Huancayo, where the dogs roam free
Trip Start
Mar 05, 2009
1
6
20
Trip End
Aug 05, 2009
Huancayo, Peru
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Since being here I have.....stunk of piss (thanks to a young boy at the school I've been volunteering at), nearly been attacked by a dog (I had my leg ready to boot it in the face if it came any nearer), been an aider in a trauma (good thing blood doesnt make me feel ill cos there was a whole load of it on my hand!), eaten guinea pig, played football at 3,500m (breathing was an issue after that!) been called a gringa A LOT, seen a famous Peruvian actor called Javier Valdez (I didnt even know famous Peruvian actors existed!) and eaten a fair amount of cake.
The kids here are so cute. We went to the supermercado to buy some drink before going out on Saturday night and 3 young girls of about 10 ran up to us and stayed with us the whole way round the supermarket. They're always really interested to know where we're from. A little boy yesterday asked if there were tigers in Scotland, bless him. And its normal here for you to kiss hello and goodbye and every other day we've been doing some english lessons with loads of little kids and you kiss ALL of them hello, and ALL of them goodbye. During football with the kids yesterday it was boys vs girls and one of the Peruvian young girls scored a goal and I got a bit carried away, ran halfway across the 'pitch', picked her up and swung her round. I appear to be really into football when I play it (although I do scream a lot, ie girly screams) but have no inclination to watch it whatsoever. Good times!
Tested the nightlife of Huancayo (and a lot of the alcoholic beverages) and am pleased to say that the nightlife is odd but good. I saw a live band singing Dire Straits and The Police whilst drinking a warm alcoholic beverage that contained whisky. I also sat in a cafe that same night and drank an alcoholic, warm beverage that tasted like orange juice. Then we also had some sangria. Ok, a lot of sangria. Then we moved onto a club called the Taj Mahal (good name, yeah?) where I sampled Cusquena beer.....twice. Let's just say drinking at this altitude is not akways the best idea but when you mix your drinks as much as I did....the only thing I have to say there is the hangover started before I left the club. And I had to move onto water, such a typical Shona move these days. I just can't hack the Peruvian pace.
Am moving on back to Lima tomorrow night to stay until the weekend, more than likely. It's been strange staying in one place for a week as it's feeling like home now. I walk to the school every morning and normally almost get run down a couple of times if not honked at a lot (thats normal, Peruvians and their car horns are the best of friends. Even when there's nothing blocking the road they honk that damn horn), get stared at a bit cos i'm the only gringa walking about, get shouted at to get on a combi (like a mini bus....they're mental), dont get on the combi and eventually make it to my destination. It's an eventful walk in the morning, invigorating some might say. Everything here is an assault on the senses, it's loud, brash, dirty, dusty, often rainy....
I managed to cut this blog down to a normal size by not going into a lot of detail. I'm really proud of myself! Maybe will have some exciting stories from Lima but more than likely I'll just get lost most of the time as the place is massive. Wish me luck!!! Ciao!
Comments
huancayo blog
Great blog Shona that must have been one hell of a hangover great to see you finished off your nights drinking with two further beers yahooooooooooooooooooo