Erica shares a journal entry:

Usually on Saturdays our class takes field trips to another city, or we have some kind of activity. On a recent Saturday, however, we had no obligations, and so a few friends and I decided to take advantage of the day and shop for Peruvian merchandise until we dropped.

I met Stephanie at the Primavera, after withdrawing a large sum of money as secretly as is possible in a huge mall with hundreds of people. Anyway, we caught the right bus and without question arrived at the right location in Miraflores. We met up with Ellie and went to a deli for lunch. I successfully ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a bottled water sin gas (without bubbles).

At the restaurants here, you have to ask for the check. So after the girls enjoyed some churros (a fried-dough pastry, filled with a sweet manjar blanco cream), we got the bill, and we were on our way. Two things struck me about this visit to the restaurant. First, I understood the menu even though everything was in Spanish. Second, I was able to communicate successfully with our waiter. What a HUGE difference in my Spanish from my first week here!

Following this, my next challenge awaited, changing money. There are several money changers nearby who stand on the street and wear bright green vests. So I walked along the sidewalk asking each what the exchange rate was. Several would say S2.80, (2 nuevo soles, 80 centimos to the dollar) and then as I walked away, S2.81, or S2.82!!! So I settled with S2.82. I checked each bill to make sure it was not a fake, as secretly as possible, of course, and we were on our way to the market.

The markets here are so fun, however very overwhelming. This market was basically a huge building with many open rooms filled with jewelry, fabrics, clothing, or other knick knacks. There is a vendor in each room and they jump off their stool and try incredibly hard to lure you into their store. Naturally, I was drawn to all the soft alpaca scarves and fabrics. The colors range from vibrant to a more antique style.

I was obsessed with the fabric until I came across the fluffy alpaca. I fell in love instantly with a figurine about 10 inches tall with the fluffiest, softest alpaca hair, but I resisted and we moved on. I saw several more of these, but resisted. And then we entered a store, mostly like all of the others. It had fabric, knick knacks, and the alpaca figurines. My first instinct was to touch the soft fur, and the saleswoman was instantly by my side.

These were so much softer than the others, but they were 30 soles here. She asked me if I spoke Spanish, and I answered yes. So she told me that these were alpaca, very soft and VERY nice. I told her that at the other store they were cheaper. She reduced the price a little, but we continued on our way. On our way back out of the market, we passed the store again and the lady was waiting at the entrance. She shouted out a cheaper price.

And so the bargaining began... She got out a calculator and we each took turns putting in our price. She convinced me to buy two, a boy and a girl. She showed me how cute they were when they kissed. We were all rolling with laughter after she did anything she could to convince me to buy them, from making them kiss, to making their hair as poofy as possible, to making them talk to me, to rubbing their hair on my cheek.

I bought the two for 40 soles, and we were both happy. After we took a picture together, we were on our way. So my day was full of bargaining in Spanish. At the end, I was so proud of my bargaining skills and I realized how much my Spanish had improved since my first week here. My market experience really made me feel good about all I have learned in the past month!