HEY! YOU¨RE READING THE BLOG OF AN EXTREME SPORTS-ER!!

Hey Yall
It´s pretty impossible to not do extreme sports here, because every 5 feet there´s a deadly canyon or white rapids or some impossibly unscalable mountain, and now I´m happy to say I´m one of the many. Not extreme sports, that is. I am an extreme sport-er. Yesterday with 33 kids from the University de San Pablo, I scaled Picchu Picchu, and how cool is that? Definitely sore today. It took three hours up and about an hour and a half down. SO HARD. But our final destination were these 100s of feet tall waterfalls, and it was SO CHEVERE. Ok, got to go to the parillada thing, I don´t think that´s how you spell it, but they rock...one word....grill.... = ) = ) = )

Vengaza de los Sith

So, I saw Star Wars last night. All in spanish, but that was all right. It´s a pretty good movie, considering it´s Star Wars. I was actually hoping there would be spanish subtitles, because they don´t usually voice over American movies, but I guess this is a pretty big movie. So. And, I don´t know, people want me to pick up and go to Cuzco tonight at 8. It´s 3 30 right now. They´ll be there for 5 days, I don´t know what they´re doing, I don´t really have the money, blah blah blah. I am incredibly boring. Really. Cheap too.

Hello all

Sorry to not have updated in a while, but my life is the most boring you will ever know, so be happy. Not much going on. Work is SLOW and I get voted down at every turn. Don´t really know what good I can do here, but working on it. The weather is nice, and I´m really pissed I didn´t bring more books here. I´ve only got part of one left. I had the FANTASTIC idea to re-read all the Harry Potters, since the NEW BOOK is coming out in July, but have no idea where I´ll find them in English. Bummer. And it´s way expensive to ship them from home. Hmmm. Will think about this....hope everyone´s having a good summer, can´t wait to get back in July. = ) Enjoy the new Star Wars, anyone? I heard it sucked...

Don´t read this blog entry if you have any respect for me that might be destroyed...

With that word of warning, let me tell you about last night. = ) Ok, so it was my welcome party, but first there was my welcome GMM. I gave a horrible presentation of myself in spanish, baisically conveying that Im a raging drunk, and yes they believe the stereotype that American girls are easy, but dont worry, Im single-handedly proving it. Anyway, after that debauchery (oh yeah, earlier in the morning they took me on a city tour--completely useless, because Ive been on about nine of them and know more than the locals, but hey, good people, good times). Anyway, after the meeting ends at like 6, Lucho (see past entries for airport guy) and his sister Vivi are all, do you want to go with us until your party? Although Id come with Yoel, I didnt really give a fuck, so Im all sure, why not be late to my own party, and promptly left. So we go to their house. See past entries for why I´m convinced their father hates me. Im a little leery about going there. Then, damn it all, their parents are going out, and I´m all great, they´re not gonna want a gringa tagging along. So, his parents are talking to me in spanish, and they keep repeating this word that sounds like mismo, which in Spanish means, the same, so I know that I have no clue what theyre talking about. Then, like four times, theyre like, do you want to go to mismo and then eat chicken? And Im all damn, I really suck at spanish, why the hell do they keep mentioning chicken? Anyway, once again Ive agreed to something I have no idea what the fuck it is, and Im dragged along for a ride to God knows where. Anyway, turns out that elusive m word stood for MASS and I spent the next hour in the most famous Catholic cathedral in all of Peru. Actually really cool, but Vivi informed me the most important people of all of Arequipa were attending this special memorial mass, hence the nice clothes, etc. Great. I bet they loved the disrespectful gringa desanctifying their religion in her jeans. Anyway. Whatever. So now the chicken part. First of all, as were walking away from the church, Im walking next to her dad. Now, believe me, I was the most devout of Catholics during the service, crossing myself and everything, not because its my religion at all, but because Im sitting next to this man. So, walking next to him, Im all great, were going to have to talk or something. Anyway, he starts this long drawn out conversation in Spanish about Pirahnas, or however you spell it, explaining how they eat everything, except for the ones that only eat women, and how do you say Pirahhna in English? So Im all what the hells going on? LATER I figured out, when he mentioned it again, that he was talking about the clips in my hair. The words for hair clip and Pirahhna are almost the same, hence the joke about some only eating women and others eating anyone. lol. So, maybe he doesnt hate me after all. Anyway, so we go to get chicken. Turns out its rotisserie chicken, open grill, and a huge deal bc they only eat it once a year. Hence repeating the importance of fowl about four times. They say eating one of these is like smoking a pack of cigs, but I know after these two months Im going to die of lung cancer anyway, so whatever. Anyway, Im pretty excited, because its the first dinner Ill have in almost 2 weeks. So, when they bring my quarter of a chicken with fries and salad, I of course reach with my hands, only to see the rest of the family commence with forks. Bummer. I know Americans are informal ppl, but at least we eat faster. Anyway, after seeing me struggle for a few minutes, trying to eat, the Dad says, April! And picks up his chicken to eat with his hands. Great cultural moment, actually. For as great as exchange is, sometimes its nice to compromise....

