soy una gringa de nuevo

friday night, jk & i went to a peruvian restaurant in harrison. it was called spondylus or something like that (something i couldn't translate/make sense of). it was way more authentic than mancora in manhattan (not all that shocking). i had chicha morada and papas huacallinas. muy bueno. jk had lomo saltado (chifa) and i tasted some of the veggie bits. muy bueno tambien. unfortunately they were out of both cristal and cusqueno beers. but it didn't really matter. i was going to ask for some pisco after my chicha, but they sort of ignored us blancos and never asked if we wanted more to drink. we had to actively hunt down the check for a good 10 minutes when we were ready to go too.

so some people might be deterred by this, but it just makes me want to go back. watch some futbol there and drink some cerveza at the bar. i'm not daring enough to do it alone, but maybe i can talk others into it sometime.

anyway, it really brought lima time back and made me miss it.

its been a while...

so, i intended to keep this up after lima. unfortunately, i became employed in a 12 hr. day, 7 day a week job for a short time. i didn't do much but sleep and work. there will be more on that later. i'm preparing myself to write thorough investigation of my experience.

now, on to more important things...

today, the rest of my family left on their vacation. i was left alone in the big house with just the cat and lizard to keep me company. so, tonight i fell back on my second family.
its funny, last time i hung out with the kids, they called me. this time i called their niece, and just happened to find myself invited to a family get together.

and i never really thought of them as family before, but i realized as i walked in the door, really, i've known this family aunts, uncles, grandparents, kids, parents, etc. since i was 5. i know there will be a certain point in the evening when the two young cousins will wander off to call boys. and then kerry will say something misogynist and bill will start arguing conservative politics. and stace & i will play off each others' gender theory in an attempt to raise some consciousness, but really, its just the cheap beer talking.

and i feel comfortable. and its almost like home.

in other news, tomorrow i leave for chicago, then the wedding in muncie. then the iowa state fair. hopefully. transportation has yet to be arranged.

but the closet is finally cleaned. i have a sizeable paycheck on the way (but still not the paycheck the engineering co. still owes me), and i'm about to have a good week.

just remember the two most important rules:

-don't ruin anyone's fair fun
-what stays on the road, stays on the road (yes, that's how its supposed to be written)

that pretty much covers it all. meet me at the racing corner tap sunday night. i'll buy you a boilermaker.

dios mio

i swear i came home and wrote a drunken blog last night, but it doesn't appear to be here, so all is well.

i was left alone last night with no car. i was seriously considering calling b.s., but then k&k called looking for my parents. when i told them they were gone for the weekend they offered to bring over beer in exchange for hot tub time. it sounded like a fair deal.

afterwards we ended up going to pit row where i recognized almost no one. except my sophomore homecoming dance date, who just passed his plumber's licensing exam.

today, i start working with my sister. this should be interesting....

time and space

coming back was strange. not for the normal reverse-culture-shock reasons really, but because it feels like i've been gone for about a week. everything feels very normal. which maybe further confirms these thoughts i wrote my first few days in lima.

que tiene mas? claro que tiene mas!

I was thinking about the lack of existence of space in the terms we so often think of it, as I was saying goodbye to my family via the telephone on Saturday. There I was, misty eyed, saying goodbye to my parents and sister before leaving for 5 weeks. Except that I live more than 1000 miles away from them to begin with. We may be in the same country, but we do not occupy the same space. We do not really have intersecting lives, except on those occasions where one is visiting the other. But the invisible borders make all the difference. Mostly because it would be far more expensive to call them from here. So, it is the implications of differential space, not the space itself that makes all the difference.

I was also thinking about this as I was waiting for the PATH back to jersey after exchanging moneys. I was certain that if I tried hard enough, I would still be in bed that morning. And every time I drifted off to sleep on the plane, I was no longer mid flight to South America. And this is all corroborated by the existence of pizza hut and mcdonalds and bk, chilis and tgi Fridays, dunkin doughnuts, united colors of beneton, keneth cole new york, and payless shoes in lima. and even la bamba on the radio. Or Grey’s anatomy on tv. As much as I hate to admit it, diLeonard was right. When you’re standing in the middle of GAP and you can’t remember whether you’re in Des Moines or Calcutta space no longer has the meaning it once did and by extension, I wonder what this is doing to culture.

