English, it just poops me out! Sheesh. Bueeeeeeenas!!!
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