Ok, so on to Tradition, which as you will learn, is the hottest club in all of Arequipa. Lucho and Vivi told their cousins theyd go, etc, so off we went. So crowded, so loud, with like four levels, inside and outside, crazy. Most of the places around here give you a free beer with entry fee, so Im chilling not drinking it with their cousins. Anyway, how cool, because first of all theres this German kid. Not only is he just learning Spanish and has been here a week, but he doesnt speak English. Awesome. So I commence with probably one of the most enriching conversations of my life, not because were talking about German military service, but because two Gringos are helping each other talk in a completely foreign language, with no other way to communicate. How cool. Also, I want you to know I was the life of the party, teaching everyone the cup game including the 40 year old guy that sat down with us, and I yelled at the other gringos in the place that we should ban together. Understand, I wasnt drunk at all, Im just funny. WOW

So after dragging me away at about midnight to MY party, horribly late, we arrive to a room of about 30 people waiting for me. Wow. Anyway. So, what should I tell you about first, my proudest moment in spanish or my baptism? Lets go in order of occurence, if I fucking remember, which is surprising. Anyway. So my best spanish moment was making an English joke off their language, which is actually pretty insensitive, now that I think about it. Anyway, so I´ve decided on the hott Peruvian I want, right? And Im drunk enough to ask where he is. This other guys like, Why, do you like him? Except in Spanish do you like him literally is does he give you pleasure, and I reply, Not yet. I was kind of hoping this would slip by, but of course, it doesnt. Wow. And they say were easy....

Anyway, so one of the funnier moments of the night, after me trying to learn Salsa and attempting to drink Pisco on fire (yeah, you heard me), Lucho got something in his head. He remembers its my welcome party, amazingly, and he traces the sign of the cross on my forehead. What do you call this in English? WELL since Im not Catholic my first thought was exorcism, but remarkably my rational side kicked in and I said, oh, a baptism. He says, yes, that is what we will do to you tonight. WHOA. Back the bread truck up. What? Im all Vivi, what does he mean? She´s like, when anything is new in AIESEC, just like in the church, it has to be baptized and initiated. I look at Jon, the fellow USAer, and say did they do this to you? No, says Vivi, hes a trainee, but you have to become a member...great.

SO twenty minutes later, theyre tying a black sweatshirt around my head and I cant see anything. They inform me I cant say anything but Yes or No, I only have three chances to each question, and I have to say Yes at least once to each question. So, they actually solemnly chant the baptism rights of April Smith over me in Spanish and English. Then it begins. April Smith, do you want this? Whatever it was, and I said yes. Do you want it here? And I say yes. Do you want it by this person? And I say yes. The room starts chanting and they make me stand up. Lucho comes behind me and lifts the sweatshirt up to about my nose, and someone kisses me. They whip the blindfold off and I have three guesses about who it was. I got it wrong, and we play again. April Smith, do you want this? No. Do you want this? No. Do want this? And I have to say yes. Do you want it here? The room hisses and the girls yell and Lucho yells for quiet. Going on instinct, I say no. Do you want this? Again hisses, and I say no. This? And I have to say yes, even though the girls are yelling again. So it goes, and this time, the chanting starts and Lucho holds my arms behind me and switches to English, Relax, it won´t be that bad. So I yell I hate the entire Peruvian LC while someone lifts up my shirt. Waiting is the worst part, I guess. This time it´s someone licking me, while everyone screams. Luckily, we don´t have to play again, because on my second try I guess who it is. Its the ex-MCP, if anyone cares. They congratulate me on the baptism, and we play with someone else. Turns out, when he says Do you want this, as I later learn, he´s making different motions, like kissing, licking, etc. Here is different body parts, and of course then the people. Wow. Dont know if Ill bring that game back to the US, and good thing I was drunk...anyway, WASTED beyond all means last night, and today Ive done nothing....just another day in the life of a gringa in Peru.

