We were in Cuzco this past weekend visiting friends and running errands which took us to an area called Wanchaq. This part of town bleeds into the burbs and is home to the big university and one of the main hospitals. The streets are wider and it feels like you've entered the middle class. On weekends, this feeling is especially heightened when an open air market rolls out in the main plaza of the area and one can shop for all the trappings of Peruvian middle class domesticity: potted plants, live pets, artisanal natural foods, rustic pottery, wooden knick-knacks, lace doilies, ugly lamps. Families hang out together, load their stuff into private cars, no one wears traditional dress.
I decided to take their example and really live it up so I paid a lady named Emperatriz to handpaint my fingernails. There were four different booths offering this service, all with lines. It took quite a long time since there were so many people but the ladies took a shine to me despite my short and dirty fingernails. They even filed them for me, and all for 6 soles ($2).
Prior to discovering the open-air manicure contingent, I partook in one of my favorite Peruvian customs: buying random used sweaters from America that have somehow made their way to Peru and are now being sold in a big pile on a tarp on the sidewalk. It's a good stand-in for my North American habit of thrifting and garage sale-ing. Check it out:
Yeahhhhh, cardigan. Here's a classy self-portrait in my new office where I am an Administradora for an small architecture business.
Love the nails!
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