La Gringa In Peru

Did you ever?

2009-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's happened again. I'm behind in keeping up with my blog. Here is a quick update so I can get up-to-date...so I can write about my really exciting week in Honduras! But, that is for another time...First...

As those of you who are faithful readers to this blog know, Arturo loves to make tacos (and they are very delicious).

He has made them for me, for his brother and family, and now...for his friends.

A group of eight of us got together and enjoyed Arturo's tacos, complete with freshly made guacamole and refriend beans with cheese.

The group all agreed: they were delicious.

The only other 'exciting' thing that happened is my school's Kermesse. What's a Kermesse? Well, I knew it was an outdoor fair, but thanks to my grandmother's crossworld knowledge, I can now say that it is a word derived from the Dutch word kermis meaning and outdoor fair or carnival.

However, to use the word 'fair' or 'carnival' just isn't grand enough of a word. I've gone to school carnivals before; they are not like this one. In fact, it's difficult to express into words the size and scope of this fair. The rides, the booths, the vendors...it was over the top.

First there were prizes. A brand new car (0 km!) was given away, along with a cruise and various other major prizes. There was also something called tombola (sp?) in which you paid 5 soles (less than $2) and won 'something.' You got a number which corresponded to a prize. There was bingo for which Playstations and other prizes were given away (the oddest prize was a purebreed dog -- we were all shocked that they gave away a life animal!).

I've included some photos to try and show you how big of an event this was...and how 'sponsored' it was. The huge coca-cola bottle is just the tip of the iceberg. Major brands and stores were throughout the event, including Telefonica (phone company), Papa John's, Bembo's, China Wok, Burger King, Llama Gas, and all of the major banks including BCP (my bank), Interbank (where Arturo works and who put cash machines inside the fair), and Scotia Bank (where Arturo's brother works and who sold all of the tickets).

There were real carival/fair rides, including the swings, ship which swings upside down, paddle boats in the lake and more.

It was officially for the Prom XXII...prom as in Promotion as in the graduating class...but the PTA (more P than T and more Moms than parents) organized the entire event, including posters and radio advertisements.

It's an annual even that, I have been told, seems to get bigger and bigger each year. I can't imagine it getting bigger than this one!

Sampa: me encanta

2009-04-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

My new favorite city is Sampa (or Sao Paolo to those of you who aren't local like me!). We had a wonderful time discovering this great city which made me feel like I was back home in NYC. Obviously, it's Brazil and there are some differences (Portuguese is a big one), but the city is great.

First, there is a METRO. My how I miss the subway now that I'm living in Lima, the city of cars and mas or menos no public transportation. The subway system is wonderful...clean, efficient and cheap (although, I have to say that the bus system is pretty darn good, too). But, hands down my favorite thing is that they have book vending machines on the platform where you wait for the subway! What a great idea!

Of course, there's much more than just a good public transportation system. It's a huge city, full of very tall buildings, and 11,105,249 residents (and the most populous city in the southern hemisphere according to Wikipedia). To see these tall buildings we went to the 41st floor of the Italian Building where there is a very expensive restaurant with a beautiful view...and a lookout point that they let tourists visit for free! Then, there was the beautiful municipal theater (to the right) and the Bovespa (the largest stock market in Latin America), the mercado municipal and some nice park along the way.

There were just so many little things that were fun and interesting. We went to one of the biggest bookstores in Sao Paolo and I managed to spend half an hour (or was it an hour) perusing the small English section.

Telefonica, one of the biggest phone and cable companies in Peru, was all over Sao Paolo (Arturo informed me that it's like that throughout most of Latin America, but I don't care; it felt like a little piece of home to me).

Another little piece of home was Arturo. He was proudly sporting his "PERU" shirt...which for some reason I just found adorable. Here he is, just quietly saying "Peru is here in Brazil."

Another piece of 'home' was that Vila Magdalena, the area we stayed in, was just like Park Slope, Brooklyn! Don't ask me how, but it was. The cafes, restaurants, shops, moms with strollers...all of it! And I have to say, it was nice. We enjoyed some delicious meals and snacks there, of course, soaking up the relaxed atmosphere.

Then there is the Impostometro. This is an ongoing count of how much the people of Sao Paolo have paid to the government in taxes. Many citizens complained that the government wasn't using their tax money in the best ways possible...and now the government is publicizing how much is actually being paid in taxes. This way there is more inter-communication between the government and its citizens. Nice, uh?

One of my other favorites (yes, I have many) was the art museum. It was incredibly well organized with an extensive list of very famous artists, include some of my 'old favorites' Monet, Manet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir and more.

Surprsingly, across the street, on the famous Avenida Paulista was a beautiful park. When I think back, this shouldn't have been a surprise. Sao Paolo is full of parks and green spaces. It's one of the things we both immediately commented on and just one of the things we loved about the city.

Along the way, we also realized how friendly Brazilians are. People would see us with a map and ask if we needed help. On our second day, a nice woman helped us find the metro station near our hostel. We had a nice time chatting with her and, in the end, she gave us her phone number and told us to call. Did she really mean this? We weren't sure, but we gave it a chance. We called and on Saturday night we met up with Carla and her brother and his German wife in the area for drinks. Then, they invited back to their apartment for some food and drinks with the family. Unbelievable! It was a great 'local' night.

