First Week in Satipo

Hey again! Hope you all had a nice weekend- so far things are going well here, Friday was National Peruvian Coffee Day, and since I work for a Coffee/Cocoa Coop, that was pretty fun- there was a parade and free coffee, and the "Queen of Coffee" (who all the guys wanted their photos with haha)- I guess the celebration was their first ever, so that was fun for me too!

Well, Peruvians work Saturdays, so that's what I did the next day- but only for awhile- went to the "Vivero" where they grow trees to plant, and I helped out there and saw a meeting about reforestation, which was interesting. Sunday was awesome, though, it was literally something out of "Motorcycle Diaries" (since that's what everyone drives here)- I went with Ricardo (my boss) Blanca (who I live and work with) and Blanca's friend, and we rode around, through the mountains, past a few towns (one of which was having a town-party) and saw a ton of waterfalls- it was really cool!

I think I'm going to a town called Huancayo next week for a week or so, to visit Ricardo's sister, and another girl who is interning there- she's actually from Chicago too!

Anyway, here are some pics: a waterfall on our trip (I can't remember what the name is), where I work (the green building) my front porch and Blanca, my coworkers selling coffee on Coffee Day, and guinea pigs...which they grow to eat. Yeah. They laughed at me when I told them they are pets in the U.S.

Love,

Rach :)

Peru!

Well, I made it, safe and sound! I got into Lima Saturday night and saw this beautiful fountain park, explored more around town Sunday and left for Satipo (9 hour bus ride) Sunday night. I've been working all week and finally got some internet going, so here I am!

So Satipo and Peru, naturally, are a lot different from Spain- it's winter here, but Satipo is hot and humid, being in the jungle. My host family is really nice, though I think living where I am is going to be an adventure, to say the least- but I think I'll get used to it for a few months!

Anyway, for starters, here are a couple pictures from Lima :)

Love,

Rachel

Madrid!

Hey all! Just letting you know that I got to Madrid, safe and sound :) More later!

Rachel :)

Pictures!

Ok, here are some more pictures for your enjoyment! They are of delicious flan, horses and cats at the rural house, another view from the house, and another view at Virgen del Mar.

Rach :)

Last Weekend in Santander/Spain :(

Hey! So this weekend I went to a rural house in a town called Liérganes to celebrate 2 friends' birthdays- man, was it fun! Cantabria (the province I'm in) is so beautiful, hilly and green. The house we stayed in was surrounded by farms, so there were cows, horses and sheep everywhere! We ate a ton of food too- homemade fajitas, Spanish tortilla, flan, carrot cake, chorizo, and more cake- I love food.

Anyway, Friday night we got to the house and had dinner, and the 2 "birthday girls" opened their presents-one of whom received a blow-up doll, which was probably one of the highlights of the weekend hahaha! Then we chilled out and watched movies until late. Saturday we relaxed and ate some more, and I went walking a bit around the house.

Sunday some friends and I went up the so-called "Tetas de Liérganes" (Tetas=Tits haha)-which are mountains that look like, well, Tits obviously! It was a lot of fun- there are really great views from up there- I told my friends "Hey, we should go looking for the Culo de Liérganes (Ass of Liérganes)" and they thought that was pretty funny. Later on we went to a river and hung out for awhile in the shade, and then headed up to another mountain- more really great views! Sunday night, we got some pizza (Spanish pizza is interesting-good though!) and went to Virgen del Mar, a beach right by Santander, and saw the sunset which was beautiful- The beaches in and around Santander are amazing.

Anyway, my time is wrapping up here in Santander, and in Spain! I can't believe it. Talk about an experience though! I've learned so much. I'm really glad I got to take this opportunity- and I still have Peru to see, yay! Wednesday I'm off to Madrid to meet up with Tommy and Jess, and I'm really excited- it's gonna be so much fun! Saturday I leave for Peru, on a nice loooong flight haha! Anyway, I'll post more when I can :)

The pictures are of the house we stayed in, a view from the house (with the "Tetas" in the background), a view atop one "Tit" (lol), the river we went to, and a view of Virgen del Mar. Enjoy!

Love,

Rach :)

Just a Reminder...

