Two weeks ago (Wow! has it really gone by that fast? crazy.) was Semana Santa. It proved to be distinctly different from the same week at home in the states...surprise, surprise. I had known it would be different ever since people started talking about the 12 platters of food they eat on Good Friday, without ever a mention of Easter.
Last Sunday I went to visit Luis in Juliaca. On my way through the chaos of the Sunday market, I noticed a steady stream of people holding elaborately woven palm fronds. They were almost more like decorative baskets with little religious pictures and stickers interspersed than any palm from I have previously seen. I assumed these fronds were acquired after attending Sunday mass, but later, as I was walking through the "center" (I don't think there really is a center of Juliaca) with Luis, this assumption was corrected. There was a whole street of vendors (mostly women as usual) selling and weaving the fronds! I was not really that surprised because (somewhat like Hallmark) every small holiday (Holy days especially) is seized as an opportunity to hawk their kitschy goods.
The week progressed with everyone talking excitedly about Viernes Santo (Good Friday) and all the platters they were going to eat. This included Fredy and Isidora (the mother of my new family) talking about different ways to cook chicken. Fredy insisted that he knows how to do rotisserie style, which led Isidora to think about lecherón (roasted suckling pig? I think?), which they don't eat because they're Adventistas del Séptimo Día who don't eat pigs because they're not ruminants. Anyway, all this talk of food was making me hungry.
On Wednesday I went over to the Cari Puma's to give Erica the pancake recipe that we had used to make some delicious flapjacks the other night. While there we talked for a little while about the coming festivities and she suggested, timidly excited, that we climb the cerro (mountain/hill) that extends from Chijnaya to Pucará and go to the Peñon. At first I was hesitant because I'd been warned repeatedly that the climb was long and arduous and that I might not make it. Then I decided that for heaven's sake it was Erica that was asking me, and how could I possibly turn her down? Plus climbing the cerro is a great tradition for Viernes Santo, and who am I to skip out on Peruvian traditions? So the next day I went back to tell her that I wanted to go. There in her house I was greeted enthusiastically with hugs from Erica and Ruthy, and pan, bananas, and a mandarin from Sra. Juana, her son-in-law, and Beatriz who looks well on the way to recovery from her mysterious and rather horrible illness of this past Christmas (she also told me she's feeling well). These unexpected family members had come to celebrate the pascuas in Chijnaya. The whole family soon had to leave to attend to the cows, and I went with Erica to help her with the sheep. I told her that I did indeed want to go to the Peñon, and she suggested that we also ask her cousin Eli (my ahijada from her baile promocional for graduating colegio) if she also wanted to go. Erica sent me off alone to ask Eli if she wanted to come, as she didn't want to go herself for fear that Eli would say no...thinking that I would have more success in convincing her to come. It turned out that Erica's fears were unnecessary. Eli enthusiastically agreed, and her mom informed me that Eli had been wondering who she was going to go with and had been hoping someone would ask her.
That night at 6.30 (when it had already gotten dark!) we set out, with Umberto in tow (he decided spontaneously that he rather quite wanted to go...despite warnings that he would be the only 10 year old there). He said he was going to come with us only "medio camino," but ended up coming the whole way. We mostly walked in darkness under the light of the stars, to avoid night blindnes from flashlights. We walked for maybe two miles on the road created by herding cows, then, at some seemingly random point, Eli and Erica decided to turn off the now rather rutted path to start the ascent of the cerro. We started climbing and I surprised myself by keeping up quite well with these mountain, cow-herding hardened 16 (and 10) year olds. While climbing a small group behind us (marked by a bobbing flashlight) kept whistling up to us. Umberto and I sent back silly whistles, but the two girls were surprising silent, besides some giggling. At the top of the cerrito (not the summit, by any means) that we were climbing, Eli and Erica decided that it was the right moment to hide from the coming group. Why exactly they found this necessary I don't know, but like I said, they're 16. Anyway, I didn't mind too much as I lay down and looked up to revel under the broad Andean sky filled with stars.
Once the other group had passed, we continued on, going really quite slowly, without a light, relying on the slowly rising moon that was still behind the cerro. Luckily, the way was littered with light colored rocks that substantially helped our foot placement decision-making. Dover, Erica's dog, bounded along in front of us, appearing and disappearing like a travioso mountain ghost. About 3/4 of the way up, two lights ahead of us stopped and shone down on us, blinding us off and on. With the lights came shouts of "Leah" in a voice that could only come from a young man named Uber who, for lack of a better term, is the town's self-assured punk. I actually quite like him besides all the bad rap he gets. Anyway, the group that we had hid from was now taking a rest and had decided to wait for us. When we caught up with them we found Uber in the company of Fidel (who I thought was Beto because of his sweater), his sister Rosemery, and Dina's brother Daniel. We continued up with them for a ways, but separated pretty quickly due to different paces and the fact that the two groups simply didn't gel. After passing a stand of trees that I thought was close to the top, we started going around the mountain. We ended up at the bottom of another little cerrito that finished at the highest point of the whole cerro: the Peñon overlooking Pucará and the flat valleys extending to Azangaro and Juliaca. On the way up I was informed that we had to tie 3 pieces of grass with our left hand before descending the Peñon. We left the path to try to do this and it was at this point, as I was bent over struggling with a single strand, that Milan and Fredy showed up.
