Today we attended a presentation on volunteer opportunities through the university such as tutoring orphans and keeping old folks company. Then Paco took us to Plaza San Miguel to go shopping. We explored Wong – an upscale grocery store and the ritzy outdoor mall nearby where we made purchases at Ripley, which might be comparable as the Nordstroms of Peru. In the evening we met up for coffee and juice at Café Haiti in Miraflores where I tried the juice of a fruit called tuna (yes, like the fish) that Melissa is particularly fond of. It’s small and green with a ton of tiny brown seeds that you’re just supposed to swallow. I wasn’t really feeling the mouthful of seeds but the juice was absolutely delicious and quite refreshing. It reminded me of a combination of watermelon and banana (weird, I know but it’d make sense if you tried it). We also tried Peruvian hot chocolate and something called Milo which is a malty chocolate drink.
Afterward, around 8:30 which is a typical time to have dinner, we found a “chifa” or Chinese restaurant and ordered with some difficulty from a menu that was neither Spanish, English nor Chinese. You know how in America we have Kung Pao, General Tso’s, etc… and everyone knows what that means? Well in Peru they have a whole different set of “Chinese” dishes whose names mean absolutely nothing in any language (I mean, what is Moo goo gai pan supposed to mean anyway?) The food was really good though, definitely some of the best Wonton (or as they call it here, Wantan) soup I've ever had, and all of it incredibly cheap. The taxi home was quite friendly (a positive trend I think) and Julia produced enough knowledge of the recent conflict between Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador to dispel any stereotypes he might have had about uneducated Americans. Unfortunately, all my adventurousness in food-tasting is finally catching up with me in a serious way and the inevitable period of upset stomach is setting in. Tonight I pack for our 5 day trip to the Andes and Amazon. We don’t return until Monday evening so adios por ahora!
And well sorry to break it to you dear but Milo is Australian. The Peruvians might drink it as well because they realize that the Aussies are on to something. And we have moo goo gai pan at home too! Do you guys have sweet chili sauce there because we eat it on everything here and its like duck sauce plus chili and its delic. I'm really jealous that everything is cheap. The cost of living is a lot more here and everything costs more except for the sushi. haha
much love
-n