Iquitos

If there is anyone out there who is still following my blog then I must apologize for the three month gap between this and my last post.

Last week was the Peru YAV´s week of vacation in May so fellow YAV Leslie Mcknelley and I decided it would be fun to check out the Amazon Jungle. On Monday we flew from Lima to Iquitos, a city that can only be reached by boat or plane (and by boat it usually takes about a week). Stepping out of the plane felt like stepping into a sauna, a sauna surrounded by incredible green vegetation (the kind of vegetation that isn´t very common in Lima). The city of Iquitos has a very relaxing atmosphere. There were almost no cars on the roads, instead most people drove either motorcycles or mototaxis and we assumed that this was because it is much more efficient to transport several hundred motos versus a few cars on a boat. The people in Iquitos were very friendly and showed this by smiling and waving quite often. Many Iquiteñas wanting to practice their English would say "Hello" or "How are you?" as we wandered around the main square. Since winter is quickly approaching in Lima, I took advantage of this last opportunity to have my fill of ice cream everyday (okay it was more like every hour) in Iquitos. One flavor that I particularily enjoyed is called Aguaje and comes from the Aguaje fruit (a small round orange fruit covered in a dark maroon colored skin that flakes away easily). The fruit itself is not that tasty in my opinion but when used to make ice cream it is delicious. We didn´t spend too much time in Iquitos before heading out to an Eco Lodge where we had reservations for a three day tour (we liked it so much we decided to make it a four day tour) of the jungle. The lodge was about a four hour boat ride from Iquitos up the Amazon river. I knew as soon as we´d arrived that it would be an amazing experience. The lodge is built, like most structures in the Amozonas, up high on stilts so that it isn´t affected when the river is flooded (as was the case when were there). May is the month when the rainy season is ending and the dry season is beginning in the Amazon and this year was particularly rainy. We took the boat right up to a wooden dock walkway (which during the dry season you would simply walk up to). Being at the lodge in the middle of the Amazonas was incredible. The lodge does not use electricity (instead they use oil lamps) and the atmosphere of the bungalows combined with the surrounding environment is very relaxing. In fact, it was so relaxing that I just had to check out the hammock first thing when we got to the room. After being assured by Leslie that the hammock was sturdy, I got comfortably situated in it right before it snapped on one end sending me hard to the ground. We both had a good laugh at that. Our guide, Raphael, took us out on several tours during our stay and we were lucky enough to see many bird species (ask Leslie about that as I was too busy admiring their colors and ways of flying to remember most of their names, though on was prehistoric and looked very cool), three different species of monkeys, several brightly colored green iguanas, several sloths (one of which was hanging upside down and scratching itself), pink river dolphins, too many insects, a few serpents, a few pirañas, and a baby caiman. Of the serpents we caught a baby tree boa (which bit one Austrailian man several times), a whip sanke (I wasn´t actually present for that one), and an aquatic fer-de-lance (only the seventh deadliest snake in the world I was told after being within a couple of feet of it). For me one of the coolest parts of the trip was when we toured a nearby village. The homes are built similar to the lodge over the water and we learned that the main activity of villagers is fishing. We did some fishing ourselves and caught a few pirañas. The villagers, although somewhat timid, were almost all very friendly and inviting. Another incredible part of the trip were the nighttime boat rides as we hunted for caiman. Looking up at the night sky I knew I had never seen so many stars at once in all my life. Words cannot describe it. In general the boat rides were a lot of fun for me. Even if we didn´t happen to spot anything when we went out it was still fun just to be out on the water travelling around by boat. The first day we when out and came to a lagoon where we saw several pink dolphins swimming around and playing with each other. It was amazing to see them emerge from the water and to see the pink and gray of their bodies. We swam in the lagonn for a little while which was also a lot of fun. Another great part of our overall experience was that we met so many very cool people during our travels. Almost everyone staying at the lodge was friendly and we all got along very well making jokes and having a generally good time. It was a memorable trip that I would definitely recommend and myself would like to take again someday.

I will try to get some pictures posted as soon as possible.

My Birthday and More

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.

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.

