Lou en peru: October 2006

El periodico y un cafe con leche

Fin de luna de miel?

The end of the honeymoon for el presidente Alan Garcia as his government completes its first 100 days and now the oppostion ask questions of his policies.

Llave Maestri

Maestri is the key as Alianza Lima win 1-0 against local rivals U. San Martin in an unpretty game with 2 sendings off, but sends the blanquiazul to the top of the league and a step closer to winning the league.

Their closest rivals La Us and Sporting Cristal drew 0-0 and dropped points. More futbol tomorrow as a national holiday (wednesday is the Day of the Living and thursday is the Day of the Dead).

Letras

En espanol, pronouncing the letras v and b are driving me loco- (crazy as a coconut)!

Machu Picchu

A truly awe-inspiring location, the lost city of the Incas and the last stop of the Inca trail from Cusco before Los Amazonas. The tropical climate of Machu Picchu meant the Incas cultivated the terraces as if they were green-houses. They chiseled the granite rock on location to make the bricks. It is literally a city on a peak and the sheer steep drop 2000 metres below only a step away did cause me mild vertigo as I negotiated the steps down from the Sacristry!

Machu Picchu

My first glimpse of Machu Picchu

from the small funerary hut overlooking the city.

El tren de Machu Picchu

El tren from Cusco to Machu Picchu takes over 4 hours passing through the espectacular Urubamba valley. I sat next to a chap called Carlos from Mexico and we discussed for hours the political science of Latin America contextualised in Democracy and futbol. He supports Bayern Munich!

El tren muchos nostalgico.

El papa!

This afternoon off to read los periodicos and find out how Cienciano did yesterday.

Mi clase en San Pedro mercado

My teacher with Sabrina and Mary in San Pedro market. We had a practical lesson going around the market naming all the fruits, granules and spices. I was the class geek and wrote everything down in my notebook and took lots of fotos. I loved it!

Mas frutas: pepino, manzana, uve, papaya, platana, limon, naranja, palta, chirimoya, sandia, sapallo, aloe, berengena, pina, zanahoria, fresas, tangerino, yuka, kion, aceituna, ajo y aji!

Fruit is very cheap in Peru and fresh.

Una Escuela para ninas y La Iglesia de La Compania

I have discovered a new back way to school (all uphill!) and

discovered this fantastic view across the Plaza de Armas.

Libero- el periodico futbol

Last night I had a poco cusquena cerveza and read the football newspaper se llamo "Libero" in a bar Los Perros.

Peruvian players in europa are heroes. The headline was "simplemente espectacular" as Jefferson "Jeffri" Farfan who plays for PSV in Holandia scored a hat-trick on his birthday- "el mejor regalo de cumpleanos"- the best birthday gift! Even Newcastles Nolberto "Nobby" Solano got a mention- "un maestro" for scoring 2 goles against portsmouth in the carling cup!

I havent met any other students yet who like futbol. This is terrible news. I am sorry but Handball just does not excite me. Thank mercy for El Libero!

Monasterio Santa Catalina, Cusco

Founded in 1601 under the advocation of the Virgin of the Remedies- the same as the Monasterio Santa Catalina in Arequipa where they all had a ball holding music parties!

The monasterio is built on the site of Acllahuasi (the Inca House of the Chosen Women or Virgins of the Sun). And you can tell, in the chapter house are murals of scenes of amor, music and hunting parties and coach and horses- all underneath biblical scenes of piety!

Colonial Casa, Cusco

This morning I visited the colonial Casa Garcilaso de la Vega (el famoso Inca historian) which now houses el Museo de Historia Regional. The house is beautiful. I have bought a boleto turistica which is the main ticket to see all the tourist sites in and around Cusco. Now off to do my homework, mas verbos y gramatica...

La cocina- ayer almuerzo!

Blanca y Aida- chef de cocina!

Sopa de fideos y tomate con cebolla frito- one of my favourite dishes a light soup of vegetables and pasta. The sauteed tomatoes and onions accompany the main dish frijoles (white beans).

Los granadillas (frutas)- a sweet & sour fruit eaten like a boiled egg, inside are small seeds in a transparency goo- mmm, delicioso!

Bistec frijoles con arroz- pressured steamed meat with white beans and rice.

En la clase de la escuela

This week my classes are in the afternoon from 2.30 to 6.30pm. Inside the buildings it is really chilly as there is no heating ever! Today we are learning lots of verbs and families and professions. My pronounciation has deteriorated since I started school. I think its like army camp- break you down, then build you up (we hope).

I am in a class of 3, this is Sabrina from Switzerland, she is off to Bolivia next week. She is learning spanish in english- the northern Europeans language skills are just so much better than Britain. My other classmate is Mary from Australia who is 66yrs old- its never too late to learn a language!

