How Do You Know You're in a Foreign Country?

1.       People walk up to you and start talking in another language and totally miss the blank expression on your face.  An old woman was seated next to me on the flight to San Salvador, and she talked to me a few times without any awareness I wasn’t getting one word.  I helped her into her seatbelt since she didn’t seem to know what to do with it and then ended up moving back a row since it was empty and Matthew and I could sit with a space in between us.  We had several people talk to us in Spanish as if we speak it fluently, and didn’t get that we were lost in language difficulties.  But by the time we’d gotten to Peru and were getting our bags, and a woman came over to me and asked a question, I knew enough to answer her question still without knowing one word of Spanish.  Watch body language…
2.       Forgetting to read the signs.  This was is in our hotel bathroom and says not to flush any paper down the toilet.  Ooops…well, it was only once.  Now that’s when you really know you’re not in the US.
3.       Your shower is totally unique but not in a good way.   It comes out nice and strong, but the hole in the center  right above where it should rotate makes a steady long stream to the opposite wall and the spray flies right over the top of the shower/tub doors and gets the towels damp and the floor wet.  Fun…..especially if you’re taking the second shower and have to ‘dry off’ with a damp towel.
4.       Buildings in bright colors like orange, gold, and lime green.  And for some reason, they look really good.

5.       Did I mention not flushing paper?
6.       Typing on this small keyboard and hitting wrong keys with every sentence.
7.       Visiting a museum of archaeological finds—and they’re not California Indians—and seeing the erotic art display.

8.  Eating new foods--shouldn't have added this so close to that picture...

A traditional Peruvian dish which I can't spell let alone pronounce...chicken, yellow potatoes, avocado, peas...delicious!  it's an appetizer.

I had chicken noodle soup...very good.

Last course was two desserts that were foreign to us.  The one with the chocolate swirl is a mousse made from a fruit which I'll have to get the name of from the memory guy and the other...well, they were both rich and very good.  The stuff on top was sort of marshmallow consistency, but not it. 
9.  And the last way, at least so far, to know you're in a foreign country is when the computer refuses to upload the pictures onto your blog.  Frustrating.  Oh, and the wi-fi in the room won't work so I'm sitting in the hotel's dining room while Matthew is probably napping upstairs.  Well, at least we've improved from the days he'd grudgingly leave me in an Internet place for an hour and find something to do in the area. 
Tomorrow we meet the rest of the tour group.  We're scheduled to be picked up at 6 am.  Yesterday we had a 4:30 am pick up at the motel in Millbrae.  No coffee and just enough time to put on some clothes and fluff my hair! 
All for now....more later.  hopefully with more pictures (I have another erotic one, but thought better of posting it).  Maybe that's why my computer is rebelling.  Well the waiters are starting to circle, so better get back to my room......


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