Apr

13

Lima in a different light

Filed Under Peru, The World | 2 Comments  | by

Since I last posted, I have been enjoying all that Lima has to offer– post-culture shock 🙂

On the Friday before Easter Calin (friend and roomate, also from OU) went to a “country club” near our house. Our host dad showed us where to go and how to get in. We spent the day sunbathing, drinking, eating, and just enjoying each other´s company. I had an awful sunburn as a result of the sun only shining on my left arm–lessoned learned there. On Saturday, Calin and I went with Karla and her mom to Pulpos–a beachtown about 1 1/2 hours from Lima by bus. We loved the beach and the seafood! On Easter Sunday, Calin and I went to El Parque de Leyendas with the chica that works in our house, Marleni. This park is a zoo! It has exhibits showcasing the animals of the different climates/terrain of Peru–the jungle, mountains, and coast! It was really cool and 10 soles well spent. On Easter night, Calin and I went with our host mom to mass. It was a little weird attending a service so different to what I’m used to, but I still enjoyed it and the church was beautiful!

I have also recently discovered one of my favorite restaurants in Peru!!!!!!!!!! —La 5ta Estación, which is a restaurant only a few blocks from my house. This restaurant is diner style– seating is at a bar where you can see them cook the food and is open to the fresh air (no doors to the outside)–and they also serve like a drive-in when cars pull up! They serve sandwiches, platos tipicos de Peru, and the best fresh juice ever!! I´m obsessed specifically with their orange juice for two reasons: 1) it´s absolutely delicious and freshly squeezed 2) you can´t find real OJ in grocery stores here–only mandarina. I also love to mix their strawberry and orange juices together 🙂 There is another restuarant named the Las 4 Estaciones. They appear to be of the same chain–same colors and everything, but according to our host dad, they have a different owner and the Las 4 is the original and better. Guess I´ll have to try it out too 🙂

Here is a running list of my favorite Peruvian foods/restaurants:
Causa–lemony, mashed potatos with chicken salad inside–served casserole style
Chifa–one dish in particular I like, but don´t know the name: it has pineapples and chicken served over rice with a sweet sauce
Lomo Saltado–like fajitas with more juice served over french fries and rice
Ahi de Gallina— ahi and chicken mixture with a creamy sauce served over boiled potatoes
Guiso–kinda like stew with a little less juice and of course, served over rice
Jalea Mixto–basically a big plate of different kinds of seafood all fried–shrimp, calamari, octopus, white fish, clams, etc. We tried this dish in a small restaurant in Pulpos. (I also tried Leche de Tigre while in Pulpos–lemon, cilantro,choclo, onions, and raw/”cooked” fish like in ceviche, and a lot of liquid. This was a good experience, but I don´t think it´s something I´ll want to order again :))
Chifles— fried platanos–kinda potatoe chip-py. You can buy them at street vendors or at many restaurants!

Mangos–Restaurant in Miraflores inside a mall called Larcomar. Really nice atmosphere and good food with a great view of the sea if you get the right seat 🙂
La 5ta Estación–description above 🙂

My List of foods/restaurants to try:
Roky´s–Pollo a al brasa
Mi Carcochito–Mexican food
La Rosa Nautica–restaurant in Miraflores which is situated on top of a “peninsula” (for lack of a better word) of rocks
anticucho–cow´s heart
ceviche–citrus marinated fish, which appears raw but is technically “cooked” by the citric acid

School has been getting better/easier every day as I´m becoming more comfortable with my Spanish and my schedule here in general. Calin and I also joined a gym here this past week! It´s really near our house and offers good equipment as well as various group classes! We went to pilates yesterday!

We have yet to take a “side-trip” outside of Lima, with the exception of our afternoon at Pulpos. We are hoping to go to the Paracas/Pisco/Huachachina area this weekend! Wish us luck with travel arrangements!

Comments

2 Responses to “Lima in a different light”

  1. Lori Carleton on April 14th, 2010 8:22 am

    Bobbi! It sounds like you are having some amazing experiences! I’ll be checking back soon! Hope all is well!

  2. Bobbi on April 27th, 2010 10:25 pm

    Hi Lori!
    I really am enjoying it here now! I can’t believe I’ve been here for 7 weeks already! 11 to go! I should blog soon. Midterms are coming up so I’m having a hard time convincing myself to blog. Hope you’re doing well too! Calf fry is coming up, right? It’s weird I’ve never been. Maybe next year! <3
    -Bobbi

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