The Ride of Pink Death

As if a 18.5 hour bus ride (Lima-Cuzco) is not bad enough...

1. We were delayed because the Cruz del Sur bus (probably the best transport firm in Peru) blew some internal hose, so it turned into a 24-hour nightmare.
2. Worse yet, I knew that South American buses play movies, but I was NOT prepared for the 14 hour assault. First, I had planned to ignore the films and read Moby Dick, but the sound is played via the speakers, not headphones making it misery to try and read. Second, it was a nonstop barrage of terrible chick flicks. I thought we´d at least have a Rambo or Rocky thrown in.

The Pink Death:

• 13 Going On 30 (D+); Meh. At least Garner is a looker.
  
• Wicker Park (D-); Lame ´plot twist´ romance. WAY too much furrowed brow of Josh Hartnett.
  
• Just My Luck (D+); This one was a hit with the Peruvians onboard, and I fail to understand why.
  
• Step Up (B-); not half-bad. Hollywood has found the one white boy in America who can dance.
• A film, of unknown title, that I shall call the Matthew McConaughey fest (F); it was a PTSD-inducing experience that I would not wish upon anyone, except for Robert Mugabe.
• Maid in Manhattan (C+); a generous grade, but you could at least root for J.lo
• Cruz del Sur promotional ¨See Peru¨ video (A); Featured a smoking hot host/model, who would periodically take off her clothes and roll around for sponsoring tourist activities. It is official: there is at least one hot girl in Peru.

This is one bus ride, that my main woman, Josh Harder, is going to dig. Unfortunately, I´m taking the bus back too, as it´s $140 cheaper than flying. Oh, the horror. I have 10 days to detox. Oh, the horror.

Lima, Peru

I arrived in Lima on June 26th at 2:15pm. Fortunately, I was able to get plenty of shuteye en route because of my rock-solid sleep kit: ear plugs and my baby-blue, satiny eyemask (only female ones were left at Kmart). I was carrying a suitcase full of old eyeglasses that Josh´s father needed to get to Arrequipa, Peru as part of his philanthropic work in optometry for MMI. As planned, David Gonzales, an Anglican priest and local volunteer with MMI, met me at the airport to pick up the suitcase. Unfortunately, the same-day bus to Cuzco was booked out.

David, kindhearted man that he is, refused to let me die young and alone in the streets of Lima. He not only found me an affordable ($10 dollars!) and safe hotel, but also gave me a tour of his city: Plaza de Armas, el Palacio de Gobierno, innumerable cathedrals (where you can´t help but notice the stark contrast between the opulence (gold, everywhere) inside and the poverty outside), and the Circuito Magico del Agua Parque, complete with tallest public fountain in the world (80 meters). We then ate at a restaurant where David had helped some members of his parish secure employment.

It was a great chance to test drive my abysmal español (6 years jr and high school, virtually nil since) and learn about a life, the clergy, which is quite foreign to me. Lima is a sprawling city of 9 million (about a third of Peru´s total population) with huge slums and squatter communities. David works with a poor community on the outskirts of the city. It gives him joy when the fatherless children he tutors in religious studies and homework call him father.

World Tour!

I graduated from Stanford on Sunday, June 15th. The last week, full of friends and late nights, was a spectacular finish.

Now begins a world tour:

• 1 month (June 26th-July 1st) in South and Central America, for Spanish, scuba, and salsa
• 5-10 months in either Taipei, Taiwan or Beijing, China, to study Mandarin and travel
• 4-14 months in Berlin, Germany (with any luck), as a fellow in the International Parliament Scholarship or DAAD program

This blog should keep you up-to-date on every riveting detail. Enjoy!