My love-hate relationship with combi-riding continues. The problem is compounded by the fact that my host mom packs 3 days worth of lunch in metal tupperware, thus impaling whichever passenger is nearest to me. Today´s journey home from Lima has been the best yet, packed in like nobody´s business. I definitely feel like I violated several passengers with my crotch/boobs/butt in their crotch/butt/arm/face. Fellow volunteer Sarah, decided to turn the combi into dance-party USA when there was some room to jive. Peruvians are used to the crazy combis, some passed out like corpses while cars dart across the intersection, horns blaring, coming within 1/8 inch of each other. A good reminder not to ride with body parts out the window. Yes, so the dance party was so not indicative of us being foreigners. Not at all.
I´m happy to report that I had my first guinea pig dinner. My mom raises them on the roof of our house. They squeal every time you walk up the stairs, probably because the only time someone goes up there is to feed them or kill them. The night before we ate them, I was eating dinner, feeling like crap, and mama was adding the seasoning to the bloody mass of guinea pig bodies. Couldn´t tell if it was the spice or the blood that was bright red and oozing all over the plastic bowl, but I decided my dinner was too good to be ruined by the sight of tomorrow night´s freshly-killed meal. The next night when mama was frying them up, I made sure to tell my mom, ¨Not the head.¨ It still had it´s little guinea pig eyes fried out of it´s little guinea pig head. I wasn´t able to escape the feet and claws on my portion, but I could handle that. Surprising how much I´ve come to tolerate. It was reallly good. Although 10 minutes later I was riding the bicycle. This is a Peruvian term for having diarrhea. Going on my seventh day, today being the worst of course, the day I forgot toilet paper, money for Gatorade, and dehydrated profusely. Probably shouldn´t be drinking beer either, but it seems like every day there´s some kind of celebration. Today there´s apparently two parties. When I say party, I mean the whole town comes out. One in my hood and another a couple miles away in the hood where our PC team plays soccer with the locals. It´s a big deal, we were personally invited and there will be some kind of introduction to Peru 12 (my PC group). I think I´ll sit this one out as far as drinking is concerned. Nothing says dehydration like riding the bicycle and cerveza.
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