Sing!

Fun Fact No. 33:

Continuing my list of the 10 events of note that have happened recently:

5. Sing, sing, sing...
Last night was my second time to direct the Capella Tributo Harmonioso, a new choir (with small trio) in town. I've been playing with them and I am also playing with the main choir in Iquitos, Coro Polifonico de Loreto, but they needed a director and since I don't sing (apart from my Ethel Merman interpretations and the occasional Brazilian MPB number), I got the job. It's a lot tougher than I realized but it turned out well. Last night was even better than the first concert, and it helps tremendously that these people have amazing voices AND they are good musicians. They all read music extremely well and they can sightread on the spot. Plus they just have good ears. It turned out really well and we're going to start getting ready for the Valentine's gig. They want to sing "More Than Words" by Extreme, so we might just do an arrangement. We'll see...

6. Judge?
I was asked recently to judge a villancico competition at the school where I work with the orchestra. Villancicos are Christmas carols, basically, and there was one choir from each grade, the equivilent of K-12. They were really sweet, although some were terrible. There were three judges: me, Karim Ruiz, who plays the piano, and one of the nuns. We had to judge based on arrangement, intonation, rhythm, and overall presentation. It was kind of fun, and now I've been asked to judge various and sundry other artistic competitions.

7. Motorcycle
Well, I've done it. I've learned how to ride a motorcycle WELL and I've got what's basically a learner's permit. I just have to wait a week to get the official document and I'll be licensed to kill. Literally. However, driving a motorcycle with a clutch is a struggle because DAMN it hurts your hands and your wrist. I can only imagine the number of motorcyclists out there with carpel tunnel and whatnot. When I buy my motorcycle, I'll be sure to wear a wrist brace.

That's all for now. More tomorrow!

Secret Language

Fun Fact No. 32: Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Yup, Christmas Eve is the big day, and Christmas is meant for hangovers. You eat with the fam, and then hit up the town. Nutty, huh?

Well, it has been an eventful past few weeks! I think I’m going to go ahead and do a “Top 10” just because otherwise this blog would be LONG. I’ll start with four for now and continue in the upcoming days. So here we go (with disclaimer: this is not necessarily the order of fun or enjoyment, just the best 10 of the recent past):

1. Christmas Spirit

In Peru, Christmas Eve is the important part of Christmas. Meera and I, accompanied by almost the entire household, went to Quisto Cocha for the day. It was a wonderful time. Quisto is kind of like a zoo in the middle of the jungle with a big lagoon to swim in and a really nice beach with white sand. We looked at all the animals, swung on a rope swing, and played volleyball (Meera and I SUCK!). We swam (well, not Meera) and hung out and had an all around wonderful time. Even more fun was later that evening after a mild food crisis (as in, what’s for dinner?) when we went to Veronica’s boyrfriend’s cousin’s house (can you keep up?) where we danced until about 5:30am and then a big ole group of us took Meera to the airport. It was SO much fun but also exhausting. We got home at 8am. I doubt that Meera slept on the plane so here’s hoping she got some rest in Cusco that night!

2. Lima’s not such a hellhole…

Meera got in on Monday, the 18^th, and starting from that moment all we had was FUN. And who knew that Lima isn’t the hellhole that it normally appears to be? We did the whole nine yards – went up to the top of the mountain to see the whole city, Miraflores, Barrancos, the ocean, San Juan de Lurigancho, downtown…We stayed with Mario Sr.’s older sister for two nights and stayed with Dina’s younger sister for a night. We hung out with another one of Mario Sr.’s sisters and also a trombonist I befriended when he was on tour in Iquitos. We hung out with Mario Jr. who’s been in Lima for about 3 weeks. We bebopped from here to there and it was SO much fun!

3. Skinny Mini & Starches

Who knew you could lose weight in Iquitos? Well, now that I’m down by nearly 15 pounds, and even my hoochie Peru pants don’t fit, I can tell you, it’s SO possible. The starches are too much for me to handle, and so I just can’t eat them. And plus they only eat about 2 big meals a day and in the US I eat about 5 times a day. Meera helped me revise my diet and I am GOING to gain that weight back, dammit! I’m now eating a huge salad a day and more protein and so in future pictures, I won’t look so emaciated, I promise.

4. Secret Language

It was really wonderful having Meera here for a million reasons. Not only did we just have a wonderful time, but we also had a secret language: English. It was kind of fun to babble off in another language and no one understands. I know, it's cheating, but it was fun nonetheless.

Choir Director

Fun Fact No. 31: People in Iquitos are ALWAYS late. It´s called the "hora loretana" or the Loreto Hour, which basically means that people are always late. And I´m not talking like 5 or 10 minutes. I´m talking an hour. And let me tell you how insanely AGGRAVATING that is. Well, it is.

On a lighter note than the last blog, I´m now directing a choir. Thank Jesus I took conducting in undergrad before dropping my music ed degree and pursuing ethnomusicology full time. Man, does that help. But it´s still scary stuff, especially this one piece that changes meters about ever other bar. But this choir is good, really good and so I´m learning quickly. Although it´s a bit nervewracking. And I love to sing in my car, but I haven´t sung in a choir since high school. Seriously. But good freaking experience! Damn, Gina, who knew all this music ed stuff and even Mozart would come in handy in the middle of the jungle? I´m loving it!

Also, I´m learning to play volleyball. I pretty much SUCK but I should be good, especially considering that I´m tall and I should be able to spike. Ha! Some friends of mine have taken me on as their little project and it´s kind of funny but if you can believe it, I actually improved about 100 times yesterday from Thursday. You should see me - it´s really funny. But I´m getting it.

We had the farewell party for Lars, Lilia, and César on Wednesday. We ate at Al Carbón, this fancy joint that serves mostly MEAT and lemme just tell you about the quantity I ate: TONS. I´m talking 2 pork chops, chorizo, 1/4 of a chicken, potatoes, and anticucho (grilled heart). I´ve lost almost 10 pounds since I´ve been here (I know, I have to work on putting on the pounds), so there was no guilt in gorging myself like a freak! Afterwards, we went to the hippest place I have seen in Iquitos: Nocoro, a little bar on the river. You take stairs down about two flights from street level and then you cross a bridge and you arrive in this beautiful, open bar with couches and lanterns, and moonlight. It´s just beautiful and it was the perfect spot for a relaxing party among intimate friends. Aunt Anita baked a pineapple upside down cake for the occasion, and we sang a song and drank beer and ate cake. It was so sweet. It was Lars, Lilia, César, Mario Luís, Mónica, Gloria (Mónica´s roommate) and Paco (Mónica´s friend visiting from Spain). It was just perfect.

On Thursday, there was a huge fiesta in Punchana, this really beautiful district of Iquitos that´s a little far from my house. It was for the Purísima (Super Pure) Virgin, and it was complete with beer, ferris wheels, food, and dancing AND (most importantly for me), a velada, or religious dance in front of the statue of the Purísima in a warehouse. Los Solteritos played and little old ladies danced back and forth with hankerchiefs. It´s not too much more complicated than that, but I really enjoyed myself. And it was the first time that Kathryn The Ethnographer came out of the closet, video camera and all. Kind of scary, but kind of fun once everyone realized that I´m in with the band!

Afterwards, I ran into one of the boys that works at the lumber store at home and we went dancing to Grupo Explosión, which was hilarious because there weren´t very many people there and the lead singer, Eduardo, was waving at me and blowing kisses, and the audience was like "what´s with the gringa?" Entertaining, at least.

Tonight we´re having a party for my friend who tried to commit suicide. We need to show her how much she is LOVED and how many friends she has. No one wants her to go all the way over the edge. Here´s hoping it´s a rip roaring success.

Almost Suicide

Fun Fact No. 29: Peruvians (or at least the ones in the Amazon) love ceremony. If there is an opportunity for a speech (or 30) or a parade, rain or shine, these people are ON it! Often infuriating, but also endearing, ceremony is huge here.

