Cusco
SUMMARY: I take a trip with Carlos to Cusco to hang out with his girl’s family. Great little, calm weekend. Pictures.
Carlos invited me to Cusco for Maca’s baby shower. She’s from Cusco and all her family is there and had already been there for a week. We left at 8pm Friday night and arrived at 6am Saturday morning. Carlos had a joint that we smoked before we got to the bus terminal.
After loading our luggage on the bus, we raided the food stands in the terminal. We lost track of time and the bus was leaving when we got back. We barely stopped the bus in time at the gate. We laughed at how much trouble he’d have been in if we missed that bus and he wasn’t at the baby shower. I was sick when we left so I wasn’t anticipating a wild weekend. … Read more
Amanecer: Brothel in Peru
SUMMARY: My first whorehouse in Peru. That’s basically it. (Sorry, no pictures)
My buddy Javier and I somehow got into a conversation about women and sex. In America, prostitution is a taboo conversation even among guys. In our conversation, however, it came out within a couple minutes or so that each of us had paid for sex before. The reason Americans never talk about it is for the same idea expressed by a Peruvian here when I asked him if he had ever paid for it. He told me ‘he didn’t have to’. Neither do I, tough guy. That doesn’t mean it’s not fun. I don’t have to do anything. What does anybody have to do? Like Marvin Gaye said, “There’s only three things that’s fo’ sho’: taxes, death, and trouble.”
One friend back in America, a connoisseur of prostitutes, explained that he just needs a basic service like getting his engine oil changed. He doesn’t take the oil-change guy out for dinner. He doesn’t get to know the guy beforehand. There is no seduction process. He pays the guy and the service is performed. The difference between prostitutes and non-prostitutes is the same as the difference in work performed by a professional (someone who gets paid for it) and an amateur (somebody who does it as a hobby). Sex professionals and amateurs are like their equivalents in boxing. Professional boxers have had a lot more practice, know a lot more tricks, and are simply better at it.
Javier has a girlfriend but he says that, concerning sex with prostitutes, “es necesario.” It’s necessary. So whenever she goes to Chile on business – about twice a year – he goes to Amanecer (Sunrise). Amanecer is one of the nicer brothels in Arequipa. Javier says you can get a puta for as little as ten soles downtown, but she’d be “horrible.” He prefers Amanecer for the most attractive putas in town for 100 soles ($35). … Read more
Cariñoso and My First Fulbito Game
SUMMARY: I describe my new girlfriend and my first fulbito game. Then more little things. Sections include Cariñoso, My First Fulbito Game, and More Little Things
As I learn more about my new country, I become more convinced that most differences come down to the warm culture of Latin America vs. the cold culture of America. They are more others-oriented and warm towards each other in Latin America. About 100% of Latinos I’ve met in Peru or Brazil who lived in the US for a while didn’t like it. They say the people were cold and closed. I think it’d be more difficult for someone to go from a warm culture to a cold one than it would be for someone to go from cold to warm. But that may just be my opinion because I feel more comfortable here.
Cariñoso
Before our first date, Rosa was worried I’d be a cold gringo but has since told me that I am cariñoso – affectionate. The word cariñoso is used in Spanish much more often than ‘affectionate’ is in English. She told me this while I was planting kisses all over her cheek and neck. … Read more
The Brichera Scowl and The Second Date
SUMMARY: I make out with a girl, have a brichera run-in, go on a date, and then talk about more little cultural differences. Sections include The Brichera Scowl, The Second Date, and More Little Things.
The Brichera Scowl
I got the feeling Friday that I needed a woman soon or my testicles might implode. So I went out alone on a mission. I met a girl in a bar. Her name was Maria and she was really into Latin rock. She wasn’t a tomboy by American standards, but not as feminine as most Latinas. If she were born and raised in America, she would’ve been a punk rock or heavy metal type. She had a beautiful face but her body was not up to my standards. She wasn’t fat per se, but not up to my standards.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to get a dick hard. We talked for twenty minutes or more at the bar where I met her when she told me she wanted to go dancing at Deja Vu – the main brichera bar of Arequipa. I assumed Maria to not be a brichera because she insisted on paying for every other round of beers – she’s probably not hot enough to be one. … Read more
