Aaron successfully traveled to Peru and brought back a wife.  :)

And while we're discussing alcohol...

I'm very glad my Christian friends understand the freedom of moderation. Today I was on a combi from Huaycan and, crammed next to a woman from the mountains with a baby strapped to her back and about 15 others in this tiny Asian vehicle, a man got on and sat in front of me in a seat that faced me. He started saying things that I couldn't understand, and I just couldn't figure out who he was talking to. Umm - it was no one. Woo hoo! A very alarmed Kelly. I figured out he was drunk when he breathed in my direction and (in English no less!!) says betwen mumblings, "I'm just so F*@%$ng tired!!". Wow. He continued to yell maledictions to someone unknown and something about wanting to be left alone while I started getting nervous about my stop coming soon - I'd have to climb over the guy!

The combi lady that controls the flow of traffic finally let him off without paying. She muttered "Borracho!" under her breath.

Los Inca

Aaron and I are off to see the ancient Incan city of Macchu Picchu near Cuzco, Peru (think "Emperor's New Groove").  I wanted to see in person the inspiration that brought Inca Kola - famous for being the only soda to outsell Coca-Cola in its own country.  They say the hills sing there...  ;)

(From:  http://www.pbarrette.com/Pics/South%20America/html/image76.htm)

 

(My Mormon friends need not respond)

Which is better: coffee or alcohol? I can't decide. I love alcohol and all its flavors and how it raises the spirits of everyone, making for a joyful time. But as I sit here, sipping Starbucks, I can't think of another smell I like more. I think I know Kelly Rose's response.

"Come again? Out."

Random not-quite-pithiness:

A story from Suzanne Matthews, whose boys have lived most of their lives in Costa Rica and Peru and do not watch tv (note, however, that the correlation between the two is weaker than you'd think: their parents are quite deliberate about it): Frank, Suzanne and their 4-year-old twins (Joshua and Micah) took a trip about a year ago and were in a hotel. They let the boys watch some tv. When a commercial break came on, the boys yelled to Suzanne, "Mom! We want the other show! We want to watch the other one." "Boys, it's only a commercial. The other show will come back in a minute." "But Mom, what's a commercial??"

Today, Andrew seemd to be having a hard time with his words. I asked him if he was having an "off day". His dry reply: "It's my day off - I don't have to be on." For some reason, I laughed really hard at that one.

I'd heard about (and in some part, seen) Peruvian openness. People make out and grope all over here. They nurse their kids anytime, anywhere without cover-ups. But yesterday, on a combi, was the worst. A mother was sitting down and her (rather whiny) two-year-old was standing in front of her nursing on her bare breast. Okay, friends, that's self-serve. There's got to be a cut-off and there's got to be discretion.