International Learning-Peru 2015. College of Education, University of Louisville: A Nonstop Adventure!

July 5, 2015

Day 2 in Beautiful Peru

Today turned out to be yet another day of nonstop adventure! After a few of us had an eventful taxi ride, we were finally able to start exploring. We began the morning at the Larco Herrera Museum where we browsed a wide collection of indigenous Peruvian artifacts. The museum's collection housed many funerary offerings, clothing and adornments that were worn by leaders, pottery, and depictions of the cycle of life. I must say, many of the chunky necklaces in the collection would have been a great addition to my wardrobe. What I found myself most intrigued in at the museum was a piece of pottery that depicted a human sacrifice. The chronological depiction had been recreated on the wall of the museum, making it possible to take a further look into the story being illustrated. After roughly ten minutes of Dr. Oscar Aliaga, our leading faculty, translating the explanations to me we finally realized there was also an English version. Personally, I preferred Oscar's translation -- I find the language barrier to be an interesting experience.

The museum also had a wonderful restaurant on their grounds where we stopped for lunch. I, along with a few others, ordered the tacu tacu con lomo saltado. Delicioso!! The dish was a mixture of beef, sautéed onions and red peppers, beans and rice, all topped with a fried egg. The food here is very different than what I've experienced in other countries, and is oh so mouth watering delicious.

After leaving the restaurant of course our next stop had to be dessert. We took a taxi to an ice cream shop called 4D. A group of us rode with a very friendly taxi driver, Martin. Listening to Cabrina and Oscar speak to others in Spanish is incredibly interesting. I even found myself picking up many pieces of the conversation between Cabrina and our taxi driver, Martin.

Don't misunderstand, the museum and gelato were perfecto, however the next stop was my absolute favorite. Kennedy Park is a park that is home to a large community of cats. The story of the park is somewhat along the lines of a nearby priest having a few cats that reproduced. After the cats reproduced many offspring the cats began to get fed, stuck around, and are now fed daily as well as spayed. The cats were not at all scared of the humans. Some barely moved a muscle, and a few even posed for a quick photo with me. The same park had a dancing area where we all had a lot of fun, whether it was by busting a move in the dancing pit, or standing on the sidelines watching Mr. Aliaga get his groove on.

We spent the evening at a water park with many fountains, water displays, and areas to play in the water. One fountain display seemed to be very similar to the dancing fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Another fountain created a tunnel to walk under, and another brought out the kid in all of us as we ran around trying to avoid getting sprayed.

The evening ended at Mangos where we indulged in more finger licking good food. Tomorrow begins our adventures into the schools and I think I can speak for the group when I say we are excited for the days to come.

Buenos Noches y Hasta Luego!

--Rebecca Carroll