Well, yesterday was a good day but certainly a long one at that. I took a cab back to our place from campus, and the guy flat out told me that he couldn’t understand anything I was saying and to be clear, he can understand foreigners but apparently not me. Okay, so I won’t initiate conversation then! And, he makes me pay 3 soles more than Lilly told me to ever pay, but I asked three other cabis and they gave me the same price. They’re like the dogs: they smell fear. At least weakness. Lilly’s academic advisor told me that I absolutely have to take the safe taxis that wait inside the university because otherwise I might get killed. She later told me he’s just very dramatic, but I’ll be damned if he wasn’t being dead serious. So, anyway, I paid more than I should’ve but still less than I otherwise would’ve.
I got back to the apartment and soon found myself locked out, despite having the key. That made me feel really good about myself, let me tell you. I freaking turned that thing every single way, practically kicked the door down, even called on the gods for assistance. Then, I’m sitting outside the house with a backpack and a freakin sign on my back that says “lost gringo”, trying not too call attention to myself. Might as well go walk around, I think, and I find my way to the corner gas station where I buy a beer and a ring pop (good choice I know, especially considering it cost more than the beer!) to occupy myself. Ewwwww, the plastic “ring” around the pop tastes horrible, like this weird metallic chemical taste. Screw the ring pop, why didn’t I just get two beers? Finally a guy pushing a stroller, singing a song about open your heart something or rather, seemed afe enough to ask for help. He turned the key around 5 times in the same direction, kicked it in, and whalaaa, I got in. Gracias, senor.
Apparently I left the courtyard door open in the midst of it all, and I got a stern warning about it when the girls came back. This is Lima, they say. Now I know. The other house rule that I find myself constantly breaking is not flushing the toilet paper. It’s too much for the plumbing system. In theory, I’m totally okay with that very minor inconvenience, but in practice, that’s something I’ve spent my whole life doing without a second thought and will most certainly take some time to undo. Í’m just hoping I correct the problem before I’m responsible for ruining our plumbing.
We went to the supermarket and, let me tell you, that was a whole new experience. The produce section-my personal fav–was full of random goodies I’d never seen or heard of before. Guanabana (?) and a bunch of other names I can’t remember right now, but fruits of every color and size. It was very exciting, indeed, and I now have 4 or 5 culinary experiences ahead of me.
Last night we all went out, and it was really fun despite my exhaustion. I wanted so badly to stay in and sleep (we didn’t leave til 1:30), but I would not allow myself to putter out on the first social outing. The bar we went to played only American music, the Creed type shit that I can’t stand there much less here, and the walls were covered in American movie and album fliers. How ironic. The place is packed wall to wall, with no air conditioning and 9 out of 10 people smoking. My eyes burned sooo badly I felt like I’d just used formaldyhide eye drops, and everyone was just sweating profusely. What a hot scene, let me tell you. They started playing the Beatles, and then the ‘boots with the fur’ song and I impressed everyone with my prolific knowledge of American lyrics. Haha. We ended up coming home around 4, and I was glad that I’d gone.
In the three days now that I’ve been here, I’ve begun to get a healthy fear/respect for what I’ve undertaken. I am not indulging in regrets or anything of that sort, though I can not help but think about how long 5 months is and all the things/people I will be missing. I have to actively replace any such thoughts with positive, enthusiastic ones about the adventures ahead, the fluency, the frienships.
But, speaking Spanish with your gringo friends and/or in a classroom is very different than being somewhere where you understand maybe 60% of whats being said to you and you’re just praying the other 40% wasn’t important. It’s a very different feeling to know that you stand out, that people are looking at you, and no matter how you dress or speak they will continue to do so.
I brought my cell phone as a clock/alarm, but it’s really become more of an artificact of days gone by, a reminder of who and what I can’t be doing. I keep looking at it waiting for a new text message or a missed call, and that’s got to stop. Today or tomorrow I will go buy a new cell phone and a sim card so I can start anew cellularly speaking, collect new numbers and receive new text messages.
Anyway, these entries are getting a bit long I think. Sorry to bore you with the little things, but here I am with internet connection just recapping it all for my own sake. Tomorrow I’m going surfing I think, and considering I have trouble hopping on a damn lake tub sometimes, this should be interesting. But would I decline the offer? Absolutely not.