Cutra

Nothing too exciting has happened to me recently here in Perú. So I´ll write about an event that I notice is ocurring more often as Nelson and I travel between the house here in San Martín de Porres and Lomas de Carabayllo. It is called "cutra" and is slang for an action similar to what we would call a bribe in the States. The police set themselves up along certain parts of the Pan Americana Highway (and other areas all over the city, but in our case we are frequently stopped on the highway). We always travel home from Lomas in a Combis since it is the most available transportation at that time of night. So there are many combis and taxis pulling up to bus stops along the side of the road and then taking off again during the route and it is not uncommon to be drawn into one of the police traps. I sometimes feel like I can sense everyone in the combis holding their breath as we approach the band of police; we are all waiting to see if our combis will be called out. So on those occaisions when we are called out the police simply blow their whistles and wave their hands to us in a "pull over" motion which the driver acknowledges (or doesn´t and dashes away behind some giant truck placed perfectly between the police and us as we pass) and we come to a stop at the side of the road. Usually a male officer approaches and is sometimes demanding although most of the time he is not. The driver presents his papers, the cop may search the vehicle where the passengers are, on rare occaisions he asks the passengers for their documents (although he only selects certain passengers), and eventually we are allowed to pass. Not, however, before the driver slips the cop a little money (usually the equivalent of $1-$5). I think everybody hates it when this happens because of the inconvenience it causes more than for any other reason. The first few times I witnessed this "cutra" process I felt angry at the police for acting in a way that seemed to do nothing for the people they are suppose to be protecting. Back then I assumed that the other passengers in the van felt the same way. However, I now view the "cutra" as a time wasting event that usually takes place at an inconvinient hour of the night. To put a positive spin on the "cutra", I simply think of it as an effective speed bump placed somewhere in the middle of an oftentimes too speedy van ride home. Perhaps in that way, the police really are protecting us all (they just need a little bonus for doing so)!

On an entirely unrelated note, I just purchased a "surtido" across the street and I´m pretty sure the lady put beets in it. I thought a "surtido" was made only with fruit (a fruit juice) but I know there was beets in that one because you never forget a taste like that of beets!

Thanksgiving and Paracas

Last Wednesday night the six Peru YAVs met at Debbie´s house to begin our November retreat during which we would celebrate Thanksgiving together . We started off the long weekend the right way by going out to eat at a Chili´s restaurant here in Lima. It was a much needed meal for all of us, especially Sean, and after some delicious Fajitas, guacamole, chips, black beans, cooked onions, and NO rice, (it´s really hard to find Mexican food here) I think it´s safe to say we were all feeling pretty satisfied. During the retreat we stayed at the home of the Barreda family where Lynn lived during the first two weeks of orientation here in Lima. Thursday, Thanksgiving day, the six of us returned to Debbie´s to begin cooking our dishes. The three male YAVs (Alex, Sean, and I) decided we would try to combine our powers in the hopes of successfully creating one simple favorite, greenbean cassarole. We soon learned that the local grocercy store did not sell green beans in a can, cream of mushroom soup in a can, or french fried onions in a can. Needless to say we were going to have to use a bit of creativity and extra skill in order to pull it off. And believe it or not, we did! We purchased fresh green beans at the local market, along with some potatos for a garlic mashed potato dish. Alex found a package of powder mushroom soup that we mixed with some milk to make a cream of mushroom substitute. Sean "french cut" the green beans we used for the cassarole, giving the impression that we were more than inexperienced chefs. I deep fried some onions and after an hour or so everything was beginning to look pretty good. Harry Horne, Debbie´s husband, was having the time of his life watching the three of us huddled around the stove trying to figure things out and meanwhile watching onions fry. We all had some good laughs but were soon becoming more and more convinced that this dish was not going to be a total failure. We missed one step that one may or may not consider crucial for a green bean cassarole, that is, we forgot to cook the beans before mixing everything together and baking the thing. So our cassarole was a bit crunchy. I personally liked the crunchiness (maybe only because I felt like I had invested my time and energy into it). The rest of the meal was delicious as well. Leslie prepared an incredible spinach cassarole using ingredients brought from the United States, Lynn found a way to make a variation of pumkin pie using the calabaza (which is a pumkin like vegetable here). So it was like having a squash pie, and it was delicious! Of course there was stuffing, Turkey, mashed potatos, sweet potato cassarole, and other delicious foods as well (I wonder how many times I will use the word delicious in this entry). One of the highlights of the weekend was the food really. I don´t think I ate anything really Peruvian (except for breakfast and some ceviche in Paracas). Speaking of Paracas, that was a whole element of our retreat that was incredible. We took a four hour bus ride south of Lima to Paracas Friday morning and that day went on a boat tour of the islands off the coast of Paracas. The islands are host to sea lions, penguins, whales (I think), turtles, and various different kinds of birds. Check out the photos I posted of this tour since they can do a better job of describing the beauty of the place than I can with words. We also visted a reserve containing beaches of red sand, the location where the Catedral once stood (now gone due to an earthquake that ocurred a little more than a year ago), and heaps of seashells and fossils that clued us in to the fact that part of the area was once under water. If you ever make it to Peru, you should definitely try to visit Paracas.

After rereading this post I realize that food was a priority this weekend.

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!