Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Random Cusco facts
I started this blog a week or two after I got to Cusco. I´ve continued to add to it regularly and decided that since I´ve been gone for over a week now, it is probably time to post.
2. Have only seen 2 cats since my arrival.
3. You can buy DVDs (not exactly legal copies) for about a buck a piece on the "black market" - not nearly as scandalous as you think.
4. Sometimes you find a random chicken roaming the street.
5. Taxi's don't always have the nice little identifying "taxi" light on the roof.
6. Taxi's are not all the same color.
7. Taxi's do not have meters. Anywhere within the central area of Cusco (both the school and my house fall within this area) is supposed to be 2.50 Soles (this is written S/. 2.50 and is pronounced two-soles-fifty, which I find funny. This is just under $1) though sometimes the drivers try to get more. If you are going somewhere else, you just ask the driver what it will cost, and sometimes that rate is negotiable.
8. Sometimes they just turn off the water supply. On more than one occasion now, this has led to a conversation with housemates (keeping in mind we'd known each other a week!) in which one stated, "I guess if someone needs to take a dump, we should just dedicate a toilet for that."
9. Fireworks are ALWAYS appropriate. 4am on a Tuesday? Perfect!!!! 1am on Thursday? Why not!?!?
10. The sewer system lacks bit here. Toilet paper is NEVER thrown in to the toilet, but rather in the trash can!!!
11. Speaking of toilet paper... think more along the lines of very thin sandpaper...NOT Charmine.
12. Napkins are apparently very expensive here, as most restaurants have the paper napkins that are typically folded in 4ths, except you only get 1/4 of the napkin. I'm not sure if they are sold like this, or if they cut them, either way, super annoying.
13. Toilet seats, I'm pretty sure, cost more than diamonds. We have them at home and school, but most public bathrooms do not.
14. Few streets are paved.
15. Children of all ages walk the streets at all hours selling things like gum and handmade crafts.
16. One night, I saw a boy who couldn't have been more than 10 years old, walking down the street with a 40 in each hand.
17. The kids who run around on the streets selling stuff will ask you where you're from and then tell you the capitol and name of the president (or prime minister or whatever your country happens to have). I don't really know what they hope to accomplish by this.
18. You can buy a full meal for around $2-3. And that´s for a decent restaurant that you can be fairly certain you won´t get sick from. If you like to live dangerously, you can also find full meals for around a buck.
19. Cuy is one of the typical foods eaten in Cusco. If you own a guinea pig as a pet, I suggest you don´t look up the meaning of cuy. In one of the cathedrals there is a painting of the last supper in which cuy is being served.
20. You should never EVER pay for a rum and coke (cuba libre) at a club (discotech). If you do, you´re just dumb.
21. If you enjoy good beer, Cusco is not for you.
22. If you enjoy good wine, with rare exceptions, you should avoid Peruvian wines.
23. Cusco is swarming with gringos, yet Cusquenians rarely speak English. I only find this interesting, because here (in Costa Rica) the moment someone realizes you´re a gringo, they only want to speak to you in English (even if they only know 5 words).
24. In Cusco, they love their coca. Coca is a plant. They use it to make tea, put it in food, and even just chew on the leaves. It´s said to have all kinds of great medicinal qualities (I´m pretty sure they believe it will cure everything). It´s also what cocaine is made out of.
1 Comments:
A couple of thoughts:
1. I think the "lots of dogs" thing explains the "few cats" thing.
2. You are SO right about Peruvian wine!
3. I wonder how U.S. Christians would feel about Jesus and his disciples eating our pets?
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