Okay, so I may be one of the worst bloggers ever...let's just get that out of the way. Now that I'm about to come home, I am going to recount my past month and a half in a quick blurb. Well, hopefully it will be quick. Where do I begin?? Susie and I went to see this shaman (seer, fortune-teller, some rendition of Miss Cleo) who wasn't at all what I expected. In my head, I envisioned an old, gray man with a long beard, wearing a dusty, bleached-orange-by-the-sun poncho which hung loosely from his emaciated shoulders. But, I guess I have no future career as a shaman, since he turned out to be a middle-aged, clean-shaven (is that a word? clean-shaven. clean-shaven...) man wearing a Packers sweatshirt. I chuckled when I saw him. I'll leave the seeing to someone else. He told me a bunch of craziness that I didn't really like all that much. And it cost like 20 soles, which adds up to alot now that I'm making $3 an hour. Meh.
There's been some drama (an understatement). Roommate problems, boy problems, money problems (I love my mom). I won't go into the juicy details, but it was kinda sucky there for a little while. So it goes...whether you're in the U.S. or Perú.
Amanda came to visit!!!! Hurraaayyy! That was super duper awesome. She was here for two weeks. The first night we went to see a spectacular at the Kusikay theater called Paucartanpu, which was cool for two reasons...one, because it was an amazing show. And two, because I have a couple friends in the show. (Yes, I have Peruvian acrobat friends. I am so cool.) Next we did Machu Picchu by train, just as incredible the second time around. After that we did a three-day rafting trip. 90 miles down the Apurimac river, the source of the Amazon. Stunning. I got tossed from the raft on the first day, on a class 2 rapid. That was actually really fun and I couldn't stop giggling, even as the water bubbled up my nose and into my wind pipe (at which point it became more of a giggle-choke). We all remained safe and sound for the rest of the trip, paddling in sheer panic down the class 5s. Then it was time to do the must-see stuff around town, so we hit the cathedral in the Plaza de Armas and a couple neighboring museums in one gloriously touristy day. Lucky for her, she also happened to visit during one of the biggest celebrations of the year, June 24th, Inti Raymi (which means Sun Party in Quechua). This festival takes place in the form of crazed parade madness in the Plaza de Armas and then everyone marches up to the ruined fortress, Saqsaywaman, to watch a re-enactment of a sacrifice to the Sun God. Other than that, Amanda got a little taste of Salsa dancing, met some of my friends, experienced a window of my life here, and before we knew it, it was time for her to go home.
We hosted some really fun dinner parties at our apartment. Susie did all the cooking, since anyone who knows me doesn't need me to explain why. BUT...I did bake! I made some cakes and my homemade apple pie was a hit! I was super excited about that because even the crust was made from scratch (and love).
Susie and I attended a party in honor of Michael Jackson one Saturday night (I still can't believe he died.) We dressed up as cute little black Mike and older white Mike. All they played were Michael albums, of course, and they showed a bunch of his videos on a projection screen through the night. They held a dance contest which we definitely didn't enter because our preparedness would have brought Mike no honor (shame, rather).
I pierced my nose again and seriously considered getting a tattoo (which I will get eventually) but, alas, finances would not permit. Then, a couple Sundays ago I did some more shopping at the Pisac market, where I was devastated by the sight of a cage full of cuyes, destined to die and be eaten. (This is a really boring blog, isn't it? You can be honest.) I went cuz I had to get gifts to bring home, and I'm actually really excited to hand them out. It might feel like bringing a little bit of my experience to you. I hope it feels that way.
Time flew by (hence the non-blogging) and Susie and I decided to leave Cusco a little early. So we had our despedida, just the two of us. We got dressed up and went out to a nice dinner and drank too much red wine. The day before we left, Anke made us a despedida breakfast. It was our last Sunday brunch in that apartment. And that night, our final night in Cusco, we spent with a few friends going to the circus. This circus was a fantastically third-world spectacle (the bleachers were these thin, plywood boards thrown across some metal piping. I was sure I would fall through one). Still fun, though. And I came out alive (not even a splinter, can you believe it?) but not without 100 soles disappearing from my pocket. Of course. Had to happen on my last night in town. Susie and I got on a plane Monday to spend our final week and a half on the beach (we fly out of Perú on the same day).
So now, here I am, in a beach village an hour south of Lima called San Bartolo. It's really beautiful here, but really slow and quiet. I'm thinking about whether or not I may see my future self here for a while, or if it's too tranquil for what I'm used to. I'm journaling more than I have in the past two months. Dancing less. Well, dancing none. Going for chilly seaside walks where I can think alot. I'm eating ceviche and drinking hot chocolate. (Not together. That would most likely be gross.)
When we boarded the plane on Monday, I couldn't believe I was leaving Cusco. I think it still hasn't hit me. I didn't cry like I thought I would. But I wrote Cusco a letter:I felt alone and terrified coming to you, and now I feel alone and terrified to be leaving. What is in my future? I don't know. Right now I just know that saying goodbye is hard, and harder not knowing if I'll see you again... So goodbye Cusco. Bye cute little apartment. Bye Coco. Bye Pablo. Goodbye salsa friends. Goodbye Anke. Goodbye delicious coca brownie shop. Bye dogs in the street. Bye Plaza de Armas. Bye street vendors. Goodbye cheap sandwich place. Goodbye cholitas with your little goats. Goodbye Pachakuteq impersonator. Bye beautiful churches on every corner. Goodbye little man at the bodega across the street. Goodbye Inca Kola. Bye little cuyes. Bye discotecas. Bye many travelers. Goodbye impossibly hard to walk on cobbled streets. Bye to you cold nights and hot days. Goodbye to you wind smells of pee and llama. Goodbye afternoon walks up to Saqsaywaman... Good things, bad things, whatever hurt and whatever made me smile, I will miss you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment