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Hola
Amigos (Hello Friends),
Housekeeping
items first (just this one time):
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- I need to apologize for the multiple emails some of you got,
this problem is figured out now (it shows that using a different
type of keyboard, computer & software which has everything
in Spanish can make things difficult even for me).
- For
anyone who is interested if you have MSN you can add me &
then type to me real time. Sometimes even have voice/video conversations
capability, every computer in Peru seems to have MSN. My user
name = genextsoftware@hotmail.com
- Anyone
who wants off the list, just let me know.
*Something
interesting has been happening lately. I found out that people
have been passing my notes on to others. These people told me
& now I am just emailing it directly to their friends. If
you are doing this just let me know the people´s email info
& I will save you the extra email.
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Now for
the good stuff! Well I am pretty sure that I sent the last update
when I was just getting to Lima (pronounced Lee-ma). I was in
Lima for 10 nights, then flew to Cuzco (such an incredible flight,
picture of this called flight) where I still am. Lima gets a pretty
bad rap. Almost every traveler you meet will tell you not to spend
any time there (dirty, dangerous..). This is true in part. However,
I stayed in a nice suburb called Barranco which is next to another
nice suburb Miraflores. Even there you don´t really see
the sun, it is always cloudy. It is weird because once you leave
the city you always see the sun.
While
in Lima I went to visit Pachacamac (temple pyramids, which pre-dated
the Inca´s by 1000 years) it was a nice relaxed day trip
(picture called Pachacamac). The tour guide was the best I had
on a paid trip. I also visited the Museo de Oro del Peru (Gold
Museum) which was expensive, but had this great audio tour. You
wear it around your neck & could move at your own pace. I
learned more about Peru there than I had anywhere else, plus the
English was so easy to understand. It seemed to focus more on
the pre-Inca cultures which was nice because the Inca culture
is pushed so heavily everywhere else. They were an amazing society,
but I like to learn about other cultures as well. Another day
I visited the Museo de la Nacion (National Museum), which was
informative, but not nearly as good as the Gold museum. Other
things visited included several plaza´s including the main
Plaza de Armas, Chinatown, the black market & other markets.
I also spent a few days relaxing (even one movie day where I saw
3 movies I had really wanted to see). When I had been in the city
my friend Roi helped me find this really great dictionary. I has
been such a huge help for me learning Spanish! Once I had this
I spent the last 3 days in Lima concentrating on learning Spanish.
All in all it was a pretty good time there. I also met some great
people there, you know who you are! Joe, from England & I
had a daily grudge match in Ping Pong. I hurts me to my core to
say that England beat the States in I am guessing was about 6
of 7 series. Although Team America (me) did pull out the win in
ping pong over Australia & won the inter-county pool tourney!
I guess in the end Joe got me back by claiming the ping pong title
because I stole his bed the first day I was there (to be fair
I was told to go to that one). There were so many other cool people
around & several of them helped with my Spanish & others
spent time traveling with me to places around the city.
Now something
needs to be said as to why I was in Lima for so long, since I
would have normally only stayed there about 3 nights I am guessing.
Back when Nina was still here & we were in Arequipa, I had
sent out my resume to dive operations in the Galapagos. One in
particular Galapagos Sub-Aqua responded to my email with some
questions. It took some emails, but when I was in Huaccachina
about a week later, Fernando the director told me I had the job
as a dive instructor. I was SO excited about it, because it is
the diving place that I looked the most forward to in South America
(The Galapagos are an island chain off the coast of Ecuador, which
is on the northwest coast of SA). After telling me that I had
the job I finished my trip up the coast & got to Lima, faster
than I would have otherwise went. I was waiting in Lima as Fernando
told me that he needed to ¨finalize¨ the contract since
I was also going to help them out with their computer systems
as well as teach diving. After being in Lima for 7 days &
not hearing from Fernando I called him & he told me that he
had found someone with more experience & would not need me
as a dive instructor. He did however still want my computer experience,
which he would give me some free dives for. I turned that down
the same day. I can make the money from a few free dives in a
couple hours of work at home.
