10/14/11 week 4
So I don’t have hot water here. And I’m rolling up on a month of different methods to shower in cold water. The best method…don’t shower. Just kidding…well sort of but I have found one other way where you can be clean and not as cold. I do about 50 pushups before I get in the shower. It really warms you up…so if you don’t have hot water do as many pushups as you can. I’m interested to see how many pushups I’ll be able to do when I leave here, especially if I live in the sierra! I find out in just a couple of weeks!
 |
| Mira Flores |
So I finally made it to Mira Flores. Loved it. Great food. The beach was a little cold and 6 months out of the year it’s really cloudy in the Lima so it wasn’t very sunny. But the sound of the water rolling over the rocks was so calming. I wanted to record it so I can play it every night as go to sleep. Mira Flores is the really nice part of Lima and expensive too. They even have Starbucks and yogurt dives.
So I would like to take a minute to talk about Combis…also know as the bus system here in Peru. “Chosica, Chosica, Chosica,” yells the conductor. These buses around corners and down the street, pausing only for a few seconds to hop on with barely enough time to grab a handle, much less a seat. The conductor, the guy who takes up the money, starts at a slight jog grabbing the door and swinging it shut behind him, then you a suddenly on the rollercoaster of your life. On my way back from Mira Flores, the combi almost slammed into another car. I was sitting in a “seat” facing everyone else. When the driver slammed on the brakes I had to catch a little girl who went flying out of her mothers lap. She was pretty upset but I am thankful we didn’t wreck.
 |
| Surf Van |
Football/Soccer which ever you prefer
I have been watching World Cup qualifying matches. Friday Peru beat Paraguay. The whole town was at a standstill. People crowded around bars and restaurants overflowing into the street trying to get a glimpse of the game. Tuesday Peru lost to Chile. I don’t think I have seen my host mom so upset. Everyone is so passionate about the sport here. I kind of hope it rubs off on me a little. An entire country pulling for one team….now that’s unity. Instead in the US we punch people in bars over our favorite college team.
 |
| The beach in Lima |
FOOD
Anticucho… yep that’s cow heart and it’s what I had for dinner Saturday. Anticucho, another traditional Peruvian dish, is marinated in a spicy, salty sauce and grilled on a stick. The flavor was good but it tasted a lot like beef but with a little more of a rubbery texture. It’s wayyyy better than chicken heart I had in Brazil.
So my madre had surgery on Friday. She didn’t tell me until the night before but she had to have a cyst removed from her ovary, based on my poor Spanish interpretation…I think she said it wasn’t cancerous. She seems to be doing better but keep her in your prayers nonetheless. My abuela brought some food over for her and I got try masamora de leche. It’s a type of pudding made with corn, sugar, and milk. It kind of has a strange texture a mix between pudding and jello.
This week I also had another wonderful traditional Peruvian dish called Pachamanca. The traditional way it is prepared is for very large celebrations where chicken, beef, pork, potatoes (3 kinds), and lots of herbs, are buried in the ground and for a week it is baked by the sun. This is still done for festivals but is not very practical for most urban families so it can be made on the stove. It’s delicious and you can cover the whole plate in this delicious spicy sauce.
 |
| Pacamanca |
Yep. If you haven’t already noticed I talk a lot about food. I should probably just make this blog about food because you will only be hearing more. In Spanish class this week we made causa. It’s basically the Peruvian version of chicken potpie but instead of a bread crust….you guessed it…. it’s potatoes. It’s great and probably my new favorite food around these parts…we expect for….the best piece of chocolate cake I’ve ever had in my life in Mira Flores! I already want another slice.
 |
| Causa |
So I am going to go ahead and apologize because they warned us our English would get worse the more Spanish we learn…that’s already happening….I apologize for my poor excuse for “English” writing but hopefully you can appreciate the fact that as my English digresses my Spanish is improving!
P.S. I get a cell phone next week!!!!
A person who can pray is the mightiest instrument Christ has in this world. –E.M. Bounds
No comments:
Post a Comment