Well, it's the day after Xmas and I finally have a week to just relax, study Spanish, and do some writing, before I head back to school. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic (as I'm sure they have been for everyone) with my trip to Arequipa and returning with just a few days before Xmas.
Xmas in Cusco is a big deal. While it has been somewhat commercialized as in the States, it definitely feels a lot more religious down here. Which makes sense since almost everyone here is very Catholic. The Plaza de Armas had been decorated for weeks with lights in the form of silhouettes of Xmas-oriented animals (and llamas too, don't forget the llamas!!). In our neighborhood, Santa Monica, which is one of the more affluent areas, there is quite a bit decoration on the houses. In addition to the standard 'lights on houses' motif, you do see a lot more Nativity scenes down here. Lots of Nativity scenes. My favorite comes from a house around the corner from ours, in which the owners have decorated an old tree in front with hanging presents and, high up in the trunk (about 12 feet off the ground), a miniature wood house with a nativity scene inside.
PHOTOS. Click the link or go to:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/xmas_in_cusco/
The one thing that was stressing me out about Xmas this year was knowing what the present protocol was for down here. As people here (including my family) don't really have much money, Xmas is not as much of a commercial venture. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of stores here with gifts, music and decoration. In fact, a few shops near our house even had a dancing Mickey Mouse and Barney (as in the big, ugly purple dinosaur) out in front, trying to lure parents and their children inside. To solve my conundrum, I asked a few family members and the general consensus that I got is that presents are mostly for the children.
So I went out shopping at some shops nearby and got gifts for my cousins, but as I continued at a the central market the following day, I thought to myself that this might be the only Xmas I'm ever down here. I've had 31 Xmases with my American family and none with my Peruvian family, so I decided to just get something for everyone. Heck, it's a bit consumer-oriented, but I am an American. Besides, our money goes so far here that it was nice for once to buy presents for people and not worry about going broke.
As Xmas approached, I learned that in latin countries Xmas eve is the big thing. It's kind of like New Year's and the Fourth of July combined. Everyone stays up late and waits for Xmas day at midnight, at which point you sit down for dinner and open presents afterwards.
Early in the evening, as my uncle Adolfo and his daughter Pamela were preparing the dinner, I was able to do my favorite activity in Cusco so far: I just hung out in the kitchen with family. We got a boom box and I grabbed my iPod and we just listened to music, talked, cooked dinner, and drank a few beers. I've had a few times like that and I just love them, relaxing with the family. As you might imagine, music is a big part of life down here and my family just loves it, so we had a good 'ol time.
Afterwards, I headed off with my uncle Ricardo to deliver my present for his daughter, Melissa. I'm very close with his ex-wife Maria Elisa's family - partly because they live so close (just 5 minutes walking) and partly because they all speak english fluently (except Melissa, she's very timid about it). I called Sarah to wish her a happy Xmas, and by the time I finished, I came down stairs and Melissa was already playing with the game I gave her (see photos for an explanation). She's very sporty, so she likes games that use hand-eye coordination.
We returned home to find that our guests for the evening had arrived: my uncle Adolfo's business partner, Tania, her son, Luigi (short for Luis Guillermo), and her brother. We settled in to wait for midnight.
When I was in Arequipa, I bought a CD of the most famous Peruvian Creole singer, Eva Ayllon, so I put it on to sparked some energy. Tania danced with my Grandpa Adolfo, and my uncle Adolfo danced with my Grandma Livia. It was a grand time.
Midnight finally came, and everyone went outside to light off fireworks: firecrackers and a couple roman candles. Throughout the city you could hear fireworks being fired off. Occasionally, you could see some bottle rockets surge into the sky.
We all retreated back into the house for a family hug and then sat down for dinner. Adolfo had prepared a turkey roll stuffed with spices, along with this mashed potato-apple puree dish . . . they were terrific!
After dinner, we went into the living room by the Xmas tree and collected all the presents. Everyone opened their presents and were quite happy. I gave my grandparents, down jackets; my uncle Adolfo, a dress shirt; my aunt Patricia, some CDs; my uncle Ricardo, a comforter; and my cousin Patricia, a purse. We were all so exhausted, I finally crept upstairs and passed out.
The next morning Adolfo's kids returned to open their presents. I gave the twins, Ganesh and Lashmi, a couple of board games, Junior Pictionary and Uno, respectively. To my cousin Maria Fernanda, who will turn 15 in March, I gave her her first purse, a little black denim thing with reversed white stitching (her sister Pamela liked it so much, she kept trying to steal it away from her). And to Pamela, I gave a red wallet.
This was also kind of a sad day because all of Adolfo's kids, who are out of school for summer vacation, were leaving to go live at their other grandparent's house for a couple months in Calca, a town, about 45 minutes away, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. So, after a few hours, I helped them collect their things and then they all left in a taxi to go back to their mother's place.
