my new dispatch home

here's what i had posted on my initial dispatch page...

DEC. 29: LIMA, PERU
no quiero lima. no sir. true, i didn´t leave the airport grounds, but there was an unsettling air there that was compounded while looking out the next morning through the haze over the bizarre, barren coastline. (and i´m not even getting into what the thick, hot and humid air did to my face and hair the few minutes they were exposed to it!) maybe one day i´ll give it half a chance, but no, i don´t think so. sorry, lima.

DEC. 31: CUSCO
here i am in my new hometown of cusco! it´s a different world, but i can say that all of my newly-birthed doubts and second thoughts a la lima melted away as we flew towards the green, uplifted mountains that surround cusco and the sacred valley. of course, the poverty still exists here and the people are desperate for the tourist dollars that pour through here. i´m growing my thick skin to rebuff the countless husslers. they hustle you for everything - taxis, handmade goods, restaurants, tourist agencies, discos... but it´s impossible not to have sympathy for these people and that gives me a little more patience as i push past them. and one of these days i´ll break down for some handmade items. the women here make some amazing scarves, sweaters and carved guords. it´s hard to turn down someone peddling such craftsmanship - a far cry from some imposter watches on a street corner. eeenyhoo, most importantly, it´s new years´eve! tonight we will all gather en la plaza de armas where everyone runs in a circle and there are fireworks and other festivities. i´m getting the feeling they take big holidays seriously here and make sure everyone has a good time. for those of you hungry for a new tradition - here, you must buy something yellow before the new year so you´ll have good luck. more specifically, yello underwear. i asked if it could be pants or a shirt, but no, it must be undies. if you prefer to have more money in the new year, you buy green underwear and if you have your priorities straight and want more sex, then, of course, you buy the red underwear. i plan on buying all three!

JAN. 2: ¡FELIZ ANO NUEVO!
well i survived new years in cusco! i didn´t really have any time to meet people before the big night, so i put all pride aside and leached onto my 19-year old swiss roommate, andrea. we began the night in a foreign neighborhood where her friend, a girl from new zealand, was staying with a family. turned out that her friend wasn´t home yet, but that didn´t stop the german guy who opened the door to invite us in! turns out this family has 9 students living with them, so after five minutes just sitting in these people´s living room, i saw more people than i had in my entire school for the past two days. the group we met was made up of 5 americans, one scotsman, one german, one new zealander and one brazillian. so, of course we made fast friends, enjoyed some cocktails and then the lot of us made our way to the plaza de armas for the big celebration. there were thousands of people and fireworks everywhere. there was no countdown, which was a little strange, but at midnight all of the cathedrals that surround the plaza rang their bells. then the fun began! everybody started to run in a circle around the plaza, including my group, arms entertwined so we wouldn´t lose each other forever. after some good midnight aerobics, we headed into Mythology, a discoteca en la plaza, for some more aerobics complete with strobe lights, techno music and an industrial fan that would turn on to cool the hot hot dancers. i was by far the oldest person in my group - i´m pretty sure i´m the oldest person travelling in south america - so i had to show the youngsters that even old people can rally on new years. granted, i didn´t make it to 6 a.m. like the rest of them, but i held out until 3 before heading home for a deep sleep. conveniently, the club was just down the street from my house, so i was quickly in bed with my ears ringing.new year´s day was a sleepy one here, as the entire city was out partying until the wee hours of the morning. i met christine, my friend from seattle, upon her arrival at her hotel and proceeded to show her around this crazy land of cusco. today it has rained constantly and it seems that cold, rainy weather affects me exactly the same in south america as it does in seattle! i had my 4 hours of escuela and have taken refuge in a cafe and internet cafe since. it´s too cold and wet to care about some churches and historical nonsense! yo quiero un fuego, un cafe y un libro! i want every single one of you to go take a hot shower and enjoy every single moment of good water pressure and warm water. let´s just say there is little incentive for me to shower here! yum.

JAN. 4: RANDOM MUSINGS
the day that mac officially let me down and made me become a "blogger" with a "blog". damn you, .mac, damn you.