Wait, You're Jewish?

Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days I have experienced thus far in Lima. The sun was out with a slight breeze which made for a perfect combination of toasty rays bouncing off of my skin and cool wind to ensure that I didn't sweat. I was hesitant to venture out with Rob in search of some sweat Halloween costumes because my stomach had been feeling off since Thursday night. I found that if I was laying down or stayed very still that I felt fine. But once any movement began, my stomach was in miserable knots. With Halloween around a very short corner, I needed to find a costume- also an issue I had a lot of worry about considering I am larger than the average Peruvian man and that all the children's costumes I saw in markets were actually for women. While Rob and I waited for the Metropolitana bus, we noticed the platform was swaying which we first attributed to the heavy traffic only to find out later that it was a 6.9 earthquake! We exited the bus at Estacion Central in order to find Polvo Azules- a blue building where Zu the chef told us we could find Halloween costumes. After roaming around I asked a few people about Halloween supplies and I got the same answer after each inquiry; no Halloween costumes at Polvo Azules, go to Gamarra. Well Gamarra was where Rob and I were initially going to go but we were referred to Polvo Azules! We decided to call it day as my stomach was in borderline intolerable pain so we left costume-less. Rob and I made our way back to the bus station to head back home. We were chatting when a really attractive Peruvian man approached us and asked us for directions. I jokingly asked him how he knew we spoke English and not Russian or German which is very common in touristy Lima. He simply said he heard us talking haha! Tuns out this hunk is from Peru but lived in the US for 12 years between Ft. Lauderdale, New York and Boston and needed the same bus as us. We said we'd show him his stop and proceeded to give him a hard time about the fact that us gringos knew the bus system better than a native Peruvian. When a seat opened up on the busy bus Rob went to go sit down and I got the opportunity to chat one on one with this muscle man. Turns out this beautiful man's mother is Israeli and his father is Peruvian! He then lifted his necklace from under his t-shirt which had a chamsa pendant hanging from a gold chain! I swooned so hard until he mentioned his Canadian girlfriend- ugh. We talked about synagogues in Lima and he even spoke to me in Hebrew! I couldn't believe I was talking to a Peruvian Jew! After speaking with a fellow member of the tribe I feel more inspired to go see Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein who leads a conservative congregation in Miraflores. My new handsome, Jewish friend got off the bus at his designated bus platform and Rob and I went to get burritos at The Burrito bar where our Marketing manager, David referred us. David mentioned that if we bring wristbands from the hostel we could get a free lemonade and we all know how I feel about free things! The owner of the Burrito Bar, Stu made us 2 delicious burritos comparable to Chipotle back in the states which were filling, delicious, and a real deal. I'll definitely be recommending this joint to fellow backpackers looking for a yummy meal. Upon arriving back at the hostel, Rob and I went for a nap in the park under the sun's rays overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After about an hour of relaxing we went home and I found out that several other staff members had the exact same stomach issues as me. What's our common denominator, you may ask? Staff food! Something was bad in our lunch from Thursday that made everyone but Rob sick. According to Rob, he has the stomach of a billy goat haha! I was scheduled to work from 8:30pm-1am but only made it until midnight when Rob finally said I could go to bed. I was feeling absolutely miserable. I had an early night and only woke up twice as a result of sharp pains in my stomach. It's now 2 days later and my stomach is still way off. Luckily I have some meds and I'm drinking a lot of water but this needs to pass through me asap. Saturdays are usually pretty busy and the hostel is also more crowded than usual. Rob simply can't work alone so I need to do what I can to get my act together. I'll go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist what I can do make my stomach not so painful. It's funny how after being here for 2 months I've been unaffected by the produce which everyone says will inevitably make me sick and I'm ill from some questionable meat. It could always be worse!

