Home Sweet Home

Bienvenidos a Lima!

The cool, humid breeze blew over my face today when I stepped outside the theological seminary we were receiving our lessons from today. The morning was a sunny one and the distant honks of cars mixed with birds twittering and passersby engaging in "castellan". I smelled a strong whiff of onions cooked in garlic powder with salt, pepper, and some chilies. My first thought, with the warm sun on my face, was:

"I'm home."

Which may be ironic considering I've spent a total of maybe 40 hours in this city.

Lima is a vibrant city. It's location on the coast means you can walk out to the desert beaches and watch the surfers search for some of the best waves. Palm trees line the streets where cars swerve in and out of traffic like street racers. The only guiding rule when it comes to driving here in Lima is simple: don't hit anything. Short of that, it's a fair game.

The Monastery of San Francisco from the outside

My first full day here was much like any other traveler's day: walk around the neighborhood, eat some local cuisine (pollo con braso, chicho morado, y ahi sauce for my sweet potato fries.) A bus tour occupied my afternoon where we swerved our way to the historical center of Lima. I caught views of the National Theater, Congress, Presidential Quarters, National Library, and the Monastery of San Francisco. We stopped to tour the three hundred and forty two year old monastery's choir, sacristy, and catacombs. Skulls and femur bones filled wells eight feet deep all throughout the underground lair; a sober reminder of the fragility of life. We finished our bus tour in the beautiful Miraflores viewing the coast of Peru.

I saw the ocean for the first time in my life.

My second full day, today in fact, we went to the seminary. It was sunny in the morning as we clambered on to the heavily-stickered public transport. It cost us "una china" - fifty cent piece. We met with a seminary professor and anthropologist to learn about the Andean culture. I came to understand that the Andean culture varies greatly and only advances in agriculture like irrigation, domestication of Alpaca or Llama, and horticulture influenced the trajectory of certain civilizations. The one in the mountains developed sooner because that's where those inventions matter most. I learned all of this in Spanish.

Lunch was an affair. A months-long dream came true: I ate Cuy for lunch. I rattled off as much as I could to keep up with my spanish-speaking mentors.

The afternoon focused on currency. We took lessons on recognizing counterfeit Soles, and general tips on utilizing our money to the best of our abilities. This lesson came to a head when the four of us (Myself, Shaina, Jenny and Jed) visited a local market to purchase some fruit. I won't say the amount of money we spent. Suffice to say the exchange rate is strongly in favor of the American dollar. The clouds overhead threatened rain so we returned to our hotel in Magdalena del Mar to rest before dinner.

These past two days have been focused on understanding this new world I inhabit. My new guides are perhaps the sweetest and most patient humans I know. Jenny Valles is a sweetheart who I would never want to see angry. Her laugh is infectious and sense of mirth alleviates any tension there could be. Her husband, Jed, carries the patient sensibilities of a pastor. Their knowledge of the city and culture of Peru has enlightened me endlessly and I don't doubt for a minute that I'll be leaning on them for support a few times this year.

My partner in crime: Shaina

Alas there's my partner in crime: Shaina Miller. We've been friends since the first day we met. She and I share similar personality traits: outgoing, thoughtful, caring. What's wonderful is we have completely different interests. I like to say she's a musical girl, I'm a concert guy. She's a wine girl, I'm a beer guy (but she's a beer girl if she wants to be.) I could tell you about her hobbies, music preferences, education, movie taste, dietary concerns, and other general knowledge. However I want to boil it down to one simple thought: I'm incredibly grateful she's here. I'd be lost without her and (I like to think) she'd be a little lost without me.


We've spent the last two days seeing the bright sides of the city and country at large. We've been learning about the culture of the indigenous people. We've tried countless new foods and drinks. It's been a delightful past couple days, but I'm curious to learn about the darker side of life here.

Jed said something incredibly insightful during this morning's devotional. He said: "We don't expect you to join the seminary and live to serve the church after this. We don't expect you to master the bible while you're here. We hope you learn to open your eyes to the great darkness there is in the world so you can see the bright light that comes after." I couldn't be more excited.


 - Daniel Pappas -

P.S. Here's a photo of my site coordinator and her husband. They're wonderful people and I feel beyond blessed to have them as my bosses/mentors/faux-parents.


Photo links:
http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/travel_lima/san_fran_church.jpg