29 Septiembre 2010

Today was the first day since I moved here that I set an alarm. I got up at 3:30 and layered myself as much as I could. I don't actually know how cold it gets at night because I don't have a thermometer (and it isn't like there is local news) but if it doesn't get below freezing you could have fooled my toes. My host father and I set out with the donkeys and huge piles of corn husks for the bulls breakfast. It was slightly anticlimactic as we were deep in the canyon by the time the sun came up and any reds or golds that might had been there were hidden behind the mountains, but I know my host father appreciated the company. He is kind of like Tiffyn in the sense that he really is a strong, hardworking guy and at the same time he has one of the biggest, most loving hearts I have ever met. He misses his wife who always accompanied him, and he appreciates having me around.

Around 8am we came back from the fields to sip some tea, chomp some bread, and head back out to the neighbor's field who helped us yesterday. First more offerings and drinks that I can't stand, and then back to weeding, raking, and then... they asked me to lead the bulls. Quite the appropriate way to end the 5 day planting weekend. Me leading the bull that when I first moved to Madrigal was being trained and made my life flash before my eyes. In a fit of anger he had run right for me and the baby Diego and sent my first dose of culture shock down my spine. But today, I rubbed my knuckles between his and his partner's eyes to help them relax then grabbed the lead stick and wove them back and forth across the chacra. I had to leave the fields after a half day of work (yup 8 hours, left at lunch) and successfully avoided another round of chicha.

The joys of perception have been treating me well. Lately, when I am really craving something that tastes good I chew on something of a similar texture and try to taste what isn't there. Like the other day I convinced my brain for just a second that the alpaca inards and rice were steak and mashed potatoes. For a milisecond I actually tasted A-1 and butter. It makes eating what I don't enjoy a game I do. Today, pachamama-mother earth, threw me a bone... or rather FRUIT! To my delight, the local bodega got mangos in. Instead of soggy black potatoes and rice in the chacra, I lunched on 25cent mangos and vanilla yogurt. I ate 4 whole juicy, ripe, sweet, tangy mangos. No creativity needed, every second was heavenly.