Not to say that culture has to be “traditional” (Traditional as mutton sandwiches at McDonalds, I say), but difference is the key to finding beauty in life. So, it worries me a little.

mañana salgo

today was the last full day.

we went on a driving tour of the city. it was great. most of the places i had seen already, but it was good to put it all in perspective. plus there were a few things i hadn't seen. i wish i had time to go back and explore more....no such luck.

el museo del arte

we also had some Chifa, which was quite good, but makes me want to nap now.

i may be leaving, but never fear, when i get to the states, i'll put all the pictures in the blog. plus, starting wednesday, i'll technically be back on Lima time. Gotta love the midwest.

y ahora, necessito una siesta.

transportation (¡Ari!)

these are 2 things i meant to write before...

last friday in Zapallal I was riding around a lot with Jose the dentist in the afternoon. His car was a total rez car. the whole control panel was missing and in its place he had precariously placed pictures of his family. only they would fly around every time he turned a corner. he needed tape. to add to the rez-ness, it also only started about half the time. he had to tinker in the engine about 5 times that afternoon.

lunch stand in zapallal (not where we ate though)

on wednesday, coming back from Miraflores, I got the front seat in the combi. and it was great. it was one of the bigger ones too, not the vw bus size. first of all, it was nice to have a seat belt with all the quick stopping. and there was more room, the seat was comfortable, and it was nice to have a different perspective.

un combi en calle jose prado (not my picture,
obviously-check the date)

this morning i was up before simon, and talked to juana while i ate breakfast. she asked when i was leaving and told me i had to return muy rapido. and she gave me a hug. it was great.

not sure what i'm doing today. simon mentioned some spanish school bus trip thing, but its $25, not S./25, which seems like a bit much to me. i'm not sure what the whole story about it is though.

i can't believe this is almost over. i wish i could stay...

hace quatro semanas

this weekend was good. the irishman and I saw superman with rosario from the spanish school. it was about as expected. not a bad way to spend a saturday evening.

then yesterday, we went with the family to the Virgen del Carmen fiesta. It was great. The priest was late, so it started late, and it was a little cold (it was outside), but after the mass (i think it was a mass??? i don't know anything about catholicism though), there was a dance troupe, which was pretty impressive. They did a dance which satyrically reenacts the conquest of the spanish over peru. I was told that the dance has been done since this time. There was also food and dancing by the general crowd, which was of the -form a big circle, hold hands, and move to the rhythm- sort of dancing. which was fine. i can handle that. but twice someone drug me into the circle for a one on one sort of dance, which wasn't too difficult. more of the same. but i don't like being the center of attention in that sort of setting....
















but it was fun. and we got to see carmen again. (not the Virgen del Carmen, different one). and most of the rest of the family. it was good for picture taking too.

un dia muy largo

carlito picked me up at 8:30 as usual. i got to the U and left with Carlos to go to the rural community. we basically just drove around for several hours measuring the distance from schools to health centers, to water stations. etc. we also walked around a bit and took pictures. in the process i stepped in el feces de perro and was very smelly. it even got on my jeans. then, carlos dropped me off with a dentist so i could go to the promotoras de salud meeting with him. we continued to drive around and look for people who weren't home. the meeting was interesting, and all the promotoras were very nice. interesting people. and my spanish was actually working. sorta.

two pictures from zapallal. the photographer and i simply switched places

i tend to make stupid mistakes like use the wrong form or a past tense or say juego instead of jugo. pero esta bien.

