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peliroja_peligrosa
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Name: Catharine
Gender: Female
Interests: Music, field hockey, lacrosse, Peruvians
Expertise: Math, Spanish, a lil music playing
Occupation: Missionary intern
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/24/2007
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| La discoteca, the discoteque, the club. Whatever you want to call it. All this time in Peru, I had been wondering what the clubs were like. I was unsure who to ask because some people frown upon late night partying. Yasmin told me that she and her roommates go dancing somtimes and that we should go some Friday.
 A close-up of Betsy and myself.
 Our draaanks.
 Yasmin and Nancy
Yasmin, Nancy, Betsy and I put our dancing shoes on and headed out for a night on the town. We were going to go "discoteca hopping" but the road with the majority of clubs was blocked by Police. There must have been something serious going on because a large crowd of tourists and police were gathered around the scene. The clubs on that particular street were free, but we were forced to go to the club that cost 10 soles (three dollars). The place was a little vacant when we arrived, so we sat and enjoyed our Pisco drinks for a little.
 The ladies.
We had fun dancing and whatnot, but it must have been salsa night. Yasmin told us that normally they play all sorts of music. I got tired of moving my feet pretty early on. Salsa wears you out and I don't have the latin hip-moving ability. We left around 12:30 or so and made it back to Yasmin and Nancy's house where we all spent the night. Betsy and I both had things to do in the morning, so we got up at 6:00am to walk back to our homes. The sun was out and about at this hour. It was pretty but I was too tired to really appreciate it. I slept until 8:00am once I got home and then had to babysit the Powlison's kids until 1:00pm. Thankfully, I didn't fall asleep while watching the kids.
 Bright and early.
 The sun
 The corn is coming up!
 I'm coming, I'm coming.
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Betsy had been bugging me to go "play the games" downtown for awhile. The games were really carnival rides that come to Cusco for a short time. I don't normally enjoy being in a carnival atmosphere. Between the smells, filth, and dizziness, I always end up feeling ill by the end of the evening. Darwin, Betsy and I met up at the games, and ran into Raul and some other kid from the church. It's easy to run into people in Cusco somehow.
The carnival was a bust. It was small, dirty, and barely had any snacks. I bought a candy apple but it tasted like Robutussen. We rode a ride called the "Space Loop" which made my head hurt. Then I went into a haunted house and rode bumper cars. I prefer Disney World, Six Flags, Cedar Point, Dorney Park, etc.
Recently, I wrote about taste testing different Peruvian dishes. I was nervous about trying Ceviche mainly, because it is uncooked fish. The cooks use lemon juice and some other sauces to make the fish not taste so fishy. It is delicious and I wish you all could try it. Fish lovers and non-fish lovers alike love Ceviche. It's probably fresher on the coast, but I was proud of myself for trying it. Here are some photos of the meal.
 The meal consists of fish broth soup (nasty), rice, toasted and salted corn kernals, ceviche with sweet potato, and chicha morada to drink.
 The beginning.
 The middle.
 The successful end.
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|  This is the view I have off of my back balcony. There are two human skulls that serve as watchman according to the nature worshippers. At night they talk to one another and make noise, so that robbers will be deterred from entering. I don't believe any of this of course, but it's kind of creepy.
Kelly, the pastor's daughter, turned 23 a few weeks ago. To celebrate she planned three different parties for herself. On Wednesday, she invited the younger crowd to her home to watch a movie. She served us arroz chaufa, chicken stir-fry bascially. I had to refuse the food because Ruth and I had just had lunch shortly before. I made M&M cookies for dessert. They were good but not that soft. It's crazy how the altitude effects baking. I look forward to eating soft, chewy cookies when I get home.
 The boys chowing down.
 Elvis looks like a Peruvian Bon Jovi.
 Cristina and Betsy
The movie we watched was a Hindu movie, made in Bollywood. It was awful. I knew that there was a good chance I wouldn't enjoy the movie. The characters spoke in the Indian language (is that called Hindu), with a few English phrases thrown in. It was difficult for me, because I would listen to the English phrases but then have to read the Spanish subtitles for the rest of the movie. It was confusing. The movie was about a young woman who lived with her family in New York and rarely felt happy. Her cute new door neighbor, who was also Indian, brightened up her life as well as her family's life. Seems like a nice happy story right? The dang movie lasted for three hours. The same events kept happening over and over. One girl would fall in love with a guy, who was in love with someone else. Then the neighbor was ill with heart failure. Finally, the young woman married her best friend, and the neighbor died. I was waited for all that to happen after one hour and a half into the movie. Also the movie was filled with little dance scenes. One song was a remized version of 'Pretty Woman.' It was horrible. My girlfriends loved the movie and cried during it. I like girly movies, but this movie I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
 That's what I think about this movie.
 Kelly looks demonic.
The next party was a luncheon at her house on Friday afternoon. She invited all the missionaries and their children. Kelly had told me that the meal would be more formal than the Wednesday event. To me, formal means wear something nice. I wore a dress, but was the only once dressed up. I felt a bit strange, but I'd rather be overdressed than underdressed. Even Kelly, the birthday girl wasn't wearing anything special. We ate arroz con pollo, the rice with chicken dish that I don't care for. Jeanine made a chocolate cake that was delicious. Kelly thanked us for coming and celebrating her life with her.
