Manholes!

October 12, 2005
Today is recoup day. I’ve slept in and my host mom brought my medicine and offered to entertain Kanela on the patio. My teeth are still numb and my eye, even more purple. I took off all the bandaging and cleaned it all very well with alcohol pads. The cut right below my eyebrow, which lines up perfectly with a scar from my childhood, is about an inch in length. One end is very thin, the other is open and red. I imagine if I had been anywhere but the Andes of Peru, they could have put me back together again, a little more esthetically pleasing.

October 11, 2005
Watch out for manholes, especially those without a cover! I took Kanela on our usual walk this morning while simultaneously looking for the Way Inn. Since our trek had been cancelled for rain, my friends and I thought we would go to the Way Inn Lodge about an hour from Huaraz and get in some day hikes to the lakes there.

I’m looking toward the tops of the buildings, trying to locate this hostel, and the next thing I know I’m being pulled from a huge hole by a little Quechua woman. She’s insisting that I stand up and all I want to do is sit down. I saw that my shirt was covered with blood and my face felt like it had been hit with a sledge hammer. Four other Peruvian men came to my aid and insisted that I go to the hospital. I saw my reflection in the car’s window and tried not to overreact; blood was escaping from every orifice. I had them take me to my house instead, but my host mother wasn’t there. I called my closest PCV buddy and while I waited for him to arrive, I sat and cried and wished with all my heart that I was at home in Georgia.

Thinking I might want to pull myself together, I washed the blood from my face, arms, and legs to examine the damage. My face obviously took the brunt of my fall. I had a cut below my eyebrow that was deep and bleeding profusely, plus nasty scrapes on both legs and arms. Two of my friends arrived and helped me to the hospital where I was examined by a “neurosurgeon” and x-rayed. They pressed on my face, checked my vitals, and glued my cut together, without so much as an Advil. Nothing a little makeup can’t cover, the doctor assures me as he hands me a pack of pain pills and cream on my way out the door.

I knew I wouldn’t leave this country without a permanent reminder of my experience.

October 10, 2005
Our trek is cancelled for rain, plus my cronies are sick. It just doesn’t seem like I am meant to go on a trek. First a cancellation on the Huayhuash, then this cancellation for the Santa Cruz, it just doesn’t seem to be in my stars.

October 9, 2005
I’m on a mad hunt for rain pants. I’m heading out with a couple other PCVs on the Santa Cruz trek, a four day hiking and camping venture. I splurged on a new fleece and socks at the Tattoo store. My search for pants ended with a pair of bamba or fake ones found on the second floor of a rickety building in downtown. I stock up on dried fruits, nuts, and granola. My backpack is as efficiently and concisely packed as I could manage.

October 8, 2205
Huari, the site of another PCV, is having its annual Cat Festival this weekend. Thinking it would be fun to head there to eat some feline, a group of PCVs and I headed to the Callejon de Canchucos. The five hour ride ended up taking close to ten after a huge tractor trailer stalled and blocked the road. We entertained ourselves with word games, work conversations, and stories of our pasts. I was wishing that I had stayed in Huaraz when I became ill.

We finally pull into Huari around midnight to see crazy-drunk Peruvian men dancing around the town plaza. Huge floats with religious structures and statues were set up on the periphery and tall totems with streamers loomed the skyline. Since I was rather sick, I found my bed and quickly dozed away my bug.

In the morning, we found a hole-in-the-wall place for breakfast and I emailed the PC doctor. He reasoned that I had bacteria in my belly and said I should start on Cipro immediately. For the day’s excitement, we rented two taxis to take us to a lake just above town. Our taxi overheated and we chilled the car and ourselves on the dirt road for a while, eventually making it to the lake. Quite gorgeous and very pristine, we walked around and took a few photos.

At 3:00 pm, we boarded the same bus to take us back to Huaraz. The ride went much smoother until our bus began smoking from the underside. Stopping to examine the problems, we discovered the mountains covered in snow. The Gringos entertained the rest of the folks on the bus by building a snowman.

October 1, 2005
For the last week, I have been entertaining my friends and family from home. It’s been a remarkably entertaining time for both me and for them, I think. We started out the week with a couple of days in Lima, where we visited the historic downtown. There we saw the Presidential Palace and the Cathedral. My brother was most impressed with the inexpensive prices and proceeded to do some abundant shopping. Mom was on a mad hunt for silver jewelry. In the right place since this country prides itself on the gold and silver mining; she made quite a dent in the supply. We ate at McDonald’s for lunch and then met my favorite Embassy host family for dinner.