getting home was a bit of a chore. the meeting started and ended very late. then there was much much traffic. and then the dentist had to get some dentures from his assistant at her home, but we had to wait in the car for 20 minutes for some reason. this was never explained to me. at least in a language i could understand. at one point i was sure that this was eventually going to result in my murder and burial in the hills outside of the city. but eventually, we got the dentures, got to his office in Pueblo Libre, he got me a cab, and I arrived home about 7:45. however, somewhere in this process, a pen exploded in my bag and got on my camera. fortunately, the lens cap was on. but still, i need to find a way to clean it.

the good parts of the day were being in Zapallal, getting free lunch, and the dentist gave me 3 things. toothpaste, a toothbrush, and chocolate. how's that for a combination. i should have had him clean my teeth....

and now, i'm tired. its friday night, but i'll probably just watch law & order in spanish or something and fall asleep fairly soon.

its my last full weekend here. i'm starting to get a little sad about it....

viernes....

last night, for cena, we had sandia. the largest one i've ever seen. and keep in mind i've spent a fair amount of time in agriculture buildings at various state fairs. anyway, juana couldn't cut it because of her hurt hand, so Irish stepped in. it took a giant knife, and a mallet for pounding. it was pretty amusing all around. and very very juicy. they just don't make watermelons like that in the states.

some old man tried to set me up with his son, who lives in Atlanta today. I didn't really know how to react. i just laughed. he also told me that women are much stronger than men, because they can give birth. i'm not sure what marrying his son had to do with that. well, i can see the obvious connection, but you know what i mean.

i also was given coffee this morning, at the university, and didn't really want to drink it. blch. but i loaded three heaping teaspoons of sugar into it and it was drinkable. sorta. now i'm wired, and jittery. but i still am tired and want to take a nap. how is that possible?

well, that's all for now.

hoy no es el dia

well, looks like i have the day off. the dr. didn't call last night like he said he would (shocking) and when i finally got ahold of him this moring, he said he'd call me back later.
so, i'm off to miraflores.
i'm not a big fan of pineapple juice. its too strong for me i guess, but i had the fresh real stuff this morning, and it was quite wonderful. unfortunately, ever since, i've felt like i'm going to throw up. this is in addition to my other lovely (but common) stomach condition of South America. what a day...

hoy es el dia

i woke up this morning in a bad mood. i didn't feel like speaking spanish today.

but things quickly changed. i got on brilliantly with the 4 brits i met today. they were 4 different incarnations of rhino's dream girl, except they lack specs appeal. but all the same, a good group.

we all went to an impoverished town outside of Lima. we toured

the public health center and a school. and it was magical. i thought to myself, "this is what i've been looking for" but i wonder, does it make me exploititive, and no better than Mr. Bruce Parry himself? that i get excited and perhaps even thrive on being in places where people are living in conditions that would be considered horrific by most of the "1st world" and now i'm orientalizing, and auto-occidentalizing, and getting confused, but yeah, i worry that its not a good thing that i'm interested in these people from an academic standpoint. sure its better than totally ignoring them, but i imagine if i were truly a wonderful person, i'd be trying to help rather than theorize about them.

at the maternal health center in zapallal

but enough. the other highlight of the day was lunch. deep fried cauliflower. now, i've never been the hugest fan of cauliflower, but in its deep fried form, it resembles something one could get at the Veggie Table at the Iowa State Fair. and as if that weren't enough, it was garnished with tomatoes and avacado. pure heaven.

what a day

el ultimo partido

i have to say, the best part about the world cup is hearing ol' Irish say "third place" this is not quite Kearney and he's certainly no replacement for Art, but wherever you go, for whatever reason, its always nice to hear an Irishman say "third". or Irishwoman. no gender discrimination here.

we went to Jockey Plaza (a mall) to watch the final game on a giant wall of tv screens in the food court. i had some fries and a coke from Bembos while we were there. It didn't get too crazy, but its amazing how the world stops (almost literally) for the world cup final.

















tomorrow i go to an impoverished community with the doctors. it should be interesting. from the pictures, it reminds me a bit of the rez. only with even more language barriers. but i'm going with a group of students from england, so at least it won't be like friday, trying to explain my project through broken spanish, to native french speakers.

and cuzco is officially out. i'd like to go, but time, money and motivation are all conspiring against me. next time.

i guess that's about it. only 2 more weeks here. which isn't that short of a time, but i wish it was a bit longer. fortunately, when i return to the states...i have the fair to look forward to.

