The Peru Study-Service Term group spent their first night in the Cirque Hostel, just a few blocks from Casa Goshen in the San Isidro district of Lima. Luckily the hostel did not live up to its name and was quiet and peaceful. The students reported getting a good night’s sleep and were ready to go for a full day of orientation on May 1, their first full day in Peru.
Students enjoy breakfast at Casa Goshen.
The morning included introductions, worship time and working through the orientation handbook with Peru SST Co-Directors Judy Weaver and Richard R. Aguirre. At lunch time, we strolled to a beachside park, just a few blocks from Casa Goshen. We descended a path from the top of the cliff to take in the magnificence of the Pacific Ocean. A few students got a caught with splashes from unexpected waves. Then we climbed back up to the park to enjoy a picnic lunch and some activities to get to know each other better. It was a cloudy day with temperatures in the low 70s, typical of this time of year in Lima.
A wave surprises Sierra and Edith.
In the afternoon, Alicia Taipe Tello, who cooks lunches for the group twice a week, gave us a delicious fruit-tasting demonstration. Afterward, Richard gave an illustrated presentation about Peru’s gastronomy. Then we took a walk to the Ovalo Gutierrez, a large traffic circle surrounded by stores, restaurants and a big Catholic church. The students will spend a lot of time walking in that area, near to the Buen Pastor church where we meet for classes.
Edith, Leah, Miranda, Alejandro and Michael take photos of Peruvian fruit.
Our Lima study coordinator, Celia Vasquez, met us at the Ovalo to talk with students about how to navigate Lima’s sprawling public transportation system. After taking the traditional first-day photo, we returned to Casa Goshen for a delicious dinner of chicken, rice and vegetables, with mango-passion fruit juice.
Students pause for a group photo at the Ovalo Gutierrez.
After dinner, Celia taught us how to greet people, Peruvian style – preparation for meeting the host families. Finally, students received their first assignments and a big pile of books and headed back to the hostel for the night. It was a fun and rewarding day.
– By Judy Weaver
Emma, Derek, Stefan and Sierra help themselves to breakfast at Casa Goshen.Students enjoy breakfast at Casa Goshen.Students sing a hymn.The Pacific Ocean viewed from a park in the Miraflores district of Lima.A view of the coast in Miraflores.The Pacific Ocean.Emma and Lucas edge toward the surf.Emma wades into the Pacific Ocean followed by Leah, Lucas and Joel.Students on the stony beach in Miraflores.Derek and Alejandro gaze out toward the ocean.Students take a dip while Emma tries to avoid a spill.Lucas and Joel on the beach.Sierra and Edith share a laugh.A wave surprises Sierra and Edith.Brian puts back on a sock.Stones on the beach.Sierra and Leah on the beach.Stefan examines an object he found on the beach.Andrew skips a stone.Emma, Derek and Alejandro share a laugh.Students scamper up the bluff toward the park.Brody, Miranda, Edith, Leah and Sierra climb stairs toward the park.Students enjoy a picnic.Tim, Matt and Derek relax.Lucas at the picnic.Brian tosses a disk.Michael launches a disk.Emma tosses a disk.Stefan, Brody and other students play a game to learn each other’s names.Students seem confused by the name game.Andrew, Sierra, Alejandro, Edith and other students quickly repeat each other’s names.Tim, Derek and Matt play a name game.Derek, Jaime, Lucas and Edith play the name game.Alejandro, Miranda, Brian, Andrew, Brody and Derek get to know each other.Michael, Stefan, Joel, Sierra and Edith get to know each other.Leah, Lucas, Tim, Matt, Derek and Jaime get to know each other.MIranda reads a list of similarities of group members.Emma reads a list of similarities of group members.Leah reads a list of similarities of group members.Students walk back to Casa Goshen after a picnic.Edith, Leah, Miranda, Alejandro and Michael take photos of Peruvian fruit.A selection of Peruvian fruit.A selection of Peruvian fruit.Alicia Taipe Tello tells students about Peruvian fruit, including the lucuma, in her hand.While Stefan, Edith and Michael watch and listen, SST Co-Director Judy Weaver translates Alicia Taipe Tello’s presentation about Peruvian fruit. Emma, Joel and Derek prepare to try a variety of prickly pear.Miranda, Brody and Leah reach toward a variety of prickly pear.Matt, Derek, Brian and Sierra sample some fruit.Stefan and Edith try another piece of fruit.Lucas enjoys a granadilla.Miranda, Brody and Leah taste granadilla.Joel peers out from Casa Goshen.Lima Study Coordinator Celia Vasquez explains Lima’s bus system at the Ovalo Gutierrez.Students pause for a group photo at the Ovalo Gutierrez.
