Trujillo

Greetings,
It has been awhile since my last post and there is much to say so I will begin right away. This weekend APEC (Asian Pacific Economic something or another) was hosted in Lima which prompted the government to declare three days of holdiay for the Limeños (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). My host brother Nelson and I took advantage of this time to visit some relatives of his that live in the city of Trujillo about eight hours to the north of Lima by bus. We left Wednesday at noon and returned Sunday morning. Trujillo is an incredible place with some of the friendliest people I have ever met (even the taxi drivers were unusually cheery and helpful). We stayed with Nelson´s tía Coqui, tío Pedro and cousin Liz who were all exceptional hosts. They introduced us to Trujillo, taking us to the center square, various restaurants where we ate some delicious Chifa (Peruvian style Chinese food), Turkey sandwichs, and other various plates. At the limits of the city are two ruins that date back to pre-incan times. One is known as Chan-Chan and the other is called La Waca (Huaca) de la Luna y del Sol (there is a temple dedicated to the moon and one to the sun, however the sun temple is currently off limits to tourists). On Thursday we set out (Nelson, I, another cousin Diana, her boyfriend Tito, and a friend Rosanna) to see the ruins at Chan-Chan. The tour occurred in four parts because the ruins are located in different areas far from each other. I will try to post pictures of the weekend soon. The temples were void of color but did contain an array of designs and patterns featuring ocean waves, birds representing man and woman, dragon-like creatures, and more. La Waca differed in that color (yellow, red and black) was used in the designs. Also, the temple of La Waca itself was designed more like the Mayan pyramids with levels upon levels where as the Chan-Chan ruins were built in differing locations but never one upon the other. Our tour guide was a student of Tía Coqui´s and he was really knowledgeable and friendly.
In addition to exploring the ruins and the city of Trujillo, we also spent a day visiting the small town of Samne located in the mountains where Nelson´s Grandfather lived while he was growing up. We ate a lunch there of duck and yucca root with, of course, plenty of rice. While in the mountains we also explored the town of Ortusco and attended a church service there. We also stopped by a small bakery and ate some of the most delicious sweets I have ever tasted. Nelson and I bought a ton of these little postres to carry back with us to Lima where no one makes them. We encountered a llama in the town square as well.
That evening (Saturday, our final evening) the group of us took a short taxi ride to Huanchaco (the ocean side town ten minutes from Trujillo). We made it just in time for sunset. The entire trip was enough to make me want to move there, or at least to retire to Trujillo. That night Nelson, Coqui, Liz and I were invited to a dinner (a birthday celebration of the sister of a friend of the family, Isabel). We ate some excellent tasting chicken with onions and avacado (and a salad made of beets which I personally hate). Right now I am homesick for Trujillo. I´m just sitting here thinking of ways to go back. That is the impression Trujillo (and the people I got to know there) left on me.

Halloween, El Día de Los Muertos, Earthquakes, etc.

Greetings,

Yesterday marks two months that I have been in Lima and today marks the final day of campaigning for Barack Obama and John McCain! That means, for most of the readers of this blog, that you won’t have to suffer through any more campaign TV ads! Personally, I miss seeing those ads and feeling the intensity from the campaigns as we near the close tomorrow. Being so far removed from the States means that I have to be proactive and search out news about the candidates, the polls, their slogans, ads, strategies, etc. Anyway, I am very excited to see how things turn out tomorrow!

Friday was Halloween and I missed it. However, I got to see the way that the Limeñas do Halloween. The kids dress up in costumes just like in the U.S. only instead of going door to door the parents take their kids to the malls where the stores give out candy. It’s really a win-win because it is safer and the stores get a lot people coming to shop there while their kids take candy (plus it creates a party atmosphere at the mall which was fun).

This weekend Perú celebrated El Día de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). The actual day was Saturday, and is marked by people going out of their homes to visit their dead loved ones in the cemetery. Because the holiday fell on Saturday, it provided us with a true (American style) two day weekend (in Perú the only day of rest is Sunday). So the family and I travelled to Chosica to celebrate this event with Eliza´s extended family. We left early Saturday morning to arrive in time for breakfast in Chosica (they prepared tamales that were so good that I now like tamales). In the afternoon Nelson, Tía Adela, my Abuelita (Grandmother) and I went to the cemetery to visit the grave site of my Abuelita´s brother. I noticed by the dates that he had died when he was only seven years old. The cemetery was unlike any cemetery I’ve ever visited. The tombs were vertical and made of cement. They appeared like walls marked with uniform indentations where the names of the dead are written and where flowers are left each year on this day. We too purchased flowers to place on the ledge of the tomb where Gregorio lies.

We returned to the house to eat lunch (cabrito, baby goat, again) and about half way through the meal the house started to shake a little bit. I thought it must have been a large truck passing by on the street in front of the house. Nelsito, my host brother, knew better and was the first one up from the table ready to take action (though I´m still not sure exactly what are the procedures for earthquake safety. I understand that door frames are safer places). The earthquake (more of a strong tremor really) was pretty much over before it began. It lasted only a few seconds but was string enough to rattle the chandelier above the table which was what clued me into this event being more than just a large truck passing by. Everyone began talking about earthquakes after this. They were asking me if it was the first I had ever experienced (it was) and whether or not I was afraid (not really). One of my many Tías called someone back in Lima to ask if they had felt it. They said that in Lima it was felt much stronger but that it still was not quite strong enough to cause people to leave the house. We turned on the news which confirmed that the epicenter had been in Lima. The earthquake might have been the best part of the whole weekend really (and it was a super fun weekend)! The reason is because, according to Peruvians, an earthquake like that signals the end of one season and the start of another (in our case, the end of winter/spring and the beginning of summer). I have to admit that at first I thought that was completely unscientific and therefore not at all a valid statement. However, the very next day in Chosica (we spent the night there Saturday and then headed back to Lima Sunday afternoon) the weather changed. About one in the afternoon a little bit of fog rolled in to the city and it became cold (the kind of cold that has been Lima these past two months). Then, to my great pleasure, I woke up this morning around six with the brightest sunshine coming through my windows. I wanted to sleep more and it was difficult with this morning light that had been foreign to me for quite awhile. So, thank God for that earthquake because according to my family (who I now believe on these sorts of issues) the days will be like this or even stronger from now until May or early June! I love the sun.

A few other highlights of my weekend include: getting to play tennis with my brother, sister and Aunt, Swimming with my brother, cousin, and his parents ( one set of my aunt and uncle), entering our dog (Legolas) into a dog contest on Sunday afternoon and getting to see (and pet) a wide variety of cute dogs, and just having some really funny and interesting conversations with members of the family who treat me really well.

I´m going to post more pictures of some of these events described. Until my next entry take care!