With them we quickly summited to be greeted by a pile of rocks glowing with candles from inside little casitas people had made. The summit is topped with three crosses and lined by stone walls and, on some sides, by sheer cliff face. Milan and Fredy, who had summited 45 minutes faster than us, decided it was too windy and cold at the top, so went off in search of a different spot. They soon came back to fetch us and we followed them to a rather cozy nook where people in past years had made large(r) stone houses. We set to work making the casitas and soon our candles were glowing, and I was getting cold.
But the night was brillian, with a bright waning moon reflecting off the Rio Grande far below and casting shadows in the ravines running down the softly lit cerros in the distance. The Peñon was full of people, but in our nook we could hardly hear the noise. Only once we were distracted by a drunken teenager stumbling over Erica to fall into a shrub tree where he stayed for a good 15 minutes as we speculated as to whether he was dead or just passed out. I shared some big popped corn (different from popcorn, but kind of like kettle corn) with Milan, Fredy, and Umberto, while I wondered why Erica and Eli didn't join us. Milan and Fredy, though, just looked over at the girls, heads covered by a blanket and both looking into the candlelight of their little houses, and simply said that they're timid and probably don't want to talk with them. The girls looked pretty content just spending time with each other, heads covered against the cold wind of the Peñon and faces warmed by their candles. Finally, around 11.00 we made a fire out of rather green branches and hay, and kept ourselves occupied with it until it was about time to head down.
As we started down we lost Erica close to the top, when I stopped to take a picture (at the insistence of Fredy and Umberto) of a cool little candle house. Apparently, though, she had told Eli that she was going to head dow, so I only worried about her sporadically. We headed down quite fast, guided by the now very strong moonlight, and actually following a path around the mountain this time. When we had come we had slipped and slided down a slope through pointy and poky trees. At one point we were greeted by Dover alone, and we wondered where Erica had gotten off to. It turned out, as I found out two days later, that Erica had been waiting for us around there, but somehow we had passed her without even realizing! Well, we continued on with Dover, talking only now and then, as we skipped, slid, ran, and got punctured by spiky plants on the way down until we finally reached the cow road. While walking I noticed the inverted Big Dipper which I mentioned to Fredy and said we call it, translated into Spanish, "El Gran Cucharón." Apparently, as I found out the next night, they call it "Awan," in reference to the back-strap weaving common to the area. We finally got home at 2.00 at which point Umberto declared that he was practically drunk (on sleepiness) and stumbled into the house.
Viernes Santo itself turned out to be a bit of a bust. We only made a soup with papa lisa (a weird tuber thingy) and habas and potatoes, and then fried trout with rice and potatoes. Apparently there weren't enough dried cow pies to stoke the fire for more platters.
On Sunday I went to the worst Easter mass ever with a girl named Narby (who turns out to be the mayors daughter) in which people were walking up and down the aisles, talking on cell phones, and talking with their kids about what color sweater they like better. Also the priest couldn't seem to figure out how to work his microphone, so all we heard was "static. static. Jesus! static. static." Very illuminating. But then we went to an Easter party and had yummy soup and asado, so it was ok.
Well, my friend Sarah Charley from Bates is now here with me and we have been continuing with English classes in the colegio, and afternoon classes in Chijnaya. It's been great to have someone else here to help give me new ideas for classes, and for just some good old conversation! Yesterday we went to Juliaca to visit Luis and made some yummy brownies, some of which we saved for Fredy's birthday tonight! We're also planning on making some pizza in a fry-bake setup...wish us luck!
Until next time! Tupanachiskama!
Los Andes
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Una Nueva Vivienda
Living in a new family always brings its own adventures, whether big or small. This family, the Paricela Yanquis ( or 'Los Libios' according to César) are very, very different from the Hallasi Quispes, César and Paula's family. There are 11 siblings, some of whom I doubt I will ever meet, and five of them are living, however temporarily, at home. Others of them are also living in Chijnaya with there own families, and the rest are mostly in Juliaca. The effect of so many siblings seems to show itself in the younger ones through their independence and creativity. They don't seem to rely on their parents much at all for sources of entertainment or what to do with their day, unlike Beto and Richard who are often in the company of their parents lending to a very different family dynamic. Los Libios are also, seemingly, quite self-assured. This, I think, comes from their parents who are very thoughtful people, steady, attentive, and loving. Their father is also demanding, expecting the best out of each of his children and supporting them as they pursue their various (but not outlandish) interests. What all this results in, as far as I can tell, is a stable family who all enjoy one another's company, and who know how to have good fun as well as being able to accomplish a lot with what they're given.
