"Going to the skinny one": February 2010

30 Sec. Update: After a relaxing time in Lima, this week I continued north on the Panamerican stopping in Chiclayo, Peru. Famous for its pre-Incan pyramids and tombs, I spent two days visiting archaeological excavations in the surrounding area. The treasure being found in these tombs is worthy of an Indian Jones movie: immaculate turquoise inlaid gold headpieces, intricate copper jewelry, and skeletons of priests and kings over 1800 years old. Chiclayo is also15 minutes from the beach where fisherman take “reed surfboards” out into the ocean everyday to catch fish. I was too embarrassed to ask one of them for a ride. This weekend I am crossing yet another South American border and my next post will be coming from lush Vilcabamba, Ecuador.

Ruined in Northern Peru: While less famous than Incan sites such as Macchu Picchu in southern Peru, the ruins north of Lima are nevertheless worth the visit. I had originally planned to bus through this part of Peru but I am grateful that I took the time to stop. The histories and cultures of the Moche, the Lambayeque, and the Tumi civilizations often get overshadowed by their more famous Incan descendents.

From Chiclayo I visited Sipan which has pyramids and burial chambers of ancient kings and priests, which are ongoing excavation. Sipan was the capital city of the Moche people for several hundred years beginning around the time of Christ and has the wealth to prove it. In the tombs archaeologists are discovering elaborate arrangements of ceramics, jewelry, and human sacrifices, all of which are being restored and showcased on site and in local museums. The intricate detail and craftsmanship of tombs' ornaments was impressive. Sadly, several of the tombs were looted before the excavations and many of the artifacts are lost forever. But those intact tombs are a treasure trove of gold, turquoise, and archaeological insights.

From a tomb's arrangement and the burial dressings of its deceased, the archaeologists can identify the remains of the king's wife, his concubines, his royal family, and his guards in the after life. One burial practice that I found fascinating was the “foot removal” of the tomb's guards. The belief behind chopping of their feet was that the guards would never be able to abandon their king. Note to self.

Seeing all of the ruins and walking through the excavation sites reminded me of my love of Indiana Jones movies when I was younger. I remember asking my mom once if I could buy a bull whip just like Indy's, so I could swing from tree limbs. I think that same love of adventure, the search for hidden treasures, and traveling in far off places is what brought me to South America. While I haven't discovered any priceless treasures yet, I know that my younger self would be excited to hear about my last seven months here.

Bang for your Buck in Bolivia: The least developed of its South American siblings, Bolivia is a bargain even by South American standards. I had heard that Bolivia is a lot cheaper than Chile and Argentina, but I didn't realize until I got there how cheap it really was. Here's a sample of what I was spending on a daily basis:

$3.50 night in a shared dorm room
$1.00 good haircut and shave
$1.50 taxi ride across La Paz
$0.35 hamburger from a street vendor
$3.25 T-shirt
$0.15 five pre-filled water balloons ready to be thrown at kids in the plaza
$35.00 dinner with Kayla at a nice restaurant with appetizers, a bottle of wine, and desert
$0.30 Salteña (a sweet meat filled meat pie)
$0.15 bus ride anywhere in the city

Why I choose to WORK abroad instead of STUDY abroad: When I graduated from college I had some regrets about my decision not to study abroad. I envied my friends who had lived in exotic places and returned with such interesting perspectives on life in other countries. But I'm grateful that I chose to teach abroad rather than passively study. It is not simply a realignment of my personal mission in going abroad, but it completely changed how I experienced Chile and how Chile experienced me.

When I worked as a teacher, I became immersed in the daily on-goings of my community. Instead of just traveling through a town as an observer, I became a participant. The people around town immediately warmed to me when they found that I wasn't just here to take pictures of them, but I was there for the noblest of reasons: to help their children. On a regular basis complete strangers greeted me in the street because they had a child in my classes.

There were still plenty of times when I felt like an outsider. Sometimes it was hard to walk through town without feeling like every person I passed was staring at me and whispering the words “Mira, el chinito” (“Look, the Chinaman!”). But I never would have met the people that defined my time Chile if I didn't have a job to go to every day.

Getting out of a big city strongly shaped my time in Chile. Living in a town of 8,000, meeting people who didn't speak a word of English, and working in a community that had never known an American before made everything feel all the more real. Students abroad are restricted to big cities because their lives center around a university. If I had studied abroad, I would have been surrounded by other Americans, I would have been speaking English all of the time, and I would have never known of places like Los Alamos.

Now whenever I meet other travelers who were “studying abroad” in Santiago, I wonder whether they got to really know Chile. If I had lived in Santiago, there would have been no trips to the campo, no backyard barbecues, no pan casero, and no class 5C. I am not saying that after only four months in Los Alamos I am an expert of what it means to be Chilean, but I do know that the Chile I lived in was a more real and unique experience.