After visiting the Japanese Peruvian Association Friday morning, we headed to Chinatown for lunch. We were told to watch our bags closely, stay together in a tight group and move quickly as it was mid-day and the streets were packed out. The area was known for tourists and for pickpocketing. Similar to the Chinatown in Chicago, we were walking what appeared to be average city streets, and then all of a sudden there was the entrance to Chinatown with a big arch...

Thursday was our day to delve into the Afro-Peruvian identity. I have to remember to look up Audrey Lorde. She was part of the opening though which was phenomenal. During our morning presentation we learned that only 26% of Afro-Peruvians graduate high school. 2% graduate college. The average Afro-Peruvian completes 7.48 years of education. 1 in 4 has not attended primary school. (grade school). In Peru, they ask that you submit pictures along with your job app...

After the museum on Thursday we went shopping in the huge touristy markets. The shops were typical of what we saw in Ecuador. There were blankets, sweaters, trinkets, shot glasses, etc. It took me a while to decide what to buy. I ended up getting Dana and David alpaca hats that were also scarves - or so I thought. When I got home I discovered they were actually just scarves, which was very disappointing. I got my dad an alpaca hat. I got Nina and Mom scarves. S...

After CEDET, we traveled to the Afro-Peruvian Museum. It's run by the government and they had closed it indefinitely, but agreed to open it for our group. We arrive and all signed in. Then our tour guide, who we later learned was just a governmental civil servant - not officially trained in the artifacts or cultural aspects of the museum. He started with the history, showing us the salve ports and geographic profile of how Afro-Peruvians arrived to Peru. Th...

After the Peru Y visit, we headed to CEDET - the Center for Ethnic Development. They focus on education, human rights, publications, and youth for Afro-Peruvians. They had a small house-like office. We all crowded into a small room with books on all of the shelves, and posters and other materials spread out on the table for us. The director wasn't there when we arrived, but we received a very warm welcome from the 2 ladies who were present. One of them was a gr...