Started writing this on the 29th of May, before a 3000km trip around Peru:
Time flies! I am sitting in an Internet café in the humid city of Tumbes, in the Northern part of Peru, 35 km from the border with Ecuador. Waiting for my friend Anna to land so we can go back to Los Organos, a peaceful beach resort in the region of Piura.
I have one month left in South America. It feels like yesterday that David showed up punctually late to pick me up at the airport. My time in Trujillo has been simply amazing. It was way above my expectations: working as a volunteer was one of the most fulfilling things I have done in my life, I met fantastic people and had the priviliege of discovering some of the secrets of Peruvian culture.
Teaching the kids at the USDA school and the Simon Bolivar government school was a unique, heart warming, learning experience. Their energy, exuberance and enthusiasm were contagious and I feel that they taught me more about myself than I ever dreamed. Mind boggling to see kids that don't have running water, sewage in their homes come to school in clean clothes and eager to learn. Wonderful to see their parents walking the kids to school and encouraging them to study. Peru is not considered a rich country, but it has a big warm heart, combine it with the survival instincts and the fact that Peruvians are keen on education and I have no doubt that the country has a bright future.
The last week at school was really hard for me. I grew very attached to the children and will miss them a lot. The kids wrote us goodbye notes plastered with disney and barney the dinosaur stickers. At the USDA school, my friend and school director Guillermo, held a little goodbye speach in every class and the kids were asked if they wanted to say goodbye, we were handed diplomas and a picture of each class. These pictures and the goodbye notes mean so much to me. Everyone was very emotional and there was a fair amount of crying involved.
We had a great goodbye party, that involved a Mariachi band. Almost all our friends made it to the party. I met many wonderful people in Trujillo, Peruvians, volunteers and even tourists from all over the world. I will remember all of them fondly and hope that I will get many chances to see them again.
It is hard to think that Trujillo will no longer be my home, that I won't ride for hours on beat-up combis playing loud reggaeton music on dusty roads. That I won't be able to go for my midday surf in Huanchaco. That I won't wake up with the sound of Tia Carmen sweeping the floor in front of my bedroom at 6am, that I won't see the guys from USDA with their blue vests on a friday night helping underprivileged children create a colorful pencil holder out of an empty milk box. That I won't have those endless lunches (partly due to the poor standard of service, but primarily to the good company) talking philosophy or bulls..t with all the volunteers that I had the pleasure of working with.
In the next episode I will tell you about:
-The Peruvian way: how to speak on a cell phone, how to behave if you work in the service industry, how to attract the attention of anyone working in the service industry.
-My 3000km journey across Peru, which will include advice on how to climb Macchu Picchu and where not to go when you get to the top of Wayna Picchu...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Mariachi party!
It has been a month since I last updated my blog! I apologize for being so lazy and hope you'll forgive me!
In the last month I have tried to dance salsa, pretended I am an English teacher and attempted to surf in 7 foot surf. Yes, it has been a good month!
The month started off with the 17th anniversary celebrations of the Simon Bolivar public school in El Milagro, Trujillo. This is where I teach on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The English classes are a special program that is a result of a collaboration between Espaanglisch and the school.
In the week leading up to the celebrations we had to teach two classes a song that they would then proceed to sing in front of the entire school and their parents. As I mentioned we decided to teach them Jimmy Cliff's "You can get it if you really want" we sang the song so often that I don't think I want to hear it again for quite some time.We thought the celebrations would be a simple 2 hour event. Ah! Only in our unimaginative gringo minds! The ENTIRE week ended up being one big, colorful, random and loud Peruvian style party, and we enjoyed every minute of it! The children also loved it because they had no school the whole week. The ceremonies involved singing national and regional anthems, raising of the flag (had to be done twice because the first time they tied the flag upside down), military style parades reminiscent of North Korea, teachers drinking cheap liquor, singing, dancing, posing for pictures, drawing contests, processions, eating fluorescent cakes, a sports day, blessing the school with holy water, reading poetry, Mariachi band playing, some kind of beauty pageant, secondary school kids performing an MTV video style dance, appointing children the title of "brigadier" and of course singing Jimmy Cliff's "You can get it if you really want". Words don't do this wonderful event justice and we all had to wonder: "if they organize all this for the 17th anniversary, what will the 50th be like?"... they will probably party the entire year!
My favorite moments:
-a stray dog wandering around in the middle of one of the most solemn parades and no one taking any notice of its presence.
-we got handed a shot of the most foul smelling booze on planet earth... a teacher approached me and said you better not drink it, it is cheap plonk* and then proceeds to drink her glass and mine :) *plonk n Brit, Austral, and NZ informal alcoholic drink, usually wine, esp of inferior quality.
- three parents asked me to please be their child's godfather in a crazy ceremony in which they received military style decorations, were nominated "brigadiers" and had to swear they would serve the school in honesty and violently repress any attempted revolutions (just kidding about the repressing revolutions part, but it felt like it). I had eventually told them I would be godfather to all three because the mothers were starting to fight over me.
-the Mariachi band playing with their flamboyant cowboy style costumes and everyone dancing to the music.
Other things I did since my last post:
-re-visited Cajamarca and Usha Usha. I got to see all the tourist attractions that I was not able to visit during the carnival:
Santa Apolonia, a beautiful chapel on a hill overlooking the city.
Ventallas de Otuzco, an old burial site in the lush countryside
Cuarto del rescate, the room that Inca Atahualpa filled with gold and silver in order to buy his freedom from the Spanish conquistadores, they still executed him on the main square despite this
Baños del Inca, the famous thermal bathes in Cajamarca, a surreal experience that felt like visiting a cross between a public swimming pool and a hospital.
Witnessed Pervian presidential elections: there were a whole 13 candidates! Peruvians have to pay a hefty fine if they don't vote! The general philosophy amongst the voters is: "I will vote for the lesser of evils". The first round of voting was not enough to reach a verdict, but at least the vote will be narrowed down to two candidates: Keiko Fujimori and Ollanta Humala, the two candidates that are most likely to turn Peru into a dictatorship :).
For the occasion I traveled to Chimbote with David. Every Peruvian has to return to the city where he/she is registered in order to vote. Chimbote was one of the main fishing towns along the Peruvian coastline. The strong smell of fish is overwhelming when walking around the center of town. It was wonderful to spend time with David and his family in the house where he grew up. David has numerous siblings and we all had lunch together and I decided to head out to the center of town with Sam to buy a cake in the afternoon. When I returned we all had cake and they decided that we might as well celebrate my birthday 4 months early and all sang "cumpleaños feliz".
We went out to an amazing disco called "El Estribo". Imagine the stereotype of the Latin American party, with a live band playing Salsa, Cumbia and Merengue and people dancing away the night! I kept on thinking that Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias would pop up at any moment and steal the show like you'd expect in some cheesy romantic/dance movie.
I am happy to report that my teaching skills have improved a lot and that both the children and the adults that I teach enjoy their classes.
In the last month I have tried to dance salsa, pretended I am an English teacher and attempted to surf in 7 foot surf. Yes, it has been a good month!
