Hats

The people of Peru wear lots of different kinds of hats. You can tell which region a woman is from based upon what kind of hat she wears. Here are just a few examples, along with a picture of the woven ear-flap style hat that everyone associates with Peru.

so deliciously disgusting

I can't stop eating them. They're so gross, but they're oh, so good!

Reader

It appears that I have not been abandoned. (sigh of relief) Apparently everyone uses Google Reader and like me, finds that it takes too much effort to click onto the blog to leave a comment. I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this. I want to comment on peoples' posts all the time, but those couple of extra clicks seem like a million. It's kind of sad, isn't it!

You're killin' me, Smalls!

Because Peru is in the Andes, it tends to be quite mountainous (duh). Therefore, there are lots and lots of steps. My aunt's knees started to hurt after a while and I revolted at this place called Ollantaytambo on our last day in Cusco. I refused to go up any more stairs, so I sat and watched "The Prince of Egypt" on my iPod and drank my Kool-aid (They have those individual packet things that you just dump into your bottle of water. It's nice to have flavor sometimes.) Here are some of the steps of Peru:

Some steps just stick out of the wall.



These steps in Cusco are called Amargura, which translates into "the bitterness." They were much longer, but I couldn't get it all in.

If you could zoom in on my face, I'm betting you might see a snarl or grimace.

Even the llamas have to go up the stairs!

The hills are alive!

It's not Austria, and it sure isn't Julie Andrews, but my mom can (when forced against her will) play a mean Maria!

a couple of Dad's pics of Machu Picchu

9/11 part 2

Here's my journal for the next day, Sept. 14. Don't worry, it's not nearly as long as the last one!

"Right now there is a memorial/prayer service being held at the Cathedral in Washington. All the political people are there (except Dick Cheney-separation of powers). How safe is that? If these terrorists really wanted to destroy our country, all they would have to do is bomb that place. I have no idea what we would do then. It's a scary thought. At the service Billy Graham spoke, as well as an Islamic leader. I think a Rabbi was also there. Emails are being forwarded to everyone-we're supposed to step outside tonight at 7pm and light a candle. They just said on the news that the 10 people arrested yesterday were basically mistakes. On the radio right now they are doing an hour of special music. It's not all patriotic music. They played "I Hope You Dance" by LeeAnn Womack, "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan, and others."

Those weeks and months right after it happened were insane. Everyone seemed to be on edge, but at the same time everyone was trying to help everyone else in whatever way they could. Remember the firefighters going car to car at big intersections, collecting money? And all the telethons (this was pre-Kanye West, so no random, inappropriate comments)? It's interesting to look back at these journal entries and see the discrepancies between what we thought at the time, and what actually happened, like the death toll for example. Anyway . . . I didn't want to let today go by without saying something about it. Every year it seems like less and less is said about it. That first anniversary I was a basketcase, crying all day long. Actually, that's not true, I was probably loaded up on drugs so that I wouldn't have to think about it. Now I want to think about it because I don't want to forget it. It sucks that for those weeks we were so together as a country and so supportive of everyone, but now all we do is bicker and call names like little kids. How quickly we forget what it means to be the UNITED States of America.

9/11-long post

Does everyone remember what they were doing seven years ago today? I actually just found my journal entry from 9/13. It says:

"Two days ago on Sept. 11 (9/11), two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center, another crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth in Pennsylvania. I had just gotten out of the shower when I came into my room and heard the news on the radio. At first I thought it was a joke. Lilian was walking by and I asked her if she had heard about this. Then we went in and turned on the news. We couldn't believe it. Before long both towers had collapsed. Witnesses said they saw people jumping out of the windows so they wouldn't be burned alive. There was actual footage of the second plane crashing in to the building. It didn't seem real-it was like a movie or something. All of us sat around watching for a while, then I had to go to class. When I got there my professor announced that class was cancelled. As I was walking home I saw a sign that said the devotional was cancelled and instead they were holding a prayer meeting. For the rest of the day until my next class in late afternoon, I was glued to the t.v. I don't remember what happened on what day, but a lot has happened. Footage of the first plane came out, and along with the other footage, has been played over and over again. All airports were shut down and flights that were already in the air had to land at the nearest airport. A building next to the WTC also collapsed and another is near collapsing right now. The death toll for the Pentagon is about 190. The total for the crashes should be about 5000. That's about twice the death toll of Pearl Harbor, which is what this is being compared to. It's being called an act of war. Some people have been rescued from the WTC rubbnle. Right now they can hear several people tapping from under the debris, but it's so unstable they don't know if it will cave in before they can get to the people. They've called in people to tunnel from below to see if that works any better. The black box from the PA crash has been found. the cockpit from one of the WTC planes has been found with a body inside-possibly that of one of the terrorists. Osama bin Laden is the prime suspect right now. President Bush said that the countries harboring these poeple will also be held accountable. There are reports that we may bomb Afghanistan this weekend. All of the hijackers who were on the planes have been identified. The news reported today that the body of a flight attendant was found with her hands tied. Late this evening the Pentagon caught on fire again. I don't know if it's out yet. It's so sad to see all the people on t.v. with pictures of their family members who are missing. They all have a different story, each one of which is heart wrenching. All the major channels have had nonstop coverage since Tuesday. Another issue that has risen is the problem of asbestos in the air, which is very dangerous. Everyone has to wear masks. In a press conference today Pres. Bush almost started crying. I'm glad it's him who has to deal with this and not Bill Clinton or Al Gore. Bush seems so much more genuine and compassionate. There was footage shown of Clinton visiting with family members-mostly female, and he kept hugging them. Given his history it didn't seem nice and conforting-it was just weird. The US gov't is talking with Pakistan right now, trying to get them to comply with what we're doing. They have been given the request of closing their border with Afghanistan, and letting our planes fly over their country. We'll see what happens with that, but I would imagine they would cooperate. Also today 10 people were arrested (9 men, 1 woman) at NYC airports. They had fake ID, knives, and info identifying them as pilots. Whether they were planning another attack we may never know, although it seems likely. The plane that hit the Pentagon was reportedly supposed to have hit the White House, but something went wrong and they crashed there instead. Alot of people made cell phone calls from the planes. They called mostly family, but I think one man called 911. One man who called from teh PA plane said some of the passengers were going to try to overtake the hijackers. Apparently that's why it crashed there and not into a building. They are using many different things to help find people at the WTC. There are dogs, cats (???), heat sensors, and robots that sense heat and movement. One rescue worker is in the hospital after falling 6 stories. They said something about back problems, but I haven't heard anything new. They are using horns at the WTC to warn of danger. 2 or 3 blasts mean run and get out as fast as you can. Alot of the rescue workers are getting their hands cut up from sifting through debris because they don't have gloves. Construction boots are also in need because the bottoms of the boots are being scorched. I still can't believe this is really happening. I never ever thought we would be attacked here in the U.S. We're the most powerful nation in the world, so how did this happen? People keep calling this a cowardly act, but I don't think it is. Not many people in the world would dare to do this and take us on knowing that we wouldn't just sit there and do nothing. They were either brave or stupid! But considering the type of operation they planned and carried out, they weren't exactly morons. I just heard on the news that the people arrested at the airport were on the FBI's list of people associated with the hijackers. At Logan Airport in Boston on Wednesday, I think, they found a rental ar that had flight manuals in Arabic and the Koran in it. Other countries worldwide have been extremely supportive. Yesterday at Buckingham Palace they played the American National Anthem at the changing of the guards. A lot of countries also lost people in this attack. The ones I can remember are Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, and either France of Germany. Tomorrow is a National Day of Mourning. Even Wirthlin cancelled work and BYU postponed Spring Fling. Many other things have been cancelled or postponed as well, such as the Emmy's, the Latin Grammy's, football, golf, baseball, late night talk shows and Broadway shows. On the news earlier this evening they had a CEO of a company that was located on the 101-105 floors of the WTC. He got to work when they were evacuating. As people were running ouf he asked htem what floor they were from. He only got to the 91st floor. All of his employees who were there are missing. The other employees went back to work despite him voting against it. They didn't want to stay at home. As he was crying he kept talking about how he had 700 families to take care of. Another person who died was David Angel. He was on one of the planes and worked for the tv show, Frasier. Also on a plane, the one that hit the Pentagon, was Barbara Olson. Her husband is a high level gov't official and she was also well known in political circles. My hand is cramping up from so much writing! I'll have to write again tomorrow. I'm sure there will be more news then."

giardia

Just one more reason why you should be very careful with what you eat and especially what water you drink in foreign countries: it's official, I have giardia. I have to go get some antibiotics. Here's what giardia looks like:

More to come

I'm getting tired, so that's all you're getting for tonight. I still don't have all the pictures, just the ones from my Mom's camera, and she took the least pictures out of everyone. So . . . check back tomorrow for more Peru posts, as well as more info on the parasite. Don't think I don't know which one you're more looking forward to!!!

Please ignore my pants

Here's a picture of my Aunt Mary, me, and my mom at Machu Picchu. I bought these ugly pants specifically for this trip but ended up leaving them in Peru because I was thoroughly unimpressed with them. They were too short and just all around looked funny. Anyway . . . that's Machu Picchu behind us. Ignore the pants and be impressed by the scenery.

