Its been two weeks since I´ve been able to update--- sorry, relatives and concerned ones, for the long delay. I didn´t really think about how busy I would be here! It´s kind of hard to find time to sit down and think about everything that´s been happening and then make it appropriate for publishing publicly on the web, haha.
The night before we left for the field was a Saturday and we were on our own for dinner. A group of us were trying to be thrifty with our meal, so we went walking looking for Italian. We came upon a restaurant that served all kinds of pastas and had "combo meals", which had a pasta, a protein, garlic bread and a drink for only 5 and a half soles, which translates in to about $2. We all ordered our food at the front and sat down (the place was very small) to wait. Suddenly we heard a ding and realized that all of our meals would be prepared individually using a microwave, and ONLY a microwave. I´m fairly certain that the sauce was prepared from a powder mix too. But I ate it anyways and the next day felt absolutely awful, and for the next three days anytime I thought about pasta I felt nauseous. I felt sick on the way to the field and at the field for the first three days or so...it was not a fun feeling. But I´m much better now!
Our accomodations are pretty rustic. We are in a compound where only the bedrooms are indoors. Everything else is outside, including where eat and hang out, and it gets REALLY cold at night. There is only cold water and it is dangerous to ingest. We are downriver from Arequipa, so Vitor gets all of the pollution from the second largest city in Peru. Showers are frigid which is why only the bravest of us take one shower a week. Some of the people (I won´t name names) don´t even shower that often, and save their showers for the weekends. By Friday, none of us can really smell anyone because we all smell the same.
During the week we wake up at 6 AM, pull on our dirty dusty clothes for the field, brush our teeth using the water from our water bottles and get prepared for the day. Around 6:20 the staff show up from their house ready for breakfast. We all gather at the tables and wait for the hot water and local bread to be set out, which we eat with marmalade from a bag and Manty- plastic butter. Then we get soupy sweet oatmeal and some kind of fruit and call it a meal. On special days we get hard boiled eggs too. Then we pack our lunch for the day, which is three sandwhiches and some fruit, and hop in the trucks to head to the site.
For the first part of the time we were excavating in the ceremonial area of site which is on top of a hill. So every morning after a 20 minute drive through the Vitor countryside, we hop out and cross the small strip of fertile vegetated area around the river, cross the river, and hike up the hill carrying all of our gear for the dig. Then we get to work in our trenches and work until 3 pm. During that time we dig, we sift, we map, and we record. The most tiring part isn´t the physical work, it is being in the sun all day. Then we leave and ride back to the compound to wait until dinner. We have to write field notes every day, in which we record everything that happened that day, so a lot of us will sit down at the dinner tables and write our field notes together before the food. Then inevitably we start complaining about how hungry we are and have to find a distraction from our stomachs. Cards are our best friends, but everyone´s sick of all the games now. It didn´t take very long.
Dinner happens around 6:30 or seven. We wait until the staff arrive and then are served whatever dish has been prepared. We get dessert every night which is a nice treat. After that point, most of us are tired enough that we happily crawl into bed by 8:30 or 9. And it begins anew the next day.
Last weekend instead of coming back to Arequipa we went to Moquegua which is a city more to the south than Arequipa and located on the coast. It was smaller than Arequipa but I liked it better. I wish I had taken pictures of the city but I forgot. That Saturday, however, Nene arranged for us to be given a tour of Cerro Baul, which is a very very high hill top where an elite city was built by the Wari. We had to hike up to the top which was quite a lot of exercise, but once we were on top it was totally worth it. I took a video of the view:
The night before we left for the field was a Saturday and we were on our own for dinner. A group of us were trying to be thrifty with our meal, so we went walking looking for Italian. We came upon a restaurant that served all kinds of pastas and had "combo meals", which had a pasta, a protein, garlic bread and a drink for only 5 and a half soles, which translates in to about $2. We all ordered our food at the front and sat down (the place was very small) to wait. Suddenly we heard a ding and realized that all of our meals would be prepared individually using a microwave, and ONLY a microwave. I´m fairly certain that the sauce was prepared from a powder mix too. But I ate it anyways and the next day felt absolutely awful, and for the next three days anytime I thought about pasta I felt nauseous. I felt sick on the way to the field and at the field for the first three days or so...it was not a fun feeling. But I´m much better now!
