more bits

- My hard drive has officially waved its (all) white flag (screen) of surrender and died. Though I'm far from thrilled from having to deal with getting it replaced, it's kind of nice not having it, especially since I had everything important backed up. However it does mean not being able to listen to Lila Downs... and probably... not keeping up with this blog. (foreshadowing...)

-I've fallen in love with a man called Tio Bigote. People at la Católica seem to think this is hilarious. But only he understands when a vegetarian has had a rough day (or a great day, or an average day) and just needs a GIANT papa al hilo/fried egg/lettuce/condiments-galore sandwich for S/1.50. (55 cents). I wish I could explain my deep street vendor love more clearly, but I think it's just one of those things you have to experience.

-There are not wall clocks in every classroom here; in fact, there are hardly any at all. Will it be a pain to get used to always knowing the exact minute of the day again and having to be on time/early for class and such things?

-Sometimes I miss Silk and cereal for breakfast (but not on the days we have banana smoothies). The only other things I miss are soft hearty cookies, oatmeal, hummus, barbeque sauce, Madison's variety of restaurants (with vegetarian/vegan options), the co-op fridge, and my parent's amazing cooking in general.

-I have to decide whether to spend the majority of my last month here traveling in the North (Cajamarca, Chachapoyas, Kuelap) or whether to take a border-crossing trip south (Puno, La Paz ... and maybe on to Paraguay with friends for the Foro Social Américas?). Maybe I can do both? There is way too much that I want to see and do! Life is genial.

estudiante, escucha! y únete la lucha!

We went to the 'One year anniversary of the violence in Bagua' march yesterday. I would guess there were close to 1000 people there. It was interesting to be able to be a part of our school's contingent and go around to the different facultades for a pre-march rally. It was fairly lively and mostly up-beat despite the nature of the content being addressed. There was also some good wall-decorating done on the fly and plenty of great chants. I loved when this song (Cumbia we know from combis and parties) was played with the lyrics replaced to be:

ya se ha muerto García ayayay

tomando petroleo ayayay

matando nativos ayayay

matando policía ayayay

ole lo li le lo le

There were long long lines of police that accompanied the route, decked out but seemed pretty low-key. I wonder what the recent history of political demonstrations, civil disobedience or other forms of protests is like in Lima. People didn't seem to be all that angry with the officers and some of the chants were kind of aimed at them, mostly focusing on how they should be marching with the protesters instead of in riot gear. Maybe that was just sly taunting? I don't know.

After nearly two hours of marching, we got stuck into a blockaded dead-end. It made the process seem a bit anti-climactic. I was kind of.. not hoping, but anticipating that things would get a bit more wild (on the demonstrators' side obviously). However, at the very end, some police on horses showed and that sobered up my adrenaline rush pretty quickly.

On a brighter note, I finally met the woman who'll be studying abroad (sociology and LGBT studies) in Madison next year. She seems pretty bomb. I'm so stoked about the thought of showing off, critiquing, and explaining Wisconsin to/with someone from Perú :o)

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Don't have any great photos from the march because I didn't want to be parading my camera around, but here are three snapshots:

Different factions and contingents were clearly visible with different propaganda flyers and flags. It seemed like everyone chanted the same things though.

skylines

Tonight, heading home from Fer's house in La Molina, I was in awe of this city's skyscrapers-- all dressed up in their corporate suits of shine. I had forgotten for a bit that one of Lima's barrios is a business district. I had forgotten for a bit that I'll leave in August with many chunks of this ginormous beast of a city unexplored.

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I feel like I just have a few more days of partial calm before having to face finals. I'm mostly excited.

Paciales looked like this:

so finals should be totally manageable.

just a day in june

There was a pigeon hanging out in our living room when we woke up this morning. It was magical.

In other news, the mayor of Arequipa has been at our house the last couple days. Also, Miriam is back from her trip to Trujillo, which is nice since I missed her.

Elsa said she'd love to teach me Quechua. We'll see how that goes. My memory is pretty bad when I can't see something written. Elsa and Lydia are both flat-out rad. I really have to make sure I keep making / make more of an effort to hang out in the kitchen with them. It always goes well, and they are both so nice and so funny.

Misky passed away this week-- reasons unclear. It was sad to see Miriam upset about it.

Also, a girl who a friend of mine knew was found murdered in a hotel room yesterday. The killer is a dude from Holland who is the number one suspect in another murder case. A newspaper headline said "Asesino Gringo."

Raighne and I spent the day in the Mercado Central perusing art supplies, muffin cups, and dried fruit. We also finally went to el Barrio Chino. Asthetically, it was more similar to the Chinatown in Chicago than I had imagined. I mean, from what I could tell from the short while we were there.

The World Cup is starting soon. I'm still bitter about Ireland and France. But regardless, that means it is now June. Time is starting to zoom by. I don't want this semester to end. But I'm super excited for my family and Vik to visit. There is so much I want to show / share with them everday and I'm so grateful that I'll get a chance to do that.

I'm also excited to go back to the midwest and catch the last glimpse of Wisconsin summer. Por el otro lado, I don't even want to think about saying goodbye to friends I've made here...

so I won't :o) until I have to.