Friday, April 24, 2009

Friday, April 24

There are two things I must let out --- first the bad news.
Cusco always has this slight chill to it which seaps through your bones and makes you cringe and I CAN´T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! Looking at a map you will see that we are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator - the hottest latitudes in THE WORLD. What is going on??? Seriously.

Second -- I had my first decent spanish conversation with a cab driver last night!! =) It was about 15 minutes long, no english, all spanish, and made complete sense. I´m soo happy to be improving on my language with no formal training. It´s almost crippling to be living here without it. So, my goal this month is to make as many Peruvians friends as possible so I can improve my spanish and salsa.

Tonight one of the teachers is throwing a party at her place for the legalization of gay marriage in Iowa - random. But it should be fun... Im gonna dress up as guy and my roommate, Kelly, will be my woman. A little weird but I think I can work it. GAY MARRIAGE! YAHHHH! hahaha

Another brief update -- A friend of mine named Jay just moved up to Via San Blas. Basically it´s really high up, above the city, on this property that belongs to this divorced couple (Peruvian and Canadian). They built the whole place by hand and have made it the coolest, chillest spot in ALL of Peru. The past week we´ve been using our 5 hour break in the middle of the day to go rock climbing up there... its the most amazing place someone could live. Right by the intersection of the old Incan roads that basically put you smack dab - in the middle of the EMPIRE!!! Not to mention they have a rock climbing wall going up one of the sides of the house with the coolest Peruvians - who - I still can´t figure out how they make money because all they do is smoke and climb. Luis (whose Quechua name is Songa) is the owner. He was married to this Canadian lady who left last week, back for Canada. I can only assume he probably wasn´t faithful because Peruvians have a problem with that but now Luis lives there with his 2 beautiful labrador dogs, Tiki and Rockcoo. Tiki is pregnant and I´m stealin a pup in 3 months when she gives birth. It´s gonna be me and my dog in a Peruvian Shanti over looking the Andes --- or so I hope. LOL

This place has become my new escape (as if Peru wasn´t enough) but teaching can wear on you after a while especially when you feel like you´re on permanent vacation. Anyways, this is a short one, I need to take my afternoon nap now. Buenos Dias Chicos!!!

P.S. Tickets to Peru are the lowest they´ve ever been from Chicago. Check out Spirit Air. Last time I looked it was $250.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tuesday, April 14

It´s been a while since my last blog and I apologize for the delay but I´ve been busy having the TIME OF MY LIFE!!!! Peru is amazing in all its many shapes, forms, people, and the common bond that ties us together -- escape from the ordinary. It´s hard to say how often i´ve experienced states of completely tranquility and surrealism and the best part about it is -- its all real. Sometimes I´ve had to stop and ask myself "Do I really deserve all this?" but in the end its all relative. Everyone I know here is on this search for something better... something extraordinary. Not knowing where we´ll end up but just continuing on as if everyday was our last.

Last night we got back from Arequipa -- an amazing city on the west coast of South America. Full of lights, action, stores that actually look familiar. In between Cusco (my present location) and Arequipa there´s nothing but barren land. Miles of nothingness enveloped with sand and the only trace of life being cactus and sheep every once in a while.... I was skeptical being on the hot bus ride for 12 hours, feeling baked like a cake in the oven. Every once in a while we´d stop for a bathroom break and food. I went with Kelly (my korean roommate), Gabriel Sorrell (the writer from brooklyn with a knack for the creative and a streak of manipulation that courses through his vains only for the mere entertainment of it all) and then Nick my old buddy from TEFL who came back from the Jungle and was ready to plunge head first into the next adventure upon his return. I will refrain from going into too much character building because it´s all just a matter of opinion in which some cases might be far from the truth. Either way it was a great group and we had a wonderful time.

The order of events are a little vague now that a 24 hour period has lapsed but I can say with full confidence it was one of the more magical experiences in my life as we approached Arequipa which is in many senses the land of OZ for me. Arriving on Thursday night (April 9th) we were in the middle of Semana Santa - the week of holiness leading up to Easter. All the clubs and bars were shut down but the streets were filled with parades and vendors. All kinds of scrumptious goodies for us to engross are bellies with under the hot Arequipen sun. I, not being the sweet tooth, didn´t endulge as much as the rest but walking around the joyful town made me feel a sense of relief. Stopping all thought and self discovery for a moment and just enjoying the simple pleasures of the city. That day we rested early at a small hostel outside the plaza.