Finally, Ricardo prepared this fantastic dish for Xmas day lunch that consisted of beef with mustard sauce and mashed potatoes. He's a great chef and is hoping to be able to study the culinary arts in the next few years and get work as a chef, or open a restaurant.
Tuckered out by the great lunch, I went to my aunt Maria Elisa's house to relax and watch movies for the rest of the day.
Thus concludes my Xmas day in Cusco, Peru.
I hope you all had a great holiday,
Tim
Monday, December 22, 2003
You haven't heard from me in the last week because I've been in Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. It's southwest of Cusco and several hundred kilometers of difficult mountain travel. In fact it takes 9 hours of bus travel to get there.
It's a pretty city, much warmer than Cusco as it has an altitude of 2325m (7627 ft) above sea level, compared to 3326m (10,909 ft) in Cusco. It's also more modern, as it's about 45 km to the main Pan American highway, which connects it with Lima and the coast. I've been here before, when I was 5 years old, and the only defining feature that I could remember was the volcano, El Misti, which hovers over the city. Because of the volcano, the city is prone to earthquakes and thus is not built up very high, as it would be more dangerous. The most recent earthquake, in 2001, destroyed one of the towers of the main cathedral, which has since been rebuilt.
I NOW HAVE PHOTOS AVAILABLE!!!! To see photos of Arequipa, click here!
There were two main reasons for my trip. First, as a more modern city, Arequipa actually has a modern multiplex (Cusco has 1 screen, and reportedly it's not in great shape) and the only film I really was sad that I was going to miss in the States was "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King". Well, as it turns out, thanks to piracy studios now want to open films around the world on the same day. Thus, on Wednesday, my friend Christina and I found ourselves at the 12:00pm showing of LOTR. We were quite happy to find the theater had stadium seating and we bought ourselves some popcorn and 2 cokes for the whopping price of $1.50 each. It's a long film, but I was glad to be able to see the final film of the trilogy.
The second reason to be in Arequipa, as I have mentioned before, was that the final game of the Copa Sudamerica was being played between Cusco's Cienciano and Argentina's River Plate futbol teams. The day before I had left Cusco, I bought 4 tickets for my friends Graham, Christina, Alex, and I, who were meeting in Arequipa for the game.
Besides seeing LOTR, the first few days in Arequipa were uneventful. The city is much different than Cusco in that it doesn't really have much nightlife, other than Friday and Saturday nights. It's really a working town and doesn't attract that much tourism. We found ourselves meeting every night for a couple bottles of the local beer, Arequipena, and then retiring early.
The day of the game, there was a sudden influx of people wearing red Cienciano shirts and the common chant, 'Upa upa upapa, Cienciano is El Papa,' could be heard in all corners of the downtown area. It was a great day for people watching, as many Cusquenos filled the streets and the Plaza de Armas. They seemed to get a kick out of seeing me, a gringo, wearing the Cienciano shirt I bought in Cusco. As it turns out, I found out from my mother last week that my father graduated from the Collegio de las Ciencias, where the team gets its name from (and was originally made up of alumni, when the team was founded in 1899). So, it's really part of the family.
I don't know what we were thinking, but we thought we wouldn't have a problem getting into the game, even if we got a late start. So we met at Graham and my hostel, Tambo Viejo, at 4pm and started walking to the stadium. We had chosen our hostel because it was near the stadium. The only problem was that when we got to the stadium, no one was there. It turns out that it was taking place at the OTHER stadium, the one for the university. We quickly found directions and got there about 20 minutes later.
As we approached we saw a long line of people, far from the stadium. We were in disbelief to find that this was the line for our section. Luckily, the line moved quickly, but by the time we got to the stadium they weren't letting people into our section. They told us to go to the upper section. We found another door for our section and explained that the other security guys told us to go there, and after pleading for a moment, they let us in. Of course, there were no seats available in the center section, but then we spotted a few seats off in the corner by the goal in the front row. We settled in and spent the next couple hours soaking in the atmosphere: a sea of red, the endless chants, the wave. Before the game started we had this magical half hour of sunset, which lit up the stadium with this warm, orange light that was reflecting off the clouds above. They waited to turn on the lights until the sky was quite dark.
Finally, the teams came out of their Coca-Cola sponsored tunnels. There was quite a large number of police, and even the SWAT team, to protect the opposing team. People got a bit violent towards River Plate, so much so that every time they came out the police had to guard the mouth of the tunnel with their plastic riot shields. We later heard stories that the tiny contingent of River Plate fanatics behind one of the goals had to endure endless taunts and water balloons of urine being hurled at them.
The game started and the crowd settled in to watch. Rather than a high scoring game, like the one in River Plate, this one was all about suspense. From the start, it seemed that the main referee had it in for Cienciano, calling every little foul (mostly unintentional) that was made, while ignoring fouls that River Plate made. By the half mark, there were several Cienciano players who had yellow cards (get two and you're out of the game). As the refs left for half time, the crowd had obviously turned against them and started hurling whatever they had on hand, and they had to be protected by the police.