One of the things I wanted to do in Brazil was eat sushi (I read they had amazing sushi) and eat at a churrasqueria. We did both. And both were delicious. Although we only have pictures of the churrasqueria, the sushi was delicious. The salmon melted in my mouth...yum...but the churrasqueria was more of an event. The restaurant picked us up in a van, fed us a lot of food, and then drove us home. The van was no extra charge. Great service, right? Plus, eating at the churrasqueria was fun because of the red light-green light system. We had a small standing, revolving "Yes, more" green colored and "No more" red colored circle. It was great to see Arturo stress out because the food kept coming. "Switch it to red!" was repeated over and over.

But, still more impressed us. While there were lots of green areas and parks throughout the city, there was also a "central park" to use NYC's expression because it was called Parque Ibirapuera. This was enormous and filled with people walking, rollerblading, jogging and just sitting on benches or the grass people watching. Oh, and there's also a big lake in the middle. It was lovely.

Immediately outside our hostel, on Saturdays, was a street market. This was market sold a bit of everything, but more fresh fruits and vegetables than anything. And oh how lovely they looked! They were all so neatly and beautifully displayed it was just great to see.

And last, but not least, is futbol or football or soccer depending on where you're from. The Brazilians are indeed obsessed with the sport. So much so, that in one restaurant there was actually a goal in the toilet. Arturo did his best to relieve himself and score!

An update at long last...

2009-04-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yikes! It has been a loooong time. I just never seem to have time to write an update lately. But, I am determined. So, here is a brief summary of the past month...maybe two...

FUN STUFF

Our friends Anna and Rick got engaged! Yeah! After almost two months of travelling, in the glorious scenery and the wineries of Mendoza, it became official. The bad news is that they are waiting to get married until they go back to Australia...and that is one long (and expensive) flights. But, until then, Anna and I can continue to talk about wedding stuff - in addition to just about everything else - during our long taxi rides to and from school each day.

Arturo went to Graceland. No...not the Graceland in Memphis, but the week-long, very, very (did I say very) intense initiation to Interbank, where he's now working. It began on a Friday night and went for an entire week. The best part which sort of did make up for the week he was essentially away? He had to act in a play that he and the other 30-some-odd group members created. This was a take off on the recent film "Bedtime Stories." I was able to see Arturo as a rich business owner, a Roman King, and a futuristic king of aliens. Oh, and since it was also a musical, I was able to see him sing and dance...oh the fun of it all!

We also managed to go rock climbing...with a twist! Arturo brought the rack from a barbecue and lo and behold (despite my lack of faith that it would happen before dark), we had a lovely little bbq while rockclimbing. Good fun, good fun!

Finally, after months and months of waiting, Arturo's parents house (that they sold about a year ago) was destroyed by the land developer that bought it...and their new apartment was finall ready! It's a beautiful, sunny new place...with a small balcony, so many windows I am jealous everytime I am there, and a fancy elevator that opens right into the apartment.

We also finally went to our first peña. A sort of dance party with traditional folk music and dancing from various parts of Peru. It was beautiful!! Plus, it was a great group: Anna and Rick from Australia, Javier and Tamara from Peru and Argentina, respectively, and Bivi, my Spanish teacher who is not only an amazing teacher, but also a great person. I´ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

"all kinds of visa"

2009-02-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

My 'other' parents (my neighbors from growing up) told me that I should write a book filled with all of the funny moments which happen while living abroad.

While I'm not sure I have it in me to write a book, I also know that so many other people have really funny moments that I'm not sure my book would be bought by anyone other than my family.

But, within the forum of this blog, I have decided to include more 'funny moments.'

One of them is the 'reciprocity visa' receipt I received from the Brazilian Embassy.

It's a very official (notice the stamps on the bottom right) and polite way (although, not exactly perfect in diction) to say:

"Hey, if you're going to charge us for visas, then we're going to charge you."

In response I say: fair enough.

Lazy in Lima

2009-02-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Since coming back to Lima, I haven't done much of anything.

No, that's not true...but it's shocking how little I have done.

I read a couple of book (my favorite is Obama's memoirs)
I went to the beach (thank you Maria for the invitation)
I slept. A lot.
I went to the dentist (first time since coming to Peru)
I decided to stop being a martyr and to take advantage of things here: I hired someone to come and clean/cook once a week ($10 per day; 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.)
With the help of our building's 'portero' I got the bedroom curtain fixed (it had been broken since November) and the shower fixed (it had been leaking since December).
I watched all episodes of Grey's Anatomy that are available online.
We booked a short visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil over Easter to visit Arturo's friends who live there...and then I got my tourist visa (and Arturo didn't since Brazil only requires visas as a form of reciprocity. Basically, Peru doesn't require Brazilian's to have a tourist visa, so Brazil doesn't require Peruvians to have one. On the other hand, the US does...so...I now have a 5 year visa to Brazil).
I cooked some interesting new recipes (my favorite is garlic chicken).
I finally got around to buying big 20L water instead of just boiling water trying desperately to keep up with our water needs.
Did I mention that I slept a lot?

Back in the US of A

2009-02-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

I've been lazing around Lima for a couple of weeks now...and have decided it's finally time to bring my blog up to date. What's happened the last couple of weeks? Not much. I went to the beach once. I've done some reading, lots of bad tv watching, and lots of sleeping. Actually, it's been great. Except that I haven't written about another great part of my summer holiday - Winter in NY!