The next day we caught another bus 2 hours to Playa de Camana - The beach! It was time to kick back and do some body surfing - WHOA! The waves were HUGE, much bigger then the waves in Lima and a lot more laid back. This time there was sand and A LOT OF IT! Sand everywhere, dunes, mounds, in my pants, in my ears. Across the beach I could see people catching their dinner for their whole family. Trucha was the main course which bascially means fried Trout. We also had a wonderful course of Ceviche - my first peruvian meal which I had in Lima - bringing back all the memories of feeling alone in a different country. Basking in the hot pacific sun we met a friend - Elvis. He was the local cocain dealer for the beach and he was definitely interested in our male companions. He was half Peruvian half Italian and didn´t know a lick of English. Kelly and Nick both spoke pretty good spanish and was able to exchange phone numbers if we were interested in delving into that cluster fuck tonight but in the end we opted not to... as we had better plans on the horizon which had not been divulged yet.

That night we had a glorious meal and shared eveything... the four of us didn´t need to party or impress. We didn´t need to excrete too much energy -- we were just chillin and going with the flow. Deciding at dinner what we were gonna do that night -- in the distance was a huge sand dune which we had been looking at all day. Secretly wanting to climb it -- we had each become hiking crazed maniacs since landing in South America so it only seemed natural. But the question was hike it sober or hike it not sober??????

All of us had our fair share of exprimental drugs but tonight was a little different as we slowly learned of Nick´s Mushroom Goo. Kelly had never tripped before but something about the group dynamic allowed her to entertain the idea. After some brief discussion we all figured -- why not? We´re in a beautiful city, near a beach, with nothing more to do aside from talk, smoke, relax, and chill. It didn´t take long before we were all popping small balls of what looked like a tootsie roll. POP, POP, POP, POP. And away we went...........

This is when the town became OZ to me. It was like walking through a dream. We looked at the sand dune and started walking towards it -- Nick acting like a semi-guide to us all - he´s an explorar through and through. We walked over a field and past the sleeping town, lights off everywhere, and the night belong to us. We crossed a road and infront of us stood THE DUNE! I was dreaming.... everything in me said i was dreaming. At this point I´m gonna hand the torch over to Kelly because for me mushroom goo was more of a feeling of ectasy and dream states then anything else.. I didn´t have an huge revelations nor did it hit me as much as I thought it would but it was still fun. We all scattered up the hill, gasping for breath periodically I would stop and paint. Right behind me stood Nick, and he was like slow down, there´s no rush, we have the whole night. The more that thought set in the slower I would go and it felt great.... Gabrielle and Kelly Jumped ahead, racing to the top of the mountain where they found all kinds of revelations, god, metaphors, etc.... It was quite the night for them. Nick and I stopped 200 feet below the mountain top and found a nice spot to KICK IT. As I soaked into the mountain, I found myself planted for good.. . i was not moving. I was exactly where I wanted to be ... and he sat down right next to me. We had a chill discussion, nothing profound or out of the ordinary... as I mentioned before it wasn´t as intense as I thought it was going to be but none-the-less fun. A couple times we forgot there were 2 other people on the mountain with us and once in a while we would here screams from up top. What they were going through we may never know but a couple hours later they came tumbling out of the darkness screaming "metaphor and I want to get naked!" A little beyond my comprehension but ok... I can dig it. Rolling and tumbling someone rampaged nick and he began rolling. Kelly kept saying I had sunk so deep into the mountain that I was almost a part of it... which felt enormously comfortable. I did feel like the mountain had wrapped its sand arms around me and protected me from the cold night air.

Below you will find Kelly´s interpretation of our night;
So...lots has happened since we last spoke. I have started a
mini-relationship with Gabe. What a crazy one. Really, things were a
little rocky, but finally, we had a nice talk last night, and we
basically decided that nothing is really going to come of anything
that happens, and that we are pretty much in it for the comfort
aspect.

Last weekend was by FAR the best weekend i have had since i've been in
Cusco. We actually traveled to Arequipa and to a city by the beach!!
OH MY GOD!! Arequipa was an actual city. There were shops and malls
and we even had time to find a movie theater! it was amazing. I got
pizza hut and all was well in my life again!! loL!! Really, I even saw
a Payless Shoes!! YAYAYAYA!!! I didn't go in, but the option was there
and I really appreciated it. Ok, SOOO i tried my first hallucinogenic
drug. It was the goo from mushrooms called mushroom goo, how
appropriate!! haha! It looked like a little deer poop and you just
swallow like a pill. The effects were amazing!! Colors were brighter,
pictures on the wall were moving, and there was even a little body
high. I can't even begin to explain what went on that night, but I
will do my best.