Fun Fact No. 30: Hospitals in Iquitos don't provide sheets or toilet paper. Seems simple and very hospitally, right? Nope. Unless you want to sleep on a nasty mattress, bring your own sheets. If you want to go to the bathroom, bring your own damn TP. Good Lord, you would think a roll of toilet paper costs $376!


On Monday night, at around 10pm, a friend of mine here tried to commit suicide by eating rat poison (the brand is called Campeón, which means Champion. Ironic, right?). She's 21 years old, is a fourth year student in international business at the University, loves to dance, sing, and has a smile from ear to ear. Well, obviously, her smile might not always be for real, because she downed a good quantity of poison. According to the doctors, it wasn't enough to kill her, but certainly enough to make her seriously sick and to do permanent damage to her intestines and other organs. She was taken to the Regional Hospital after her dad took her to a local clinic and she'll be there for 3 days where she's under psychiatric supervision. We went to visit her yesterday in the hospital and considering the circumstances, she's doing well. She talks pretty openly about the whole thing, whereas my natural instinct is to make jokes and keep her laughing. She says she'll never do it again, but jeez, once you take rat poison you've gotta be hurting pretty badly, right? Her mom died about 3 years ago, and I guess she's been stressed out ever since with her dad and his new wife etc. etc. Sorry to start this blog off on a sad note.

Continuing on the depressing note, I met three Americans last night at the Texas restaurant. They are all really nice boys (2 from LA and 1 from Alabama), Mark, Scott, and Craig, and we had a great time just shooting the bull and relaxing. All of the sudden, Scott started telling me about his mom who died a little over a year ago. To start with, while these guys were really nice, they were also slightly frattier than I tend to get along with, so I was really surprised by Scott's candidness. I don't think I've ever spoken so openly about my mom's death with anyone, less a stranger who I've known for 15 minutes. But it was really nice. He was very open and was very intent on really talking about it, and it was actually pretty therapeutic. I used to always get peoples' email addresses when I traveled, afraid I would lose touch with them. And I usually did lose touch with them except for about 2 out of a hundred. Then I realized that maybe those people were meant to cross your path at that moment for just that moment, without need to try to maintain a friendship. I panicked the first few times I didn't get someone's email address, but now I'm much better about it. Scott is a prime example. I had a lovely time talking with him, and I'll never see him again in my life, and that's perfectly OK. Well, thanks Scott, I appreciate it. :)

On other notes, Lars leaves at the end of this week to do a Peru tour and then head back to Austin, which saddens me. Also, Lilia is heading back to Cusco at the end of this month, most likely to stay there. And Cesar is getting married at the end of this month, and although he'll be back, it'll be different. Our little group, Lars, Lilia, Mario Luis, Cesar, Monica and me is disintegrating and once again, I have to remind myself that everything happens for a reason and it's time for a new epoch here in Iquitos. Tonight we're going to have a combo bachelor party and going away party, cake and all, to celebrate the past two and a half months of fabulous friendship. And it really is friendship. Friendship happens a lot faster when you're in a crazy, foreign place and you kind of need to fill that space. It's been great.

A little sappy, this blog, but next time I'll tell you about the new choir I'm playing with, about how Meera is getting here in 2 weeks, my friend Tony may well do a Peruvian tour, and how I've been hired to do transcriptions. Crazy, right?

Tchaikovsky in Iquitos

Fact No. 27: Bras are important. I’m not sure how this particular fashion trend began heFun re in Iquitos, but it’s true. They sell beaded bra straps on every street corner. Clear bra straps are also super popular. Also, if you’re wearing a strappy tank top, you should wear the beaded bra straps or a halter bra strap. Point being, bra straps should be seen. Oh, and bras are SUPER padded too. So much for me and my Target bras...

Fun Fact No. 28: Band geeks are universal. Yup, sad but true. A Peruvian band geek is just as dorky as an American band geek as you will see below.

Well, who knew that November would fly by so quickly?? Was it the anticipation of my birthday? Was it that I wasn’t working on my prospectus every bloody day? Was it that my fieldwork has really gotten underway? But really, how is it December already? I am perplexed. Well, regardless, a few tidbits that have happened as of late:

1. I went to see a brass quintet from Lima called Sounds Brass. They all studied at the Lima Conservatory and they all play in the national symphony. The really neat thing was that they didn’t just sit down and play, which would seriously bore any person from Iquitos who has never seen a trombone before and could care less about Handel. They played pieces from all over the place, from the theme to Star Wars to Little Brown Jug. In between each piece, they talked about the piece, its origins, and they also gave a little lesson on each instrument (2 trumpets, 1 french horn, 1 tuba, 1 trombone) and its history. It was completely A) entertaining and B) didactic. People here just have no idea about this kind of music, and it was a great experience.

2. Speaking of Sounds Brass, later that night I went to Noa, one of only 2 discotecas here in Iquitos, and it just happens to be the one where I've never been. I went with Monica and her roommate Gloria and we had a ball. Especially after we started dancing with three of the quintet who showed up. And lemme just tell you, these guys are DEFINITELY band geeks. The only difference between them and regular band geeks is that they can at least dance salsa pretty well. Which might be a hugely offensive statement to those BG who can dance salsa well, but I would imagine they are few and far between. I felt like I was in my home country, and it was fun fun FUN.

3. I have been preparing with Fernando the cellist and pianist a concert at the Fatima grade school featuring the first orchestra EVER of Iquitos. He has singlehandedly mounted this orchestra in 6 months - which includes teaching the girls what a violin is, how to read music, how to listen, and play. IN ONLY 6 MONTHS!!!!! Last night was the premier concert and the auditorium was PACKED. The orchestra (16 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, 1 bass, 2 alto recorders, 1 piano and including yours truly on flute) played 4 pieces (Adeste Fideles, The Titanic theme song, Practice Time, and the famous bit of Beethoven's 9th). This performance was followed by the first ever ballet of Iquitos, the Nutcracker with just about the cutest ballerinas EVER. It was a roaring success, and with the video footage, I hope to bust out the baddest ass "Musicians Without Borders" organization ever. Well, here's hoping!

Kathryn 2

Fun Fact No. 26: You can fit a lot of people on a motorcycle. So far I've only ridden a motorcycle by myself, double, and triple. I have seen cuadruple and even quintuple (sp?). Today, however, I saw six. SIX people on a motorcycle - three adults, three kids. Holy crap, folks.

Well, in one fell swoop, I became a godmother of two people. One was born on my birthday at 9am. She's a healthy baby girl who was named after me. We call her Kathryn 2. The other turns fifteen in a month and never had a godmother and needs one for her quinceanera. She's one of the girls that works at the house and is a cousin of the family. Her name is Silvia and I just love her to pieces. Within about 2 days, I got godmother duty. I get to baptize Kathryn 2 and I get to parade Silvia around in her beautiful ball gown. Fun!

Burpday Party

Fun Fact No. 25: Peruvian olives are GIGANTIC. Strange, but true. They are kind of sweet,
and just HUGE. They're black olives and they're used in the most regional food of the Amazon: the juane, a yummy concoction of rice, saffron, chicken, and an olive wrapped up in a banana leaf and then boiled.

Ah, birthdays. The low down of this rather fabulous birthday weekend:

Saturday was The Big Day (officially, in the books, of course) and I woke up feeling great. I chatted with April for a while (I heart Skype!) and then went back home to find the cebiche in the making. There was an empty space between our house and the next house, so they built another house (which takes about 5 days – literally put some big logs in the mud, add some crossbeams, throw on some thatch and some 2x8s for a floor, and you got yourself a house. And since it doesn’t yet have walls, it’s the perfect place for a party) and that’s where we put all the chairs. People started coming around 2pm and we sat outside, ate cebiche, listened to MY music (i.e. not tecno-cumbia) including jazz, bossa nova, some indie rock, etc. and just shot the bull and drank wine. It was delightfully relaxing, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was quite lovely. Monica, Lars, Mario Luis, César, Lilia, Veronica R., Matilde & Elvira, a few aunts, a few neighbors, Edward…I think that’s everyone plus the family, of course. It was so terrific. Just wonderful and intimate. Monica & Co. brought a cake, which was delightful. It was relaxing and sweet.