It really all came down to the second half. First, Cienciano would have a blow against them when one of their players got his second yellow card (yellow + yellow = red card) and thus had to leave the game. In futbol, when one of your players has to leave, you don't get to replace him with another. Thus River Plate had an advantage of 11 players to 10. Cienciano finally got their shot when one of their players got fouled right in front of the goal. His penalty kick penetrated the River Plate line and was just out of reach of the goalie to score. The stadium went wild. There was a sense of relief that Cienciano had the upper hand with about 20 minutes to go.
Cienciano would have to contend with another disadvantage about 9 minutes later, when another of their players received another red card and had to leave the game. This meant that River Plate was now playing with 11 players against 9 for the last 10 minutes. Cienciano now did not have the option to play offensively and had to put all their effort into defense, which was their greatest strength. A palpable sense of anxiety descended into the crowd as all they could hope for was for River Plate not to score. From our angle, way across the field, it looked as if a couple shots they took had gone in, but what a sense of relief when we realized the ball had gone just over. The time ticked down and Cienciano tried as much as possible to get it into the other side of the field to give them some breathing room, but River Plate would always charge ahead. The tension built with each goal attempt and then, suddenly, it was all over. Cienciano had withstood the onslaught with only 9 men and run down the clock. They were the champions of South America!!
To understand how important this was, you have to realize that no Peruvian team had ever won championship like this. Until 2 years ago, the competition was split into 2 different championships, one for the northern countries of South America (Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, etc.) and one for the souther countries of SA (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc.). Colombia almost always won in the north. The most recent time a Peruvian team had gone to the finals was in 1975 and usually the 3 teams from Lima dominate the regional competition. To equate it with American sports teams, this isn't like the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, it's like one of the farm teams of the Boston Red Sox somehow getting the opportunity to play in the major league and then going all the way. Cienciano's win was like the Bad News Bears of futbol winning the continental competition in only it's 2nd year. It's unprecedented.
The Peruano sitting next to us explained that this was the best thing to happen to Peru, EVER. Now that seems hard to believe, but then again, you don't know how much these people love futbol.
PHOTOS OF THE GAME:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/arequipa_copa_suram/
Hope you enjoyed my brief sojourn into the world of sports, but as quickly as it began . . . whoosh! . . . it was over. At least until the Copa America competition comes to Peru in July.
Felices Fiestas!
Tim
It's a pretty city, much warmer than Cusco as it has an altitude of 2325m (7627 ft) above sea level, compared to 3326m (10,909 ft) in Cusco. It's also more modern, as it's about 45 km to the main Pan American highway, which connects it with Lima and the coast. I've been here before, when I was 5 years old, and the only defining feature that I could remember was the volcano, El Misti, which hovers over the city. Because of the volcano, the city is prone to earthquakes and thus is not built up very high, as it would be more dangerous. The most recent earthquake, in 2001, destroyed one of the towers of the main cathedral, which has since been rebuilt.
I NOW HAVE PHOTOS AVAILABLE!!!! To see photos of Arequipa, click here!
There were two main reasons for my trip. First, as a more modern city, Arequipa actually has a modern multiplex (Cusco has 1 screen, and reportedly it's not in great shape) and the only film I really was sad that I was going to miss in the States was "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King". Well, as it turns out, thanks to piracy studios now want to open films around the world on the same day. Thus, on Wednesday, my friend Christina and I found ourselves at the 12:00pm showing of LOTR. We were quite happy to find the theater had stadium seating and we bought ourselves some popcorn and 2 cokes for the whopping price of $1.50 each. It's a long film, but I was glad to be able to see the final film of the trilogy.
The second reason to be in Arequipa, as I have mentioned before, was that the final game of the Copa Sudamerica was being played between Cusco's Cienciano and Argentina's River Plate futbol teams. The day before I had left Cusco, I bought 4 tickets for my friends Graham, Christina, Alex, and I, who were meeting in Arequipa for the game.
Besides seeing LOTR, the first few days in Arequipa were uneventful. The city is much different than Cusco in that it doesn't really have much nightlife, other than Friday and Saturday nights. It's really a working town and doesn't attract that much tourism. We found ourselves meeting every night for a couple bottles of the local beer, Arequipena, and then retiring early.
The day of the game, there was a sudden influx of people wearing red Cienciano shirts and the common chant, 'Upa upa upapa, Cienciano is El Papa,' could be heard in all corners of the downtown area. It was a great day for people watching, as many Cusquenos filled the streets and the Plaza de Armas. They seemed to get a kick out of seeing me, a gringo, wearing the Cienciano shirt I bought in Cusco. As it turns out, I found out from my mother last week that my father graduated from the Collegio de las Ciencias, where the team gets its name from (and was originally made up of alumni, when the team was founded in 1899). So, it's really part of the family.