Let me once again reiterate that nothing really prepares you for seeing Machu Picchu. No picture can possibly do it justice.

More pics from the car

There are hardly any empty walls in Peru. Everywhere you look fences, houses and walls are painted; sometimes with graffiti, sometimes with slogans, and sometimes with art.

Taken from the car pictures

We did a lot of driving around, especially in Cusco, and my Aunt Mary and I got to sit by the window so we could take pictures from the car. A lot of them turned out blurry, and probably about half of the time we completely missed what we were aiming for. There were some that turned out o.k. though. These will give you a better idea of what Peru is like.

I touched her lamb

Pretty much anyplace in Peru that is touristy, has girls and women dressed up in traditional Peruvian outfits. You're supposed to give them money to take their picture. One girl I saw was sitting on the steps of a Cathedral holding a lamb and the lamb was apparently not turning its head the way she wanted because I kid you not, she punched it square in the head. As soon as she saw I was watching her, she put a big grin on her face and tried looking all cute. I was on to her, though. There was no way I was going to give a sol (1 sol = $.38) to that little animal abuser. Instead, I gave a dollar to this cute little, old lady in exchange for a picture and, me being me, permission to pet her lamb.

Potatoes

Peru has long claimed to be the birthplace of the potato. Turns out they were telling the truth. A scientist discovered through some kind of gene something or another that potatoes actually did originate in Peru. If I recall correctly there are around five thousand varieties of potatoes world-wide, and three thousand of those are grown in the Andes. Peruvians use potatoes in everything. We even saw potato-based face cream.

This is the potato section of the supermarket.


Ancient ceramics dedicated to the potato.

A potato plant.


A display of different kinds of taters. (You can't tell very well in this picture, but when I first saw this display it looked like a bunch of pieces of poop.)

More varieties of potatoes. I love how some of them are really colorful.

Museo de Antropologia Dos

At the same museum we saw an example of Incan record keeping. Instead of writing down the events that happened, they tied knots in string.

The last little gallery had paintings by modern Peruvian artists. These pictures don't do the colors justice. They were absolutely beautiful. Notice the potatoes in the pictures. I'll do a whole other post just about potatoes.

Museo Nacional de Antropologia

One of the museums we went to in Lima was the Anthropological Museum. It was pretty interesting. It had all sorts of ancient pottery:

This was one of my favorites.

Oh look! It's a statue of the ugliest dog in Peru's great-great-great-great-great grandfather! I was beyond excited to see another example of the hairless Peruvian dogs.


Whoopsies! How did this get in here?

A man and his llama.

because you have waited so patiently

Remember this little guy?


Well, here he is in his full body glory. Pay particular attention to the lovely ensemble and the mohawk not just on his head, but also on his tail.

Peru is pretty much overrun with dogs, so we saw lots of them, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that this is truly the ugliest dog in Peru. Is it just me, or is he getting to that point where he's so ugly he's kinda cute?

Say good-bye to my little friend

I met this little guy the next to the last day we were in Peru and he has been with me ever since. The last 15 or so days with him have truly been a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs. I have always been able to feel him with me, even when I wasn't sure if he was really there or not. Unfortunately, I can't have him hanging around anymore, so despite the love we feel for each other, the little dude has got to go. Would you like to meet him before he goes? I thought you would. Here he is, my own personal parasite:

O.k., so this isn't the actual parasite that is currently living in my intestines. I don't know which parasite I have, I just got a voice mail from the doctor saying I have one. I'll be sure to update you tomorrow when I find out for sure.

Where is everyone?

I know I stopped blogging for a little bit, but did everyone completely abandon me? Where are my commenters? (Is it commenters or commentors?) You know I don't feel good about myself unless someone leaves me a comment, so pretty much you should all get on that.

But it's different with me!

Remember yesterday when I talked about how people stopped my stuff on the DVR? Well, last night I was watching The Hills online and saw Spencer call Heidi at work and make her come down to the parking lot to sit in his car and chat because they had some major issues to discuss. He then proceeded to tell her how he wants Heidi's sister to move out of the apartment because . . . yup, you guessed it, she erased his shows off of the Tivo.

I felt kinda stupid.

