Video produced/edited by Malinda
Hello, my curious readers!
Today, we started off our day with a delicious Peruvian breakfast provided by our hotel. The breakfast was carried by the cheese they gave us, and it reminded me so much of Ukrainian cheese that I'd eat every once in a while. After enjoying our food, we hopped in the van and headed to the first deaf school in Barrancos named "La Inmaculada." The school was founded in 1936 and is still operating today. Unfortunately, we couldn't see any students since they were all on their summer break. The school was super interesting to see, it was definitely different than what I expected. The courtyard of the school was very beautiful and full of various plants. As we toured around, we reached a basketball/ soccer court, and it was surrounded by fruit trees. They gave us some fruit to try, and it was delicious! After touring the school, I felt more appreciative of what TSD provides us. Their classrooms don't have AC, whiteboards, TVs, or anything technology-related.
We then headed to exchange our money from USD to Sol. The money was so cool and designed beautifully compared to America's boring green paper. After that, we visited the famous bridge landmark near the beach. The myth is that you get eternal good luck if you hold your breath while crossing the bridge and succeed. There are also many stories of segregation where the rich and the poor would be split. The only way to reach the other side is to cross the bridge. We walked down to the beach but was too foggy to see anything. Luckily, we returned later when the mist cleared, and the ocean was a beautiful bright blue.
We then walked a couple blocks to an electricity museum. It was a small, cute museum, but it was super cool to visit for a little bit. We were all starving, so we walked around with David (our local tour guide) to find food. We stopped at a convenience store to buy a drink called Inca Kola since Jennifer talked about how good it was nonstop in class. At first, it was pretty decent.. but as I kept drinking it, it became really, really good. It tastes like bubble gum soda, but it's better than it sounds, trust me. We then went to get lunch at a small local restaurant. I ordered Ceviche as my entree and rice with shredded chicken with yellow sauce as my main dish. Let me tell you that Ceviche was the BEST seafood I have ever had. Ceviche is a raw fish dish with a dressing, and it was very, very good. I felt like I was in food heaven as soon as I took my first bite. The main dish was decent, but there was nothing special about it. The Ceviche was so good I had to eat a second plate.
After enjoying our food, we headed to a second deaf school named "Cebe L.V. Beethoven" in Brenna. It was newer and more modernized since it was established only 12 years ago. This school has more technology access and communication compared to the first school. We toured around for about 45 minutes and then said our goodbyes. I was very intrigued by how both schools were very welcoming and friendly. All teachers and administrators were always smiling; I could tell they were very happy to see us here. Both schools also welcomed us to come back anytime.
Once we finished the tour, we hit the road to see the Museum of Gold. This museum was very interesting, it held over 20,000 different weapons and over 8,000 pieces of gold. The museum also has the largest true collection in South America. I'm not a huge fan of museums, but this one was very cool. Everything was real and just fascinating. There were also real skeletons, which gave me such an eerie feeling. The skeletons were shriveled up instead of lying down to preserve the body. I honestly felt like I was walking through a Time Machine.
After going back in time, we headed to the Peruvian deaf club. There were many deaf people waiting to meet us there. I can promise you that I basically had a full-on conversation with everyone, and communication was barely an issue. One woman got us all Inca Kola in a glass; it tasted much better than when we tried it in a plastic bottle. It was super cool to talk with them; they were also very nice and friendly. We also met someone who was from New York. He was visiting family and happened to stop by the deaf club. I also learned so much universal and Peruvian sign language. There was also a super cute little boy running around. He took Malinda's go-pro and couldn't stop smiling to himself in the camera. It was such a cute and heartwarming moment to see.
Then, after all that, we were starving since we hadn't eaten for hours. We then went to a Peruvian chicken restaurant, and the food was amazing, like usual. The chicken was so good, the meat basically fell off the bone. The chicken was also so juicy and tender I would eat 3 more whole chickens if I could. We stopped by Peruvian ice cream to satisfy our sweet tooth and returned to the hotel. After this long and adventurous day, I can tell you I will sleep great tonight.
Good night, readers.
Written by Melanie