I don't know what we were thinking, but we thought we wouldn't have a problem getting into the game, even if we got a late start. So we met at Graham and my hostel, Tambo Viejo, at 4pm and started walking to the stadium. We had chosen our hostel because it was near the stadium. The only problem was that when we got to the stadium, no one was there. It turns out that it was taking place at the OTHER stadium, the one for the university. We quickly found directions and got there about 20 minutes later.
As we approached we saw a long line of people, far from the stadium. We were in disbelief to find that this was the line for our section. Luckily, the line moved quickly, but by the time we got to the stadium they weren't letting people into our section. They told us to go to the upper section. We found another door for our section and explained that the other security guys told us to go there, and after pleading for a moment, they let us in. Of course, there were no seats available in the center section, but then we spotted a few seats off in the corner by the goal in the front row. We settled in and spent the next couple hours soaking in the atmosphere: a sea of red, the endless chants, the wave. Before the game started we had this magical half hour of sunset, which lit up the stadium with this warm, orange light that was reflecting off the clouds above. They waited to turn on the lights until the sky was quite dark.
Finally, the teams came out of their Coca-Cola sponsored tunnels. There was quite a large number of police, and even the SWAT team, to protect the opposing team. People got a bit violent towards River Plate, so much so that every time they came out the police had to guard the mouth of the tunnel with their plastic riot shields. We later heard stories that the tiny contingent of River Plate fanatics behind one of the goals had to endure endless taunts and water balloons of urine being hurled at them.
The game started and the crowd settled in to watch. Rather than a high scoring game, like the one in River Plate, this one was all about suspense. From the start, it seemed that the main referee had it in for Cienciano, calling every little foul (mostly unintentional) that was made, while ignoring fouls that River Plate made. By the half mark, there were several Cienciano players who had yellow cards (get two and you're out of the game). As the refs left for half time, the crowd had obviously turned against them and started hurling whatever they had on hand, and they had to be protected by the police.
It really all came down to the second half. First, Cienciano would have a blow against them when one of their players got his second yellow card (yellow + yellow = red card) and thus had to leave the game. In futbol, when one of your players has to leave, you don't get to replace him with another. Thus River Plate had an advantage of 11 players to 10. Cienciano finally got their shot when one of their players got fouled right in front of the goal. His penalty kick penetrated the River Plate line and was just out of reach of the goalie to score. The stadium went wild. There was a sense of relief that Cienciano had the upper hand with about 20 minutes to go.
Cienciano would have to contend with another disadvantage about 9 minutes later, when another of their players received another red card and had to leave the game. This meant that River Plate was now playing with 11 players against 9 for the last 10 minutes. Cienciano now did not have the option to play offensively and had to put all their effort into defense, which was their greatest strength. A palpable sense of anxiety descended into the crowd as all they could hope for was for River Plate not to score. From our angle, way across the field, it looked as if a couple shots they took had gone in, but what a sense of relief when we realized the ball had gone just over. The time ticked down and Cienciano tried as much as possible to get it into the other side of the field to give them some breathing room, but River Plate would always charge ahead. The tension built with each goal attempt and then, suddenly, it was all over. Cienciano had withstood the onslaught with only 9 men and run down the clock. They were the champions of South America!!
To understand how important this was, you have to realize that no Peruvian team had ever won championship like this. Until 2 years ago, the competition was split into 2 different championships, one for the northern countries of South America (Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, etc.) and one for the souther countries of SA (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc.). Colombia almost always won in the north. The most recent time a Peruvian team had gone to the finals was in 1975 and usually the 3 teams from Lima dominate the regional competition. To equate it with American sports teams, this isn't like the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, it's like one of the farm teams of the Boston Red Sox somehow getting the opportunity to play in the major league and then going all the way. Cienciano's win was like the Bad News Bears of futbol winning the continental competition in only it's 2nd year. It's unprecedented.
The Peruano sitting next to us explained that this was the best thing to happen to Peru, EVER. Now that seems hard to believe, but then again, you don't know how much these people love futbol.
PHOTOS OF THE GAME:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/arequipa_copa_suram/
Hope you enjoyed my brief sojourn into the world of sports, but as quickly as it began . . . whoosh! . . . it was over. At least until the Copa America competition comes to Peru in July.
Felices Fiestas!
Tim
Saturday, December 13, 2003
I finally received my floppy disk drive, so I'll be able to write more frequently if it's not too taxing on your Inboxes. Actually, the pace I've been going is pretty good. I'll have to figure out how to add photographs. I haven't really been taking them since I knew I wouldn't be able to send them.
This week was a bit tough. I came down with my first illness. Just a cold, but ever since it started I've also been getting stomach cramps. I'm not sure if it's related, but hopefully they will go away soon. I'd love to develop a stomach of steel while I'm down here, but it has always been sensitive. I can't eat cheese here since most of it is not homogenized. I just get ill whenever I eat it, which is a shame, because I really love cheese. Mmmmmmm . . . . queso.
