perros peruanos sin pelo

i went to huaca pucllana, an archaeological site in miraflores today. and had a rather amazing tour guide. she even gave me her email address. and i got my picture taken with a peruvian hairless dog. the site was pretty cool. its been worked on since 1981, and was a sacred site for the Pullana. they sacrificed women, apparently because they were the best the society had to offer. the guia said this was a sign that it was a matriarchial society, which i'm not sure i buy, but then again, i'm always skeptical of archaeology, especially when it comes to gender issues. how's that for binford's black box. ¿how's that for cocktail party conversation balkansky?

anyway, i really enjoyed the site and went to a craft market afterwards. oh, also i saw my first alpaca in person today. pretty exciting. i don't think i've ever actually seen one. though there is that alpaca farm near don's tree farm, and i may have seen one there, but these were my first peruvian alpacas. yes, so back to the market. bought some tiny cheap things for gifts (but if the recipients happen to be reading this, i mean they were very expensive and nice). i almost bought a scarf but backed out. i also almost bought something for mi madre, but also backed out of that. anyway, i know where it is now, so when i'm really in the spending mood, i know where to go.

that's about it, the afternoon was nothing special, but who knows what tonight has in store for me.

la musica preferida

i didn't do much yesterday.
during the day i watched a travel show on N Geo about Lima (rather ironic i suppose) They featured a drink called leche de tigre (yes, tigermilk B&S fans) which was some sort of bright orange juice, aji, cilantro, and some sort of booze. i'd try it just for its name.... later, i was watching the OC (in ingles) with carmen, and aeroplane over the sea by NMH was featured several times in the episode. weird.

anyway, i was planning on going to a museo today, but i think it might be closed because its a national holiday. it appears to be St. Peter day. i don't really know...perhaps i should ask.
anyway, its been a very boring week, which has depressed me a bit, but next week should be better, as long as this dr. thing eventually works out. it'll give me something to do. i suppose i should have been a bit more proactive, but oh well...what's done is done.
and the whole drama in JC seems to be alright. or maybe r just wasn't concerned about it last night. anyway, i've quit freaking out about it, because my personal pre-lawyer, the lambe, assured me there was nothing to worry about. haha...i know 2 Pats studying for the bar right now. maybe that's not that funny at all.
maybe that means its time to stop writing.

muchas topicas

in new york, i am fearless when crossing the street. in chicago too. cars don´t want to hit you. they will honk and get angry, but when it comes down to it, pedestrians rule.
here, not so much.
being in traffic is like an overcrowed bumper car course. i always feel about a cm away from an accident. though i haven´t actually seen an accident happen yet. perhaps limans (?) are the greatest drivers (and most aggressive) on earth. and if you need to cross the street, you better make damn sure you´re not competing with a vehicle, no matter what the light says.

in related news, i don´t think cuzco is going to happen for me. i am a poor girl. in being fiscally responsible, i think its best to leave that for next summer, perhaps??? someday, someone will give me a grant and i won´t have to worry about this sort of thing. clinton said he´d never speak to me again if i didn´t go to maccu picchu. maybe i will enjoy his silence.

i was thinking yesterday that i hadn´t been really impressed yet by peruvian food. and then, as if it had been forshadowing in a crappy pre-teen novel, we had arroz con pollo (huevo para mi) for lunch and it was excellent. although the caramel pudding we had last week was quite noteworthy as well.

i finally bought a card for the phone and some more postcards today. these postcards were even more expensive $2 a piece. so, if i promised you a postcard, i might not follow through. lo siento. i still love you and am thinking about you.

time to watch some futbol. anyone know what the outcome of brasil & my boys from ghana was? i can guess.....

nell, la tourista

today was my big Miraflores tourism day. I caught the combi with Simon as usual. Now, those of you who do not live near me and probably (hopefully) those of you that do live near me have never realized/noticed that I am very afraid of hailing taxis. I´m not sure why....but I´ve gotten over it. I can flag down a bus with a red S like I was born to do it. so, hopefully this translates well to new york cabs. There were reminders of ny/nj everywhere today. a casino called "Atlantic City" and a guy wearing a New York track jacket. Ok, I guess that´s it.