I was
really depressed the day I found this all out, but usually things
happen for a reason & I have always had really good luck when
it come to traveling, so I guess it is just meant to be that way.
When something bad happens my philosophy is that you should always
try to learn something from it. What I learned is that people´s
word in South America is not really worth anything (not trying
to offend anyone from SA by saying that). I had somebody who told
me this at the hostel a few days before I called, but I was really
hoping they were wrong. At that point I decided that I was going
back Cuzco to see the sites I had not seen (see picture
brockattomb) & learn Spanish! Then I would travel north along
the mountains in Peru & eventually get to Ecuador.
Now to
back track a little...The first night in Lima was quite the experience.
I am going to write about it not really holding anything back
except names & am hoping no one gets offended. If you don´t
want to read about prostitutes & lonely men skip this entire
paragraph. There is a bar the people go out to dance at (especially
on Sunday night) called Tequila Rocks. Myself & 2 other Australia
guys decided to go to this bar for a little while & then come
back to the hostel. The problem is that there are 2 of these bars.
One is a dance place (located in La Marina) that is completely
legitimate. The other one is place where men to get prostitutes
(located in Miraflores). We did not know & just told the taxi
driver Tequila Rocks, so he took us to the prostitute one. We
probably should have known something was up when we could not
even get to the bar before women were all over the other 2 guys.
They danced with them for a while, until they found out that they
wanted money for services. So they both left those girls. They
told me about this & were pretty surprised.
But in a few minutes they each had girls again (who had come up
to them again). After about another 20 minutes (they asked about
it themselves this time) they found out they were prostitutes.
They told me about this again & we danced as a group. By this
point I had been watching things happen around me & realized
there were only ¨working¨ girls here.
Eventually the scenario played itself out again for these 2 guys
& they started talking to different girls. I also had some
girls try to come up to me during this but not at the beginning,
so I just brushed them off.
When they left this time I was a little tired of dancing so I
just pulled up a chair & enjoyed the show for what was probably
about 30 minutes. It was quite interesting really. Eventually
they even had a ¨special¨ dancer come on & the people
all loved that. At this point I was ready to leave as it had been
probably over 2 hours. I don't wear a watch so I never really
know the time. Eventually the guys got talking to these girls
in the back. I went back & sat with them which was a bad idea
because as soon as I sat down there was a girl next to me &
she was overly friendly.
I asked her to leave, but as soon as that happened there was another
one.
It is almost as if they appear by magic sometimes. She did not
speak any English, so she didn´t leave when I asked. The
other guys decided to dance & as did I & my new ¨friend¨
followed me to the dance floor. I finally figured out how to peace
together in Spanish that I was not paying her for anything. At
hearing that she gave me a hug & cheek kiss (normal thing
here) & left. I had never reciprocated anything she did for
me, so I guess she appreciated that I didn't feel her up &
then tell her no. At that point I talked one of the other guys
into going home. However, the other guy decided to stay &
ended up paying $100 USD for 2 girls that night. I saw SO many
other men leave with women business was obviously good for them
that night. It was quite the experience & even though I would
never want to go again, it was something I do not regret doing
(especially as it was by mistake).
Even
going to the normal clubs here is quite the adventure. The Peruvian
people seem to be like hunters looking for Gringos (white people
- technically US people, but they call everyone who is white a
gringo most of the time). Outside of Thailand I have never seen
anything like this & there it was a little different as those
girls seemed to be trying to get money in the end. Here the girls,
guys for that matter too, just seem to want to ¨hook up¨
with gringos. I am sure they would not reject financial support,
but it seems to be a secondary motive.
Enough
concerning the night time differences of Peru to the USA. The
single biggest difference is the language. When you come to South
America you know that you need to learn Spanish. Everyone told
me, but I did not have time before leaving to learn it, so it
is my own fault. Due to that I have spent the last 2 weeks struggling
through books & dictionaries studying on my own. This has
been pretty successful, but only because I have been able to dedicate
myself to it. I have done very little traveling due to this &
had to even avoid conversations with people I like at the hostels
to concentrate. Don´t think that I am a monk or anything,
but as anyone who really knows me would know, when I decide to
do something nothing is going to stop me.
