Ending with a dream

Another jam-packed week with Spanish class, the gym, two field trips to the theater and ending with our monthly Saturday PDA Debates (Peruvian Debate Association). The advanced motion was: This House Believes That religious tolerance is a beautiful dream. Go forth and debate if you so choose.

Saturday afternoon, it was back to school for the annual arts festival. It was an incredible amount of work with amazing presentations. In fact, the entire courtyard was converted into an art gallery (see photo to the right).

All of the artwork was for the students taking Art for the International Baccalaureate and I was stunned to learn that an IB representative goes to each and every school to grade the artwork. That's 2,410 schools in 131 countries!!

While a lot of the art wasn't my cup of tea, there were some excellent pieces.

Two of my favorites were the pieces to the right. The Incan smashing the Spaniard, who is holding a shield with the coca-cola symbol, with the national soda Inca Cola. Very well put. The other I just...well, I just liked it.

My third favorite piece was centered around the October 2007 attack an Ecuadorean girl received while riding the Metro in Barcelona. It included an image of the European map, a map floating on metal sticks, the Spanish and Ecuadorean flag, and a laptop playing the metro videocamera footage (at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJLUTNC5KUY). Powerful stuff.

We left halfway through (skipping most of the dance and music performances, I must admit) and went to eat...drum roll...Indian food! Arturo discovered an Indian restaurant which is, as far as we're aware, the only one in Lima. The food was pretty good and the owner/chef is really from Indian (he came out and met us). We will definitely go back there again!

After dinner, we decided to go for some 'cosmic' bowling with black lights and glow-in-the-dark balls and lanes. Arturo and I lost, but we managed to have some fun. Anna and I enjoyed the Abba en español music played and we all enjoyed Rick's extreme follow-through of staying on his knees, often clasping his hands together in almost a praying pose.

On Sunday, for the second weekend in a row, Arturo came up with a brilliant idea. We drove 45 minutes to Chacaclayo and began the dream of living there. It's outside of the city of Lima, the weather is beautiful, the neighborhood peaceful, friendly, safe and just overall lovely.

The best part was that the husband of one of real estate agents is the manager at one of the local clubs and he invited us to enjoy the club for lunch. We went and I have revised my idea of not joining a club in Peru.

"Clubs" are much more a part of life here than I am used to. It provides a safe, tranquil environment where people can enjoy life. Actually, it reminded me of a mini-Central Park...but with camping!

So, we had a lovely lunch, saw the pool, football field, tennis court and camping area...

Of course, it's all a dream, and it is a bit far...but what a great dream to end out weekend with!

Back at work...and the beach!

After one day back at work, my vacation felt like ages ago, but that's always how it goes. However, a couple of good things did happen during the week.

First, I found out that I have the Deputy Head of English position for next year. This means I no longer have Interim status and will be paid a slightly higher salary ($1,000 more per year...after taxes that's about $600 divided into 12 months).



Second, I changed to Spanish lessons one day per week and feel WAY more relaxed as a result.

Third, I drove the entire week to school and now feel really comfortable driving in Lima (seriously, the traffic in NYC is NOTHING compared to Lima).

I even did a very "Peruvian move" which I still do not understand. If you need to switch lanes and no one will let you enter, you just roll down your window and stick your hand out - and the cars let you in! I've seen this work, but felt quite local doing it myself.

Finally (and definitely the most fun), we went to the beach on Saturday. I had to judge debates on Saturday morning, but got back to Miraflores for lunch. After lunch, Arturo had the brilliant idea to go to the beach. We threw a bunch of stuff into the car, drove 40 minutes and were there!

We set up our tent, ate some fruit salad and chocolate pudding, drank some wine, and laid down to watch some fishermen and the sunset. Let me tell you, it was incredibly relaxing. Then, we found out we lost our headlamp so we quickly packed up everything and went back to Lima. We were only gone about 4 hours, but it felt like days.

Then, we grabbed some Mexican food and stopped by Arturo's friend's house for a visit. We ended up staying and talking with Javier and Tamara until 1:00 a.m.

All in all, a perfect Saturday.

Now, it's laundry and grading...followed by a walk along the seacoast to Barranco to go grocery shopping at our favorite store.

Ahh...lovely weekend...

Last Weekend of Vacation

After my week of doing-absolutely-nothing, it ended with good food and more doing of nothing.


On Friday, I realized that I needed to do some of my schoolwork. Yuck! But, I spent most of the afternoon grading and then was ready to relax. So, that night, Arturo came over with his cousin, Max who was in Lima for the weekend for work. He made an amazing salad for dinner, complete with poached chicken, cheese, bacon and a homemade creamy vinagrette. Yummy! Then, he and Max went out while I went to sleep.


Saturday, we went to Hugo's house for a barbecue and to watch the Peru-Bolivia football game. We arrived with our red and white clothes to be patriotic...but they still lost.

It was no matter - we had a wonderful afternoon filled with delicious food, friends and conversation.

On Sunday, I did the rest of of my schoolwork while Arturo went to the hostel (he's got some big group of 30 people). Then, we cooked Aji de Gallina. OK, Arturo cooked it, but I helped pull the chicken!