Punta Hermosa

Saturday Rob and I went to Central Lima's Chinatown to purchase supplies for our upcoming Halloween party which surprisingly seems to be a pretty big deal in Peru. We departed the hostel around 1:45pm and grabbed 2 empanadas on the way to the bus stop. While we sat in a nearby park in the sun to snack on our flaky treat we witnessed a small wedding party leaving a church and then a completely separate wedding reception taking place in the park! Now that the weather is gradually getting warmer as the sun makes a longer appearance each day, more and more people are spending time outside. Rob doesn't speak Spanish (although I started teaching him a word of the day about 2 weeks ago and his vocabulary is rapidly expanding) except for your few staple words so I was the designated Spanish speaker as usual. We got off the bus at the wrong stop and had to walk for about 45 minutes in the busy and overwhelming streets of Central Lima until I managed to find our way (with the help of the many police and security men whom I stopped to ask) to some stores with Halloween supplies. We purchased hanging paper chains in the shapes of pumpkins and skeletons, a hanging cardboard skeleton and witch, and enough cotton spiderweb for a small army. I was told that The Point already has a lot of Halloween supplies so we didn't have a large shopping list. While roaming around Chinatown after our errands in search of an alarm clock and new cocktail glasses for the bar which seem to dwindle every week as a result of drunken travelers dropping their beverages on the bar floor, we spotted a man with a baby goat! I asked if I could take a picture of the goat and instead of saying 'si', the goat-holder straight up handed me his goat! I immediately recieved arm kisses and even a little chew which I didn't mind considering this precious baby goat was probably for sale to be raised for juicy meat. Rob even asked for a turn with the adorable mammal. After the equivalent of 3 miles of walking in smelly, crowded streets for 4 hours, Rob and I stopped for pollo a la brasa at a local joint with a line at the register- a sure sign that the food is delicious! Half way through our meal, the lights went out and we had to eat in the dark. We then proceeded to carry our 24 bar glasses (packaged in a plastic bag, mind you) and Halloween decorations onto an overly crowded bus hoping that none of the glasses would break. We were successful! We also managed to stop at Metro- the local grocery store to purchase strawberry jello for our Saturday night jello shots and eggs to make pisco sours because of Shane and James; the 2 English guys with accents so thick that I can't understand what they say. Shane and James had me make more pisco sours in one night than I had made in the 6 weeks I have been bartending. Because most people drink beer here, I don't get many opportunities to make cocktails other than G&Ts, screwdrivers and rum & cokes so I like mastering a drink- especially one that's the official alcoholic drink of Peru! The night wound down with one of the English guys accidentally breaking a beer bottle followed by these 2 handsome boys falling over a bar stool. After 45 minutes complaining about how sloppy these guys were, Rob kindly asked them to go to bed. They surprisingly didn't argue. For some reason I'm not surprised that they don't remember much of the night. They sleep in my room and asked me for some pain meds for their headaches yesterday morning. Most people can handle their liquor a little bit better. I decided to go to the disco Saturday night as I hadn't been out in over a week. I tend to be pretty tired after work ends at 1am and have been working on my pool skills with my bar manager, Rob. He tells me i'm getting really good and will beat him day. His words of affirmation make my day on a regular basis as he learned how to play pool in Malaysia with professionals so he's pretty fucking good. We went to Toro Bar in Barranco which was a huge club with a 90's cover band performing but the club was pretty empty. I wasn't enjoying myself because I can only get excited to hear 'Don't Stop Believin' by Journey so many times before i'm sick of it. I left Toro Bar with 2 Australians to walk back to the hostel around 3am. I went to my room to get my computer and sat in the garden to listen to music and start my journaling. I was approached by a French guy who had stumbled back from a bar and we proceeded to try to communicate. Welp he doesn't speak a lick of English and knows basic conversational Spanish. We sat in the garden for an hour communicating the best we could using lots of charades. Mr. France (I never got his name) had come from a reggae show and we spent our time showing each other music videos on youtube. It's amazing how music can bring people together without many words.

Yesterday was absolutely glorious. My new friend Asia Power (yes, that's her real name) read about a beach about an hour south of Barranco called Playa Asia and was on a mission to go there and take silly pictures with the signs. Welp it turns out that it would have been a 100 Sole cab ride and that the area is way expensive so we were referred to Punta Hermosa, a beautiful beach only about 30 minutes away. The first cab who stopped for our group of 11 people wasn't willing to drive to Punta Hermosa so I proceeded to find a cab who wanted to make some money off of some gringos. This next cab driver wanted 150 Soles for a 30 minute cab drive which is complete bullshit. I looked him straight in the eye and said 'Yo vivo aca. Yo soy gringa pero no soy stupida.' Often times taxi drivers attempt to take advantage of tourists who don't know any better. Luckily I always ask reception how much I should pay for a taxi so I'm not ripped off. I managed to get the same cab driver to take 4 of us in his car for 50 Soles. Schwing! The beach was beautiful, but we could easily tell that it was a beach used quite a lot by many people as there were small bits of trash in the sand. The waves were a gorgeous blue color and the crashing of the waves with the few scattered brave people willing to face the cold waters was a pleasant sight. I was determined to sit in the sun and eat cebiche while I watched the surfers and I succeeded. Seven of us went to a local restaurant for lunch. While it was a lovely afternoon, we missed some prime time in the sun. I didn't mind so much because while I lathered up with my SPF 30 to block the UVs but to get a little toasty, there weren't any spots for shade. I managed to catch some rays from 4-5 while the sun started to head towards the horizon. We took a crowded bus for 45 minutes back to Barranco which only cost us 4 Soles per person. We must have looked silly being 11 people clearly out of place on a teeny bus for 30 people. I came back to the hostel and wound down for a while as I didn't have to work until 9:30pm. I worked an hour early for another bartender a few nights back so she offered to work an extra hour for me. This favor couldn't have come at a better time because I was really tired from going to the beach. At the beginning of my shift I noticed that a really attractive man was looking for the triangle for pool which we store on top of a giant light that hangs over the pool table. I decided to walk over with a smile and show him where we keep our supplies. Eric in advertising from New York flirtatiously challenged me to a game and I proceeded to kick his ass. It was grand and Rob was so proud of his student. After the bar closed I joined a doubles game in pool and again, kicked ass. I think I have found a new pastime.