My teacher Maria took the foto but there is a fantastic view of Cusco through the window!

El horno y el perro

This little fella is not as friendly as he looks. He guards the house and looks

after the other two little dogs, he has a job to do, and you do not get in his way.

La televisor

The television is on in the background most meal times (just like home!). There is a colour television in the living room but is rarely used. The regional elections are next month so there are lots of political talk shows and party adverts. It was weird watching the Simpsons in spanish!

The tv show on the telly is a cross between Benny Hill and Some Like it Hot- nothing like a little bit of slapstick to have all the family laughing!

Desportes futbol

Its all looking good for Alianza Lima beating FBC Melgar (Arequipa) 1-0 at the Estadio Alejandro Villanueva. A goal in the 12th minutos by Roberto Silva.

The Sport Boys won 2-0 against Alianza Atletico and the bad news is Cienciano lost 1-0 away from home to Sporting Cristal. We knew it would be a difficult game. (El hijo de Blanca gusta Cienciano!)

The great news is Hackney won 6-0 on the marshes and Manchester United 2 v Liverpool 0!

Amazonas

The indigenous Indians of the amazon are continuing to protest against the oil companies destroying their environment and damaging their health.

They met with officials from Peru Petro in Lima - the state-run body which issues licences to foreign oil companies – but left without a resolution. They are appealing to the government to make the oil company concerned, Pluspetrol, re-inject the contaminated water back into the earth. The government has asked the company to re-inject 100%, but said it would not order the company to stop production even if it only pledges 20%. (see post september 13)

Plaza de Armas

Los ninos in front of Campania De Jesus.

Yesterday in the Plaza there was a parade of local school children, teachers, local government workers, construction workers and the army, all walking along to the sound of the local military band.

The Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Blas has been taken over completely by tourism and the only peruvians are tour operators or street hawks. If you walk to the other side of Ave del Sol and its plazas, Regoeijo or San Francisco you will not see any tourists but the plazas are full of life and local peruvians. In the newspaper yesterday, it said the government had agreed a new airline route from Lima- Cusco. It means more tourists and thats good for the economy but I dont know what that will really mean for the people and city of Cusco itself.

Ceramica estupendo!

Well, its only taken me 13 years but finally got out the water-colours again. I was a little heavy handed on the frog but the magic of painting never leaves you!

The Museo of Pre-Colombian art has the finest collection of ceramics I have ever seen. Apparently the Moche were the most sophisticated in their style and techniques. Its possible to differentiate all the many kingdoms by colour, style and techniques. I am hoping to be a peruvian ceramic scholar by the end of the week!?

Museo de Arte Pre-Colombino, Plaza de las Nazarenas 231.

www.map.perucultural.org.pe

La televisor

The TV guide in the newspaper- home family entertainment, its like being back in 1973!

Comida de dia- almorzar (lunch)

Lunch is the main meal of the day and everyone tries to rush home for it! The first dish is usually a sopa such as 'sopa de quinua' (highly nutritous corn) or 'sopa de fideos' (noodle).

The main dish I had yesterday was 'Saltado de Atun (tuna) con arroz' which is a little like a stir-fry. The portions are the size of a medium sized side plate. My favourite drink is 'Chicha morada' (purple juice)! You would have thought what with the tortilla for breakfast and the Saltado de carnes for dinner I wouldn't be hungry, but you know, what with all this fresh mountain air...!

Abuela's flores bonitas

The kitchen and the dining room are the heartbeat of the house. At breakfast, lunch (the main meal of the day) and dinner it will never be the same people sitting down together what with working, collecting the children from school and going to college. Yet, we all sit in the same seats- mine is on the right, in the middle! Abuela (grandmother) loves her flowers.

La Casa de Blanca

Blanca's first words to me were "Tengo familia grandes!". The whole family live in the same big house- Blanca, her husband, her children, her parents, her brother and sister, her son's wife and their two children! And the 3 dogs, the cat, the parrot and the 2 budgies! It's a happy house and Blanca is a wonderful woman.

Senor de los Milagros

Octubre is purple (morada) month and today the school next to my casa celebrated "Senor de los Milagros" by singing and screaming songs together here in the courtyard- it was crazy but they were happy, everyone has to wear purple! Apparently the school are again celebrating loudly tonight!

Museo Inka: cantaro ceramica con condors!

The soroche (altitude sickness) has knocked me for six so I havent done too much but went to the Inca museum with my little sketch pad. The incas loved their vessels!

Mi almuerzo primero

My first task in Lima was to telephone Lucia and when you cant point or gesture this is very difficult. Its also very difficult when the word this morning, also means tomorrow and the day after tomorrow- "manana"!