Later on, when it was just Monica, me, Dina, and Mario Sr., Monica, Kirle, and I headed out to Mario Luis’ where Lars was cooking pizza. The pizza was Chicago-style – thick crust and just delicious. We sat around and drank wine, shot the bull, and just generally relaxed. It made me feel like I was in Austin. Which was really needed, because I missed my friends (still miss my friends) very much.

Sunday rolled around and let me just tell you – FIESTA! People started showing up around 2 and we served a rather rich lunch. The first course was inchicapi, a sort of pureed plantain soup with chicken in it. The second was ají de gallina (hen chili), which is a sweet sauce made out of sweet peppers and poured over sliced potatoes, garnished with an olive, lettuce, and part of a hard boiled egg. I was expecting about 20 people. In total, I think there were about 50. It was tremendous. Dancing and drinking began around 4 and didn’t stop until 11pm. There was beer, wine, coptél (aguardiente, which is basically moonshine, with beaten eggs, milk, and a bit of coffee. Usually disgusting but this time surprisingly delicious), and martini with sprite (a yummy combo I learned about in Spain). Salsa, reggaeton, and tecno-cumbia reigned, but it was fun. Around 7 they brought out a beautiful (and delicious!) cake and sang happy birthday, which is usually followed by toasts from everyone and then some words by the birthday girl, but because there were so many people, just Mario Jr. toasted with a lovely (and thankfully short) blurb. I gave a short blurb, thanking everyone for coming, and for making my short seven weeks in Iquitos so wonderful. We ate cake and kept dancing. Those of you who know me, know that it’s often difficult for me to relax at my parties because I want to be sure that everyone is having a great time. The same was true at this party, until after the cake was served. Then I went a bit nuts. By 10:30 I went to bed, I was a smidge on the inebriated side of things. All in all, it was a wonderful day.

The Big Day

Fun Fact No. 24: You can tell everyone it’s your birthday because they really care. In the US, who cares (besides your friends and family) if it’s your birthday? Here, everyone wants to know when it is, from the taxi drivers to the waitresses. It’s a huge deal. I wonder if the life expectancy is lower, or if it’s just a good excuse to hug people or if birthdays just make people happy. Lord knows I love birthdays (my own and anyone else’s) so maybe it’s just a general love of birthdays.

Well, today’s the big day. 28 years old. Who knew I would make it this far? Now I’m REALLY in my late 20s. I’ve heard that the 30s blow the 20s out of the water, so here’s hoping, especially considering I only have two more years left. April said she was going to start calling me Granny Kathryn. I do have grey hairs, you know. There’s this little patch on the back of my head, but I’ve had it since I was 20. Ha! Anyway, I know how blessed I am. When I moved to Austin, I swore that I would

a) never complain about the heat (and sure enough, I really love it and it has prepared me well for the Amazon, which is not nearly as hot as Austin)

b) always give thanks for my city. Seriously, I’m completely in love with Austin, and I never, EVER take it for granted.

Something else I didn’t necessarily consciously decide, but I have been doing more often, is giving lots and lots of thanks for my wonderful friends. As most of you know, I have a very small family – it’s just me, my brother, and my Dad. I also have an aunt and uncle in New Jersey and that’s it. That’s all I got. And I’m not that close to my family, so my friends ARE my family. And I am so, SO fortunate to have the most wonderful friends in the world. If I were to start naming names now, this blog would be like 10 miles long and y’all would get bored. But if you’re reading this, most likely you’re one of the people I am fortunate enough to call my friend, and I love you very much. I take no one for granted, and I am lucky and blessed.

Today we’re having cebiche at home with my nearest and dearest here (Mario Luis, Lars, Cesar, Lilia, Monica, Charitin, and my family) and then tomorrow we’re having a big bash with everyone (including some of Grupo Explosión, which should be entertaining). Last night I went to Mario Luis & Lars’ house where the six of us (the aforementioned except for Charitin) sat around and shot the shit, in true Austin style. Then Mario Luis, Cesar, Monica and I went to grab a burger and wait (despite all-around exhaustion) for midnight to tick by. The night was cool and clear and at midnight, I got hugs and kisses from everyone, and I went home content and sleepy. I’ve received multiple text message birthday wishes, not to mention the emails, myspace comments, and lovely skype calls. Thank you (muchísimas gracias!) everyone! I love you and miss you! It has been – and will continue to be – a great birthday.

Politics & Home Owners

Fun Fact No. 23: Voting is mandatory. Yup, if you DON'T vote, you get a fine (about $33) and if you don't pay it, it's doubled and then you go to jail for a bit. If we had this law, maybe we wouldn't have so many bastards in office. Just a thought.

Fun Fact No. 24: There's a Sober Law during elections. All bars, restaurants, supermarkets, and clubs stop selling alcohol 48 hours before elections and alcohol may not be bought or consumed until 24 hours after elections. I guess it's to avoid riots, but you'd think it was like cutting off oxygen to these people. And of course, I'm going to go ahead and buy all my liquor for my birthday party tomorrow so I don't have to worry.

So the big election day is Sunday, November 19, the day after my birthday. And let me tell you, these people are SERIOUS about their elections. It's kind of funny. They have a million different parties and whomever runs advertises by taking some popular reggaeton song and changing the lyrics to fit their platforms. The city is one big, bompin' election campaign NOISE and it's only been escalating. Votes are bought by free concerts, raffles (where you can win a motorcycle), free alcohol, and free food. The key word is "free" which EVERYONE loves here. I can't even tell you how many candidates are running for Mayor of Iquitos and Mayor of Maynas (the province where we are). Interesting to say the least.

What have I been doing lately? Well, actually, I'm looking into how to start an NGO. There's this guy named Fernando Cordova who is one of the most driven people I have EVER met. He has studied the piano for about 20 years and is a self-taught cellist, violinist, violist, and bassist. He single-handedly began the first (and only) orchestra in Iquitos about 5 months ago at an all girls school. He raised money to buy instruments and he taught about 25 girls how to read music and play proficiently in less than 6 months. Holy crap! I really want to help him be able to study with actual musicians and to have actual musicians come to Peru to help do workshops and work with these kids. So the Mother Superior, Fernando, and I are putting our heads together to get something started. We need instruments, music, music stands, tuners, resin, endpin stops, teachers...not to mention just general administrative help. I think I'm biting off WAY more than I can chew, but we'll see. I am REALLY passionate about this, and I want to get it off the ground.

On another note, I am now a home owner here in Iquitos. I bought a house for $400. It has four walls, a roof, and a backyard. It's not for me, actually, and I'm being paid back. My friends Jorge and Delina from the village where I did my master's research, were in town recently, and stopped by to say hi. They started talking about their grand plan to get started in the city, and they've been working their butts off to get things going. They have a full-fledged mini-market in the village, and they have their own motor boat (serious status if you're from BFE Amazon). They wanted a homebase and they were a smidge short. I know, I know, friends and money never mix. But I've loaned them money before, and they have ALWAYS paid me back before the deadline, usually 2 months beforehand. I trust them implicitly, and anyway, since I'm not paying rent or anything, it's money well-spent. I feel kind of cool that i own a house though. I'll take a picture of it and post it later.

I haven't been able to do much research this week because of the campaigning madness. Every musician in town is crazy busy playing for campaign parties. It's nuts. I'm mostly just looking forward to my birthday. We're having cebiche on the Big Day at my house with my nearest and dearest (Mario Luis, Cesar, Lilia, Monica, Lars, Charitin, and the family) and then on Sunday, it's party-time. Everyone (I think about 30 people) are coming over. I'm excited. :)

Groupie

Fun Fact No. 22: River dolphins can eat you. Not really. But local legend has it that they eat men and rape women. They come in two different colors: pink and grey. They are called bufeos, and they're smaller than regular dolphins and have kind of hump noses. On my little trip yesterday, there were about three of them jumping in front of the boat for about 30 minutes.

