Yesterday I took the Spanish placement exam and am not too optimistic about passing out of Intermediate.  Alas.  But UCLA loves me, so it's okay.

I started decorating my bedroom today.  I have so much wall space all to myself and I really want to make it cute, but my old posters are a little ratty and I'm too cheap to buy new ones.  We'll see how it comes out.  I also ordered a class ring so that I'll never forget I went to Yale.  This whole 2007 thing scares me.  Everywhere I go, there are flocks of freshmen, and they're all my brother's age.  They look it, too.  I feel old.  

 Having my own room is truly, truly beautiful.  I feel so peaceful when I'm there.  

 Labor Day is the worst-timed holiday ever.

 I wish I felt like writing.  Tomorrow is registration, and we might have a fondue party.  Mmm...

I might go to some College Dems meetings this fall.  I don't want to take too much time away from my work, but this is an election year after all.  And there are actually signs of hope. 

Posted by Trailhobbit at 3:48 PM EDT

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I'm back at Yale, practically moved in, and glad to have a room of my own.  I also won my UCLA interview.  For real.  That means I probably only have 3 more coast-to-coast commutes to go in my career as a student. *knock on wood*

D'PORT '07!! 

Posted by Trailhobbit at 12:50 AM EDT

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The dynamic duo Stewart and Colbert won the Emmys.  Watch the joyness here.

Speaking of funny, Little Miss Sunshine is quite good.  Steve Carell does his Daily Show heritage proud, and the rest of the cast is pretty perfect as well.

I will say it one more time: Janelle kicks ass. 

Posted by Trailhobbit at 8:00 PM EDT

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It might seem strange to tell a story about how I left the small town of Huari before I talk much about how I got there, but the story is fairly representative of how transportation operates there.  

It was my last day in Huari before returning alone to Lima.  I had bought a bus ticket for 4 pm on Sunday, though everyone but me seemed to know we had a party planned for Sunday afternoon.  The director's parents, assorted townies who seemed to know the family, and the Italian crew of a nearby project poured into the house to help cooke the Pachamanca, a traditional meal which means "food cooked in the ground."  This included not only the rabbits and guinea pigs that had been living in the loft above our house, but also chicken, goat, pork, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and beans.  They made a big oven by building a fire beneath hot stones, then threw the potatoes on the rocks and covered them with a layer of plants.  Then came the meat, which was wrapped in paper, and more plants.  Then they shoveled dirt over the whole thing,  made a big mound to seal in all the heat, and let it cook for an hour.  I was extremely sketched out while we were doing this, and was happy when I heard lunch wouldn't be ready until 3:40.  Surely I'd have to be on my way to the bus station by then.  However. Bebel's family insisted I eat before I left, and as soon as the meat was unwrapped they loaded the very first plate for me with choice cuts while everyone else stood in a line and watched me chow down.  Despite my initial unease, the meat ended up being some of the best-tasting I'd had in a long time.  Who knew.

 However, I did have a bus to catch, and by the time I had said my goodbyes to my team I barely had 5 minutes 'til departure time.  I ran, with my 50-lb. backpack and awkward duffel, up the steep path leading to town.  The ensuing burning in my lungs was the closest thing to the aftermath of an 800-meter relay I had experienced in years.  When I did get to the station at 4:02, the bus was still there.  It was still there at 4:18, when I had been sitting in my own sweat, breathing heavily and looking ridiculous, for over 15 minutes.  This is called Peruvian time.

 Eventually the bus left the station.  The first few hours were gorgeous,  moving through cultivated valleys of green and gold, and I kicked myself for leaving my camera with my luggage.  I had plenty of legroom, having chosen a seat in the first row.  Once the sun went down, though, it was time for the en route entertainment, otherwise known as my own personal hell.  There was a tiny TV playing a DVD of what could only be described as music videos, though they were unlike any I hope to be subjected to again.  They consisted of women in pseudo-traditional Andean dress belting out pop ballads with pseudo-traditional melodies and rhythms, and lyrics about beer and being single.  The closest analogy I could think of was our country western music, just in terms of the folksy-cheesy-abrasive combination.  It didn't help that the DVD was 5 hours long or that the volume was piercing.  At first I could tune it out, but eventually it became unbearable.  I was tempted to get up and call for a vote as to who really wanted this music to keep playing, but I didn't want to be that weird gringo girl who was culturally insensitive.  Instead I opted for subtler methods, trying to shatter the screen with my Glare Of Doom™.  Failing in that, I tried to sleep, which proved equally futile. 

Around midnight the torture seemed to have come to an end.  I finally let myself settle in for sleep, and was about to drift off when, after 5 minutes of silence, I heard "MOOOOOOO!" from the direction of the TV.  It turned out the DVD had not ended, but had simply stopped working temporarily and skipped to some later part which included farm animals.  The music resumed for about 5 minutes, then stopped again, and the pattern continued for at least an hour more. 

