Sunday as a Local

Domingo, 13-Julio-2014

What do Huancayans do on Sundays?

They wash clothes, go to the market, and watch fútbol. Same as us, right? 

Laundry

Peru is third world country where there widespread poverty, crime, and a large financial income gap. We are living with a family who is considered well off and so it's interesting to see how a "well off" family lives in Peru versus in the USA. 

For example, all laundry is done by hand. Yes I literally took all my clothes up to the roof and hand scrubbed my clothes. There was a scrub brush and bar of soap that I could use to clean my clothes. Thank goodness I packed extremely light because simply doing half of my clothes took an hour! Also there is no such thing as hot water in Peru so my hands were numb by the end. 

I hung everything up on the clothesline to dry and will hopefully find them dry tomorrow...

Sunday Market

Since arriving in Hauncayo, I've been trying to figure out where people shop bc we've found one super grocery store but that's it. Turns out the majority of the shopping is done at Huancayo's famous Sunday Market. It is said to be the largest in Peru and I definitely agree! The outdoor market closes down Huancavelica Street for over a kilometer (~10 blocks). 

The market features booths selling everything from kitchen utensils to leather shoes to bulk grains to crafts and souvenirs. This definitely isn't a market made for tourists since we saw maybe a handful of other gringos (white people). 

I was able to practice my Spanish as Erin and I bartered for items. My favorite purchase of the day is a giant alpaca blanket!! It's so warm and soft but I still don't know how I'm getting it home haha

Southern Breakfast

While this may not be very Peruvian, it definitely was a must-have. One of the other fellows is from Tenneessee and loves to cook. So Alex decided to make biscuits and gravy for everyone and no one opposed the idea. Alex and Aaron took on the simple Peruvian kitchen and cooked up a delicious southern breakfast. 

The food was absolutely delicious and it was nice to give Aniña and Davíd a break from cooking. They definitely were skeptical of the pan y salsa (bread and sauce) until they tried it. Looks like the south has made its mark in Peru!