So my research has officially begun. (Hooray!) Last Sunday (Nov. 5), I ate pizza with Mario Jr. and Cindy and then we went to dance a bit at COA, Club Oriente Amazonico. Grupo Explosion is the big band that plays at the Gran Complejo on Fridays and Saturdays and then they get the COA on Sundays. Because it's Sunday, however, they only play until 11pm instead of the usual 4am or so. After they played, I decided that that was my moment. I went up to the lead singer, a big (BIG) black guy (note: I mention his blackness because there are about 4 black people in Iquitos, and everyone knows each one of them, and it just so happens that they are all famous) and introduced myself, asking if I could come to rehearsals some time. His name is Eduardo and he gave me his number and told me to call him on Monday. I called him and he told me to call him on Tuesday. I thought I was getting the run-around until on Tuesday he came over to my house, picked me up and took me to the rehearsal space.

Let me talk about Grupo Explosion for a minute. They're the hottest band in Iquitos, and they play primarily tecno-cumbia and salsa. They do a lot of cover tunes (which include reggaeton, rock, and merengue numbers) but their specialty (as with any Amazonian and even Peruvian pop band) is tecno-cumbia and musica-chicha. They have four singers, four percussionists, two keyboardists (one plays "piano" sounds, and the other horns), one guitarist, one bassist, and 8 dancers. Now the dancers are often the main attraction because they're hot, they wear g-strings, and they can really move. As I discovered yesterday, they are actually good musicians if you can get over the annoying tecno-cumbia.

Anyway, I went to the rehearsal space and watched the dancers rehearse and then Eduardo took me back home and told me to call on Wednesday. I called and he said that they were super busy making a video and then they were going to travel to Tamsiyacu to perform there for one of the political candidates on Thursday night. I asked if I could go, and he said to ask the candidate, Shaluco. I went to Shaluco's headquarters and asked around, but he wasn't there. They sent me to his office downtown. I went there and he wasn't there either. He is running for mayor of the province, which is the highest post in the Loreto department, so I shouldn't complain because he's probably important. I spoke with one of his minions, and he said sure. Often being the tall, skinny white girl is a curse but in this case, it was a total blessing.

Eduardo picked me up at 7:30am on Thursday morning and we went down to the port where there was Shaluco's huge boat waiting for us. They loaded the instruments, amps, console, monitors, and extra generator in case the electricity went out in Tamsiyacu and by 9 we were on our way. I hung out with the dancers on the top level that didn't have cover. I accidentally fell asleep and I now have my first sunburn in Peru. I am a little lobster. Ick. Anyway, I tried to talk to the girls, but they are intense with SERIOUS attitude. They're all between the ages of 16 and 23 (far too young, in my opinion, to be baring all in front of loads of sexually charged males, but whatever) and it's like they're going on 30. I don't have the attitude, make-up, or boobs to be able to communicate with these girls. There's one who's nice to me when the others aren't around, but even "nice" is pushing it. And just think, I'll be spending the next 8 months with these people...

So we're about 3 hours into a 4 hour boat ride when the engine breaks. We're stuck on the Amazon, roasticating in the heat (shaded, of course) and I got to talk to one of the lead female singers, Ofelia. She's very different from the dancers and even the other singer. She's 37, has a daughter in college and is married. She's a pretty devout Catholic and she likes to read (relatively rare here). It was very easy to talk to her, and I learned a lot. I also got to spend time with Cesar the congero, who is from Lima and is a great percussionist. He's actually taken lessons with Giovanni Hidalgo. Whoa.

We get to Tamsiyacu, which is basically a mini-version of Iquitos. Which makes my whiteness stick out that much more. There wasn't any room for me at the inn (sound familiar?) but a very sweet woman let me stay at her house. We ate lunch, I bebopped around with the woman's kids, and then the girls got ready. At 6, the power was turned on and Shaluco showed up at 8:30. A million campaign speeches later, GE (Grupo Explosion, not General Electric) took the stage, which was set up in the middle of the street. The entire town was there (about 5,000 people)
and they didn't dance at all. They just stared. The thing is, GE's music dominates the airwaves but few people in this little town have ever seen them and they sure as heck haven't seen dancers like these. Because I'm "with the band" I got to be on stage to take pictures and small videos. I am seriously hooked up; Eduardo and I get along great and now I have a big IN. He even invited me to Lima in December for a show they have there. The other thing is, Shaluco is pretty much guaranteed the votes of this district only because he brought a famous band to town. He paid about $4,000 (S/. 12,000) to get GE out there, and it's interesting (to say the least) that people are going to vote for him because they got to see T & A.

I hit the sack at about 1am and Eduardo woke me up at 3:50am to grab a rapid boat, which only takes 1.5 hours to get back instead of 4. I got home at 6am and everyone was still sleeping. I hit the sack until about 10. Exhaustion, pure exhaustion.

Anyway, this is going to be one heck of an interesting project. But I had fun, and now I get to say that I'm an official groupie. I will NOT be sleeping with the stars, though. I'm not THAT into it.

Update

Fun Fact No. 21: No motorcycle gangs here. It seems like it, though. We pull up to a bar (on Mario's motorcycle, of course) and there's like 30 motorcycles out front. In the US, no way in hell would I go into a place that looked like that. But here, it's the main form of transportation and it's just regular people driving the bikes.

Well, just a quick update with random facts and figures of my life as of late. Last week, on Halloween, I went to mass in a main square for Our Lord of Miracles. There were about 2000 people there, and it was pretty fun. Then they took the statue and paraded it down and around the city from about 9pm to about 3am. I wasn't in the mood to bebop behind a statue, so I went to see Roberto Blades, Peru's Prince of Salsa. I went with Monica and my friends Charitin and Raul. When we were there, we met a guy from Lima who exports Peruvian olive oil. At first we thought he was cool, but then it turns out that he's a big snob. Seriously. And when he took me home, he tried to kiss me and lemme tell you, he almost got a penis pancake. This white girl DOES NOT play around. It was kind of traumatizing, but I got over it the next day. Alas...

Speaking of the next day, it was our friend Ruth's birthday so she invited us over for "lunch." This meant drinking, dancing, and occasionally eating from about 1pm til 8pm. Overkill, but fun.

Thursday there was a rainstorm. OK, it rains almost every day here, but this was a KILLER storm. Because we live in an open house on stilts over a lake, if the wind comes in the wrong way there is NOTHING that is going to keep it out. Pretty much everything in the kitchen (including knives) went flying. It was like Poltergeist, but just a natural phenomenon. It was a crazy storm that shook the house. But it was kind of fun - we couldn't leave the house so it was almost like a snow day, except it was rain. I was supposed to go to the library, but everything was canceled.

Friday was a pretty productive day. I really busted out a good amount on the revisions that I got from Joshua, and Friday night I went out for a quiet, relaxing evening with Cesar, Monica, and Lilia. Later we met up with Mario Jr. and our friend Cindy and kept just shooting the bull.

Saturday I played in a wedding. I know, can you believe it? I got paid 30 soles, which is about $9. I didn't do it for the money, obviously, but it was nice to have a little extra cash. 30 soles goes a long way here. Anyway, now that I've solidly established my reputation in this city as a flautist, I have six more gigs in the next 2 months including another couple weddings, a city-wide concert, a gradeschool concert, and a first communion. Who knew? Now I'm actually practicing. Whoa.

After the wedding I went to my friend Charitin's for a parillada. A parillada usually happens during the day here, but sometimes at night and it's when you sell tickets (for about $2.50) to come to your house to eat some yummy grilled chicken, drink beer, and shoot the bull. Parilladas are super fun and very communal, and it almost feels like a botellon in Spain. I had a great time. Afterwards, we went dancing with some friends and then grabbed another beer. Basically, I was out until 4am and need I remind you that I am too old for this crap??