 Finally, it ended.  I slept fitfully in my seat for the remainder of the 12-hour journey.  I arrived in Lima, groggily grabbed a taxi, and tried to find the project house  where I was planning to spend the next two days.  It turned out to be in a horrible, distant part of town on a street that mysteriously disappears and then reappears, and the poor driver was going berserk until we ran into a woman on the street who knew the family and gave us directions. 

 I was so relieved to find that house.  What I didn't know was that the next day I would end up locked in the house all morning with no e-mail, food, or escape of any kind.  But that is another story altogether.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 11:59 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, August 26, 2006 11:19 AM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

I went to lunch in Newport with my mom and grandma today and we saw grandma's puppy, which has gotten enormous and is amazingly obedient. I went to Starbucks for the first time in almost two months (this is a big deal for me, folks), and I bought some makeup at Nieman Marcus (aka Needless Markup), which was about the only thing in the whole store I could afford.  I really enjoyed strutting around like the child of privilege that I am and realizing there's nothing wrong with it at all.  Spending time in Peru has made me really appreciate and enjoy how lucky I am to have everything I have, the least of which is toilet seat covers.  I can't wait to move into Davenport. 

 My family is watching Big Brother: All Stars.  At first I refused to participate, but I got hooked in somehow.  All I can say is that Janelle is awesome.  You've got to love a princess-type who will kick a man's ass if need be.  Also, Project Runway - but why is this season just not as good as last season?  Is it the lack of Santino's insanity?  Maybe I just need to watch more episodes.  And  (geeky dance!) Bleach is coming to Adult Swim in September!  Now I just have to (a) hope the  English dubbing doesn't kill the show (*cough* CartoonNetwork Naruto *cough*) and (b) somehow be in my room at 12:30 am on Saturdays.  Somewhat unlikely.

 Physically, I have regained a lot of strength in the past two days.  Maybe tomorrow I'll tell another story from Peru; it really was quite an adventure.  In fact, I have one in mind...

Posted by Trailhobbit at 7:57 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, August 26, 2006 11:20 AM EDT

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This is an actual screencap from an Irish news channel.

I believe the intended point was that Bush called Hurricane Katrina one of the worst disasters to hit the U.S.  Ah, the importance of context.  I like it better this way.

By the way, I think my comment system is working again. 

Posted by Trailhobbit at 12:05 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, August 24, 2006 12:08 PM EDT

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My Peru pictures are online here .

Yes, I have been neglecting this blog.  I'm supposed to be leading a FOOT trip right now, but sadly my illness thwarted said plan.  I'm still hovering around 90% of my full strength.  I went for a walk today, which felt nice.  I hope I am back to running before my summer ends.

So with my newly acquired free time, I've been resting, planning the occasional social activity, reading a variety of random things, chatting, planning my year, watching Tivo, and eating wonderful food.  I've been trying to avoid too much news and politics, as it only makes me depressed, but it seems like Americans are slowly waking up to the the great fraudulent stupidity of the war and the administration behind it. 

My nails are infected again.   Ew.  I must paint them. Additionally, my index fingers got so badly sunburned that they're going to scar.  It's been three weeks, and they're still peeling.  Alas, archaeology is not the profession for those who want beautiful hands.  Mine have aged ten years.

I'm flying back to Yale September 2.  I'm pretty excited about senior year, which will include living in D'port for the first time, writing my senior essay, and applying to grad school.  Wow.  My brother went up to Pomona for the first time on Sunday.  That just makes me feel old.  In addition to my project, I'm taking Advanced Conversational Spanish, Archaeologies of Empire, and one of two Native American History classes.  The fact that it's my last year hasn't really hit me; perhaps I should take a closer look at those grad school apps. I have firmly decided that I would infinitely prefer to stay on the West Coast, even if it meant turning down the likes of Harvard.  I love the sun. 

 I also love the new layout of Tripod.  You can actually cross out text just like on LiveJournal.  You can even type in fancy colors like this!!

You can insert Greek letters and use sub/superscripts to make expressive faces!  

^∂_Δ^{∂       θ}_σ^Θ      ζ¤_{_}¤ζ      ^λ _Ü ^{λ      ρ}_∩^{ρ      φ}_•^φ

 Isn't summer wonderful?

Posted by Trailhobbit at 6:02 PM EDT

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I am, unfortunately, quite ill.  Fucking bacteria, what did I ever do to you?
Bacteria: You ate us.
Me: Oh yeah.
Bacteria: How would you feel if somebody ate you?
Me: I’d probably want to take revenge on them.
Bacteria: Then we have an understanding.
Me: Yeah well…*Magic CIPRO Blast*
Bacteria: Aaaghhh noooooo!!!

But anyway.  There is quite a lot to report about my little adventure south of the Equator, and I can’t possible recount it all here.  So I'll do it in segments.

Here is story number one.  The day we made the three-hour hike up to the site, we loaded up six donkeys to carry the inordinate amount of equipment the director insisted on bringing.  One of the donkeys took ten steps and promptly died.

 And so began the project. Good times!

Posted by Trailhobbit at 4:41 PM EDT

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