Cusco...it happened

About a month ago now I traveled to Cusco.  It was a whirlwind adventure-we packed a whole lot of doing into five days.  Not exactly my ideal travel situation, but it was a great chance to see the hits of Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Happy as a clam (photo credit Alisha Thompson).

Wednesday after an early morning flight we tried to take it easy to avoid seroche (altitude sickness). We took a group siesta and had a light lunch of sopa de quinoa before heading out to see the archaeological sites of: Saksaywaman, Qenko, Pukapukara, and Tambomachay.  I had no problems with the altitude, but not everyone was so lucky.  Before the day was over several people were forced to make friends with Mr. Oxyshot.   That night we ate the most bad ass pizza #Cuscoisgringocity.

Adrienne playing on a natural slide at Saksaywaman.

Group shot in front of Saksaywaman.

 A geologist always nose.

 Bad ass rock work. Check it.

Mi segundo novio peruano (after Wong, before la S)...

San Luis=7 liters of pure love.

Thursday we woke up BALLS early to head to the rural community of Chahuay.  We spent the morning learning about Sierra Productiva (an NGO that helps indigenous communities develop sustainable agriculture: http://www.sierraproductiva.org/) and visiting with campesinos.  After a delicious traditional lunch we headed to Casa Hogar Maria de Nazareth, a shelter for at risk girls.  Every year the IFSA students trade performances with the girls, and every year IFSA students pull together their show on the bus en route to the Casa Hogar.  After much debate we settled on: "Barbara Anne", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (featuring Mikey as Timon, Logan as Simba, Adrienne as Nala, and Me as Pumba), and "Wanna Be" for our show.  

Compañero Francisco and company preparing a delicious breakfast...

 Hard boiled eggs, GIANT lima beans, choclo, fish, and pancito.

 This is paradise...

 Enroute to the cerro mirador

 Made it.

Alisha hamming it up with the locals.

 Watching the girls perform (photo credit Laura Balbuena).

Exchanging gifts (photo credit Laura Balbuena).

Dancing...the "Macarena" may have happened at one point 

(photo credit Laura Balabuena).

Wish I was joking, but here is "Barbie Girl" in quechua.

They played this at least 15 times during our visit.

On Friday we made a day out of our trip to Aguas Calientes. In the morning we stopped at the Awana Kancha Llama farm to pet llamas, learn about traditional textiles, and shop (although the high quality wools were a little out my price range).  After lunch we checked out the ruins of Písac and Ollantaytambo as well as the Písac market.  That night we took the train to Aguas Calientes-the world's most expensive town (on slice of pie=17 soles).

LLAMAS

Ruins of Písac

 Tiwanaku style door way at Ollantaytambo.

 Look mom we're window sized (photo credit Alisha Thompson).

Making our way to the top...

Looking down on the town of Ollantaytambo. 

.

Group shot (photo credit Laura Balbuena). 

Waiting in the train station after a long day...

Erin playing the part of hippy, backpacker, gringa tool.

 The study table...very serious.

Saturday-Machu Picchu por fin!  We got up real early to catch the first bus to the site...to get "the shot" before the other tourists arrived.

Erin, Adrienne, and I...

 What a candid.

And then descended to explore the famous site...where I may or may not have urinated dos veces.

 La luz andina

 La Esparza (my Narrative professor) would be proud.

 Exploring.

 Adrienne, Sara, and Erin

 Sara, Adrienne, and I in the famous three doorways...Peru's next top model?

 Casual éxito in the Temple Circuit.

The Miraflores of Machu Picchu.

Lima la Horrible

Perhaps no other city could inspire such extravagantly hyperbolic language.  “Lima la Horrible” (1964) by Salazar Bondy is an ambitious critique of the Peruvian oligarchy; it perfectly characterizes the “odio-amor” (love-hate) that limeños feel for their city.  I picked up a copy of the essay at the Biblioteca Central after a professor mentioned it in class.  Post-parciales I realized that thinking outside the box is not built into the structure of any of my classes; taking my education to the next level requires a little extra legwork.  And I am certainly glad I did; the essay certainly has already informed my daily life and may have inspired my “narrativa trabajo final”.  I hope to work with the portrayal of Lima as a woman in Bondy's work and the female characters in La Ciudad y Los Perros.