The real stars of my experience with this family are the three youngest--Libio, Umberto, and Delia. Libio is 13 or 14 and going into his third year of colegio, or freshman year in our terms. He is a gentle, responsible older brother who is incredibly intelligent and obviously going somewhere. He also Loves playing games, like Capture the Ball, which he often heads up, gets underway, and more or less refs (although this is a hard job for anybody...usually disputes just get settle between the two people involved). Umberto is around 11 and going into 6th grade...basically I can see him being a magician when he's older. He loves trying out new tricks, making other people laugh, is creative, and also seems to like being by himself more than the others. He's hysterical...I wish I could remember some of his quotes to share with you...I'll try to remember some for next time. He puts a lot of emphasis on the middle of the key word to whatever he is saying...like 'gigAAnte aguila'...in a deeper voice. It's pretty amazing. Delia is 8 or 9 (I forget which) and is...daydreamy. When she gets going she Really gets going, but normally she's staring off into space singing to herself. Apparently, her mother tells me, she used to be super helpful, cooking, milking cows, doing all her homework, etc. but now she just says 'Ya no puedo mami...me da flojera' ('I can't anymore mommy...it makes me lazy') and goes off and plays. She also, not surprisingly, has a Huge imagination and loves to draw.
With these three I've already had a number of adventures. At the beginning of my stay with them all they wanted to do was play cards and would often come busting into my rooming looking to see what I was up to. That has slowed down a bit as the novelty of me is wearing off slightly, but we still play a whole lot. Three days ago they took me with them to arrear (herd/graze) the cows and they had fun laughing at me as I cut down wheat with them in a way that was, apparently, totally silly...though I personally couldn't see it : ). Two days ago I went with them again, though farther away, and we found lots and lots of bees that had their holes in the dirt. Umberto almost immediately set to digging out these holes while I, briefly, looked on horrified that he was going to get stung like crazy by all these bees, and then when I realized he wasn't, I went to watch him and to attempt to take pictures of the bees going in and out of their holes. Delia and Libio joined in and soon found what they called honey, but what I would call condensed pollen, which they ate exclaiming over its deliciousness. I avoided it afraid of parasites (which probably don't exist in condensed pollen)...but I can imagine. Then we had what amounts to a photo shoot, running around to various scenic places and taking one anothers photos...in the canihua (don't ask me what it is...I have no idea), pulling out weeds in the wheat, in the habas (lima beans), by some pretty flowers, and then up in a tree. The tree had coincidentally dropped a substantial limb that we broke with rocks so we could bring it back to the house for firewood. The day ended with a wild ride on a too small bicycle carrying me, Delia, and, occasionaly, Umberto. The bike had a rather low tire and a broken stuff-carrier thingy on the back, so Delia rode on the bar in front of me, and when the road wasn't too bumpy (as in small streams going across) Umberto somehow got himself onto small protrusions hold together the front tire and held on there, crouching so I could see over him. The ride amounted to something that looked vaguely like Guido and family's ride in Life is Beautiful...only with cows as obstacles rather than buildings...debateable which is worse...buildings don't kick or scare.
Yesterday Umberto and I found ourselves mysteriously by ourselves in the house...I totally missed the whole cow leaving part...Where was I? So I asked him what he was up to and he said he didn't know, then suddenly had a brilliant idea...we could pasear to the cerro (walk around on the mountain/hill). I said sure, Great! and he said we could also paint. I assumed this meant painting on paper, but when I asked him a little later if he was ready to go and where the paper was he just said Oh! we're not bringing paper! We're going to paint on rocks! Well, Sweet! I said...or maybe that's just what I thought because I don't know of an equivalent to sweet! in spanish. So we walked more or less Straight up the hill/mountain until we came to some pretty sweet cliffs. Umberto, hands on hips, looked around and decided on a place that would be good to paint. We set to work with Yalo the dog looking on. I decided to paint a god-hand reaching towards something unknown, but when Umberto saw it he was skeptical and said it looked more like a puma. So I decided to give it black fingernails and yellow 'energy' lines for effect...it turned out looking like a deranged monster hand, mostly because the rest of it was blue. Umberto drew a nice apple and banana, then decided that was too tame so took to drawing daggers dripping in blood. Then I drew an eagle that ended up looking like a large seagull that was too big for the rock it was on. This was ammended by having the second wing not stretched out, but right along side the other one. Umberto liked the look of this deranged bird, so helped me paint it some stunning colors. In the end this strange eagle/seagull looked like a multicolored ninja off to incompetently fight its foes.
Besides Libio, Umberto, and Delia, there are also two older brothers living in the house. Fredy is 22 and works (or worked? I'm not really sure) in the gold mines four hours away from Juliaca. He is very talkative, friendly, and seems to have perpetually good humor. Recently the stars have been dominating the sky rather than clouds, and Fredy and I have had nice conversations talking about different constellations. Milan is 17 and just graduated from high school and may or may not be about to start a sort of technical college. He's also a very good humored guy, but much more reserved than the others, so I don't know him too well yet.
Well, it looks like I've fallen back to my old ways of incredibly wordy, long blog posts...I hope you all continue to enjoy reading anyway! I'll keep you updated on any further adventures in the weeks to come.