Habla...and Cerviche

What´s up, kids. So, I got totally lost the other day, spent two hours riding a combi until the driver kicked me off (after making me pay twice), my family here started a man hunt, and after I finally made it to the plaza two hours past the meeting time, I sat down to an EXPENSIVE ass plate of cerviche and anis najar. Both famous in Peru, and the latter only made in Arequipa. Cerviche is raw seafood marinated with lemon juice. Que cheverre! Then the day after I went out to a freaking 3 hour lunch at a Picanteria, place with spicy food, and nada mas. Hmmm...yesterday....I went to the U to try to work, with no success, and tonight will be horrible, and tomorrow, because it´s my welcome party and I know I´ll be drunk off my ass. Although, I do have a deadline Thursday, so I should get on it, but technically, I have a deadline today and I haven´t done shit. Guess the Latin American time schedule is starting to wear off. Anyway, meeting at 4:00, party afterward, and I ALMOST figured out how to get hot water in the shower. Almost. The trick is you can´t turn on the lights in the bathroom.

Whaddup

Hello all. So, I´m open for suggestions to making myself more productive. You know how when you have all the time in the world, you get shit done? That´s how it is here. For having literally 24 hours a day some days, I get an amazing little amount done, and it kind of reminds me of college days. lol. Ouch. ANYWAY, kind of jealous of Lier and Grace in China--how cool!! Sarah is betting Colleen that I´ll stay here all summer, but I can´t, even if I wanted to. It was probably a lot more fun for Sarah and Amber to go together somewhere, just like Lier and Grace and Rita and them. And it wouldnt hurt to have someone fluent at your elbow, like Lier in China. BUT whatever, things are pretty good, and más o menos, Im having a good time. Blah Blah Blah. I find that I´m more and more American the longer I think about it. I like money, I like punctuality, I don´t like it when something isn´t practical, and I hate sitting at a table for 50 minutes just to eat. Wow. I wonder if they breed it into us in the states, or if certain people just exemplify it. I´m sure plenty of Americans would love a world of no puncuality. Wow. American Arrogance coming through in only one week....pretty impressive, wouldn´t you say?

Oy, qué!

Pues, between nicknames and real names and using the second name instead of the first, I barely know who anyone is. Por ejemplo, Eduardo´s real name is Luis, but no one says that. So, you can say Luis Eduardo, or you can say Eduardo Dongo, but really still no one knows what you´re talking about unless you call him Lucho, his nickname. And then there´s the other Eduardo, who goes by Rocoto, and most ppl don´t know his real name´s Eduardo, anyway. ANYWAY...I might go out tonight, I don´t know, but I´m pretty content just chilling. I went out this morning to the center with Glenndy, but afterward I was SO SICK. So, I haven´t really done much today. Got back, slept for an hour, ate a little bit even though my stomach protested, and now I´m going to finish this and maybe walk around a little before I go back. And, I should probably do some work, since that´s what I´m here for....
Muchos Besos

Hey Kids...

Whats up, hope everyones doing well. Im struggling to get this computer to work, Im at some internet cafe, weirdass, albeit better than the one I went in earlier today. Ive decided its better to pay money for communication than hokey Inca relics. = ) So how everyone? You may have gotten my cry for help email if youre an AIESECER, but no worries. In typical American go-getter fashion, Ive written every Peruvian I know and some Mexicans, begging people to take me out. So, we will see. For those of you who have no idea wtf Im talking about, it is this. Ive only gone out once since being here (at Yoels) and I do mean once. Although that time was pretty fun, Ive been sitting in my room literally 24 hours at a time. And last night a bunch of AIESECers went out but Yoel didnt want to go, so I stayed too because I didnt know hardly anyone. And I was a bit upset. BUT after being extremely pissed off and in general wanting to leave this country, I decided Ive invested too much time and money into this venture to be unhappy. Thus, I venture to the cafe for the second time today, to write everyone I know, begging them to take me out. Seriously. However, the one night I did go out, was freakin awesome. No drinking age, downtown to the Plaza to a great little beer place, cervesaría, drinking a Grande pisco sour (egg white, white grape brandy, rum, something else, and who cares? it was awesome). Then the discotheque with HOTT latin dancing and latin and american music! Ahh! lol. Tienes un novio en los estados unidos? lol. Excellent. No, I dont have a boyfriend. Porque? Eres muy linda, muy linda!! LOL. Wow, Peruvians...anyway, write me if you need to talk...or want to tell me to stop whining....whatever. Que una quejumbrona!! What a whiner, in spanish.
ABRIL ABRIL ABRIL

