Being sappy...

Normally I like to write something witty or informational about where I live to try and entertain you as much as I can. But today, my short but sweet blog post is dedicated to the greatest friend I have ever had. In January, as I perused through my friend Amanda's photos, I thought to myself that Peru looked fun. Amanda, who I met last year, had a job here. I was glad to see that she had good friends her first month here, including a girl named Claire who looked like a really fun person. Who knew, that within that same month I would have a job at the same school in Peru as Amanda and Claire, and I would soon be included in their crazy photos.

I will admit…

There are times that Peru drives me a bit mad.

Sometimes I question the priorities of people here. Sometimes I question whether or not I am in fact on a different planet because I have witnessed the strangest things here. But, it’s Peru, and with that said, things happen a bit differently. However, after 3 months of living in my new home, I have finally grown accustomed to such things as this...

Yes, you see stray dogs walking about here, occasionally walking in the parks or around the rubbish in the streets.But those are the LOW class dogs. Dogs of a much higher social status prance around on rooftops. I have 2 neighboring roof dogs. They constantly bark at the low lives walking amongst the street below them.

One big strange family

If every country identified with a family member then Peru would be the eccentric uncle. The one who shows up with interesting stories and cool gifts, the one who likes everything bizarre…Reasons being as follows:

1. He likes to consume the strangest of foods and drinks

Every week, my students insist that Peruvian cuisine is the best in the world. I have yet to see this. In my personal opinion, the Peruvian food is a bit bland. Give me American fast food, grease, and saturated fat any day. Peruvians are 110% sure that it doesn’t get any better than this. And why think anything different when you can drink something like this:

Inca Cola. Something that closely resembles that of the contents of a toilet. I have yet to try it because I do not want to feel as if someone is urinating in my mouth. My friends have informed me that it tastes of bubblegum and a million teaspoons of sugar. Seeing as I am not a fan of bubblegum, I am not convinced that Peru is the cuisine capital of the world. Especially considering that this country is extremely into meats such as cuy (guinea pig), heart, tongue, and more. And if this is the drink that accompanies these strange entrees, it is no wonder this country is a bit quirky.

A tale of drugs, military dictators and human sized guinea pigs

Have I ever told you about my school? While Extreme isin itself an interesting place to work at, we work in line with a Catholic university called Universidad Catolica San Pablo. At UCSP, the rules ARE followed. Men don’t wear piercings and cant have tattoos, women only wear skirts that go below the knee. You must show up on time (students seem to ignore this), every website except for Google is blocked (unless you know the secret of hacking the security system at school and browsing facebook while waiting on your students to show (Accordingto the school, God is frowning upon this…by the way a figuring of the Crucifx hangs in every classroom), and absolutely NO public displays of affection.

You think you have seen it all…

Until you meet Alonso. Alonso Perez is 14 years old and visits the bars in the centre every night. Alonso frequently peruses into the pub where we begin our evenings out. Normally, in any other country, the sight of a 14 year old entering a place where alcohol is sold would cause nothing short of an emergency on par with a national emergency. However, this is the norm here. And Alonso is special. At 14 years old, Alonso knows every bartender and worker on San Francisco and the surrounding streets. With a backpack in tow, he brings candy and roses to sell. Not only is he adorably, Alonso is the best and most charming business”man” I have ever seen. His personality is captivating and you find yourself buying candies from him. Once, the girls even bought a yellow rose off of him, and as sad as it was to buy a rose for ourselves, it was impossible not to. As Alonso says Ciao to everyone in the pub (because he knows everyone and even knows most of the names) you would naturally think that he is going home considering it is after midnight. However, two hours later when you meander into a different bar or club, there’s Alonso chatting up the bartender and the girls and guys sitting in chairs opposite him at the bar. His hands and backpack are nearly empty and that is when you realize you have a star in the making. The Ultimate Sales Person. But then you are reminded that is he is in fact, still a teenager, when he borrows your iphone and plays Angry Birds for an hour. But he has earned it, he made more money than we did that day.