Today, I learned 2 important lessons about my spanish skills...
I am proficient enough to buy things in a non-tourist store...ask for help finding things, tell them what i like/need, etc. However, I am not proficient enough to figure out how to stop talking to a very nice guy who wants to tell me everything he knows about el Parque del Amor at 9:15 am. esta bien.

So, yes, I bought something a bit expensive, but pretty cool. Its a gift for someone, I´m not sure who yet. Maybe I´ll keep it. But its perfecto for someone. And I bought the most appropriate postcard ever for Kolter.

I had my second Inka Cola today. I´ve decided that on its own its too sweet, and the caffiene made me a bit loopy, but mixed with crappy bourbon, it´d be just perfect. "A gentleman and inka cola for the lady please."

I took a ton of pictures, but for now, i´m using other peoples´ pics on the web. i´ll replace them with my own later.
here is el parque del amor

and larcomar, the shopping center with Hooters Peru


Ok, more later, have to leave in 5 min for more postcards. & perhaps a card for my phone.
hasta luego

hace una semana, hoy.

well, the throat seems to be clearing up. slowly. but its on the mend. its been interesting to "observe" my own pain. I´m such a good example.

The Dr. I´m working with is in the US until next week, so I´m not really sure what I´m doing this week. I´d take another week of Spanish classes, but I don´t really have the money for it. Which is too bad, because I could certainly use it.

Carmen went home yesterday, so there was no discotheque. Which is probably good, because I hear they are very smoky, and probably no good for my throat. We´re still supposed to go next weekend though, so I guess I will probably get the opportunity...

I´m amused that there are both drinks and a bakery called "Bimbo" here. ...I´m going to buy postcards later today. That will give me something to do this evening....lots of writing. Not that I really have much to write about. But, I guess, subconsciously, I have 3 goals here: 1. make the espanol passable, 2. make some friends/connections so I´ll know people when I hopefully come back, and 3. learn something about pain. Plus there´s the added bonus no. 4, see the tourist stuff. and I´ve done a little of each. So I guess things are progressing. And it can´t happen all at once. The rez taught me that. You always need more time than you think you will.

There was an interesting interview with an anthropologist from Columbia in the Lima paper today, and I think I actually understood most of it. It was short, but I´m learning!

la primera fin de semana

well, the throat seems to be getting better, but last night i was awake with a related earache for a few hours.

i met a bunch of carmen´s friends last night, and they were all very nice 17-19 year old kids. i got to practice my spanish which is always helpful. i opted out of going to a party with them, because of the throat, but i´m not sure it would have been my scene anyway. before they left, i think every one of the guys asked if i had a novio. i told them they were much too joven for me.

this morning i was reading through a bunch of ims i saved from when i was in carbondale, and i have to say that my life, despite its ups and downs is about 1000% better now. in jc or lima. i´m pretty proud of myself for getting out of there and making changes, and generally getting things in order. and it was not at all a regression. it was a big step forward. a step into a holding pattern, but sometimes staying still the the easiest way to move backwards. at least when you´re treading water, you stay afloat. and get some exercise too. enough metaphor.

its the weekend. i need to get ahold of some postcards. if you want one, make sure to email me your address if i don´t have it already.

still no word from the good dr. i need to get a card for my phone so i can call him. if anything though, i´m taking Dwights age old advice: "be savy" yes, the throat situation has provided excellent opportunity for autoethnography. its always reflexive you know...

Ghana gano´!

(you´d think i´d be able to find a real accented o on this keyboard...)



