b-day happenings
Again, at the cute little internet cafe down the street from our house.
So yesterday I turned legal. As in, no more 1st degree murders for me (awwwwww!). Also, however, I turned "legal" Peru-wise. Which is hard when conversations around here often go like this:
One of the arch guys, drinking a beer: Hey, you want some?
Me: No thanks. I don't drink.
Arch guys: -goes into ears as, "I don't drink" gets interpreted as "I'm underage"-
Arch guys: Oh, but you'll be able to in ___ days!
Me: No, I DON'T DRINK
Arch guys: Who wants to take bets on whether or not she's going to be wasted by Sunday night?
Despite this cultural misunderstanding, I got through yesterday withOUT drinking, despite the fresh batch of chicha someone had made the night before, and the pisco sours and tequila sunrises that everyone was ordering at lunch yesterday. Maybe they thought my Coke was spiked with rum. Ah well :)
Yesterday was really cool though. All the girls (like, 15 of us?) decided to go to the beach at PacasMaya and chill. It was totally empty (being winter, duh), so the boardwalk was all to us. I picked up souvenirs (they are like, totally rare around Chepen) and added to what I like to call my "Illegal Dead Seahorse Collection" (self explanatory, no?) Then we chilled on the sand (sand? real sand, without pottery shards jabbing you in the foot??) and ate at a nice seafood restuarant (I got chicken. I was the only one who actually liked my meal).
Then Dr. C (guy in charge of like, everything Moche-related in Peru) surprised me when we got home with a cake for me. It had my name on it and everything, and candles that said 18. Rachel and the 2 other field school girls gave me presents (they looked for the most ghetto, pirated stuff they could find, and wrapped it in a sleeping bag, lol), and we went out to eat chinese. Totally ecclectic b-day, but it was fun.
Then today Dr. C pulls me aside in the middle of the work day, and is like "your present from me is ready."
Me: ???
Turns out he'd gotten this trowel (arch equipment...get it?) handmade for me with this special 100 year old wood and all, with my name and the date inscribed in it. I'm really not the type to gush or burst into tears or anything, but it was so sweet that I couldn't shut up. Like, this dude didn't have to do anything for me--he's busy running all these sites around Peru. And yet he bought me a special cake and a present, and led the house in singing Happy Birthday to me. Like, that's just sweet.
So overall, it was a good day. And now I can buy porn, R-rated movies, cigarettes, and oh yeah vote. :-P lol
So yesterday I turned legal. As in, no more 1st degree murders for me (awwwwww!). Also, however, I turned "legal" Peru-wise. Which is hard when conversations around here often go like this:
One of the arch guys, drinking a beer: Hey, you want some?
Me: No thanks. I don't drink.
Arch guys: -goes into ears as, "I don't drink" gets interpreted as "I'm underage"-
Arch guys: Oh, but you'll be able to in ___ days!
Me: No, I DON'T DRINK
Arch guys: Who wants to take bets on whether or not she's going to be wasted by Sunday night?
Despite this cultural misunderstanding, I got through yesterday withOUT drinking, despite the fresh batch of chicha someone had made the night before, and the pisco sours and tequila sunrises that everyone was ordering at lunch yesterday. Maybe they thought my Coke was spiked with rum. Ah well :)
Yesterday was really cool though. All the girls (like, 15 of us?) decided to go to the beach at PacasMaya and chill. It was totally empty (being winter, duh), so the boardwalk was all to us. I picked up souvenirs (they are like, totally rare around Chepen) and added to what I like to call my "Illegal Dead Seahorse Collection" (self explanatory, no?) Then we chilled on the sand (sand? real sand, without pottery shards jabbing you in the foot??) and ate at a nice seafood restuarant (I got chicken. I was the only one who actually liked my meal).
Then Dr. C (guy in charge of like, everything Moche-related in Peru) surprised me when we got home with a cake for me. It had my name on it and everything, and candles that said 18. Rachel and the 2 other field school girls gave me presents (they looked for the most ghetto, pirated stuff they could find, and wrapped it in a sleeping bag, lol), and we went out to eat chinese. Totally ecclectic b-day, but it was fun.
Then today Dr. C pulls me aside in the middle of the work day, and is like "your present from me is ready."
Me: ???
Turns out he'd gotten this trowel (arch equipment...get it?) handmade for me with this special 100 year old wood and all, with my name and the date inscribed in it. I'm really not the type to gush or burst into tears or anything, but it was so sweet that I couldn't shut up. Like, this dude didn't have to do anything for me--he's busy running all these sites around Peru. And yet he bought me a special cake and a present, and led the house in singing Happy Birthday to me. Like, that's just sweet.
So overall, it was a good day. And now I can buy porn, R-rated movies, cigarettes, and oh yeah vote. :-P lol