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Published: December 21st 2007
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Waste Management
Marei burning the garbage. The following are a bunch of random collection of ‘happenings’ and observations in my daily life in Ayacucho/Vista Alegre. Throughout my days here I keep making mental notes of what I need to mention in my blog (because there are so many things that are just plain weird here!) so I might repeat some of the things from previous blog entries - too lazy to backtrack.
* In Vista Alegre there isn’t much of publicly offered
waste management. Allegedly there a garbage truck passes through the neighborhood once a week but I have yet to see it. So the garbage is divided into organic (chicken food) and everything else. The organic is given to the dogs and chickens and plastic bags of everything else (incl. used toilet paper) is burned on one of the many stone ‘hills’ we have in every street. I have successfully avoided that chore in my apartment but I am the one that most often changes the garbage bags so I reckon I handle enough trash weekly.
* Beer is very big in Ayacucho. When the national census took place on Sunday, October 21st, the Saturday prior to the census it was
national no-drinking Manjar used as icing on a birthday cake.
Veerle's birthday celebration at bar/restaurant Magia Negra. day so that the inhabitants would be at home on Sunday morning. On Saturday it was prohibited to drink and sell alcohol. I found that to be hilarious!
*
Manjar (also known as
crema de leche in other parts of Latin America) is a caramel-like marmalade that you can spread on your bread or eat by itself. It is rather sweet and is used a cake filling or icing, as well as in pastries. It’s quite yummy although very sweet. They are also used as fillings for
churros, which is a sausage-shaped pastry covered in suger and sold on busy street corners. They are a wonderful treat after an exhausting day of shopping. They are conveniently located at my bus stop in the city.
* The
weather is weird. When I arrived in October the days were quite warm and the nights were okay. Now the nights have gotten quite cold and the days are very hot. Every now and then we have a week of daily evening showers, but generally I need so much layered clothing to adapt to a day’s weather. In a single day I go from a tank top to three long sleeves incl.
The amazing rainbows!
The whole one could not fit into my camera frame, but it perfectly circled the sun. a sweatshirt. The rain is easy to predict because there are dark clouds in the sky. Otherwise, because we are so high up, the sky and white clouds look like paintings from a book coz the colors are so vivid. It’s quite pretty. Anyway, rain is helpful in Vista Alegre coz the dust on the roads settles. For example, yesterday evening it was very windy and after my 10-min walk to a friend’s house my mouth and eyes were full of dust. Yuk! Rainy season for the Andes is supposed to have already started although we still have plenty of dry spells so it’s not so bad. February and March are supposed to be the worst. Even with the rain season the sun is still very strong, humidity is low, and clothes dry in a jiffy! It’s a wonderful change from Dalmatia’s incessant humidity. Also, our apartment is very cold even when it’s hot outside, it’s an annoying mystery that causes me to wear sweatshirts indoors. The
rainbows, however, are absolutely beautiful and do not always require rain. At times they also appear as circles around the sun (see photo!)
*
Platanos (bananas) are very strange here. Most of
their skins are a mixture of black and yellow. I have yet to see green bananas. Also, there is a type of banana which is fat. Yes, fat. I never thought in my life bananas could be fat, but they are fat and slightly pink inside. They also taste different. Needless to say, I am not too excited about the bananas here but it is possible to find some decent ones at the market.
*
Domestic animals are not a strange sight in Vista Alegre. Apart from dogs, there are daily sightings of pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep. Sometimes I feel as if I live on a farm. It is kind of
simpatico.
* On October 31st, there was a
protest in the Ayacucho over the celebration of
Halloween. I assume it was mostly organized by the local Christian folk who associate it with witches and black magic. Never saw that one coming.
* Here, the supermarkets only sell hand soap and shampoo. All other
personal hygiene products are found in pharmacies. This is not such a big deal were the lines not so long in pharmacies. Also, the whole procedure takes longer because one salesperson finds
the product you need and you pay for it at the other salesperson’s station. Also, you can’t look at the products and prices in your own time because you are being served then and there. Not a very happy shopping experience for me.
* People here work really hard and since many are very poor I assume there is significant
unemployment, but as you walk around the city almost every other store has a sign wanting a
señorita or
muchacho (boy) for some or other job. They are very gender specific.
* A favorite job for people here seems selling phone minutes. Men and women stand on street corners yelling: “
Llamadas, llamadas” (calls) with cell phones in their hands and it just seems so funny. There is a lot of competition in telecommunications so it must be quite difficult.
* By far the
most bizarre experience I have had in my life occurred on my way to the local internet ‘café’ (although it doesn’t offer coffee or any other f&b). I was walking down the main street of Carmen Alto when suddenly someone pulls me back by the neck with a strong arm and attempts to trip me with a leg. In the last second out of the corner of my eye I had seen someone was very close to me which gave me enough of a warning to fall flat on my face, so I stumbled forward in my flip-flops. Although it was a very aggressive act at first I thought it was someone I knew but when I looked behind me it turned out to be a 16-year-old boy with a schoolbag hanging at his hips. I was so confused that all I could mutter was, “¿Que te pasa?” . He seemed really strange and all he kept muttering in a disapproving tone was, “Como te comportas, como te comportas” , which didn’t really make sense because I was leisurely walking down to the internet place in very decent clothing. I was so taken aback and still a little afraid that I didn’t say anything else and continued walking down the street as I observed the boy walk away. The only rational explanation that I could come up with is that he might have been slightly mentally ill. I was quite shaken up by that experience, but as soon as I sat at the computer and went online I was ‘healed’! Lol.
Spanish word of the day:
Llamada =
(phone) call
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Ivanchica
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Maybe that's a way of courtship in Peru :)) And you so violently refused the guy hahahaha