I’m spending my summer in Ayacucho, Peru. I just got here about a week ago, and I already love it. It’s funny; I think attitude makes all the difference. During my first month in Spain, when I was living with my mean host mom, I tended to focus on the negative things. Here, it’s really hard to do that. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely have days where I feel very homesick, but I feel like the culture here is so welcoming. It’s pretty chaotic, in fact I think chaos is the only rule on the road. I may have seen a couple of stoplights, but for the most part I’ve just heard a lot of honking. They have two kinds of taxis here, regular ones, and then these little ones called Moto taxis with one wheel in the front. The Moto taxis always seem like they are about to crash into other cars, but they never do and they have a very distinct honk that kind of sounds like a dying duck. They are a lot of fun! Anyway, pretty much right away I was thrown into my internship, working for a microfinance organization called FINCA Peru. Basically, FINCA has a bunch of village banks and a different group of women belongs to each one, and takes out a loan from that bank. The village banks aren’t really like banks at all, more just like small groups of women, and these women get to know each other and form a bond. It seems to me that it’s not just the small loans they take out, but also the small group and their discussions that play a huge role in their empowerment. Anyway, I keep trying to upload pictures, but it takes forever. So, expect to get a link to a picasa album some time in the very near future. Hasta pronto!
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I know it has been a long time since I’ve written. To be honest, my time in Barcelona was rocky for a while. I didn’t realize until a couple weeks ago that my homestay was the problem. It was one of the hardest and most uncomfortable things I’ve had to do, but I knew I had to put myself first and get the hell of that place. Usually, I am good at preparing myself for the worst, and I find that the thing I’m battling is never as bad once I’m up against it. I couldn’t have prepared for the things my host mom said to me once she found out I was moving. It was much more uncomfortable than I anticipated. But I still managed to get out, to pack up and move all my stuff, to make as many trips as were necessary, to give her back the key and say goodbye. I am ready to start experiencing Barcelona the right way.
I went to Tarragona this weekend. It was amazing, but a little cold. I still had a great time though. One of the first things we did was go to the Torres Winery. In this picture I am on a bus tour of the underground part of that winery. When we went underground, everyone started getting kind of nervous. We had no idea where we were going, and it just looked like we were descending into a really dark cave. Then this film started to play on the walls of the “cave,” and there was this creepy music. It reminded me of that scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Willy Wonka takes everyone on that boat tour, and he plays that creepy music and they’re in a dark cave. Luckily, we weren’t in there for too long. They took us back to the winery, where we got to test both red and white wine. That made the whole experience worth it. It was good wine.
This is the beginning of Parque Guell by Antoni Gaudi. I can’t believe something like this actually exists!
Entering Ciutadella Park. We had to go here for a scavenger hunt. I normally don’t like scavenger hunts, but I’m happy it took me here.
This is the coolest graffiti I’ve ever seen.