It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday [YQrtw Day 94 Jul 12]

Location: Arequipa, Peru

[The headline is a from Rebecca Black’s Friday. ]

It’s hard to appreciate the weekend when I’m not working. But taking classes reminded me WEEKENDS, although my weekends will be filled with memorizing the different past tenses.

This morning, I took a combi to school. My host mom told me to take the bus heading to BOLIVAR SUCRE. I got on one with not as much people.

The ride to school was about 20 minutes faster than what it would take for me to walk. I should have started taking the bus earlier. Dang.

School time flew by. The classes at EDEAQ are one-on-one, which I realize are more efficient than small group classes. If you are thinking about learning Spanish for a cheaper price in South America, do consider coming to Arequipa.

After class, I headed to a posh restaurant which Foursquare kept insisting I go. Chicha is a posh restaurant with a slight sticker shock, although it’s still cheaper than restaurants in the same level as in Singapore.

The bill came up to be about S$35 but it did include really fresh sae urchin and a beautiful queso helado (or “cheese ice cream”).

I took another combi back to my neighborhood. This time, I sat in the back so I could take a photo of the back of the head of the passengers.

Being on the bus meant that I couldn’t see the alpacas up close. I did see them from my seat. They have been moved to another section of the park to graze.

I went to the cinema again to see if the Superman movie was really taken off screening. It was. I had a choice of World War Z or Despicable Me 2. I chose to walk away.

After a nap back in the house (or should I say, some websurfing on my phone on the bed), I head out to the Japanese food and ceviche bar recommended on Tripadvisor.

Unfortunately, my “three plate” dish was served in tall cocktail glasses. It was too posh for me, although it was yummy.

Mother knows best

I called mom on LINE in the evening. She asked if I had been making any friends. I told her I haven’t because I don’t mind being alone.

“Then why bother travelling if you’re not meeting anyone?” she asked.

“Mom, I’m travelling for my own sake. It’s not about making friends,” I said.

When dad took over the phone, he said  that I should head back home if I’m not making any new friends. (I’ve come to think that he means that travelling along is not good. I’ve been on the road alone for 3 months, isn’t that proof that all is well?)

It’s a wonder how people who raised me does not understand why I do not go around becoming buddies with everyone. It’s not that I’m a bitch who’s “not here to make friends“, but I really like “Me Time”. If I happen to chat with people and enjoy their company, then it’s good.

Skincare bought in Arequipa

At this stage of travelling, I’ve either almost used up my skincare creams or lost some while packing. In Arequipa, I realized that my skin has turned from oil-combination to slightly dry so I needed new skincare products anyway.

Unfortunately, skin care products in Peru is not that cheap. These two tiny pots of Pond’s cost about S$8 with the anti-aging being slightly more expensive.

I have been using the Garnier BB cream I bought in Greece. The cream is tinted and is supposed to give me a golden tanned look. Unfortunately, I have an orange face instead which clashes badly with the white sunblock I have for the rest of the body.

Another bad thing about the tinted BB cream is that my makeup remover wipes cannot really get them off. I usually end up sleeping in Orange Face and slather on another layer the next morning.

I didn’t want to end up looking like a Oompa-Loompa so I bought two cleansing products. Both cost about S$8 each.