The real stars of my experience with this family are the three youngest--Libio, Umberto, and Delia. Libio is 13 or 14 and going into his third year of colegio, or freshman year in our terms. He is a gentle, responsible older brother who is incredibly intelligent and obviously going somewhere. He also Loves playing games, like Capture the Ball, which he often heads up, gets underway, and more or less refs (although this is a hard job for anybody...usually disputes just get settle between the two people involved). Umberto is around 11 and going into 6th grade...basically I can see him being a magician when he's older. He loves trying out new tricks, making other people laugh, is creative, and also seems to like being by himself more than the others. He's hysterical...I wish I could remember some of his quotes to share with you...I'll try to remember some for next time. He puts a lot of emphasis on the middle of the key word to whatever he is saying...like 'gigAAnte aguila'...in a deeper voice. It's pretty amazing. Delia is 8 or 9 (I forget which) and is...daydreamy. When she gets going she Really gets going, but normally she's staring off into space singing to herself. Apparently, her mother tells me, she used to be super helpful, cooking, milking cows, doing all her homework, etc. but now she just says 'Ya no puedo mami...me da flojera' ('I can't anymore mommy...it makes me lazy') and goes off and plays. She also, not surprisingly, has a Huge imagination and loves to draw.
With these three I've already had a number of adventures. At the beginning of my stay with them all they wanted to do was play cards and would often come busting into my rooming looking to see what I was up to. That has slowed down a bit as the novelty of me is wearing off slightly, but we still play a whole lot. Three days ago they took me with them to arrear (herd/graze) the cows and they had fun laughing at me as I cut down wheat with them in a way that was, apparently, totally silly...though I personally couldn't see it : ). Two days ago I went with them again, though farther away, and we found lots and lots of bees that had their holes in the dirt. Umberto almost immediately set to digging out these holes while I, briefly, looked on horrified that he was going to get stung like crazy by all these bees, and then when I realized he wasn't, I went to watch him and to attempt to take pictures of the bees going in and out of their holes. Delia and Libio joined in and soon found what they called honey, but what I would call condensed pollen, which they ate exclaiming over its deliciousness. I avoided it afraid of parasites (which probably don't exist in condensed pollen)...but I can imagine. Then we had what amounts to a photo shoot, running around to various scenic places and taking one anothers photos...in the canihua (don't ask me what it is...I have no idea), pulling out weeds in the wheat, in the habas (lima beans), by some pretty flowers, and then up in a tree. The tree had coincidentally dropped a substantial limb that we broke with rocks so we could bring it back to the house for firewood. The day ended with a wild ride on a too small bicycle carrying me, Delia, and, occasionaly, Umberto. The bike had a rather low tire and a broken stuff-carrier thingy on the back, so Delia rode on the bar in front of me, and when the road wasn't too bumpy (as in small streams going across) Umberto somehow got himself onto small protrusions hold together the front tire and held on there, crouching so I could see over him. The ride amounted to something that looked vaguely like Guido and family's ride in Life is Beautiful...only with cows as obstacles rather than buildings...debateable which is worse...buildings don't kick or scare.
Yesterday Umberto and I found ourselves mysteriously by ourselves in the house...I totally missed the whole cow leaving part...Where was I? So I asked him what he was up to and he said he didn't know, then suddenly had a brilliant idea...we could pasear to the cerro (walk around on the mountain/hill). I said sure, Great! and he said we could also paint. I assumed this meant painting on paper, but when I asked him a little later if he was ready to go and where the paper was he just said Oh! we're not bringing paper! We're going to paint on rocks! Well, Sweet! I said...or maybe that's just what I thought because I don't know of an equivalent to sweet! in spanish. So we walked more or less Straight up the hill/mountain until we came to some pretty sweet cliffs. Umberto, hands on hips, looked around and decided on a place that would be good to paint. We set to work with Yalo the dog looking on. I decided to paint a god-hand reaching towards something unknown, but when Umberto saw it he was skeptical and said it looked more like a puma. So I decided to give it black fingernails and yellow 'energy' lines for effect...it turned out looking like a deranged monster hand, mostly because the rest of it was blue. Umberto drew a nice apple and banana, then decided that was too tame so took to drawing daggers dripping in blood. Then I drew an eagle that ended up looking like a large seagull that was too big for the rock it was on. This was ammended by having the second wing not stretched out, but right along side the other one. Umberto liked the look of this deranged bird, so helped me paint it some stunning colors. In the end this strange eagle/seagull looked like a multicolored ninja off to incompetently fight its foes.
Besides Libio, Umberto, and Delia, there are also two older brothers living in the house. Fredy is 22 and works (or worked? I'm not really sure) in the gold mines four hours away from Juliaca. He is very talkative, friendly, and seems to have perpetually good humor. Recently the stars have been dominating the sky rather than clouds, and Fredy and I have had nice conversations talking about different constellations. Milan is 17 and just graduated from high school and may or may not be about to start a sort of technical college. He's also a very good humored guy, but much more reserved than the others, so I don't know him too well yet.
