Cake Day!

It would seem that I happen to have a talent for making special occasions out of ordinary days since I've come to Lima. In this case, today the 24th of May has officially become known as cake day. I promise there is a very scientific and logical approach to choosing such a date. First of all, it was Sarah's birthday on May 2nd. Adela and Rossi were very cute and prepared a huge lunch for the occasion but there was no birthday cake. One of the cultural differences I learned about as a camper at Spanish camp was that most fruits are considered deserts so it's not uncommon to have a banana or a granadia instead of say anything with chocolate. Both Sarah and I are fine with the desert selection but sometimes a girl just needs her chocolate. Today is the exact middle between Sarah's birthday and mine that is coming up is a couple of weeks. For this reason it has been dubbed Cake Day.



We must have been too excited to wait until today to indulge in the chocolaty goodness because yesterday we attempted an experiment in which we were hoping that yummy brownies would emerge. The brownie mix was simple enough, just add two eggs and a cup of melted butter. First challenge: no measuring tools. After our best guess, we got the batter mixed.



Second challenge: the oven is gas operated. We had no idea how to light it and we didn't want to let gas just pour into the kitchen. Solution: microwave!!



3rd challenge: there weren't time instructions for the microwave. We did end up overcooking the brownies (my bad) and the attempt to make a frosting bombed too due to the lack of powdered sugar. We did have plenty of fun trying though.


To officially celebrate Cake day and to not have a repeat of the brownies, we went to Wong's and bought a chocolate cake to commemorate the completion of another year of life. Rachel, a friend from class came over to help us eat the cake.



We still have about half of it left so Sarah and I are trying to get more people over to help us eat it. If you are in Lima, give me a call and you can come get some cake!!

Oh, let's go subir un arbol!!

The past couple weeks have been filled with readings, tests, papers, outlines, and lots of fun surprises such as the water being turned off two days in a row, demonstrations blocking my route home, and mistaken identities. For these reasons as well as many others, I have been unable to update my blog and for that I apologize. Don't worry, I passed all of my tests, and got my paper in on time. I will never again take a shower for granted. The demonstration was finally broken up by the police so I was able to walk home. I'm not entirely sure the bouncer at the club finally believed that I was not in fact an undercover DEA agent but at least he was cordial.

Today was a turning point from how things have been going lately. For the past couple weeks, a tree in a park that is on my route home has caught my attention. Its trunk twists in strange directions. Although not particularly tall, I have wanted to climb the tree for some time. Today I decided that climbing a tree was just the simple, relaxing pastime I needed to unwind after a crazy stretch. Sarah came with so of course I brought my camera.



I'm pretty sure I received some weird looks for this. According to Luis, Peruvian kids don't climb trees (sad day!).



I'm not sure how to say "treehugger" in Spanish . . .

Movies in Peru

The other day I was over at a friend's house and he offered to let me borrow a DVD. Now down here movies are cheap, about 3 soles for a DVD ($1). Add to the fact that one of the movies that he recently bought is Robin Hood, with Russell Crowe (You know, the one that doesn't even hit theaters for another 5 days!), and I think Peru has a lovely system when it comes to movies. Talk about service. This is an example of why I love Peru! :)



DVD sleeve for Robin Hood (proof!!)

Rossi, is it siesta time yet?

It's midterm week which means no classes, just nerve wracking essay tests, oh yea, in Spanish! I've been reading and studying all weekend. Yesterday was Sarah's birthday so we both took about a 3 hour break for her birthday lunch (weekend lunches are a big deal here, add in a special occasion and you might be at lunch all night!). Rossi came in to help Adela cook the meal. Adela's cousin, Berta, and Rossi's husband also stopped by. Then of course back to studying.



Adela and Rossi hard at work getting ready for the birthday lunch.

My first midterm was at 8am (Historia de las Americas) so I got back around 11 to start studying for my poli sci midterm that was at 2. Rossi was such a sweetheart. She made her lasagna recipe (she knows it's my favorite one of her recipes) to make my day a little less stressful.



Peruvian lasagna!!

My other class doesn't have a midterm so I basically have a week off. I'm sure I will find some mischief to keep me occupied.