So we went to this little town on the beach and stayed in this crappy
hostal. It wasn't so bad though, because Kareema and Nick (another
potential teacher at my school) got an awesome room with an ocean view
and a little living room area. SO, after smoking a considerable amount
of weed, drinking a few 40's and taking the goo, we ventured out to an
enormous sand dune. When we were at the base of the dune, it was
lingering there flaunting it's massiveness and just asking to be
conquered (this is me on drugs now...) While climbing the sand
continually was shifting beneath my feet and it took quite a bit of
effort and motivation to reach the top. Half way through, i was so
tired that i wanted to give up. Suddenly it became this spiritual
journey. I dropped my unopened beer in the sand to shed some weight
and kept climbing. I wanted to reach the top so badly just to prove to
myself that I could actually accomplish something significant in my
life. the mountain became this HUGE metaphor of my life. I felt like i
have been struggling up this mountain (life) for so long and really
have nothing to show for all of my efforts. I came to South America in
search of that wholeness that i have always longed for. And there, on
that mountain of sand, i finally realized that I had enough balls (for
lack of a better word) to do it. REALLY, the way drugs can make you
realize the obvious in this totally new light is incredible. SO, i
continued up the mountain. I finally reached the top. I was elated.
Then, just being at the top wasn't enough, I started to explore. On my
journey i also decided that my clothes had become this foreign entity
and needed to be removed. So, i got pretty much completely naked on
the top of this god forsaken mountain. (the sand in my mouth, shoes,
hair, clothes and every orifice of my body also fueled my motivation,
but it was so symbolic to me. I was shedding all of these unwanted,
unnecessary and useless amenities in my life. I was finally just me.
alone. naked. walking toward the moon in search of something greater
than this life has to offer. it was incredible.

Finally, i felt the chill of the cold night. I started to head back
towards my clothes. It was about 15 min into my search that i realized
that i had no idea where i had left them. I started to run. Panicked.
I started yelling "Marco!" (which is what Gabe and I yell if we can't
see one another). I heard a faint "polo" in the distance, muffled by
the wind. new hope!! I ran towards the voice. Now, i really have no
idea if he actually responded or had heard me at all. But i finally
found him. He was building a wall. (HOW SYMBOLIC!) for the first time
that i had this epiphany about him. He will forever constantly be
building his walls, and i will forever be the free spirit (running
naked on the mountain top!) F*ING CRAZY!!! His walls meant sooo much
to me though. I was so hurt that he was building walls, as if he were
building this wall specifically to keep me out. (which, i find out
last night that he was actually building the wall for a completely
different purpose...) ANYWAY, so I eventually found my clothes. got
dressed and went to talk to him about his DAMN walls. we were on
completely different pages and it just kept becoming more clear how
much i didn't have in common with him and how different we really are.
It was a great night. full of revelations and HUGE METAPHORS. let it
be known that i climbed the mountain of life.

The way down. we came to realize that we were not alone, and that, in
fact, we had two other friends on the mountain with us. We ventured
back down the slippery slope to find the two laying in the sand.
Kareema had sunken into the dune and was almost completely
camouflaged. We started runnning around on the side of this dune,
tackling each other and wrestling in the sand. It was incredible.
Finally, after all of our energy was spent, we started sprinting and
rolling down dune. It was the more exhilarating experience i have had
in a long time. we were recklessly carefree. It was dangerous but well
worth the risk. It was like being on another planet.
Uh...indescribable experience.


After all the revelations and tumbling down big sand dunes of mountains and crazy metaphors. We all fed off the energy and one of after the other took a plunge, slipping and sliding down the dune like penguins off rocks. BOOP, BOOP, BOOP! Swooping in and out of rocks and ditches, catching ourselves a couple times so as not to break any bones in the process. It was like a walking on the moon. After we reached the bottom we walked to the beach... which meant walking through the dead asleep town and passing some creeping ass looking dogs - which seemed to be more scared of us then we were of them. As we got closer to the beach the sounds got greater. Waves crashed into shore -- warning of us of their danger under the pull of the FULL moon. Speaking of which -- The moon looked amazing! Everyone started stripping - taking off thier clothes and jumping headfirst into waves of bitter cold as it crashed against the shore. I turned around to see random lights in the background, people passing up and down the avenue behind us... in retrospect this may have been a little paranoia but I definitely did not want to be caught with my pants down! "You guys go ahead, I´ll keep an eye our stuff" And away they went... I don´t even want to imagine how cold or how uncomfortable it felt on the way out but watever the case... I probably was more sober then the rest of them because I definitely did not feel this burst of FREE EXTREME SPIRIT - all i thought was cold, cold, not for me.

The paranoia swept away and after only a few minutes everyone lunged back out of the water and headed back to the hostel. We topped it off with a night cap and all hit the sack. It was a great night... and I´ll never forget my time at a Playa de Camana.

The next day we all woke up, refreshed and clean. Went back to Arequipa city - watched a movie, ate pizza hut, popcorn, and lots of candy. Spent the night and caught a bus in the morning... 12 hours back to Cusco. Nick stayed as he does not start teaching until May 1st and wanted to do some more hiking and hang gliding up by Colca Canyon. A place I will eventually go to as well.. Can´t wait! =)