I spent the past week exploring, in a big way.  Tuesday after class two friends and I continued what is rapidly becoming a tradition: Tuesday tragos (aka casual fun after Peruvian Social Reality).  We took advantage of cheap cine tickets to see Asu Mare, the semi-biographical film by Peruvian comedian Carlos Alcántara (Cachín). The film has broken numerous records, rapidly becoming the most popular film in the history of Peruvian cinema (according to la Republica its more popular than Harry Potter or Twilight): http://www.larepublica.pe/18-04-2013/asu-mare-rompe-records-en-la-historia-cinematografica-del-peru.  Over a month after opening night the theater was still packed.  Some critics dislike the stereotypical image the film presents of Latino mothers, but I found Asu Mare pretty funny (although I probably only understood half the jokes) and weirdly heartwarming.

I recently discovered that there is an enormous zoo a couple of blocks from la Católica.  Naturally, a couple of friends and I had to check it out.  Classic Lima, Parque de la Leyendas couldn’t just be a zoo.  There were several Huacas (archaeological sites), a children's amusement park, and a small lake enclosed within the grounds.  The day ended with an expedition to the food court in Jockey Plaza (somewhere between Surco and La Molina) and the obligatory combi struggle to return home.

Map of the grounds

Front entrance

 Sara, Hugo, Adrienne, and Martín (hiding from the camera 

per usual) in the children's maze.

Hippos-my FAVORITE

Friday, after sampling what is perhaps Lima’s most legit Mexican food (the Burrito Bar in Barranco-a chipotle style joint owned by an Australian) a couple of friends and I headed to el Teatro Racional to see “Por qué cojea Candy” (Why does Canday limp?): http://www.rpp.com.pe/2013-05-16-estrenan-obra-teatral-por-que-cojea-candy-noticia_595512.html.  The show, set in la selva of Peru, told the story Candy an adolescent “injured” by Peruvian society during the terrorism and drug trafficking of the eighties.  Like all two women shows staged in black box theaters, the play was difficult to understand on multiple levels-a problem only complicated by the fact that it was in Spanish.  However between the five of us we were able to piece together the plot; the play was incredibly intense, particularly the thematic pairing of violence and sex.  There was nudity, lots of nudity, and I may have been threatened with a machete from my seat practically on the stage.

Saturday I dragged a couple of friends to el Centro to help me pick up my number and chip for the Lima Marathon from Parque de la Reserva.  It was a really good thing I went with friends because the journey was not without its fair share of Metropolitano struggles.  But when we finally arrived: Surprise!  There was a huge running exposition in honor of the race with lots of free swag.  Afterwards we headed to Polvos Azules to experience Lima’s enormous informal (black market) Centro Comercial.  We spent the rest of the day people watching in Parque de la Exposición, a park that contains a Japanese pogoda, a Chinese fountain, and an Italian art museum.  During the afternoon we witnessed a show by a mime from Chiclayo, a parade of people on stilts, and a concert. 

Entrance...

Authentic Nikes...yeah right

 Antiquities

Oh, and Sunday I ran the Lima Marathon: http://www.lima42k.com/home.php.  Considering the circumstances it’s a miracle that I finished, even more so that I ran under 4 hours.  I registered for the race when I was in a very different place mentally; after I quit skiing I wasn’t quite ready to give up my image of myself as an athlete.  Since I arrived in Lima my need for competition has gradually evaporated (“esto es el efecto del Perú”).  I injured myself three weeks ago, and hadn’t run more than 45 minutes since my return from Cusco (where I didn’t run at all).  On top of this, I spent the past week crippled by the Lima hack (I think everyone might have respiratory problems in this city).  Really all the signs were telling me not to run, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t at least start and let’s be honest, I usually finish the things I start.  So it wasn’t the glorious first marathon that I was hoping for (although I got my runner’s high between 12 and 21 kilometers) in fact it was mostly miserable, but I finished.  And what’s more a handful of my close friends from the program were there at the finish line in San Isidro to pick up the pieces.  This was probably the highlight of the day (appart from hearing the phrase “vamos Leona” directed at me) was realizing that here on the other side of the equator I have some really, truly wonderful friends.  

