Question Period

My lovely sister sent me a number of questions that I wanted to talk about here! If you have any, email me or leave them in the comments!

1- what is the temperature like? 

It is freezing in the early morning and at night. I wear a sweater in the evening when walking around, the sun sets very early! During the day it is usually quite hot and sunny, sometimes with a bit of rain (it's warm rain).

2 - what is in an empanada?

Picture a pizza pocket (yea, the gross ones you had in grade school). These ones are made from handmade fluffy pastry. The inside consists of either cheese, chicken, vegetables or beef--or a combination. They are pretty big and at a place right by my house they are 2 soles (less than a dollar)

3 - has duolingo helped you understand any spanish at all? or does it sound completely different? 

When I arrived it seemed like everything I learned before I left vanished. Now I'm really learning a lot, because of my spanish lessons which are great! Also I'm in a pre-school everyday and learning lots from the kids. They teach my words in spanish and I teach them in English.

4 - did you forget anything? 

I forgot to have Tim hortons before I left. I miss the bagels, the bagels here are nothing like Canadian bagels.

No major items were forgotten,  thankfully.

5 -  what is the pricing like there... say for a bottle of beer...or a banana...or a meal?

Last night we found an Indian restaurant and the buffet was 15 soles per person, which is about $6 Canadian. A meal ranges anywhere from $1 to $10.. but usually they are around $3 (depends where you go). Snacks and drinks(soda or water) range from 25 cents to $1.50. Two nights ago we went to a hostel pub and alcoholic drinks were cheap. They do not measure them anywhere so you don't really know how much they put in your margarita or other cocktail.  I ordered a shot of tequila with some of my buddies and it was a 2.5 ounce shot glass, and I couldn't do it! This tequila cost around $2. Beer is around $2-$5 depending on what kind and where you go. The bus is 70 sentimos which is less than 40 cents.

8 - are your hosts really nice?

They are really friendly and nice. They love catering to us and making sure everything is good. Osmar has a bout 5 different birds and one of them sits on his shoulder every morning and talks to him.

9 - are there other people your age there?

I meet new people everyday, from all over the world. My main group right now consist of Sarah (29), Jaime (18), Phil (18), Sean (29), Mati (18), Kai (18), Maya (18), Sam(19), Andy (20), and Lil (23). We all have different schedules so we usually meet in the evening or after spanish class.

10 - how many different types of potatoes have you eaten so far?! 

That is a tough question, almost everyday we are served a different kind at the house. So probably up to 10, and ALL of them have been phenomenal.