Archive for August, 2007
Wandering around Peru
I’m not sure if anyone is still habitually checking wanderlust or not, but even though Rhonda’s not with me, I figured that I, at least, would be entertained by my stories about Peru. Additionally, there’s free Wifi and my mom brought her laptop, so we’re living large in Cusco.
I drove to LA on Thursday and flew to Peru on Friday, but due to a series of horrendous connections we didn’t actually get to Cusco until Saturday morning, which means I’ve been exhausted since then. It probably doesn’t help that I got very little sleep when I was back in San Francisco, but I was, you know, busy.
So Peru – this is the first time I’ve been in South America, and my main impression of the country so far is that it’s very high. We’re in Cusco, which is at something like 9,000 feet, and we spent the day today scrambling around on the ruins of cities up above 12,000 feet, clinging stubbornly to the sheer sides of cliffs. It’s pretty remarkable how much of the Andes are or have been under cultivation – pretty much everywhere you look the hillsides are terraced, often in places where I would be scared to walk, much less farm.
Cusco is a fascinating city- it was the capital of the Inka empire (which is a misnomer, because only the rulers of their society were actually called Inkas, but I’m not sure what the people called themselves). Everywhere you can see the residue of the Inka empire – in the meticulously fitted rock walls that have withstood earthquakes that crumbled the structures the Spanish built on top of them – in the ruined temples on hills above the city – in the Quechua street names that have persisted.
I’m reading 1491, which is a book about what the Americas were like before the invasion of European explorers. I have a really hard time keeping myself objective about a lot of this, mostly because it makes me so angry that what I was taught in school about the people who inhabited America before the Europeans got here is so utterly and fantastically wrong. One of the most compelling things I read is about the number of people who actually lived in America when the Europeans showed up. I definitely grew up with the impression that North America was sparsely inhabited by bands of Indians who were mostly nomadic hunter gatherers, and that the Westward expansion of the European settlers was mostly into uninhabited areas.
Which is true, up to a point. Unfortunately, the reason this was true wasn’t because there weren’t any people living in North America but because by the time Europeans established permanent settlements in America, something like 95% of the indigenous population was dead. They mostly died from European diseases that had never built up resistance to, and because the diseases often spread in advance of settlement, the Europeans found mostly ghost towns as they pushed westward.
I’ve been thinking a lot about who writes history, and who history is written about, and I would love to read a history of North and South America from the perspective of the people who are indigenous to those areas.
We’re headed to Machu Picchu tomorrow, which was “discovered” by Hiram Bingham in 1911. This is one of my favorite parts of our contextualization of history, which introduces things into the historical record when Europeans see them for the first time. By all accounts, though, it’s unbelievably beautiful. so I’m looking forward to it. From there we’re going on a two day trek to climb El Misti, which is a 19,000 foot volcano. Wheee.
Slideshows and stories are coming your way
Now that I’m no longer biking like it’s my job, I’ve had quite a few people say to me, “so, back to normal life, eh?”
What’s amazing is that this is my normal life – I leave tomorrow morning for ten days in Peru, and then will be back in the Bay briefly for a slide show and more delirious excitement before I head to New York to start graduate school. It feels exceedingly lucky to be me most of the time these days.
You are invited, and I hope you can come to a slideshow and storytelling adventure wherein I will talk about all the things I learned, thought about, and experienced over the last three months.
The details:
15 weeks on my bicycle. 4600 miles across the country. 19 states. 2 massive dog bites. Wrong turns, dazzling vistas, bears, moose, and midwestern misadventures.
Plus enough stories about sex, politics and culture to tease your brain and challenge all the things you thought you knew about the politics of sexual freedom in America.
Join me, Rhonda and my temporarily rock hard calves for a report back and slide show of my adventures across the US. Find out what they’re thinking in Wyoming, why they can’t get enough of masturbation in Ithaca and why they’re doing things in Madison that will blow your mind.
Wanderlust with Rhonda Storytime and Slideshow
Join us for a fun filled night of adventures, laughter and good conversation!
Friday, August 17th, 2007
6:30 PM Appetizers and refreshments
7:00 PM Slide show and storytime with Nora
@ the Center for Sex and Culture
290 Division Street – Suite 405
cross streets 10th and Brannan – click here for a map!
Please RSVP to wanderlustwithrhonda@gmail.com
Supported by the Center for Sex and Culture, Good Vibrations, and Choice USA
This is a free event, although donations are always gratefully accepted.
