Familiar and less familiar things

As for the familiar things, I was very happy to find a Pizza Hut, a BurgerKing, a KFC, McDonalds AND a Starbucks all right here in Arequipa. Also my aunt showed me the hidden places, where you can buy real good chocolate. So if I should get homesick at one point, I sure know where to go now.

But it seems like there are actually more unfamiliar than familiar things here. Just yesterday I learned again, that things just work slightly different here.
In the morning we had to go to a governmental office to pay taxes. The Invention of E-Banking or even just regular bills hasn't gotten all the way to Peru yet. So basically, you have to go to the office and they tell you how much you have to pay (right then and there). The only familiar thing seemed to be the bureaucracy with which these matters were handled. We literally had to run up and down the hall like 6 times, before we could finally pay the taxes. Also I learned, that if you are a gringo, they just put up the tax rate for no reason at all. But hey, whatever, right ;) But they were pretty nice at the end- they even gave us a discount! Imagine, asking the tax office in Switzerland, to please give you a discount on your taxes - haha - that would be to nice to be true!

Also later that day, when I went home from class, two chicos came walking from the opposite side. When they passed, me they yelled something like 'Hola chica'. As for me being completely tired, from the torture in class (no really, it's actually not that bad, but still lots of brain activity)- I decided just to keep a straight face and walk right past them - pretending I didn't hear them. They yelled again a little louder. But I just kept walking.
Maybe it's just me - but I feel like you can only keep a straight face for so long. So once I passed them, I couldn't hold myself. But since it might have been slightly weird, bursting out laughing in the middle of the street, I just did it secretly. Well at least I thought so. I'm sure we've all passed people on the street before, who all the sudden start to grin, even though nothing funny happened and you are pretty sure, that the ground itself can't be the reason for it.
So anyways, I guess that's what I looked like. So I only walked 10m before some random guy started talking to me. He asked me where I was from- and I answered him politely. He then said, that he ooooh so much loved Swiss girls (as probably any other girls) and he wanted to kiss me. Only, he could have been my dad! Haha, so good thing that my little legs can carry me pretty fast ;)

Also today I got ripped off. Yesterday I took my phone to some guy in a tiny shop, to get it unlocked, so I could use it here as well. Well he said, it would cost me 15 soles. Eventually I could have done it myself somehow, but I thought for 15 soles, oh well, he also needs to eat, right?!
So when I returned this morning he was like 'oh, it was soo sooo difficult to do it'. So all the sudden the price now went up to 80 SOLES! Whaaaat??!! But what was I supposed to do? If I wanted my phone -which I did - I had to pay.
We then talked for a little bit and he was really excited about my name - cuz the president's wife is also called Nadine. I then asked him really nicely if he couldn't give me a discount. He wasn't too happy about it - but I think it was the name bonus that at least brought me a discount of 5 soles. It was still a rip off, but at least I got my phone back and I bargained for the first time in my life! But ya, welcome to the life of a gringa! ;)

Ä ganz liebe Gruess a alli wo nid so guet English chöi. I ha vrsuecht e Sprach ds finde, wo di meiste wenigstens chly verstö. Schüsch isch ömu google.translate immer e gueti Hilf!
Ha nech gärn und machets guet!