My time as a Fulbright scholar in Puno is coming to an end. Today I sent in my final report to the Fulbright Commission (because if you don't they hold your final month's stipend eeeek!!!) Last Thursday, I conducted my final focus group. No more flea bites, no more 3lbs. plates of potato and rice for lunch, no more showerless weeks, and no more squatting exercises when I go to the bathroom. Can you believe I am actually really going to miss it!
My dear friends of Mojsa Restaurant, who have fed me over the past 10 months. Mojsa, in Aymara, means "sweet" or "delicious".
I absolutely LOVE this picture. Ursula and I went to pick up my wig for the Candelaria dance festival, and the store was busy getting an order prepared for a dance group. The little girl was the daughter of the store owner. I don't know what is heavier...the baby or the masks.
The gringas! We are few, but proud. Sarah and Carly work with the Foundation for Sustainable Development, based out of San Fransisco. Sarah has been doing really cool research on the conflicts between the National Reserve and the Uros Floating Islands. Carly, a.k.a. "Mom" is the intern coordinator for the Americans who come to Puno to work in various NGOs. She takes care of all of us. These two are the bomb.
My boys...Gerson, my house brother (left) and Kike (center). Puno simply would not be the same if I had not had the two of them. Like our costumes? This was Halloween night in Puno. I was a torero and the boys were "kusillos", the typical clowns of Puno. They ran around all night acting like crazy people...running in front of taxis, bothering people walking down the street, swirling around light poles. Since they were with me and all of them had masks on, everyone thought they were foreigners! hahaha.
No, I did not buy a llama while I was here. This is an alpaca in one of the small towns, Chucuito, where I initially took introductory Aymara language classes. Alpacas are more gentle than llamas, and less likely to spit. Their wool is so smooth and soft!
My cholito! I bought some beautiful costumes for my Spanish camp, but they were a bit confusing with all the accessories, so we had a fashion show so that I could keep track of which costume was which. Kike got tricked into playing model for the day, but I think he kind of liked it! :)
The picture I think everyone has been waiting to see: my dance costume for the Candelaria festival! I dressed up like a "diablada", devil. The head piece was sooooo heavy and uncomfortable, but luckily my boots did not hurt my feet. At least my costume wasn't as hot as that of the ukuku bear next to me.
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While my parents aren't too pumped to hear this, I am happy to announce that my time in Puno is not coming to an end. I simply am taking a break from the region to finish my thesis for my Master's degree and prepare for a whole new set of adventures. I will have more updates (and of course blog entries) to share about the future plans. For now, though, I would like to share a short photographic trip down memory lane of some of the funky/fun/crazy/amazing things that I have encountered in the past 10 months in Puno, Peru.
Enjoy...
IN PUNO CITY
My dear friends of Mojsa Restaurant, who have fed me over the past 10 months. Mojsa, in Aymara, means "sweet" or "delicious".
The restaurant is owned by the Nuñez family, and Kike the manager. Mojsa definitely has the best view in town. It is the only tourism restaurant in the Plaza de Armas, looking over the Cathedral and the almost daily craziness of parades and protests.
I absolutely LOVE this picture. Ursula and I went to pick up my wig for the Candelaria dance festival, and the store was busy getting an order prepared for a dance group. The little girl was the daughter of the store owner. I don't know what is heavier...the baby or the masks.
The gringas! We are few, but proud. Sarah and Carly work with the Foundation for Sustainable Development, based out of San Fransisco. Sarah has been doing really cool research on the conflicts between the National Reserve and the Uros Floating Islands. Carly, a.k.a. "Mom" is the intern coordinator for the Americans who come to Puno to work in various NGOs. She takes care of all of us. These two are the bomb.
My cholito! I bought some beautiful costumes for my Spanish camp, but they were a bit confusing with all the accessories, so we had a fashion show so that I could keep track of which costume was which. Kike got tricked into playing model for the day, but I think he kind of liked it! :)
The picture I think everyone has been waiting to see: my dance costume for the Candelaria festival! I dressed up like a "diablada", devil. The head piece was sooooo heavy and uncomfortable, but luckily my boots did not hurt my feet. At least my costume wasn't as hot as that of the ukuku bear next to me.
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This is my favorite picture of them all! I took this shot during one of my focus groups. The children here are so adorable!
Lunch is served. A typical meal of potatoes and fish in the lake side community. While I tried to avoid eye contact with my meal and peel off the scales, my companions ate everything but the skeleton....yuck.
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A focus group with Nico Zapana in Kelluyo, Chucuito. This was the day that it was raining and windy and I had a really hard time picking up the voices of the focus group on my recorder. The entire focus group was conducted in Aymara, and I was TOTALLY out of the loop on what was being said!
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