All I got to see of the game was the coin toss, because I had class, but I´m very proud of those Ghanians, and wish I could call Ponger to discuss.
Too bad for los Estados Unidos.

throat update: It was bad last night. I had a fever, and my ear started hurting. Today it was worse in the morning, so Carlos bought me some sort of blue pills (4 of them) and I took the first around 5:30. 2 hours plus a nap and some te´ have worked a little. hopefully tomorrow will be a new day. it´d be great if i felt better by the weekend and could be a real tourist.

However, we went to the museo de la nacion today and it was pretty cool. lots of pre-Incan pottery. Not as erotic as the stuff at AMNH, but still good. and La Pachamama was mentioned several times which made me give a silent mental shoutout to my bilagaanas. I took 2 pictures, but I still can´t find a way to get them on this computer, so you will have to wait.

Tomorrow is my last day of spanish class. I need about 3 more months, but its definitely helped. I just need to try to speak to people more instead of chickening out (like sending Carlos for the meds-but i didn´t want to screw with my salud). Which reminds me. I have homework to do.
Hasta luego.

poca enferma

my throat hurts like hell and has white bumps all over it. only on the left side. but otherwise i feel fine. i{ve been trying to nap a lot because of it, but it just makes me feel lazy. what timing. i think its been in my system for a week at least. last wed, my last day of work i got all hot and nauseus in the morning. then on the planes i felt terrible. and its all culminating in this. i hope its over soon. i have actually been drinking hot tea, which helps momentarily, but i guess its not really a "cure"

espanol classes are going well. not as well as i{d hoped, but i can{t complain. the people are nice, i enjoy the classes, etc.

not much else to report. i{ve also watched a fair amount of world cup action, and even though i had absolutely no faith in the us team before, now that i{m abroad, i feel inclined to hope they make it to the next round. we{ll see though. whoa....i finally found the '. I´m so happy. anyway, tomorrow´s the big day for group E.

I guess that´s about it. I feel fairly confident in my abilities on the combi (bus) but wouldn´t know what to do on a different line.

hopefully next time i write i´ll be in better health and have something exciting to tell. its been sunny the last few days but still chilly. i should have brought my scarf.

que malo

well, last night i wrote out a lot of things, and saved it to my flash drive, but unfortunately, this computer isn{t recognizing it. so, a shortened version.

its strange to miss people you don{t see anyway. but the possibility of talking to them on the phone is what i miss. so, in essence, it is the invisible, truly nonexistant borders rather than space that keeps us apart.

also, on space. there are pizza huts, mcdonalds, dunkin doughnuts, united colors of beneton, keneth cole new york, radio shaks and la bamba on the radio. almost like home.

also, today in my spanish class, i met a woman who grew up in murphysboro! her parents live on 127 s. yes, a mere 2 miles from my old little house in the country. small world.







el sol escuela de espanol







more when i figure out how to transfer files (& pictures).

adios

soy en lima!

i arrived today, and a few things are noteworthy.

the plane had "Darcys Wild Life" as one of its shows.

there are both a TGI Fridays and Chilis in Lima.

I ate ceviche con pescado. Fue ok.




Ill write more about confirmations on postremodernist ideas about space later.

hasta luego

adios estados unidos

i leave tonight/tomorrow morning. i'm overly excited and worried about my spanish and my layover in panama. i think all will be well, but i can't help but have a little anxiety. next time i write, i'll be on.......LIMA TIME!!!!!

cosas ultimas

as i was walking to target for some last minute items today, i was thinking about something mccall once said to me. (no, not "as the british would say 'do something sexy."--though i guess i have taken that advice).

once, early in the year we were discussing thesis topics and i mentioned being interested in the gentrification of jersey city, as viewed through interactions with 111 1st street. anyway, he told me that often we do things because they are convenient due to our current circumstances (he even mentioned marriage as an example...forshadowing his own problems, perhaps?). he then advised that i do something because i really wanted to and was interested, not because it was easy, convenient or "made sense." and i have certainly taken that advice, though probably not in the way he intended.

so, mccall, not that i doubted it, but in addition to your wonderful words of wisdom ("where the edge is", "post-cadillac", "some would call me a postmodernist, but i would argue no such thing exists.") you give good advice too.

