Friends, fiestas, fiebre amarilla and not fitting in

As the weeks past, the list of things I miss about the UK increases

-my family (obviously

-my boyfriend (obviously)

-my friends (again obviously)

-a glass of wine

-a bath

-a pie

-a roast dinner (especially the roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings)

-fresh milk (tea just isn’t the same)

and now to add to the list thanks to Friday - PRIMARK

So as mentioned last week, my VTP friend from Cajamarca had the intention of coming through for the weekend. And she did! She actually came a day earlier which was obviously great because she could come shopping with Sophie and I on Friday. I had two aims for Friday – find a coat capable of keeping me warm in Bolivia and finding a cocktail I could slurp on to quench my thirst after all of that shopping. 

Now I did find a coat – although it is for a male and the assistant wanted to make it very clear that it was FOR A MAN.  But it doesn’t look like it and it fits and it was on sale – for about £30. This still doesn’t feel like much of a sale but it was all I could find which I could perhaps see myself wearing when I return to the UK in comparison to a bright pink puffy coat which I would never wear - ever. Along with this I bought some sunglasses (again on sale) which will only be in use until I go to Lima which is cloudy and miserable most of the time – but they were cute and on sale and I liked them so no regrets.

Cocktails were also targeted on the trip and the mission was accomplished.

I also wanted some more toothpaste. So I went to the Inkafarma in the centre and asked for ‘Colgate’ and pointed at the tubes under the counter.  I was then met by two workers at the shop grinning and CORRECTING ME saying it was pronounced ‘Colgatey’. This man and woman thought my ‘mispronounciation’ was hilarious but all that went through my head was  ‘OH I’M SORRY I FORGOT THAT THE TOOTHPASTE BRAND COLGATE WAS SPANISH’.  When I brought this up with my Peruvian family they told me it was how it was said in the advert (I obviously told them they were wrong.) We then proceeded to discuss other words that are pronounced differently. And they proceeded to tell me that the ‘correct’ way to pronounce ‘Beyoncé’ was ‘Beyons’

 

????!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Hold up – so you will pronounce the ‘e’ in Colgate but NOT the ‘é’ with tilde in Beyoncé?!

I don’t understand other languages.

So on Saturday we went to Túcume which is a bit of an archaeological site. We walked up a ‘mountain’ thing and sat on the wall with two oranges and a mango – mostly to catch our breaths and critique everyone else who wouldn’t come all the way up to the top.  

In the evening we somehow made it out to a club called ‘Night’ in Chiclayo.  What I have learnt about being here is that as a ‘Gringa’ you are like an attraction at the zoo to everyone you walk past. This seems to be tripled when you walk in a club.  At first, a path seemed to be made for us when we walked past and when we stood still people seemed to move away.  But eventually some fellow clubbers decided to make contact with us.  I also ended up drinking a bit of Corona as it was the cheapest thing they had and they were the size of my head.   I even had a salsa lesson at about 3am – so I am almost a pro now…

I went on the Malecón for the first time on Sunday which is basically a pier at the beach.  But it has massive gaps between the slabs of wood which you walk on.  A little bit disconcerting in flip flops.  Once Nadia had left, I sunbathed next to the pool with my oldest sister from another hemisphere until the clouds came over and it was ‘cold’.

 

Monday consisted of making brownies and receiving a package from my parents containing fruity tea, lots of sweeties, a birthday card from my sister and some mentos (minty and fruity!) It was really lovely although I don’t know how long the teabags will last as my family (particularly my brother) has taken a fancy to them – as happens with most of the things that I have. For this reason the sweeties are currently hidden in my room. I might share, maybe. This is the third package I have received from home, the first was from my boyfriend and his family and it also included sweeties (which lasted all of 24 hours) and the second from my good uni pal Becca with a lovely birthday card, letter and other cute things .  I also received a letter (3 pages long!) yesterday from a friend and new pen pal (Thank you Katie!) I am feeling truly loved right now so thank you all.

Yesterday my Dad was presented with a certificate for all of his work as an Air Engineer in the Navy and I just want to take a quick second to tell him how proud of him I am and that I am sad I couldn't be there when he received the award but I think he is smashing ! Love you Dad! 

This morning, my Peruvian mum and I made our way to the hospital in the city so that I could receive my Yellow Fever vaccine for Bolivia.  We arrived at just before 8am and we didn’t leave until 11am after waiting 2 and a half hours in a queue. Now I have realised that Peruvians (although super lovely) don’t really understand the meaning of queues EXCEPT when it concern healthcare. So it was quite amusing every time that someone attempted to jump the massive queue because people would be standing and shouting at this person until they moved along. Eventually, I had the jab and it’s all good. What makes it even better is the vaccine and my card to indicate I have been vaccinated only cost me 16 soles which is the equivalent of £4! This is quite a good feeling considering I know how much my other vaccines and the YF vaccine costs in the UK (I will give you a hint – add a zero to the price of my vaccine this morning and you might be close).

Anyway, that is enough for this week. 

Until next week, Ciao!