It’s hard to believe that I was once counting down the weeks, when I can now only count the hours. It’s really hard to grasp that I’ll never see some of the friends I’ve made here ever again. The idea that I might not be able to watch Friends with Cielo, or laugh at Oscar, or taste Micky’s cooking ever again breaks my heart. I know that it’s cliche and a little bit sappy, but I have truly fallen in love with Peru. I love the food, I love Lima, I love the people, I love the music, I love it here. Not just because it’s awesome though, but because for the past five weeks it has been my home. Not just a place where I stayed for five weeks, but a place where I laughed, danced, sang, learned, failed, succeeded, cried, made mistakes, fallen, and tried again. I didn’t just see Peru, I experienced Peru. I loved some aspects of it, like the food and the clothes and the music, and I detested some aspects of it, like the humidity and the gap between socio-economic classes. But I think that is what differentiates Exchange from Vacation. When you’re on vacation, it’s easy. If you don’t like something, you call down to the front desk, and it disappears. If you can’t communicate with someone on vacation, you explain that you speak whatever language, and BAM a bilingual whoever appears. But on Exchange, it’s tough. I have had some of the most difficult moments in my life here Peru. Be they trying to figure out verb conjugations, or attempting to help someone when I’m having trouble speaking myself, or taking an honest look at myself, I have had some tough times. But I’ve also had some of the best moments in my life here in Peru. I have become part of a family, inside jokes and all. I have come to know my host family better than I know some of my friends from home, and in turn they have come to know me. I don’t think I can effectively described how much this experience has changed me until it’s truly over though, so once again I’ll avoid that topic and stick with the things that I will miss.

• Everyone from Trener. Everyone was so nice for the whole duration of my stay. They were always stopping to talk to me, and so nice about correcting my Spanish and complementing me when I improved. My favorite thing though was when the conversations (because they always did) moved past the “How do you like Peru? Do you miss the States?” part and we talked about real stuff. “What’s your favorite food you’ve tried? Have you seen Transformers 3 yet? How much did you love the play last night? Are you gonna finish those cookies?”
• The food. (Nuff said)
• My host family. I haven’t come home from school every day in over 2 years. It was so different having breakfast at a table with my family and not a random group of kids who wake up around the same time. I’ll say this again. I’ve grown so close to my host family… And not just as a “host family” but I have grown close to my two new sisters and my new dad and my new mom. I love them. Truly truly love them because of how they not only opened their doors to me, but made me feel like a part of the family. I will never forget them.
• The food.
• Jackie. She and I will be going our separate ways for the remainder of the summer, but I really hope the friendship that we’ve created continues to grow throughout the break and over our final year at Brooks. Over these 5 weeks, she’s seen me at my lowest (curled up in a ball in the nurse’s office in Trener), she’s seen me at my goofiest (flailing my arms in a floppy passion amidst the rocks of Machu Picchu) and she’s seen me at my best (when I am at my happiest). We’ve vented together, been homesick together, laughed together, sang together, and I really have enjoyed her company over these 5 weeks. In a way, I’m glad that we weren’t close before, because now we can safely say that it was Peru that brought us close together. Not because we didn’t have anyone else, but because we were there for each other. Getting to know Jackie has been one of the highlights of my high school experience and I am honored to call her a friend. 
• The food.
• Luna. Luna has been amazing these past 5 weeks. She’s been a tour guide, a friend, and a sister all wrapped up in one, and I couldn’t dream of a better hostess. The best thing about my getting to know Luna is that it was very real. We left all of the “this is Lima” stuff out of the deal and got to know each other as people instead of Nation wide representatives. I got to know Luna for who she was, and I think she got to know me for who I was. I enjoyed the time that we spent together because it wasn’t all, “How are you today?” We developed a rapport that was unique, due to the interesting structure of our relationship (the hostess-hostee thing), but wasn’t defined by it. To be honest, I don’t really want to share all the details of our friendship because 1. this is the internet and 2. I don’t need to validate it with details… It just is what it is and I am thankful that I had it, because I can’t imagine Peru without Luna.
• Have I mentioned the food.

