Testosterone-driven. (Tuesday the 23rd)

I actually didn’t realize how testosterone-driven my day was until I tried to think of a clever title just now. And though it’s not all too clever, it is the truth.

I enjoyed myself today at work. The kids were great, and the time flew by extremely quickly. I also got a lot of pictures in today, and solidified a lot more names in my head. It is amazing how much the kids love the “fotas”. They absolutely go crazy to see themselves in playback It’s always “Una más!” with them. As for my tie in with my title, I had one girl, Lily, by my side the whole day, and a whole swarm of little boys. There’s this one little boy Sánte who seems older and likes to explain EVERYTHING to me. He is the most adorable thing ever, and I get most of my Spanish practice with him since he’s actually old enough to hold a conversation. The low-light of the day was that it turns out that the only size of diapers they already had at the center was the size I had bought, so one of the Mamitas asked me if I could try to exchange it for a bigger size.
So I left work, diapers in hand, and headed off to Maximo to meet up with the boys for ceviche. I dropped the diapers off in the PATAS office of Maximo, and went upstairs to find the boys. After everyone is out of class, we head over in two taxis to a Cebicheria that Jorge swears by. The group of Cebiche eaters is Jorge (my new teacher), Marco (another teacher at Maximo), Jake, Matt, Simon, Yuen, Tzvi and I. I was obviously outpowered by testosterone, but I guess I always seem to end up that way. For a good part of my life, a majority of my friends have been guys, with girls only as my closest friends.

The portions were humongous, and I was made fun of for not even being able to finish my half of the plate that Simon and I split. By the way, Cebiche is basically a raw fish dish (like my rhyme?). But unlike sushi which comes in tiny little rolls for 5 bucks a pair, Cebiche is a huge plate of what’s most likely the cut up pieces of a whole fish. We also ordered some fried calamari for the table, which was insanely beautiful. During lunch, we ran into class time, but Jorge and I decided that eating was more important, and we were speaking Spanish anyways. =]

We end lunch around 2:30, so Jorge and I head back to Maximo for the last thirty minutes of conversation. It was a good class, and I’ve noticed he likes to gossip a lot. He’s a funny teacher, and encourages you to speak as much as possible to increase fluency, so I really think I’m going to like my classes. Also, if you haven’t read the tidbit about my scandalous answer to which guys I like in my house, read two blogs below. =]

After class, I get home and watch some of The Dark Knight with Ciara and Luke. When Ebony gets home, I remember that she wanted to get a camera from El Molino, so I figure we can do both that and exchange my diapers.

Now I’m worried that they won’t exchange my diapers, because the plastic strap broke and ripped a hole in the top of the bag. Would they think I had taken some and was trying to con them? I could only hope for the best. So we wander through the market until I find the lady that sold me the diapers the day before. I tell her, I bought these yesterday, but I actually need to exchange it for a bigger size. She says of course, until she sees the hole. Oh no, she tells me, but I explain to her how the strap had broken. I repeatedly keep saying, “it’s all in there! Nothing wrong with them!”, and she grabs me the other size. Amazed I had even survived that situation, my happiness is enough for the rest of the day.

We wander around some more, and I see this awesome guy (awesome mostly because of what he was selling,) with a little box of sweets. I get closer and see churros, and tell Ebony I must absolutely get one, or I may cry. She tells me to do whatever I want, but she’s not as adventurous with street food as I am, and that I should still be watching what I eat after being sick. I agree with her, but explain my love of churros, and purchase one from the guy. The churros here are more lovely than back home, because here they have fillings. I got one with the typical “majar”, or caramel filling. Though I’m verging on a hyperbole here, I’d say it was my best use of one sole so far. As we’re leaving, we pass by some music places, and see an album by Juanes, the guy who our teacher had us listen to. We decide to look around at the music spot, and in the end, I walk away with The Best of Juanes, A collection of Cumbia (dancing music), RBD (because Pop is just uplifting in any language), and Hip Hop en Espanol for fifteen soles. And though I’m extremely happy with my purchases, I have yet to actually listen to any of them, beyond what I heard at the stand.

When I get back, Liz and I decide to pop in Love in the Time of Cholera, which is pretty good. Dinner comes along, and boy is it yummy. The soup is a wonderful chicken brothy thing that tastes like porridge, and for dinner we have a hamburger patty type thing with the best cooked broccoli and carrots on the side. Still, though it was delicious, I have a petite stomach (since when right?) and Simon ended up clearing my plate for me.

Now apparently every Tuesday, Marco and whatever boys in the house want to go, head over to the nearby “futbol pitch” and play. I decide to head over, because as much as I love our house, I also like to be out, and like to watch live sports. Because of this, I become mother hen and keeper of…everything that the boys can’t carry (iPods, watches, jackets, money, etc.).

The game lasts for an hour, and it was pretty raw. The other team was really good, and these Peruvians are small but FAST. By halftime, Ben, Simon and Matt have gone home because of injuries or alititude breathing issues. I stay though, because I wanna see the end of the game, though I know it’ll probably have the other team winning. When it’s over, Jake and I walk back home, while Yuen goes to buy a drink and Marco says he needs to stay behind.

We go back home and everyone is watching the Sex in the City movie, so we pop a squat as well and stay and watch. Now if you’re a big fan of the show, I apologize…but that movie was BEYOND cheesy and corny. There were moments when we all kept looking at each other like…WTF??? I know, I know, that wasn’t very eloquently put, but I’m just still boggled by the success of that movie. Or maybe my testosterone filled day had affected me and kept me from enjoying the brilliancy of my gender. Or something…

My night ended soon after, with a phone call back home and checking of my email between the movie and my sleep. Until tomorrow. =] xxoo