The bus ride to Huaraz and to my site was just less than comfortable. Mom said that my house “isn’t as nice as your place in Trujillo.” After meeting my host mother, she saw that some things are more important than modern amenities. My two moms found that although they didn’t speak the same language, that they were alike in their love and concern for their daughters.

Wanting to show my guests a true Peruvian experience, I planned a night’s stay in little town of Vicos. The two hour hike up to our host’s house almost did-in everyone. In Vicos, after we settled into our little humble lodge and inspected the latrine and lack of electricity, we learned to bake bread and make Pachamanca. There were plenty of laughs and surprises as we watched the lives of campesino Peruvians. We drank fresh corn juice, sampled sweet squash pudding and enjoyed our own wheat bread. The hike down was almost more treacherous than the ascent, but the views of the nevadas were incredible.

We splurged on a taxi into Huaraz and quickly crashed at my little apartment. My brother was literally shocked in the shower; I forgot to mention not to touch the wires around the showerhead. We readied ourselves and enjoyed apple bombas before our trip back to Lima.

In Lima, we did even more shopping and were treated to a VIP trip to the US Embassy. We visited the Peace Corps artisan fair where my family met my bosses and colleagues. The new Long Horn Steakhouse at the mall provided us with a spectacular meal of divine steaks and iced Coca-Cola’s.

The send-off was less difficult than I anticipated it would be, maybe because I didn’t go to the airport with them. My taxi ride to my host family was lonely and I couldn’t believe how fast the trip had gone. I was, however, comforted by the knowledge that I would be home in time for Christmas.

September 11, 2005
An anniversary, quite depressingly traumatic in its remembrance, is going on at home. There’s nothing much going on here in Huaraz, on a lazy Sunday morning except cleaning up and organizing. I did go for a bike ride that was quite wonderful in its intensity, nothing like the burn of exertion.

It hit me today that I feel so “normal” here. I no longer feel as if I’m in another country in another culture. I’m the Gringa living in a small Peruvian mountain town and it almost feels like I have been here forever. When we were in training, they told us this would happen in our last year. It’s so true. I can see now how the transition home is going to be hard. To get used to American culture, the efficiency, the rat race. It’s really kind of scary. I see why there are so many ex-pats that have settled here in Huaraz to make their homes. There is something about this little town, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I like it.

September 10, 2005
Standing in line the other day at the bus station, I almost got my rear beat up by a couple of Europeans. They asked a thousand questions to the attendant and while they were conferring between themselves, I quickly handed my sheet of paper with my family’s passport numbers to the attendant. A total of ten bus tickets, at a couple of minutes a piece, meant that the attendant was occupied with me for quite a while. The European rudely said to me, “If you were buying so many tickets, why did you skip line?” In the states and in Europe I am sure that my actions were worthy of his comments, but here forming a line and waiting patiently just doesn’t happen. I realized I had done something so completely Peruvian. I held myself back from saying “When in Rome…”

September 8, 2005
I visited another PCV’s site today in a little town called Vicos. As a business volunteer, he is working on a Cultural Tourism project where tourists go to the campo and work and live like a traditional farming Peruvian. I found his host family to be very welcoming and conversational. They invited me to help sort through thousands of corn kernels that they were going to be planted on the next day. His host family is going to be my family’s hosts for a night when they visit in a couple of weeks. Since we’ve already been to Machupicchu, I thought that a typical mountain experience was next on their adventure list.

September 6, 2005
Let’s pray my new hair do comes out ok. Except for that purple sheen, I’m emotionally renewed. There’s just nothing like going to a salon and having your hair done.

September 3, 2005
Along with a couple of Aussies, three Brits, an Israeli, some Ex-Pat Americans, and four others PCVs, I headed to a field just outside of town for a game of Ultimate Frisbee. It was magnificent with the Andes behind us, the valley of Huaraz below us, and the sun bright above. Sprinting and chasing a flying disc never felt so good.

September 1, 2005
I am waiting for my dog-sitter/PC friend in her site of Buenos Aires with a thousand eyes on me, the neighbors, the chickens, and the pigs. Kanela has had a campo experience and seems to have loved it. We hiked out and enjoyed the mountains scenes, the river, and the sunshine.

