Paddington eats Cuy, gets arty and then regrets eating Cuy...
Obviously as my weekend trips have ended and the bank account is empty, my weekends consist of varying activities - mostly lie-ins and eating food.
On Thursday, the girls and I went to a Lebonese restaurant before going out in Miraflores and staying in a hostel. It was a good night and for once, my bar tab was not the most expensive! The following day, we went to a cute cafe for breakfast and smoothies. We then headed to the beach to just enjoy the sun (might as well as I know how cold and miserable England will be) I set for home and slept the whole way back in the Uber and hoped to nap for longer when I got home. But I realized I was going to the schools music concert in the evening and had only 45 minutes to shower, call my sister as it was her birthday, and nap. So I accomplished 2 of the 3 tasks. The concert was really good and even on 3 hours sleep, I made it the whole way through!
On Saturday, I went for breakfast with my peruvian mum and sister and had a bagel with cream cheese. It made me think of first year in halls where a good day in the canteen was bagels and philadelphia with my best friend Vicky. After, we went to a club called Mesa de Piedra which had a restaurant and a pool where I spent my time relaxing and drinking frozen Maracuya when the opportunity arose to order food. Up until this point, I had mentioned in the past to the family that I wanted to try a Peruvian dish called Cuy. For those not familiar with what Cuy is... it is Guinea Pig (sorry Auntie Julie). Done different ways but mostly crispy. So as I was aware that my days left in Peru were decreasing rapidly, I decided to choose the dish ´sin cabeza´(without head) and awaited my meal. The women around me were telling me how great it tasted and how it was one of their favourite meals and how I would really enjoy it. So I felt that I was mentally prepared when it came out.
I was wrong.
I wasn´t prepared.
Vegetarians - stop reading now
This not so little piece of crispy meat EVEN LOOKED LIKE A GUINEA PIG. It had little feet and included everything except a little guinea pig nose!.
Now, my family, particularly my wonderful dad, has always encouraged me to try new things. So I have never shyed away from trying something new. For example, anticucho (cow heart) which just tastes like little pieces of fillet steak or fruit that looks like frog spawn but is actually sweet and juicy. But as the plate sat in front of me, I couldn´t help but stare at it wide-eyed and very unsure about eating it. I did try it. Tasted a little like chicken. But knowing what it was put me off completely and I couldn´t eat it. I tried to pay for it as I know it is a delicacy and I felt I had offended everyone around the table. But my mum insisted that she was happy I had tried it and, of course, refused to take the cash I had thrown her way.
However the Cuy must have taken offense.
Because I spent the rest of the day and the following day feeling particularly unwell.
Towards the end of the day, my peru mum and I took a walk and came across an arts and crafts stall. My Peru mum is so nice and even if I show only a slight interest in something, it is instantly in my hands. It makes me feel loved but also I want to tell her no. I mean, I do. But it is like she is attempting to not understand me - and ignores me. For this reason, I have almost enough magnets to cover a fridge. But anyway, I was looking at some wooden boxes and pictures and next thing I knew, I was sat down with a paint brush and a box that said Peru with a kind of beanie hat above it.
I AM NOT AN ARTIST - but I am definitely a perfectionist. I was getting very frustrated with my new little project because I wanted it PERFECT and the small triangles of the hat were just too small for my paintbrush. Some girls who I teach came and joined me for painting and all sat there shocked as I conversed with my mum in Spanish (as I am not allowed to speak Spanish to them at school) and then wanted to talk to me in Spanish - so on this occasion I allowed it - more practice for me! Plus children are more difficult to understand because they talk at 100mph so even if you understand a few words, you have done well.
We met my Peru Dad for anticuchos for dinner but I wasn´t feeling well so I ate very little. The following morning I didn´t feel much better as I woke up with a headache and a fever. Nevertheless I headed to a market with Mum and Yolanda as they had Christmas presents to get. There were SO MANY LIGHTS AND DECORATIONS! I was walking into dangling stars and santas left, right and centre. Very pretty but quite disorientating. I ended up having an earlier night than usual.
