The Cajamarca war zone

Today, I was hit in the face with a water balloon by a Peruvian child - the time of carnavales in Cajamarca is officially in full swing. Although the main week of carnaval isn't until the beginning of February, basically anything after New Years is fair game for the shenanigans to begin. To make the situation worse, this time of carnaval coincides exactly with when kids are on vacation from school - a.k.a. there are hordes of children running wild around the city with nothing else to do but "jugar carnavales" at the expense of innocent passersby.

As exemplified by my experience today, it is now totally socially acceptable for Peruvian youth to throw water balloons or aim squirt guns at any target they choose - all the better if that person is unawares, dressed for work, unarmed for retaliation, and/or holding ruinable electronic equipment. Walking down the city streets has become a dangerous business: you hug the buildings' walls, eyes constantly scanning the rooftops and balconies for the niños who might be lurking there waiting to pounce. It's like being in a war zone: only the tough survive, so I have to act accordingly. Today I threatened two suspicious looking eight year-olds (water balloons in hand) with physical violence if they got me wet. When some little boys asked me the time, I refused to tell them (despite the watch sitting visibly on my wrist), because I feared that the second I took my eyes off them they'd whip out some squirt guns and I'd be done for. On the curb about to cross the street, I turned and hid behind a tree when I saw a pickup truck full of squirt gun wielders round the corner.

It's chaos out here! Hopefully I make it to February, because the culminating Saturday of carnaval is paint day, where the craziness level (and the fun level) amps up to where the squirt guns and balloons get filled with paint, instead of water. Awesome.