Well, it looks like I've fallen back to my old ways of incredibly wordy, long blog posts...I hope you all continue to enjoy reading anyway! I'll keep you updated on any further adventures in the weeks to come.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Basically, all I have to say is look at Maren's blog for a great "You know you've been in Peru too long when..." list:
http://maren-in-peru.blogspot.com
http://maren-in-peru.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
At Luis's House
So. Far too much time has gone by with hardly a mention of Luis. Well, the hour is finally his. Last weekend Maren, Daphne, and I went to visit him and his family in the nearby sprawling city of Juliaca where we aprovechado (nicely took advantage of) the oven at his house. We baked chocolate chip cookies the first night and made oven-roasted chicken, potatoes, veggies, and super yummy squash squares (thank you Daphne!) the second night. After having dinner the second night, Daphne brought out her fiddle and she played some fiddle tunes as well as some songs that she and I sang for Luis and his veterinary friend Nestor. I managed to stay on key, but we did burst into fits of laughter a couple of times when we both forgot the words and just made some up. After Nestor left we cracked open a bottle of very bad wine (though better than the stuff they sell in Chijnaya) and finished it while talking about all sorts of things, from Peru to the United states, from music to books. The whole visit was a great to show him and his family (his mom and sisters, mostly) how much we appreciate him.
But more about Luis. Well, Maren and Daphne met him while playing cards and generally being bored at the Anniversary Fiesta. Luis tells us that he had just started working in Pucara and didn't have any friends yet...so when he saw Maren and Daphne he thought to himself "Hmm, those girls look like great people to have a conversation with!" and sat himself down to play, and basically they chatted for the next few hours (Luis apparently decided that was more worthwhile than going to a meeting with his boss!). Well, since then he has taken us around Juliaca, showing us the ropes of the rather dangerous city, helped us find combis to Puno, come over for a couple of great poker nights at Daphne's house, eaten dinner with us at Maren's house, provided us with beds when we had to do business in Puno/Juliaca, let us sit on his bed and watch a Korean soap opera (Escalera al Cielo) until the wee hours (though the next time we visited he moved the TV into the guest room), saved Veronica's calf from the tick (note how it's not plural) on its nose, and has been all around stellar company. I mean what more could you want from a friend than good conversation about books, animals, philosophies about life, and the occasional teasings and proddings to get off your bum and dance in the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaría (I had to, unfortunately, decline that offer)? We're going to try to figure out a way to get him up to the States so you all can meet him too! Still working on that though...darn immigration policies are only slightly uptight.
Oh, and he taught me how to ride a motorcycle yesterday! Don't worry Mom, it's not something I plan on taking up as a hobby. To read about that funny experience, refer to Maren's hilarious blog.
But more about Luis. Well, Maren and Daphne met him while playing cards and generally being bored at the Anniversary Fiesta. Luis tells us that he had just started working in Pucara and didn't have any friends yet...so when he saw Maren and Daphne he thought to himself "Hmm, those girls look like great people to have a conversation with!" and sat himself down to play, and basically they chatted for the next few hours (Luis apparently decided that was more worthwhile than going to a meeting with his boss!). Well, since then he has taken us around Juliaca, showing us the ropes of the rather dangerous city, helped us find combis to Puno, come over for a couple of great poker nights at Daphne's house, eaten dinner with us at Maren's house, provided us with beds when we had to do business in Puno/Juliaca, let us sit on his bed and watch a Korean soap opera (Escalera al Cielo) until the wee hours (though the next time we visited he moved the TV into the guest room), saved Veronica's calf from the tick (note how it's not plural) on its nose, and has been all around stellar company. I mean what more could you want from a friend than good conversation about books, animals, philosophies about life, and the occasional teasings and proddings to get off your bum and dance in the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaría (I had to, unfortunately, decline that offer)? We're going to try to figure out a way to get him up to the States so you all can meet him too! Still working on that though...darn immigration policies are only slightly uptight.
Oh, and he taught me how to ride a motorcycle yesterday! Don't worry Mom, it's not something I plan on taking up as a hobby. To read about that funny experience, refer to Maren's hilarious blog.
So fiestas...yeah. Well now that I finally have time to write about them, I'm looking back and thinking that they all just kind of blur into a large fiesta of tomando Brahma from tiny plastic cups, and doing a whole lot of dancing to mostly huayno and the occasional cumbia. There are a few moments that stick out though:
-During the baile promocional (or graduation dance) for the colegio I was the madrina (again!...they seem to use madrinas and padrinos for every big event...but don't worry, I didn't spend much money on it at all...i just gave her photos of it afterward!) for my sixteen year old neighbor Elizabeth, or Eli. She's a great girl who hangs out with us a lot in the evenings playing with Chico and bantering with Beto and Richard. Anyway, during that baile promocional we came into our first contact with the "Circle dance." This is a very intricate and complicated dance in which the participants shuffle around in vague huayno steps while passing and chugging cervezita. Occasionally people get crazy and spin their partner around or something, but that's only de vez en cuando. Mostly it just reminded Maren of a lame middle school mixer with beer.
