Welcome to Lima

I'm obviously still getting over some technical difficulties with this whole blog thing....sorry for being so scattered! This is my new blog, as the old one kept acting up with my keyboard. 

Post from July 2, around 8 PM --------

Well I just wrote a post and made sure to save my progress as one of my travel-mates had her two pages disappear earlier, but of course the same happened to me....

So I'll begin again!  Welcome to Lima (:  As I write, I sit in the common area of our hostel, looking up into a cloudy Lima sky illuminated with the lights of the city.  After a treacherous experience with Spirit Airlines yesterday, I finally arrived at the hostel around 2 AM.  Luckily, I easily found Leah once at the airport and she quickly guided us to the hostel.  We had an early start this morning, filled with a delicious hostel breakfast in our stomachs, and headed to the National Agrarian University at La Molina.  Our tour of El Huerto, the organic agriculture department of the university, began with an herb and vegetable seedling house.  We took in not only the Spanish names of the variety of plants, but the pungent smells and tastes as well. Next, we learned from MESA alumni about El Huerto's broccoli and water irrigation operations.  We finished our outdoor exploration by learning about the incredible diversity of chilis at El Huerto and their place in the global "chili scene."  After a presentation from Saray, a professor at the university, we stopped for a quick lunch and headed to spanish lessons until 6.  Then back to the hostel for a short rest, until we left again for dinner.  Savannah, Margaret and I tried an Arabic place (a falafel is the last thing I had expected to eat in Peru, but it was delicious) while the other three stopped at a grocery store.  Video'd with Isabella and my mom, kind of unbelievable, and now I think its just about bed time.....

Goodnight!!

I hope to find a way to upload some photos soon.....