massive civil matrimony, of course.

The sole purpose of this post is to share with you guys some of my favorite "quirks" so far about Peru.

While in Ica over the weekend, I asked a Peruvian guy what the GIANT GIANT banner that said "MASIVO CIVIL MATRIMONIO" meant. He said (translated) "massive civil matrimony of course. its where a bunch of couples get married at the same time because it is cheaper." ... umm... like it was totally normal and standard. He looked at me really puzzled, because it should make perfect sense to me, of course...

also, i am working on a photo album of "lost in translation" photos. meaning, poorly translated in to english (whether it's t-shirts, menus, knock off clothing, etc). a la engrish.com.

oh, heres one of my favorites.
a knock off billabong shirt on this guy, that said "BILLBOARD"...haha...billboard

my favorite is also there are people here and there standing by themselves selling something completely random. and its usually just one thing that they sell.

cases in point:
scruffy, creepy man that stands outside of the blue door open air market with a stack of individually folded women's underwear that he tries to sell you. in case, you know, you are walking down the street, and realize you need a pair of underwear.

also, the colectivo taxis, not for weaklings for sure. they are dirt cheap but they pack you in like sardines. but the good ones will have techno peruvian flute music, and full on discoteca lighting, red and blue flashing lights, both on the interior AND exterior of the car.

what, else... what, else...

omg. you will love this one.
mamachas (the older women who dress in fully authentic andean woman attire -- top hat, full skirt, long long braids down their back) will tie their hair in to two braids that run down their backs. but heres the kicker-- they like to make sure the braids stay close together, so they take a lock of hair from one of the braids, and start weaving it into the other braid, so that the braids stay like six inches apart. the result is this sort of horse-bridle looking thing, like a letter H. it is hilarious. we call them mamacha bridles.

thats all for now. i'll be sure to post stuff like this every once in a while, as i always find these quirky things hilarious :)

suz