night life

Whether you come from a culture that is monochronic or polychronic, individualist or collectivist, feminine or masculine, the one thing everyone can enjoy is the art of drinking. As an American, I would have to say that drinking is shared trait among our citizens. Come Friday, after a long week of work, a cocktail is all that lies ahead in our near future. On a warm sunny day nothing is more refreshing than an ice cold beer. And of course, you can't have a super bowl party without your 30 pack of beer. I used to think in Americans knew how to drink... until I came to Peru.

Los Peruanas know how to party! It seems like the two weeks that I have been here have been one everlasting party. Every morning I wake up to fireworks at 7am to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Cuzco (why in the morning when you can't see them, I have no idea). On my home from school, there is usually a parade of people walking around carrying a cross, followed by a band. At night in the plaza, there are traditional dances with light shows to the drumming of the Indigenous people. One night my roommate and I were pulled into an ally where tons of local people were drinking and dancing to the music. It's crazy here and everyone is always so happy to celebrate something, anything! Within the two weeks that I have been here, we have already had three days off either due to a holiday or a festival. Friday was the Inti Raymi festival, which was awesome! It was somewhat like the Peru version of coachella but with a llama sacrifice as the main attraction, rather than music. There was thousands of people at this event and everyone was drinking cervezas having a grand old time. Like I said, Los Peruanas know how to party!

Needless to say, the times I have gone out with friends have been a blast. The clubs don't close at 2am like the amateur clubs in America do, and therefore it is extremely easy to dance the night away. I went salsa dancing for the first time and it was amazing! I love watching people salsa dance because it is so much more artistic than the bump and grind found in the states. While there maybe less grinding, there is much more sexual tension in salsa. The other night, as I was attempting to teach my two left feet to salsa dance, an old man grabbed me and twirled me across the dance floor. Luckily for me, I only had to follow his lead and pretend like I knew what I was doing. Those three minutes were the most fun I have had dancing in a long time, and now I am determined to learn how to salsa dance.

Of course, not all of the clubs in Peru are strictly for salsa dancing. Los Peruanas love American music and the other night there was a Pink Floyd cover band playing at one of the bars, who was surprisingly very good. Overall the night life has been fun, but I have some learning to do!