Today I did my first Skype talk with Michael. It was so cool to hear his voice and know that he's in Argentina and I'm here! And then Julia called and all three of us were talking! How rad is that? I felt like I should bow down to the gods of technology. I'm freakishly awed by these kinds of things. Anyway, both are doing well, thanks for asking. Julia is working on grant applications and withstanding the impending Madison winter, and Michael is going to the music school every day and is practicing bandaneon like a madman.

That's all for now!

My Peeps.

Fun Fact No. 20: Peruvian names are WILD. Instead of Spain where everyone is Javier, Raul, Irene, or Monica, anything goes here. I just met a girl who spells her name the same way I do (!). I know people here named Warner, Wilder, Ever, Zeudy, Cariwey, Percy, Kevin, Charitin, and Wladislay (I spelled this correctly – I asked him to write it down for me). They just make stuff up. It’s kind of fun. My name doesn’t stick out as much as it did in Spain.

I’ve been blogging along for about a month without introducing you to everyone. OK, time to meet my gente (peeps), starting with the family I live with:

These are Mario Sr., Dina, and me. Dina is the one who had breast cancer and is now in remission back here in Iquitos. Mario Sr. is the forestry engineer at the UNAP, the public university here (Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana). Dina is funny, sarcastic, and loves to drink beer. Mario Sr. is cute, wise, and very loving.

This is Mario Jr. He’s next in line after Kirle (he’s 23 – there are only 10 months in between the two of them which is a story for another time), but most people think he’s the oldest because he’s tall (for a Peruvian anyway) and he single-handedly runs the lumber store and the family finances. He studies international business at the UNAP and he is also about to graduate (next August I think). Mario Jr.’s a big dancer (especially salsa) and a soccer player. He’s easygoing, smart, and easy to talk to. Plus he’s my main chauffeur – and he taught me how to ride his motorcycle.

Here is Kirle. She’s the oldest (she’s about to turn 24 in December) and she’s studying administration at UPI, the private university here (Universidad Privada de Iquitos). She’ll be graduating in May. Kirle loves to dance at home (she rarely goes out) and she’s in charge of all the girls who work at the house. I live in her bedroom and she shares another one with her brother. She has the greatest laugh EVER and she’s fun to talk to. Plus she loves Veronica Mars just as much as I do and we like to be silly together.

This is Veronica with her boyfriend John Carlos. Veronica used to be a twit but she’s changed radically from last year to now. She’s 19 going on 20 and she just graduated from high school. She helps out at the lumber store and helps take care of her grandpa who has Alzheimer’s. She’s a great swimmer (gorgeous freestyle) and an even better dancer, although she seldom goes out. She’s sarcastic and mischievous but she can be fun. She thinks I’m the weirdest person in the world, but I think that’s why we get along.

Here are César and Monica. César is a biologist from Chiclayo, a city on the coast, and he works for an NGO doing rural education about the environment. He’s very sweet and smart, and gentle. Monica is a forestry engineer from Córdoba, Spain who works for a Spanish NGO helping cut back on deforestation. She is pretty much like a long lost sister – I feel like I’ve known her for years and she’s the close girlfriend that I really needed here, since all my girls back home are…well…back home.

I’m missing pictures of Mario Luis, Lars, and Lilia, not to mention Zeudy and Charitin. As soon as I get off my duff and take more pictures, I’ll post them.

Hired Help

Fun Fact No. 19: Wine isn’t wine. What I mean is, they have this wine from Tarapoto, a city about an hour away in plane, but it’s SUPER sweet and refrigerated. It’s more like grape juice. One day I ordered regular wine at this pizza joint and everyone nearly threw up. They thought it was disgusting.

A cultural practice that I can’t seem to get accustomed to is hired help. My mama taught me (and my brother) to do it your own damn self. Therefore, I know how to

-clean the bathroom

-wash my clothes

-make my bed

-mop the floor

-vacuum, dust, polish

-make dinner

-wash the dishes

Etc.

Of course, there’s always the good ole South American machista who’ll demand that the woman do all the work (which was always bullshit in my house – dad cooked, mom washed dishes, mom swept, dad mopped, mom mowed the lawn, dad trimmed the trees, etc.).

And then there’s the family with whom I live. It’s a little tricky for me because I’m the guest AND part of the family. So they have a cook and all around skilled helper, Florinda. She’s basically part of the family, so no one ever EVER yells at her or orders her around. She is asked nicely to do things and she does them and then she gets paid (in salary and in her living situation – she lives right next door in a house that has been added on to ours). She has five kids, and the boys (Ever and Nay) work in the lumber storage and the daughter (MariCruz) and younger son (Pelachin) help cook, clean, wash, etc. Pelachin (11 years old) gets shit sometimes but not nearly as much as the other girls, Ana and Silvia. Ana is the goddaughter of Mario Jr. and Kirle. Her parents have been friends with Dina and Mario Sr. for years, and she is basically hired help. The girl does have attitude, granted, but Kirle yells at her around the clock. Silvia, whose relation to the family I have yet to determine, is another hired hand who gets yelled at pretty often but is a lot more agreeable than Ana. I’m not allowed to wash my dishes or serve myself food or anything like that. Which is weird for me – having grown up in a strictly middle class family, we have never had servants or maids or anything.

Here, I insist on washing my own clothes because I think it’s a bit degrading for someone else to wash your underwear (isn’t it?). Oh, and I guess I should also explain that we don’t have a washing machine – it’s wash it by hand or wear stinky clothes. I learned how to wash my clothes by hand in San Antonio de Pintuyacu a while ago. I’m pretty quick and I’m pretty good. I can get out most stains (and trust me, I’m the queen of random ketchup stains).

The thing is, I think one of the reasons I get along so well with this family is because we have a lot in common and we’re from similar economic backgrounds. They are strictly middle class here, and they don’t ask me every five minutes how much X cost because they really don’t care. They understand that a digital camera is expensive but they certainly don’t begrudge me having one. After all, Mario Jr. has a brand spanking new motorcycle and they have HBO (occasionally my salvation from crappy telenovelas).

Point being, I’m not so good at letting someone else clean up after me. It kind of freaks me out. I was talking with Monica about this the other day, and she agrees. But here, everyone has their thing that they do. I have often wondered how the Peruvian economy works because there are SO MANY random vendors of random stuff, and there’ll be like 40 of them in a row selling the same thing at the same price as the person next door. But somehow they make money and survive. I’m not sure how it all goes down, but I guess supply and demand really works here. And there are no chains in Iquitos besides TopyTop (a Peruvian clothing store a la Old Navy) and Chez Maggy (a pizza joint based in Cusco). No McDonalds, no Sears, no KFC or even the big national chains like Metro (a Walmart-esque joint) or Ripley’s (like Macy’s). I’m guessing that somehow the local economy keeps on top. Those big wigs have done their research, I’m sure, and if it would be lucrative, they probably would have been here by now. So I guess having Florinda and the girls and then all the boys that work the lumber store is a good thing – keeps that petty economy flowing. But it still weirds me out.

Ugly dogs, earthquakes, and beaches

Fun Fact No. 18: Lima is painted in colors just as vibrant as Venice. The only thing is, I think it's just to make themselves feel better about the nearly 1 inch film of soot that coats the surface of every building. So the buildings are turquoise, pink, orange, red...

OK, this past week was quite eventful, so I think I'm going to do a play by play. Here goes.

Wednesday, October 25
Praise Jesus I didn't drive to Pachacamac. Good Lord, that would have been TERRIFYING. We (Elsa, Wilder, and I) went in bus. Driving through Lima would have been awful. The shantytowns that are built into these huge hills are kind of scary and amazing at the same time. You always see Rio de Janeiro's famous favelas built in the hills on the outskirts of town, but I've never seen anything like that close up. Dizzying, winding streets and STILL crazy drivers. Seriously, folks, nuts! Anyway, once we got out of Lima proper, we were driving on the coast and because it was sunny (for once), the view was beautiful. We got to Pachacamac, which is a famous ruin from about 6ooAD that has been pretty well restored. Pachacamac was the god of earthquakes, and I guess he was a pretty pissy character. He wasn't really into people pissing him off, so you had to enter the temple backwards so he wouldn't get mad. Anyway, the ruins are really neat. And when you get to the top, there's a tremendous view of the ocean. It's really beautiful.