The month started off with the 17th anniversary celebrations of the Simon Bolivar public school in El Milagro, Trujillo. This is where I teach on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The English classes are a special program that is a result of a collaboration between Espaanglisch and the school.
 |
| Study, Discipline, Honor, Work and Mariachi Parties! |
 |
| The kids at Simon Bolivar |
 |
| The gringos and Maria Soledad, the caretaker of the school |
 |
| Ghetto blaster and happy kids |
In the week leading up to the celebrations we had to teach two classes a song that they would then proceed to sing in front of the entire school and their parents. As I mentioned we decided to teach them Jimmy Cliff's "You can get it if you really want" we sang the song so often that I don't think I want to hear it again for quite some time.We thought the celebrations would be a simple 2 hour event. Ah! Only in our unimaginative gringo minds! The ENTIRE week ended up being one big, colorful, random and loud Peruvian style party, and we enjoyed every minute of it! The children also loved it because they had no school the whole week. The ceremonies involved singing national and regional anthems, raising of the flag (had to be done twice because the first time they tied the flag upside down), military style parades reminiscent of North Korea, teachers drinking cheap liquor, singing, dancing, posing for pictures, drawing contests, processions, eating fluorescent cakes, a sports day, blessing the school with holy water, reading poetry, Mariachi band playing, some kind of beauty pageant, secondary school kids performing an MTV video style dance, appointing children the title of "brigadier" and of course singing Jimmy Cliff's "You can get it if you really want". Words don't do this wonderful event justice and we all had to wonder: "if they organize all this for the 17th anniversary, what will the 50th be like?"... they will probably party the entire year!
My favorite moments:
-a stray dog wandering around in the middle of one of the most solemn parades and no one taking any notice of its presence.
 |
| Where is Kim Jong-il? |
-we got handed a shot of the most foul smelling booze on planet earth... a teacher approached me and said you better not drink it, it is cheap plonk* and then proceeds to drink her glass and mine :) *plonk n Brit, Austral, and NZ informal alcoholic drink, usually wine, esp of inferior quality.
 |
| The teachers |
- three parents asked me to please be their child's godfather in a crazy ceremony in which they received military style decorations, were nominated "brigadiers" and had to swear they would serve the school in honesty and violently repress any attempted revolutions (just kidding about the repressing revolutions part, but it felt like it). I had eventually told them I would be godfather to all three because the mothers were starting to fight over me.
 | ||
| "I award you the medal of honor" |
 |
| A proud godfather and the brigadier |
-the Mariachi band playing with their flamboyant cowboy style costumes and everyone dancing to the music.
 |
| When I grow up I want to be a singer in a Mariachi band! |
 |
| Dancing with the principal |
 |
| Do the gringo dance! |
Other things I did since my last post:
-re-visited Cajamarca and Usha Usha. I got to see all the tourist attractions that I was not able to visit during the carnival:
Santa Apolonia, a beautiful chapel on a hill overlooking the city.
Ventallas de Otuzco, an old burial site in the lush countryside
Cuarto del rescate, the room that Inca Atahualpa filled with gold and silver in order to buy his freedom from the Spanish conquistadores, they still executed him on the main square despite this
Baños del Inca, the famous thermal bathes in Cajamarca, a surreal experience that felt like visiting a cross between a public swimming pool and a hospital.
 |
| Ventanillas de Otuzco y turista |
 |
| A 600 year old fountain on the main square of Cajamarca |
Witnessed Pervian presidential elections: there were a whole 13 candidates! Peruvians have to pay a hefty fine if they don't vote! The general philosophy amongst the voters is: "I will vote for the lesser of evils". The first round of voting was not enough to reach a verdict, but at least the vote will be narrowed down to two candidates: Keiko Fujimori and Ollanta Humala, the two candidates that are most likely to turn Peru into a dictatorship :).
For the occasion I traveled to Chimbote with David. Every Peruvian has to return to the city where he/she is registered in order to vote. Chimbote was one of the main fishing towns along the Peruvian coastline. The strong smell of fish is overwhelming when walking around the center of town. It was wonderful to spend time with David and his family in the house where he grew up. David has numerous siblings and we all had lunch together and I decided to head out to the center of town with Sam to buy a cake in the afternoon. When I returned we all had cake and they decided that we might as well celebrate my birthday 4 months early and all sang "cumpleaños feliz".
 |
| Cumpleaños feliz! 4 months early |
We went out to an amazing disco called "El Estribo". Imagine the stereotype of the Latin American party, with a live band playing Salsa, Cumbia and Merengue and people dancing away the night! I kept on thinking that Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias would pop up at any moment and steal the show like you'd expect in some cheesy romantic/dance movie.
I am happy to report that my teaching skills have improved a lot and that both the children and the adults that I teach enjoy their classes.
 |
| On the way to the USDA school in Alto Trujillo |
 |
| Panoramic of the USDA school playground |
 |
| the first graders classroom at the USDA school |
 |
| the 5 year olds at USDA |
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sensory assault.
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.
 |
| Sugar cane truck close to El Brujo |
 |
| We made the tour guides reroute to the laundry close to home so I could collect my laundry and hang it out to dry |
 |
| Me and the guide discussing the scenery at El Brujo |
 |
| Trujillo's Cathedral by night |
 |
| Causa Rellena Big Ben style: Shrimps, sweet potato, avocado, sweet potato. Delicious! |
 |
| Chiara, the guide and I at El Brujo. |
 |
| 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.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
First day of school!
Monday was the first official day of school at the Simon Bolivar government school. The principal of the school was very excited that we will be teaching at the school and gave a long official speech about the importance of the English language in the globalized world, she also thanked us for volunteering to teach and give the children the chance to learn English. The school is in El Milagro, one of the impoverished areas of Trujillo, however it has a pretty good infrastructure thanks to donations by private people and companies. The school even has a computer lab that has never been used, due to the fact that none of the teachers knew how to teach the kids how to use a PC. This year they fortunately have someone that will teach computer skills.
In our first class we introduced ourselves, explained the rules and proceeded to teach the children how to greet and introduce themselves: "Hello. Hello, what's your name? My name is Jean Franco, what's your name? My name is Joselita." We tried to make our classes as fun and dynamic as possible and it seems that the children really enjoyed them. After teaching the summer school classes we decided to start off with strict discipline and have developed a pretty hilarious yellow card and red card punishment system to maintain order in the class room.
On Thursday we went to the USDA school in Alto Trujillo and helped prepare the class rooms for the upcoming Monday, when the classes will officially start. Ruwan and I spent three hours cutting out, hammering and stapling screens to put on the windows of one of the class rooms. It was fun. The USDA school is set in the middle of some pretty awesome sand dunes. I will try to take pictures in the upcoming weeks.
Friday morning Anjana and I headed out to Simon Bolivar to teach our last class of the week. It was a difficult class, with 30 hyperactive 8 year olds, but I enjoyed it and I think the kids did too.