FAMILY
I got to spend lots of time with my family which was great. My brother flew in from LA and my sister (and the adorable niece and nephew) to help me plan wedding details. Grandma housed and fed me...and put up with my mess...all in a loving way...and I got even got to visit Mom and Dad in Gloversville for a couple of days instead of my usual fly-by-night day visits. Mom even threw a special Gloversville shower which was like an enjoyable episode of "This is Your Life" where I got to catch up with people I haven't seen in 10 or even 20 years Luckily, I even had time to see Arturo's family, including, of course, the adorable Sebastian!

SPECIAL OCCASIONS
My friends planned both a bachelorette party and a bridal shower. I knew the date of both, but nothing more than that. So, not only was I excited to see everyone, but the best part was that I didn't have to do a thing - just show up!

Of course, there were some uncontrollable events such as the big stowstorm, sick babies with high fevers, ill husbands, small car accidents and people who got lost.

However, regardless of the 'Comedy of Errors' as my grandmother called it, I had an amazing, wonderful time with my friends and family. I left NY feeling incredibly loved and very special. Thank you to all who planned the events...and to all who came or wanted to come. It was a very special time that I will never forget.

I got to see the "longest running show on Broadway" and visit all our favorite haunts in NYC...

Plus, we ate Korean food for dinner!

And sang show tunes in a piano bar! And...

I now own some very pretty lingerie! And...

I now have a quilt from Lyn of my own! And..

I have new recipes, marriage advice and more! And...

I have a beautiful scrapbook filled with memories and special messages from those I love!

Lima

2008-12-30T14:50:00.001-08:00

Of course, we did some fun touristy stuff in Lima, too!
Arturo discovered his nephew loves strawberries and he is actually good with kids.
Christian finally got to taste Arturo's famous tacos.
And I got to show Emi, Chrisitan and Sebastian my favorite places in Lima!

Chiclayo

2008-12-30T14:15:00.001-08:00

After Trujillo, Arturo meet us in Chiclayo. His dad is from there (actually a little village outside of the city) and that entire side of the family is there. We were celebrating many thing...not only had Christian come back, but it was the first time that Arturo and his family went there for Christmas.

Of course, a visit is never complete without doing a bit of touristy stuff. We went to the famous Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán. This is an incredible museum which documents the incredible history of the area. The name comes from Lord Sipán, a lord who - although famous in his time - is now internationally known because of his tomb.

Sipán was a Señor of top rank and was buried accordingly by the Moche civilization which existed from 1 AD to 700 AD (centuries before the Incans). First, el Señor Sipán was buried with a plethora of jewelry and ornaments. Included in the over 400 jewels found in the tomb was a beaded necklace of gold and silver shaped into maní, or peanut kernels to represent the earth. To me, however more impressive (and shocking) is the other people in the tomb. He was buried with a woman who was apparently his wife and two other women, most likely concubines, a military commander, a watchman, a banner holder and a child. Oh, and also a dog. Some of the people´s legs were cut off so that they could not run from him - either in the transfer from one life to the next, or when they arrive to the next life.

(Yes, this story may sound familiar because I wrote about this a year ago when we went for the travel guide work...but it's so interesting I wrote about it again...)

We also visited the Mercado Monsefu Artesanias. We had fun trying on various crazy hats (I bought one - but not the 'lampshade' on my head in the picture) and then continued to tour around in the car, stopping for a delicious ceviche.

However, the big day during the trip was Christmas. Here, the holiday is celebrated on Christmas Eve with food and drink...but the food doesn't come until midnight when it's officially Christmas (and I'm so starving that I am looking at the plastic tree wondering how it tastes).

What follows is a series of pictures from the holiday. It included many photos, many drinks, much food, and many old family stories...

Christmas & Trujillo

2008-12-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over...now that I have been to NY and back to Lima...I finally have time to update my blog.

On one hand, it seems silly to now write about Christmas, but on the other hand, if I don't write it down now I'll regret it.

So, I'm going to write the basics and include lots of photos (this is what to expect for the next couple of blog entries.).

First, the Holiday Season began in Lima with the arrival of Arturo's brother, Christian, and his wife Emi, and 10 month old son Sebastian...it had been EIGHT years since he had come back to visit Peru so this was a big deal. Although, his arrival was almost dwarfed by the oh so adorable Sebastian. To celebrate his return, his marriage, and his baby, we began a series of reunions.

All were fun...but night after night did exhuast me.

Another special visitor was Arturo's cousin, Niko, that lives in Mexico. We stayed with him when we took a holiday there a while back so it was great to see him, too. Plus, his parents invited us to their beach house which is in an adorable little fishing village.

(There were also many get togethers that don't involve money....but that is for another email...this one is family only!)

Before I knew it, school was over and it was time to head up the coast with Arturo's family. He had to work so couldn't come with us - but met us on the 24th just in time for Christmas Eve.

In the meantime, Arturo's parents, Christian, Emi, Sebastian and I went to Trujillo for a couple of days. We got to see Fito, an old friend who I have met a couple of times.