I'm really not a mean person

I just realized that my last couple of posts sounded kind of mean and nasty. I'm really not a horrible person, I swear! I may be just a teensy-tiny-itty-bit judgmental though. Just a lil' bit. It's just because I'm very observant. I don't think most people notice all the things that I do. It is my gift and my curse. It isn't just bad/mean things that I notice. I also have an uncanny ability to spot abnormalities on the ceiling and walls of a room, whether it be a cobweb, a flaw in the paint, or just a weird shadow. I always see these things out of the corner of my eye and I can't get it out of my mind until I go check to make sure it isn't a spider. Very weird, I know. Anyway, that wasn't the point of this post. The point of this post is that through my observational prowess, I have spotted more things at BYU that make me go hmmmmm. Not hmmmmm in a bad way, just hmmmmm, interesting. I'm going to give you a list now because I like lists. I'm telling you this just in case you are completely unobservant and haven't noticed yet.

• There is a married couple in my Marriage Prep class. Why they're in this class and not Marriage Enhancement, I'm not really sure. You don't take a birthing class after you have the baby, right? Whatever. My observation is that they push their desks together so they can sit closer to each other. I don't really understand this. As the classroom is set up, the desks are pretty close together already. Can they really not last 50 minutes of being a couple feet away from each other? If they sat in the very back of the class this wouldn't be that noticeable, but they sit in the middle, so anyone who wants to sit behind them on that row has to climb over desks to get to their seat.
  
• Also in my Marriage Prep class are two girls who are the epitome of the snobby girls in high school. They talk all through class. When people make comments they look at each other and roll their eyes or make faces. They wear clothes that are supposed to be trendy and cool, but instead make them look like a bag-woman, ala Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. We had to get into groups and come up with ten things single people can do to try to get married and I kid you not, one of them said "wear skanky clothes," and the other said "get a make-over if you need one."
  
• It seems like all the students have magically gotten rich since the last time I went to BYU. Almost everyone is dressed very nicely and in trendy clothes. The married students seem to have larger diamonds. Everyone listens to iPods as they walk to class. Maybe I'm having selective memory issues, but it seems like the last time around we were all poor. The pregnant girls would wear their husband's button-front shirts so they didn't have to buy maternity clothes. Our wardrobes consisted of pajama pants, jeans, and t-shirts. Now I always see girls in cute, little dresses and high heels. Why are you wearing high heels to walk around campus? All the clothes also seem to have gotten tighter and there's less clothing in general. I don't think these girls realize that when they sit down, their skirts ride halfway up their thighs. Pretty sure garments won't work with those ensembles. I'm also noticing lots of spaghetti strap tops and dresses that are worn with a little shrug-type jacket over them. I'm glad they're wearing something over them, but the shrugs always seem to be falling open. I totally sound like an old person, don't I? Kids these days . . . Seriously, though-the Honor Code hasn't changed, the length of garments hasn't changed, the Brethren haven't changed their stance on wearing modest clothing, so why are all these girls dressing like this? In a way it makes me kinda sad-do they think that they need to show skin to get a date? Are they all that insecure that they think no one will like them if they don't dress like Britney Spears? As Mormons, and especially as Mormons at BYU, you wouldn't think this would be an issue. What does this say about us as a Mormon society that this is now acceptable? I'm just puzzled by it.
  

Alright, well this is far too long and I have to go write a paper about why I want to get married. I'm assuming that wanting to get some isn't an acceptable answer, so I better go think on it. :) Just kidding about that last comment. Not really.

I'm gonna beat someone

So I was at school yesterday from 7:30 am until 9 pm. All day long I was looking forward to coming home and watching a couple of shows that I had set up to record. But guess what . . . all of my recordings had been stopped. This means no Michael Phelps and midget gymnasts on Oprah, no skanky Gossip Girl, no crazy Kyra Sedgwick on The Closer. I am seriously going to hurt someone. I don't understand how it is so difficult to grasp the concept that if someone has set something to record, that probably means they want to watch that show and so therefore, you should probably go watch your show on a different t.v. I don't stop other people's shows when they are recording, so why does everyone keep stopping mine? Seriously.

I don't get it

What's with this trend of wearing tube tops with a t-shirt underneath? It looks funny. It almost looks as though you normally dress like a street walker, but somehow ended up at BYU, and couldn't afford a whole new wardrobe, so you threw a white t-shirt on underneath all your normal clothes. Hmmmm . . .

Hahahahaha!

I'm sitting in my Dad's office at BYU, wasting time until my next class, and I thought I would share with you some funnies. I'm reading Time Magazine's 47 Things to See, Hear, and Do This Fall. In talking about AC/DC's new album that's coming out, they said "Their fans still shake all night long--albeit with restless leg syndrome . . ." That struck me as funny. But wait, it gets better . . . this is what they said about David Archuleta's upcoming album: "What does a unicorn sound like as it glides down a rainbow? With any luck that and a whole host of other adorable sonic mysteries will be solved when the American Idol runner-up releases his long-awaited — it's been months! — debut album. Production details are hard to come by, but you can guess the record will not feature numerous guest rappers or be released in clean and dirty versions. It's far more likely to be packaged with a vial of David's tears (which are rumored to cure sadness). Judging by the performance of Archuleta's first single, Crush, which entered the Bilboard Hot 100 at #2, it will certainly fill the American Idol overlords who manage his career with joy."