Queso Helado and Taxi Strikes

Please, someone google the effects of drinking ionidated water for two months. I´m a little worried. Don´t tell me the answer, though, bc I have little choice. My new house (con Yoel) is in a really bad part of town, apparently. They tell me not to walk outside, take cabs by myself, talk to policemen (some are corrupt), and they even have a vicious dog in there own home. I have to yell before I go somewhere so they can lock ´´Dino¨´ up. The taxis are on strike today in all of Arequipa, so we walk or drive ourselves in crazy Peruvian traffic. It´s not important which side of the road you drive on here. You just aren´t supposed to hit anything. There are no car accidents in Arequipa, Carlos assured me. Right. I went to the OGX meeting this morning. Quite fun, but almost 3 hours, waiting for everyone because of the taxis. Peruvian time schedules have something to be desired. Part of me (the american part) gets a little exasperated with this. For instance, even classes don´t run on time. It is now 4 50, and Yoel has an exam quote unquote at four, but hes sitting next to me. Yesterday, Eduardo took me to his 400 class at 5 20. Don´t even ask about the meals. I admit, it´s a hell of a lot better than US food. But it´s definitely challenging to wait 20 minutes between courses. It´s to talk, apparently. Lunch is the biggest meal here, probably bigger than our dinner. Everything is homemade. At lunch I literally had peach juice as a drink. Nothing added. Not even cold. Also, against better judgement, I let Yoel buy me an ice cream in the street. Queso Helado (Cheese Ice Cream!) The vendor spins a bowl of orange liquid in ice, but the splashes on the sides of the bowl are what freeze, so he scrapes it off and drops it in a little cup, then some spice on top. Seriously the best ice cream I´ve ever had, an Arequipan specialty, but I´´ll probably regret it tomorrow. Yoel´s family is great, two sisters, mom and dad and olga the maid. As with most families here, the older generation (moms, dads, maids) don´t speak english, so that´s interesting. The mom is very nice, telling me she doesn´t want me to be sick, she won´t be offended if I don´t want to eat everything. The dad is firmly convinced I speak no spanish at all, and is hilarious. He moves his to fingers like a person, points at me, and smiles. ¨Do You Like To Walk? What a trip...

ps for those @ers reading this, I met the outgoing mcp of peru just wandering around universidad. hilarious. and of course, like every other Peruvian AIESECer I meet, he knew Amber and Sarah

La casa de Eduardo

So, when we finally get to where we going (of which I have no idea) it turns out to be this Miles-kids house. ( i don´t figure out his name for another 12 hours, at least. Eduardo. Everyone has an annoying habit of referring to him as My brother, or My son) I come in with my trio, and he´s talking to some woman (his mom), shouting at a girl upstairs on the phone (his sister, talking to ppl who just got to the airport to pick me up). After at least 10 silent minutes on my part, he explains that I´ll be staying with Yoel, but he is still in Lima, and so they´ve decided I´ll stay at his house until Yoel returns. His mom says something in spanish to me, and Eduardo repeats in slower spanish, ¨Do you want to sleep? Finally-- Someone understands me. However, shortly after I get in bed, people have come to meet me, so I go downstairs to sit and charlar for a while. After they leave, I try to sleep again, which takes an amazingly long time. Maybe my body forgot after 36 hours. When I wake up 3 hours later, Eduardo is leaving for a class, but he tells me lunch will be ready soon, and when his family comes home, I can eat lunch with his sister, Vivi, and his mother. Who´s cooking lunch? Estupida americana. Of course they have a maid. Very nice house, btw. After eating, I follow Vivi when she walks to her job at the bank, then I´m on my own to walk downtown Arequipa. Pretty neat, especially the mountains behind insane traffic, but my heart hurts after a while because of the steep inclines and high altitude. I wander for probably two hours, find my way back to the house, finally take a shower, and then go with Eduardo to another class. 500 students in the campus, and I met most of them. It is one kiss on the right cheek here, not one on each like in Spain, for everyone. Boys, girls, old, young. After class, we went to the AIESEC office, and after that, we took a taxi (1 USD) to the Plaza de Armas. Google it, kids, cause it´s the most amazing thing you´ll ever see. After that, we walked downtown for a while, talking in Spanish the whole time, because as Eduardo declared earlier, Vamos a praticar tu espanol. We´re going to practice your spanish. Finally, everyone came home, Vivi and mamá and us, and we had dessert. Yeah, Ive pretty much eaten everything you´re not supposed to the first day. Watermelon, salad, the really spicy rotullo, and milk (warm, with galletas!) THe only thing I havent had is the water, bc I purified some to brush my teeth. To tell you the truth, their house is so nice, i don´t think they have bad water. That sounds ignorant, I know, but they have a filter on their shower(like you flip a switch and a motor starts filtering it), so why would they drink the tap water straight? Anyway, eso es todo por ahora, but today Eduardo is in class until 5 and Yoel should get me sometime today. PS--Vivis boyfriend is the MCP of Panama, and my friend Bostwick is going to work there. So the boss of my friend is the boyfriend of the girl I´m living with. Last night while I studied spanish and Vivi was on messenger, he talked to me too. What a small AIESEC world.