I had my usual lie-in (7:30am rather than 5:40am) on Monday and went to school via taxi. However when I got to school I couldn´t find any of my classes! Eventually after a bit of searching I found them having a talk from an author of a book they were reading. I ended up buying the book and getting it signed to give myself a new book to read (It is a child´s book but hey I want to practice and at least with a book like this there are pictures and it won´t take me a decade to read one page!).
On Tuesday, my kiddies had their parents coming in for a presentation about what they had learnt recently so I just watched and clapped for them. Cuties. I have also been told we will being having a´goodbye party´for me next week so I am very excited about this. Although I have been asked if I will cry and this could be very possible.
Anyway, enough until next week (WHICH WILL BE MY FINAL WEEK!)
Ciao.
On Thursday, the girls and I went to a Lebonese restaurant before going out in Miraflores and staying in a hostel. It was a good night and for once, my bar tab was not the most expensive! The following day, we went to a cute cafe for breakfast and smoothies. We then headed to the beach to just enjoy the sun (might as well as I know how cold and miserable England will be) I set for home and slept the whole way back in the Uber and hoped to nap for longer when I got home. But I realized I was going to the schools music concert in the evening and had only 45 minutes to shower, call my sister as it was her birthday, and nap. So I accomplished 2 of the 3 tasks. The concert was really good and even on 3 hours sleep, I made it the whole way through!On Saturday, I went for breakfast with my peruvian mum and sister and had a bagel with cream cheese. It made me think of first year in halls where a good day in the canteen was bagels and philadelphia with my best friend Vicky. After, we went to a club called Mesa de Piedra which had a restaurant and a pool where I spent my time relaxing and drinking frozen Maracuya when the opportunity arose to order food. Up until this point, I had mentioned in the past to the family that I wanted to try a Peruvian dish called Cuy. For those not familiar with what Cuy is... it is Guinea Pig (sorry Auntie Julie). Done different ways but mostly crispy. So as I was aware that my days left in Peru were decreasing rapidly, I decided to choose the dish ´sin cabeza´(without head) and awaited my meal. The women around me were telling me how great it tasted and how it was one of their favourite meals and how I would really enjoy it. So I felt that I was mentally prepared when it came out.
I was wrong.
I wasn´t prepared.
Vegetarians - stop reading now
This not so little piece of crispy meat EVEN LOOKED LIKE A GUINEA PIG. It had little feet and included everything except a little guinea pig nose!.
Now, my family, particularly my wonderful dad, has always encouraged me to try new things. So I have never shyed away from trying something new. For example, anticucho (cow heart) which just tastes like little pieces of fillet steak or fruit that looks like frog spawn but is actually sweet and juicy. But as the plate sat in front of me, I couldn´t help but stare at it wide-eyed and very unsure about eating it. I did try it. Tasted a little like chicken. But knowing what it was put me off completely and I couldn´t eat it. I tried to pay for it as I know it is a delicacy and I felt I had offended everyone around the table. But my mum insisted that she was happy I had tried it and, of course, refused to take the cash I had thrown her way.
However the Cuy must have taken offense.
Because I spent the rest of the day and the following day feeling particularly unwell.
Towards the end of the day, my peru mum and I took a walk and came across an arts and crafts stall. My Peru mum is so nice and even if I show only a slight interest in something, it is instantly in my hands. It makes me feel loved but also I want to tell her no. I mean, I do. But it is like she is attempting to not understand me - and ignores me. For this reason, I have almost enough magnets to cover a fridge. But anyway, I was looking at some wooden boxes and pictures and next thing I knew, I was sat down with a paint brush and a box that said Peru with a kind of beanie hat above it.
We met my Peru Dad for anticuchos for dinner but I wasn´t feeling well so I ate very little. The following morning I didn´t feel much better as I woke up with a headache and a fever. Nevertheless I headed to a market with Mum and Yolanda as they had Christmas presents to get. There were SO MANY LIGHTS AND DECORATIONS! I was walking into dangling stars and santas left, right and centre. Very pretty but quite disorientating. I ended up having an earlier night than usual.
On Tuesday, my kiddies had their parents coming in for a presentation about what they had learnt recently so I just watched and clapped for them. Cuties. I have also been told we will being having a´goodbye party´for me next week so I am very excited about this. Although I have been asked if I will cry and this could be very possible.
Anyway, enough until next week (WHICH WILL BE MY FINAL WEEK!)
Ciao.
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