Anyway, it was delicious, but a bit different. We used wheat bread instead of white bread, and a certain type of aji that we think we should have skipped.

So, in the end, it has a slightly different flavor and was pretty spicy, but I liked it - and now we know what to do for next time. And, oh how I hope there is a next time soon. It is seriously one of my favorite Peruvian dishes.

Now, it's time to pack my lunch and try to go to sleep early. Tomorrow it's back at school...and I'm going to drive the car!

Around Lima

LA COMIDA PERUANA









I love eating Peruvian food and, a couple of months ago, I decided it was time to learn how to make some of my favorite dishes. So, I bought a Spanish-English cookbook and...did nothing.

Finally, last week that changed. Arturo and I made causa, one of my favorite cold dishes which I call a mashed potato sandwhich.



If you're interested, click on the link below which includes a little description and a recipe. Just remember, you can 'fill it' with whatever you want...we used chicken, avocado and tomato. http://www.theperuguide.com/gastronomy/peruvian_cuisine_recipes/causa.html




THE ELECTION


I haven't been obsessively following the presidential election, but I have been following along to all the changes and major debates.



So, last week we went over to Anna and Rick's to watch the vice-presidential debates (plus have the opportunity to sample Anna's delicious lasagna and brownie sundaes).




CIRCUITO MÁGICO DEL AGUA
When Brenda and John were visiting in August, we went to the 'magic fountains' and loved the experience. Ever since then, we've been saying that we should bring his parents to see the fountains. This past weekend, we finally got around to doing this.

Needless to say, they were as impressed as we were. They, too, loved the different fountains, the lights, the classical music playing in the background and the overall feeling of peaceful enjoyment that the park and water fountains have. Next visit will be in December when Arturo's brother and family are here visiting from the States.

Of course, as always when we visit Arturo's parents, we stopped by their new apartment. Well, their new apartment building. Come December (hopefully), their brand-new apartment will be ready and they will be out of the rental they are now in. The taxi is blocking it, but there is a beautiful park right across from the building...

A VISIT FROM HOME
All my life, no one has ever heard of Mayfield, NY...and what an unexpected surprise when three people from there came to visit!



Adam Hannis, who graduated in the same year as my brother, called from Huaraz in the Andes to say he is coming to Lima. He stayed at Arturo's hostel and we went out to lunch together while he was here. We tried to go to the first International Food Festival of Lima, but the line was insanely long...and one guard told us there were no more tickets. So, we went to our favorite local seafood restaurant Punto Azul and probably had way more food which was just as great. The next day, Adam took off to continue exploring Peru...

...and a week later, his mom and brother arrived. They, too, stayed at Arturo's hostel and I met up with them a few days ago. We walked along the coastline, enjoying the Parque del Amor and the park where the paragliders are. In a moment, without hestitation, Debbie decided to take advantage of the chance to go paragliding above the ocean and a city of 9 million people (all for a discounted price of $35). She loved it and also loved the next place we went: Larcomar, my favorite shopping mall built into the seacliff.

SHEER LAZINESS
Today is my half-way point through my vacation of relaxation. I've got a week's holiday between school terms and we decided to stay in Lima. Arturo has a group of 25 people arriving today from Ecuador, I have a lot of school work to catch up on, and we are planning our next big trip to NY in January and are trying to save money. So far, I have done nothing and am loving it! Ahh....

A busy, but excellent weekend

A busy, but excellent weekend last week:

SATURDAY
The weekend started with our monthly PDA (Peruvian Debate Association) Debates. We had two intermediate teams and one advanced team competing.

The motions were as follows:
Intermediate Motion - This House Believes That OJ Simpson was Guilty
Advanced Motion - This House Favors Genetic Engineering

The results? We won 2 out of 3 debates. I was thrilled! (and bear in mind about half of the intermediate teams had either never debated or only debated once before).

Next? October 15th two of my debaters will be trying out for the national team for the World Debates in Greece in 2009!


SUNDAY
We ran a 5K race to support the national Down Syndrome organization. We paid 30 soles (about US$10), got a cool t-shirt, ran the 5K and got free goodies after (gatorade, waterbottle, etc.).


After the race, we - Anna, Rick, Arturo and I - went to this special ceviche stand that Arturo has been talking about for a year. It's a tiny place with a counter where you can stand and eat. We arrived at 11:00 a.m. and by the time we left, there was already a line forming. I must admit, it was pretty amazing ceviche.

Additionally...

This entry is just to add some photos and videos previously not included.


VIDEOS
During Arturo's climbing trip, he filmed two short videos about the massive changes in Peru's glaciers. The only difference between the films is that one is in Spanish and one is in English.

In English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTjtOkWswlI

En Español

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2pzLEGWy78

PHOTOS

I mentioned in a previous blog that Arturo's friend from school, Chote or Rodolfo - whatever you choose to call him, came to visit Peru with his wife and step-daughter. I posted the blog before they emailed the photos. So, here are a few more photos from their trip here to Peru...