We also did some sight seeing and enjoyed the small city which offers some spectacular archaeological sites, as well as well preserved colonial architecture. At Chan-Chan, Meche (Arturo's mom) and I stayed to watch Sebastian while everyone else went on the hour-long tour of the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, built by the Chimú and estimated to be built around 850 (WAY older than Machu Picchu which was built around 1460). As we waited, we watched Sebas charm all of the tour guides and guards. It was the easiest babysitting job I've ever had!!

We also went to the cute beach town nearby where we enjoyed some delicious seafood...and a walk along the beach.

Then, we stopped by one of my favorite sights in Trujillo, the Cafe Museo. It's a cafe below the Museum of Toys and is so beatiful with old wooden cabinents and photos of famous people around the walls.

Then, before I knew it, it was time to get on the bus heading north to Chiclayo to go to Arturo's family for Christmas.

Which is another blog entry...

And it begins...

2008-12-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last year, I thought the holiday season was busy, but this year I have just begun to understand exactly how busy it is. One word springs to mind to describe this: insanity.

Between my job, Arturo's job, my friends, Arturo's friends and Arturo's family, there has been a reunion (get together/party) every single night. So, having been in a constant state of near-exhaustion, I haven't updated my blog in a while.

The quick update is:

* Barbecue with some friends (love their pool and trampoline!)

* Shopping locally in Miraflores (love the Christmas book fair!)

* Girls' Night Out with Kim (pisco sours and dancing....fun!)

* English Department Meeting (leaving school behind and enjoying each other's company!)

* End of the Year Lunch at school (so bloody hot I thought we might melt, but still somehow very fun!)

* Bachelorette Party / Hen Night / Despidida de solteras (just as cheesy as in the USA, but very fun and my first night out, on my own, with only Spanish-speakers!)

* Annual Holiday Party with Arturo's friend from the colegio (including a first-ever gift exchange!)

The long update is that after EIGHT long years, Arturo's brother has come home to visit Peru from the USA. (so, yes, I do realize that we've been having more dinners and family gatherings as a result).

Next blog will be all about the oh so adorable Sebastian.

Here's just a little bit of a teaser.

He's pretty darn cute!!

APEC Weekend

2008-11-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference was in Lima in mid-November. The city had been preparing for it for over a year...although I'm still not sure how prepared they were.

The best part was that we had Thursday and Friday off from work. We decided to stay local and enjoy the time...

ROCKCLIMBING

We started by stopping by my favorite place outside of Lima, Chaclacayo.

We drove around and gave Anna a mini-tour and then had some breakfast, enjoying the biggest glass of juice of juice I've ever seen.

Rockclimbing was fun. Anna definitely showed off her skills, but Arturo and did well, too -- we just didn't look as graceful doing it.

Dearest Nilo...

...he sat at the top and was in charge of the rope, keeping us safe while we climbed...

Plus, he brought snack.

Yeah, Nilo!

After climbing, we went back into the city (just a little over an hour away) and stopped off for food at Arturo's parents.

LATER THAT WEEKEND...

Maria, Anna and I finally got together after almost a year of talking about it. We went to a delicious seafood restaurant along the coast...yummy...Ladies Who Lunch...that's what we were for a brief moment in time...

The next day we got together with Javier and Tamara at their new apartment and then headed out to Pachachamac, one of the ruins about an hour away. We arrived only to discover that it was closed because of APEC (We later read that First Lady Laura Bush was there). But, we were not to be stopped on our fun day outside of the city and drove a bit further to one of the beaches. Tamara and I went for a walk along the beach - commenting on the irony that both Arturo and Javier, both from Peru, found foreigners as their parents...and both of those foreigners are Jewish.

Along the way to and from the beach, I decided to take some pictures to show people what's between Lima and the beaches.

Essentially, Lima is a desert, but it's also really humid. Once you get on the highway, heading south to the beaches, you'll see great hills of sand, crammed full of hovels where people are living...and factories...and painting claiming all kinds of political statements...and areas where trees have been planted on those sand hills...it's a different part and I wanted to share it.

Published!

2008-11-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

A year after updating a chapter in the Fodor's Peru guide, it is published and out in the stores. Yeah!!

The most exciting part is that I am listed as one of the author's (of course, Arturo very rightly has commented that he helped me with all of the research and isn't mentioned -- he is right, and does deserve the credit so I am crediting him here and now).

If you want to see the book and my short bio, you can go to the bookstore and check out Fodor's 3rd Edition, in Full Color, of Peru. Flip to the back page to read my bio!! (It's for sale through Amazon, but you can't see this the oh so special page with my name on it)

I also want to share the story of receiving this book here in Lima. Random House sent me the book with FedEx, just like last year when they sent me the book I would be updating. However, this time, things went differently.

Instead of receiving the book, I received a phone call from a holding center asking me why I had been sent "a book of maps." I explained this was a guide of Peru and, thus, there were some maps. I was then informed of an old law which is still in effect -- you cannot legally bring any maps into the country which have not been pre-approved by the Ministry of External Affairs. The idea of a travel guide didn't seem to really be understood. So, Arturo called the Minister's office and was told that I needed to write a letter explaining what the maps are and why I want them to be allowed in the country. Along with the letter, I had to include photocopies of each of the maps in the book. Photocopies from the book that the government was holding and I wasn't allowed to have. Hm...