In the free time I managed to get two great "purifying" surfs, play basketball with Ruwan, play soccer with Sally, Ruw, David and Sally's boyfriend Patrick and have some interesting philosophical conversations with Ruw and Anjana over a jar of fresh lemonade and delicious stuffed wan tans at our new favorite Chifa (Chifas are Peruvian Chinese restaurants).
We started playing basketball in a park that is one block away from home and we played against one local kid that was really good. His name is David and it turns out that he is the brother of Carolina, one of the USDA volunteers that we often hang out with!
The whole of Trujillo woke up in shock in the aftermath of the Japanese quake. My thoughts are with the Japanese people. Everyone here was afraid that the tsunami would hit the coast of Peru, but in the end the wave turned out to be 35 cms high... a big sigh of relief for everyone.
I leave you with a typical Huanchaco sunset picture that Billy took of me prior to my sunset surf session on Tuesday.
In our first class we introduced ourselves, explained the rules and proceeded to teach the children how to greet and introduce themselves: "Hello. Hello, what's your name? My name is Jean Franco, what's your name? My name is Joselita." We tried to make our classes as fun and dynamic as possible and it seems that the children really enjoyed them. After teaching the summer school classes we decided to start off with strict discipline and have developed a pretty hilarious yellow card and red card punishment system to maintain order in the class room.
On Thursday we went to the USDA school in Alto Trujillo and helped prepare the class rooms for the upcoming Monday, when the classes will officially start. Ruwan and I spent three hours cutting out, hammering and stapling screens to put on the windows of one of the class rooms. It was fun. The USDA school is set in the middle of some pretty awesome sand dunes. I will try to take pictures in the upcoming weeks.
Friday morning Anjana and I headed out to Simon Bolivar to teach our last class of the week. It was a difficult class, with 30 hyperactive 8 year olds, but I enjoyed it and I think the kids did too.
In the free time I managed to get two great "purifying" surfs, play basketball with Ruwan, play soccer with Sally, Ruw, David and Sally's boyfriend Patrick and have some interesting philosophical conversations with Ruw and Anjana over a jar of fresh lemonade and delicious stuffed wan tans at our new favorite Chifa (Chifas are Peruvian Chinese restaurants).
We started playing basketball in a park that is one block away from home and we played against one local kid that was really good. His name is David and it turns out that he is the brother of Carolina, one of the USDA volunteers that we often hang out with!
The whole of Trujillo woke up in shock in the aftermath of the Japanese quake. My thoughts are with the Japanese people. Everyone here was afraid that the tsunami would hit the coast of Peru, but in the end the wave turned out to be 35 cms high... a big sigh of relief for everyone.
I leave you with a typical Huanchaco sunset picture that Billy took of me prior to my sunset surf session on Tuesday.
 |
| Sunset surf session |
Carnival in Cajamarca!
Before I tell you about our week end in Cajamarca, I have to clarify something that is very meaningful to me. A friend pointed out that some of my comments in my previous post could easily be misunderstood. Specifically the comments that refer to Alto Trujillo and other "impoverished" parts of town. I was told that these comments could seem insulting and after reading them again I agree that my sarcasm was probably not all that obvious and at the same time a little too "heavy". My respect for the people in the poorer parts of town is immense: people live in very difficult conditions, but they work hard and lead an honest life and most of the time they do all this with a smile! They may not have many physical possessions, but they possess plenty of dignity and pride, which are a lot more important. I am sure that with time, a good education and hard work their living conditions will improve dramatically. In the meanwhile I am doing my best to try and help some of the NGOs that offer the local communities the opportunity to improve their standard of living by "learning how to fish" as opposed to being handed the fish by someone else.
Ok now Cajamarca:
After spending a week in bed with the flu, I was eager to leave the house and get out of Trujillo.
Billy, Ruwan, Carla, Anjana and I rented a car and drove to Cajamarca. In Cajmarca we met up with Amber, who is working and Trujillo and lives in the same house as Billy.
Peru has three distinct geographic regions: the coast (la costa), the highlands (la sierra), the jungle (la selva).
Cajamarca is in the sierra, a "short" 300km drive from Trujillo (the coast). Minor inconvenience is caused by the 2800 meter climb to reach Cajamarca, the corrupt police officers, interesting roads and even more interesting "means of transportation" on said roads.
The coast is arid, desert like, vast areas of sand, dust, rugged looking mountains and rocks with the exception of the few very green irrigated areas. The blue sea provides a bit of color in the otherwise blunt landscapes of the coastline.
Billy did all the driving and he deserves a medal for avoiding stray dogs, donkeys, children playing on the street, trucks/buses driving on both sides of the road and camouflaged speed bumps.
After approximately 150km we got stopped by a police officer that had "trouble" written all over his face.He insisted that our rental did not have regular license plates and he was obviously looking for a bribe. I refuse to pay bribes, I believe they are the source of a malfunctioning government and society. The cop kept on asking "what should we do about this? Should I confiscate the car? Give you a fine? How should we solve it?". Eventually I got so upset I returned to the car, because I was about to give the cop a big speech about how he was an embarrassment to his country and should feel ashamed. I am glad I didn't because this would have probably gotten us into trouble. Anyhow if a corrupt police officer ever stops you in Peru there is a fool proof way of escaping his demands for a bribe, play dumb: speak English only and smile all the time. Eventually he will get so annoyed that he will let you leave.
We arrived in Cajamarca, found our hostel (conveniently located on the main square, it was basic but only cost 3.5 USD per night per person) and moved in while Billy and Ruwan looked for a spot to park the car. They got back and we all went out for dinner in a pretty good Chinese restaurant on the main square of Cajamarca. After dinner we went to the main square where some kind of party was going on. Basically most young people congregate on the Plaza de Armas, play marching drums and sing the same song over and over and over and over all night long. The lyrics to the song apparently vary, but the tune and underlying drum beat remain the same. The lyrics are of the naughty kind if you understand what I mean. Everyone was in a jolly good mood and everyone wanted the gringos (us) to dance with them. I "danced" with a number of random locals and we all really enjoyed the night.
Every "two man marching band" plays the same rythm and people sing songs to the same tune, this is more or less what it sounds like:
The morning after we woke up and after breakfast decided to head out in search of some form of carnival disguise. We had been warned that the carnival could get a little aggressive. "If you want to play, you will enjoy it. If you don't want to play you won't have any choice: they will force you to". After walking into the first store I immediately realized what they meant. A two man marching band came walking down the street with a dozen people singing and carrying buckets of paint. They would sing, march and throw paint at ANYTHING and EVERYTHING: people, cars, stores, even some police officers where partially covered in paint. I left the house with a white t-shirt, after a short while the t-shirt was green,blue,pink,gold,yellow,orange,red,purple, etc. My t-shirt now looks like a cross between Kandinsky, Pollock and the arts and crafts of some of the 5 year olds we teach. It currently is my favorite t-shirt.