manana es mi dia ultimo en los estados unidos.
adios!

el dia ultima

today is my last day of work. although my boss hasn't mentioned my quitting since I did the deed, so I wonder if anyone remembers other than bill. i guess they'll figure it out tomorrow when i don't show up.

around 10:30 this morning, i got very nauseous and was fairly certain i was going to throw up. this is approximately what i would have looked like had someone walked into the bathroom. cold floors feel good.especially in offices with very little a.c. fortunately, some ginger ale and crackers took care of the nausea around 11:30. i don't think its nerves, but i haven't eaten any strange food lately. hmmm....

my list of things to do before leaving grows shorter and shorter, and i scheduled my airport shuttle today. 2am is my pickup time. ay yay yay.... but i'm probably better able to handle that than 3 or 4 am, so i guess its alright. just a few more errands to do, making some passport copies at work and then i'm set. its getting scary, but very exciting.

so long estados unidos. hasta luego!

menos de una semana

today is my second to last day of work.
the subletter moved in last night. he seems nice. i feel good about everything. except he told me a story about a friend of his in Chile who had someone slip cocaine in his bag and he ended up in jail for 3 months. but i'm a paranoid person. i think it'll be alright.

i've been forcing myself to use the conjugation trainer at work. if you've never seen it, its an awesome thing....www.spaleon.com. highly recommended, but now my brain is fried, and its over an hour til lunch. at which time i must call marcy about the comcast job and take all my change to the commerce penny arcade. i'm glad i'm taking thurs & fri off, because i have too much to do. laundry, copies, paying bills, arranging transportation...

oy! and did i mention what an idiot i am? a 6 am international flight at an airport that takes 2 hours to get to? that's just stupid.

tengo nerviosa ahora

my mom is leaving monday. the subletter arrives that night.
oy, and so much to do. packing, copying, exchanging money, cashing in change, getting things ready for when i get back. another interview with amnh. though i'm sure they'll rescind any offers they might make when i tell them where i'll be in july.

anyway, i found out that when i arrive, there will also be an irish girl (woman?) staying with the family. this makes me happy because hopefully she'll have been there for a bit and take me under her wing. not that i want someone directing me where to go, but someone who knows the bus already would be helpful. partners in crime are always a good thing. especially when they're new acquaintences.

not that my bii jih bah will ever be replaced. but its good to have someone.

mi apartamento

well, its all set with the subletter.
i'm back in contact with dr. salazar
my mom is bringing me a big travel bag
my room is clean

the only things left to do are:
exchange money
make copies of the passport
cash in my change
pack
figure out how i'm getting to the aeropuerto

ah! i can't believe this is happening!
i can't believe i made it happen!

menos de dos semanas

"If you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel."
~ Will Kommen

At the party in Brooklyn friday night, I discovered that about 50% of the attendees had been to Peru at one time or another. It seems to be a popular destination. Which disappoints me a little. I'd rather be off the beaten path. But perhaps I just run with a rather Latin Americanist crowd.

What did give me a bit of pleasure though, was their shock at both my length of stay and choice to go alone. In many ways, I wish I had a companion. It would make me less nervous, more confident, perhaps even more excited. I keep thinking about the rez and how it was the people rather than the place that was so special. But at the same time, I think this is something I have to do alone. I will learn more, gain more, and do more. I'm doing it the right way, I think.

Some very old travel journal I once had listed a quote on the top of a page, which I tore out, and recently re-discovered. It said something like "When looking for travel companions, i often forget what a good friend i have in myself."

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I misplaced my watch about a week ago. It made me very nervous to travel. It is my traveling watch, which I've had since I went to Austria at 15. Well, after a week of fretting, last night I found that it had fallen into one of my shoes. It is back on my wrist and i'm very relieved.

My mother is coming for a visit tomorrow. Its sort of the last hurrah before I leave. The clock is ticking. I'm ready (even if my Spanish is not).