sel-evident goodness
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Oh, Mexico
Arrived in Oaxaca. I have a wonderful host mother and a wonderful host house and a wonderful host cat (awwwww precious and sitting on my clean towel-- great) and a wonderful host dog. I keep forgetting that it's an actual school quarter and there's going to be work to keep on top of....I have readings for Monday already, and we've got three textbooks plus extra articles. I guess life can't be perfect. We're visiting el centro tomorrow so I will begin the stock-piling of pictures and will update soon.
Friday, December 31, 2010
STUCK IN HOUSTON ON NYE
Continental Airlines cancelled my flight connection. So I'm spending New Year's Eve in a Houston airport alone. Needless to say, I'm not really happy 'tall... I'm sad. At least if I were stuck in Mexico I could buy myself a drink. But Houston?!?
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
New Lands
So I clearly lied to myself in that last post-- not even public pressure was enough to get me to update on my exit from the Andean center of Peru. Nevertheless, there will be future posts. This time I'm headed to Mexico for three months...updates when I arrive in Oaxaca City. Until then, spending Christmas in Raleigh with the family and seeing old friends. Above, the family in North Carolina, and the Appalachian countryside.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Back from the field, onto it again on Wednesday
I'm climbing the mountains to disappear from contact for my last time on Wednesday. I promise that before that point I will update. And now that this is published I can't back down.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
To the field and beyond....again
On the bus to Cuzco, which was only supposed to take around 8 hours, we got stopped just before our lunch restaurant because the road was blocked by a gas strike. Hundreds of cars were lined up on the road waiting to pass, many of them gas trucks. Our tour group sat around for about 5 hours doing nothing, waiting to eat and waiting to move on while the strikers continued their protest. Eventually, the tour guide told us that we should get out of the bus and march WITH the strike to show our sympathy for their cause and help them present a united front. By the time my friends and I had reached the front, the strikers were giving their victory speech. It was still a riling time, though. Eventually we got to Cuzco, though five hours late, and made our way to the hostel. The next day I walked around and saw the sights of the city before hopping on my bus to Lima. I've explored some of this city as well and will post pictures the next time I get a chance. The city is GIANT in so many ways and very modern. I've really enjoyed it and look forward to more exploring in the weeks to come.
In more news, I leave for Huarochiri tomorrow morning, so I'll be out of touch for another week. Until next time!
Love,
Augusta
In more news, I leave for Huarochiri tomorrow morning, so I'll be out of touch for another week. Until next time!
Love,
Augusta
Friday, July 30, 2010
Some more catching up
7/22: The party
On Thursday, we had all officially finished excavating so we went to the staff house to sit around and do lab work (a.k.a. get a tan) for most of the day. Mostly we were just waiting for the project party to start. Around 4 PM, our wish was granted. A pig was brought all the way from Arequipa and was roasted over the fire. Cesar, our host, grilled chicken and potatoes for us as well, and his family brought some delicious salads that made my mouth water before I even tasted them. There were drinks galore, and by 5 things were swinging. Joe put on his classy music and some people got up and swing danced while others sat around and enjoyed the meal. All the while, the fertile fields and the looming mountains presided over us humans on the patio. After the food, the whole group got up and danced until 9 or so, when everyone was yawning and thinking of their pillows. The Peruvians who were watching our dancing got a real kick out of it. They even pulled out a laptop and recorded a video of us with their webcam. Embarrassing!
7/23:
The next day was Friday and we left Vitor for good. We pulled up to our hotel in Arequipa for the last time and showered and rested until our group dinner. We had a last supper in a nice restaurant on the Plaza de Armas, and hung out at a karaoke bar before saying a final goodbye and heading off to bed.
7/24:
Saturday, Sam, Steven, Evan, Ellen and I all took a bus to the great city of Puno on the Lake Titicaca. We explored in the afternoon all of the city and found a fun rock slide on the top of a hill in the middle of the city. We also walked all the way to the pier and took pictures of the city at night, which was gorgeous. The next day we would find out that the proximate lake was only gorgeous under cover of darkness; in the daytime trash and scum make for a not-so-nice view.
7/25: tour
On Sunday we took an all day tour of some of the islands of the lake. We visited Los Uros, which consist of dozens of islands that are human-constructed entirely of reeds. The islands are surrounded by the reeds, they are made of reeds, the houses and kitchens atop the islands are reeds, and their transport between the islands are boats made of reed. This is why they are reed people.
They were very nice people, however. They let us play dress up.