After stepping out of the relative safety of the store, where we bought colorful hats and other types of carnival gadgets, it took approximately 20 seconds for someone to come up to us and smear us with multi-colored paint from head to tow. We joined the marching bands, sung and danced. Around one pm the skies opened up, torrential rain rapidly cooled the air, but not our spirits. The climate in Cajamarca is pretty unstable: it can be sunny and warm one minute (t-shirt weather) and pouring with rain and cold the next. At night the temperature drops dramatically, to the extent that it feels like the European winter. Drenched to the bone, we formed our own "marching band" with two local kids that possessed drums and were obviously amused by the way the weird gringos were dancing. One of the kids made the mistake of letting me play the drums and I spent a good forty five minutes torturing Cajamarca with my newly found drumming skills. By mid afternoon I was starting to feel cold. Carla, Anjana and I lost the rest of the group and decided to return to the Hostal Plaza in order to clean off some of the paint and put on some dry clothes. Unfortunately the hostel only has warm water from 6 am to 10 am and from 6 pm to 10 pm, so I spent 30 minutes under the freezing water trying to scrub the paint off my body, little did I know that it would take me almost a week to get most of the paint off. I am not sure if I ever felt as cold in my life, but it certainly was worth it.
I had a nap and managed to regain some of my body heat. The rest of the group showed up around 5 pm looking much like mythical fluorescent rainbow beings. After a nap and a Chinese dinner everyone was pretty exhausted and most of our group opted to have an early night. Anjana, Ruw, Carla and I somehow summoned enough energy to venture out again. We went to a small bar called Usha Usha. The bar is small and picturesque. The walls have been decorated with the graffiti of passing tourists, a Che Guevara poster and several unusual shrines in honor of what I guess are some form of pre-colombian idols. The owner of the bar plays traditional songs on the guitar and gets everyone to sing along, whilst the bar tender alternates between percussion instruments and pouring drinks. We got in and we were sitting towards the end of the small room, a couple of hours later we were sitting right close to Jaime Valera Bazan, the owner, and we were playing the maracas. I was so glad that we decided to go out as the unique atmosphere and Jaime's showmanship made it one of the most memorable experiences of my stay in Peru so far. According to Jaime, Usha Usha is something that the local farmers say to animals that invade their fields in order to shoo them away, but it is also a powerful spell that the local shamans utter at the end of the healing process in order to drive away the evil spirits. I have to agree that Usha Usha definitely rid me of the evil spirits that I had been carrying around with me as a consequence of spending a week in my bedroom.
The following morning we briefly watched the traditional carnival parade, where the various carnival groups wear masks and walk through the town singing the same old tune.Thereafter we wanted to visit the Baños de los Incas, thermal baths that are 15 minutes from Cajamarca... so we followed Billy and Ruwan to the car park... except that they had forgotten the location of the car park and lost the receipt with the address. They kept on insisting that the car park was close to the main square. The two of them spent the following hour looking for the car park. Eventually Carla, Anjana and I joined the search. We approached the local traffic policemen and they were highly amused by the fact that we could not locate our car, but they didn't know of any parking garage in the surrounding area. Eventually I walked into a hotel and asked the receptionist if he knew of any parking garages in the town. He laughed at me and said there was only one parking place in town and it was on the main street, 200 meters from the main square. Turns out that the parking place was on a different side of the square from what Ruw and Billy thought. We then discovered that the main street had been closed because of the parade, so we had to wait for it to end. We found a café overlooking the carnival madness and enjoyed a hearty meal before returning to the pleasant warm climate of Trujillo. Billy and Ruwan, we love you, but your sense of direction is pretty poor!
I have decided that I will return to Cajamarca and Usha Usha in the upcoming months. Unfortunately I will probably have to return alone. As I write this Billy has left Peru and is exploring Ecuador. Ruwan and Anjana will leave Trujillo in two weeks time. I already miss Billy, his good nature and positive attitude. I hope I will meet him again some day.
Ok now Cajamarca:
After spending a week in bed with the flu, I was eager to leave the house and get out of Trujillo.
Billy, Ruwan, Carla, Anjana and I rented a car and drove to Cajamarca. In Cajmarca we met up with Amber, who is working and Trujillo and lives in the same house as Billy.
Peru has three distinct geographic regions: the coast (la costa), the highlands (la sierra), the jungle (la selva).
Cajamarca is in the sierra, a "short" 300km drive from Trujillo (the coast). Minor inconvenience is caused by the 2800 meter climb to reach Cajamarca, the corrupt police officers, interesting roads and even more interesting "means of transportation" on said roads.
The coast is arid, desert like, vast areas of sand, dust, rugged looking mountains and rocks with the exception of the few very green irrigated areas. The blue sea provides a bit of color in the otherwise blunt landscapes of the coastline.
Billy did all the driving and he deserves a medal for avoiding stray dogs, donkeys, children playing on the street, trucks/buses driving on both sides of the road and camouflaged speed bumps.
After approximately 150km we got stopped by a police officer that had "trouble" written all over his face.He insisted that our rental did not have regular license plates and he was obviously looking for a bribe. I refuse to pay bribes, I believe they are the source of a malfunctioning government and society. The cop kept on asking "what should we do about this? Should I confiscate the car? Give you a fine? How should we solve it?". Eventually I got so upset I returned to the car, because I was about to give the cop a big speech about how he was an embarrassment to his country and should feel ashamed. I am glad I didn't because this would have probably gotten us into trouble. Anyhow if a corrupt police officer ever stops you in Peru there is a fool proof way of escaping his demands for a bribe, play dumb: speak English only and smile all the time. Eventually he will get so annoyed that he will let you leave.
 |
| Como lo solucionamos? Carla and Ruwan with the "nice" officer |
 |
| Me pretending to dance on the main square. Ruwan and Anjana to the left doing a much better job. |
Every "two man marching band" plays the same rythm and people sing songs to the same tune, this is more or less what it sounds like:
The morning after we woke up and after breakfast decided to head out in search of some form of carnival disguise. We had been warned that the carnival could get a little aggressive. "If you want to play, you will enjoy it. If you don't want to play you won't have any choice: they will force you to". After walking into the first store I immediately realized what they meant. A two man marching band came walking down the street with a dozen people singing and carrying buckets of paint. They would sing, march and throw paint at ANYTHING and EVERYTHING: people, cars, stores, even some police officers where partially covered in paint. I left the house with a white t-shirt, after a short while the t-shirt was green,blue,pink,gold,yellow,orange,red,purple, etc. My t-shirt now looks like a cross between Kandinsky, Pollock and the arts and crafts of some of the 5 year olds we teach. It currently is my favorite t-shirt.