-On the monday before New Year's we went to a Corrida de Toros...a bullfight. We skipped the one on Sunday because it was a Corrida de Muerto in which the bull is killed (and then eaten afterward), but for some reason we just really didn't feel the need to see that. Anyway, the corrida that we did see was pretty fun, although we sat there waiting for about an hour and a half and I got severly burned. The bulls run around, sometimes try to escape by attempting to hurtle the walls of the arena, men in schmancy suits with red or purple flags/caps antagonize the bull, and when it gets tired men try to lasooe it then pull it out of the arena (which usually takes at least 3 men).
-On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day I attended to Corte de Pelo ceremonies for the youngest children of Paula's sisters, Dionisia and Luzmila. The first was for Dionisia's baby girl, Nayeli (I think that's how it's spelled) and the second was for Luzmila's son Chano. The basic concept is that the baby is sat out on a sheet, the guests line up, choose three intact coca leaves and with them wish good things for the child, put the coca leaves in wine (?), and then the first madrina makes and "pays" for the first cut of hair. The payment is money (for wealthier families it can get into the thousands), toys, or promises of goodies to come. From then on the hair is "sold" to following padrinos and madrinas (usually all of the guests). It seems like there are generally two rounds of haircutting, and in between the rounds there is more dancing and drinking. It's quite a feast. Chano's Corte de Pelo was preceded by his baptism, so the party was larger, with an "orchestra" (really just a band) and everything!
Well, those were the most exciting fiesta time occurences. Next time maybe I'll actually bring myself up to date (about last weekend for example!)
-During the baile promocional (or graduation dance) for the colegio I was the madrina (again!...they seem to use madrinas and padrinos for every big event...but don't worry, I didn't spend much money on it at all...i just gave her photos of it afterward!) for my sixteen year old neighbor Elizabeth, or Eli. She's a great girl who hangs out with us a lot in the evenings playing with Chico and bantering with Beto and Richard. Anyway, during that baile promocional we came into our first contact with the "Circle dance." This is a very intricate and complicated dance in which the participants shuffle around in vague huayno steps while passing and chugging cervezita. Occasionally people get crazy and spin their partner around or something, but that's only de vez en cuando. Mostly it just reminded Maren of a lame middle school mixer with beer.
-On the monday before New Year's we went to a Corrida de Toros...a bullfight. We skipped the one on Sunday because it was a Corrida de Muerto in which the bull is killed (and then eaten afterward), but for some reason we just really didn't feel the need to see that. Anyway, the corrida that we did see was pretty fun, although we sat there waiting for about an hour and a half and I got severly burned. The bulls run around, sometimes try to escape by attempting to hurtle the walls of the arena, men in schmancy suits with red or purple flags/caps antagonize the bull, and when it gets tired men try to lasooe it then pull it out of the arena (which usually takes at least 3 men).
-On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day I attended to Corte de Pelo ceremonies for the youngest children of Paula's sisters, Dionisia and Luzmila. The first was for Dionisia's baby girl, Nayeli (I think that's how it's spelled) and the second was for Luzmila's son Chano. The basic concept is that the baby is sat out on a sheet, the guests line up, choose three intact coca leaves and with them wish good things for the child, put the coca leaves in wine (?), and then the first madrina makes and "pays" for the first cut of hair. The payment is money (for wealthier families it can get into the thousands), toys, or promises of goodies to come. From then on the hair is "sold" to following padrinos and madrinas (usually all of the guests). It seems like there are generally two rounds of haircutting, and in between the rounds there is more dancing and drinking. It's quite a feast. Chano's Corte de Pelo was preceded by his baptism, so the party was larger, with an "orchestra" (really just a band) and everything!
Well, those were the most exciting fiesta time occurences. Next time maybe I'll actually bring myself up to date (about last weekend for example!)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Writing From Bolivia
For a post-New Year's/Christmas vacation (and rest from the ridiculous amount of fiestas in Chijnaya and Pucará) Maren, Daphne, and I decided to venture across the border to the strangely alluring country of Bolivia. So that's where I am now! Writing to you all from the Loki hostel after a day of wonderfully cheap and thrillingly adventurous mountain biking! La Paz (and Bolivia in general) is an unfortunately nerve-wracking place because of all the police around who are supposed to be really corrupt and all the rateros (pickpockets) that are rumored to be around. So far so good, though...knock on wood. Besides that, though, the countryside is beautiful, the city is less touristy than Cusco with just as much good food (went to a great Indian place yesterday!) and great deals on anything you could possibly want! For example, I bought a pair of incredible chrome blue (i'm not sure if that is a possible color combination) spandex shorts for 15 Bolivianos, or about 2 bucks. I was psyched. Anyway, the city is huge and is nestled in a steep valley whose hillsides are covered with houses and other buildings. At night the hills look alive with dying embers---all the streets have streetlights of about the same wattage.
