as things come to a close...

I have one week left of school. Then two weeks of final exams. I am done with econ and Spanish. So this upcoming week I only have class on Monday from 6-9 where I have to make a presentation and on Wednesday 9-1. So I have a very easy week. I am going to try and visit the last of the museums of Lima and see all the places that I havnt seen in a while or never visited. Basically, I am finishing up Lima haha.

So update on the violence in Peru. The government drove one of the organizers of the protest into refuge, there was huge coverage of his car leaving for the airport. Basically, the government under the leadership of Alan Garcia wants to sell land owned by many native groups to oil companies...I think we would be pissed to. My host mom is convinced Alan Garcia is mentally ill because it makes no sense at all. Many congresspeople are beginning a dialoge that Alan Garcia is avoiding with the groups involved, so there appears some hope of fixing this. The courts are also becomming an option because the federal government has no right to sell land that is under the authority of regional governments. The violence has taken a toll though, busses werent running, trains were stopped, mines shut down. The country exploaded very quickly. In econ, we discussed how Peru has gone from the 6th fastest growing economy to their GDP numbers falling for the first time in over 80 months. The same conficts are appearing from 1980...Lima holds the power of the country, human rights are not respects, there is no political expression of dissent, and the economic opportunities are not equally offered. From 1980-2000, close to 70,000 people died in a long conflict based in communist terrorism...I pray that Peru solves its centries old problems.

So on a more individualistic note...this has changed my travel plans. I will not be going to Cajamarca like I planned. I will not be returning to Cusco and visiting Puno nor entering Bolivia. This upcoming weekend, I am traveling to Huanaco with a Peruvian friend as my guide. (its said to have the best climate in Peru). Then my friend Laura will visit on the 12th of July. We are going to Huaraz and hanging out in Lima. In Huaraz, there are several glaciers that if I see them now, I will be one of the last people to see them in my lifetime due to Global Warming. The glaciers will be completly gone by 2011. Laura leaves on July 20th, which is the same day that I will fly to BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA. I am very excited to visit Buenos Aires. It is about the same size as Chicago in population but very European. At one point around the turn of the centry, Buenos Aires was the richest city in the Americas (yes, more rich than New York). And today, it is a city in decline that has struggled since the 1960s (Peron? dont cry for me?) But, everyone says that hands down it is the best place to be in South America. I will meet up with Peruvian friends from the 20th-24th and then will be flying solo until the 26th when i return to Lima. I will have 10 hours to say good-bye to my host family and catch my flight home.

This is the question I am getting asked a lot...Are u ready to go home? This response is complicated, I am very ready to be done with classes, it was a long semester that went from me not understanding my professors to making jokes with them. A lot of ups and downs, late nights, long projects, group work, and early classes. I am ready for a break. However, do I want to leave Peru? Hell no! I have made this a my home and it feels like I have to leave my home. I have no clue what the transition back to the US will be like, all of you have lived your lives without me as I have you. I am gonna want to tell the stories of my days on convis and the first time I saw a condor and everyone is gonna be like "what the f*** is a convi? why is a condor so cool?" but to me, it is my life. The meaning of the daily convi ride fighting not to get robbed, buying my movies on the bus, having to twist arms for my 20 cent change. How they break down, they transfer you, you get standed in random areas with no taxis, etc. My life. Or how a condor is considers a holy creature, how when you die it carries your soul to God. When you see it tower above your mouth just drops. These things sometimes have a 30 foof wing span. The understanding of the condor in culture, stories, and the feeling of being in the same sphere as one. I am going to return to a fast food culture, where we comute in the comfort of our own cars, air conditioning is normal, u dont have to account for protests in your daily comute, we speak politically correct (and in English), and i am sorry but Robins do not have the same effect. So needless to say, this is going to be interesting...I am already dreading it.

So tonight, I am invited to a Reggae-Hip Hop party. Not sure how this will go not listening to salsa, marange, or regaetone and hearing my favorites from the US...Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Akon, etc. The party starts at 7...Ill get there around 9 (going to be super difficult to be on time in the US...Ill have to join the Miller time crowd) and will go till the convis start up tomorrow morning around 5-6. I am going to miss Peru haha.

I have a lot more time in my remaining days, so I will probably continue to post...however in the case that I run out of time...I tried to sum most things up now. Either way, I will send out my usual email if I post again. Also, have you notices how my English is going downhill? I am not sure if I am happy or sad about that considering I just got a really hight grade on a Spanish paper. (Senora recibí 18/20 en el "Juana la Mujer" escrito que usualmente es impossible para extraneros) Chau todo hasta mas tarde!