Anyway a couple of updates on previous entries . . . a sad one and a happy one:
KITTEN UPDATE. The news is not good. All four of the little kitties have now died. My aunt Maria Elisa didn't leave her room for 2 weeks caring for the little ones and did everything she could, but the odds were stacked against them from the beginning. For starters, they were born a week to a few days premature. Secondly, they had no mother to keep them warm, clean them, and give them her special mommy kitty milk.
Gertrudis, the only black one (the rest were white), woke up one day and was freezing. Maria Elisa put a hot water bottle into their bed, but it was possibly a bit to warm. Gertrudis started crying after a while, and Maria Elisa found that she was really warm. She just never recovered.
The other one, Laurita, was the biggest and the one we thought for sure would survive. After she lost the warmth of all the other kitties, she just kind of gave up. At the last minute we found out that one of my aunt's friends had a cat that had kittens about a week older than these. They took Laurita over and had her hang out with the other kittens to get their sent on her. Then they let the mother cat come back and she sniffed around and accepted her as one of her own. She immediately started cleaning her and Laurita was the cleanest she had ever been. Sadly, she lasted about a day or two and then she too passed away.
CIENCIANO . . . RED FURY. Well, the first game of the South America Cup final was on Wednesday night, Cienciano vs. Argentina's River Plate. I went to watch it with a few of my friends from school at my uncle Ricardo's favorite hang out, El Ritmo Latino. My friends were happy to be watching it in a real cusqueno hangout, rather than with a bunch of gringos.
And what a game it was. Cienciano scored the first goal and the place went nuts. We were all so happy and then a minute later River Plate scored back. Everyone looked depressed. A little while later River Plate scored again. We all sat in stunned silence.
The thing I can't understand about Cienciano is how they have made it this far. They so obviously have less control over the ball, often kicking it downfield when in trouble or making ludicrous long range offensive passes that always get picked off by the other team. River Plate looked like a team with control and strategy. If not for the truly awesome talents of the Cienciano goalkeeper, they would have trounced them. But he makes some amazing catches or deflections, it's just that every once in a while he just could not physically be where the ball was.
So, the score was 2-1 in favor of River Plate with most of the play taking place in Cienciano's defensive half. Then Cienciano does what they always do, pull an amazing play out of nowhere. In fact we were dumbfounded. As there are only commercial breaks only at halftime, small animated ads pop up in the corners of the screen while the game is being played. Well, one of these ads was in the upper left hand corner of the screen, as the play was in midfield. Suddenly, a Cienciano player boots it into the air toward the goal and another player deflects it in. Most of the play was obstructed by the ad, so there was a pause after the play and then we all went wild!
Cienciano scored another goal a while after the obstructed play and we all thought we were actually going to win. Cienciano, the little team that could, running on a lot of heart and a little prayer. Of course, with 5 minutes left to go, River Plate scored back and the game ended with a tied score of 3-3.
The Cuscquenos did not mind one bit. From their point of view, tying against a great team in their home stadium was a major feat. The festivities in the Plaza de Armas went on through the night. As I walked home, I watched as truckloads of people screamed and honked their way toward the Plaza.
It all comes down to next week's game in Arequipa. The reason it is not in their home town is that the Cusco stadium doesn't have a big enough capacity to host the final. So, on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm making my way to Arequipa (if I get tickets on Monday) and will see the game on Friday night with some friends from school.
How's that for my attempt at sportswriting?
Hope you're all not freezing.
Tim
This week was a bit tough. I came down with my first illness. Just a cold, but ever since it started I've also been getting stomach cramps. I'm not sure if it's related, but hopefully they will go away soon. I'd love to develop a stomach of steel while I'm down here, but it has always been sensitive. I can't eat cheese here since most of it is not homogenized. I just get ill whenever I eat it, which is a shame, because I really love cheese. Mmmmmmm . . . . queso.
Anyway a couple of updates on previous entries . . . a sad one and a happy one:
KITTEN UPDATE. The news is not good. All four of the little kitties have now died. My aunt Maria Elisa didn't leave her room for 2 weeks caring for the little ones and did everything she could, but the odds were stacked against them from the beginning. For starters, they were born a week to a few days premature. Secondly, they had no mother to keep them warm, clean them, and give them her special mommy kitty milk.
Gertrudis, the only black one (the rest were white), woke up one day and was freezing. Maria Elisa put a hot water bottle into their bed, but it was possibly a bit to warm. Gertrudis started crying after a while, and Maria Elisa found that she was really warm. She just never recovered.
The other one, Laurita, was the biggest and the one we thought for sure would survive. After she lost the warmth of all the other kitties, she just kind of gave up. At the last minute we found out that one of my aunt's friends had a cat that had kittens about a week older than these. They took Laurita over and had her hang out with the other kittens to get their sent on her. Then they let the mother cat come back and she sniffed around and accepted her as one of her own. She immediately started cleaning her and Laurita was the cleanest she had ever been. Sadly, she lasted about a day or two and then she too passed away.