Instead of trying to figure all of that out, I just had Random House mail out another book -- this time to Christian, Arturo's brother living in the States. He and his family are coming here in December and can just bring the book. Problem solved.

Then, I received an official notification from FedEx about what happened with the Ministry of External Affairs. I went to the FedEx office and, after a very long discussion and explanation, I realized that it isn't illegal to bring in maps of cities, zones, etc., just maps of the country as a whole (to be sure that the borders are correct). FedEx contacted the Minister's office to ask permission if the full map of Peru, at the beginning of the book, could be removed and then I could receive the book.

I called the next day to see what the Minister's answer was. FedEx informed me that there are 8 complete maps of Peru throughout the book and that, if I approved, the government could remove these maps and then deliver it to my house. I approved and finally received the book.

There are a couple of pages missing at the beginning, but the best part is that on the first page of each chapter, there is a big map of the area discussed in the chapter, along with a tiny little map of Peru, showing where that area is in the country. They cut out these tiny little maps (about 2" x 2") at the beginning of each chapter. It is hilarious to see the random cuts they made throughout the book.

Although there is a history of problems with borders on map, we have all agreed that there is - just perhaps - a more efficient way of checking this.

Anyway, it's all an adventure, right? And I am a published travel writer!!

Good stuff

2008-11-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy, but good couple of weeks.

Arturo got a new job! He is now ejecutivo de negios at Interbank. Basically, he is an account manager whose job is to get businesses - those that earn beteween $1 million to $15 million annually - to sign up with the bank for financial services. Interbank is a Peruvian bank, rated as one of the 'Great Places to Work' in Lima and so far I would have to agree. Of course, there are pros and cons. Here they are, in my opinion: Pros...we'll have more money, Arturo will lose the boredom he felt with the hostel in the last several months...Cons: Arturo will not arrive home before 8:00 p.m. and I miss him, and he can't come to the States in January.

We're going to the theater! We went to the opera to see Madame Butterfly and are going to see Tony Kushner's En Casa/En Kabul (Homebody/Kabul) tonight. Since I've become slightly obsessed with the tv show Grey's Anatomy, it's good to return to a more intellectual and culture pastime.

Obama won!!! Yes, I voted...or I think I did. I mailed an absentee ballot off...who knows if it got there in time. And I stayed up until he spoke at midnight the night he won...and felt surprisingly emotional. I think for the first time in a long time I felt proud of my country.

Food, food, food! Eating just never seems to stop lately. We went out to eat Chinese food (not Chifa, Chinese-Peruvian fusion food) to celebatre Arturo's new job. You can see the kitchen in the restaurant so we decided to get our photo taken right in the kitchen. Also, I have begun baking. So far, it's just simple delicacies like banana bread and lime bread, but it's been fun and I look forward to continuing.

I'm meeting new people! My friend Kim invited me to a "Women & Wine" party and I met tons of new people (along with great food and wine). Most of the people work at Kim's school, but there were some other people, too. I thought it would be nice, but it was way more fun than I ever expected and I can't wait until our next gathering in December!

School is almost over! Final exams begin on the 27th of November and then I just have to coast until December 19th. Then, I am off until February 16th. Yeah!!!!

Ending with a dream

2008-10-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-19T11:12:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-08T16:26:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-10-05T07:38:00.001-07:00

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...

Glaciers & Grub

2008-09-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

Arturo's weekend climbing trip turned into a sort of climbing course.

As you can see in the photos, he used this opportunity to practice his moves on the ice.

Not bad, eh?

The trip, of course, also came along with the beautiful scenery of the Cordillera Blanca. However, unfortunately, the landscape also brought Arturo a first-hand look at the sad state of Peru's glaciers.

Peru's glaciers are extremely important. Peru is located fairly near the equator, but since there are over 30 mountains over 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet) there are numerous glaciers.

However, estimates are that all glaciers under 5,500 meters will disappear from Peru by 2015. This affects the world in terms of global warming, but also Peru in terms of water, agriculture and more.

If you are interested, there's an interesting article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4720621.stm

On a more positive note, Arturo also had a chance to stop by his land in Mancos. It's perfectly positioned inbetween the Cordillera Blanca and Negra, with a direct view of Huascaran in all its glory, standing at 6,768 meters or 22,205 feet.

So, Arturo came back...and life in Lima continued...and continued well. We went out on a 'date' to Alianza Frances, the institute where Arturo is studying French. They have a lovely little French restaurant and we enjoyed some fabulous steak and wine. Yummy!

Over the weekend, we went to a barbecue. It was just a couple of friends enjoying some delicious food
(that, of course, Arturo cooked) and the beginning of spring. One of the most special parts of the day is that Arturo's friend Javier's fiance was visiting. Tamara is moving to Lima from Buenos Aires and they are getting married in December.

They brought along some vodka and freshly squeezed orange juice -- which Tamara and I proceeded to almost finish. The cocktails were delicious and I didn't feel very tipsy...but next thing I knew I was in bed, and asleep (a.k.a. passed out) by 9:00 p.m. I woke up five hours later with an immense thirst and hunger, and the room was spinning.

Boy am I getting older. A couple of drinks and I was a mess for all of Sunday. But, it was really fun...

On Sunday we went over to Arturo's parents for Sunday lunch. His mom has converted the house into a shrine for Sebastian, her grandson...it's actually quite adorable...and is ready for their visit in December.