Stephanie from The Hills

I couldn't find the actual clip from the show, but this is from The Soup, which makes it even more hilarious. I don't know what the deal is with the cat. Ignore that part.

The Fall Season has started!

Other than SYTYCD, the summer is kind of crappy because there's nothing good on t.v. Actually, don't tell anyone, but I also watched "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" this summer. Don't judge me-it has Molly Ringwald in it and I always wanted to be her when I grew up. Anyway, I am so excited that it's September and my shows are coming back! Here are my thoughts about my shows:

• Gossip Girl. I know this is a completely skanky show, but I'm hooked. I blame my sister in-law. The premier was last Monday and it was pretty good. Not fabulous, but fairly entertaining. I am pretty sure that Blair and Chuck need to get back together and I'm kind of tired of Serena and Dan. Dan is too holier than thou for my tastes. Oh, and Nate is hot. That's pretty much all I have to say about him.
• House. They just ran the finale, so I'm assuming the premier is this week??? I'm glad Amber died. Let me rephrase that-I'm glad Amber is gone. She could have just moved or something and that would have been fine too. If House weren't old and a cripple (not that I have anything against cripples-remember Crutchie from "Newsies"?), he would be my type. I love the sarcasm and meanness. He says what I think, but would never dare say.
  
• Grey's Anatomy-I'm kinda a little over this show, but I'll still probably watch anyway. That's the beauty of DVR-you can watch stuff when there's nothing else good on. I don't like Meredith. She's irritating. Remember when she fell in the water and almost died? Maybe McDreamy should have just let her go. But I guess you can't have Grey's without Grey. I hope McSteamy gets some more storylines, 'cause um . . . have you seen the man?
  
• Prison Break. I gave up on this show about halfway through the second season. Which season are we on? I don't even know if we're on 3 or 4. Anyway, I watched the season premier online 'cause I didn't have anything better to do. Plus I may possibly have wanted to see Michael and Sarah reunite (get it on).
  
• The freakin' Office! How excited is everyone to see what happens with Pam/Jim and nekkid Dwight/Angela?!? I can't wait! I love this show!
  
• The Hills is also back and I am on Team Audrina all the way. I liked Lo from the Laguna Beach days, but she all of a sudden has turned into a nasty, psycho biotch. She kind of reminds me of my last roommate. I have to admit that I don't watch this show because I like Lauren (not that I don't like her-I just don't care). I watch it because I LOVE to hate Heidi and Spencer, aka Speidi. Nothing makes my day more than making fun of Spencer's facial hair and Heidi's complete lack of intelligence. I'm also adding making fun of Spencer's sister, Stephanie to the list. Did anyone see where she was talking about her hamster? I'll have to see if I can find it on YouTube.
  

Now don't you worry . . .

I haven't abandoned you, my lovely blog readers, I've just been busy and/or lazy. I am currently going through all of my Dad's pictures of Peru, and then I need to get my Aunt's pics, then you will get more blog posts than you could ever possibly want.

Until then, let me tell you a little bit about school. I miss Spring/Summer. There are about 92 million people on campus now and I think about 89.7 million of them are Freshmen because they don't know where they're going or what they're doing. I am not a person who slowly meanders along. I know where I am going, I take the most direct route to get there, and I walk briskly. Please do not suddenly leap into my path because I will keep going and you will need to leap right back out of my way. You know how some people, if another person is approaching them from the opposite direction, will do that thing where you shift side to side, trying to figure out who is moving which way to avoid a collision? Yeah, I don't do that. I just keep going.

Although I miss the emptiness of Spring/Summer, it is so very, very nice to have classes that go at a normal pace again. 50 minutes is so much better than 2 1/2 hours. The classes I'm taking this semester are:

• Adult Development & Aging, which is taught by a 12 year old. Or maybe he just looks that old. I'm not really sure. I am pretty sure, though, that his brother is in my ward and his nephew is in my Primary class. I haven't worked up the courage to go ask him if this is true or not, but I think it is.
  
• Research Methods, which, hallelujah, is not all about writing papers.
  