But I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself. So much has happened in Peru between now and my last post! So many fiestas! And all so different! It boggles my mind. Here's how the days unfolded:
12/23: The day of Leidi's graduation from elementary school party. After waiting the customary hora peruana (meaning that everything starts at least an hour after it's supposed to), we were fed a huge bowl of soup, asado de alpaca (i'm really not sure of how to describe this dish...), and then wafer cookies with champagne. Then they had a simple but very nice ceremony in which the students and their padrinos (me included) stood up and were presented to the guests. The kids all looked quite smart in their party clothes...especially Leidi who was wearing a sparkly green dress and sparkly heels that were just about as nice, if not nicer, than my prom dress! Then each student received a diploma, a medal, and a gift. A few "inspiring" speeches were given, as well as a tearful thank you and goodbye from the professor. Then, best of all, the music started and all the students were encouraged/forced to stand up and dance for us! The all stood in a circle dancing and took turns dancing in the center of the circle either alone or with a partner that was embarrassingly pushed toward them. I was quite impressed that none of them died of embarrassment and on top of that managed to dance decently well (especially Leidi!). Finally the grown-ups decided it was time to start drinking more seriously (beer had been passed around the whole time) and that it was their turn to dance. Some grabbed a student (or vice versa) and started dancing with just students. This quickly, though, turned into just adults dancing with adults while the kids escaped outside to play. Maren, Daphne, and I all were dragged to the dance floor and I was lucky enough to be the main event for a good 4 minutes---One of the parents of a boy from the colegio (and also a good friend of the family) decided it would be a fantastic idea to drag me, the poor blonde gringa wearing Daphne's red flamenco skirt, out to the center of the room and have what almost felt like a dance off...except that he would lead me and I would follow, "copying" him, though it was more like we were trying to one-up each other. It was really actually very fun despite the potential for mortification. By the end of the night most of the kids had disappeared, most of the adults were chock full of revelry, and it was raining so hard there were genuine rivers in the middle of most of the streets. At the end of the night it seemed like all I had taken away from the party were soggy feet and an unfortunately drunk neighbor to walk home...but looking back I not only got to show-off my fantabulous dancing skills, but I also had great conversations with Zenovia (Leidi's mother), as well as gaining an ahijada! Pretty cool.
And that was only the first night of the fiestas! They pretty much continued straight through New Year's Day!
12/24: I will write the rest soon! Unfortunately everything else I wrote got erased!
But for your personal enjoyment, take a look at some huayno videos for a taste of what kind of music we get to hear all the time!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGxZhJYbTAg&feature=related :Rosita de Espinar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OykEwDRFiOE :Sonia Morales (maybe my favorite)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3aVumDW19M :Dina Paucar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g__L0nrT-Tw :William Luna
But I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself. So much has happened in Peru between now and my last post! So many fiestas! And all so different! It boggles my mind. Here's how the days unfolded:
12/23: The day of Leidi's graduation from elementary school party. After waiting the customary hora peruana (meaning that everything starts at least an hour after it's supposed to), we were fed a huge bowl of soup, asado de alpaca (i'm really not sure of how to describe this dish...), and then wafer cookies with champagne. Then they had a simple but very nice ceremony in which the students and their padrinos (me included) stood up and were presented to the guests. The kids all looked quite smart in their party clothes...especially Leidi who was wearing a sparkly green dress and sparkly heels that were just about as nice, if not nicer, than my prom dress! Then each student received a diploma, a medal, and a gift. A few "inspiring" speeches were given, as well as a tearful thank you and goodbye from the professor. Then, best of all, the music started and all the students were encouraged/forced to stand up and dance for us! The all stood in a circle dancing and took turns dancing in the center of the circle either alone or with a partner that was embarrassingly pushed toward them. I was quite impressed that none of them died of embarrassment and on top of that managed to dance decently well (especially Leidi!). Finally the grown-ups decided it was time to start drinking more seriously (beer had been passed around the whole time) and that it was their turn to dance. Some grabbed a student (or vice versa) and started dancing with just students. This quickly, though, turned into just adults dancing with adults while the kids escaped outside to play. Maren, Daphne, and I all were dragged to the dance floor and I was lucky enough to be the main event for a good 4 minutes---One of the parents of a boy from the colegio (and also a good friend of the family) decided it would be a fantastic idea to drag me, the poor blonde gringa wearing Daphne's red flamenco skirt, out to the center of the room and have what almost felt like a dance off...except that he would lead me and I would follow, "copying" him, though it was more like we were trying to one-up each other. It was really actually very fun despite the potential for mortification. By the end of the night most of the kids had disappeared, most of the adults were chock full of revelry, and it was raining so hard there were genuine rivers in the middle of most of the streets. At the end of the night it seemed like all I had taken away from the party were soggy feet and an unfortunately drunk neighbor to walk home...but looking back I not only got to show-off my fantabulous dancing skills, but I also had great conversations with Zenovia (Leidi's mother), as well as gaining an ahijada! Pretty cool.
And that was only the first night of the fiestas! They pretty much continued straight through New Year's Day!
12/24: I will write the rest soon! Unfortunately everything else I wrote got erased!
But for your personal enjoyment, take a look at some huayno videos for a taste of what kind of music we get to hear all the time!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGxZhJYbTAg&feature=related :Rosita de Espinar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OykEwDRFiOE :Sonia Morales (maybe my favorite)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3aVumDW19M :Dina Paucar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g__L0nrT-Tw :William Luna
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Some Snippets
Well, I was lazy and didn't write a proper blog, but there's been a lot of stuff that has happened, so I'll tell you about them in bullet form:
-Leidi, the 11 year old daughter of Zenovia and a regular in our classes, asked me to be her madrina (godmother)! There is going to be a celebration for her graduation from elementary school
-there are tons of little explosions everywhere 24/7 (many thanks to Richard and Beto) because apparently firecrackers are sold around christmas time.