I´m here!

Hello, all, as I greet you from Arequipa, Peru. It was one heck of a ride getting here, let me tell you. First of all, there was the Lima airport incident. I had to go straight to customs and couldn´t look for Yoel, then by the time I was done with that it was almost two hours later and he probably left, then some guy that worked for Lan Peru airlines took my bags and went outside, telling me i can´t wait in the airport because it closes for 3 hours. So i´m all, no, it´s a 24 hour airport, i need to go inside to find a friend, but by the time i lose him it´s about 3 hours after my landing and i´m pretty sure no one´s in there. thus begins my six hour trek up, over and around the airport, escalators etc, with my huge bags, trying to avoid the guy from lan peru and hoping to find somewhere to sit. it´s an amazingly small airport for being the biggest in the country. i know it like the back of my hand. it is so small, it does international flight at night, shuts down all the gates from 12-3 (what lanperu guy meant), and opens in the morning to do domestic flights. so meanwhile, i´m trudging literally everywhere, trying to figure out if i´ll have to leave the airport. i finally wind up in the one little cafe area that´s open the whole night, desperately trying to recognize other foreigners, but that´s a joke. If one isn´t of pure indian descent in Peru, they are mestizo, white and indian, or just plain white. so i wan´t getting too far guessing who would speak english. and no one did. Me at customs: Hay alguien hable ingles? Señor? Señora? No. never. Thus began my trek in another language. I think i went through the entire cycle of culture shock (excitement, dissapointment, bitterness, despondency, relief, adaptance) in the airport. At about 2 in the morning (still waiting for the gates to open for my flight at six, mind you, i got into lima at 9) I had decided I would never be able to speak spanish and why the hell was I in Peru. At 4 I discovered I was the worst international traveller ever, because without leaving the airport, I had managed to lose my embarkation card in little under 6 hours. That´s the card to keep in your passport to give back when you leave the country. That was a problem, bc at four, i was able to start checking in for my next flight, and i didn´t need to deal with being deported. however, a strange euphoria came over me, probably the lack of sleep, hadn´t slept at all, and i found it all strangely amusing. Buenos dias, señor! Puedes ayudarme? Yo perdió mi tarjeta de embarcación! Ay, americana estupida. Anyway, this guy was like, did you pay the tax for your domestic flight? and i´m all no, not yet. he says well, you just have to pay that to take the plane. well, i knew i didn´t need my card YET, but i was a little concerned about what would happen when I leave. however, another day another dollar, and i decided to just leave. (My guidebook suggests Ill just have to pay a tax at the border). On the plus side, by this time I was convinced spanish rocked, that I was amazing, and I even figured out how to use an intertional phone to call home. (5 in the morning). Anyway, let us go to Arequipa airport, literally a stip of land next to a building of vendors. I´m finally picked up by three guys, one of which literally the peruvian equivalent of Miles, my friend from home, long curly hair, punk clothes, and listening to american rock. Te llamas Abril? Sí, Hola! Vamos. (Let´s go) as he puts on his sunglasses and drops his cigarette. Do you speak spanish? Sí (too startled to indicate I speak enough to not get killed in an airport) Good, then we will speak spanish from now on. Dios mio. So after a 15 minute car ride of them speaking spanish to each other, and me understanding 80 percent of it but not really capable of jumping in (should they wait for Yoel? Where was the other girl supposed to be there?) Finally, Miles guy, who I didn´t catch a name for, abruptly stops speaking spanish and loudly says, Abril! Sí? Entiendes todo que hablamos (do you understand everything that we are saying?) Pues, mucho (a lot). He laughs and switches to English, How is your spanish? So I laugh too. It´s ok. How is your English? Excellent. Thus we switch to english, but with me occasionally switching to spanish for the benefit of the guys in the backseat.