October 7th/8th, 2018 - Election day, chancay at night, painting in Huaral

  I was so busy yesterday I didn't have any time to update my blog. Yesterday I woke up early with Naomi because she was selected to volunteer at the election booths for the local mayoral elections in Huaral that were held at the same time throughout the country. So I was on my own yesterday, except Naomi's friends from high school accompanied me shopping and walking to the voting booths that morning.
 Voting is mandatory in Peru and if you are a citizen with a DNI and do not vote, you have to pay a fine over 400 soles. I really disagree with this form of voting because I believe no one should be forced to vote for a candidate they might not believe in or they may face a moral dilemma.

 Naomi's friends Milka and Priscilla spent the day with me while Naomi was working the election day. We went to Milka's house later and her parents made tallarines verdes which was very tasty.

 Naomi's eccentric cousin Masahiko came over while I was alone at home and we rocked out to music and later his friends came over and took me to Chancay. There we drove to the beach in an 8 seater "convi" which is like a passenger van. His friend Sergio owns the van and I think it would be the perfect surf van for back in the United States. I entertained the idea to Sergio that he could make money giving tours of northern Lima to surf tourists. Also I suggested maybe he could help me getting to Playa Pasamayo which is about 20 miles from Huaral and has been on top of my list for places to find perfect barreling waves as it isn't far from me and may be less treacherous than surfing La Herradura in Chorillos.

I took this picture after getting abducted by Masahiko's friends. We went to a house in Chancay that his friend was hosting at and drank beer. Later we got back to Huaral late so I couldn't update the blog last night.

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Today I got to sleep in after making a yummy breakfast of pan con pollos and papaya, pineapple, and orange smoothies for Naomi and I. Later her dad called asking if we could help him paint his black rot iron security bars on a window of one of his homes in Huaral. This is in my area of experience as a painter. I cant count how many thousands of feet of rot iron gates and fences and railings I have painted. So I had fun today painting with him and showing him the easiest and quickest way to do this. We used a small roller and brush to fill in the details.

After painting the window bars he treated me out to lunch at one of the best restaurants in Huaral. I got to enjoy one of my favorite Peruvian seafood dishes. I ordered chita frita which is a whole fried chita fish. It is a delicious small striped fish that I would eat everyday if I could.

Naomi ordered suprema which is milanesa de pollo that uses a tenderized chicken thigh instead of the usual chicken breast and is breaded and pan fried.
Naomi's dad ordered tacu tacu and Pati ordered pollo al horno. Her brother Michan ordered his favorite which is chaufa de pollo or chicken fried rice.
For dessert I ordered a strawberry cheesecake and her brother ordered a piece of tres leches cake.

So the internet crashed earlier and so did my motivation to write a lot more. I'll be dreaming of surfing waves next week but for now I'm having an awesome time with Naomi and her family. They really make me feel at ease and I have been to Huaral so times now it feels like my second home. Also, my conversational Spanish has been improving very quickly and I can keep conversations going and make smartass jokes.

Later Masahiko came over and we were listening to VH1 I love the 80s music videos. Here's a song I'm going to end this one on.