Hola amigos, ¿que mas? that mneans whats up for all you gringos out there. Thats right we speakin da slang now, chicos y chicas. el slang loco. Not really, we get lost in everday conversation but ever since Holly started reading the Chronicles of Narnia is Spanish things are going a lot more smoothly. Suave, as they say.
So everyone likes to whistle a lot in south america, I have discovered. Its something us Norte Americanos never really get down with. Oh, and honking. Whistle and honk. Just a little sonal nudge, not like get out of my way, usually the opposite like 'honk honk' hey you want a ride? 'honk' whats up, your cute.´honk honk honk´ that one means get the hell out of the way. whistles are everywhere though and I still dont really understand them. I have a theory that beacause there are so many birds down here at the equator that everyone just picks up aviary communication skills from a young age. plausible really. Whistles aren´t rude either, its just like a ´Hey!´ waiter, the bill please. or ´Hold on bus driver my child has not yet boarded!´ Plus, most of the sounds are not your average ´woo woooo´ kind of whistles but sounds that you´ve never heard and look around and go ´what was that?´
Cultural difference number 2)
People bring the goods to you. I might have an idea in my head that I want a really good hat. In the US, for example, if you wanted a hat you might go to a hat store and look at hat selection. Maybe, youd walk through some shopping center grazing for a hat demanding service from the staff to display their goods. Here, theres no need to demand. The goods come to you. Why? because people keep all their secret desires inside their head waiting for the right pusher to push said item into their collection. There are countless vendors in every city that try to convince you that these sunglasses or TV remote controls are exactly the one you have been waiting for. Really, take them. Theyre very cheap. Try them on. Buy them, trust me theyre great, i just pulled them out of th plastic wrapper and I could tell these were quality. Theres no need to go to the store! Es tranquilo aqui, the goods come to you when they come.
Where have we been the last week? Did you guys get sick and lost and stranded somewhere incredibly dangerous? Nah, weve been chillin in Peru on the Pacific coast surfin some sweet rollers in Huanchaco. We met up with our college pals Brad and Kira and rented a little apartment on the top floor, complete with bed, kitchen (step up from a camping stove), and living room (matress on the floor, second sleeping quarters). 5 bucks a night per person, not too shabby. Plus the downstairs is a sweet little mercado where we can buy yogurt, chesse, and milk and then put it in the fridge instead of a plastic bag under our seat on the bus where we play ´lets see how much of this we can eat before it goes rotten´. We all trade off cooking, cleaning, and passing the guitar around (good thing we found that bus in quito!). We rented boards for 3 days, so basically we get up, make awesome breakfast like omlettes and veggies (veggies are surpringly hard to find around these parts, most meals are white rice and meat based and fried, but also like 1 dollar. its a trade off really, like most things), go surf for a hour or two (after checking from the balcony what the conditions are like), come back and make lunch (we found wheat bread! likewise, white sugary bread is the standard), go surf again, read, watch the sunset, come back and make huge dinner (pasta, burritos), buy some dark beer (the one place in peru that has a dark beer! as kira says it tastes like a mixture of coffee, coca cola, and beer, surprisingly good), and then crash hard and do it over again. Basically, we walk everywhere, surf, and eat well here in Huanchaco.
Tbis has been a wonderful, rejuvenating, and much needed break from the fastpaced travellin we were doing in Ecuador. Mañana, we head out to check out some nearby Pre Inca ruins (Chan Chan) and then back on the road towards the stunning peaks of the Cordillera Blanca and Huaraz. Over and out amigos, headed for Arrequipa and Cuzco. We'd love to hear how our friends across the land are doing, let us know what the word is and how life is, its hot here. ciao for now.
Que les vaya bien amigos, May you be well my friends
Espencer