After stepping out of the relative safety of the store, where we bought colorful hats and other types of carnival gadgets, it took approximately 20 seconds for someone to come up to us and smear us with multi-colored paint from head to tow. We joined the marching bands, sung and danced. Around one pm the skies opened up, torrential rain rapidly cooled the air, but not our spirits. The climate in Cajamarca is pretty unstable: it can be sunny and warm one minute (t-shirt weather) and pouring with rain and cold the next. At night the temperature drops dramatically, to the extent that it feels like the European winter. Drenched to the bone, we formed our own "marching band" with two local kids that possessed drums and were obviously amused by the way the weird gringos were dancing. One of the kids made the mistake of letting me play the drums and I spent a good forty five minutes torturing Cajamarca with my newly found drumming skills. By mid afternoon I was starting to feel cold. Carla, Anjana and I lost the rest of the group and decided to return to the Hostal Plaza in order to clean off some of the paint and put on some dry clothes. Unfortunately the hostel only has warm water from 6 am to 10 am and from 6 pm to 10 pm, so I spent 30 minutes under the freezing water trying to scrub the paint off my body, little did I know that it would take me almost a week to get most of the paint off. I am not sure if I ever felt as cold in my life, but it certainly was worth it.
 |
| Left to right: Carla, Ruwan, Me, Anjana and Billy |
 |
| When my t-shirt was still almost white. |
 |
| One of the parading groups. I am on the far left towards the back. |
 |
| Cold and covered in paint. |
I had a nap and managed to regain some of my body heat. The rest of the group showed up around 5 pm looking much like mythical fluorescent rainbow beings. After a nap and a Chinese dinner everyone was pretty exhausted and most of our group opted to have an early night. Anjana, Ruw, Carla and I somehow summoned enough energy to venture out again. We went to a small bar called Usha Usha. The bar is small and picturesque. The walls have been decorated with the graffiti of passing tourists, a Che Guevara poster and several unusual shrines in honor of what I guess are some form of pre-colombian idols. The owner of the bar plays traditional songs on the guitar and gets everyone to sing along, whilst the bar tender alternates between percussion instruments and pouring drinks. We got in and we were sitting towards the end of the small room, a couple of hours later we were sitting right close to Jaime Valera Bazan, the owner, and we were playing the maracas. I was so glad that we decided to go out as the unique atmosphere and Jaime's showmanship made it one of the most memorable experiences of my stay in Peru so far. According to Jaime, Usha Usha is something that the local farmers say to animals that invade their fields in order to shoo them away, but it is also a powerful spell that the local shamans utter at the end of the healing process in order to drive away the evil spirits. I have to agree that Usha Usha definitely rid me of the evil spirits that I had been carrying around with me as a consequence of spending a week in my bedroom.
 |
| USHA USHA! |
I have decided that I will return to Cajamarca and Usha Usha in the upcoming months. Unfortunately I will probably have to return alone. As I write this Billy has left Peru and is exploring Ecuador. Ruwan and Anjana will leave Trujillo in two weeks time. I already miss Billy, his good nature and positive attitude. I hope I will meet him again some day.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Gringo, Gringo! Y Profesor, Profesor.
I walk on the streets of Trujillo and people wave at me, big smiles: “Hello, hello”. I walk in the seaside resort of Huanchaco and people stop me to have pictures taken with me, big smiles. I walk on the pile of dust, dirt and refuse that the inhabitants of Alto Trujillo call their home and people smile and wave at me, bigger smiles. Is it the result of my 1.35 USD haircut? (yes, I paid one dollar and 35 cents for a haircut and I even got a chocolate bar included in the price) I don’t think so… Peruvians are very friendly and gringos are still rather rare and exotic in this part of the country. Almost everything that is gringo is cool: the clothes, the cars, the movies and even me it turns out. Good thing that the people that stop me to have pictures taken when I walk past with my board and wetsuit haven’t seen me “surfing” or they would probably punch me in the face. Gringo music is not all that popular, samba, cumbia, reggaeton and merengue are still the local favorites.
Last Saturday I had the pleasure of watching the Longboard World Cup Tour in Huanchaco and the local boy Clemente “Piccolo” won the contest and the World Cup Qualifier. The fans went crazy with joy and there was even more noise, dancing and music than usual. On Sunday my friend Billy and I went to the food shelter that is run by Margarita’s family (wonderful people that own the Muchik surf school) in Las Lomas (a poor neighborhood close to Huanchaco). Billy and I held a small presentation on nutrition and helped prepare the food for the children. The food shelter is in its early stages and right now it offers the children a healthy meal every Sunday and a “values” class, but they want to start free classes in English and other topics to help the kids attain a better education, which will hopefully give them the chance to access opportunities their parents never had.
Great things have been happening around here! New volunteers arrived at the Espaanglisch house. Ruwan arrived from England and Michelle arrived from the US. Ruwan is my new room mate and he is a top notch guy. Michelle is also very nice and I think the three of us make a pretty good team.
The USDA Summer camp has started and we are teaching two English classes a day, four times a week. The classes take place in the barrios of Alto Trujillo and El Milagro. These are two very poor neighborhoods in the Eastern outskirts of Trujillo. The “homes” are often nothing more than a couple of bricks and plastic boards, there is no sewage. Stray dogs (as Michelle pointed out some of the dogs look like the nasty creatures in Aliens, except that the creatures from the movie don't have rabies), waste of all sorts and dust dominate the surroundings. This doesn’t prevent the people from smiling at us when we show up with our USDA blue volunteer vests. The children are amazing. They are eager to learn and WANT us to give them homework. I was almost moved to tears when at the end of our classes 10 children came to embrace me. They all want to hold hands with me. The girls kiss my cheek when they leave, the boys prefer to “gimme five” or hug me. They all shout “profesor, profesor” to grab my attention.
The poorest neighborhoods in town have names such as “La Esperanza” (Hope), El Milagro (the miracle), El Porvenir (the future). I guess that this is supposed to instill hope in the hearts of the local populace. Hey! Cheer up; you live in a shack that has no sewage, running water, doors or windows in a place that has an inspiring name. Not amusing.
February 5th
Things are moving at a very rapid pace. So fast that I haven’t had time to update my travel blog. The week end was not as quiet as I had hoped. Another volunteer arrived, Anjana from New York. We went to a goodbye party yesterday night. The party was held in honor of an outbound volunteer and it was in a house of a friend of hers. The house was right in front of a restaurant called Roky’s. There are two pretty large, kitschy dinosaurs in front of the restaurant. I have to try and take pictures of it ASAP. The party itself was in the inner courtyard/garden and there was an impressive temple in honor of the Virgin Mary. Religious icons are almost as popular as football players in the taxis, combis and micros. "I love Jesus" stickers are the absolute favorite, but minute Virgin Mary statues are a very close second.
Today Ruwan and I went to see how USDA sets up the food shelters. The concept is quite interesting. The organization provides a very small weekly budget and the local communities have to organize the cooking and distribution of the food. USDA then supervises the “comedores” to make sure that they are truly providing a community service and working well. The groups charge a minimal amount of money which gets put into a common vault and used to expand other community based activities. I quite like the way this whole project is set up because there is a minimal involvement of the NGO, the true responsibility lies within the hands of the community. We returned to Trujillo and took our combi to Huanchaco. Surfed and played beach volley until the sun went down.
Sunday 6th
Went to the comedor in Las Lomas with Billy. As I have already mentioned the comedor is managed by the Huamanchumo family, who also run the surf shop where Margarita Huamanchumo conveniently lets me store my board. The project is still at the very beginning, but the Huamanchumo family has a BIG heart and are slowly expanding the program. Next Sunday I will teach a geography class. Should be fun.
