Wild Weekend in Bogotá
SUMMARY: I meet Dennis for a weekend in Bogotá. The weekend is wild. Sections include The City, The Play by Play, The Women, The Aftermath, and Pictures. Long story.
TEASER: So this should bring us to where I left for the brothel. Your favorite hapless romantic had been dreaming and drooling over the women all weekend long. This was my last night and there was only one kind of place open. Plus, Dennis had made out with four women by this time. If we were competing, I’d be losing 4 – 1. A perfect storm developed of my insecurities in losing the game combined with a strong desire for these Colombian women, combined with the fact that I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to bed at 2 am after two nights drinking until dawn.
The taxi took me to the curb and pointed out the door. A mustached man dressed in a suit came to the cab and opened the door for me, gesturing me in politely and confidently. This mustached man came to be my primary caretaker in my time here. Resembling a Latino version of Borat, he ushered me into the place, sat me down at a booth, and brought me a Heineken. … Read more
Básquet, Language, and Civil Unrest in Peru
SUMMARY: I talk about my basketball team, about my improving Spanish, and describe the protest / civil unrest dimension of Peru.
Basquet
My basketball team played our first game last Wednesday night. I played about 15 of the 40 minute game. In my 15 minutes, I had 2 points, several rebounds, a few blocks, and 3 fouls. The refs here call MUCH closer than in the States. Or maybe they’re picking on me because I’m a gringo playing a little rougher than the Peruvian style. … Read more
Normalcy and Economics
SUMMARY: Boring ramblings, I may delete this post about economics and starting a business down here.
The honeymoon phase is over. It’s been over for a while. I don’t get a warm feeling for the spectacular views. I don’t drool over the food. I don’t think every person I meet is really interesting. Things aren’t bad. They just aren’t as great as they were when I first arrived. I am slipping into normalcy. I live in Perú and this is how it is – not new.
Everything’s going well. I have a girl, I’m on a basketball team, I have friends, I’m getting along. I go to Bogotá, Colombia next week to meet a buddy from America, then we’ll come back here together. … Read more
Little Things from Arequipa
SUMMARY: Another round of miscellaneous oddities to a gringo in Peru.
Little Things
There’s this odd phenomenon in Peru of giving children English and American names. I’ve met people named Billy, Jennifer, Percy, Stephanie, Henry, Washington. I don’t get it. WASHINGTON!
There are police all over the downtown area. Two of them stand together on almost every other corner. They usually say hello or nod to me when I walk past. I think they’re very conscious of making tourists feel welcome.
Obviously, Catholicism is popular throughout Latin America. About 100% of taxis are decorated – littered in most cases – with images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, various saints, and other religious images and themes. When riding in a car past a church, most people cross themselves. And one popular brand of clothes – especially for combi employees but for anybody on the street – is Juan Pablo II. It is a brown shirt or hat with the image of the late Pope John Paul II. He’s like Michael Jordan here. … Read more
