Nothing Important

The last few weeks have been pretty low key with the start of school. I love my linguistics class and it might be the most interesting class i have ever taken. So far we are learning about the development of language in children, how languages are perceived in the world and how Spanish differs between its different dialects. Since Peru has so many isolated Amazonian cultures a few languages die out here every year and my teacher is very passionate about informing us about these languages.

I went to the store to buy peanut butter which I was craving here. For a really tiny about 5 spoon full jar it was 14 soles which is about $5. I wasn’t craving it that bad, but it looks like I won’t be eating peanut butter for another few months! They do have peanut butter Oreos here though that are amazing! They have strawberry yogurt filled Oreos too which I think sounds gross but some of my friends really like. Right across the street from my school are some really nice Peruvian restaurants that I have lunch at some days. For 5 soles ($1.70) they serve 3 options for a 1st dish (like soup, salad etc.), then 3 options for main dishes (usually a beef dish with veggies and rice, chicken something with rice, or some other traditional dished) and also a juice. The meals are huge, delicious and so cheap! If I eat at school 5 soles will get me a ham and cheese sandwich. In contrast if you go to a fast food restaurant, even a Peruvian one like Bembos (basically McDonalds but the burgers taste like Taco Bell taco seasoning), it will be 16 soles($5.50) for a nasty burger, fries and a drink.

Since my DVD drive in my computer broke i have been downloading TV seasons on iTunes like it’s my job! Too bad I'm spending $25 on a season when I could get it at the "grey market" for about 12 soles ($4)! They sell all movies and TV shows in the markets here for 3 soles/dvd or 10 soles for 4 DVDs which basically $1 per movie. So... if anyone wants any movies let me know! haha. The quality highly varies but some places let you preview the movies before buying them and that’s when you know the place is going to sell you good movies. We have seen some though that are 100% video taped in a movie theater where you can see peoples heads blocking parts of the screen! I would like to not be watching any TV but since I can’t leave my house without company after 6:00pm when it gets dark the nights can get a bit boring and lets me honest I’m not going to spend all that time studying!

Improve your Latin American cultural knowledge:

1. Watch the movie “Maria Full of Grace” (might be titled in Spanish “Maria lleno de gracia”) the public library downtown has a great foreign movie selection and might have it there. It is based in Colombia but the general looks of the land and family structure is the same. It’s about a girl who is a drug mule- don’t worry I’m not one! It is in Spanish but will have subtitles.

2. Read 100 Year of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One of the most famous, if not the most famous Latin American literary works of all times. He was given the Nobel Prize for this book which demonstrates ‘Marvelous Realism’ which is the combination of the supernatural and real life. Many things here are based on myth since little is known about the ancient people so the belief in the supernatural is much more engrained in daily living and society than it is in the states. In my history class we are talking about the formation of the Incan empire and all of that is purely mythology up to a certain point because there was no written history until the Spanish arrived.

3. The friend of my friend Ana published a book called War by Candlelight by Daniel Alarcon. He is Peruvian but spent some time growing up the states. Its a series of short stories that Ana told me reflect well the culture of Peru. I havn't read it yet but i'll leave an update when i'm done with it.