Lucia gave me a guided tour of Miraflores and in the supermercado showed me all the food varieties- it is staggering and all fresh and delicious. A good snack is tamal, dried ground corn normally with chicken wrapped in banana or corn leaves. Its a favourite from the north. It had to be accompanied with an Inca Kola- the mother of all pops- imagine tizer meets iron bru!

Amistad

"Easy at first, the language of friendship... and unless often spoken, soon goes rusty. Distance and duties divide us, but absence will not seem an evil if it make our re-meeting a real occasion. Come when you can: your room will be ready."

from Nicole

Casa Staffolani- adios amigos!

Cotizaciones de Debbie Scotland

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Roman philosopher

"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."

T.S. Eliot

Delicioso dishes [siete]: tangine

A recipe from a delicious dishes regular Missy Milligan!

Tagine ingredients:

(serves 4)
4 chicken breasts cut into bitesize slices (freedom food / free range - not broiler chicken!)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
Salt & pepper
1 large onion finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
1&1/2 inches root ginger grated
1 pint chicken stock
250g dried fruit (I use a mixture of apricots and dates chopped in half but you can use any dried fruits)
1 tin chickpeas
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

1. mix the spices together in a bowl, toss the chicken in the spice mixture to coat and season well.
2. Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan / casserole dish (needs to have a lid), once hot fry the chicken for about 1-2 minutes on either side. The chicken should be sealed but not cooked right through and it should turn a dark orange/golden colour. Remove from the pan and set to one side.
3. In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil and cook the onion and ginger on a gentle heat for about 5 minutes, they should soften but not caramelise. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add the pint of chicken stock and heat until the liquid is lightly simmering.
5. Return the chicken and all juices to the pan and add the dried fruit. Stir well.
6. Put a lid on the pan and cook on a medium heat for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
7. Add the chickpeas to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
8. Serve with warm couscous and plenty of coriander leaves to garnish.

Vegetable accompaniment:

4 good-sized carrots, peeled and chopped into 2 inch sticks
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 tbsp olive oil (I do it by sight so I'm not sure about exact quantities!)
1&1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted & ground (in pestle & mortar) Handful of coriander leaves roughly chopped.

Method:

1. Steam the carrots for about 6-7 mins or until cooked but still firm. Drain water and return to saucepan.
2. Whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together and sprinkle over carrots along with the cumin and chopped coriander. Mix thoroughly.
3. Leave to marinade for at least half an hour, preferably longer (overnight if possible).
4. Warm over a gentle heat before serving.

Serve with a nice dry white wine... And enjoy!
Px

Un buen libro

Mario Vargas Llosa first came to attention as a writer with 'La Ciudad y los Perros' (1962), 'The Time of The Hero' based on his teenage experiences at a military school, Colegio Militar Leoncio Prado.

He was hailed as one of the main exponents of the Latin American literature boom, alongside Argentina's Julio Cortazar, Mexico's Carlos Fuentes, Chile's Isabel Allende and Pablo Neruda and Colombia's Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The novel shows influence of the existentialist works of Jean-Paul Sartre and quotes a dialogue from one of his novels at the beginning of each of its two parts.

During the 1980's, Vargas Llosa became politically active, and became known for his staunch market liberal views. He ran for the presidency of Peru in 1990 and lost to Alberto Fujimori.

Han suggested finding an English language bookshop in Lima and buying a few good Peruvian books to read.

Equipos que juegan en blanco

Peru lost again to Chile, 1-0.

"The "blanquirroja" played another game lacking effort, attitude and talent. The defense is a mess, midfielders are lacking ideas and speed, and the forwards are either left alone or lack precision.

Looking ahead to the upcoming challenges in the Copa America held in Venezuala in 2007 and the qualification rounds for the next World Cup in South Africa in 2010, optimism is rather subdued."

Sounds familiar.

www.livingperu.com/news/

Pequeños perros en puentes!

Lozzer spotted this foto from Lima in a London newspaper last night- the city of Lima is holding a festival and a feast to celebrate World Animal Day and the memory of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals!

'El bombardero de los Andes'

The 'Bomber of the Andes' quits the national team as el Peru lose 3-2 in a friendly against arch-rivals Chile last saturday night!

Their captain Claudio Pizarro, who plays for Bayern Munich, refused to play in the 2nd fixture against Chile being held tonight in Peru which has led to a right old hoo-ha on and off the pitch! The manager demoted him to the subs bench yet he came on and scored despite Peru going down to 9 men! It wasn't enough for the 'La Blanquirojas' and they face the re-match without their capitano Pizarro.