Before we went up, we ate at the restaurant that they have there at the entrance. The guard dog is the UGLIEST dog you have EVER seen in your life. It's very VERY unique. I felt really bad for the poor little guy because he really wants some love but he's so gross that no one wants to touch him. U-G-L-Y!

That night we went to the movies. Bañadores 3. It's an Argentine flick that's basically the antics of Mr. Sinus with the boob show of Benny Hill. Truly hilarious.

Thursday, October 26
Dina came over and we ate guacamole and chips (!) for breakfast and then we went all the way the hell back to San Juan de Lurigancho, a suburb of Lima that is like 2 hours in colectivo. Well, that's counting traffic. I think normally it's only an hour. We went to her sister's house, picked up her sister and went to Gamarra. There's a reason it's a lot like Gamorra. Because it's HELL. This place is like the craziest market-type place I have ever seen. It's nuts. They have a whole building called "Jeans" where they sell, yup, you guessed it, JEANS. And I'm talking thousands, and thousands and THOUSANDS of jeans. And we even saw a factory behind a partially closed door and they seriously make 'em right there folks. Wowzers. Anyway, we were shopping for all the boys that work at the lumber shop in front of the house. Plus they were buying some more pairs to sell. It was complete COMPLETE chaos. OK, I think I'm exagerrating because the market here in Iquitos, Belen, is pretty nuts and a lot less organized. But still.

After our LONG shopping spree, we hit the road and I went back to Elsa and Wilder's. Lissette's younger brother Martin was there with his girlfriend, Carolina who is going to be sent to Pennsylvania to do translations. Random aside. Anyway, we were sitting there chatting when lo and behold there's this deep, rumbling sound that sounded like an airplane was flying overhead except that it was flying underneath the house. It's hard to explain, but anyway, it was an earthquake. Books fell of the shelves, and all the furniture shifted. Turns out Lima is at the bottom of a huge fault. I had no idea. Cool and scary at the same time.

That night we went for a drive and Rudy, another brother of Lissette's, took us all around the nicer parts of Lima - Miraflores, Barranco, San Isidro. We grabbed some sandwhiches and drank tea. It was super relaxing. And wonderful to spend time with them.

Friday, October 27
Wilder's aunt passed away and they were exhausted from being at the wake all night, but Elsa still felt like going with me to Polvos Azules, the world capital of Pirated Goods. No a la pirateria, but seriously folks, it's hard to turn down the opportunity to buy "Brokeback Mountain", "Bring it On", and "Veronica Mars" for about $1.50 a pop. And I'm not saying I bought any, I'm just saying it's hard to turn it down. I had to buy a CD for a friend, and then it was just about looking at all the STUFF.

The important thing that happened on Friday was that I finally got to see my friend Beth LaBate who is married to a Peruvian and has been in Cusco for the past 10 months. I packed my bags and got a cab to Dina's sister's house, where I met Mario Sr.'s older sister Zulema. Tia Zulema is SO rad. This lady is so vibrant, and funny, and sweet and just plain GREAT. I called Beth's husband Jimmie and Zulema and I decided to meet up with them at a strip mall there in San Juan de Lurigancho. We went to Metro, which is like a Super Walmart. I haven't ever actully been in a super Walmart or a Super Target where they sell all the regular crap plus food, including fresh produce, meat, and bread. I had no idea what a monstrosity it is. We don't have ANYTHING like that in Iquitos and it was mildly scary.

Anyway, we went to Jimmie's uncle's house to eat dinner and we just chatted for a few hours. It was so nice to see both Jimmie and Beth who are doing really well. Beth's Spanish has improved tremendously and Jimmie was really happy to be back in Peru. They're leaving for Vermont on Tuesday, and they'll be there for a few years. They're taking a dog from Peru with them that is really stinkin' cute. We just chatted and joked and it was really nice and comfortable. Beth's research was really interesting, and Jimmie has been working on his tourism degree. It was a great time.

The next morning we woke up at 4am to get to the airport. We checked 8 bags (only one of which was mine) which was a royal pain and then we barely made the plane on time. Traveling with Dina was really fun, especially considering that I rarely fly with friends. We got to Iquitos at 8:15 and the family still thought we weren't getting there until Wednesday. From the airport I called Kirle to tell her that we were going to a beach in Lima and we'd call her from the beach. It took about 20 minutes to get home from the airport and lemme just tell you about the double takes. It was hilarious! Kirle started yelling "Liars!" at us as she hugged her mom. It was really priceless to see their reactions. It was just wonderful. We ate cebiche that Dina made from shellfish that she brought from Lima and we laughed and talked and laughed some more.

Later on, Mario, Veronica, and Aldair, a cousin, and I went swimming at the Lion's Club pool. Two hours later we were complete prunes and exhausted. Later that night we ate pizza (yummy!) and then got some ice cream. It was a nice - although exhausting - day.

Sunday, October 29
Oh this was the best day EVER! After breakfast, we went down to this port on the Nanay River that is usually flooded. Well, about 10 months of the year. Right now, there's a beautiful beach on the other side of the river. Normally you have to pay a few soles to hire someone to take you across, but since Dina knows everyone, her friend took us over in his houseboat and so we had a place to keep our stuff and to eat lunch later on in the day.

The water was gorgeous, cool but not too cold and the sand was soft and white. Cheesy description but it was just perfect. We played water volleyball and we just laid (sp?) on the beach and then laid in the water. The current there is pretty strong, so it was nice to just swim against the current or let the current take you down river a bit and then swim back up. It was really heavenly. Around 3 we grilled chicken and potatoes and drank beer and wine on the boat and then hit the water again. We left around 6 and walked home from the port. By that time, I was pretty exhausted but I really felt like a glass of wine. Unfortunately, wine (let alone good wine) is hard to come by here. You have to go a little out of your way just to get this crappy, super sweet stuff that I would not normally drink. But desperate times call for desperate measures and so we went with it.

My friend Cesar invited me to his friend Monica's apartment. Turns out Monica is Spanish (hooray!), from Cordoba, and joder, it was great talking to her. She's going to be here until the middle of July also, and she is lots and lots of fun, so we hit it off. She works for an NGO that has to do with agriculture, etc. Lilia, Cesar, Monica and I drank wine and shot the bull until 1 in the morning. They are all such sweet people, and we just get along so well, and I had had such a lovely day at the beach that when the time came to go home, I couldn't fall asleep. I watched two episodes of "Veronica Mars" (highly recommend it, btw) and then fell asleep. Wonderful, wonderful day.

Lest you think that I am piddling away my time, dear reader, I do have some interviews lined up tomorrow. I am actually getting stuff done too. Or so I like to tell myself. Ha.

Sunshine in Lima?

Fun Fact No. 17: You can drink the water in Iquitos but not in Lima. Irony upon ironies, in one of the biggest cities in South America, Lima (8 million people, I think), you can´t drink the water from the tap. Well, you can, but it´s not recommended. Iquitos, a tiny city in the middle of the Amazon Basin has perfectly fine water that comes from the Nanay River (one of the cleanest and fastest running rivers) and is heavily chlorinated anyway. If there was anything in it, the chlorine has killed it.

So I got to Lima this morning around 11am and Rudy, one of Lissette´s brothers, picked me up. The plane was supposed to leave Iquitos at 8:15 but of course, it left at 8:50. Iquitos doesn´t have terminals or runways. There is a big room and just like in a Seinfeld episode, they change the podium to read the different airline that is currently leaving. There is one runway that the 7 or 8 flights a day share. Seems to me to be kind of dangerous, but I guess it works. Oh, and you can only get to Lima via plane. Well, you could go by boat and then bus, but that would take you about 3 weeks. The plane ride is only 1.5 hours.

