kellita the señorita the ibby dibby dow: Harvard Graduates Have Teeth, I Believe

Thursday morning Karina and I woke up for a leisurely morning while we waited for a prospective roommate to come see their available room. We were surprised when he called to say he would be at the house in a few moments, and wanted to make sure everything was good to move in. And even more surprised when he arrived and was a tall think American man of about 50 with no front teeth. There must have been a communication breakdown of some sort. But the man was here with his things, and seemed to have worked everything out with Karina's roommate, so we gave him the key and the lay of the land. He immediately set to bitching up a storm about Latin America and how everything was a scam, how he lived in Panama for 5 years but didn't speak a word of Spanish because he didn't have any use for it, and started telling tales of his days at Harvard and how he used to be a millionaire. Really? Last time I checked toothless millionaires weren't moving into cheap apartments with twenty-something girls in foreign countries.

As he spun his web and shat on South America, I grew wary and thankful that he wouldn't be my roommate. I got semi-hostile asking for specific examples of scams he had encountered in South America. Then we came to an agreement that maybe some of those "scams" could have been avoided if he had tried to learn the language and not talk to everyone in loud English like they were the dumb ones. I realized I was being passive aggressive and excused myself from the situation, unfortunately leaving Karina to fend for herself. Sorry girl.

She and I met back up in Plaza de Armas so she could show me around town. On our way to the market we ran into a parade celebrating one of the Virgins and sat down to watch the local women spin around in their colorful dresses. I love getting to see surprise celebrations like this. After, we headed to the market for some food, dodging the new tall awkward roommate at every turn. We tried local fruits and toured the never-ending stalls of meats, cheeses, breads, fruits before heading to the back for some grub. We decided on the lunch special for $3.5 soles each person which included a soup followed by a plate of rice, papas and meat. It was delicious. Once the food was settled Karina took me to the part of the market that set my stomach spinning a bit. The part with all the insides of animals and other goodies. I had to cover my nose so as not to vomit from the smell.

After lunch Karina set off for home and I lost myself in the hills around the city, later stumbling on another virgin celebration where several men were carrying the statue around the city, followed by loyal worshipers. Firecrackers set off in every direction in celebration. I followed for a bit, but got scared every time they moved the statue that she would go crashing to the ground. Seriously heavy stuff.

On Friday while further exploring the city, I ran into another celebration of San Blas. Again, the weight of the statue gave me fear, and I couldn't stick around for too long. Plus, there were too many drunk old men at 11am on a Friday for my liking. I headed over to the Inca Museum and explored while the rain came down outside. I stumbled into an art gallery and chatted with a local artist for awhile. I wanted to buy this amazing watercolor painting from him, but it was really too expensive for someone who doesn't even have a home with a wall to hang it on. And even though he assured me it was authentic and one-of-a-kind, I was wary. Good thing I passed on buying it because I have seen the same painting since in at least 10 other stores.

I met up with Jos and we wandered around gift hunting all over town. I had read about a free salsa class, and we headed back to her hostel to grab some dinner before hitting up the dance floor. We picked up two more on the way and were baffled to find the club was no longer in existence. Oops. We headed instead to a local bar where we were delighted with live theater and music. Sometimes the best nights are the ones that go completely not according to plan. The band and bar was amazing, and it was a great night.