-We FINALLY had some people show up for adult English class, but it was short lived...the two who came left Chijnaya once the professor's strike at the University of Puno ended.
-Went to Juliaca (where we stayed at our veterenarian friend Luis's house and watched a fantastic Korean soap opera) and then Puno in hopes of getting my Christmas package...which sadly did not happen (nor have I gotten Sam and Aubrey's letter..boo.) though I did get to eat Scrumptious cake. A dark chocolate-coffee concoction that satisfied my sugar cravings for at least a day.
-Dionisia, Paula's sister, had a techamiento (roofing) celebration during which a lot of asado de alpaca was eaten, beer drunk, and huaynos danced. I also had a couple of great conversations, the first involving storytelling (my favorite!) and the second about past volunteers and life as a young adult in Chijnaya/Peru. Oh, and Dionisia asked me to be her daughter's madrina too! So I not only get to attend the very interesting Corta Pelo ceremony (first haircut), but I also will have two god daughters! Wow, didn't think that was going to happen for a while.
-The next morning at 5:00 I woke up (with a bit of struggle) to go with Richard, Verónica, Daphne, and Maren to Juliaca to buy...a puppy!!! For Verónica's family. His name is Loki (after the Norse trickster god and a hostal in Cusco) and he is grey with a splotch of white on his chest and toe socks and a "lab" and super duper cute.
-I've been doing a lot of watching/playing with Davis lately. He is quite the little boy. Picks up Everything, throws most of it, babbles constantly, and has a smile that just glows. A couple of days ago he decided it would be really fun to slide from a slight rise of dirt in back of their house onto the lower part, lay there for a minute, crawl a little ways, then get up and do it again. There was a bit of dirt eating going on too...yum. Then, he decided that he would make his game even better by grabbing onto my hair and swinging from the rise to the lower part, laughing hysterically all the while. Luckily I was soon called away to help peel potatoes and wash dishes.
-Oh, and apparently Beto took my cell phone with him to arrear the vaca and found a Signal, so decided it would be way cool to try to call people. So if you got a random phone call from me, from Peru, that's why. Thanks Beto.
Well, that's all for now, hope to hear from you all! Enjoy the snow, those of you in the Northeast. I hope it hasn't all melted!
-Leidi, the 11 year old daughter of Zenovia and a regular in our classes, asked me to be her madrina (godmother)! There is going to be a celebration for her graduation from elementary school
-there are tons of little explosions everywhere 24/7 (many thanks to Richard and Beto) because apparently firecrackers are sold around christmas time.
-We FINALLY had some people show up for adult English class, but it was short lived...the two who came left Chijnaya once the professor's strike at the University of Puno ended.
-Went to Juliaca (where we stayed at our veterenarian friend Luis's house and watched a fantastic Korean soap opera) and then Puno in hopes of getting my Christmas package...which sadly did not happen (nor have I gotten Sam and Aubrey's letter..boo.) though I did get to eat Scrumptious cake. A dark chocolate-coffee concoction that satisfied my sugar cravings for at least a day.
-Dionisia, Paula's sister, had a techamiento (roofing) celebration during which a lot of asado de alpaca was eaten, beer drunk, and huaynos danced. I also had a couple of great conversations, the first involving storytelling (my favorite!) and the second about past volunteers and life as a young adult in Chijnaya/Peru. Oh, and Dionisia asked me to be her daughter's madrina too! So I not only get to attend the very interesting Corta Pelo ceremony (first haircut), but I also will have two god daughters! Wow, didn't think that was going to happen for a while.
-The next morning at 5:00 I woke up (with a bit of struggle) to go with Richard, Verónica, Daphne, and Maren to Juliaca to buy...a puppy!!! For Verónica's family. His name is Loki (after the Norse trickster god and a hostal in Cusco) and he is grey with a splotch of white on his chest and toe socks and a "lab" and super duper cute.
-I've been doing a lot of watching/playing with Davis lately. He is quite the little boy. Picks up Everything, throws most of it, babbles constantly, and has a smile that just glows. A couple of days ago he decided it would be really fun to slide from a slight rise of dirt in back of their house onto the lower part, lay there for a minute, crawl a little ways, then get up and do it again. There was a bit of dirt eating going on too...yum. Then, he decided that he would make his game even better by grabbing onto my hair and swinging from the rise to the lower part, laughing hysterically all the while. Luckily I was soon called away to help peel potatoes and wash dishes.
-Oh, and apparently Beto took my cell phone with him to arrear the vaca and found a Signal, so decided it would be way cool to try to call people. So if you got a random phone call from me, from Peru, that's why. Thanks Beto.
Well, that's all for now, hope to hear from you all! Enjoy the snow, those of you in the Northeast. I hope it hasn't all melted!
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