There are times when I feel that Peru is conducting a guerrilla assault on my senses. Loud raeggeton music at all times of the night and the day, salesmen on bicycles using loud speakers to advertise their products, dogs barking from the rooftops, thirty-seven eight year olds shouting “professor, professor”, combis and taxis honking at me even when I am clearly not interested in their services, salsa music blaring the speakers of moving vehicles and from the ghetto blasters that some young wannabe gangsters carry around on the street. The bright colors of the plaza de armas, the glare of the sand dunes in Alto Trujillo, the smiles of the Peruvian people, the tacky stickers/icons/decorations in the combis, the sunsets in Huanchaco, the sun exploding over the waters of the Pacific ocean in an orgy of oranges, pinks, reds and purples. The smell of urine when walking around town, the stench of refuse and garbage on the streets that go to the USDA school and the Simon Bolivar school, the glorious aroma of ripe mangos, frying fish, roasting anticucho de corazon (beef heart on a skewer). The fresh sea breeze, the ventilated combi rides, the scorching sun, the cold waters of the Pacific, seven foot waves crashing on my head and making me feel more alive than ever. The bitter sweet taste of the Maracuya Sour, the sugary Chicha morada, the salty chicken foot soup, King Kong caramel and biscuit monstrosity. Sometimes the bombardment is traumatic, but most times it is a welcome manifestation of the everyday hyper amplified 4-D Technicolor Peruvian life.
My immune system is obviously not built for this beautiful country. But never mind, I am eating plenty of vitamin rich fruit to try counter the resilient local bacteria.
The sheer variety of fruit is mind-boggling. I never realized that there are so many different kinds of fruit on this planet! Lucuma, Guanabana, Camu-Camu, four different kinds of Mango, etc.
Chiara, an old friend of mine from University was in the country and came over for a brief visit. It was weird to speak Italian. During her intense one day stay we visited el complejo arqueologico del Brujo (the witch doctor’s archaeological site), ate a delicious lunch at Huanchaco’s most expensive sea food restaurant and I was treated to luxury travel aboard an air conditioned van! (the combi is my everyday means of transportation: no a/c, 25 people on board of a 12 seater, seats designed for tiny Peruvians. Picture me sitting in approximately 50 cubic centimeters, squashed between to overweight Peruvian ladies and their groceries –please, please tell me neither of them bought fish!!!!-). The archaeological site reminded me of la Huaca de Sol Y la Luna, with the sole difference that El Brujo is situated on a hill overlooking the ocean and the sugar cane fields. Chiara has relatives in Lima and it was interesting to hear stories about her growing up in the country as a child, as well as her family history.
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| Sugar cane truck close to El Brujo |
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| We made the tour guides reroute to the laundry close to home so I could collect my laundry and hang it out to dry |
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| Me and the guide discussing the scenery at El Brujo |
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| Trujillo's Cathedral by night |
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| Causa Rellena Big Ben style: Shrimps, sweet potato, avocado, sweet potato. Delicious! |
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| Chiara, the guide and I at El Brujo. |
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| Moche mannequins. An intimidating security guard with a shotgun tried to charge us 2 dollars to take a picture with them... Fortunately we had already taken this one picture. |
School has been interesting. In some classes I felt like an evil dictator trying to suppress an anarchic revolution, in others I felt like a friendly ten year old teacher (singing the alphabet song).
Funniest moments:
-walking into the 4 year olds class for the first time! The children were so scared of the giant white teacher that some of them hid under the desks J
-25 third graders group embraced me and we all fell to the ground
Anjana and Ruwan have left and a new volunteer –Anna from England arrived-. I really miss Anjana and Ruwan, I miss Anjana’s witty irony and Ruwan’s good nature. I also miss our philosophical conversations at the local Chifa Royal. On the upside I can now pile my clothes and junk on Ruw’s former bed, if however Ruw decided to come back I’d even be willing to sleep in the corridor, at the risk of being attacked by the cockroaches and rats that roam the house at night.
Other highlights of the past weeks included:
- a visit to Puerto Chicama, the longest left hand wave on the planet. One of nature’s most amazing spectacles. The wave peels down the point for almost 2km! I have never seen such perfection in my life! Unfortunately I did not have my camera to document it. If you are a surfer and are considering traveling to Peru, stop thinking and start packing your bags!
- Catching the highest amount of waves in a single surf session to date.
- the numerous farewell dinners/lunches we had in honor of Anjana and Ruwan.
The lows:
- intestinal infection from the food.
I cannot get over how lucky I have been so far. I have met some wonderful and interesting people and had several great experiences. Traveling is good for the mind and the soul. Apparently it is not always good for the digestive tract. But that is a price that I am more than willing to pay!
I am definitely getting used to life in Peru and I feel that, despite the fact that I look distinctly gringo, a tiny little part of me is becoming Peruvian.
Tomorrow I will be teaching 50 Peruvian children how to sing Jimmy Cliff’s “You can get it if you really want” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18EAqHx2lMk). Elizabeth suggested the song and I think it is an excellent selection: the lyrics are inspiring, repetitive and relatively easy to learn. The children will then sing this song on Friday, when the Simon Bolivar school will be celebrating its anniversary.
Wish me luck!
ps: thank you Chiara for letting me steal the nice pictures you took.
