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Hannah and Andrea are doing their best to learn Peruvian Spanish as quickly as possible. Much of Peruvian speech is pure slang (pura jerga). The following dictionary is meant as a very rough guide to what you might want to know while in the mountains in Peru. It came from the people in the mountains, many of whom told us NOT to use these words (though they use them all the time).

Alucinante: cool.

A mí qué chu / A tí qué chu: short for A mi que chucha, which is roughly translated as I don't give a damn, why do you care, why would I care.

Apu: a mountain (considered holy and saluted before every alcoholic drink).

Arrechar, arrochada: very strong words for someone who wants to go to bed with anyone, anywhere, immediately.

Atrevida, atraverse: to be very daring.

Bacan: cool.

Beto: short for: ve tú a saber donde está which means You go and see where it is (kind of like: who knows where it is).

Brownie cargado: brownie with pot.

el Burro: burro means donkey but can also mean a slow car. "Me he subido a un burro," means, "I got in a car that was slow, heavy and smelled bad."

Cachosa: sarcastic.

Cagar fuera del water: shit outside the toilet, meaning someone who just doesn't get it.

Cantinflas: the Mexican Chaplin. A very famous character who wore clothes that didn't fit, spoke spanish that no one could understand (because he talks a lot but says nothing) and walks funny. This came up because of Jon's sun protective hat.

Chato: short person (Hey shorty).

Chaquetal: short for Pucha Que Tal, kind of like, "Dude, how the heck are ya?"

Chela: another word for cerveza (beer).

Chesu: Dammit. Comes from vete a la concha de tu madre.

Choclochuccha: Quechua for 'corn hair'.

Chevere: cool.

Chora: like Ladrona or Pericota, which mean (female) thief.

Chibolo: someone young and without much experience, usually used in a demeaning sort of way, and usually in reference to Joshua.

Come y calla: Eat it and shut up. While staying at the Lauras' house in Lima Andrea asked questions about everything. One day at lunch she asked Laura Sr. what this lovely dish was called...

Culo: ass. Un culo de gente means A lot of people (because the people have large asses). The equivalent of 'assload'.

Darse cuenta: to realize.

Habla barrio: it's like a password: I speak neighborhood. Don't mess with me.

Hard core: We're trying to teach this to people here, because they are.

Hay que tincarla: You must have a housewarming.

Hazme la taba: walk me (tabas are shoes).

Huevos: eggs, but also means testicles (which makes for a lot of funny inuendos). Once in the middle of a waterfight Andrea was told to throw water on Richard (who is the Boss of Cusichaca). She tried to gather the nerve to do it, but instead said, "No tengo huevos!" which made Richard probably more surprised than if she'd thrown the water on him.

Huachafa: corny, cheesy, someone who doesn't dress well, a social climber.

Jalada: can be used in two senses that we have noted thus far: me das una jalada is Can you give me a ride? Una jalada de coca is a sniff of cocaine. Peru is the second largest producer of cocaine in the world, but don't worry, we've seen nothing but jokes about it. Jalar is to ride, or to pull, or to fail in class.

Joder / Jodido: the act of pestering or teasing others, or someone who does. Basically someone who is a pain in the ass. In Spain, however, this means to fuck, so be careful.

Jonhy: short for Yo no sé, which means I don't know.

Kuyaiki: Quechua for Te Quiero (I love you).

Machucha: Grandfather in Quechua. Our nickname for Guillermo. We also call him Waccara, which is Quechua for someone who is cheating on his wife. We also call him Waccara siki, which means an annoying person who cheats on his wife.

Margarito: a tall Peruvian man named Margarito had a beer named after him (signifies an extra large bottle).

Mariconearse: to chicken out.

Mejor / Mujer: Mejor means better, Mujer means woman and Hannah has been known to confuse the two and say, "Oh yes, much woman."

Pe: short for Pues, which means 'well' and which is almost the equivalent of 'like' here in Peru, in that people toss it in any old way in any old sentence. "Vamos al cine, pe." "Ya, pe, vamos."

Piki siki: a pest (like a flea who bites your bum). Piki is flea bite in quechua, siki is bum.

Pitufa / pituca: pitufa is smurf, and pituca is snob. One day Andrea mixed them up and accidentally said, "I'm such a smurf."

Poncho: a cloth worn to protect against the rain and keep warm. When you say ponchito, though, you mean a condom.

Pucha: a soft word for puta, which means prostitute (like darn for damn). Some folks use pucha for every other word (we won't name names).

Pucho: a cigarette butt or roach.

Puta: a whore, a prostitute. "Puta madre me jalaron," means, "Motherfucker they failed me."

Que bestia: que animal (how beastly), que estupido (how stupid), que bacan (how cool). All depends on context and intonation.

Que horror: How awful!

Que vale por cinco: I have a son/wife/husband but it's as bad as if I had five sons/wives/husbands.

Regio: very well put together, well dressed, cute.

Rompe cuna: cradle robber.

Se me caen los calzones: when a guy is really cute or his voice is really sexy you say that your underwear have fallen off.

Se muere de la risa: Died laughing.

Tampa uma: Quechua for someone who hasn't brushed their hair (or people with dreadlocks, etc). Messy head.

Te vas de boleto: no dreams. Like when you go to a party and you never sleep and you go to work like a zombie the next day.

Un culo de cosas: a lot of things (a buttload of things). You can also use Un huevo de cosas, which is pretty much the same thing but a little less strong.

Vete a la concha de tu madre: one of the worst insults, this has a legion of contractions such as, "concha tu madre," "chetumadre," "tumay," and "may," among (I'm sure) others. This means, roughly, "Go back to where you came from," (your mother's pussy).

Vomitando su alma en el baño: throwing up your soul in the bathroom.

Yappa: like a baker's dozen—a little more than you paid for. Used in a sentence like this: Me dio una yappa (He/She gave me a baker's dozen).