After the hard work in the kitchen, Billy and I went for a well deserved surf in small long left-handers. The surf was amazing. After the surf we played volleyball with Ruwan, Michelle, Anjana, David (espaanglisch), Carla, Tereza (USDA), Billy, his neighbor Amber from Alaska and a family that is taking Spanish classes from David. The sunset was absolutely amazing and after that we had a Pollo a la brasa (roast chicken). I slept like a baby despite the cuys squeaking, combis honking and ever present blaring salsa music.
Feb 7th
Today I was very proud of myself as I taught a hard class, in a warm class room with many wonderful but hyperactive children and I somehow managed to teach them colors and keep them under control.
During the break I organized races for the children and bought them water. At the Alan Garcia Market in Alto Trujillo people stared at me as if I were an alien. I don’t think they had ever seen a living gringo specimen before. The break between classes is the hardest moment, the kids are full of energy and us teachers are all exhausted. A good trick to prevent total anarchy is to sing songs. Big favorites are the Sandia Song (watermelon song) and the Perequita Song (parrot song). Fortunately Rodrigo, one of the cool USDA volunteers who teaches math, is also a master at singing the aforementioned sedative songs. Who needs Ritalin when you can sing the Sandia-Song? The children are absolutely adorable, I could pack them all in my suitcase and bring them home with me.
Now if you will kindly excuse me I need to get some grocery shopping done. After that I have to prepare an English conversation class and an Italian class.
Friday, January 28, 2011
THE REVENGE OF THE CUYS
23rd of January-28th of January.
On Sunday I was very honored that David invited me to join a family outing. He wanted to take his sister, mom and aunt out to visit the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (the "pyramid" of the Sun and the Moon). I was very happy to tag along as I had been looking forward to visiting this archeological site for the past weeks.
The site is just South of the city of Trujillo, not too distant from the bed of the Moche river. At first sight the two Huacas appear to be nothing more than a pile of dust and sand. Natural erosion, conquistadores and the huaqueros ("tomb robbers") have robbed the impressive Moche temples of their former glory. The Moche are believed to have lived in this area around 100-900 a.C. Archeologists believe that the Huaca on the Northern side of the citadel had administrative purposes, whereas the one on the Southern side was a religious temple. Unfortunately the one on the Northern side (Huaca del Sol) was partially destroyed when the Spanish conquistadores deviated the course of the Moche river in a ridiculous attempt to find Gold. To date the Huaca del Sol hasn't really been investigated. Whereas the Huaca de la Luna is better conserved and has been analyzed by the specialists and is now open to the public.
We received a guided tour, conducted by a young trainee that thought I was a Limeño (inhabitant of Lima). Why, muchas gracias! The tour was interesting and the Huaca was amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how civilizations, Gods, religions, economies are created out of the blue and eventually decline and make place for the "next big thing", but we human beings are still here, still fighting wars, still creating religions, still painting pictures, still making music, etc., etc.
After visiting the Huaca we moved to the brand new museum dedicated to Huacas. The ceramics produced by the Moche were very impressive and there were lots of interesting additional bits of information concerning the city and way of life of the Moche. Eventually the Moche left the Huacas and their old God, moved to Chan Chan and decided to adore a new God. Then the Incas arrived and took over the show. But the Incas didn't last long: Mr. Francisco Pizarro (not Claudio, the Peruvian striker) arrived and conquered Peru in the name of the Spanish crown. And the rest is history.
After visiting the museum we hiked across the desert to the closest restaurant where I tried my first ceviche. Ceviche is a local fish specialty, it is made with raw fish marinated in Lemon/Lime and several spices. It is rather delicious. Peruvians are very proud of their food,and they have reason to be: it is a creative fusion of cooking styles from South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. After eating the ceviche I was wondering why so many gringos have stomach problems... I hadn't had any problems whatsoever and I had been here for over a week eating everything... On Monday night I was going to experience a little punishment.
After a nice Sunday I decided to head to Huanchaco feeling more upbeat than ever. So on Monday Billy and I headed out in the surf and ended up in the middle of a regional surf contest... oops.
I got pounded in the surf and got washed up on the beach like a drowned rat. Slowly I made my way to Trujillo to teach my English conversation class.
Struggled to find a combi back to Trujillo and had to take a taxi back instead. My first student was running late so I needn't have worried. We had an interesting class. I finished the class and David was yelling my name in the background and saying that "we are waiting!". I had forgotten that I had promised him, Lola and Carla (two USDA volunteers) that I would give them Italian classes! So I had to improvise. I didn't do too bad, but I'll have to put more effort into the preparation of the classes. I enjoyed teaching Italian and realized how much I love my "other native language". After the class I cooked a variation of spaghetti alla carrettiera for everyone. I went to sleep and this is when the revenge of the Cuys happened. I couldn't sleep, I felt nauseous, the usual cacophony of taxis honking, people shouting, taxis reversing (they play the: LAMBADA), Cuys squeaking and rooster singing (you tell me: in what other country in the world does a rooster sing every five minutes all day and night long???!!!!). The nausea kept on escalating and soon enough I was running to the toilet not quite sure what side to start from if you understand what I mean. Now more then ever I cursed myself for wondering why everyone had stomach problems. I spent most of the night looking like a not so pretty version of the Trevi fountain... and have spent the past three days feeling pretty wretched. Today I am a human being again and thought it was time for me to update everyone back home on the great experiences and the not so great ones that I have been through in the past week.
Yesterday night I ventured out of the house with Billy, who is a nutritionist (as I think I might have mentioned in the past) and we headed to Huanchaco where he held a presentation on healthy eating and I translated into Spanish (!!!!). The purpose of the presentation was to see if it could be suitable for us to replicate it in front of children at a food shelter in one of the poor neighborhoods. Despite my precarious conditions we were a roaring hit and it was unanimously decided that this coming Sunday we will be helping out at the food shelter and doing another presentation for the children, to make sure their parents give them all the nutrients they need.
There is currently a big traditional dance festival going on here in Trujillo, so every couple of hours a large double-decker bus drives by with music glaring and two dancers dressed in the traditional Marinera robes.
I went to the supermarket yesterday and they had two people dancing around in the sports department and the music blaring.
I always thought that Italians had a fascination with all that is loud and colorful... maybe so, but Peruvians like it louder and even more colorful! Yay! Que chévere!
Two things I love about Peru that I forgot to tell you:
-at night it is not rare to see people set up a volleyball net across a busy street and play volleyball. If a car comes by they dismantle the net and promptly reassemble it. How practical!
-some taxis have amazing interior AND exterior lighting systems that make them look like moving discotheques! I wish we had taxis like this back home! Blue, red, green, intermittent, patterns, yellow,orange, pink, blink, blink, blink! Don't think the Swiss Road Vehicle Homologation Office would approve of tampering with the car's electrical system. What a shame.
On Sunday I was very honored that David invited me to join a family outing. He wanted to take his sister, mom and aunt out to visit the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (the "pyramid" of the Sun and the Moon). I was very happy to tag along as I had been looking forward to visiting this archeological site for the past weeks.