• New Testament, which just so happens to be taught by one of my former Seminary teachers. I had this guy my Senior year, and we may have actually studied the New Testament that year. I'm not sure. Those of you who went to OHS, I will give you one clue as to who it is-kimchi.
• Marriage Prep. My major requires me to take either Marriage Prep or Marriage Enhancement. I really like my professor for this class. She is Korean and was a little homeless, street urchin until she was found by a little old lady who took her to an orphanage. She eventually ended up in the U.S.
  
• Family Finance, which seems like it would be a boring class, but it's actually not that bad. The teacher is pretty funny and I like math. Wanna know why I like math? Because the answer is either right or wrong. None of those nasty gray areas like in so many other subjects. Of course this means I can't BS my way through the assignments like I do with all my other classes, but that's o.k.
  
• And last, but not least, Food Preparation! I love this class! The recipes we're using for the whole semester are already posted, and we're making way better stuff than in junior high or high school. No English Muffins pizzas in this class!

I have also started my job, and even though I pretty much have no idea what I'm doing, it's pretty cool. It's just been training so far, but we have our first victim/volunteer tomorrow. Right now all we're doing is running an EEG on them and having them go through a series of pictures and picking out which ones have a certain shape. The EEG is kind of a pain because the little electrodes have to be on your skin to work, but it goes on the head. It's not too bad with guys, but girls with thick, long hair take FOREVER!

If you've never seen an EEG, here's what it looks like, only ours doesn't have quite as many little thingers:

laziness

I've been back from Peru for a while now and as you may have noticed, there haven't been any more posts yet. The thing is, I didn't take a camera with me because I knew my dad and aunt would take more pictures than I could ever possibly want, and so in order to have pictures to blog about, I have to get the pictures from them. And that takes effort. To keep you interested, here's a little list of what's to come:

• A full body picture of the ugliest dog in Peru.
• The tale of our return flight home that was delayed like four hours.
• Lots of pictures of poor people-this will probably make me sound stupid, but I didn't realize that Peru is considered a third-world country. I figured second-world (is there such a thing?), but I definitely didn't realize how poor people are there. It was fairly eye-opening.
• A comprehensive list of all of my purchases and how little they cost.
  
• Machu Picchu-pictures do not do it justice and they don't show how huge it is. I'll post pictures, but you won't get the wow factor like when you're actually there. If you ever have a chance to go, take advantage.
• Interesting culinary delights including cuy (guinea pig) and chicha morada (a drink made from purple corn).
• We stayed in one really cheap hotel that had a hole in the wall of the bathroom instead of a fan for ventilation.
  
• I saw lots of breasteses. Peruvian women think nothing of nursing in public and make very little effort to cover themselves.
  

So there's lots of fun stuff to come. I will say right now, though, that we are all beyond lucky to live in the U.S. I am so glad to be back. Not that I didn't enjoy the trip, because I'm really glad I went, but it's nice to be back where it's clean, you don't fear for your life driving down the street (for the most part!), and there aren't SWAT teams on every corner.

Oh, and one more thing-the new semester starts tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some more fun BYU stories to tell.

Update from Cusco

We've been hiking all over the Incan ruins around Cusco. Yesterday, among other places, we went to Sacsayhuaman, which is (kinda) pronounced Sexy Woman. Today we went to several places including Tipon, which was absolutely amazing. It's agricultural terraces way up on the side of a mountain. I'll try to upload some pictures later.

We did a little bit of shopping today-at most of the sites there are women who dress up in traditional Peruvian costumes and sell handicraft stuff. You're supposed to bargain, but I felt bad because everything was already so cheap and the people are so poor. So I did bargain, but not a ton. Anyway, for around $30 I got 6 pairs of earrings, 6 ceramic bowls, 2 bracelets, a necklace, and a little whistle for my niece. As we all know, I enjoy shopping, and I have to say, it's a whole lot more fun when things are really cheap.

One thing I'm noticing is that they put the English translation on the restaurant menus, but they apparently don't speak English very well. For example, tonight for dinner I had baked piglet, and my mom had trout from river to grill. It's kind of fun to read the menus!

More later . . .

Hola mis amigos!

We made it to Peru and already I'm finding lots to blog about. For example, we went to some Incan ruins called Pachacamac and saw what is possibly the ugliest dog in Peru. It's some kind of hairless dog:


We (obviously) have internet in our hotel in Cuzco, so there will be more to come!

Hasta luego!

I'm headed to Peru in the morning, so no posts for a while. I'm sure I'll have much to tell when I get back.

Hip hip!

I'm done with finals!

Also . . .

