Adventures in Wonderland

So, Thursday I ate Cuy.  Quite interesting.  For those of you who don't know, Cuy is guinea pig, and it is the favorite dish here in Cusco. 

The whole school, professors, spouses, and students, piled in several taxis, and made our way up the hillside, up dirt roads, to the edge of town, and entered this really rustic adobe building, which was completely empty.  After climbing a few stairs, we realized we WERE in the restaraunt.  The family greeted us as we passed by, and we found our way to a very long table that looked over the most amazing view
of Cuzco.  We all sat down, chatted in Spanish (although a few students aren't as proficient, so we had to chat a bit in English).  Eventually two big things of coke were brought out, and two big things of beer, and glasses were filled all around. 

Eventually, huge dishes were brought out to everyone- the cuy, with fried stuff peppers, potatoes (which come from Peru originally, did you know that?), and some other mixture of stuffed potatoe skins.

Now, cuy is not guinea pig cut up into unrecognizable pieces, oh no.  They bascially take the guinea pig, remove all the fur, cut off the head (sometimes), cut it in half, and remove some of the guts (but not the
heart), put seasonings inside, and bake or fry it.  Apparently, baked is preferred.  And then they serve it to you, and you pick it up with your hands, and dig in. 

No, it didn't taste like chicken.  The closest thing Icould guess would be turkey, but that isn't quite it either.  It was a bit difficult, because, hell, this is a pet!  But, I tried to put those thoughts aside, and enjoy the one and only time I will ever eat cuy.  It actually tasted pretty good.  But you do have to dig for the meat.  And they do leave the feet on.  Um.

My professor was very impressed at how much my spanishimproved after a few glasses of beer, and the next day suggested we serve beer in the classes, to make everyone speak better spanish.  ;)

Afterwards, we all piled into a bus-van, and made our way back to the school.  I returned home for a bit of a rest, and then returned to the school for salsa lessons!  Luckily we had a good balance of boys and
girls, and my partner was a pretty good dancer, so I was luckily.  He actually is going to move to Portland this year to work at OHSU as a cardiologist!

At one point, a woman came in and sat down, a friend of one of the students.  And she started smoking.  I have a hard enough time breathing when people are smoking, with the altitude, it is awful, i get dizzy and really can't breathe.  Then add the amount of exercise I was getting with the dancing, and the amount of air needed, and I thought I was going to pass out.  My partner asked her to put out the cigarette, but I had to leave for a bit anyway to breathe fresh air.  She came out later, and sat by me to chat.  Turns out she's from Eugene, Oregon!  How crazy, three people who live/will live/have lived in Oregon, in a room of about 10 people in Peru.  I guess the world really is a small place, huh?

You know, it is also interesting, nobody smokes around here, which I think is suprising.  The only time I see people smoke, they are tourists.  I asked about it, and apparently quite a few Peruvians smoke, but they only have one cigarette a day.  Huh, interesting.

Anyway, I had a great day, and returned home for a nice rest.  Tonight I get to put those dance skills to the test, as I'll be going out to celebrate my birthday!  But first, I guess to a football (soccer) game!

¡Adíos!

Jillian

Here is a day in the life of Jillian in Peru...

First, I wake up at about 7.15 in the morning.  I go and switch on the little switch by the shower to make sure I get hot water, and have to remember to turn the knob the opposite direction than normal to get hot water (this was quite an experience the first time, the water kept getting colder and colder the more I turned it to the left).

Once I'm all dressed (usually in jeans, because nobody wears skirts here, but I was told by one of the guys at my school that it is because the women don't have as nice of legs as I do- they do tend to be a bit
thick here), I go downstairs, where I say "Buenos Dias, Como estas" to whoever is around (usually Sonia) and give them the customary kiss on the cheek, as I sit down to eat my breakfast.  This usually consists
of a type of bread specific to Cuzco, which is kind of like a roll, with jam, coffee, and whatever else they decide to serve me.  Sometimes it is eggs, sometimes french fries, once chicken, and today it was jello and cake, which was quite interesting. 