Now, we're preparing for the parents' 40th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, a Food Festival on Saturday, and a 5K run for Downs' Syndrome on Sunday.

Life continues...

2008-09-13T12:41:00.001-07:00

So, life continues...

Last weekend we met some friends out to watch the Peru-Ecuador football game. According to my favorite weekend magazine, Somos (it comes free with the Saturday paper), Peru is ranked last in all of South America for the ranking towards the World Cup. As the magazine said, "...and the surprise was...there was no surprise." But, people here still love the sport and hope for the best from their team.

"Selección peruana última de Sudamérica según el ranking de la FIFA. El unico sorprendid fue...no, no hubo sorprendidos." Somos, 6 de septiembre, 2008

To add to the excitement of the night, a bachelorette party showed up. The bride wore the usual white headress, but all of the girls wore black tops, jeans and these strange red devil headbands. They proceeded to make quite a scene...including one girl vomiting on the floor at the table next to us, several girls falling down, and lots of kisses with the old man behind the bar.

When I asked one semi-sober looking girl to take a picture, she "of course" and hopped in the photo next to Arturo. Obviously, that is not what I meant. The best part was the guys' uninterrupted concentration on the game.

On Monday, we celebrated the birthday of one of Arturo's friends' sons. Fernando and Sandra live in Brasil, but happened to be in Peru for Mateo's 9th birthday. We patriotically bought Mateo and his younger brother Mariano Peruvian t-shirts and I finally met Sandra's family.

Why is meeting Sandra's family a big deal? I had heard about how big of a family it was and how everyone got together all of the time, but I didn't fully believe it until I saw it. There were easily 50-100 people...and this was just close family!

Oh, and did I mention that they had just arrived back two days before from a week's vacation together in the north of Peru to celebrate their grandfather's 90th birthday?

Anyway, for the party, they had hired two guys to make and hand out cotton candy and had a large trampolene and inflatable jumpy slide in the yard.

Let's just say that I would have LOVED that birthday party if I was 9 years old. Who am I kidding? I would still love it! It took a lot of self-control not to kick the kids off the trampolene so I could jump on it.

Now, Arturo is climbing Pisco for the weekend with Nilo.

What kind of climbing? Ice climbing.

How high is Pisco? 5,570 meters (almost 19,000 feet)

Any other questions?

Although, I must admit that while I am really glad Arturo has the chance to go, I just saw the film "Touching the Void" last week and am a tiny bit worried. Just a tiny bit, though. Mostly, I am just so excited to hear how the climbing went and see the photos.

If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It's an incredible true story of how one man broke his leg and then fell into a 50+ meter crevice -- and lived to tell his story.

In other news, I started studying Spanish. I hired a private tutor and, although it's only been two weeks, can say that is worth every sol (and it is a lot of soles).

I also took my first field trip with my students. We went to see Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." Although it was in Spanish, I could mostly follow along since I knew the plot. After the show, we got to stay in the theater and have a Q&A session with two of the actors. This was, to be honest, the most enjoyable part and the questions the kids asked and the answers the actors gave were fascinating.

Our New Life

2008-09-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

Finally, our holiday was over, our guests left, and it was back to reality.

Although, to be honest, our reality just isn't that bad.

We cooked at home, relaxed and watched some movies.

And then...

...after nearly 3 months of waiting for the owner to be ready to sell...

...we bought a car!!

Yeah!!

We bought a 2002 Suzuki Baleno Station Wagon. I've never seen the car before Peru, but I am now in love with it. It gives us a whole new way to enjoy life. In fact, I keep joking about our "New Life." Those of you who know me well, I am sure, can hear me saying: "I r e a l l y love it!"

Why was the owner finally ready to sell? Was it because his wife's new car was finally ready and he needed the money? Yes. But was it also because he dented the side and realized that he should sell it before something happens? Oh, yes! A week before we bought the car, the side was very slightly dented. The owner acknowledged this and assured us he would pay for it to be fixed. Since it was more cosmetic than anything else, we were fine with it. Then, on the drive to the notary to sign the final papers, guess what else happened...the owner backed into a pole and dented the bumper! Ah, life's little ironies. After waiting three months to sell the car, the week before and the day of the sale, he dented the car. Serves him right for making us wait so long!

Arturo picked up the car on Friday and then on Saturday we went to my friend Maria's beach house (and technically my boss, since she is the Head of the English Department). We went with Anna and Rick, the couple I trekked with during my May vacation.

Much like all beach houses near Lima, it's part of a "club," meaning it's in a gated community on the beach. However, unlike most, it's relaxed and a bit more outdoorsy than just beachy and I can understand why Maria and her husband bought a house in this unique location.

There are beautiful and varied rock formations, plus small caves you can explore - which we, of course, did.

In fact, Arturo and Rick tried to do a bit of bouldering, but the rocks were too wet and brittle do really do much.

On Sunday, the sun was brightly shining and we walked for a couple of hours along the beach. Since we didn't expect to walk that long, no one thought of sunblock...and we were all sunburned (except Arturo, of course, who was tan).

Then, we had a delicious barbecue. Although it wasn't his house or his barbecue, Arturo cooked (we brought all of the meat with us) and the rest of us just sat around in the glorious sun and drank wine.

