Robberies, Birthdays, Abcesses and Still Standing

I was going to start this post with "What a friggin' week," but decided that I think that waaaay too often and just need to accept that the roller coaster that is my life is par for the course when you live here in Cusco. I'm not quick to accept this, as I've been blogging for almost an entire year now and, when I look back and read some earlier posts, I wonder if my life here will ever just be normal.

Yes, I've been here for almost a year. June 21st will mark the anniversary and well, if you've been reading along, you'll know that a lot has changed. I came here with the plan to teach English as a backup if I couldn't set up a massage practice. The latter turned out to be easier than I thought, so teaching got ruled out the first week I was here. I separated and later divorced my wonderful husband, freeing us both in a way that has allowed us to enjoy our lives so much more (he was just here for a visit). And I met and am still dating a man who challenges me to think differently about myself every day we are together (this is a good thing for me -- I spent too many years stuck in the same thoughts). We traveled all through Peru together -- all the way into Ecuador -- then moved into our own house and opened a restaurant. I feel like I've lived 5 lifetimes since last June and I know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We'll see what the next year brings!

And now back to the week from hell that we gratefully survived. To start things off, the restaurant got robbed. It was early last Saturday morning -- they broke all of our locks (there were 3) and stole our microwave, blender and tank of gas. They didn't seem to be very smart thieves, as they left a lot of alcohol and a stereo behind, but the sheer violation of the act was enough to put me on guard (and pretty much suspect everyone who walked into the restaurant that day). Thankfully, Amy was working with me and made sure our patrons were well taken care of, as I wasn't in the mood to talk. We replaced everything that was stolen within a couple of hours and opened in time for lunch that day, but by the time we closed that night, I was thankful that we were closed the following two days.

And the following day (Sunday), Hum left for Sicuani to vote. It's mandatory in Peru to vote (or you get fined), but I asked him to try to return that night, if possible. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible (all the cars back to Cusco were full) and he went to play soccer instead. And he was sick.

I don't understand men and soccer here. They will pretty much drag themselves off their deathbeds to play soccer if they receive an invitation to play. Hum knew he was sick and he went to play anyway. And then he got sicker. And an abscessed tooth. He went back to the hospital twice before finally making it back to Cusco, where I had been unable to sleep for those few nights, thinking every little sound outside was a robber. And then you add in 12-hour days at the restaurant while he was too sick to move and you can bet that my nerves were shot. I was a frazzled, sleepless mess.

And in the middle of all this I had a birthday. Hum -- with his swollen face and all -- got up at 7am on my birthday, went down to Mercado San Pedro and brought me back 3 beautiful red roses. We slept some more, and I went down to the restaurant to prep for lunch, where a bunch of my friends stopped by with instruments, chocolate, flowers and a "mamacha" hat (basically a white top hat with a purple silk ribbon) and sang "Happy Birthday" as loud as possible. It was super sweet and completely unexpected.

I closed after lunch, got a massage from an excellent therapist (those are almost impossible to find here) and then got kicked out of my house as Hum and his sister, Yen, were cooking up something in the kitchen. After about an hour of killing time at a local restaurant, Hum came to meet me and escort me back to the house where a gaggle of people were waiting to surprise me. Hum had cooked up a storm and we had a beautiful night of good food and even better company.

And then Hum's abscess got worse. He went to the doctor the next day where, to reduce the swelling and infection, the doc drained the puss and blood from the inside of his cheek. An injection and a full bag of antibiotics later, he was laid up for the next couple of days while I took care of the restaurant and started losing my mind again due to all work and no play.

Thankfully, our friends/assistants in the restaurant took notice and kicked us out of the place on Saturday night and made us go on a date. It was long overdue and we were both grateful for the opportunity to get away -- even if just for a couple of hours. We came back in time to close up and scurried home to crash into bed and remember that while the week was complete shit, we still had each other.

We spent Sunday at the pool and spa in Pisac with friends and I took a full load of clients on Monday while Hum shopped for the restaurant. We opened again on Tuesday with a fresh outlook -- the week before a distant memory.