life.: Happy Father Day

The internet was finally cut out this morning so I am writing this on my laptop to save on my USB and post on the internet later when I go to a locutorio (internet café). This weekend I went to Chan Chan again, went to the beach of Huanchaco and gave surfing another try. That was pretty fun, but the waves were pretty unpredictable and irregular. I didn’t get up on my feet yet, but I did body board a number of waves on the surf board.

I went to a concert of Annette Moreno last night at the football stadium here in Trujillo. That was pretty exciting. She is a Christian singer from LA and her bass guitar and drummer are completely white from CA without speaking a lick of Spanish. The concert was pretty small, with the corner of the stadium only about half full of mostly women. All the girls there knew the words to every song and sang quite a bit. We were expecting the music to be quite cheesy, but some of the stuff turned out to be not that bad.

The Silva family (next door) usually makes all my meals for me, but they have been in Lima for a while to go to the temple, and more recently they have been in Chiclayo visiting some friends and family. This means I have been able to eat out for every meal and I am getting much more acquainted with the nearby restaurants. I usually eat breakfast at a little shop just down the street. For 2 soles ($.67) I can get two little vanilla sweet cake slices and a large glass of fruit smoothie made of pineapple, papaya, and a few other little local fruits that I don’t know the names of, but the drink is like a fresh odwalla. A great breakfast.

For lunch I have been trying out a number of places, but Joel and I have picked a favorite which is about a four minute walk. For 4-5 soles ($1.33-1.66) I can get as an appetizer either a large soup bowl or potato slices with a yellow cream, and for the main meal fish, lomo saltado, fried chicken, pork, steak, and a few other little things that are always served with quite a bit of rice and possibly beans. I will usually pay an extra sole for a cold coke out of a glass bottle to go along with the meal. Very delicious and I have never left not completely full. Lunch is the big meal here and everybody usually fills themselves completely up for lunch at about one o’clock and then waits to eat dinner until about 7 or 8. Other lunches that I have had at other places are the incredible ceviche (fresh raw fish soaked in aji spice and lime juice- better than sushi), cabrito (goat), pollo a la braza (rotisserie chicken), fried fish (the entire thing), and every other combination of chicken that you could ever think of. I think I average an entire chicken every 3-4 days here.

For dinner I have preferred something a little lighter, as lunch is usually pretty heavy on the stomach. A few breads and fruits will usually suffice. I can get 8 little mini bananas, which have this sweet taste, for 34 cents from the street venders that walk around on the street selling their fruit. It only costs another 33 cents to get 8-10 little bread roles which are pretty basic and friendly to the stomach.

Some of the deserts are the best here. I have discovered a treat here called picarones, which are very similar to scones, but so much better. It is dough fried in grease and served with a honey/syrup mixture, but tastes so sweet and good. We found a lady that sells them every night in the park outside our house so I will probably be eating that more and more in the next weeks while I still live in this location. The other treats are churros, which are long fried dough balls, coated in sugar, but with a caramel like substance in the middle. They are also very delicious at any time in the evening.

I don’t know how I will break it to the Silvas, but I do like eating out more often than eating in their home. The food is a little better for the same price and I can eat when I want instead of always waiting or eating when I am not hungry.

One US dollar is almost exactly 3 soles. It cost about three soles to get a taxi ride to most places not too far from here, or 2-3 soles to get any movie on DVD. Costs ten soles for a movie at the theater (the same films here as the US). The most expensive meals at the nice restaurants are 12-15 soles. We went to one of the nicest restaurants the other day, Pizza Hut, and had one of the best meals I’ve had in a while, tasted the exact same as America, for 14 soles. Ten soles for a t-shirt, or a little more for other little souvenirs. I paid 20 soles for the concert last night. Trujillo is known for their good quality shoes made here and sold for a great price, so I’ll probably invest in some nice shoes sometime in the near future. Everything is generally a bit cheaper, but it does add up pretty quick so I don’t know if I’m really spending any less money than I normally would.