When I got here, it was sunny and 71. Sunny!?!?!?!?! Lima is only ever
A. hazy and overcast
B. hazy and overcast
C. hazy and overcast
Seriously. I was super surprised. It was actually pretty! Almost...

Anyway, Lissette´s parents took me to a vegetarian, organic restaurant for lunch which was pretty thrilling because I don´t think I could eat another bite of chicken. I almost gagged the other day on my lunch I think because I have never eaten this much meat in my LIFE and my body needs a BREAK. Where´s my spinach salad from Mother´s?

After lunch, Dina, Mario Sr.´s wife came over to pick up some stuff I brought for her from Iquitos. The family in Iquitos thinks she´s coming home next week, around Tuesday or Wednesday. Actually, we´re going to surprise them and get back on Saturday (she´s been here in Lima for 4 months for chemotherapy for breast cancer). We spent all afternoon trying to find cheap tickets ($38 instead of $70) and finally, my friend Lilia who works at a hotel in Iquitos, found us two tickets for $48. I couldn´t believe that I was the one who knew someone who could help us out, but thanks to my handy cell phone (!), I gave her a buzz and she worked her magic. Truly miraculous.

Tomorrow I´m going to drive (!) to Pachamarca, which is a little bit outside of Lima and has some of the oldest ruins in Peru. Did I mention that I am going to be driving? Holy crap. I´m quite terrified. We´ll see how this goes. Thursday I´m going to see my friend Beth LaBate who has been in Cusco for the past 10 months and is heading back to Vermont to write her dissertation. That´ll be fun!

Some friends of mine just emailed me about my costume for Halloween. Sadly, Halloween doesn´t mean jack here. It´s a Holy holiday when they carry the Lord of Miracles (El Señor de los Milagros) back to his spot in the main cathedral, but that´s it. No costumes, no make-up, none of that stuff that I LOVE. Oh well...

Lima bound!

Fun Fact No. 16: Catholics are all the same. Well, I wouldn't want to go and make any super-essentialist statements like that, but really, there is very little difference between a Peruvian and an American Catholic. Neither of us goes to church, except maybe for Christmas or a funeral, and both of us believe in God and have no problem with alcohol and dancing. Of course there's the occasional devout Catholic, but in either case, he or she is usually older and dates back before Vatican II.

Well, this weekend my friend Kirle was rearended by a motocarro and flew off her motorcycle. She just has some bruises (thank God!) but regardless, on Friday night we stayed in and watched some movies (Kinky Boots and then Casanova. The Casanova was a copy and it the spoken language was Russian. Kind of funny, niet?

Saturday I finally started "fieldwork." Well, I went to visit Carlos Reategui, one of the percussionists in the band, Los Solteritos, that I'll (hopefully) be working with. He was surprised to see me. I think when I tell people that I'll be back, like I did last summer, no one really believed me. But here I am, true to my word, and it was good to see him. Carlos owns a local chain of creamy popsicles that come in every local fruit flavor including aguaje (an orange palm fruit), cocona (a super tart yummyness), guava (not like guava in the states - it has a vanilla yogurt flavor and comes dressed in a really long seed pod), and pineapple (whose season begins soon...). His store is called Shambo, and at any soccer game or event or even just on the main drag, people are selling Shambo chupetes. They're really delicious. Anyway, we hung out for a bit and he showed me pictures of his baby who is now a year old. I think it'll be good to work with him and the band so I'm excited about it.

Saturday afternoon I went shopping with Kari, another friend of Mario's who I have officially stolen. She's fun and easy to get along with, and she's ever so fashion conscious, so she dragged me about to find a more suitable pair of "going out" jeans. She convinced me to buy a pair of low-riders (that I actually just exchanged for another pair because as Michael O'Brien and I learned our first day at Texas, "butt crack is the new cleavage" and frankly, that grosses me out) and a pair of nice, semi-normal (since everything here is skin-tight) dark jeans. I felt a little ridiculous because I'm not a big shopper and how the heck do I know what to look for? But we had fun. Then we met up with Zeudy (my new favorite person here) and bopped along the boulevard and went shopping for food for dinner that night. I cooked at Mario Luis' house and it was really refreshing because I like having friends over for dinner, and I sure as heck can't cook over firewood or charcoal like they do at home, so it was really fun. I made spicy guacamole (yum!) and a potato thingy with olives and artichoke hearts and other random stuff. It was Mario Luis, Cesar, Zeudy, Kari, Charatin, Raul, and Lilia, and it was so nice to just sit, eat, drink Martini (with pineapple juice) and shoot the bull. Then the girls + Cesar and I went to Berimbau to go dancing. At this point in the evening, I was exhausted, so at about 2am I had to hit the road. I think the rest of them were there until 4 or 5. I just can't do that crap anymore!

Yesterday I spent the whole day at Gabel Sotil's house. Gabel is a professor at the public university here, and he used to be the Regional Director of Education. He's perhaps the best educator I've ever met, and he regularly gets invited by UNICEF to write books about the state of the children in the Amazon, and their education, etc. He has three charming boys who are very sweet and easy to get along with. Hugo, the middle son, is all about an iPod that he wants me to bring back from the states (they cost 3x as much here). The oldest son, Gabel, is a super wiz with computers and helped me fix a bug on my laptop. The youngest, Marcos, is about 13 and has some serious attitude but is really funny. They have a good friend, Jean-Pierre who is half Peruvian, half French. He's one of the first signs of alternative life I have seen in Iquitos. He studies art at a small, private art school here and has a little pile of dreadlocks on the top of his head. His accent is interesting, because sometimes he sounds really Peruvian and sometimes he sounds really French. Regardless, we all had a great time eating and watching soccer. I got there at about 11am and left at 8pm. It was a really nice day.

Last night I was really homesick. All of the sudden 9 months seemed REALLY long.

Beer suds

OK, from here you can see the actual house.


















Fun Fact No. 14: Birthdays are REALLY important. Yup, my favorite holiday (i.e. anyone's birthday) is like number 1 priority. Everyone wants to know when your birthday is and if they have a friend who has a birthday within about a 3 week proximity, it's like "oh-my-gawd!". Birthdays are parties with cake and beer, of course, but also lots of speeches (EVERY single person gives a spiel about you and how great it is that you made it to (cough) age, and they wish you every happiness in the future, blah blah). I can't WAIT for my birthday!

Fun Fact No. 15: Beer is communal. Whenever you drink beer at someone's house, or at an outside bar, there is one glass for the whole group. The boys always pour the beer, and they pass the glass around. After you drink your (basically) shot of beer, you have to throw the suds on the ground and then pass the glass back to the person pouring. Any germ-o-phobes would have a huge problem with this. Of course, I couldn't care less. :)

Very little to report except that I went to a birthday party last night. And drank beer. And more beer. And ate pollo asado. And fries. And did I mention the beer? Oh, and there was karaoke to Avril Lavigne. Whoa.

Another kind of interesting (and strange) observation. When you go out to the bank or anywhere in public during the day that is not the market, you usually change into nicer pants and a nice top and cute shoes. As soon as you get back home, you change into your ratty tank top and shorts and flip flops. Now, that's the general rule for the Peruvians. For me, however, it's tricky. Very tricky. I can't go out in the ratty tank (as I would in Texas) because then I'd be confused for a jungle-hopping tourist. But I can't just bust out a super cute top either because then I'd be confused for a rich snob. It's weird but true: there is a balancing act every day in terms of my wardrobe. Strangely enough, Kathryn, the girl who is hardly a fashion plate, has to carefully pick which top goes with which capris. At night, though, anything goes. These people dress to the nines, so it doesn't really matter. I actually wear this one-shouldered tank thingy I somehow own (?). Yup, welcome to the jungle.

Ick & whew!

Fun Fact 13: Ahorita is not the same as ahora. The word "ahora" in Spanish means now. The diminuitive of ahora is ahorita, like little now. So when someone says they'll be over "ahorita," you would think that that would mean right now - like immediately. Nope. It means in a little while, in an unspecified amount of time, probably within the next half hour or so.

