I have realized that its when you leave the United States that you begin to learn the most about the United States. Go figure! It is amazing how much the U.S. impacts the rest of the world; and the U.S. impact was obvious from the beginning. Now after living in Peru for almost two months, I am still frequently surprised by how much the Peruvian society is influenced by U.S. companies/ideas/people/etc. For example, at all of the local grocery stores, after your purchuse has been rung up, the total always comes up on the screen in dollars and nuevo soles (Peruvian currency). I have plenty of other examples, not all involveing currency, if anyone is ever interested.

Today I was sitting in one of my classes, and my professor began to ask some history questions about the U.S., naturally, she would call on the only North American in the room to answer the questions (that was me). Well, the Peruvian kid sitting behind me whispered me the answers. Peruvians know more about the history of the U.S. than I do, and I am not even that bad at history! Granted, this example is a little biased considering I am attending Peru's most prestigious university, and these kids definitely know their stuff. But still, in general, people just know so much more about international news/history/events/etc. than we in the U.S. know about other countries, or even our own country!

One more note on U.S. culture, I went to a Peruvian Starbucks for the first time last week, and I realized that it is an automatic "gringo" (non-hispanic, white person) magnet (probably because Starbucks are the same in every country). For the most part, you can always find North Americans speaking English in any Starbucks here. So whenever feeling homesick in a foreign country, just go to the local Starbucks and order your favorite coffee drink. I guarantee you'll feel right at home. It was nice, even though I wasn't homesick!

In other news, I am going to be spending this weekend laying around in hammocks and drinking piña coladas in Máncora, Peru. It is a small surfing town close to the border of Ecuador. I am pretty excited, the beaches look gorgeous and its sunny everyday of the year. In case you don't believe me, here are some pictures... :)

Sorry to make everyone jealous! I won't forget suncreen, and I will post my own pictures soon!

One more thing, I got an A on my first exam (which was really nice!). Now I need to go study for another exam tomorrow. I am not too worried though, most of my professors are extra nice to and understanding of the foreign students (which might explain the first A...)! Although, I am not sure how far my "gringa bonus points" will take me. So I am still studying hard just in case!