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.