A Good Afternoon

You know when you have those days when you just are really thankful that
everything's going the way it is?

After class today (during which we had almost no grammar instruction but
spent the whole morning talking about the social structure of the
quechua-speaking world), I headed down to the supermarket near the
house, to get some groceries and break a S./100 note. It was just a
beautiful afternoon. Blue sky, fluffy white clouds.

I walked through the Plaza Tupac Amaru--commemorating a failed
revolution in 1780--walked past indigenous women in their hats and
braids eating lunch on the grass, walked past the Kaiser jeep pickup at
the Policia Nacional building, walked past little kids with their
parents running around the glowering Tupac Amaru, walked past two middle
class women praying at a Catholic altar in the parking lot of a gas
station (Christ being whipped by a guy with a mean moustache,
incidentally--handlebar moustaches are, along with Stetson hats with
capes, the universal symbol of villainy)

I don't know. Nothing too special, but it just really struck me at that
moment how fortunate I am. I really like it here. Like Peru, like the
people, like the locally manufactured soft drinks.

I also saw, for the first time today, a shelf full of Coca beer. I have
no idea how that works, but it was there in living color.

I have nothing but respect for cocaleros' attempts to build a better,
legal life by marketing their product as a healthy alternative to...
well... pretty much everything. And I get a kick out of Hugo Chavez's
going on about Coca when he clearly has no idea what he's talking
about. (Wouldn't you like to say to unc'l Hugo's face, "Dude. You
don't chew coca paste. That's for cocaine")

But I have to say, most of the coca products I've have the pleasure to
trying have basically been like... like what you would expect a product
made out of ground up leaves to be like. Grainy, dry, and with
basically no taste. Like eating green dirt.

For those of you who haven't been down here, you can buy coca toffee,
coca flour, coca tea, and a lot of other coca crap.

Coca tea is fantastic. I drink it every day.

The rest of the stuff is crap. For a bag of 15 or 20 pieces of coca
toffee, I could support 30 candy-selling street children for a year, and
be much happier off. Knock-off Peruvian jolly ranchers are far superior
to their narcotic-containing brethren.

Jelly beans aren't as good here as in Guate., though.

And in case you don't know, there is no mind-altering aspect to these
coca products. Coca, when chewed by the indigenous folks, does have a
mild stimulative effect. To be honest, I'd like to try it. Sounds like
a strong cup of coffee, only without the jitters. Might help me get
through Avner Greif faster.

All the locals claim that coca tea is great for altitude sickness, but
they're full of it. Unless you typically take your tea with a teaspoon
of sugar and another teaspoon of ash.

Though I do wish they still made Coca Cola with real coca. Probably
better for you, too.

To get the narcotic effect, you have to consume (usually chew) coca with
a catalyst, which is usually the burnt ash of the Quinoa plant. You can
buy that stuff in the market, in theory, but I've never gone looking for
it. I should check it out some day. If only to know what it looks
like. Though I suspect Mike T. can tell me.

For the record, by the way, I'm also not a big fan of Quinoa. Except
for the puffed Quinoa cereal I eat every day. That stuff is awesome.
I'm bringing 150 lbs. back with me when I come home for Xmas.