Call me......Erin: Study Abroad Peru 2013: April 28: Day 2 (Lima, Peru)

Part of our group with the local young single adult group.

One of my favorite things about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is that there are members of the EXACT same church all around the world. So when 15 BYU students found themselves on an entirely different continent there was a 9:00 am church for us to go to. We also spent part of the day exploring the city, and had a great time just being tourists.

Church:

I loved attending church in another language! The first hour (Sacrament meeting) was filled with lots of sweet testimonies from members of the ward. Although, I could only catch a couple of words that made sense (hurrah for latin based languages!) I did catch the Spirit in the meeting and knew that these members were just committed to the gospel as I am. The second and third hours (Sunday School and Relief Society) were fun as well. During these meetings I sat next to the couple of people in our group who actually spoke Spanish and they helped me understand more of what was going on. I even helped by reading a scripture in Spanish, and I think that I managed to pronounce everything reasonably well! Overall it was a great experience as the members that could speak English (and even some who couldn't) were all quick to do their best to welcome us to their ward.

San Francisco Cathedral in Lima

San Francisco Cathedral:

After church and a short bus ride we came to a plaza where we all found food to eat before heading into the San Francisco Cathedral. Food Moment: For my first authentic Peruvian food it was pretty delicious. I had a chicken and rice dish, along with potatoes covered in a yellow sauce. Also, I was introduced to Inca Cola, and frankly I think Americans are seriously missing out on the most delicious pineapple drink EVER. The cathedral itself was pretty cool. We all found it incredible that such a massive building had been built in a time well before the Industrial Revolution. Funny Moment: Our tour guide was showing off the library and made a comment about how studying math and science is bad enough, but could we imagine studying in this poorly lit and poorly ventilated room? I think he was aiming for a laugh, but it turns out we all like studying math and science so we wouldn't have minded too much. After a slightly awkward pause someone explained that to him and he stood their shocked for a minute that people actually liked math and science before he recovered and we moved on. Through out the building there was some intense woodwork, that impressed me. The finale of the tour was a walk in the catacombs beneath the church. I made it down into the main room, but the distinct lack of clean air, the fact that the ceiling was maybe 6 feet, and the fact that the walkways were maybe 3 feet wide meant that I spent the next 15 minutes staring at the family tree (or something, all I really know is it was a tree with faces on it) of Saint Francis while everyone else explored the underground. Overall it was an interesting place to explore, and it made me grateful that my religion teaches that you can reach salvation without locking yourself in a convent. I don't know if I could handle that!

Left to Right: Erin, Whitney, Larissa, Kristen, Katie, Jay
I have no idea what Whitney and I are looking at...

The Beach:

Our next stop was the beach. We all took lots of fun pictures and enjoyed the sunset on our first whole day in Peru. I'll stop talking now and let you enjoy some of the pictures.

Ok, enough of that.

Jay makes us all laugh.

Quick everyone write in the sand!
Starting at the top and going clockwise:
Jeremy, Rydge, Jared, Derek, Erin.

Ta Da! Now I'm off to the ocean guys.

Maybe I'll stand for this picture?
L2R: Jeremey, Rydge, Larissa, Whitney, Erin.

Waterpark:

After some fun in the setting sun we packed up and headed to a local park that features lots of water and lights. Funny Moment: At one point some of us were standing in admiration of one particular fountain during which Rydge, Jeremy, and Derek began to attempt to determine the power output of the pump required to send the water that high. In the middle of their discussion they looked over at us (the girls) and said "this is different to be around women who appreciate random engineering discussions. For some reason our wives don't always understand." Yep, that happened. The main feature of the park was a thirty minute video projected onto several fountains, with other jets that passed through at optimal moments. By the end we were all pretty sure no one else in the crowd really appreciated the amount of effort it would take to develop a control system for all of it. The movie itself was also excellent and featured several dances that ranged from traditional to modern.

Other features of the park included a tunnel of water and light for people to walk through, as well as one fountain featuring several rows of jets and a safe place in the center. The goal was to reach the center without getting wet. (Most of us didn't really succeed.)

First Impressions of Lima:

Lima is an enormous city that mostly looks like it was thrown together overnight. It also features a significant amount of barbed wire fences and police officers, that did not really help me feel better. Near the coast the buildings clean up and even remind me of parts of San Diego with the amount of stucco, glass, and iron.

Lima is also interesting because is mostly composed of small streets that somehow fit several lanes of cars. All of the cars are constantly dodging in and out of each other. At first it seemed pretty sketch but you quickly realize that everyone driving knows exactly how big their car is, and everyone uses their horn to communicate just about everything. It took a little getting used to, but then I had to wonder if American drivers would get into few accidents if they honked at each other more frequently to say things like "hey I am passing" or "let me in" or "we are all slowing down". Certainly it might convince more drivers to look around and actually pay attention to the world around them, because they would have to see what in the world is going on. What do you think?

Enjoy the remaining pictures!