CIENCIANO . . . RED FURY. Well, the first game of the South America Cup final was on Wednesday night, Cienciano vs. Argentina's River Plate. I went to watch it with a few of my friends from school at my uncle Ricardo's favorite hang out, El Ritmo Latino. My friends were happy to be watching it in a real cusqueno hangout, rather than with a bunch of gringos.
And what a game it was. Cienciano scored the first goal and the place went nuts. We were all so happy and then a minute later River Plate scored back. Everyone looked depressed. A little while later River Plate scored again. We all sat in stunned silence.
The thing I can't understand about Cienciano is how they have made it this far. They so obviously have less control over the ball, often kicking it downfield when in trouble or making ludicrous long range offensive passes that always get picked off by the other team. River Plate looked like a team with control and strategy. If not for the truly awesome talents of the Cienciano goalkeeper, they would have trounced them. But he makes some amazing catches or deflections, it's just that every once in a while he just could not physically be where the ball was.
So, the score was 2-1 in favor of River Plate with most of the play taking place in Cienciano's defensive half. Then Cienciano does what they always do, pull an amazing play out of nowhere. In fact we were dumbfounded. As there are only commercial breaks only at halftime, small animated ads pop up in the corners of the screen while the game is being played. Well, one of these ads was in the upper left hand corner of the screen, as the play was in midfield. Suddenly, a Cienciano player boots it into the air toward the goal and another player deflects it in. Most of the play was obstructed by the ad, so there was a pause after the play and then we all went wild!
Cienciano scored another goal a while after the obstructed play and we all thought we were actually going to win. Cienciano, the little team that could, running on a lot of heart and a little prayer. Of course, with 5 minutes left to go, River Plate scored back and the game ended with a tied score of 3-3.
The Cuscquenos did not mind one bit. From their point of view, tying against a great team in their home stadium was a major feat. The festivities in the Plaza de Armas went on through the night. As I walked home, I watched as truckloads of people screamed and honked their way toward the Plaza.
It all comes down to next week's game in Arequipa. The reason it is not in their home town is that the Cusco stadium doesn't have a big enough capacity to host the final. So, on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm making my way to Arequipa (if I get tickets on Monday) and will see the game on Friday night with some friends from school.
How's that for my attempt at sportswriting?
Hope you're all not freezing.
Tim
Monday, December 08, 2003
The big story of the last week is the playoffs for the South American futbol tournament. In every country, there are many regional teams. These teams compete within their country, then the winners play the best teams from each country. Well, this year the best team in Peru was the Cusqueno team (Cienciano, from Cusco) and they went on to make it to the semifinals for all South America.
At each level the teams play 2 games, one away and one at home. The total score from both games determines the winner of the round. Cienciano beat a team from Colombia in the first game, 2-1. The game on Thursday was to determine who would go on to the finals and play Argentina (who beat Brazil).
We got tickets for the mid level seating, costing about $9.00. Cienciano has never gone this far in competition, so the Cusco crowd was rabid, what they call 'Red Fury' (the colors for Cienciano are red and white). In order to get a good seat we had to get there early, 3:30 for a game that started at 7:10pm. I went with my classmates, so we entertained each other with witty conversation for the 3+ hours that we waited. There were also traditional dances, which usually included couples in Incan costumes dancing around in circles.
Before the game started, my friend Graham (a brit), commented that he'd like to see our team score in the first minute. Well, his prediction came true. Within 40 seconds, Cienciano scored a GGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! The crowd went wild.
There were lots of vendors and few restrooms. From the stands you had to crawl your way out, every inch of cement seating was taken. I bought a Cienciano hat, had some meat on a stick (which I later found out was beef heart), and tried not to pass out from the fumes in the bathroom.
The goal in the first minute would turn out to be the only score of the game. Cienciano won, now they're off to the finals. This week they play Argentina in Argentina. Next week they play them again in Arequipa for the final. They have to play in Arequipa because the stadium in Cusco is too small for FIFA regulations.
After the game, we walked up to the Plaza de Armas to find a big concert celebration going on in front of the Cathedral. We were so exhausted by the wait and the game itself, we snuck up Gringo Alley and decamped into a pizza parlor. I had a test the next day, so I went home and fell asleep, dreaming of a Cienciano victory in the finals.
I've been getting burned out on my Spanish classes. It's tough to take 4 weeks in a row. You learn something and then you really need to work it into your daily speech. When you have another class, you just keep stockpiling the things you've learned and hope that you'll figure out how to use it. I think in the future I'm going to take one or two weeks of classes and then have a week or two off so that I can try to incorporate what I've learned into everyday speech.
That being said, I've moved my final lesson that I've already paid for to the first week of January. This gives me a 3-week break for Xmas and New Year, but also opens up the possibility of traveling to Arequipa to see the final Cienciano game. Some of my friends from class have already left Cusco and we're thinking about all converging for the game. Should be a blast.