After visiting with them in Spanish for quite a while, I take off for the bus.  I walk about a block, down sidewalks that are heavily eroded (acid rain from the pollution ??) and smile at passerbyers who stare at me (what is a gringa doing here?).  I pass by many dogs that run wild through the streets, eating trash, and look like they have had about 20 litters, and wait for the bus "El Dorado", which is the size of a large van. I cram myself on the bus, and if I'm lucky, I get a seat.  If not, I stand, and once again receive looks, because I'm always the only gringa on the bus.  Eventually the guy who hangs out the door and shouts the direction of the bus at the stops like an auctioner, comes around to collect my 50 centivos (about 15 cents).  Eventually, we come to my stop, and I shout "abaja", and climb down to the street below, where I don't get as much odd looks, because now I'm in tourista territory, and I'm not so odd.

I make my way up the little alleyway, that has a gutter running down the middle of it, and sometimes smells like urine, to the little archway that leads to the courtyard of my school.  I listen to the two parrots that live in the courtyard, as I climb the big thick steps that are from colonial times.  I have to catch my breath a little at the top, and then make my way down to the door that says Macchu Pichu Spanish
School.  There I greet my fellow students (there are about 8 of us), and evenually find my way into a little classroom with my "professor" and the other girl from Germany who is at the same level I am.  For the next two hours, we practice the eight million ways to conjugate spanish verbs, while listening to the professor's machismo jokes, and do other exercises, like describe our perfect man, or who are favorite
male actors are, or tell the professor how he should treat a woman.  Do you see a theme?

Then we have a fifteen minute break, where I try to get on the internet a bit, or sometimes visit with others, before we are shuffled into the class for the next two hours with a different professor.  Basically
the same stuff, but no machismo jokes, instead we usually talk about the differences of cultures, which of course I love.

Afterward I make my way to the plaza and pass by all the people that want to shine my shoes, sell me phone cards, dolls, pieces of cloth, post cards, trips to macchu picchu, or sometimes just ask for money.  Often the people are only just kids.  I usually just say "no gracious" or "yo estoy bien".  Then I go through another archway, climb more stairs, and find myself in a little cafe, where I say "buenos tardes" because by now it is after 1.  I'm handed a menu, that has everything in english and spanish, although often the english translation is a little quirky.  I usually order a cafe americano, agua con gas (mineral water), and a little something to eat, like chicken empenadas. The waiters then chat with me a bit in spanish, ask me where I'm from.  I notice the other people in the cafe usually order in english, so I'm always proud that I can visit in Spanish.  The other day the young
woman who was my waitress sat down and visited with me for quite a while.  She talked quite fast, but luckily I didn't have any problems.  I noticed the other white patrons stared at me a bit.  I'm getting used to this whole staring bit.

Afterwards, sometimes I return to the school to type on the internet some more, or hang out with a friend (Cassandre).  Then, around 6, before it gets to dark, I shuffle my way onto the bus, and repeat the morning experience.  I find my way back to my casa, where I have to remember to turn the key to the right to open the door (I broke the lock the first time by turning it to the left and they had to call a guy to fix it).  I say buenos noches to whoever is around, giving a kiss on the cheek, and turn down dinner, because I'm usually still full from lunch (my stomache has shrunk a bit).  I'll often visit in spanish for a few hours, and then return to my room up three flights of stairs.

I turn on the tv, hoping to find some show in english, but am always disappointed.  I do find the wonder years in spanish, as well as this odd game show that is just a big advertisement for everything from toothpaste to bank cards.  Also, Clueless and a movie with Arnold Schwarzenneger dubbed in spanish.  A little odd for me.  I turn off the tv, and do some of my school reading for my independent classes, or my homework for the language school, and listen to the dogs bark outside.  I turn on my music, and then go to bed at around 9.30, because there isn't much else to do.

So there you are.

Jillian

(Another e-mail from my time in Peru)
Some other things have come into my head about Peru, which I think are interesting, which I shall share.

Where are the Americans???  I swear, everywhere I go, Germans Germans Germans.  Today, at a cafe, at both other tables were Germans.  It was interesting, because they had to order in English, since they didn´t know Spanish.

Oh, and coffee.  It is interesting, in Peru they take the essence of the coffee in a liquid form, and then add hot water to it.  It is quite good.  And Dad, you´ll be happy to know that you can get an Americano
here too, they have cafés with all our favorite coffee drink.  One size fits all, though.

