Shiny

Today I went to Miraflores, which is the nice district of Peru, where all the foreigners stay and people shop at expensive stores and stay in expensive hotels. Mostly I walked around by the ocean, under an overcast sky on a rocky beach, where this guy approched me asking if I wanted to learn to surf. Of course I do. But am I about to follow this dude, pay him $20, tell him where I live, on what street, give him my phone number, and tell him my name so he can find me on facebook? Of couse not. So, I got his name, phone number, email address, and will consult with Nancy and Tito about my options.
Anyways, I've noticed that Lima has two sides to it- the side that is shiny with pristine buildings, clean sidewalks, and cafes playing American music and the side that is dull, polluted and dirty. Miraflores and San Isidro are the shiny parts, next to the sea, and the rest appears to be some variation of the latter.
Before I left, I was worried about getting my inhibitions back, since they seemed to have disappeared while living in Madison. Rest assured, they are back, safe and sound, right where I left them last time I had to do something completely new. I think they are serving me well, but also a bit of a bummer...

So.... If I could get the classes that I finally decided on almost, assuming they aren't full, this is what they would be:

-Peruvian Social Reality
-Kinship and Social Relationships
-Andean Ethnography (In this class we get to go to an Andean community, talk with the people, and write up an ethnographic report of some social aspect of our choice)

Sounds pretty baller to me. I love school. And I love that I love school. I can't even believe that I get access to such a kick-ass education that blows my mind all the time, in a different language. Ha!