Day 2 Lima to Arequipa

---

So... I was sitting in Starbucks in the Lima Airport and an American sat in a chair to the right of me. I asked him if he was vacationing. He said that he was on his way back to the United States (Pennsylvania) after 2 years in Peru with the Peace Corps. He gave me some amazing insight on the culture of Peru & even gave me a lesson on congugating verbs in Spanish in the past tense! He was nervous about returning to the United States and feeling a loss of purpose. I encouraged him to find a way to connect with people and make a difference... through nursing! He has also considered medical school. He was very excited to hear about Cardiostart's mission and that people like us existed! I invited him to look at our program as a non-medical volunteer (translator).

As we were talking a Peruvian boy sat on the couch to the left of me & asked if he could use the wall plug. I said of course... and we started talking. He was at the airport waiting to pick up his mother. Being the eldest of 3 and having a single mother, at age 17 Diego was the man of the house. His mother was away on business, so he was in charge of the family. He was very articulate with the English language. It turns out that he was currently studying English and I even helped him with a homework assignment, which was very amusing to read. It was a pamphlet with celebrity news! He even mentioned Angelina Jolie and her many kids with Brad Pitt. He was very grateful & as it turns out he also has facebook! Diego is interested in International Business and hopes to someday study in the United States. I told him that I would love to help in any way possible.. such as researching which schools have a reputable international business program. We talked about the Peruvian education system. He graduated from high school at the age of 16, which is normal. Did you know there is a difference between College and University in South America? College is the equivalent of a trade school or diploma program and University is for bachelor degrees and higher. It is expensive to study English in South America, which unfortunately limits who can study and segregates the social classes even more.

It was now after midnight and my new friends had moved on. I ventured toward the gate hoping to get some sleep before my flight. I recognized the curly red hair of a pediatric nurse from Portland, Johanna! I finally found some Cardiostart friends. We talked until about 130am before I finally made my way to the gate and got some sleep. I woke up about 4am and boarded my flight to Arequipa shortly after. The seats were really cramped but I was tired enough to sleep the entire way. We arrived in Arequipa around 630. The volcanoes surrounding us are VERY VERY VERY big! Ginormous! One of the ominous volcanoes, called Misty, is a perfect cinder cone shape. Our hosts met us at the airport. The luggage that was held by customs in Lima the previous day arrived with us on the plane. When we arrived at the hotel, I have never seen somebody so happy to get clean underwear!

Arequipa:
I was introduced to my roommates: Jess & Nicketti... they are with us as a non-medical volunteers. Jess, a translator for us, came to us from Brazil, where she finished an immersion program so she is now certified to teach English as a second language. They met each other at the University of Rochester in New York. Nicketti's father is a heart surgeon in Portland! He works at Providence Portland Medical Center. It is such a small world sometimes. We became instant friends and after a refreshing shower, headed out to explore Arequipa. The power was out in the entire city until late afternoon. I learned some lessons on shopping in Arequipa... mainly haggling! There are so many little market vendors all selling similar items. I forgot my battery was charging, so I didn't get any pictures... but that won't happen again! We went into this amazing 1693 cathedral. The elaborate floor to ceiling altars are covered in gold foil. We had a nice leisurely afternoon and made our way to a vegetarian restaurant. Almuerza (lunch) was advertised, which roughly translates into the lunch special... one special dish. It was this beautiful plate of green rice (not sure what spice made it green), a stuffed pepper, salad and potatoes. 5 of us ate for approximately 9 dollars (total)!!! We also had freshly blended juice... I chose Guava. Every drink is served at room temperature... we are warned not to eat the ice anyway because of possible contamination. It does take some adjustment!

After the amazing meal, we headed back to the hotel for a nap. At 5pm we met as a big group and talked logistics and politics (not election politics... local politics) We have 2 security personnel assigned to us... part of SUAT (combination SWAT and secret service). After that, 6 of us girls headed out to a Turkish restaurant, where we stayed for several hours! The meal was a little more pricey ($7 for me) =) The food, conversation and company was really great!

Well, I am off to bed. I promise to start taking pictures tomorrow! We are going to start each day with sunrise yoga on the hotel rooftop! I am sure it will be incredible. After that, several of us are going to the University for opening ceremonies celebrating the start of our conference. I will be giving my presentation on Tuesday!

---