Although, I must mention, it was surprising that we didn't drink Pisco all weekend. Freddy, Maria's husband (who is Peruvian), is part of a Pisco Sour Club. They meet for one hour each Saturday and have produced their own Pisco labels GPS (Grupo de Pisco Sour). When they find an especially good Pisco, they buy it whole-sale, produced with their labels.

Fun Visits

2008-09-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

IRELAND COMES TO PERU

Obviously, all of Ireland didn't come to Peru, but it sort of seemed that way in July-August. The day after we arrived back from our wonderful Jungle Holiday - and just as I was moaning and groaning about having to go back to work - Brenda and John arrived from Ireland. Yeah!! A few weeks before that, some friends of theirs were here. And a couple of days after they arrived, some other friends of theirs were here (I guess that Peru has really become a popular destination - and that the Euro really helps people to travel more easily). Regardless, I'm just happy that my Irish friends came...and that Brenda and I could enjoy some cocktails together...

The plan was that in between traveling around Peru (Machu Picchu and the Amazon), Brenda and John would stay with Arturo and me. This worked out well and was excellent planning on their part. They also organized themselves to bring us some amazing gifts. They brought my favorite Cadbury chocolate bars, a "Palmer Vineyard" wine for Arturo, the best smelling lotion and bath gel I have ever smelled for me, and some newspapers for my class that is studying media. Oh - and the best part? They brought their usual fun selves!

Although, I have to admit, as soon as I realized they would be here for amost a week, I got nervous. In fact, despite my initial reaction to Lima, it is a city with lots of wonderful things to do --but I've already done all of those wonderful things with my parents and friends who already came.

Then, the most incredible thing happened:

1) I appeared to really know Lima when showing them around
2) I discovered tons of NEW stuff in Lima

So, all in all, we had a fabulous time. Plus, now Brenda, John and I have hung out on four continents, beginning with Asia, then North American followed by Europe and now South America. Perhaps Africa next?

Some highlights from their with us in Lima:

Going to Barranco, the 'Bohemian' area. There, we visited the Museo de Osma, a small museum housed in a beautiful old house, and the Museo de la Electricidad, a tiny, but fascinating museum designed more for kids, but we had a great time! Then, we stopped by this terrific café which is an old train car turned café.

Huaca Pucllan, ruins dating back to AD 400. This adobe pyramidal structure started with the Lima culture and has been remodeled over and over again until it was eventually owned by a rich farmer. Today, only about half of the original structure remains, but it is right in the heart of Miraflores, the district of Lima we live in.

The incredible Circuito Mágico del Agua was indeed magical. The Mayor of Lima took the decrepit Parque de la Reserva and created a park full of fountains, fountains in different shapes, with lights, and some that you can actually enter and enjoy without getting wet (unless you want to). I would say this is one of my absolute favorite places in Lima. Thank you Brenda and John for coming or I may never have gotten there!

Of course, no visit with Brenda is complete with a game or two of Scrabble. She is a killer player and beat me every game, but it was still fun (Then, she got me hooked on Scrabulous on Facebook...which sadly has now been removed).

Brenda celebrated her birthday while they were here, in Lima. To celebrate, John took all of us out to my favorite restaurant, Rosa Nautica. The beautiful restaurant that I have mentioned in two other blog entries. The best part was that after eating, the sommelier invited us into the wine cellar. This wasn't really a cellar, but rather a temperature-controlled room full of amazing wines. We saw bottles as much as $1,000. Thank you John for inviting us to enjoy a delicious meal, plus get the opportunity to see something I have never seen - and may never again.

We also just at well in general and Brenda and John are now in the same mindset as I am: Peruvian food is amazing! We went to several different types of restaurants and tried ceviche (even Brenda, a total non-fish eater, thought it tasted good), causa, papa huancaina, and much, much more. They also had Arturo's famous barbecue and lomo saltado, and enjoyed the famous Pisco Sour. Yummy!! (and check out Arturo's great new sign for the hostel)

Despite insane plane delays (they actually flew two hours to Iquitos and the plane turned around and went back to Lima since there were too many vultures on the runway) and despite not being able to paraglide (they tried on their last day, but the wind wasn't strong enough), I think they had a great time. I can say that we had a FANTASTIC time and are SO GLAD they came to visit!

A RETURN & A FIRST VISIT
One of Arturo's friends from school, Rodolpho (a.k.a. Chote), lives in the States and, after a long time away, came home for a visit. He used to live in NJ so Arturo was able to spend quite a bit of time with him, and was able to go to his wedding. Then, when he was trasnferred to Chicago, Arturo drove the U-Haul with Rodolpho and Di (Dilorion), his wife. After a lot of paperwork, Di was finally able to bring her daughter, Malika, from Uzbekistan to the USA. Soon after, the planned their trip to Peru, squeezing in Machu Picchu, the northern beaches of Mancora, and Lima in just two weeks.

We met up twice and had a great time. Once, we just went out to eat with some of Chote's friends and then went out for drinks. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but I am very proud that I stayed out until 2:00 a.m. on a weeknight. Usually I can't make it past 10:30 p.m. which shows you what a lovely time I had talking with Di.

The next night, Di and Malika came over to our apartment to hang out while Chote ran some errands. We went to my favorite shopping mall built into the sea wall cliff, Larco Mar, and had dinner. After this, Chote met us and we went bowling! I had been saying I wanted to go bowling for ages and it was great! Everything was lit up with black lights and, best of all, I won two games.