The other island we visited was Taquile Island. We hiked for about forty five minutes to get to the main square, where we found this going on:
It was a festival that they put on every day in the high seasons for tourists. There were also dozens of stalls selling their fine textiles. Then we finally got to eat lunch at a nice restaurant where they served us quinoa soup and trout. In all of the restaurants on the island, they only serve trout and omelets. They also have a very practical marriage practice where a couple lives together before they get married. If they don't work out, they don't get married. Of course, if they do work out, the marriage takes place over a whole week and is supposed to be tragic for the couple. This was explained to us in broken English by our guide, "Johnny".
7/26:
The next day we all went to the market and bought our lunch from the various stalls that sold fruits and vegetables, and then went to a bread place to get our bread. We hiked a couple miles out of the city and decided to climb what appeared to be a hill but later turned into a mountain. Physical exertion of any kind is harder at the Puno altitude, and this was no exception. We had to stop every ten minutes or so just to catch our breath. About halfway up, we stopped and ate our delicious cheap and fresh lunch, and then continued the rest of the way. Our gold at the end of the rainbow:
The best view of the lake one can find.
7/27: The next day, we took a touristic bus to Cuzco. I leave the more exciting parts of this trip for my update tomorrow! (political intrigue to follow)
On Thursday, we had all officially finished excavating so we went to the staff house to sit around and do lab work (a.k.a. get a tan) for most of the day. Mostly we were just waiting for the project party to start. Around 4 PM, our wish was granted. A pig was brought all the way from Arequipa and was roasted over the fire. Cesar, our host, grilled chicken and potatoes for us as well, and his family brought some delicious salads that made my mouth water before I even tasted them. There were drinks galore, and by 5 things were swinging. Joe put on his classy music and some people got up and swing danced while others sat around and enjoyed the meal. All the while, the fertile fields and the looming mountains presided over us humans on the patio. After the food, the whole group got up and danced until 9 or so, when everyone was yawning and thinking of their pillows. The Peruvians who were watching our dancing got a real kick out of it. They even pulled out a laptop and recorded a video of us with their webcam. Embarrassing!
7/23:
The next day was Friday and we left Vitor for good. We pulled up to our hotel in Arequipa for the last time and showered and rested until our group dinner. We had a last supper in a nice restaurant on the Plaza de Armas, and hung out at a karaoke bar before saying a final goodbye and heading off to bed.
7/24:
Saturday, Sam, Steven, Evan, Ellen and I all took a bus to the great city of Puno on the Lake Titicaca. We explored in the afternoon all of the city and found a fun rock slide on the top of a hill in the middle of the city. We also walked all the way to the pier and took pictures of the city at night, which was gorgeous. The next day we would find out that the proximate lake was only gorgeous under cover of darkness; in the daytime trash and scum make for a not-so-nice view.
7/25: tour
On Sunday we took an all day tour of some of the islands of the lake. We visited Los Uros, which consist of dozens of islands that are human-constructed entirely of reeds. The islands are surrounded by the reeds, they are made of reeds, the houses and kitchens atop the islands are reeds, and their transport between the islands are boats made of reed. This is why they are reed people.
They were very nice people, however. They let us play dress up.
The other island we visited was Taquile Island. We hiked for about forty five minutes to get to the main square, where we found this going on:
It was a festival that they put on every day in the high seasons for tourists. There were also dozens of stalls selling their fine textiles. Then we finally got to eat lunch at a nice restaurant where they served us quinoa soup and trout. In all of the restaurants on the island, they only serve trout and omelets. They also have a very practical marriage practice where a couple lives together before they get married. If they don't work out, they don't get married. Of course, if they do work out, the marriage takes place over a whole week and is supposed to be tragic for the couple. This was explained to us in broken English by our guide, "Johnny".
7/26:
The next day we all went to the market and bought our lunch from the various stalls that sold fruits and vegetables, and then went to a bread place to get our bread. We hiked a couple miles out of the city and decided to climb what appeared to be a hill but later turned into a mountain. Physical exertion of any kind is harder at the Puno altitude, and this was no exception. We had to stop every ten minutes or so just to catch our breath. About halfway up, we stopped and ate our delicious cheap and fresh lunch, and then continued the rest of the way. Our gold at the end of the rainbow:
The best view of the lake one can find.
7/27: The next day, we took a touristic bus to Cuzco. I leave the more exciting parts of this trip for my update tomorrow! (political intrigue to follow)
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