August 27, 2005
I had my first big introduction and presentation at a new orphanage. First thing they wanted me to do was sing for them the song from Titanic and later our national anthem. They were extremely welcoming and I spoke at length about my role and my background. We played volleyball and I answered the normal questions.

I am now performing with five other PCVs in a Gringos Saludables or Healthy Gringos socio-drama about self-esteem. We had a working lunch where we joked and laughed and actually got a first-rate script drafted. It is so great to have opportunities to work with other PCVs. I never had these opportunities in Trujillo.

August 26, 2005
*Things I really miss from home…
*Shopping for cutesy, trendy things I don’t need
*Driving in my car across Unicoi with the window down and the music blaring
*Enjoying drinks at the Haufbrau house with Mom and her friends
*Playing summer softball at the Park and Rec
*Strolling through Helen like a tourist
*Browsing my favorite sections at the public library and walking out with an armful of books on CD
*Mexican cheese dip, Texas fajitas, and a tall Margarita on the rocks
*Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Fred’s, and Everything’s Just a Dollar
*Going down every aisle at Wal-Mart
*Huddle House’s bottomless coffee
*Zaxby’s wimpy sauce
*Angela’s sweet tea
*Watching high school basketball games
*Darla’s low-lights, high-lights, and a trim
*Catching the late movie
*Scavenging for treasures in thrift stores
*Old Navy and Gap sales racks
*Starbuck’s decaf, low-fat, sugar-free French Vanilla Cappuccino
*Victoria’s Secret
*Zoey
*Mom, Chad, Daddy & Sherry, Coley, all of my family
*Bryant’s prime rib
*Crossroad’s fried shrimp
*Daniel’s fried chicken and mashed potatoes
*Driving through town and waving at least five people I know
*The $2 store
*Vickie’s biscuits and gravy
*Bathtubs, lots of hot water, a good razor, and a romance novel
*Linda’s pot roast
*Mayfield whole milk by the gallon jug
*Splenda and low-carb everything
*Mall of Georgia
*Riding down GA 400
*O’Charlies’ fresh buttered yeast rolls
*Oreo McFlurries
*Visiting my buddies, chilling, and doing absolutely nothing
*Sitting on Grandmama’s front porch or at the kitchen table
*Piling together in Ma’s living room
*Chatting like sisters with Keisha
*Baby-sitting my little cousins
*Hanging in comfortable silence with my little brother
*Talking about everything with Amy and Cynthia
*Shanghai with Sherry and our friends and family
*Having a cell phone that works
*Washing my clothes in a washer and dryer with Tide and Snuggle
*Sitting on Mom’s front deck, eating a meal prepared from what we found in the fridge
*Sleeping with the heat on, sleeping with the AC on
*Running the washer, the dryer, the heat, the dish washer, the TV, the computer, the curling iron, the air freshener, three lamps, the porch light, the refrigerator, and the microwave all at the same time.
*Parking my car, basking in sunlight, and just soaking up life
*Watching fireworks in Helen
*Grilling steaks, baking potatoes, and tossing fresh salad with Ranch dressing
*Riding on the lake with Daddy
*Midnight trips to Wal-Mart with Sherry
*Watching a good teenaged movie with Coley
*Dinner with Mom and Chad at a nice restaurant
*Nacoochee Grill Birthday Bashes
*Spending the night with Mandy, just like old times
*Shopping or hanging by the pool with Selena
*Locker-room peps talks during a hard, close game
*Sitting on the bed with Grandmama
*Riding to Blue Ridge with Gina
*Going to lunch with Amy, Cynthia, and Jim
*Jim Wood in concert
*Diet Mt. Dew, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Diet Cherry Coke
*Running steps at the Fair Grounds
*Using my debit card to pay for everything
*Driving around Bell Creek in the summertime
*Bell Scene, Shoal Creek, and Cornerstone Baptist Church
*The view of the valley just as you crest over Young Harris Mountain
*Strolling down Airline Road or Red Fox Farm Road
*Walking barefoot in the house
*Plugging something in and not seeing sparks nor getting shocked
*Making a real salary
*Watching the newest episodes of reality TV
*Daily showers with lots of great bath products from which to choose
*CMT, VH1, and MTV
*Knowing that I can visit whomever I choose when the urge hits

August 23, 2005
Kanela had a close call when a dog attacked her on our hike, then she ran in front of a car trying to get away.

I’m cold turkey on caffeine and not doing so well.