The site is just South of the city of Trujillo, not too distant from the bed of the Moche river. At first sight the two Huacas appear to be nothing more than a pile of dust and sand. Natural erosion, conquistadores and the huaqueros ("tomb robbers") have robbed the impressive Moche temples of their former glory. The Moche are believed to have lived in this area around 100-900 a.C. Archeologists believe that the Huaca on the Northern side of the citadel had administrative purposes, whereas the one on the Southern side was a religious temple. Unfortunately the one on the Northern side (Huaca del Sol) was partially destroyed when the Spanish conquistadores deviated the course of the Moche river in a ridiculous attempt to find Gold. To date the Huaca del Sol hasn't really been investigated. Whereas the Huaca de la Luna is better conserved and has been analyzed by the specialists and is now open to the public.
 |
| Huaca del Sol, Moche city in the foreground and Trujillo in the background |
We received a guided tour, conducted by a young trainee that thought I was a Limeño (inhabitant of Lima). Why, muchas gracias! The tour was interesting and the Huaca was amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how civilizations, Gods, religions, economies are created out of the blue and eventually decline and make place for the "next big thing", but we human beings are still here, still fighting wars, still creating religions, still painting pictures, still making music, etc., etc.
 |
| Me, David's Mom and Sister inside the Huaca de la Luna |
 |
| The external wall of the Huaca de la Luna |
 |
| Ai apaec, the main Moche God. This painting is most likely more than 1500 years old. |
After visiting the Huaca we moved to the brand new museum dedicated to Huacas. The ceramics produced by the Moche were very impressive and there were lots of interesting additional bits of information concerning the city and way of life of the Moche. Eventually the Moche left the Huacas and their old God, moved to Chan Chan and decided to adore a new God. Then the Incas arrived and took over the show. But the Incas didn't last long: Mr. Francisco Pizarro (not Claudio, the Peruvian striker) arrived and conquered Peru in the name of the Spanish crown. And the rest is history.
 |
| View from the museum |
 |
| Guy posing in what is supposedly a traditional Moche designer suit... |
After visiting the museum we hiked across the desert to the closest restaurant where I tried my first ceviche. Ceviche is a local fish specialty, it is made with raw fish marinated in Lemon/Lime and several spices. It is rather delicious. Peruvians are very proud of their food,and they have reason to be: it is a creative fusion of cooking styles from South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. After eating the ceviche I was wondering why so many gringos have stomach problems... I hadn't had any problems whatsoever and I had been here for over a week eating everything... On Monday night I was going to experience a little punishment.
 | ||
| Our Sunday lunch. Tia Carmen doesn't like pictures as you can see. |
After a nice Sunday I decided to head to Huanchaco feeling more upbeat than ever. So on Monday Billy and I headed out in the surf and ended up in the middle of a regional surf contest... oops.
I got pounded in the surf and got washed up on the beach like a drowned rat. Slowly I made my way to Trujillo to teach my English conversation class.
 |
| The jetty in Huanchaco |
 |
| Surfer, the long left |
 |
| Surfer heading out for the surf at mid tide on the sharp rocks. I look ridiculous when I try to do this. |
 |
| La playa en Huanchaco |
 |
| The locals claim that the Caballitos de Totora are the oldest surfboards in the world. Don't tell the Hawaiians. |
Struggled to find a combi back to Trujillo and had to take a taxi back instead. My first student was running late so I needn't have worried. We had an interesting class. I finished the class and David was yelling my name in the background and saying that "we are waiting!". I had forgotten that I had promised him, Lola and Carla (two USDA volunteers) that I would give them Italian classes! So I had to improvise. I didn't do too bad, but I'll have to put more effort into the preparation of the classes. I enjoyed teaching Italian and realized how much I love my "other native language". After the class I cooked a variation of spaghetti alla carrettiera for everyone. I went to sleep and this is when the revenge of the Cuys happened. I couldn't sleep, I felt nauseous, the usual cacophony of taxis honking, people shouting, taxis reversing (they play the: LAMBADA), Cuys squeaking and rooster singing (you tell me: in what other country in the world does a rooster sing every five minutes all day and night long???!!!!). The nausea kept on escalating and soon enough I was running to the toilet not quite sure what side to start from if you understand what I mean. Now more then ever I cursed myself for wondering why everyone had stomach problems. I spent most of the night looking like a not so pretty version of the Trevi fountain... and have spent the past three days feeling pretty wretched. Today I am a human being again and thought it was time for me to update everyone back home on the great experiences and the not so great ones that I have been through in the past week.
Yesterday night I ventured out of the house with Billy, who is a nutritionist (as I think I might have mentioned in the past) and we headed to Huanchaco where he held a presentation on healthy eating and I translated into Spanish (!!!!). The purpose of the presentation was to see if it could be suitable for us to replicate it in front of children at a food shelter in one of the poor neighborhoods. Despite my precarious conditions we were a roaring hit and it was unanimously decided that this coming Sunday we will be helping out at the food shelter and doing another presentation for the children, to make sure their parents give them all the nutrients they need.
There is currently a big traditional dance festival going on here in Trujillo, so every couple of hours a large double-decker bus drives by with music glaring and two dancers dressed in the traditional Marinera robes.
I went to the supermarket yesterday and they had two people dancing around in the sports department and the music blaring.
I always thought that Italians had a fascination with all that is loud and colorful... maybe so, but Peruvians like it louder and even more colorful! Yay! Que chévere!
Two things I love about Peru that I forgot to tell you:
-at night it is not rare to see people set up a volleyball net across a busy street and play volleyball. If a car comes by they dismantle the net and promptly reassemble it. How practical!
-some taxis have amazing interior AND exterior lighting systems that make them look like moving discotheques! I wish we had taxis like this back home! Blue, red, green, intermittent, patterns, yellow,orange, pink, blink, blink, blink! Don't think the Swiss Road Vehicle Homologation Office would approve of tampering with the car's electrical system. What a shame.
Judgement day for the "Cuys"
22nd of January, my first week in Peru.
Yesterday was an exciting day for me: I surfed the best wave of my life to date in Huanchaco, ate Sudado de pez for the first time and went to my first Peruvian party. But the best part is that I was told that today we would eat the cuy!
The wave was a long left hander, it felt like it went on for ever and ever. When you catch a wave it feels like time has stopped, when you catch a long wave it feels like time has stopped and you are in paradise. The best thing is that you carry the good vibrations around with you for the rest of the day. After the surf I went to a Restaurant called El Pez Cholo and had a delicious 2 course meal for 5 soles (~1.8 CHF/USD). In the evening I taught my second conversation class, the topic was "Globalization/business". I enjoy teaching the conversation classes because I feel I learn as much as the students if not more. I teach young Peruvians, so to hear their outlook on life and view of the world is very interesting for me. After the conversation class we went to a goodbye party for Elena, a Swiss volunteer at USDA (una sonrisa de amor) that will be returning home. She was very sad to leave her new found friends and got a very warm goodbye party. I also received an impromptu Salsa class. Everyone in Peru can dance! I think they learn how to dance before they learn how to walk. In Europe I could get away with "pretending to know how to dance"... no chance around here. I will have to take dance classes, because at parties the music is Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue and you have to know how to dance, else you look out of place. My favorite music here is Regueton, not because I like the sound of it, but because it is the only dance that doesn't have any particular dance style.... "wiggle around just a little bit."