Hey people! Just letting you know, I only have a little bit of time left in Spain :( I'm heading to Madrid next Wednesday, and next Saturday I fly out to Peru where I will be until about Christmastime! Time flies, huh? Still not sure about how the internet situation will be as far as posting pictures and my adventures, so hopefully I'll at least be able to keep up writing-wise. Anyhoo, just keepin ya informed!

Love, Rach :)

Last few weeks :(

Man, I can't believe how fast the time is going here! In a couple weeks my brother and his girlfriend are coming and then I'm leaving! Ah! Well, at least I'm getting to do a lot of things. Lately I'm just walking around getting some pictures of Santander before I leave, and checking out some monuments for my professor, and just enjoying the rest of my time here.

I'm not sure yet how the updating is going to work when I'm in Peru- I'm sure they have internet cafes around, but once I find out, I'll be able to post again on here- so bear with me! Anyway, here are some more pictures for your enjoyment-some homemade Arroz con Leche (basically rice pudding- delicious though!), one of the churches in Santander, the Banco de Santander, the main square (with the statue), and street view from Puerto Chico.

Still, Barcelona

Blog Update

Hey again! Ok, so like I said, Barcelona is one of the most amazing cities I've ever seen. There is SO much to see, and there's something for everyone! Gaudi's buildings and Parc Guell struck me most, I think- especially La Sagrada Famillia because it is huge and so unique- it really does look like a giant melting sand castle- I hope I get to see it in its finished state (if that ever happens!)- it's really incredible.

I also went to Parc Guell, which is also unbelievable- if I remember right I think it took Gaudi like 14 years, and it was still considered a failure at the beginning (poor guy)- there is mosaic everywhere: the famous salamander and benches (really, one long windy bench) and beautiful mosaic circles and squares-you really have to see it, it's amazing! The park is free, and huge- it keeps climbing up and up, and there's trees and lots of open spaces for pictures, and you can get great views of Barcelona facing the sea- there are a lot of people who play instruments there, too, and when they play in the cavernous spaces of the park it becomes that much more whimsical-

In the Barri Gotic (Gothic neighborhood) there are two large churches, the Catedral de Barcelona and Santa Maria del Mar (the latter I got to go in for free after a wedding got out, it was beautiful!)-both are very beautiful and have lots of cool details, inside and out.

Barcelona also is any shop-lover's paradise- you can find anything, from the cheapest kiosk to the priciest designer store, so of course it was really hard to not just grab one of everything haha! Probably the most amazing shopping place to me, though, was the Mercat de la Boqueria- a huuuuuuge outdoor food market that stretches for like a block- whatever food you can imagine, they have it. Fish, meat, spices, wines, candies, produce, specialty stuff, I can't even remember, but I ate lunch there one day just walking around looking at everything!

I also went to a waterpark about a half hour away from Barcelona the day before I left, which was awesome too (I wish I had a better word than “awesome” for all this stuff!)- normally I'm too much of a wuss to go on anything, but I just said “when am I gonna be back here?” and went on all the scary slides- it was really fun!

Luckily, I got some practice in John's translation office, which was really nice since I got to see an example of how things are run, and “help out” a bit (at least I hope I did!)-

I hope all this made sense- I'll throw some more pics on here, that should help!

Things in Santander are going well, I'm translating a document from English to Spanish right now (the result of which should be VERY interesting-normally people don't translate into their second language-I'm hoping my professor gets a good laugh hah!)-just enjoying the weather and as much of the beach as possible before I head to 102 degree weather and lack of water (take heed, Tom and Jess, I'm not even kidding!)- oh, I made the tail end of the Fair that was going on here, which was cool- lots of delicious looking food and crazy rides (I went on the less-crazy ones!) so that was fun. Ok, I should get to work, more later! Oh, feel free to ask about anything I might have forgotten- I'm sure there'a a lot!

Pictures are of Gaudi's salamander and mosaic circles at Parc Guell, me taking apart a delicious shrimp, Catalan cream dessert (like creme brulee...oh my good lord. So good.) and one of many pictures from Mercat de la Boqueria.

Besos,

Rachel :)