Lima: City Center

After an hour of Spanish class with Andres our group left for a field trip to the city center to visit many sites including the President's house, Congress and the San Francisco Church.


At the Palacio de Gobierno we learned about the history of the building, how it had taken many years to build because of earthquakes and the worldwide financial crisis in the 1930s.  However, eventually the palace was completed and inside are housed many treasures.  We saw the grand dining room, the former dining room, now a press conference room with a large V shaped table and the door to the President's own rooms.  We also got to see the largest chandelier in all of Lima and of course I noticed that all of the lights throughout the building were fluorescent (!!)

We were also just in time to see the changing of the guard.  Though the marching reminded me of North Korea and Germany, the ceremony itself was impressive and is certainly a sight to see if you are ever in Lima.  We were lucky enough to view the whole thing from inside the palace gates as we had just finished our tour.

After we ate lunch at a fast food place (burrito and helado) and then visited La Iglesia San Francisco which was built over the period of 1546-1672.  Inside the church we saw a library with a book dating from 1450, the choir room with foldable pews made of Panaman wood and a pipe organ dating from the 1700s and the Penitence Room with a mural partially exposed hidden under 8 layers of paint.  We also explored the catacombs below the church which served as the only graveyard in Lima from 1550-1821 when over 25,000 were buried there.  The bodies were initially buried 9-10 deep with blankets and lime in between to cut down on the smell.  Once they were fully decomposed they were thrown in a mass grave 4m deep.  Only the Franciscan monks were allowed in the Catacumbas and they built the entire thing out of bricks and mortar made from stones, pebbles, egg whites and water.  This flexible base helps limit damage in earthquakes, and because the whole building is made from plant fibers it has survived over the centuries.  No photos allowed inside, but it was a magnificent place with many rarities unprotected from the air or a determined thief.  However this meant we could really take an up close look at the treasures throughout the church.

After we went to Congress for a tour where we learned a bit more about the government of Peru and also got an insiders look on the upcoming presidential election.  Our tour guide confided that she thought Keiko, a graduate of BU and Columbia was much more prepared to be President over the less experienced Ollanta.

After we returned home exhausted for a delicious (as usual) dinner of lentils, rice, soy (?) patties, avocado and tomato salad and sweets after.  I managed to have a semi-literate conversation with my host family on how a dialogue counted for credit at Northeastern and shared pictures of my family.

Lessons Learned:

1. Might as well speak!  My host dad was friendly and helpful as I struggled through vocab to explain dialogues.
2. About 16 out of the 120 congress members are women.
3. The ceilings in the church were held together solely by pressure and the geometric designs were based on the designs of Spanish Moors.
4. Bargin with cab drivers!  20 S./ to 15./ = win.
5. The 'boots' worn by the guards are really a leg warmer-like tube over black dress shoes.  EXCEPT the commander which has real boots.