 Arroz con pollo
 Kelly and the cake
 Kelly is going to stab Jeanine if she sticks her face in the cake.
The final party was at my apartment Friday evening. Kelly cooked Aji de Gallina, which is one of my favorite dishes. We provided the drinks and cake. This night was basically for all the youth who couldn't make the Wednesday movie. We were all a bit older so I had bought a bottle of wine, just in case. I was hesitant to ask if they would like to drink some, when Andres pulled out another bottle he had brought. Kelly said "Well, shall we toast before we eat?" This made me happy. We toasted with Andres' bottle and drank the rest of both bottles with dinner and cake. I was proud to see that we finished all the wine, without acting like silly drunks.
 Yet another cake
We ate and then had a little dance party. Andres and Elisban were the only guys there, but they were good sports about dancing. Everyone left around 11:00 which is late for my friends. The later you walk home at night, the more dangerous it is. I think we all had a fun time, and Kelly was appreciative for the fun evening.
 Put your feet up!
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| Does "Youth Day" exist in the States? We all celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day, but Peruvians celebrate "El Dia de la Juventud." The youth planned another hike to a place called Pumamarca(mark of the Puma). We didn't climb a mountain like last time. I didn't have the energy nor excitement to climb a mountain anyway. Cusco is the perfect place for adventurers. All you have to do is walk a few minutes into the fields and you are in the wilderness. It's a very peaceful feeling to be away from modern life.
 Hiking, and carrying lunch in a huge pot.
 Marin, Betsy's younger brother. He's cute and loves to shout my name. We call him "El Chinito" because he looks like a little Chinese boy.
It took us about two hours to get to Pumamarca on foot. It basically was a little park with a museum filled with ancient ruins. We didn't go inside because the owner left before we were ready to view the artifacts. I taught the group how to play kickball. I thought everyone would know how to play kickball, but apparently not. They did understand baseball which made it easier to explain. After kickball, we of course played soccer, and then volleyball. Magaly and her sister had prepared lunch for us. They made arro con pollo, rice with chicken. It isn't one of my favorite Peruvian dishes because it consists of loads of rice, and a tiny piece of chicken. Also, they prepared the food in a huge pot that the guys had to take turns carrying as we hiked. I guess they aren't too keen on bag lunches.
 Just a pair of pigs.
 The tourist
Once we finished lunch we decided to be lazy and lay around in the sun. All of a sudden, Kusy told me to look out. Elisban came running with a water bottle, and poured it on Kati, Kusy's older sister. Some people call me Kati, so I thought Kusy was caring for me. Oh well. Elisban's stint, caused a huge water fight from that point on.
 Waiting for the owner to open the door.
 Kati and Elvis like each other.
 We got tired of waiting for the owner to come, so we hopped the rock wall.
Pumamaraca had a little river running from a cave into the park. It was cristal clear unlike the other rivers in Cusco. We used the river water to fill up our bottles in order to refuel during our water fight. It was freezing cold water. It felt nice at first but it took awhile to dry. Poor Kati was wearing a white shirt too.
 Me, Kusy, and Marin in the cave
 Betsy and Marin
Besty began to run towards Elisban with a bottle of water and somehow slipped on the wet grass. Her head hit a fallen tree and began to bleed a good bit. Abady and some other kids attended to her and she was fine. She washed her hair in the river but there was still some blood oozing out her head. She didn't seem unstable, but we had to walk two hours back home in the sun. The funny thing is that the water fight didn't end there. We kept going. Dorky Brian, climbed up a hill so that he wouldn't get wet. He complained that he didn't come on the hike to get wet and if this is what we're going to do next time, he won't come. What a whiner.
 As Betsy washes the blood out of her hair, Magaly pours water on Darwin. Relentless.
Finally the water fight ended and we decided to head back. Abady and I were the last ones in the group and somehow got off track. We went the wrong way, but thankfully she knew how to get back to San Jeronimo. While walking, we ran into her younger brother, Eber, who was on his way to Pumamarca. It's a good thing we ran into him, because no one would have been there when he arrived. It was extremely hot this day and walking in the sun got old, real fast. I arrived home around 3:30, drank a bunch of water, took a shower, and passed out. Its very easy to pass out in Cusco.
 Yesena, Elisban, and myself in the tree.
 The crew
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| Last week I have a craving for coffee cake. I found one recipe that didn't call for any milk or water. I was curious as to how it would turn out because that batter wasn't very liquidy. It was a disaster. It didn't rise at all and wasn't sweet. I had to drink a lot of water to get the horrible taste out of my mouth. I tried another recipe that used milk and it looked much better once it was finished. However when I went to try it, the same nasty taste as the last cake filled my mouth. I was confused as to what I did wrong. I followed the instructions exactly. My roommate, Evelyn, tried some and said "Has puesto Ajinomoto." Instead of white sugar, I had used something called Ajinomoto. I had no idea what that was because "Ajinomoto" is a brand name. After searching online, I realized that I had used MSG instead of white sugar. I put CUPS of MSG into a coffee cake. I could have killed myself, or at least caused a serious stomach ache. Good thing ithe cakes tasted nasty. The bags in the store look alike and on the bag of Ajinomoto, it says that it is made from sugar cane. That is what threw me off. I made one more cake with regular sugar, and it was scrumcious.
