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Published: December 13th 2007
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Vicious Dogs
Okay, they are sleeping now, but they barked at me for a whole week when the Belgians just moved into their new house. Now they are used to me and they don't bark. But others bark. My current attitude towards dog is that I hate them, lol. A/N: More photos have been added to the previous (Ayacucho) entry so check them out. Also, yes, the dates of the entries are old, but I am trying to catch up on the events so I am using dates of when they happened rather than when I post them. I have done some serious writing recently so weekly updates will ensue. Thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments, messages, and emails 😊
For Mercedes: you left a message but not an email so I cannot email you back.
So onto the Best and Worst of Life in Vista Alegre Let’s start with the glass half-empty 😊
What I
dislike about my life here (I would rather put ‘hate’ but a self-help book would tell us to try not to be so negative):
* There are so many
dogs and they are VICIOUS. When I say vicious, I mean vicious! During the day they all lie in the sun without a care in the world, but when the sun sets (and very early in the morning) they position themselves at the gate of their owner’s house and bark at every little sound. Because there
Mosquitos attack!
I got all these bites in two hours! are so many of them once one starts barking they all start barking. It would be okay if they just barked but they approach you with vicious eyes and I have already been chased twice by the same dog. They are afraid of rocks so if you have one in your hand and pretend to throw it they will back off long enough for you to run away. At night I have to take a different route home because my normal one is full of dogs. Furthermore, I do not have a rabies vaccination and here you can only get one post-bite. Urban myths claim that a volunteer was bitten by a dog and she was given three very painful injections at three different instances into her stomach. Suffice to say, beware-ing of dogs is a daily
hobby of mine.
* The
mosquitoes are kicking my ass!! Or rather my legs. In two hours I got 13 bites on a single calf (see photo!). They also itch for two weeks. Then there are days when there are none - it makes it really hard to prepare because I am not a big fan of repellant (due to my sensitive
Inventive Laundry
Alas, volunteers also have to wash their clothes and this is what you have to do when your landlord hasn't put up the clothes line yet and this is the best place that you have to put it. These are actually Marei's, my roommate's, clothes. nose, lol). Suffice to say, my calves will never be the same after Peru.
* Everybody
washes like crazy here! Particularly in the Casa but I have noticed the same thing with neighbors. They spend so much water to wash their clothes, dishes, and even the floor of the back yard. Unfortunately, they don’t have quite dedication in washing themselves (but neither do I since the water is cold so…). The poor kids at the Casa have to wash their socks and uniform shirts every single day. It’s such an exaggeration that I feel sorry for the kids (and myself when I have to help them! lol).
*
Internet cafe’s working hours are so random that if you go early in the morning (around 7am) you are not sure if you will find an open one. Around 8am usually one is open but not necessarily ‘mine’, etc. They also don’t have any hours posted on their doors.
What I
love about my life here:
*
Paltas (avocados) - paltas are officially my favorite vegetable now, but they have to be ripe.
*
Wa-was - wa-wa is a sweet bread made
Wa-wa
Best bread in the world! ;) of unleavened dough (so it’s less fattening, yay!). In Quechua
wa-wa means
baby because the bread’s most common shape is a baby. Small wa-was are the size of a human hand, with some reaching the size of a computer monitor screen. Horse shapes (for boys) are also common. Wa-was are traditionally made all through November, starting with All Saints’ Day (Nov 1), although certain bakeries make them all year round (lucky for me!). They are traditional for the Andes, in particularly to Ayacucho. The day before All Saints’ Day everyone makes wa-was and it’s a big deal.
*
Chapla - chapla is a type of bread. Although available in many sizes my favorite is the size of the palm of my hand. Slightly resembling a bagel, it is hollow inside so you cut it open and put whatever you want in it to make a little sandwich. My favorite filling is mayonnaise with palta! My favorite filling that I don’t know how to make myself (yet!) is guacamole (palta being the main ingredient, lol).
* The
mochilas (backpacks) - there is a street in the center of Ayacucho with a bunch of backpack stores and a very nice
Chapla the bread
the size of my palm salesman owns two of the shops and the backpacks are just so pretty. The majority are made in Peru (with some from Asia) and they are cheap and pretty, so what could I ask for?! I’ve already bought two. One for my trip to Bolivia (it’s smaller than a mountain backpack but bigger than a school one) and a small one for daily life here. I am definitely going back and buying like four more. The clothes in Ayacucho are not very appealing so I will substitute clothes shopping with backpack shopping.
* The
fruit yoghurt in 1 liter bottles is absolutely yummy. Naturally, depending on the fruit, but generally they are daily consumed by me and many other volunteers. Compared to other products, milk products are quite expensive here. We are not sure why, but it might have something to do with refrigeration, because having a refrigerator in Ayacucho is a luxury, one that people don’t seem to want. Our landlord has a TV and a DVD player but not a refrigerator. But I can totally understand that, lol.
So it seems I only love the food and backpacks. Yikes! When I think of something else
I love so much I will let you know.
As for Spanish word of the day, there are more than plenty of Spanish words in this entry and I cannot possibly be forced to choose between my darling paltas and wa-was.
Ta-ta.
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Ivanchica
non-member comment
I love your backpack, hon. Buy one for me lol! Oh, and for another note: japanke natika e.... arape s prstiima are a lifesaver :P Loving the whole clothes drying rope thingy, inventively well ;) luv ya, I. xox