I’m gonna finish packing up my stuff, and then I’m going to sit on my bed and countdown the hours. More to come…

World Traveler,

The VanJessica

I wake up this morning to embark upon my last day in Peru. My host family has made sure that this weekend has been a really great one. On Saturday we went to a giant Peruvian Box Festival (La Festival de los cajones) The Peruvian box is this musical instrument that emits different sounds based on where you hit it. I played a little box and then went to play fútbol on the turf with some kids. (Hot day + Turf - Shoes = Ouch.) After that, we invited both Oscar’s sister (who flew in from Germany on Wednesday) and Micky’s sister over for dinner and had a nice little reunion. It was really really fun. I told a couple Anti-Jokes in Spanish and once again, Luna question my sanity. On Sunday, Micky, Luna, and I got up early to go to this market called Gamara. I bought fuzzy tube socks! I kinda wanted to buy some Peruvian Pants before I go, but I don’t know if that will happen. After Gamara, we went bowling with Nicolas and Riley and their mothers. Our team won (naturally), and I bowled an 83! (That’s a new record for me! It’s only taken 17 years, but I’m inching closer to my goal of breaking 100!) After bowling we went to Wong, a grocery store, I bought snacks for the plane and a few souvenir snacks and then we went back to the house where we were joined by everyone who came bowling for another little reunion. Nicolas and I had a nice talk about the internal conflict between wanting to stay on exchange forever, and wanting to go home. (Nicolas came to Brooks in the spring of this year.) And then we all called it a night. It was a really good weekend… A very nice note to finish a beautiful piece of music.

World Traveler,

The VanJessica

Highlights of the day, as I am too wired/tired/sore to type a long thought out post:

• Last night, I helped move to couches up a flight of stairs. Oscar decided to imitate Dr. Ross Geller and yell PIVOT in a loud annoying voice, causing me to laugh and nearly drop said couch. (We made it… eventually)
• Today, we had a party for our teachers. I provided the music with my phone.
• My English Presentation went well. I made everyone laugh with my “surfer lingo”
• Said goodbye to the English teachers Douglas and Paul. I’m really going to miss them. They’re from Canada and England, their accents and their candid humor never ceased to make me laugh.
• After school went to Larcomar with the girls. (I’ve never had a group of gal pals before. It’s nice.) Then I got a MANJAR BLANCO FRAPPACINO… Laughed a lot on the way home. Now I’m tired.
• Did a lot of thinking today… I will post an extra long post tomorrow with these thoughts.
• I found myself thinking in Spanish today… That was exciting.
• All in all, really good Friday.

World Traveler,

The VanJessica

We’re leaving together,
But still it’s farewell
And maybe we’ll come back,
To earth, who can tell ?
I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground
Will things ever be the same again?

It’s the final countdown…

-Europe

We have 4 or 5 days left in Peru, depending on how you look at it. And as we begin the final countdown, moment, I want to look back at some of the things that stuck out to me in my trip.

School

Mi primer día de Colegio Trener, yo estaba confundido. Yo sabía solamente un poco de español, pero era diferente de la lengua que toda la gente habló aquí. Los profesores, estudiantes, todos hablaban más rápido y las palabras no tenían separación. Estaba preparaba a salir sin amigos y con mal opiniones de mis profesoras y toda la gente en la escuela. Después que primer día, mi español mejorado, un poco. Todas personas a la escuela ayudan con mi acento y pronuncian. También, aprende diferentes frases e idiomas Peruano. Después que primer día, participe en clases y aprende factos nuevos sobre matemáticas, físicas, y la historia de Perú. Mi experiencia a Colegio Trener fue no solamente un lugar para aprendida, fue un lugar para haciendo amigos. Durante mi viaje, Colegio Trener fue una parte significado de mis grupos sociales, mi educación, y mi español

Cuzco

Durante mi viaje a Cusco, vi muchas cosas interesantes. Cuando llegamos por primera vez, después de un viaje en un pequeño avión estaba un poco enfermo debido a la altitud. Sin embargo, yo disfruté de mi primeros minutos en el Cusco. El hotel era muy agradable y la ciudad era hermosa. Vi las banderas en todos los lugares y las personas con ropas más tradicionales. Cusco, Perú fue similar a las imágenes en los libros de la escuela, especialmente las mujeres con las boletas para los niños, pero era diferente también porque la atmósfera se había emoción. Nuestro viaje fue durante la época del Inti Raymi, fiesta del sol inca (el año representó una nueva). Después de nuestro avión, y un poco de descanso, nos fuimos a Coricancha y Convento de Santo Domingo y dos ruinas de Sacsayhuaman Inca. Fue muy informativo y muy interesante, pero al final del día agotado. Al día siguiente fue Machu Picchu. El día comenzó temprano con un viaje en un tren durante tres horas. El viaje fue largo, pero grande. Las montañas y los árboles hizo buenas fotos y la música inca era muy tranquilo y silencioso. Machu Picchu era una maravilla y más grande que mis expectativas. Jackie y yo tomamos muchas fotos y se divirtieron mucho juntos en un lugar hermoso. En ese momento me gustó la historia de los Incas, Cusco y Perú. Machu Picchu y Cusco eran magníficas y estoy agradecido por la oportunidad de ir.

El Parque De La Leyendas

Jackie y yo fuimos a El Parque de Las Leyendas, el zoológico de Lima. Fuimos con la formación de estudiantes 1, el primer grado. Mi primer pensamiento fue, “Que linda!” cuando vi a los niños. Había más divertido cuando los niños estaban en busca de sus animales favoritos. Vi a una cebra por primera vez en mi vida. (La cebra es mi animal favorito) Después del almuerzo nos fuimos a “la jungla”. Mi parte favorita fue la toma de fotografías de los nombres de los árboles. Además, los animales pequeños eran lindos. Los niños les encantó a los animales y se divirtió con los niños. Al final del día lia, yo estaba muy cansado. ¡Qué gran día!

That Spanish may be awful… but I tried my best. And to be honest, I think Señora Graves-Muto would be proud. Well… I hope she would. I’m going to go to sleep now, because I’ve got a huge English Oral Presentation tomorrow. And after school the girls are all getting together to go to Larcomar. So I need all the shut eye I can get.

World Traveler,

The VanJessica

(CNN) — Left-leaning Ollanta Humala narrowly defeated rival right-wing lawmaker Keiko Fujimori to become Peru’s 94th president Monday. He will be sworn in on July 28.

Here are five facts about Peru’s new president:

1. Humala is an ex-army officer linked to a 2000 military uprising.

More than a decade ago, Humala led a military rebellion against former President Alberto Fujimori, Keiko’s father, who is currently in prison on a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses. The uprising thrust Humala into the national spotlight. He also battled the Shining Path, a brutal leftist insurgency that terrorized the country in the late 1980s and 1990s. Remnants of that group still operate, and sporadic violence linked to the drug trade is often blamed on them.

2. Humala narrowly lost a 2006 presidential bid to current President Alan Garcia.

Humala squared off against Garcia in the last election, losing in a second round of voting by just a few percentage points. In an interview with CNN en Espanol last week, Humala spoke about some of the mistakes he made during that campaign. He said his “radical discourse” alienated other political groups, which then turned to support Garcia.

3. Humala has fought to distance himself from his more radical past and from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

During his previous campaign, Humala was seen by many as a loyal foot soldier for Chavez, intent on turning Peru to the left. This year, he tried to put distance between himself and the Venezuelan leader, casting his campaign more in the mold of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former Brazilian president. Humala adopted less radical rhetoric and swapped his trademark red T-shirts for business suits in an attempt to woo more voters.

4. Humala has said he wants to spread the benefits of Peru’s economic boom to the poor.

Peru’s economy is one of the fastest-growing in Latin America, but poverty remains persistently high. Roughly 1 in 3 of all Peruvians are poor and the poverty rate is much higher in the more rural, remote parts of the country. Humala spoke to the issue of inequality throughout the campaign and during his celebration speech on Sunday. “The nation will only advance if the Peruvian family advances,” he said.

5. Humala’s campaign victory has spooked investors, who are fearful he might raise taxes or otherwise change the cost of doing business in Peru.

Humala’s election victory sent shock waves through Peruvian markets. The nation’s general stock index plummeted more than 12.5% Monday before regulators shut trading, marking the largest one-day drop in history. Shares of mining companies fell particularly hard. In the CNN en Espanol interview last week, Humala said the needs of mining companies need to be better balanced against what local communities want.

CNN’s Patricia Janiot, Dana Ford and Helena DeMoura contributed to this report.