I really
had 3 things that frustrated me about not knowing the language.
The first one, also the hardest, is survival in a foreign country,
this includes things like being able to ask directions, buy basic
supplies, & basically everything else someone who is traveling
on their own has to know to get enjoy the experience. The second
one is still an issue which is being able to make small talk with
people (taxi drivers, people next to you on the bus, hotel staff,
basically everyone you meet here). The people here are so friendly
& genuinely interested about me or any other traveler. When
I say I am from North America (it is confusing to just say American
here, for what is hopefully an obvious reason). The third thing
is getting a meal somewhere. When I got here I did almost immediately
learn that pollo is chicken & arroz is rice. That is then
what I ate at a Peruvian or Chifa (Chinese) restaurant. When I
went to get pizza & saw a dizzying array of toppings, I stuck
to queso which is cheese every time.
I went to a supermarket (where it was a bit visually easier but
still difficult). But no longer!! I now know, fruits, vegetables,
drinks, meats, sides, & the ways that food is prepared (oven
cooked, fried...). I am still learning but when I looked at a
menu this past Friday I knew about 90% of it. It is like I have
a Spanish decoder in my brain now, it is too bad that it only
works for supermarkets & menus, but it is a start. So basically
one of 3 completed, the other 2 look to be quite a challenge!
I am guessing that it will be that way for the next several months.
Now onto
smaller differences, yet things that take time to be accustomed
too. In the bathroom there is never a toilet seat, toilet paper
or towels to dry your hands with. In fact a lot of time there
is not soap to wash you hands either. On top of that you often
have to pay to use bathrooms here, like in the train station,
bus station, mall, markets & other places. It is usually only
like 50 centimos, which is about 15 cents USD, so nothing major.
I am not sure why there are no toilet seats, but it is that way
in 95% of the bathrooms. I wonder if they are just saving money,
if people steal them or they just like having a wet backside?
This applies to almost everywhere (except the Point Hostels where
I stayed in Lima & am staying in Cuzco). The good news is
that this can be overcome with some preparation. For instance
most every traveler here has a role of TP in their small back
pack & I also carry paper towels to dry my hands with.
Another
difference is the makeup of travelers here. I have never met so
many US travelers before in any other country. In fact I have
now met as many US citizens here as I met on the entire last trip,
which was for 14 months. I guess it is pretty cheap & easy
to come here, but it really surprises me. In Cuzco you get the
older American people (we will call them vacationers because they
are here no longer than 2-3 weeks, old also means over 40 in this
case). These are the people who obviously have way
too much money & came here to impress their friends because
it sounds so adventurous. They are always the loud-arrogant people
who make me want to say I am from somewhere else. They are usually
complaining because things are not done ¨like back in the
states¨. They are also mad that people don´t speak perfect
English, even though hello that is not even the second language
here. Now I understand where we get a bad reputation from as a
country. I wish these people would close their mouths & open
their minds. I mean there are things that frustrate me here too,
but it is all part of the experience. There are things that are
also a lot better here than at home, that is why you travel to
see different things. Not that backpackers are perfect either,
but at least the people I meet are much more open-minded, including
people from the states. They understand that the differences are
what make the trip.
Here
are just a couple of the differences that I love about here. The
people dress so interestingly. A lot of them have on the old,
but very colorful clothes. Plus some of them wear these really
small hats that are about 10 sized to small so it just sits on
the top of their head. I can´t believe that the wind doesn´t
blow it off! Also, the people are always willing to help me out
with my Spanish, even just random people you run into. They really
want to talk & truly appreciate the effort I am making to
learn the language.
Well
that is probably enough for one small email :) Next time I will
tell you about Cuzco, my personal tour guide, or anything else
that is on my mind at the moment I type the update! I will also
answer the question about how many Peruvians can fit into a single
apartment or at least tell you most I have seen!
Love
& Peace
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