It's been a long week. I haven't been able to blog because first last Wednesday, a horrible stomach infection won the battle it had been fighting since the previous Saturday when I went to central Lima. I ate in a dirty looking restaurant off the Plaza de Armas for 5 soles. Here when you order the "menu ejecutivo" or the executive menu, it usually just means the cheapest thing they offer and includes a first and second dish and a drink, and they always have them ready to crank them out for whoever comes in. I think I ate an onion salad on the side of my appetizer that was soaked in dirty Peruvian water, because I got really sick.

It was terrible because I was invited to a 2 day conference hosted by the OAS and FLACSO of civil society groups in preparation for a proposed meeting of ministers responsible for public security in the Americas. As that got started, my stomach started doing sumersaults, and I had to leave to a clinic. I was prescribed some stuff, but then went a whole day without getting it or paying the clinic because in my delirium and headaches I forgot my ATM pin and froze my card up. Needless to say, it was a rough couple of days, but I was feeling better by Saturday night.

So I started Saturday night out at a Fiesta Mexicana hosted by one of my coworkers, but the only people really there at first were older people who work with her husband at the Canadian embassy, so that was a little weird until my coworker finished making an amazing selection of legit Mexican food and another coworker showed up. Then a mariaci band showed up and later we all started dancing to the Peruvian's beloved cumbia songs. Then I continued the night out with my roommates and we went to some party hosted in the backyard of a nice suburban house. And finished the night at an awesome bar in Barranco called Tizon. Barranco is a really nice area with lots of places that play rock music in their playlists.

Overall, it hasn't been the most eventful week. However, Monday night I ate some cow heart, in the form of anticucho de corazon, which is basically cow heart on a skewer. It is very good! Once you get past the slightly rubbery texture. I don't think I was told it was cow heart until after, but it didn't really bother me. Then, last night, after watching Green Street Hooligans, I went with my roommates to La Bombonera in Surquillo to play some late night fútbol. It is not in the nicest neighborhood, but it is a bunch of soccer fields up on the roofs of some buildings, where you can reserve a little field for just a few bucks each. We played 4 on 4 against some people from another house, and we won after a long comeback. I am needless to say the worst on my team, but I did okay as goalie, since it allowed the others to actually control the ball on offense :). The French guy who lives in my house got a little annoyed with me because I suck, and he kind of has a quick temper, but other than that, it was good.

Other than that, I'm just getting a serious urge to get out of Lima, because I think I'm a little bored here. Fortunately, I have a trip planned to Quito in November to meet up with Mike and the BC kids studying there, and then will go to Cuzco/Machu Picchu/Puno in early December! Though I want to start volunteering somewhere, because my English teaching job has not come through yet as no new clients have called him, and I'm just really not motivated to rock climb here, as the wall I checked out doesn't psyche me up enough to get over there after every long day of work. I also think I might try to take a Portuguese class at the Centro de Estudios Brasileiros which is run by the Brazilian embassy right by my house. Yea, might be crazy, but I think my Spanish is good enough to do it, and I love learning languages!

Finally, to anyone who can read Spanish, I strongly urge you to check out the Peruvian author I posted a picture of at the beginning of this blog. Julio Ramón Ribeyro. His short stories are absolutely incredible. There are some here. "Los gallinazos sin plumas" is amazing, and Peruvians really recommend "Sólo para fumadores." Anyway, if you can read Spanish, they are really short stories, and well worth your time.

Peace