The thing that I have the most problem with, though, is the bathroom situation.  You aren´t suppose to put your toilet paper in the toilet, but in the wastebasket next to the toilet.  I just can´t bring myself to do that, especially where I live.  I don´t want to smell that!  It is bad enough here at the school, the smell, makes me want to gag.

Alright, that is my thoughts for now!

¡Hasta Luego!

Jillian

(After one e-mail, Liz Hallstrom, an old coworker and friend of mine, wrote me an e-mail, here is her e-mail & my response)

-- Liz Hallstrom wrote:
Who fills your classes?  what nationality are they?  how old?  do you feel like a tourist?  are your housemates warm and friendly with you?  who does the cooking?  do they have chicken and beef?  what is the weather like? lots of ?'s. does anyone in your village want to come here?  what is the population?  good for you and your speaking ability.  Very interesting, keep up the notes.

-- My response:
Oh Liz, everywhere I go with my white skin, yes I do feel like a tourist.  Especially in the area where I live, there aren´t any other gringas, and everyone looks at me.  I just smile, and keep going.  I understand, it is odd to see someone so different in that area.  It is hard to imagine in the US, because we have people of all different types, but I remember in Ireland, to see a black person was amazing.  And compared to Peru, Ireland has many black people!  In my week here, I have only seen two, and they were on tours.  If I feel strange being white, I can only imagine how they feel!

Ah, my school.  Well, there is a girl from Canada, Quebec, who I get along with quite well.  There is a guy from Japan who is learning spanish, but doesn´t even know english, whoah!  and a woman from Australia, a guy from London, who uses quite foul language, and a girl from Germany.  Oh, and there is a guy from Arizona, who is actually going to move to Portland later this year!  Actually, the school is quite small, and I only have my class with the girl from Germany.  I guess we are sorted into levels, and I think her and I are at a pretty high level.  Most are pretty young, in their 20s, but the Australian women is probably in her 50s. 

The cooking is done by the family, I don´t know who exactly, but they always bring me out my food.  the food isn´t too impressive.  Pretty bland.  Yeah, they have chicken and fish and beef, and potatoes, and
bread (though the bread is a bit different than ours, it tastes pretty much the same), carrots, beets, rice, and corn.  The corn is pretty huge.  One piece is equal to about 3 of our pieces of corn.  But in the
center of town, where all the tourists are, there are tons of different types of resteraunts- Italian, Chinese, Irish pubs, just about everything.  and, you get a free pisco sour!!  Can´t beat that!  People
stand outside the doors with menus to try to entice you to come in.  Always, people are coming up to you to get you to buy things.  Its crazy. 

Oh, Cusco is actually a city, it has about 300,000 people here.  Yeah, lots of people want to come to the US, especially Miami, because I guess a lot of Peruvians go there.  I think in Miami, judging from my
experience in the airport, spanish is the first language spoken, and after is english.  Woah.

That´s it for now!

Jillian

(Part 3 of e-mails from my time in Peru)

WEDNESDAY

So finally, I made it to my language school, at 9 in
the morning.  Sonja walked with me to school, and
pointed out all the streets and the directions.  I
thought the walk was going to be about 15 to 20
minutes, but it turns out it was a good half an hour.
Finally, we arrived at the school, a half an hour
late!  I had to wait until 11 to start my classes,
either because my teacher wasn´t there, or because I
was too late, I wasn´t quite sure, since everything
was said in Spanish.  But, it turns out I´ve been able
to hold my own in Spanish, and actually they think
that my spanish is pretty good (for a gringa at
least), so yay!  I was so worried about that before I
left, but all is well.

I have two teachers at school, Erik, in the morning,
and Gary just after that.  It is funny, because Erik
likes to visit quite a bit.  So, most of the time we
just talk, especially about the differences in
different countries.  All in Spanish, of course.

I also met another student here, Cassandra, she is
from Quebec, and her and I are getting along great.
It made such a difference to have a friend here!

