Back to travel where all of your housekeepers used to live.....

I am now back in dreary Lima....

Obama-nation: I spent about a week in New York before Thanksgiving, which was, well - interesting. I learned to appreciate first off our plumbing system in the states.It is definitely a weird joy, but one I love - throwing my toilet paper down the toilet instead of placing it in a waste basket next to the toilet, since there is no infrastructure in Peru....so yay! And I definitely felt some weird sense of satisfaction because of my trip, since it is the best time to travel and NOT enter the disastrous and threatening job market of the states. Thank god I am not living in the recession. And while yes, South America does feel some apsect of the recession, it is much less, so I´m pretty happy.Was that smug? Well, that´s okay, I do feel like I one-uped some of you.
Otherwise, New York was good. I got to organize numerous groups of my friends, who apparently dont hang out with each other anymore since they all work and spend their free time at the gym! :) plus, since my blog is so daunting for them to read, other than Will and Tom,- thanks guys- I can make fun of all you since you wont be reading this....
Additionally I thought I would add that, while in New York, I learned about culture shock. Surprising, since I have not felt that much of a culture shock being in South America, but only on my return to New York did it slap me in the face. So the story goes as follows: I got proceedingly drunk through my second night in the city after I had assembled a weird group of people. People bought me drinks and eventually the bartender started giving me free PBRs. All my friends ended up ditching me at Cherry Tavern on 6th because they all work during the week. Somehow I remember not paying for a single drink that night... hm. Either way I ended up with a friend of a friend, in his west village apartment. I had just met him that night and of course, I was drunk and it was cold outside, so I just kept drinking. Eventually, it got to three in the morning and I had no interest in bundling up and getting back to Josh and Camille´s aprtment, where I was staying.He seemed to be itching to go to bed, but was not saying anything. So I initiated....
I asked this kid, who we´ll call, Ira, 'Hey, can you just get me a blanket, so I can crash on the floor. I´ll be out of here by six.' He had hard wood floors, but I am so used to sleeping anywhere that all I need is a blanket and I will sleep.
'Uh...No,' he blatantly said.
'Are you being serious?' I asked, totally unsure what he meant by no.
'Yeah, I´m serious. I don´t know you. You can´t stay here.'
And then it hit me. It was 3am and this New York kid, obviously did not trust me or maybe he was scared of me...I´m not sure which one it was. But he wanted me out.
'Oh my god,' I said as I put my hand over my mouth. 'I´m sooo sorry. I must have forgotten where I am. You're right. This is the city.'
And then after watching me struggle to get on my various layers, he put me out on the bitterly cold street to find my way home....
I guess New Yorkers are a lot more cowardly than they seem. :)