The last time I was in Arequipa was when I was 5 years old. The only thing I remember about it is the volcano that hovers over it called 'El Misty'. A volcano is a pretty cool thing when you're 5. It's supposed to be a beautiful colonial town . . . clean, fresh and temperate. The population is about 1 million and they have movie theaters, so I can catch up with some of the recent releases. Cusco only has 1 movie screen, the rest is just pirated DVD.
Well, gotta go. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing my old friend Misty again. I'll let you know what happens with Cienciano - GO RED FURY!!
Tim
At each level the teams play 2 games, one away and one at home. The total score from both games determines the winner of the round. Cienciano beat a team from Colombia in the first game, 2-1. The game on Thursday was to determine who would go on to the finals and play Argentina (who beat Brazil).
We got tickets for the mid level seating, costing about $9.00. Cienciano has never gone this far in competition, so the Cusco crowd was rabid, what they call 'Red Fury' (the colors for Cienciano are red and white). In order to get a good seat we had to get there early, 3:30 for a game that started at 7:10pm. I went with my classmates, so we entertained each other with witty conversation for the 3+ hours that we waited. There were also traditional dances, which usually included couples in Incan costumes dancing around in circles.
Before the game started, my friend Graham (a brit), commented that he'd like to see our team score in the first minute. Well, his prediction came true. Within 40 seconds, Cienciano scored a GGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! The crowd went wild.
There were lots of vendors and few restrooms. From the stands you had to crawl your way out, every inch of cement seating was taken. I bought a Cienciano hat, had some meat on a stick (which I later found out was beef heart), and tried not to pass out from the fumes in the bathroom.
The goal in the first minute would turn out to be the only score of the game. Cienciano won, now they're off to the finals. This week they play Argentina in Argentina. Next week they play them again in Arequipa for the final. They have to play in Arequipa because the stadium in Cusco is too small for FIFA regulations.
After the game, we walked up to the Plaza de Armas to find a big concert celebration going on in front of the Cathedral. We were so exhausted by the wait and the game itself, we snuck up Gringo Alley and decamped into a pizza parlor. I had a test the next day, so I went home and fell asleep, dreaming of a Cienciano victory in the finals.
I've been getting burned out on my Spanish classes. It's tough to take 4 weeks in a row. You learn something and then you really need to work it into your daily speech. When you have another class, you just keep stockpiling the things you've learned and hope that you'll figure out how to use it. I think in the future I'm going to take one or two weeks of classes and then have a week or two off so that I can try to incorporate what I've learned into everyday speech.
That being said, I've moved my final lesson that I've already paid for to the first week of January. This gives me a 3-week break for Xmas and New Year, but also opens up the possibility of traveling to Arequipa to see the final Cienciano game. Some of my friends from class have already left Cusco and we're thinking about all converging for the game. Should be a blast.
The last time I was in Arequipa was when I was 5 years old. The only thing I remember about it is the volcano that hovers over it called 'El Misty'. A volcano is a pretty cool thing when you're 5. It's supposed to be a beautiful colonial town . . . clean, fresh and temperate. The population is about 1 million and they have movie theaters, so I can catch up with some of the recent releases. Cusco only has 1 movie screen, the rest is just pirated DVD.
Well, gotta go. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing my old friend Misty again. I'll let you know what happens with Cienciano - GO RED FURY!!
Tim
Monday, December 01, 2003
Still working on getting some technology down here, so I won't have any pics for a while. Here are a couple written snapshots of life down here:
TAXIS. Taxis are everywhere down here and they're cheap. 2 Nuevos Soles gets you pretty much everywhere (that's about $0.70). They move around the city like sharks, swimming the streets looking for fares. They come into your tranquil little neighborhood and chirp at you when the pass. By chirp I mean honk, but not a full fledged honk just a little tap to remind you that you want a taxi. Your walking to the grocery store which is 2 blocks away . . . CHIRP! Your walking to Spanish school (which is a 35 min. walk away) . . . CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! Everywhere . . . CHIRP! I think I now know what it feels like to be a woman walking in New York.
CONTROBANDO. There are markets here that you can go to which are called 'Controbando'. These are are markets that have miles of little kiosks that sell you anything that you could in a store, except that it is a bit cheaper. Now not everything here is real controband. There are tons of kiosks that sell brand new TVs at just under what you would pay in a regular electronics store. I find it hard to believe that everything fell off a truck somewhere. The area the you find real contraband is with music and video. I could buy most contraband DVDs for S/ 5.00 ('S/' stands for Nuevo Soles and 5 of them would be about $1.33). They even have 'Elf' on DVD down here. No wonder there are no movie theaters in Cusco.
DOWNPOUR. Now when I say downpour, I really mean DOWNPOUR. Last week we had the first major storm of the rainy season (note for all of you planning to visit: the rainy season is Dec-March). Remember, even though Cusco is in the Andes, it still is in the tropical zone. So while the temperature isn't tropical, the downpour is.