This problem isn't just on Facebook. Anytime I see someone out in public, I never know if I should say hello or not. This fear was validated the other day when I went to the movies and a girl from high school pulled into the parking spot next to me. We met eyes, so I couldn't pretend like I didn't see her, so I said hello and sure enough, I don't think she knew who I was. Nice. Either she really didn't know who I was and thought I was a freak for talking to her, or she did know who I was but was "too good" to talk to me. That's pretty much how she was in high school. Also, I felt especially lame because I was going to the movie by myself, and I was going to see The Mummy 3. She was taking her little boy to see Wall-E.

BTW, The Mummy 3 was as I expected-fairly entertaining, but pretty dumb. It wasn't as bad as Journey to the Center of the Earth though.

Facebook dilemmas

Lately, as I've been avoiding studying for finals, I've been checking out the friends of all my friends on Facebook. Here's my problem-I'm finding tons of people, especially from high school, that I want to ask to be my friend, but I always worry that they won't remember who I am. You see, I have a really good memory for names and faces* (this also applies to celebrities-ask anyone who watches t.v. or movies with me-it can get obnoxious), but I know not everyone else does. Plus, I'm pretty good at blending into a crowd. I tend not to be noticed (which is a bonus because I'm privy to all sorts of info I probably shouldn't be), so this adds to my paranoia that no one knows who I am. So do I ask these people to be my friend and take the chance that they won't know who I am? Am I a complete loser for even worrying about this?



*I have been stumped once in my entire life and it still haunts me. A few weeks ago at church a lady came up and talked to me like she knew my whole family, but I could not for the life of me figure out who she was. She isn't in my ward, but I think maybe she used to be in it. I don't know. Anyway, weeks later it still bugs me that I can't figure out who she was.

LOL!

I love this blog post.

At least the shirts are sleeveless, though, so we can still see them flex as they look at their watches. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please go watch Top Gun.

Last day of classes!

Whoohoo! Another term down. Well, almost. Finals are Wednesday and Thursday. But still-hurrah!

Wow!

Did everyone watch the men's 4x100m relay last night? If not, click here and the video is halfway down. And holy crap, did you check out the the muscle-y arms of Michael Phelps at the end? He's like the Hulk! Check it out:

I heart the Olympics!

I'm so excited it has finally arrived! I don't really get into the Winter games, but I love Summer! The Opening Ceremonies, while a bit long, were spectacular, and I'll admit it, I got slightly teary-eyed at several points during the show. I've always had this fascination with China and I'm so excited that they finally get to show the world what they can do. Now that's not to say that everything about China is perfect (i.e. the government), but for the regular, everyday person, I'm happy that they get a chance to shine. They've been through so much during history, and it seems like things are (hopefully) getting better for everyone. BTW, if you familiar with Chinese history, especially regarding women, you should read "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China", "Red Azalea", "Life and Death in Shanghai", or if you prefer fiction, pretty much any Amy Tan books, and "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". Also, the book "Wuhu Diary" by Emily Prager is an awesome book about a woman who takes her adopted daughter back to China. It focuses more on what China is like now. If you or anyone you know has adopted a child from China, this book is a must read.

O.k., I got a little sidetracked there! Back to the Olympics! So here's what I'm looking forward to during the Games: Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, gymnastics, track and field, Michael Phelps, diving, beach volleyball, tennis, and Michael Phelps.

the election

I've been reading up on both of the candidates, trying to decide who to vote for. That's a novel concept, isn't it--actually researching the candidates instead of just basing your decision on what party they're affiliated with or what false email forwards say. I agree and disagree with both of them on certain issues, so I don't know who to go with. I think it'll end up coming down to the Iraq war and the vice-presidential nominees. I'm really leaning towards Obama right now, but if Hillary is chosen as the VP nominee, that will most definitely change. If John McCain goes with Mitt Romney, I may be persuaded to go that way. No, not because he's Mormon, but because I think he could really help the economy. Ooh, I know! How about we really shake things up and have an Obama/Romney ticket! How sweet would that be! And how unlikely to happen! Maybe we should start voting for President and VP separately. I think it would be awesome to see two people from different parties have to work together for the good of the country, because after all, the election is about the good of the country, not the party, right?!? But anyway, is anyone out there willing to say what issues are big to them? Or what is making them vote whichever way they're voting?

I am officially employed.

This is good in that I'm poor and I'm going to Vegas later this month and you know what that means . . . SEPHORA! This is bad in that being employed means you have to work. I've loved having these last few months free from employment. It's actually a really good opportunity, though. I finally found out more about what we'll be doing-the project is in conjunction with the Women's Research Institute and the Psych Department. We'll be measuring the effects of opiate use (specifically cocaine, I think) on visual processing in men and women, but particularly females at different times of the month (if you know what I'm sayin'). Basically they are hypothesizing that opiate use has something to do with being able to see the color blue. I think it'll be really interesting, and it'll look awesome on my resume!