Adios primero

Said goodbye to the lovely terribles in Blackheath last night. I suddenly don't feel quite so brave about it all.

We've already started talking about our weekend away next year- Harrogate for turkish baths, Monaco for helicoptor rides, Lille for eurostar, Madrid for the prado & Norwich for peat bogs..!?

Palabra del dia [siete]

nortada f (steady) northerly wind; novela f novel; noviero adj es muy~ he has had lots of girlfriends; (= enamoradizo) he's always falling in love;

Casa Miraflores

Estupendo news today- I've now sorted out my accommodation for the Lima parte! Wasn't worried at all.. I'll be staying in a friend of a friend's mother's house in Miraflores, it sounds wonderful and I can't wait. I think I'm all there with the packing but I just have this horrible feeling I've forgotten something really, really important!?

La Noche De Barranco, Lima

Lenguas

No entiendo, habla mas despacio, por favor!

Es mas dificil que piensa. No hay mucho tiempo.

La vida es para vivir!

Los cuatro ases de la jarana

Staffo has given me a CD of 'jarana's four aces', a collection of previously un-released field recordings from the streets of Lima made in the 1950s by Latin American literary historian José Durand Flórez (1925-1990) which have been restored and archived by British Library Sound Archive.

The jarana is an example of an improvised vocal duel. The duels are accompanied by triple-time accompaniment of two guitars (the primera guitarra supports and sustains the melodic line while the segundo guitarra plays ostinato figures), the cajón peruano (the Peruvian wooden box drum) and palmas (handclaps - an essential element of jarana).

Known locally as 'los cuatro ases de la jarana' (the four aces), and renowned as the finest practitioners of the dexterous craft, Manuel Quintana Olivares, Augusto Ascuez Villanueva, Alias Ascuez Villanueva and Luciano Huambachano Temoche - who lived among the urban poor and mainly black slums and ghettos of Lima - developed a virtuosic ability to use rhyme to compete for social recognition and supremacy.

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6862029/a/Jarana

Un poema de Rebecca

Princess

Have the most splendid time in Peru

Know that I think the world of you

When there are dark moments think of me

And how you'll be home soon swigging my tea

This will be a trip to remember

Keep your wits and your temper

From Machu Picchu and the language you'll speak

To the foreign booze and the delicacies you'll eat

Time can drag when you are lonely and fly when you are not

So remember to enjoy it whether freezing your arse off or just being hot

We'll all be here for you when you touch down

To give you our love and your very own crown

Palabras

"I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood."

Audre Lorde

La Copa del Mundo de las Mujeres

The women's national team are participating in the next South American Championship held in November in the cities of Tandil and Sea of Silver, Argentina, with the aim of qualifying for the World Cup in China 2007.

England qualified for the first time in 12 years this weekend with a draw against France to win the group!

A six goal thriller saw Cienciano draw 3-3 with top-tablers La U's (as seen in the woolly hats!). Cienciano came from behind to lead 3-2 but the merengues sneaked an equaliser in the last gasp. Alianza go top and Cienciano slip to 5th.

The poderoso Hackney also came from behind to win 3-2 on the marshes to go 4th! Bring on BA reservations...

and Man U are top of the table. A great weekend.

Lou en peru

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

El periodico y un cafe con leche

Llave Maestri

Monday, October 30, 2006

Letras

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

El tren de Machu Picchu

El papa!

Mi clase en San Pedro mercado

Friday, October 27, 2006

Una Escuela para ninas y La Iglesia de La Compania

Libero- el periodico futbol

Monasterio Santa Catalina, Cusco

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Colonial Casa, Cusco

La cocina- ayer almuerzo!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

En la clase de la escuela

El horno y el perro

La televisor

Monday, October 23, 2006

Desportes futbol

Amazonas

Plaza de Armas

Ceramica estupendo!

La televisor

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Comida de dia- almorzar (lunch)

Abuela's flores bonitas

La Casa de Blanca

Friday, October 20, 2006

Senor de los Milagros

Museo Inka: cantaro ceramica con condors!

Mi almuerzo primero

Monday, October 16, 2006

Amistad

Casa Staffolani- adios amigos!

Cotizaciones de Debbie Scotland

Friday, October 13, 2006

Delicioso dishes [siete]: tangine

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Un buen libro

Equipos que juegan en blanco

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Pequeños perros en puentes!

'El bombardero de los Andes'

Adios primero

Monday, October 09, 2006

Palabra del dia [siete]

Casa Miraflores

Friday, October 06, 2006

La Noche De Barranco, Lima

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Lenguas

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Los cuatro ases de la jarana

Un poema de Rebecca

Monday, October 02, 2006

Palabras

La Copa del Mundo de las Mujeres

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