Weddings

I had the privilege to take pictures of two different weddings in my time down here. Both have served as a sort of indicator to the excessiveness that permeates so much of my own culture in the US.

I shot the first wedding back at the beginning of September. I followed Esther, the bride, for the whole day, from putting on her dress to leaving for the hotel with her new husband. She got dressed in her parents home, a tin roofed, two-roomed place next to the river here in town. Her brother drove her to the wedding in a borrowed old Toyota corolla. The pastor married her and Jubenal, her new husband, in the small and slightly run-down evangelical church they had both attended since they were kids. They went eight hours away by bus to Cusco for their honeymoon and returned extremely happy.

I can't help but compare this to so many American weddings I see. There are so many lies that persist in much of our consumerist culture. I am not buying into the fairy tale idea that you have to spend $3,000 on a ring, $5,000 on a dress, and much more for a fancy venue simply because it is a special occasion. At the end of the day the purpose of a wedding, the celebration of the love between two people and joining them in a holy bond, remains the exact same. I do not see the juncture of an American couple who spend more than twenty grand on their wedding as any stronger than that of Jubenal and Esther.

Peruvian Slang

I thought I would list a bit of the slang from the region. The literal translations of some of the words are pretty funny.

Your woman = Tu flaquita (literally your skinny)

Cash = La plata (literally silver). I always feel like I'm talking like a pirate whenever I say this. Arg I would buy a new leg but don't have the silver!

Nice/well kept = charlie. Esto es un lugar bien charlie. This is a real nice place. A lot of the slang are spin offs of English words. Why a male name means well kept I'm not sure.

The act of copy and pasting = copypastear. It makes sense, just take two words you hear online and put them together into a verb. I always laugh at this one because of how obviously English it is.

Drinking alcohol = jugando soldado (literally playing soldier). This phrase comes from the action of taking a shot. Someone, somewhere thought it looked like you are shooting a pistol at your friends.

Stupid = Calabaza (literally pumpkin)

Big party = Tonazo (literally a loud noise)

Guachiman = Watchman. This comes from English but sounds and is spelled a bit differently.

Evangelical Movement in Peru

It has been interesting getting a sense of Peru's shifting religious landscape in my time living here. The country is at a real turning point and I am seeing that play out right in front of me.

Traditionally, Peru has been a heavily Roman Catholic country, just like the majority of Latin America. It still is that way; you can find a Catholic church in even the smallest of villages, but a new movement is rapidly gaining strength. The evangelical rise, as it has been dubbed, has swept through the country in the last few decades. Peru is now 12% evangelical and every major denomination is represented in most cities. From what I have seen, I would say this new development has an upside and a downside.
The downside would be that of the ever present American cultural imperialism. Most of the new churches have been established by American missionaries who have good hearts, but unintentionally bring their own culture at the expense of the locals'. A harmful mentality exists that locals can only worship Jesus through American traditions. The result is similar to what happened with the Spanish 500 years ago except that the cathedrals have been replaced with mega-churches and the hymns with David Crowder Band.

Now the upside is a completely fresh take for Peruvians on the character of Jesus. Catholicism has been so engrained in the culture that many, but not all, who say they are Catholic simply say so because it is the the norm. So many have lost any form of discipleship because of this vague cultural-religious mix. Again, this is not all who claim to be Catholic by a long shot but I would say it is the majority in Latin America. This evangelical movement offers a fresh, new, personal relationship with Jesus.

There is also a church here in Andahuaylas that has accomplished the best of both worlds and should serve as an example for missions work across the globe. It is non-denominational and works within the best parts of the Andean culture here in the sierra. The services are both in Spanish and in Quechua and the majority of their worship songs are from the region and sung in Quechua as well. They even have Huayno worship which I personally despise but it is a great example of worshipping the same God within a completely different culture.

Food Fun

I thought I would give you guys a list of the most interesting things I've been eating and drinking down here as well as a detailed explanation of their taste/texture/ability to stay in my stomach.

Queso de rocas (rock cheese): This is the most common way of making cheese up in the sierra. Someone puts fresh goat milk in a coke bottle and sets it in direct sunlight. After enough time passes for bacteria to grow and the milk has sufficiently hardened, they hang it up on clothes lines in the open air to age. I was told it ages anywhere from three to six months and is covered in flies for the duration. Once finished, the final product is a grayish wrinkled ball that could crack diamonds. After you gnaw on it for about fifteen minutes the center tastes like curdled milk. I ate this for three days straight when I first arrived and payed for it the following week because my stomach was still green. That would soon change though because the queso de rocas was only the start.

Caldo de vaca/oveja (sheep or cow head soup): This is the most common breakfast when you are in the campos. The cow head is usually shared because of its size. The cook places the entire thing in a very large pot where it simmers until ready to eat. Once cooked, each person takes a turn scraping the meat they want off the face. The eyes are reserved for the cooks and each could be a meal in themself. I got lucky with the sheep head soup though because it came to me in full, complete with two succulent eyeballs. The taste of a half-cooked sheep eye is not terrible, I would compare it to fat on a steak but the texture, however, is a different story. The first bite into the eye pops it and releases all of the juicy fluids into the back of your mouth.

Chicha amarilla (yellow chicha): Chicha is one of the most common drinks in Peru and comes in many forms, all derived from different types of maize. Purple chicha is quite tasty and, luckily, the most common. Its yellow brother isn't quite as good. Yellow chicha is the only type which is alcoholic and if I had to describe the taste i would say it is a bit like sour mushrooms. The texture is also that of glue and it doesn't slide down very easily.

La canya (cane alcohol): This is the equivalent of Peruvian moonshine. It is most commonly made in the houses of rural residents by distilling the sugar cane plant to a nearly poisonous level. Canya is by far the strongest alcohol I have ever tasted. It would put everclear to shame. This has earned it the title of agua del infierno (hell water).

El extracto de la rana (frog juice): I saved what I thought was the most entertaining treat for last. The frog juice is unlike anything I have ever seen. A woman works a booth advertising this stuff in most local markets. There is a counter, a bin full of live frogs, and a blender. You choose your frog and it is placed live into the spinning blender. The result is a liquified sludge with the consistency of yogurt and a slight fishy overtone. This was the only food that almost came back up but I managed to keep it down. Apparently it will be good for my mental health and fertility now which is why most people drink it but I have serious doubts.

I currently only have photos of the sheep head soup and frog juice but will try to take some of the other delectables and post them soon.