Miscellaneous Peruvianisms

Well, there are lots of things about the trip that don't exactly fit into any specific stories. So, here are a few! Inca-cola, my new favorite soft drink, was quite the experience the first time I had it. Its sort of a bubble gum and cream soda mixed flavor, and it is VERY carbonated, which took me for a bit of a surprise since I don't drink a ton of that stuff. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, but after the papya juice and the sugarless hot chocolate, I learned quickly to love it. Also, our water supply was limited since drinking anything but bottled, purified water was asking to be sick as a dog. Another thing about Peru, which reminded me a lot of China, is that those cute little kids just don't wear underwear. I figured that out when one little girl wearing a cute white (and very dirty) dress had a nice breeze lift it up a bit. I had a good giggle and kept playing with her. It's so interesting to me how different cultures are. I mean, she was at the oldest two, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but it might have come as quite a shock to some. As would women nursing their babies right there in public, no problem! I felt bad for the boys in the group, because man, when the baby was hungry, out came the food! Also, most of the Peruvians didn't have the luxury most of us have of a washing machine and dryer. The people, especially the kids, wore the same thing almost every day, also. It would have been sad to me, except that they really didn't seem to mind. It was life, and it was what they knew. They probably thought it was strange that we all wore something different every day. Another thing about Peru that

reminded me a lot of China was that transportation wasn't exactly regulated. Things that bus drivers or taxi drivers or any kind of driver here would get thrown in jail for and have their license revoked for life were just kind of every day things there. The picture doesn't nearly do justice to just how bad the road was and how ridiculous the turns were that we rode a bus up to get to our village. There's one turn, this might be it, called somethingsomething Diablo. That means DEVIL. Very appropriate, especially after having been in a thirty-person bus trying to take it. Lots of times they had us just get out because the bus was riding too low to be able to make it. Needless to say, there was a lot of reflection on that bus ride. Thoughts such as, "At least I told everyone I loved them before I left," "Now I don't have to worry about getting everything ready to go to college," "No more homework," "Please forgive me, I promise it was an accident!" ran through my head as we made the trek up the mountains to an elevation of almost 15,000 feet. We took that ride about six more times and it was just as scary every time. It was nothing compared to the ride up to Machu Picchu, but I'll get to that later.