Angels are crying

Big, big news from Arequipa. It rained. And the first rain I've seen in five and half months wasn't just a little shower, either. It was a steady soaking that lasted about four hours. There's no drainage to speak of here, so the streets flood, and your shoes and ankles get soaked wherever you walk. The stone sidewalks get slippery as well, adding yet another element of danger to the pedestrian lifestyle I live. It's worth it, though, because I love not having to depend on a car to get around. Christmas break started today, and I celebrated by buying an expensive bottle of wine (38 soles, or about $13). It's from Argentina, and the 14-year-old girl who sells me my vino recommended it highly, and she hasn't steered me wrong yet. Of course it doesn't feel like the Christmas seasons I'm accustomed to -- the temperature is about 70 in the day and 50 at night (summer here), and there are minimal decorations around town. Santa isn't really the man in Peru. I like that as well. Actually, it feels more like Thanksgiving, where the focus is on family gatherings and good food. However, most of the folk here love panettone. It's the Peruvian equivalent of U.S. fruitcake, and it's just as gnarly. Give me the anticuchos any day. Which reminds me, I've been going to this anticuchos stand near work, and it's the bomb. Giant pieces of marinated beef heart with ahi' (hot sauce that is tasty as well as hot), and two potatoes. Outstanding at a cost of S/.7 ($2.50 U.S.). You get a good portion as well. The little chicken hearts I've been buying on Puente Grau are a thing of the past. I've also found a place that sells Belgian beer -- Delerium Tremens at S/.20 (about $7) a bottle. That's a good price, but it takes a little classroom time to earn S/.20. The place is called Crepisimo, and it's something of a gringo hangout, but I don't care. It's been a while since I had a quality beer, so I savored that Delerium Tremens. Classes ended on a high note. Students and I celebrated with a secret santa kind of thing, good food and lots of cheer. I'm really going to miss the students here. Heading to Machu Picchu on Monday. Stoked about that. I also want to give a shout-out to Tracy for baking me a birthday cake, to Andrew for doing whatever he did to the cake, to Eleanor for the homemade, snappy ginger snaps, to Tiffany for the chocolate, to my "favorite" students for the awesome tres leches. My neighbor Jon moved on last week, and that's a bummer. He's a great guy. Adios amigo.