Para ser limeña

Lima I love you.  Lima I hate you.  I can’t help but feel conflicted in this city of contrast, inequity, and change.  How do I understand you?  How do I become part of you? 

There are approximately 9 million ways to be part of Lima.  So how do I become a true limeña?  Well we’ll start with being mirafloreña…it takes a surprising combination of grit and class.  Who better to personify this city than some of its most charming protagonistas? 

To be a verdadera mirafloreña you have to:

1)   Put your make up on during your morning combi ride.  Better yet, curl your eyelashes with a spoon.

2)   Call the bodega for wine delivery.

3)   Rock heels on the most slippery sidewalks in the world.

4)   Put taxi drivers in their place.

5)   Charm your cobrador into the best prices with a single glance.

6)   Unabashedly throw elbows when waiting in line for the combi.

7)   Enjoy Bembos, and Inka Cola.  Or at least pretend to.  Be outraged every time a restaurant doesn’t have Inka Cola.

8)   Prepare un arroz chaufa buenasso.

9)   Secretly prefer huevona to flaca.

10)       Use chaufa organically.  Like you don’t even care.

11)       Shame middle-aged men out of their seats on the combi.

12)       Avanzar allll fondo…fuck no.

13)        Avoid eye contact as you keep your asiento reservado.

14)       Pack you own groceries, somehow you end up with five bags for two items

15)       Set the breakfast table with at least 16 plates, and then serve coffee with a saucer.

16)       Be horrified every time someone hasn’t tried ceviche.

17)       Cross streets with reckless abandon...you wanna run me down, I don’t think so.

18)       Take a combi tres cuadras…and then complain about how far it is to get to Wong.

19)       Your dietary staples are: pancito, hot dog, ice cream, and platano.

20)       Un luca y china to get to la Católica...olvidate.

21)       Curse out a piropo.

22)       Make sure to tell your American host daughter that “they’re going rob you” every time she looks especially nice.

23)       Know more English than Quechua or Aymara or Tupi.

24)       Be able to argue about what is better Pardos or Norkys.

25)       Be able to hold an in depth conversation about why Bembos is better than all the other fast food chains...focusing on patty consistency.

26)       Wear a see-thru shirt, and or pants, and or both...no big deal.  Do I look like I care?

27)       Tremor, what tremor? I lived through the Pisco earthquake of 2007.

28)       Leave if there is no aji.

29)       Buy all you clothes in la quinta or polvos azules…Nikes, sí son Nikes autenticos.

30)       You can’t make out with your boy friend in your parents house, but the public park...why not?
31)    Holes in my jeans, no problem I'll wear tights too.

La Nueva Sincrética: Sometimes I go to class too

This past week, we had parciales (mid terms); I have never been less prepared for important examinations in my life.  My academic experience in Peru has been an adjustment.  First, there was the language barrier; in most classes I found my Peruvian classmates harder to understand than my professors.  The obvious exception being my Arqueology professor; he speaks “entre dientes” and I still only catch one word in five.   

Furthermore, the structure of Peruvian Universities is completely different; by this I mean there is a general lack of structure.  This is not to say its better or worse, harder or easier; it’s just different.  In one of my classes we basically don’t have assigned readings (except for three groups of articles that we need to read for our three “controls”-reading quizzes) or homework.  My exams were all between 2 and 3 hours, and consisted of extremely open-ended essay questions-a far cry from Collin’s epic take home exams.    

In general, I have been struggling with focus and motivation.  I can’t shake the feeling of being “en media de nada”.  In abstract my courses are interesting enough, but I am not studying the things that interest me most; it almost makes me miss MatLab.

But that’s not to say that my experience in la Católica has been a complete waste.  I really like Contemporary Peruvian Narrative; a class that focuses on the origins of the literary style: “indigenismo” and its evolution through the work of Jose María Arguedas and Mario Vargas Llosa.  The professor studied in the United States, and understands what it means to be an “extranjero”; she is sympathetic to the foreign students without being condescending.  

The experience of being a racial or cultural minority is intimately tied to the central theme of the course.  Our midterm focused on Los Ríos Profundos by Arguedas.  This semi-biographical novel focuses on the development of Ernesto, an adolescent misti who is trapped between two worlds.  Through Ernesto, Arguedas questions the implications of modernization for Andean culture, and contemplates the social changes necessary to implement modernization without acculturation.  (All the while giving some pretty spectacular descriptions of nature and Inca stonework!)     

I spent most of my time studying for Narrativa because it is my only class that is worth the effort (“el unico que vale la pena”).  Over the weekend I reviewed the readings and course themes with a group of friends; while studying in my house we watched a series of YouTube videos that more or less encapsulate the central themes of the novel:

Diversity of Peru

“No, no hay país más diverso, más multiple en variedad terrena y humana; todos los grados de calor y color, de amor y odio, de urdimbres y sutilezas, de símbolos ultilizados e inspiradores.” –Jose María Arguedas

The migrant experience

“La vasta discursividad arguediana examina casi siempre con optimismo la fortaleza o la astucia (la ‘plasticidad cultural’ diría Rama) que permite al hombre andino apropriarse selectivamente de atributos que le son ajenos y enriquecer con ellos su experiencia del mundo.” –Antonio Cornejo Polar

The Nostalgia of the Foreigner

“Después de todo, migrar es algo así como nostalgia desde un presente que es o debería ser pleno las muchas instancias y estancias que se dejaron allá y entonces, un allá y un entonces que de pronto se descubre que son el acá de la memoria insomne pero fragmentada y el ahora que tanto corre como se ahonda, verticalmente, en un tiempo espeso que acumula sin sintetizar las experiencias del ayer y de los espacios que se dejaron atrás y que siguen perturbano con rabia o con ternura.” –Antonio Cornejo Polar

Acculturation vs. Adaptation-About the Mestizo Project   

 “Yo no soy un aculturado; yo soy un peruano que orgullosamente, como un demonio feliz, habla en Cristiano y en indio, en español y en quechua.  Deseaba convertir esa realidad en lenguaje artístico y tal parece, según cierto consenso más o menos general, que lo he conseguido.” –Jose María Arguedas

The Importance of Language

“El problema era cómo cruzar esta distancia y llegar al lector; mostrarle la sociedad andina de tal forma que pudiera ver al mismo tiempo ‘su propio rostro’.  Arguedas vio que la dificultad técnica básica era el lenguaje.  El lenguaje y la cultura son indivisibles, y por lo tanto no era fácil que el español se convirtiera en un vehículo para la cultura y la sensibilidad quechua.” –William Rowe

Social Change

“La chichera encarna la promesa de una cultura emergente…el drama de la modernidad no se actúa solo en las grandes ciudades ni sus actores pertenecen en exclusividad, a las capas ilustradas.” –Peter Elmore

But don’t worry we made room for fun as well; my study group and I made time to go to la Noche en Blanco, an event in Barranco.  La Plaza Central was transformed into a concert venue for a series of concerts (Lucho Quequezana, DJ Hanna Has, and Dengue Dengue Dengue) and the streets were filled with installations of contemporary art and architecture.  The art was…interesting, and the butt of many jokes about the Post Modern World, but the event was a great way to have fun and get culture on a Saturday night. 

Me gusta... 

La Casa Verde-coincidentally a book by Mario Vargas Llosa

 Photo credit Kelly Carasco

When I was skimming through “separatas” (photocopies of various chapters from the Handbook of South American Archaeology of questionable legality) on the combi en route to my exam I had an epiphany of sorts.  Supposedly I was reviewing for my archaeology exam, but the only things that really interested me were the descriptions of geography of South America and the geologic context for the archaeological sites.  I got really excited when my archaeology textbook recommended that I read Science for more information about plant domestication.  Guess I am lucky to be studying what I truly love back home in the States.