My last post was written on Valentines Day. Not too long after I wrote that blog I was robbed on a street corner. It was a pretty busy street corner and I was changing buses when I was approached by a choro (theif) who asked me for my cell phone. I figured I was being robbed and became nervous so my only response to him was "¿What?, ¿What?, ¿What do you want?" over and over again. That made him angry so he pulled out a knife and started yelling at me, "Carajo dame tu cellular o quieres que yo corte la cara?" something to the effect of "give me your cell phone or would you rather I cut your face?" Naturally I gave him the phone at which point he hesitated for a second and looked around (as if he were considering whether it would be advantageous for him to ask more from me) and finally told me to keep walking straight and not look back nor come back to where he was. I broke his first rule by looking back at him almost the entire time as I walked away from him (there was no way I was turning my back on a knife). Though I was pretty mad at him as I walked away, I also felt a lot of relief and almost broke into a smile. The reason was because I was carrying about 170 soles with me at the time which is roughly 60 dollars (worth more than the phone). Well, he didn´t get away with that at least (and I get to keep my uncut face). There´s nothing like being robbed on Valentines Day, or as it is sometimes referred to here, Dia de Amistad (Day of friendliness or friendship).
The next day (Sunday) the family and I went to Chosica to visit the relatives. Unfortunately it´s wintertime in Chosica now which means it can be dark and rainy. That day it began to rain strongly as we arrived and soon there was a huayco running through the city. A huayco is sort of like a small river that runs down the side of the mountain and through the streets carrying mud and rocks from the mountain with it. This huayco happened to cross through the city in such a way that made it impossible for anyone to travel to Lima. Since we were trapped in Chosica, the cousins and I decided to walk down to where the huayco was crahing through to see what it was like. There were a lot of people standing around watching the water rush by and there were boulders that had been carried down from the mountain as well. I realized that the people crowded around the water in the street were wanting to cross this small river even though it was dangerous and there were security people holding back the crowd while a large digger machine worked to try and remove some of the sediment. After some time passed the crowd became restless and finally overpowered the security personell by running into the huayco at the same time. We stayed and watched the people crossing. Of course some slipped and fell (completely soaking themselves) while others only lost sandals. Mothers with babies in their arms were crossing with the help of some police officers that had arrived. The rain eventually let up and we were able to cross the street in the truck and travel back to Lima that night.
Thursday I attended my first ever live futbol match. It was a fun event. I think most people who love sports tend to take it seriously when their team is matched against a rival. In this case there were a ton of police officers and army officials at the stadium to keep the order. The crowd was excited, there were kids lobbing water balloons at the opposing players on the field, there was some kind of riot occurring on the right side of the stadium and several cops chasing people with their batons, and at one point two smoke bombs were lobbed onto the field by angry fans. Fortunately our team won.
Yesterday was my birthday and we celebrated by spending the day at the beach. One of my uncles owns a house in Ancon, a beach area north of Lima, and it so happended that all of last week my extended family from Chosica were staying there. Sunday my immediate family and I joined the rest of the family there for the day to enjoy the beach as well as some of my favorite foods. My host dad Nelson prepared this excellent shrimp soup that is one of my favorite dishes here. We took it with us to the beach house and shared it with all the family. Then I was presented with two delicious ice cream cakes while everyone sang happy birthday to me (first in English, then in Spanish as is the custom here). The ice cream cakes were delicious but then things got even better as we were driving back home that night. Since it was my birthday I was able to choose where we would go out to eat, and I chose Pizza Hut. Many of you will probably read this and wonder why I would ever chose Pizza Hut for my birthday dinner. I say, go live in a foreign country and eat a pound of white rice everyday for several months straight and then you might discover what a true delicacy a deliciously greasy pizza from Pizza Hut is. That night I had left over shrimp soup with my pizza. It was one of the best nights ever.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Two Months of Catching Up
It’s been almost two months since my last post so I figure I better write something. The past two months have flown by really, so I’ll begin by going back to December.
Christmas Eve at around 10 PM I went with my family to Chosica to celebrate with the rest of the family. Unfortunately I was feeling terrible that night (sick to my stomach with a headache and a slight fever). I tried my best to appreciate the new traditions I was experiencing while having some really delicious food served to me. At about five minutes til midnight I was told that I would have to say a few words before the entire extended family after the clock struck twelve and it was officially Christmas. This is a tradition in which many family members participate. Naturally I was freaking out; trying to put something together quickly meanwhile a million fireworks were going off all around us. At midnight the entire town explodes in fireworks in celebration of Christ’s birth. It was an amazing sight, standing on the balcony behind the house and watching the entire mountainside light up. The short speech went well and we all toasted and drank a small glass of champagne before sitting down to a delicious spread. By this time it was closer to 2 AM and I was not feeling any better so I went to lie down until we left around 3:30.
