Best Day Ever

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Today was the best day ever. My friend Katie has a really awesome host
family. Very loving, warm, etc. They invited me over today. So this
morning I got up and took a freezing cold shower because it is a
special occasion to be invited to someone´s home. I spend most of my
days in a greasy fog because I´m too cold to shower. And I got to take
my first bus ride in Peru. A different setup, but awesome. I´m glad
Katie met me in town because no way could I have figured it out
myself! All the stop names run together and when the guy who hangs out
the window to yell to see if people want the bus says your stop you
say ¨abajo¨. But he sounds like an auctioneer.

So we get to her house, totally different from mine. It´s like a
neighborhood with a security guard and things like that. Her house is
huge and warm and really modern (or more so than mine).

So her parents then took us to a market just on the edge of town where
the people selling things speak mostly quechua. Her parents are either
Quechuan or part or something. But this is where the Cusqueaña´s go to
do their shopping. A big old farmers market type place, just a big
field, with live animals (chickens, guinea pigs (a peruvian
specialty), etc.), grains, spices, cheese, beans, fruits, veggies,
potatoes (by the way, there are 2,000 kinds of Peruvian potatoes).

We think we´re along for the ride, but then her parents hand us a list
and some money and tell us to go bargain. COOL! Of course since this
isn´t a tourist hang out, we´re a little out of place and the only
white faces around toting our shopping bag. I eat all sorts of fruit
(peeled) that I´ve never had/seen before. We did really well and came
in within the budget.

We tied the sacks of potatoes on top of the car and dropped the loot
back off at the house and then headed to another market. This one was
far smaller. We bought cheese, olives, celery, and eggs. Peruvians eat
a special cheese with their corn. It´s really good. You have to bring
your own basket for the eggs. In Peru they have the big grocery
stores, but people buy the random stuff in them...

Then we went to the Polleria and bought the chickens for the month. I
think they only shop once a month for a lot of this stuff. Katie and I
aren´t spanish pros yet, and her parents speak really quickly and
we´re in their car. By the way, I think I mentioned no stop lights,
stop signs in Cuzco. A little scary. More than scary. And no seat
belts. So we can´t see their faces. All of a sudden the dad slams the
brake of the 1970s VW Bug and we´re confused. Mom hops out, so we all
hop out, and she goes up to this man spinning a huge aluminum bowl
within a bigger wooden bowl. It´s called Queso Helado (cheese ice
cream) and is from Arequipa. So it´s a liquid in the bowl sitting in a
bowl of ice. When he spins it the liquid moves to the center and then
there is cream. Very very very good. Enjoyed that a lot.

Then we went to the meat store. I skipped that. We all know how queasy
my stomach can been. Chicken was hard enough.

Then it was to this other market where it was mostly flowers. Loved
that. I saw some familiar plants, but Cyclamen are really popular
here. Needless to say, I was given a hard boiled CONDOR egg to eat. I
wanted to fall over. I don´t like hard boiled eggs, but this was like
a little baby egg. Almost like those chocolate easter ones...

Then I had an incredible lunch at her parents and got home around 5pm.
It was a long day, but so cool!

We tried several times to go to this Cebecheria (ceviche) in this
woman´s home, but there was always a line. They said we´d go another
time, which will be fun.

Oh, and last night I went to the movies. Totally pirated copies. THey
have a very public black market in Cusco.

And it´s a feast day for the Virgin del Carmen. There are tons of
parades and people carrying the model virgins through the streets. And
really loud fireworks. I feel like I´m back at 226 Kentucky Ave. SE
with gunshots. Kidding, only kidding.

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