After classes, we went on the "citi tur" at least,
that is how it sounds.  Cassandra, Margarite (another
student from Australia) and I borded a bus with a
whole bunch of other tourists, and saw a lot of the
sites in Cusco, including Sacsayhuaman, which is
prounounced "Sexy Woman" yes indeedy.  Muy
interesante.  And that was beautiful, it was up above
the city, huge Incan stones that make up these giant
curving walls.  Don´t worry, I will bring photos, but
it still is just not the same as being there.

But boy, the altitude really hits you!  I felt so
completely out of shape, climbing up Sacsayhuaman, and
had to stop, my heart pounding, my head swimming.
But, it turns out, it is only the altitude.  My
familia keeps giving me Mate de Coca tea to help me
deal with it.

Night falls quickly in Cusco, and after the tour I
realized I was going to have to find my way home in
the dark.  Casssandra lives with a family near me, so
I decided to take the bus home with her.  But nowhere
did I have written down my address, or my phone
number, or my families name.  It was horrible.  First
we stopped at Cassandra´s house, and she had a bite to
eat, and I met the people she lives with, and then her
and I set off to find my place.  We walked around for
over an hour, which was kinda scary.  Everything looks
the same!  I live down a little alleyway, which is how
the houses are set up here, and we kept going down
alleyway & alleyway.  Trust me, two white girls like
us walking around the same places over and over again
really stands out. 

Finally, we got to an area that looked more familiar,
and we saw a cop car.  We continued walking, and the
police officer came after us "Señoritas, señoritas!".
Apparently, my family had called the police, they were
so worried about me.  But both Cassandra and I had
heard that it isn´t a good idea to go off with the
cops, so we just had him point us in the right
direction, and walked off.  Uh huh, a half an hour
later, her and I were still wandering around.  It was
awful.  AWFUL.  Finally, the cops saw us again, and
exclaimed that we were still lost, and this time we
surrendered, and trusted fate, and got in the car as
he took us home.  I walked right past my home without
even recognizing it. 

I couldn´t believe this, my second day, and I got so
horribly lost my familia had to call the police!

So then, I had a little to eat, chatted with the
family, and made my way up the three flights of stairs
to my room and went to bed.  Or tried to.

My heart felt like it was going to explode.  I tried
everything to get it to calm down, and I knew it was
the effects of the altitude, combined with all the
walking I had done that day.  Any little movement
would cause my heart to beat harder.  I just tried to
lay still.  I even tried laying down on the floor to
sleep, because I figured it was a little lower
altitude, but of course, I don´t really think 2 feet
helps much. 

Finally, at three in the morning, I went and woke
Gladys, my other "sister", for altitude sickness
pills.  A little while later she returned with Agua de
Alhazar, Mate de Coca, and a chunk of Glucose.  I had
to take a spoonful of this Agua de Alhazar, whatever
that was, and suck on the glucose.  The Agua de
Alhazar tasted like straight vodka, but it did help,
and I was able to get a few hours of sleep.

Okay, do you think this is long enough?  I do.  Sorry
about all the long e-mails, but I know it is just the
first week that I want to get everything out!

Hasta Luego,

Jillian

(Part 2 of my trip to Peru, told through my e-mails)
¡Mas noticìas!

I arrived in Cusco on Tuesday morning, at 7:30.
Flying over the Andes was soooo beautiful, you cannot
imagine.  And the town is cradled in a beautiful
valley.  The two women (Sonja & Roxana) who came to
collect me at the airport ushered me over to a car,
and it was certainly different then first class!  It
was old and beat up, and had no seatbelts, but that
seems to be the way here.  I think that most people
don´t have cars, which is no big deal, since a taxi is
only 2 soles anywhere in the city, which equals about
60 american cents.

Yeah, I thought they would speak to me in english, but
no!  Always in Spanish, and I was actually surprised,
that I was able to talk with them fine, and understand
them pretty well.  They took me back to Sonja´s house,
where I would be staying.  I thought I would be in an
apartment by myself, but that turns out not to be the
case.  I do have my own apartment in her house, kind
of.  It is on the very top level of her house, and it
is the only thing on that floor.  I have my own
bedroom, a small kitchenette (no stove or refigerator)
and my own bathroom and shower.  And the view is
magnificent, looking out over all the city.  ¡Que
lindo¡

But, even though I have my own space, the family
serves me all my meals, so food is included (which is
good for my wallet).  At the family there is two
women, probably in their early 40s, and their mother,
and a young women who lives there and does the
cleaning and such.  Occassionally, Sonja´s husband or
brother or children are there, but most of the time,
it is just me and my two older "sisters" and my
"madre". 

Tuesday I just slept all day long.  Every now and
again, they would bring up some food, or pop their
heads in to say hello, but mostly just sleep.

That first night was horrible, I was so unhappy.  My
stomache was uneasy, and I didn´t know if I wanted to
be there.  Cusco, and Peru, is very poor.  All the
houses are made of adobe brick, and many are falling
apart, and it just is a whole different world.  There
is a lot of pollution, and the cars drive like crazy.
And of course, everything is in Spanish.

I tried to calm down, and go to sleep for the evening.
Eventually, I succeded.  But boy, was I ready to come
home!!

more later!

Jillian

(My first e-mail to friends & family while I was traveling to Peru)

It has been a while since I´ve been able to sit down
at the internet, to give you guys my update, and I
have much sooo much to say.  I might have to break
this down into chunks!

MONDAY:
Ugh, what a day.  I woke up at 5:30 in the morning,
for my entire day of flying.  It was a very very long
day, and I didn´t get to sleep very much at all, so I
was pretty much dead by the time I arrived in Cusco at
7:30 in the morning on Tuesday.

Of course, I loved flying first class, especially how
you don´t have to wait in lines (including the long
line through security), and they bring you drinks
before the plane even lifts off.  I did think it was
interesting how everyone on first class were
middle-aged white men, until the flight to Peru, where
there was a better mix of people, and then on the
flight to Cusco, first class was pretty much empty.

Miami was a trip.  I felt like I was already in Peru!
I got off the plane (at about 9:30 at night) and
everywhere everyone was speaking spanish.  Then, to
find my gate for the flight to Peru, I had to walk
about a half hour, it was kinda creepy, because it was
these narrow hallways, and they were empty.  And, on
top of that, they weren´t listing the gate for the
flight to Peru.  Once I was just about there, two
women stopped me, and started speaking to me in
spanish, one worked at the airport, the other was an
older hispanic lady, and they wanted to know where the
gate for the flight to Peru was.  I was very tired,
but in my broken spanish, was able to help her out.
And by the time I got to the gate, boy, did I feel
white!  I certainly stood out.  Later, a few other
gringos showed up, and I thought it was interesting
that they tended to search each other out.  An older
german couple often stuck quite close to me.

And then I arrived in Lima, oh boy, at 4:30 in the
morning.  And at that point, of course, it was spanish
from then on out!  I was sooooooo greatful for the
amount of Spanish that I had before I left.  I was
able to ask where my flight was, and freak out about
where my bags where, and everything.  But boy, was I
dead.

It was interesting, in Lima, I heard "the flight for
Cusco is departing"(in english), and started freaking
out, because I still had to go through the long line
to pay the airport tax, and then get in the long line
to go through security.  But when I finally got there,
I was one of the last people.  I think "the plane for
Cusco is departing" means that it is boarding.  Then
we all got on a bus, that took us out to a plane, and
we climbed some stairs up to the airplane.  Boy, was
it humid, even at 5 in the morning!

Finally, I arrived in Cusco, and made my way to the
baggage claim, and past all the guys asking if I
wanted a taxi, to find the two women holding a sign
saying "Jillian Harrintong".  I pointed and smiled,
and dragged my way though the barrier over to them...

Okay, that brings me to Tuesday!  More later!

Ciao!

Jillian

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm going to take you with me on a little journey to Peru.  I went there back in 2004 for two months.  I wanted to go to Peru quite badly, and so went to my then college Marylhurst University, and created two courses for myself.  I selected my reading list, went down there to do independent study, and wrote a few papers afterwards.

While I learned much about the Inca's and their spirituality, and about Liberation Theology, I learned a lot more about poverty, the strength of the Peruvian people, and the limits of my tolerance level for being called gordita. 

Gordita, in spanish, basically translates as a cross between fatty and honey.  But I tell you what, I don't care what you cross fatty with, it doesn't sound any nicer.