Las cosas que he aprendido

Well, I've been in Peru for almost 9 months now. (Long enough to make a baby, and speaking of, um hmmm, people back home: Please stop making babies until I come home in August 2011. We ain't in Hollywood and I want to join in on the coo'ing and ahh'ing as well.)

Anyways, I thought I'd do a post on things that I've learned so far that's certainly made my life much easier:

1. How to make dumbbells (so that you can have Jennifer Aniston arms for when you go back to the states): Find a water/soda bottle that best fit your hands and in the size that you want. Then you can fill it up with cement (and water, if you want more weight). These plastic bottles are really handy. They can also be used to heat water and, if you're quite creative, make a soap dispenser with it.

2. On washing clothes by hand: Soak overnight before even attempting to do any type of washing. But beware of detergents that eat away at your clothes or make the colors bleed.

3. On cooking with the microwave: Virtually anything can be microwaved. I made Scottish pudding yesterday with the microwave. If the cake comes out dense, you can make a poke cake out of it with simple icing or custard.

4. On cooking over a fire: Similary, almost anything can be done over a fire. For instance, you can use the an orange shell, halved and hallowed, as a muffin cooker wrapped in alumninum foil. It also gives it the muffin a nice orange aroma afterwards. You can also make baked apples and banana boats this way as well.

5. On bargaining: "No sea malita. Mi yappa, por favorcito..." Say this in a really whiny voice and begging eyes, and you can always get two more avocados out of the deal. Really, it works.

6. Tuck and don't roll: To prepare for bedtime, tuck your shirt into your pants, tuck your pants into your long socks, and then tuck yourself into bed. This helps a little with the bed bugs. Be sure to check for tarantulas beforehand, too.

Ok, I hope this helps. Should you come to Peru, you'll be ready!