¡finalamente!

finally, today, i met up with the dr. and went to the University. my Spanish failed me, as usual, but it was pretty helpful. i got some good information, and writing articles was even mentioned. perhaps pre-maturely. anyway, looks to work out well.

also Irish & I went to a dance class. salsa. good times. stupid young kid from jersey, who i tried to make jersey conversation with, but he blew me off as if i didn't know what i was talking about. he was talking big about how he´d already traveled around peru, he was just here, this time to learn spanish. then he said he had lots of quinces to go to. then his dad picked him up. stupid kid.
there was also a german girl who had been traveling in south america since february. and i ask myself, ¿who are these people? how does one have the time/money to travel for a year. mostly the money i guess. i know what the answer is. i have friends who do it. but i have loans to pay off and credit cards that need payments, and well, i know have a grand total of about $900 in savings (and that's only because my last paycheck hadn't come by the time i left the US). i guess though, i'm glad to know that, at least for some people, there is an escape from the system. and god, i'm lucky to even be doing this for 5 weeks. i just wish i was one of the luckiest that could do it for a year. maybe if i wasn't paying rent in the goddamn most expensive place on earth...well, next to tokyo i guess.

anyway, i was also thinking about the rez tonight, and how i'm never sure i'll find a place that has that magic for me. or maybe i just haven't given this place enough time. or maybe it was just the vodka. and the bilagaana clan. so, here's a shoutout to all my mailmen. i miss you. and maybe next year...the rez.

ok, enough nostalgic waxing. today was good both for morale and research. Peru!

for now, dinner.

el dia de indepencia

yesterday, i hoped for the doctor to call. he did not. but he did call this morning, and i'm getting picked up tomorrow morning to go to his university. his voice reminds me a lot of cesar's. or maybe its just the accent. one can't really be sure of these things i suppose.

so, i feel a bit better about things, but i'm not really sure what to do with my day today. maybe take a long walk around la molina.

yesterday, i was actually quite productive. i spent a lot of time with my old friend, the pain paper. i took ol' campbell's advice, and changed some things. still needs more work, but i feel like its in better shape.

last night, in celebration of 4th of July (more an excuse really), Irish and I decided to take advantage of Pizza Hut's 2 for 1 deal. Unfortunately, it was only after arriving at Pizza Hut that we discovered it was only on family size pies. but we got two anyway. Pizza Hut here is very nice. lots of ambiance. dim lighting, real tables, and they even have a wine list. but it smells the same and still has the familiar building shape. we got the pizzas to go, but they gave us free sodas while we waited.

it made me tired early though, and i went to bed at 10. happy independence day, indeed.

disco y museo

the disco last night was fun. i felt very old, but it was the first time i had drunk since leaving ny. it was nice. there were many many pictures taken (not by me), and we didn't get home till 4am. oy.

i danced with many a latin boy, but none were as good of teachers and juan and cesar. it made me miss the carbondale days a bit. but not enough to go back. one boy even tried to have me put his email address in his phone, but i kept screwing it up. he ended up with the wrong thing without knowing. oh well...
i also attempted to pass on the fake pound into high five, but i don't think he'll remember to do it again. its weird, kinda fun, but kinda annoying to the the blanca.

today, i caught sight of a Ross dress for less bag. I assume its from the family's trip to AZ, and i am very jealous. i miss the trips with bii jih bah.

today, i went to the museo de archeologia, antropologia, y historia, and itw as fun. i really like Pueblo Libre, the section of town where it is. Muy bien.
































its been two weeks here, and i'm getting a little homesick. but i should start "working/researching" tomorrow, so hopefully that will keep me busy.

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!