Adventure in the Amazon: Pink Dolphins and Piranhas

Jill Swanson is a student at Arizona State University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Jill is currently studying abroad in Lima, Peru on a Fall 1 program.

Amazon at twilight

Our last overnight ISA excursion was to Iquitos in the Loreto region of, Peru: home to the Amazon Rainforest. Iquitos is famous for being the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road.  The whole weekend was out of a storybook, but the highlight of the trip had to be swimming in the Amazon with the pink dolphins and fishing for piranhas.

Señor de los Milagros

Jill Swanson is a student at Arizona State University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Jill is currently studying abroad in Lima, Peru on a Fall 1 program.

The whole month of October Peruvians celebrate “Señor de los Milagros” or in English, Lord of Miracles. It is a religious and cultural celebration like nothing I had ever seen before. In 1746 there was a devastating earthquake in Lima that destroyed the city, and the only thing left standing was a painted mural of Jesus Christ. Sometime after this marvelous occurrence they decreed the month of October a time to commemorate Jesus and all of his miracles. Peruvians participate in the festivities by wearing purple, eating scrumptious turron de Doña Pepa (traditional honey sweets), and most importantly with giant processions down streets.

Turron de Dona Pepa

Life in Lima: Car Horns, Fruit Juice and Cat-Calls

Jill Swanson is a student at Arizona State University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Jill is currently studying abroad in Lima, Peru on a Fall 1 program.

A typical “combi” in Lima.

Hola amigos! I have been living with a host family in bustling Lima, Peru for a little over a month now. Lima is unlike anything I had ever experienced and drastically different from my life in the States. Lima packs in approximately 8 million residents into 43 districts. I think of Lima as the Peruvian version of NYC, including all the taxis, traffic and honking to boot. I’m still adjusting to new lifestyle and the cultural differences, but I am starting to fall in love with Lima.