Interesting Peruvian Experiences

So we were originally just supposed to stay in Arequipa a couple of days and were planning on being in Puno by Thursday or Friday at the latest. But then Padre Juan called and said he wouldn´t be back in Puno until Friday night so we decided to buy a bus ticket for Saturday morning. Then Juan called and said he would be back until Sunday. So we changed our bus ticket to Sunday morning. So that´s why we´re still sitting in Arequipa. Honestly I´m a bit restless...there isn´t a whole lot to do that we haven´t arleady done. I would love to just get to Puno and get started doing the work that I came here to do. I have a feeling as well that once I really get into the work, hopefully it will make time not go by quite so slow anymore. So anyway, I don´t have much to do today. I´m sitting in this internet cafe listening to old American music that the owner is blasting loud throughout the whole cafe. Right now I´m enjoying Coolio´s Gangsta´s Paradise, lol. Takes me back to 5th grade!

I thought I would take a moment today to reflect on some of the things that have happenned that have just been interesting/odd or just plain entertaining to me.

First, a lot of times in the restaurants that are trying to attract tourists they´ll have menu items in Spanish and in English. But sometimes the translation gets a little fuzzy. I have a feeling instead of finding someone who knows both Spanish and English to do the translating they either just type it into a tranlator or they just look up words in a Spanish-English dictionary. So a lot of time the direct translation doesn´t always make sense in English. Case in point: as many of you know in the Andes mountains they serve Coca Tea because it helps with altitude related discomforts. That is, tea made from the leaves of the same plant that people use to make cocaine. Now the tea is not even similar to cocaine so don´t worry...but on the menu they translated Mate de Coca (Spanish version) to Kill of Cocaine (English Version). Then apparantly someone pointed out their faux pas. Because kill of cocaine was crossed out and handwritten beside it was coca tea.

Then, it was time to wash some clothes. So we took our clothes to a Lavanderia (Laundry Mat). Now in Peru you drop off your clothes and the people there wash them, fold them, etc. and you come back the next day and pick them up. However I see why most people wash their clothes by hand here. First off, it cost S./ 50 (50 Soles) which is the equivalent to about $17!!! If I had put the clothing that I gave to the man in a washing machine...it would not have even been half a load. So after I paid $17 for half a load of laundry, I got them back to our room and realized that this man had stapled a tiny piece of paper to each and every article of clothing that I gave him! So then I sat for about a half an hour and picked staples out of my shirts, pants, socks, bras...everything! I would call myself one of the least satified customers of all time...its funny I guess, but it will be funnier later after my annoyedness has worn off a bit.

Let´s see...there are lots of dogs running around. All muts, mostly stray. But at least I haven´t really seen any people here mistreating the dogs. In Guatemala I saw people straight up kicking the dogs, and I haven´t seen anything like that yet. I did even see a dog that looked exactly like a wolf! I wanted to take him home. I´ve always loved dogs that look like wolves, that´s probably why I love huskies so much.

Another thing...I thought it would be fairly obvious to people that I am an American. I guess I have this stereotype of an ignorant American that knows no other language besides English (which is what I am but what I´m trying to change by learning Spanish) that I fulfill. But I guess there are people in other countries who only know their own language as well. Because I have been asked so far if I was French, Canadian and Belgian!

There are security guards everywhere! Every bank, department store, neighborhood, some restaurants, all have security guards. The ones in the neighborhood where I am staying ride around on their bike all hours of the day and night...blowing these whistles! Its so obnoxious! At 2 in the morning they´re riding by the window blowing their dag-on whistles! We asked the wife in the house we´re staying in why? And she said its just so that everyone will know they are there...so there will be a sense of security knowing the security guards are on the prowl. When I found out their reasoning I was even more blown. To me, and I guess I´m just a foreigner who´s not used to the culture, but it seemed insane. I haven´t slept through the night once and I could attribute that to two things. The fact that I can´t breath (I am so congested these days) and the fact that there is a whistle being blown outside my window every 15 minutes. It reminds me of that Orson Wells book (1980 something...) where they had installed these whistles in the brains of the smartest people so that they would lose their train of thought every 10 minutes or so and everyone would be of equal intelligence levels.

Let me think, what else?
All the food is very greasey. They serve French Fries (Papas Fritas) with EVERYthing! They put them on Sandwhiches. They stir fry them with meat and vegetables.
All the cars here spew out nasty black exhaust. I went running yesterday and by the time Ig ot back my eyes and nose burned from the polution. Its enough to make me not even want to run :( But if I combine not running with greasey fatty foods I may not be pleased with the outcome.

I´m just very eager to get to Puno, get settled in with my family, get started on the work, just trying to get into a routine. I want to be able to know a little bit what to expect from day to day. I mean, I don´t mind being a spontaneous person and I actually enjoy that to a certain extent. Being in the same routine week after week, month after month usually ends up with me becoming less and less motivated. But having complete uncertainty in what to expect can be just plain stressful on the human psyche. So hopefully by this time next week I´ll have a lot of these questions in my head answered. Who will I be staying with? Will I have my own room? Will there be running water, electricity, internet? Will the clothes I have be warm enough? Will I be able to get to a store on a regular basis? Will I be able to cook for myself so I can stop eating greasy food all the time? What will a work-day look like for me? I just want a few answers and I think it would ease my mind a great bit.

But that´s it for now, I will try to get on here in Puno at some point...hopefully with some of these questions answered as well.

Also, I don´t want to portray the wrong message. Yes it is a bit stressful having to much uncertainty, but don´t worry about me. A certain amount of stress is okay, and I´m not overly stressed. I just think things will start to be easier once I have some answers and once I learn a little bit more Spanish.

You know speaking of that, when I see people in America that can´t speak English, I definately try to help them and empathize with them (if I´m interacting with them). But I hate to say it, I have this assumption for whatever reason that they are less educated than I am because they don´t know English. And now living in a country where I don´t speak the native language I realize that is absolutely not true. Just because some people in America can´t speak English doesn´t mean they are uneducated. And we should try to help them every change we have. We shouldn´t ostracize them for not being able to speak English yet. Trust me, they would if they could and I´m sure they are working on it as best they can. So enough with these statements like: You´re in America, now speak English! That´s bull...we are supposed to be a country for people to come to, not one that makes people feel stupid and unwanted when they first get here. And we should try to find as many Spanish options for those people as possible to help them with the transition. If we are truly a country founded on Christian principles, then we should be loving, accepting and helpful to everyone! Maybe even especially the people who are in our country who don´t know English. I can finally sympathize with them. And its hard.

Okay, I´m off my soapbox...out.
:)