Well, I labeled this blog disaster relief not because of my baking mistake.
After the big earthquake that hit the southern coast of Peru, MTW began to send disaster relief teams from the States. Keith and I met one of the groups in Lima to show them around the area, translate, and to aid in any project the teams had. I left my home at 5:00am Sunday morning and we arrived in Lima around 9:00am. We met the team, took a nap, and ate lunch at one of the missionary's homes. Keith mainly explained the culture and tentative plan for the week in the afternoon. At night we ate at Chili's (my choice), and it was excellent. I love American food.
 A lot of Peruvian children look like this.
Monday morning we went to the bus station and rode to a town called San Clemente de Canete. There should be a tidle over the 'n' in Canete, but I don't know how to insert those on a Mac. We checked into our hotel and then went around to see the damage. It was very depressing. The majority of the cities on coastal Peru rarely recieve sunshine. It's always cloudy, overcast, and drizzly. It never truly rains. The weather aided to the depressing feel. Also, Peruvian architecture isn't very beautiful to begin with. Several home and buildings are made with adobe, which isn't that sturdy. In some sections of the city, it was hard to tell what was ruined becuase of the earthquake, and what was in poor condition to begin with.
Our team met with some pastors of local churches and decided to help rebuild the church building. We couldn't just go in and pick a few families to help. There were too many and we would be helping unjustly. We brought some supplies, like a temporary roof, to give to the pastor. We also brought 20 tents that would serve as homes for 20 families while their home was being rebuilt. There were two nurses in our group who gave basic care to numerous children and a few adults. One child came in with the mumps. Wierd.
 English class with Jo and Jimmy
 Soccer with the kiddies.
 They love new people, gringos, and pictures
We planned loads of activities for the kids and I mainly played with them. I had come on the trip to translate, but three out of the seven group members were fluent. I was dissapointed and felt useless at times. I really don't enjoy playing with kids. For me, it was a good break from the norm. I had been getting very frustrated with the praise band and wanted to get away for just a bit. The group was very encouraging and I felt refreshed by the end of the week. Obviously, the trip was not for me, but it was good for my soul.
 The family showed us the inside of their home. It looked fine on the outside, but a wall in their kitchen had fallen during the earthquake.
 You can see the crack in the roof of this church. It is about to cave in. It was named Rio de Agua Viva or River of Living Water. It was located by a small stream, so the name was appropriate.
 Look at those white girls.
Keith and I left the group a bit early to fly back to Cusco. Our flight left at 4:50am so we just stayed up all night in the airport. We ate dinner at Benihana's(I didn't know they really existed. I had only seen one in an episode of The Office) Then I shopped in a book store and watched The Bourne Ultimatum. Keith had already seen it so he watched The Marine. It was cool being in a movie theater again.
 This poor cathedral had been condemned due to all the damage inside. It had to be completely torn down.
Staying up all night in an airport sucks. We read some, talked some, drank Dunkaccinos, and ate Papa John's pizza. The food was like heaven! We arrived back in Cusco around 6:30am, took a taxi home, and I passed out for the rest of the day.
The group members:
Jimmy. A jolly elderly man who had served as a missionary in Mexico for ten years. He was from South Carolina and the mix of his accent with Spanish was super silly. He used proper grammer though. Jimmy was a true jack of all trades. He had been in the navy, had a program on a Ham radio, spoke fluent Spanish, played the guitar, sang, worked well with kids, was an EMT, etc. He kept us all laughing.
John. A 26 year old who was born in Acapulco, Mexico. His family had been missionaries as well. He spoke fluent, Mexican Spanish. He had been studying French and was about the serve MTW on a two year stint in Belguim.
Eddie. A 28 year old Paraguayan - American who also, of course, spoke fluent Spanish. He is married and has a young daughter named Lulu. He had dark black hair, but a bright red beard. All natural too.
Dan. A middle-aged retired man from Tennesee who had been so successful with his work, that he was able to retire early. He wanted to do something he was more passionate about, so he signed up to help with the disaster relief team.
Jo. An elderly woman who was one of the most humble women I have ever met. She loved the Lord with all her heart. She was very skilled with children and spoke a little Spanish as well.
Yoko. My girl. A Japanese woman who has a residency to work as a nurse in the States. She graduated from the University of Delaware. Crazy, huh? She taught me a few words in Japanese, the characters, and how to make a paper crane. When she found out that I was 23 years old, she said I was very young. I thought she was about 28 which isn't that much younger than 23. Turns out Yoko is 43 years old. Japan must possess the fountain of youth.
Kim. Dan's 25 year old daughter. She was a nurse as well and we got along really well. She was the closest to my age and was married, so she gave me a little advice in regards to marraige. | | |
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