Cusco, Peru
My cabdriver on the way to the airport this morning said he loved the USA...when I told him I was from there he got all excited... "Dame la mano!" He had a cousin in NJ, and friends in Ohio and Arizona...reminds me of another cabbie I met in BA who had been illegal in Ohio for 2 years....what`s the secret with Ohio? This guy hates Cusco because of all the people and criminals, although he was clear to point out its better than Lima. Also, he`s never been to Machu Picchu (he was over 60 years old).
Last night I broke down and went to a british pub in Cusco for a few drinks. I ended up meeting law students from Lima who spoke english, and it was one of the girls´ birthday, so we ended up hanging out all night. They had a sob story too...their first night in Cusco they had gone to a cheap hostel, and while out at dinner their bags had been emptied while stored in reception. Sounds like a perfect excuse to shop to me. So I bought them some drinks (I think I spent $8 the whole night on them...high roller!).
As the night progressed we moved to a different bar with a dancefloor. They introduced me to a guy "friend" of theirs and dissapeared. No harm no foul...except that their friend was gay, and had 2 other gay friends with him. One of the guys was 5´1" and looked just like Victor Tang from LOHS, with the same great dance moves. One of the other two looked just like that lead singer from INXS who accidentally killed himself masturbating.
Long story short...these guys LOVED me. Called me "haaaaaannndsome!". Thought my dance moves were sexy. Were very impressed I was from SF. It was a pretty cool situation as they kept their hands to themselves but were highly entertaining. Everything was fun and non-scary until a full-on transvestite with fake tits showed up and was very eager to freak me. It was time to leave.
So the girls told me a few interesting things...
3 months ago in Puno, the city on Lake Titicaca and a pretty miserable place, some regular townspeople and farmers were upset with government corruption, so they grabbed a TV reporter (kind of kidnapped?) with a camera and proceeded to beat the current mayor to death on live TV.
The birthday girl wanted to live in Portland for 3 months more than anywhere in the US (she has a friend there now). This is before I told her I was from there. The interesting part is that Peruvians applying for a US tourist visa have to pay a $300 non-refundable fee. I had no idea its that high...basically prohibitive for all but the richest people here.
The birthday girl wanted to live in Portland for 3 months more than anywhere in the US (she has a friend there now). This is before I told her I was from there. The interesting part is that Peruvians applying for a US tourist visa have to pay a $300 non-refundable fee. I had no idea its that high...basically prohibitive for all but the richest people here.
At first these girls thought I was english because of how I was dressed: They explained to me how americans dress and how they know this from watching MTV. I was hoping the whole time it was a big joke but they really thought I was trying to trick them by saying I was american. I finally convinced them by showing off my white socks.