DISCLAIMER:if you are opposed to animal cruelty do not read any further ;) You have been warned!
As I already mentioned, yesterday Carmen said we would eat cuy today. This was like music to my ears.
You are probably wondering what cuy is and why I am looking forward to eat it...
Well, cuys are guinea pigs. I knew they were a local delicacy and to say the truth I wasn't dying to try it... however that was before I moved here. Now, I know what most of you are thinking "oh, how disgusting, how could you eat the poor little pet"; I would like you to stop for just one second and consider the following: I am sure that in the region you live in it is acceptable to eat certain dishes that are considered disgusting in the rest of the world. In Southern Switzerland it is perfectly acceptable to eat horse meat or rabbit, this is seen as abominable in many other parts of the world. In most parts of Europe and the USA people eat pork meat, this is seen as disgusting and impure by other cultures. In Botswana people eat the Mopani worm, in Southern Korea some people eat dog meat, in the Amazon people eat ants, the list is almost endless! And last, but not least, have you ever tried Guinea Pig? How do you know it is disgusting if you have never tried it?
No, the air of Peru didn't make me crave eating the cuy. You see, the thing is: I live right above the courtyard with a guinea pig enclosure. I remember that in Europe many people would have them as pets. Because guinea pigs are cute, right? WRONG! They are not cute, they are high frequency squeaky beings that are predominantly active at night with the sole intent of keeping me awake. They sound as if they had swallowed one of those squeaky toys that babies or puppies play with. So ever since I moved into my room I have been secretly hoping that David's family would have a celebration of sorts and we would eat the cuys. My prayers have been answered, David's mom has come to visit us, and as I type this I can smell the aroma of frying meat fill the air... ahhh, the sweet smell of revenge over the cuy.
They are calling me for lunch now. More about the cuy in the next episode.
So we just had lunch, my intention was to run to Huanchaco for a surf, but the delicious fried cuy I ate is still lingering somewhere in my intestine, I will therefore wait a little while and tell you about the cuy.
The meat is tender and reminds me vaguely of chicken although it has a distinct taste of its own. With the cuy we had Inca Kola, the national drink. Inca Kola looks like radioactive urine samples from Chernobyl and tastes like Big Bubble Bubble gum with a twist. How it became the national drink, I really don't know, but truth be said I cannot bring myself to dislike it.
David's aunt Carmen is amazing, she always makes extra sure that I am doing well and even cooks for me every day despite the fact that I told her not to. I have stopped protesting because her food is just too good. She won't even let me do the dishes when we finish our food.
Unfortunately guinea pigs aren't very meaty.
Inca Kola looks more fluorescent in real life than it does in pictures.
Well that will teach them to make funny squeaky sounds all night long!
Yesterday was an exciting day for me: I surfed the best wave of my life to date in Huanchaco, ate Sudado de pez for the first time and went to my first Peruvian party. But the best part is that I was told that today we would eat the cuy!
The wave was a long left hander, it felt like it went on for ever and ever. When you catch a wave it feels like time has stopped, when you catch a long wave it feels like time has stopped and you are in paradise. The best thing is that you carry the good vibrations around with you for the rest of the day. After the surf I went to a Restaurant called El Pez Cholo and had a delicious 2 course meal for 5 soles (~1.8 CHF/USD). In the evening I taught my second conversation class, the topic was "Globalization/business". I enjoy teaching the conversation classes because I feel I learn as much as the students if not more. I teach young Peruvians, so to hear their outlook on life and view of the world is very interesting for me. After the conversation class we went to a goodbye party for Elena, a Swiss volunteer at USDA (una sonrisa de amor) that will be returning home. She was very sad to leave her new found friends and got a very warm goodbye party. I also received an impromptu Salsa class. Everyone in Peru can dance! I think they learn how to dance before they learn how to walk. In Europe I could get away with "pretending to know how to dance"... no chance around here. I will have to take dance classes, because at parties the music is Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue and you have to know how to dance, else you look out of place. My favorite music here is Regueton, not because I like the sound of it, but because it is the only dance that doesn't have any particular dance style.... "wiggle around just a little bit."
DISCLAIMER:if you are opposed to animal cruelty do not read any further ;) You have been warned!
As I already mentioned, yesterday Carmen said we would eat cuy today. This was like music to my ears.
You are probably wondering what cuy is and why I am looking forward to eat it...
Well, cuys are guinea pigs. I knew they were a local delicacy and to say the truth I wasn't dying to try it... however that was before I moved here. Now, I know what most of you are thinking "oh, how disgusting, how could you eat the poor little pet"; I would like you to stop for just one second and consider the following: I am sure that in the region you live in it is acceptable to eat certain dishes that are considered disgusting in the rest of the world. In Southern Switzerland it is perfectly acceptable to eat horse meat or rabbit, this is seen as abominable in many other parts of the world. In most parts of Europe and the USA people eat pork meat, this is seen as disgusting and impure by other cultures. In Botswana people eat the Mopani worm, in Southern Korea some people eat dog meat, in the Amazon people eat ants, the list is almost endless! And last, but not least, have you ever tried Guinea Pig? How do you know it is disgusting if you have never tried it?
 |
| Today's lunch, with BIO certification |
No, the air of Peru didn't make me crave eating the cuy. You see, the thing is: I live right above the courtyard with a guinea pig enclosure. I remember that in Europe many people would have them as pets. Because guinea pigs are cute, right? WRONG! They are not cute, they are high frequency squeaky beings that are predominantly active at night with the sole intent of keeping me awake. They sound as if they had swallowed one of those squeaky toys that babies or puppies play with. So ever since I moved into my room I have been secretly hoping that David's family would have a celebration of sorts and we would eat the cuys. My prayers have been answered, David's mom has come to visit us, and as I type this I can smell the aroma of frying meat fill the air... ahhh, the sweet smell of revenge over the cuy.
They are calling me for lunch now. More about the cuy in the next episode.
So we just had lunch, my intention was to run to Huanchaco for a surf, but the delicious fried cuy I ate is still lingering somewhere in my intestine, I will therefore wait a little while and tell you about the cuy.
The meat is tender and reminds me vaguely of chicken although it has a distinct taste of its own. With the cuy we had Inca Kola, the national drink. Inca Kola looks like radioactive urine samples from Chernobyl and tastes like Big Bubble Bubble gum with a twist. How it became the national drink, I really don't know, but truth be said I cannot bring myself to dislike it.
 | ||
| Left to right: Henry (one of David's students), David, Tia Carmen, Sam (David's brother), la Señora Mercedes (David's mom). |
 |
| My first fried cuy. Hmmm, que rico! |
 |
| Sam and the national drink: Inca Kola! |
 |
| Fried Cuy and Inca Kola! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)