Jun
7
Our wonderful host dad took us on a tour of Miraflores and Barranco, Lima's most popular districts, and the beach. The waves are very high.
Eight of the OU Journey to Latin American girls who met up at Larcomar on our free day. We were across the street from the conference of political leaders. We found this out from a security guard. The street was blocked off, and there were many officials. We were told that Hillary Clinton was among the peoplethere.Some of us had mixed seafood ceviche, a process in which the seafood is cooked only by lime juice. It was interesting--not my favorite dish, but I'm glad I tried it!
Jesus is SO good to us: We wanted to attend Mass today, but we were unable to attend morning Mass. He helped us to be in the right place at the right time because we got directions to a church a block from the shopping center we were at just in time for Mass.
Ave Maria Catholic Church. It was cool to experience Mass in Peru!
We had an awesome view of the beach by the church. We spent some time here before attending Mass.
- After Mass, my housemates and I went to El Circuito Mágico del Agua (Magic Water Circuit). We ran into some of the other OU Journey to Latin America students. Two OU students who are studying in Lima for a semester also met with us.
El Circuito Mágico del Agua (Magic Water Circuit) is a water park consisting of many lighted fountains with different designs. One of them is multicolored and plays along to music. The water moves to the rhythm and images are projected on the water.
I didn’t go to bed until 3 a.m. because we got home around 2 from the Peña del Carajo, and I blogged, but we slept until about 10 this morning because today is was a free day! Our host family served yogurt, bread and jelly, Peruvian-style cereal and scrambled eggs mixed with sausage and a dash of Peruvian flavor for breakfast.
We are in the process of doing laundry here. Our host home has a washer, but we hang our clothes on the roof to dry. Because all five of us and the host family did laundry in the past two days, we are out of space on the rooftop to hang clothes to dry. Solution? I hung my clothes on top of the unused bunk bed. Proomie looks like she has a fort for a bed!
Our wonderful host dad took us on a tour of Miraflores and Barranco, Lima’s most popular districts, and the beach. The waves are very high. My Hello Kitty iPhone fell from a high rock and landed with no scratches or marks. I think it’s because HK has nine lives and protected my phone. 🙂
We had lunch at Vivaldino, a fancy Peruvian restaurant overlooking the beach. We decided it’s OK to spoil ourselves since this is the first (and probably only) meal we have to buy since the university and host families cover all our meals.
Some of us had mixed seafood ceviche, a process in which the seafood is cooked only by lime juice. It was interesting–not my favorite dish, but I’m glad I tried it! We were across the street from the conference of political leaders. We found this out from a security guard. The street was blocked off, and there were many officials. We were told that Hillary Clinton was among the people there.
After having lunch and walking around the shopping center, we had gelato, and I asked security about a church nearby and directions to get there.
Jesus is SO good to us: We wanted to attend Mass today, but we were unable to attend morning Mass. He helped us to be in the right place at the right time because we got directions to a church a block from the shopping center we were at just in time for Mass. It was cool to experience Mass in Peru at the Virgin of Fatima Catholic Church!
It’s awesome how Catholic services (Mass) are, for the most part, universal. Although I didn’t understand much of Mass because it was completely in Spanish, I knew exactly what went on. I was able to go along with everything in English.
I noticed people act differently in Mass here in Peru as compared to the United States. A few people walked in late, some as late as 20 minutes. A few people walked around during Mass; some parents walked around with their children and some people walked around for no apparent reason. I’m not sure why, but that’s new to me. There was a child who kept slamming the confessional door that was on the side of the church (and toward the front) during Mass, and his parents never stopped him. How is that OK? Lining up for communion was disastrous. There was no order. In the United States, we line up by rows, starting with the front; it’s first come, first serve in Peru. Since we did not know this, we were trapped in our seats in the middle until a nice lady (who recognized that we were visitors) let us in front of her. Wine was not an option. I’m not sure why. Also, Peruvians do not wait for the end of the concluding song or for the priest to walk to the back of the church before they leave. Most people left after communion or left as soon as concluding music began. The priest went straight from the altar to the side door in the back of the altar. Most priests in the United States come to the back of the church after Mass to shake hands with parishioners. Plus, Mass lasted only 45 minutes. I would never consider walking around during Mass or leaving before the priest leaves unless it’s an emergency.
Maybe it’s new to me or maybe I’m not used to it, but it seems that we show more respect in the Catholic Church in the United States. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that only about 15 percent of the 80 percent of Peruvian Roman Catholics attend Mass, according to Dr. Kenney. Even those who came to Mass seemed less interested in it than those I’ve observed in the United States. I find this to be true because the Peruvians I know said they believe in the Catholic faith, and they consider themselves Catholic, but they prefer not to attend Mass. Some say it’s because they have to work while others say they currently do not agree with the Church.
After Mass, my housemates and I went to El Circuito Mágico del Agua (Magic Water Circuit). It is a water park consisting of many lighted fountains with different designs. One of them is multicolored and plays along to music. The water moves to the rhythm and images are projected on the water. My favorite was the lighted water tunnel.
After the water show, we went to Wong, a supermarket and shopping center to buy a few necessities.
We traveled to many places today, and I had opportunities to practice Spanish with three taxi drivers, numerous security personnel and cashiers. I love this!
For dinner, our host family brought us Chifa (Peruvian-Chinese food) take-out. It was one of the best Chinese take-out I’ve ever had! We had a chicken noodle soup with bok choy; fried wontons; sautéed noodles with chicken and vegetables; pork rolls in sautéed vegetables; and sweet and sour chicken sautéed with wontons and vegetables. Basically we had our fill of sautéed goodness and vegetables. YUM!
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