Last week I was walking home from school (I've decided to get my exercize by walking 35 min. each way from school), when it started to sprinkle. As I needed to get some school supplies anyway, I ducked into a office supply shop, thinking there would be a hard rain and then it would stop. Well the rain got harder and harder, sheets of water streaming down. The main avenue, Avenida de la Cultura literally became a river. It was the hardest rain I had ever seen (harder than even Singapore!).
I watched the rain and suddenly realized that all the workers in the store had disappeared. I found them rushing to mop up water, because their drains had been overcome by the downpour. The other customers and I that had been waiting out the storm dashed to the back and asked if they needed help. I was handed a broom (people here don't really seem to own mops), and thus ensued the mad 'push-the-water-around-with-brooms-and-rags-and-lift-anything-off-the-floor-that-is-valuable' frenzy. 45 minutes later, the rain had stopped and I decided to venture out for the rest of my trip home.
The normally dry streets had turned into vast rivers as the city's water system tried to move the water off the streets and into drainage canals. Most average sewage drains were completely filled. As the continuously chirping taxis commenced their never ending search for fares, you had to jump out of the way as they passed and sprayed a liquid mud 3-4 feet into the air. I generally maintained the dry state of my clothes until I was about a 4 blocks from the house and found a sloping waterfall of a street that had no dry ground to leapfrog to. I found the dryest place possible and did the futile jump into water. My shoes got wet, but generally I escaped the venom of the DOWNPOUR!
That's enough for today. Hopefully, you are enjoying my blog-fiesta. If there are any specific questions you'd like me to answer, please forward them. For those of you who have written me directly and not received a response, I will answer you in time. Forgive the delay, but as soon as I receive the technology I need from the states, it will get better.
Hope everyone is well,
Tim
TAXIS. Taxis are everywhere down here and they're cheap. 2 Nuevos Soles gets you pretty much everywhere (that's about $0.70). They move around the city like sharks, swimming the streets looking for fares. They come into your tranquil little neighborhood and chirp at you when the pass. By chirp I mean honk, but not a full fledged honk just a little tap to remind you that you want a taxi. Your walking to the grocery store which is 2 blocks away . . . CHIRP! Your walking to Spanish school (which is a 35 min. walk away) . . . CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! Everywhere . . . CHIRP! I think I now know what it feels like to be a woman walking in New York.
CONTROBANDO. There are markets here that you can go to which are called 'Controbando'. These are are markets that have miles of little kiosks that sell you anything that you could in a store, except that it is a bit cheaper. Now not everything here is real controband. There are tons of kiosks that sell brand new TVs at just under what you would pay in a regular electronics store. I find it hard to believe that everything fell off a truck somewhere. The area the you find real contraband is with music and video. I could buy most contraband DVDs for S/ 5.00 ('S/' stands for Nuevo Soles and 5 of them would be about $1.33). They even have 'Elf' on DVD down here. No wonder there are no movie theaters in Cusco.
DOWNPOUR. Now when I say downpour, I really mean DOWNPOUR. Last week we had the first major storm of the rainy season (note for all of you planning to visit: the rainy season is Dec-March). Remember, even though Cusco is in the Andes, it still is in the tropical zone. So while the temperature isn't tropical, the downpour is.
Last week I was walking home from school (I've decided to get my exercize by walking 35 min. each way from school), when it started to sprinkle. As I needed to get some school supplies anyway, I ducked into a office supply shop, thinking there would be a hard rain and then it would stop. Well the rain got harder and harder, sheets of water streaming down. The main avenue, Avenida de la Cultura literally became a river. It was the hardest rain I had ever seen (harder than even Singapore!).
I watched the rain and suddenly realized that all the workers in the store had disappeared. I found them rushing to mop up water, because their drains had been overcome by the downpour. The other customers and I that had been waiting out the storm dashed to the back and asked if they needed help. I was handed a broom (people here don't really seem to own mops), and thus ensued the mad 'push-the-water-around-with-brooms-and-rags-and-lift-anything-off-the-floor-that-is-valuable' frenzy. 45 minutes later, the rain had stopped and I decided to venture out for the rest of my trip home.
The normally dry streets had turned into vast rivers as the city's water system tried to move the water off the streets and into drainage canals. Most average sewage drains were completely filled. As the continuously chirping taxis commenced their never ending search for fares, you had to jump out of the way as they passed and sprayed a liquid mud 3-4 feet into the air. I generally maintained the dry state of my clothes until I was about a 4 blocks from the house and found a sloping waterfall of a street that had no dry ground to leapfrog to. I found the dryest place possible and did the futile jump into water. My shoes got wet, but generally I escaped the venom of the DOWNPOUR!
That's enough for today. Hopefully, you are enjoying my blog-fiesta. If there are any specific questions you'd like me to answer, please forward them. For those of you who have written me directly and not received a response, I will answer you in time. Forgive the delay, but as soon as I receive the technology I need from the states, it will get better.
Hope everyone is well,
Tim