Blogs from Ayacucho, Peru, South America - page 3

Yes, thats right people. The throat testicle aka my bloody fucker of a throat gland has returned. I have been bed-bound for 3 days feeling miserable for myself and wanting to come home. But Im over it! Thankfully I wise enough to predict such happenings before I left for Peru so had some penicillin. Gradually its going down and I am feeling like my old self again. What is it though about being ill, and wanting to be at home? Lying in a camp bed saturated with my own sweat whilst trying to keep myself cool with a wet vest top I pondered this. I think its because of the sympathy thing. Family members are obliged by blood to care. Frenchies you just meet just arent. I am slowly picking up Spanish...very slowly...I found a book ... read more

Hola a todos! The two other volunteers that I work with FINCA Peru and myself headed out last Saturday morning in hopes of exploring more of the Andes Mountains. It took us four hours in a cramped little combi (bus) with 20 other people on an unpaved and very rought road to get to the village of Vilcashuaman. I thought it was freezing and it was probably only around 30 or 40 degrees. I have become de-wisconsinized and a wimp. I don’t know how I am going to readapt for my next Wisconsin winter. In Vilcashuaman we got the chance to visit some Inkan ruins; one ruin called the Temple of the Sun (that the Spaniards built a church on top of) and a pyramid. We were completely surrounded by mountains and it was beautiful! On ... read more

I was starting to wonder whether Peruvian men had a weird fetish for yellow underwear as ever shop had hundreds of pairs on display until I realised this is how they celebrate new year in Peru. So in order to have a thoroughly Peruvian experience Ai, the other volunteer, and I went shopping and got ourselves a pair each. The yellow is for good luck, and the picture on the front indicates what you want good luck in... with the options generally being dollar signs for money and hearts for love. As I was in a Ayacucho and probably pretty well off in comparison with most people there going for the dollar sign seemed a little off, so I got some hearts and thought that maybe it could mean Jim gets some good luck - he's ... read more

This "little" stretch of the journey was the toughest thus far. It came as quite a disappointment to us that the roads were not roads, but dusty tracks which really put our bikes to the test. We soon arrived at a small town called Chincheros, where we attracted a fair bit of attention mainly from the youth of the town who were once again, mesmerised by the rugby ball. Unfortunately this meant that we had a relatively substantial audience for yet another inner tube fix. Due to the pressure from the prying local eyes, a swift and precise execution of the changing of the inner tube was required and we hastily continued up the ever-meandering bumpy road. We began to get tired and hungry, and there was no sign whatsoever of the Abra Saracchocha, a pass ... read more

So liebes Fussvolk. Es wird endlich mal wieder Zeit fuer einen neuen Blogeintrag. Wenn ihr mich fragen wuerdet, was ich hier in SCHON 7 1/2 Monaten alles gelernt habe.. dann muss ich gaaaaaaanz weit ausholen. Fangen wir mal bei dem Thema Maenner an. Eigentlich muesste man nur ein Foto von diesem Internetcafé machen, von dieser Szene. Gerade jetzt sitze ich an einem dieser Computer, neben mir an der Maschine 2 ein.. sagen wir mal.. 16jaehriger Halbstarker. Dieser interessiert sich mehr fuer meinen als fuer seinen eigenen Bildschirm, zwischendurch laesst er seine Blicke immer mal wieder ueber meinen Auschnitt gleiten. Dass gerade seine Freundin ihm noch einen verliebten Kuss gegeben hat, haelt ihn davon offensichtlich nicht ab, mir weiter bruenftige Blicke zuzuschicken. Sein Kumpel auf der anderen Seite drueckt offensichtlich Daumen und reisst deftige Zoten, natuerlich verstehe ... read more