Well, there have been a few recent turn of events that dictated my past weekend and my belated return to my beloved internet cafe. Mostly I got sick. Pretty simple, I guess, but I rarely get a cold, let alone an extremely painful stomach infection that gives me nothing but cramps and fever. Starting from the beginning, though.

Last Friday the 13th (ooooohhhhhh!!!!), I went with Mario to watch him and some friends play soccer at night on a concrete (!) field. I had called his friend Zeudy to meet me there, because I knew there would be few (if any) women, and as much fun as it can be as the Super Tall Super White girl at a soccer game that does involve beer, so I thought it would be nice to have some female company. In fact, both Zeudy and Kari showed up, and we had a ball. I feel a little badly mooching Mario's friends, but they're terrific girls, and we get along really well. So anyway, after the game we sat outside in front of the Gran Complejo (The Big Complex) where there are regular dance concerts, and drank beer for a few hours and shot the bull. Mario is always connected with just about this whole city and he scored all 11 of us free tickets to the concert. So that was how I ended up dancing with a bunch of sweaty soccer players until about 3 in the morning. Sounds like a dream, right? When I use the word sweaty, I mean to use the words COMPLETELY SOAKED. Always a ball, though, always a ball.

The next day I woke up with no appetite and what I thought was a mild hangover except that it got worse and worse as the day wore on. Then my stomach started to go, and I basically hogged the bathroom all day long. My friends from UT (Mario Luis and Lars) and I were going to celebrate our friend Lilia's birthday that night. I was supposed to make the tortilla española and my famous pound cake. I seriously could barely walk. I went to the pharmacy and got some antibiotics and something for the diarrhea and stomach cramps and then went to Mario Luis' house. I started peeling the potatoes and realized that I had a fever and had to lie down. I called directions from the bedroom to the kitchen regarding ingredients, oven temperatures, and techniques (the tortilla has to be just so), feeling like I was a total bitch and like I was going to die. Mario Luis, the doll that he is, bought me crackers to take my pills with, and I just fell asleep. They woke me up when Lilia, Cesar, and Rosi got there, and I tried to be good company but to no avail.

I caught a mototaxi home and went straight to bed. Kirle was really worried so she called her boyfriend's sister who's a nurse. Ruth came over right away and gave me a shot for my 104 (!) fever. They made me drink my electrolytes and change the tank top I already sweat through in my fever. Ick.

[A side note is that I got the flu for the first time last January. I don't tend to get sick and I don't think I make a very good sick person.]

Sunday I woke up without a fever (hooray!) but very weak, with aching muscles and a terrible headache. Everyone had advice. EVERYONE! I read and slept all day (well, when I wasn't hitting the bathroom) and kept drinking fluids. They called it a stomach infection and everyone was convinced it was something I ate. I think it's just that my floura are getting used to the floura from here. Monday morning I took metronidazol, a nasty, bacteria-killing wonderpill that I took when I had ghiardia. Two more of those in the same day and I felt great. Tuesday dawned and I didn't have to go to the bathroom, and all I had was mild congestion. Hooray!

Since I felt so great yesterday, I worked on my prospectus (which I wanted to finish by Friday at 5) all day at Mario Luis' house. He and Lars have air conditioning, a great huge desk to work at, and peace and quiet. Except that the three of us get along like peas in a pod and often can't stop talking and laughing when we're together. I feel like I've known them forever, and it's kind of funny, because we jumped from formal introductions to speaking freely about bowel movements, love interests, and everything else you can possibly imagine. But don't mistake this time at their house for all fun and games because I really have gotten a lot of work done there.

Tuesday night I went to the movies with Mario and Zeudy. Fast and Furious 3. A fabulous, brainless, pointless action flick with sweet cars. And it takes place in Tokyo, which is pretty rad, too. If you can see it for less than a dollar, as I did, I recommend it. After the movies? Karaoke of course! I sang "I will Survive" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." We had a ball, even though Mario refused to sing.

The "whew" part of the Title, you ask? Well, that would be that today, the eighteenth of October, two thousand and six, I finished a decent draft of my prospectus. All I gotta say is yee-ha. Yee-ha!

The Corner

Fun Fact No. 12: Mini-skirts ARE professional. At banks, retail shops, copy shops, restaurants...pretty much everywhere, girls where what would be cute suits if their rears weren't hanging out. Seriously folks, I went to get a suit made (for only $40), and she kept trying to convince me to get a mini-suit. I protested that I need something professional and she insisted that it IS professional. You have GOT to be kidding!

So anyway, the on Wednesday night I went and grabbed a beer with a new friend, Alberto, who works at the copy shop where I xerox about a million things a day. We had a nice time (except for being interrupted by this crazy Englishman named Wally, but that's another story for another day), and eventually he went home and I waited for some friends to come pick me up to go grab another beer. Mario Jr. calls me (on my #%$^&@* cell) and asks where I am. At the corner of Arica and Putumayo, I tell him. About five minutes later, two motorcycles pull up, one with Mario & Saude and the other with Edward and Kari. They start laughing immediately. What? What's going on? I ask. Turns out I was on "the corner". That is, the hooker corner. I mean, I'm obviously (or at least I think I'm obviously) NOT a hooker, but still. I think i picked the wrong corner. I have noted this mistake for future reference. Afterwards we grabbed beers and just shot the bull for a while. It was really relaxing.

I live kind of "far" away, kind of like if you live east of I35 on Oltorf. It's not really that far, but for a city the size of Austin, it's kind of out of the way. So from my house here, I have to take a mototaxi (about a 10 minute ride) to get to the center (downtown would be a strong word) of town. Yesterday after lunch, I decided I was going to walk a little farther to catch a mototaxi because in front of my house they were loading up some trucks with wood. I kept walking. And walking. And walking. And it felt GREAT. About 40 minutes later, I got where I wanted to go. Now, it only costs S/. 1,50 (about forty-five cents) to get from my house to the city center, but doing this about 6 times a day wears down on the pocketbook and is a pain in the ass. The walk was lovely and so this morning I also walked to the city center, but I took a different route. Not only is it great exercise, but it's a nice time to just think. And to get to know the city better. I really, REALLY enjoyed it.

I've just been trying to bust out the prospectus, and yesterday I went to Mario Luis & Lars' apartment to work. They have air conditioning and a nice desk, and it's pretty quiet. The only problem is that we all get along so well that we inevitably end up chatting a bunch. But I always have a nice time. Despite the Chatty Cathy syndrome I had yesterday, I managed to get a bit done. And I do like spending time with Mario Luis and Lars. They're very easy to get along with - relaxed and chill.

On another unrelated note (well, related to my dissertation topic, but not to what I've been talking about so far in this blog), the radio is ALWAYS on here. No matter where you are, the radio is blasting. And it's blasting the same damn songs all ALL the time. The top three songs are
1. My Hips Don't Lie by Shakira
2. Esposa Mia (while having an annoying rhythm, it's actually a sweet song that talks about how important and wonderful this guy thinks his wife is. It's very endearing.)
3. Mi Cuerpo by Dan Den, a Colombian band. This is a great salsa song that makes everyone want to dance. Salsa is super popular right now here, and it might even surpass reggaeton!

There are some great radio stations here. There are a few salsa stations, a million reggaeton and tecno-cumbia stations, and then there's my favorite 80s station (David Bowie, Boy George, REM), and some romantic ballad stations. There's a diversity, even though the same songs are typically played in public places. Last night, the girls (half part of the family, half hired help) and I danced like crazy to the radio in the kitchen and then went and splashed in puddles in the rain. It was great fun.

So above I included a picture of the house. You can't see the actual house from where you are because the wood shop is in front. They sell hojas (thatch) and other wood to build houses. The front of the wood shop is level with the street but then the street drops off into a lagoon (that is currently dried up) and so the whole thing is actually on stilts.