Our accomodations are pretty rustic. We are in a compound where only the bedrooms are indoors. Everything else is outside, including where eat and hang out, and it gets REALLY cold at night. There is only cold water and it is dangerous to ingest. We are downriver from Arequipa, so Vitor gets all of the pollution from the second largest city in Peru. Showers are frigid which is why only the bravest of us take one shower a week. Some of the people (I won´t name names) don´t even shower that often, and save their showers for the weekends. By Friday, none of us can really smell anyone because we all smell the same.
During the week we wake up at 6 AM, pull on our dirty dusty clothes for the field, brush our teeth using the water from our water bottles and get prepared for the day. Around 6:20 the staff show up from their house ready for breakfast. We all gather at the tables and wait for the hot water and local bread to be set out, which we eat with marmalade from a bag and Manty- plastic butter. Then we get soupy sweet oatmeal and some kind of fruit and call it a meal. On special days we get hard boiled eggs too. Then we pack our lunch for the day, which is three sandwhiches and some fruit, and hop in the trucks to head to the site.
For the first part of the time we were excavating in the ceremonial area of site which is on top of a hill. So every morning after a 20 minute drive through the Vitor countryside, we hop out and cross the small strip of fertile vegetated area around the river, cross the river, and hike up the hill carrying all of our gear for the dig. Then we get to work in our trenches and work until 3 pm. During that time we dig, we sift, we map, and we record. The most tiring part isn´t the physical work, it is being in the sun all day. Then we leave and ride back to the compound to wait until dinner. We have to write field notes every day, in which we record everything that happened that day, so a lot of us will sit down at the dinner tables and write our field notes together before the food. Then inevitably we start complaining about how hungry we are and have to find a distraction from our stomachs. Cards are our best friends, but everyone´s sick of all the games now. It didn´t take very long.
Dinner happens around 6:30 or seven. We wait until the staff arrive and then are served whatever dish has been prepared. We get dessert every night which is a nice treat. After that point, most of us are tired enough that we happily crawl into bed by 8:30 or 9. And it begins anew the next day.
Last weekend instead of coming back to Arequipa we went to Moquegua which is a city more to the south than Arequipa and located on the coast. It was smaller than Arequipa but I liked it better. I wish I had taken pictures of the city but I forgot. That Saturday, however, Nene arranged for us to be given a tour of Cerro Baul, which is a very very high hill top where an elite city was built by the Wari. We had to hike up to the top which was quite a lot of exercise, but once we were on top it was totally worth it. I took a video of the view:
It was really great to see a place that´s had so much excavation done on it because the archaeologists really have a good idea of what was happening on the site, so they could give a very detailed narration of how things worked when it was actually occupied. At our site in Vitor, we are only beginning to scratch the surface of understanding, which is exciting but challenging.
Alright I´m running out of time on my internet, so I will update more next week. I´m off to see the world cup final with my friends!
AUGUSTA, this is FANTASTIC! It's neat to be able to read/watch what you're up to; it looks like you're having an amazing adventure :)
ReplyDeletetiffany
Hey Augusta, It's great to read your posts, see your pictures, watch your movies, learn that you are a hard-drinker (I always knew). Keep em comin, we want more! Sounds like you are workin hard for the money. But, what killer mountains and unique experience -- good for you! I can't help but think you could use a wee little light weight camping stove and cook bowl. Just bring water to a boil and it's safe to drink. Pick up some cooked-then-dried beans and rice (oatmeal, soup, noodles, etc), throw 'em in boiled water,let it sit, and voila -- feast! If you want one, the trekking outfit in Arequipa below could tell you where to get one and food for it. If you need $ for it, let me know. Love, Aunt Erin
ReplyDeletehttp://colcatrek.com.pe/content/view/5/7/lang,english/