I forgot to mention last week that my wonderful cousins, Molly and Sara, came to Seattle and were so kind to let me stay in their hotel room when it was 100 degrees. We took the ferry to Bainbridge to the Public House Pub by the marina, again, and enjoyed a very memorable going away dinner. Thanks girls!
The Blue Angels were practicing their routine for the SeaFair and it was amazing to see and then a few seconds later hear them roar by.
It's been a busy week being the only blond in Lima (as far as I can tell).
Lima
My luggage arrive on Monday which was lucky and I found a nice apartment to move into next week with a Peruvian, Johnny. I'll live on the third floor (up two spiral staircases) with a private bedroom and bathroom. We made a trip to the Metro, Peru's equivalent of Target, to buy household items and thanks goodness for my handy pocket dictionary (thank you Lizz) to ask where "hangers" and "hair dryer" were located.
Miraflores
I have been running in the morning in Miraflores with panoramic views of the ocean and often surfers in wetsuits (see above). Larcomar is a fancy outdoor mall along the cliffs. I love it! It's winter here and so the temperatures have been in the 50 and 60s and overcast which is great for running, and that's about it. I guess it can't get any worse and compared to a Minnesota winter I really can't complain. The only problem is I haven't found anyone to play futbol with yet but it's only my first week.
We've been meeting with important researchers here the past few days: the head of the Navy research center, NMRCD, head of the IRBs in Peru, and my mentors in Lima, Dr Jorge Alarcon and Dr Silvia Montano at San Marcos University. Most of our daily conversations and training are in Spanish which is challenging for me. I get the gist of it and thankfully my fellow Fogarty friends, Miranda and Christina, can understand. The hospitals are only an hour and a half away from Miraflores on the combis, the crazy minibuses that are like a $0.30 roller coaster ride. Oh well!
Spanish class
Hable un poquito espanol (I speak very little Spanish) and so I have been working very hard to improve. I have a private tutor three days a week and she's wonderful. Very patient and only speaks to me in Spanish. I also bought five childrens books (reading level 6 years old, seriously). The nice lady at the Feria del Libro at the National Museum was so kind to recommend her favorite books but laughed when I said that they were for me. I basically look up every other word in the dictionary but I'm learning. I am on level 2 of my Rosetta Stone and it is way harder than level 1! Last, but not least, I am taking three weeks of intensive small group lessons at El Sol which is only a few blocks away. I take my placement test tomorrow and I'm crossing my fingers to pass out of beginner and into pre-intermediate. I would love to talk to you on skype if you know Spanish and would like to teach me or brush up (you might want to give me a week or two).
There are a few things that we've got planned.
Aug. 22 - Hike laguna de rapagna. It's only 4500m (14700ft) - you may be thinking that we're crazy and you're right! We probably will get massive headaches but it will be fun!
Aug. 30 - Media Maraton Lima (half marathon through Lima and along the beach) Wish me luck!
Sept. 5-8 - Go to Arequipa. Romina and I are flying down to Arequipa for the weekend to meet my project co-investigators so I can get started with the data analysis on the PREVENCION database.
Adios!
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