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As I am writing the blog, I am finally after hours and hours of work, printing off my 34 page (double spaced but all in Spanish) independent research project report. I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing this project for a good chunk of the last few weeks. I would not have had to be such an insomniac here in the end except for the fact that I have been sick on and off for the past three weeks. The first week I was in Lima, I developed a nasty cough which I attribute to the dramatic change in temperature and overall climate. I finally stopped trying to cough up my lungs after a week of cold medicine and lots of sleep. However, not more than 4 days later I started to feel sick again. After a week of horrendous headaches and a stuffy sinus, I finally yielded to go to the doctor.
What an experience that was. Peruvian time runs a half an hour behind usually but time in a Peruvian doctor’s office runs a good hour behind. I had come an hour early anyway not knowing what to expect and so I bonded with the waiting room for
at least 2 hours. I had been practicing all day what I was going to say to the doctor. I know what I want to say and I usually know how to say it but when I meet someone knew or get nervous my Spanish is just plain bad. I didn’t want to accidently say the wrong thing and get diagnosed with Swine Flu…
When my name was finally called by the desk nurse, she led me back to a small office/exam room where a stout old man was waiting; my heart was in my throat. I knew it wasn’t going to be good, I would have to do a lot of pointing and hand gestures to let him know that I felt like my head was in a vice. That is why I almost started crying when after a brief opening conversation he said, “You can speak English, it is ok.” Thank the Lord I thought, He’s always looking out for me. So I went on to describe my symptoms to him and he nodded. Then he had me move to his well used doctor’s chair for a brief examination.
He poked and prodded at my face
with his hands—without gloves I might add. He had an old school headlamp that he had to hold onto so it didn’t fall apart and the light flickered. The examination lasted only a few minutes and he had reached his conclusion. I went back to the desk while he washed his hands in the sink which made me realize he hadn’t washed them before the exam…The long in short of it, however, was that I had a pretty bad sinus infection for which I was prescribed four medications. He gave me a heavy antibiotic, nasal spray, some sort of decongestant, and some magic pill that dissolves under my tongue though I have no idea what it is for.
I had lost a lot of time and suddenly it was my last two days in Lima. I decided to explore Lima finally instead of working on my paper so I took an afternoon off. I went to the one place in all of Lima I had been dreaming about since before I left the states, the resting place of Francisco Pizarro. For those of you who may not know, Pizarro was the Spaniard who led the conquest against the Incas
The Coffin of Pizarro
I could have touched it! starting in 1532. There are statues of him all over Lima, it was and in many ways still is his city. His remains (really just a severed head) are in a coffin that is kept within a glass case in the Cathedral of Lima. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I have had a fascination with Pizarro and the conquest since I gave a presentation on it in the 7th grade, and there he was. I almost felt like I was meeting him, like he was there. Spooky.
After I completed my number one goal of the afternoon, I wondered the streets in the center of Lima. The Cathedral is located in the grand Plaza de Arms in the city center which is stunning. The government buildings in the area were all guarded by men who dressed very similar to the guards at Buckingham Palace, a funny thing to see in Peru. I took pictures of many buildings and the large iron fountain in the middle of the plaza that was put there in the 1500s. A beautiful day just to walk.
I eventually found myself at the Museum of the Spanish Inquisition. It is located
The Conquest
A mosaic in the room where Pizarro lies on the actual site where the Lima headquarters was so many years ago and there are still haunting remnants of the court rooms, torture chambers, and prison cells. They had done excavations and opened up the underground secret cells reserved for the accused in quarantine. We were able to walk around these cells and also to read the names that inmates had scratched on the walls. A sad and profound experience. One name “Maria” was especially easy to read and the guide said that she was eventually burned at the stake for practicing Jewish customs when it was never proven for sure.
After tat depressing and dark experience, I decided I needed more. I found myself in the Catacombs of the St. Francisco Monastery. More than 25,000 people are “buried” there in mass graves. Once the bodies had decomposed, the monks came down and organized all of the bones for the publics viewing pleasure. In one part were nicely organized long bones and in another all skulls. One grave was a special treat as the monks had created a special design alternating skulls and long bones in a spiral pattern. Who though to do that I wonder and did
they enjoy it? I was done after that one.
I went home happy that I had accomplished so much good sightseeing and hadn’t missed Lima. We also went to a fountain/light show later which is supposedly the best in South America. There were tunnels of water to walk through and a special show to watch synced with music and lights. It was ok but it was no grave of Pizarro.
Now (Saturday) it is my last day in Cusco and tomorrow we are going to Urubamba to finish out the program. I have finished my paper and all that is left is my 20 min Spanish presentation on Weds. Thank Heavens! I am so excited to go home and see everybody but that sinking feeling is starting to hit my stomach; the feeling that I am going to miss this place. Hard to believe a week from now I’ll be sitting in the Miami airport and a week from tomorrow I’ll be home. It is even harder to believe that it has been 3 ½ months since I left home. Some days it feels like an eternity while others like it was just yesterday. This is the end….the
final countdown.
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Joshua
non-member comment
countdown's are never final
In the last week I was in Wales, the song "The Final Countdown," by 80's band Europe, ran ceaselessly through my head. Mighty awesome about Pizarro's Grave- the standard by which all else may be measured. Love the idea of the bone arrangements as well. Brutal.