The next day, 26th, I flew to Cusco to meet the other 5 YAVs so that we could spend the next couple of weeks visiting MachuPicchu, Lake Titicaca, and Arequipa. The short version: Cusco is very pretty like everyone says, the lake might be a bit overrated, and Arequipa a bit underrated. In Cusco and Puno I ate some delicious pizzas which, as weird as it might sound to those living in America right now, was a SERIOUS highlight of the trip for me. In fact, I ate almost no Criollo (Peruvian) style food during those two weeks which was excellent! In Arequipa we even found Mexican food that actually sort of resembled Mexican food! Of course we visited a lot of churches, museums, monasteries, etc. MachuPicchu itself is truly a wonder of the world.
After getting back to Lima, I had about one day before the arrival of one of my great friends, Sara Schoneberg! That week we spent hanging out and seeing some of the sights Lima has to offer. We spent a good deal of time together with my host brother Nelson and his cousin Marisa who is currently living and going to school in Norway. The four of us had a great time hanging out together and going to the beach.
The last week of January was the Young Environmentalist Congress hosted by the Joining Hands Network of Peru. The Congress was held in the provincial town of Huancavelica and included participants from Peru, Bolivia, and the United States. We spent the week together, living together, eating together, and sharing some incredible experiences with one another. During that time we all learned a great deal about the issues facing our three countries specifically and, more importantly, how these environmental issues impact the entire world community. We witnessed traditional prayers conducted by the native Quechua people as well as visited abandoned mines that were once used to extract mercury from the surrounding mountains. I made a number of friends that week (most of whom were delegates from the United States, it was indescribably awesome to be speaking with a group of gringos in English). Huancavelica is a beautiful place.
The last two weeks I have been back to work, travelling to Lomas with Nelson in order to plan events for the end of the summer (clean a park, beach day, etc.). I have also been busy translating a number of articles that Nelson has recently written for the www.eldiadelpueblo.org website as well as the Joining Hands website. That’s all for now, I had thought of a lot more to say but it will come to me and when it does I will try to post it immediately. I am also working on posting my recent pictures as well.
Christmas Eve at around 10 PM I went with my family to Chosica to celebrate with the rest of the family. Unfortunately I was feeling terrible that night (sick to my stomach with a headache and a slight fever). I tried my best to appreciate the new traditions I was experiencing while having some really delicious food served to me. At about five minutes til midnight I was told that I would have to say a few words before the entire extended family after the clock struck twelve and it was officially Christmas. This is a tradition in which many family members participate. Naturally I was freaking out; trying to put something together quickly meanwhile a million fireworks were going off all around us. At midnight the entire town explodes in fireworks in celebration of Christ’s birth. It was an amazing sight, standing on the balcony behind the house and watching the entire mountainside light up. The short speech went well and we all toasted and drank a small glass of champagne before sitting down to a delicious spread. By this time it was closer to 2 AM and I was not feeling any better so I went to lie down until we left around 3:30.
The next day, 26th, I flew to Cusco to meet the other 5 YAVs so that we could spend the next couple of weeks visiting MachuPicchu, Lake Titicaca, and Arequipa. The short version: Cusco is very pretty like everyone says, the lake might be a bit overrated, and Arequipa a bit underrated. In Cusco and Puno I ate some delicious pizzas which, as weird as it might sound to those living in America right now, was a SERIOUS highlight of the trip for me. In fact, I ate almost no Criollo (Peruvian) style food during those two weeks which was excellent! In Arequipa we even found Mexican food that actually sort of resembled Mexican food! Of course we visited a lot of churches, museums, monasteries, etc. MachuPicchu itself is truly a wonder of the world.
After getting back to Lima, I had about one day before the arrival of one of my great friends, Sara Schoneberg! That week we spent hanging out and seeing some of the sights Lima has to offer. We spent a good deal of time together with my host brother Nelson and his cousin Marisa who is currently living and going to school in Norway. The four of us had a great time hanging out together and going to the beach.
The last week of January was the Young Environmentalist Congress hosted by the Joining Hands Network of Peru. The Congress was held in the provincial town of Huancavelica and included participants from Peru, Bolivia, and the United States. We spent the week together, living together, eating together, and sharing some incredible experiences with one another. During that time we all learned a great deal about the issues facing our three countries specifically and, more importantly, how these environmental issues impact the entire world community. We witnessed traditional prayers conducted by the native Quechua people as well as visited abandoned mines that were once used to extract mercury from the surrounding mountains. I made a number of friends that week (most of whom were delegates from the United States, it was indescribably awesome to be speaking with a group of gringos in English). Huancavelica is a beautiful place.
The last two weeks I have been back to work, travelling to Lomas with Nelson in order to plan events for the end of the summer (clean a park, beach day, etc.). I have also been busy translating a number of articles that Nelson has recently written for the www.eldiadelpueblo.org website as well as the Joining Hands website. That’s all for now, I had thought of a lot more to say but it will come to me and when it does I will try to post it immediately. I am also working on posting my recent pictures as well.
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