Just call me Miss Cleo!

I would just like to say that I correctly predicted the outcome of the top four on SYTYCD. Just thought you would want to know!

lesson learned

I learned in my Religion class that we are not supposed to label people as gay, lesbian or bisexual. This is because people aren't gay, they just have gay feelings (according to my textbook). Therefore, I have decided to rename my friend, Chris. Usually I refer to him as Gay Chris because I know multiple Chris's and I need to distinguish between them. Plus I just like saying Gay Chris. Anyhow, from now on I will be referring to him as Straight with Homosexual Tendencies Chris.

Good parenting book

If you have kids, I would highly recommend that you read "Awakening Children's Minds: How Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference" by Laura E. Berk. It was an optional book for my Parenting class and I'm just now using it to write a paper on fostering creativity in children. It's a great book not just about creativity; it also addresses the quantity vs. quality time debate, child care issues, learning in the classroom, children with disabilities, make-believe play, private talk (children talking to themselves), and a bunch of other factors that affect development. I find it all fascinating and I don't even have kids, so I would imagine that those of you who do will really appreciate it.

BTW, I spent more for my used copy from the BYU Bookstore than the price Amazon has listed for a new copy.

Too funny!

Click here to watch a clip of Anderson "Andy" Cooper talking about the Lohan's and their t.v. show. Hilarious!

SYTYCD update

I've been a slacker the last few weeks with my SYTYCD commentaries. I'm not going to keep posting videos because they always take them down, so I'll just let you in on a few of my thoughts:

• Did you notice during Twitch and Katee's Amy Winehouse-esque dance, that a chunk of her hair fell out? It distracted me.
  
• Lady GaGa's ensemble, headset, and pretty much the entire performance, weirded me out. Who is this person/thing? Why was her leotard cut up to her breasteses?
• I'm pretty sure Courtney should not have made the top 4. Even though Chelsie irritates me, she's still a way better dancer. But I guess if it all came down to who danced better, Will would still be there. Oh and btw, I'm completely bummed that Mark is gone. I loved his quirkiness.
  
• I am loving that Sonya chick's choreography. She's crazy (in a good way). I'm putting her up there with Mia Michaels and Tabitha and Napoleon (or as Cat calls her, Tabither) in my favorite choreographers.
  
• I don't remember if I mentioned it before (and I'm too lazy to go back and check) but I loved Will and Katee's pas de deux (is that spelled right?). The only thing about it that sucked was that David Archuleta was singing the song.
  
• I also loved it when Mia Michaels told Chelsie she was so gorgeous she wanted to stab her. It was slightly creepy, but completely hilarious and totally something I would think, but probably not say.
  

special project

For my religion class, we had to come up with a project that would help us work on becoming more Christ-like. I chose to work on several things, including not making as many mean and/or sarcastic comments. I don't think my plan is working though. I still think all the things but I don't say them out loud. I think this is causing problems. You know how when you stuff your feelings and don't express them, they just grow and grow and grow and then you explode? Well, I think I'm about to starting spewing random comments. It'll be like I have Tourettes and in the middle of class I'll just randomly yell out "Your mom works it!" or "That's what she said!" or "Wow, that's just so interesting, I can't even contain myself." I'm thinking that for the well-being of everyone around me, I should probably find some outlet for my negativity. Any suggestions?

new favorite perfume

Lorri has been telling me for months that I have to smell Bobbi Brown's "Beach" perfume. Actually, the first time she told me this I thought she was talking about Bobby Brown, and I asked her if it smelled like crack. Anyway, I finally smelled it and at first I didn't like it, but then I let it settle and completely fell in love with it. I now have to spray myself every time I go by the bathroom. As I mentioned in my last post, I have found ways to get people to buy me things, and this was one of those things last week. Just remember, it's this:


Not this:

I'm back!

Are you beyond excited!?!

The shoe tally (see last blog entry) for the trip ended up being 20, I think. The women in my family all have slight shopping issues, so I blame my shopping habits completely on genetics. The way I differ from my mom, aunt and grandma though, is that I am not a browser. Unless it's a bookstore, I loathe browsing. I am perfectly capable of filling a cart (or two) at Target in 30 minutes. I don't need to spend hours looking at everything. This causes problems when I'm with them because they want to spend ages in the store, and I just want to get the heck out of there. I have learned, though, that if I help them find things to buy, they spend money much faster and are ready to go in a shorter amount of time. If I do this and don't complain, they will also usually buy me things. :)