Life in Lima...: Peruvian Birthdays, Paintballing, and Presidential Elections

First off, I have to apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I swear, I have an excuse....my laptop hates me. But seriously, my computer has been on-and-off broken for the last 3 weeks. I have made a grand total of 5 trips to two different repair stores, 25 minute taxi rides one-way to downtown Lima. I am not sure what the problem is, but this morning when it wouldnt turn on after the computer man "fixed it for good" (for the 5th time)....I decided I just need to accept the fact that it is officially broken. It´s been a bit frustrating, but I have been able to use the computers at my University and my sisters at my host home let me borrow theirs. I am hoping to order a new one soon. Atleast I got to know Roberto, the computer man, pretty well through all of this craziness....we are on a personal cell phone calling basis at this point...haha.

Soo, I decided to recap the three top experiences from the past couple weeks here in Peru!

1.) Peruvian Birthdays! :)
I turned 21 here in Peru last Wednesday...my first official birthday outside of the United States! My host family suprised me the night before my birthday with a huge lasagna dinner with music and wine and singing and candles and an ice cream cake....with a HUGE firecracker (no joke) on top! It was so sweet how they planned it all without me knowing anything. Then at midnight my host sister and her friend came in my room with ANOTHER cake and candles to sing to me AGAIN! You can never have too many cakes on your birthday, right? They were delicious! On my birthday I had class in the morning, then went to Miraflores, this adorable bohemian style neighborhood, with my two really good girlfriends here (the ones I am going to ecuador with!) for an amazing lunch at this outdoor Greek restaurant right by the ocean. At night we went out salsa dancing to celebrate! Definitely a memorable and sucessful 21st birthday experience in a different country! Thanks again to everyone for all the bithday cards, emails, and packages!

2.) Paintballing***If you ever decide to paintball while in Peru, you should know these things:**
1. It is intense. They do not mess around south of the equator. In the waiver we signed it literally said that if you are injured/die during the games, the paintballing company is not liable. What? That is the sketchiest disclaimer ever. Die? Really?
2. It is extremely hot. Not only are you playing outdoors...in Peruvian heat...but you are covered from head to toe in the hottest paintballing army-like body suit ever. You will sweat...so much...and smell.
3. Dodging around barriers and rolling around on the ground like you are in an actual war will make you feel very hardcore. And athletic. And powerful. (....for a moment, you might actually consider joining the Peruvian army with all of the adrenaline pulsating through you....and then you realize that in reality, you would never do that.) ...but the thought is still exhilirating for sure.
4. During all the battle cries and army attacks, you may forget for a split second that you are actually in Peru... Then, you take off your face mask and look off into the distance. You will see the most amazingly beautiful Peruvian mountains...and you will quickly be reminded of the gorgeous country you are in.
5. After paintballing, naturally you will go with your Peruvian friends to grab some local ceviche (famous seafood here) for lunch. Over the most amazing seafood you have ever tasted, you will "discuss" which team actually won the battle....[insert much spanish bickering here.]

3.) Peruvian Elections
The Peruvian presidential elections were on Sunday! The system here....is interesting. I was on my way to the beach on Sunday (only 3 blocks from my house) when I was shocked by what I saw. What did I see? THE LONGEST LINE OF MY LIFE! Peruvians were wrapped and wrapped around the block just waiting to vote at their polling station. Everytime I was sure that the line ended, it turned around yet another corner....On the news, they said that some Peruvians waited for up to 5 hours to vote. Here in Peru, they use a compulsory voting system, in other words, voting is obligatory for all over age 18. If you do not vote, you are fined. There were 13, yes 13, candidates running for president. After yesterday, they narrowed in down to the top two candidates: Keiko Fujimori (the only female candidate) and Ollanta Humala. There is much controversy with both of these candidates because:
1.) Keiko´s father, ex-president of Peru, is currently in jail for killing an estimated 70,000 people during the terrorist era in Peru during the 80´s. Many people fear that Keiko´s presidency may be a reflection of her father´s. Also, with Peru being a very machismo, male dominated country, the possibility of Keiko becoming the first female president has many people upset...(well, mostly just the men.)
2.) Ollanta has been referred to "as the next Hugo Chavez." People fear that his presidency could bring about a dangerous communistic era to Peru. There is even a page on Facebook called "Ollanta=Chavez" that you can "like" if you agree with the commonalities found among the two politicians. Interesting.

The second round of elections will take place in about two months to name the winner. Until then, political propaganda will continue to swallow up every square inch of Lima, AND my host mom will continue living as Keiko´s #1 fan. She is a fanatic. She even asked me to hand out Keiko flyers the other day as I was going on my run. She was joking...I think. ;)