flickerfish

i started to write an entry about this place but then i realized that i don’t really know what to say. chinchero is a small village at high altitude in the sacred valley of the incas and, mythologically speaking, the birthplace of the rainbow. in chinchero there are some incan ruins, beautiful rolling terraced hills, a small quaint church, an unfortunately touristy open air market…

the first and only time i went to chinchero was this past spring break, maybe a week ago at most. we arrived at exactly 5:20 PM on a summer afternoon and proceeded to stroll through soccer games and herds of children into the ruins, then around a gorgeous green meadow dotted with small flowers like mustard, a low stone wall, the quiet back end of this small village, far away from the sole touristy square… it was indescribably breathtaking. my friend turned to me as we rounded a cobblestoned corner and whispered that there was something spiritual in the air. there certainly was; i felt touched and hollow from beauty. i had found the place of my death, or maybe even a place for my life. ever since, we have been plotting ways to get back to chinchero and maybe even buy a small house there…

I’m partially Taiwanese (but I know no Taiwanese, and I just started taking Mandarin Chinese at school), so when I was younger we’d visit my relatives a lot. It’s getting harder to now that I’m in high school, and especially with all the shit going on – my grandfather tries to make me get a (fake) Taiwanese passport every time I go, haha! – but being there is just amazing. The people, the culture, the food… amazing.

The thing about being partially Taiwanese is that everyone always asks me what I feel about the Taiwan/China conflict (or the current president – DICKSUCK), and that can go ON and ON and ON.

Anyway, the betel beauties or whatever they call them … they get a LOTTA shit, but you know, betel girls are people just like all of us; it might look sketchy to go up to talk to them but some of the most amazing convos I had were with betel girls. Not that they were very deep convos since I’m still learning Mandarin (and I’m even farther behind in Taiwanese, lol) but definitely fun!

nm to say huh