Drag Queens, Crusty Hostels, Desnudos, and Green Cerveza

It has been a whole 2 weeks since I shared my adventures, and they've started piling up. In fact I'm a little overwhelmed with how much I have to regale, so bear with me while I try to retell these stories in a semi-organized manner. I find numbering helps.

1. Drag Queens and Twisted Ankles
2. Another Sketchy Beach Trip?
3. First Days of School
4. St. Patrick's Day
5. Miscellaneous

1. A few days after my return from camping, a few gringo (American) friends and I decided to go dancing, because, well, everyone here dances. It may be the reason I never come home. Knowing nothing about any of the discotheques in Lima, we randomly chose one near our house in Miraflores. Nightlife in Lima is crazy different from that in Madison. You don't leave your house until 11 or 12 at night and you dance until at least 3, 4, 5 in the morning. So far I'm failing at this new lifestyle as it clashes with my ideal sleep time. Anyways, we step into the discotheque and realize it is a different kind of club than what we were expecting. There were drag queens EVERYWHERE. I didn't mind, in fact I kind of loved it because it meant everyone knew how to dance. After hours of endless dancing my roommate Carly and I decided it was bedtime. While trying to find the exit, the lights went out and I missed a step, tripped over the queen of all drag queens, and twisted my ankle. Ooopsie. Luckily, I recovered just in time to explore more of Lima before school started.

2. After many more days of dancing, school orientation, and a trip to Parque de Agua (a park in downtown Lima devoted to giant fountains) a small group of Madison girls and select Peruvians decided on one last beach hoorah before school officially started. We taxied about a hour out of Miraflores to a beach called Punta Hermosa. This beach was much more tourist-y than the beach in Asia, but we still managed to find the cheapest (10 soles each = $3), crustiest, hostel in town. There was no running water, only 3 beds for 7 people, and ants everywhere. Needless to say we loved it. We played on the beach all day where the waves are huge and the sand is black. For dinner we ate ceviche at a little dive on the ocean front and danced all night at an outdoor discotheque. By 4 a.m. I was so tired from dancing I didn't even mind I had to sleep in between 2 people on an extra sandy bed. The next day there was more beach romping, until a giant wave took my suit and me all the way into shore. Due to some tumbling and sand, I now have a pretty juicy wound on my knee. I am done with beaches for a while.

3. Oh boy, now we've reached school. I'm enrolled at La Católica (PUCP) which is about a 20 minute taxi ride or a 40-60 minute combi (glorified vans that are passed off as buses) ride from my house. The school is completely walled in and probably about half the size of Madison. Campus is gorgeous. It's always warm and never rains so I spend most of my days sitting outside with friends watching the deer that just roam the grounds. All of the buildings are really modern and food here is incredibly cheap. I never pay more that 50 cents for lunch which usually consists of bread, rice, and potatoes (they love their carbs here). Everyone is always late. Students waltz into class 15-20 minutes past the bell and professors won't show up for half an hour past start time. It's a very laid back culture.

We had this whole first week to attend whatever classes we wanted to see if we a) could understand the professor and b) actually wanted to take the class. I decided to take modern peruvian literature, modern peruvian history, peruvian sociology, and an art class. The first 3 classes were easy enough to pick, but art was another story. I talked to 4 different art professors in the hopes they could guide me in the right direction since I've never taken an art class in college. One suggested Dibujo Natural. I thought, oh hey, why not? I showed up for the first class with out any materials and upon seeing everyone else was prepared, I begged the girl sitting next to me to show me where to find paper and charcoal. After purchasing supplies, I rushed back to the room only to find myself face to face with a naked potbellied old man. It was one of thoooose art classes. Thank you language barrier. Three hours of sketching later, I decided to take the class. I mean, when else am I going to get to take a nude drawing class?

4. Last Wednesday was St. Patrick's day so my friends and I decided to trek out to the one and only Irish pub in Miraflores. It was packed. The pub seemed a little confused about what an Irish bar should look like. There were Mexican flags on the walls and MTV on the TVs. We befriended a Peruvian 40-something named Enrique who informed us he was at least half, if not all Irish. We drank green beer and rocked out to a Cranberries cover band (think angst-y 90s girl band). Overall, a successful St. Patty's day.

5. Two major obstacles I've had to overcome have been bartering and Combis. Unless prices are clearly labeled (like at a grocery store, fancy mall, or classy restaurant) you are expected to barter. Since I am clearly gringo/extra white everyone tries to overcharge me. Luckily, I'm quickly becoming latina and can talk the taxi drivers down to a reasonable price. It's like a game here. I tell the driver I want to go to school, he suggests some outrageous price like 25 soles and I say "ayyyy amigo, demasiado. Tengo ocho" which means woah guy, way too much. I have eight. Usually we settle on 10 soles which is about 3 dollars that gets split between 4 girls. One time (quite possibly the proudest moment of my trip) the taxi driver asked if I always get the price down to 10. When I said "Claro" which roughly translates to "Duh" he said good for you gringa. Why thanks taxi man.

The other tricky thing around here are the Combis. Like I said earlier, Combis are oversized vans or small buses with a man hanging out of them calling out destinations. These buses don't have designated stops, they just stop wherever you tell them to. They are hot, smelly, and cramped. Riding in one of them feels like you're in a video game (think mario kart). All of the Combis are privately owned and are worried about what will happen next year when the Metro comes to Lima. Personally, I hope these little death traps get to stay on the road.

Side Note: I forgot to mention the time I was dancing in a discotheque and a Peruvian girl asks me if I was latina. I asked her if it was the blonde hair or the pasty white skin that gave it away, but she said it was because I danced like a latina. Second proudest moment of the trip. When I told her I was not actually latina, she asked if my parents were latinos. If anyone has seen my dad dance, they should know that...yes, my parents are clearly latinos. Especially, Dad.

I've probably forgotten crucial stories, so I'll try to stay on top of this blogging thing as to not get so overwhelmed with peruvian adventures.

P.S. I ordered some mystery food at school the other day. My Peruvian friend Chino wouldn't tell me what it was until I'd eaten some of it. Turns out it was stomach. Chino thought it was hilarious. Ha ha feed the clueless gringa cow stomach. Real mature Peruvians.