Then, it was a final good-by to all our guests....

The Jungle

2008-09-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

THE JUNGLE

The remaining group of five of us from the boat took a trip into the Jungle together. We weren't sure what we would see, but we knew that it was going to be a great trip.

After a bus ride and boat ride, we arrived at our Albergue in the Jungle. We looked around and were impressed at how nice it was, and then had our first of many delicious meals and knew we had made the right decision to go.
First, we lathered up with repellent and then went into the jungle to begin our exploration. For the sake of time and space, I'm just going to list some of the highlights of our trip.

* The huge trees and the strangling trees (predatory trees which literally 'strangle' a tree, sucking up all of its life, eventually killing the original tree)

* Eating protein-rich larvae from a tree. (Not as easy to swallow as we thought it would be...it sort of squirted out its guts - yuck!)

* Drinking fresh, delicious, cool water from a tree. Seriously. There's a certain tree which holds fresh drinking water. Amazing!

* Holding a baby cayman in our hands

* Catching - and then eating - piranhas

* Pouring 100% DEET repellent all over my body and still leaving covered with bites

Iquitos: the world's largest city that cannot be reached by road

2008-09-01T12:43:00.001-07:00

We settled into Iquitos easily. We had a pool at our hostel, good restaurants nearby, and friends from the boat with us. Plus, because of a brilliant idea of Arturo's, we also had a flight home already bought and paid for. So, we booked our trip into the Jungle and relaxed in Iquitos for several days before we left. This included a barbecue (yes, Arturo arranged this and cooked), some delicious meals out, and sightseeing around Iquitos.

One of the most amazing things about Iquitos - that I kept repeating over and over - was that there is no road access to the city. There are almost half a million people living there, huge RVs, public buses, stores filled with everything you could need or want and there is no road access. Everything in Iquitos comes in an airplane or by boat. It is unbelievable.

BELÉN
One of the most famous markets and areas is Belén. The market is amazing. Not only is it enormous, but they sell anything and everything you can think of. Some of it was wonderful to see, while other things - like the rare or extinct animals for sale as pets or food - was difficult to take in.

The rest of this floating shantytown is referred to by locals as the "Venice of the Amazon," but this only refers to the fact that most of the town is surrounded by water. In fact, this is where the similarity with Venice ends. Belén consists of huts built on rafts which rise and fall with the river and the rainy season. At the recommendation of many people, including the local police, we hired some boat drivers to safely take us through the community where several thousand people live.

The tiny little shack directly on the river is a bathroom, more evidence of incredible pollution to the river, along with a photo of an average house with the Peruvian flag hanging proudly.

During the 28th of July, the Fiestas Patrias, Peruvian Independence Day, it is a law that everyone must hang the national flag. Obviously, this isn't a law that is enforced in the sense that police are going around giving ticket to those with no flags. Still, the people of Belén, a community of shacks which the government has done so little for, proudly hang their flags throughout the town. Something we found amazing.

LA PLAYA ZOO

Before we left for our trip into the jungle, we went to a local zoo to see some of the animals. We hoped to see a lot of animals on our trip, but you never know....

We saw a fresh water dolphin, various birds, alligators, turtles, monkeys and other animals I have never heard of before.

Part of the zoo - and the reason for its name - includes a beach. For a 4 soles entrance fee (less than US$2), there were countless animals and a beautiful, fun beach where people could swim, play beach volleyball, and picnic.

The Boat: Pucallpa to Iquitos

2008-08-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

THE BOAT FROM PUCALLPA TO IQUITOS

We knew there were boats from Pucallpa to Iquitos. We knew the boat took between 3-7 days, depending on the water level. We also knew that there was no schedule. So, we asked around and found out some information: room on the boat should cost about 100 soles and space to hang a hammock about 80 soles, all the Henry boats were reputed to be the 'biggest and best' and Monday was the next scheduled departure day. So, on Monday we went to the docks in the morning to find out what's what...

MONDAY, DAY ONE

First, we found out how incredibly busy the docks are and how much manual labor there is. There were men carrying food, supplies - everything you can think of was being carried onto various ships.

Then, we went to the Henry boats. On Henry IV we found out that the rooms were tiny, had no windows, an unfriendly manager, and rooms which were way more than 100 soles. On Henry VI, we discovered room that had private bathrooms, windows, and a fan -- and cost even more. I was nervous not to get a boat and Arturo was determined not to get taken advantage of...so, we walked down the docks and checked out a couple of other boats. It's a good thing we did.

We finally settled on Men del Norte. It was the right price, a room with windows, and a very friendly owner. We were told to come back at 1:00 and that our departure time was about 2:00. We left to go back to the hostel to pack, enjoy our last shower for several days, and to pick up some snacks for the trip (all meals were included in the price).

At about 1:00 we returned to the boat, ready to settle in and watch the remaining cargo being loaded onto the boat. We put our bags in the very, very hot room we rented and went to hang out hammocks which we bought to use during the day. We decided to hang them next to the two foreigners also on the ship and, after working and sweating, Arturo successfully hung our two hammocks...

and we took the positions we would sit in for most of the following days: in our hammocks.

We met the group of 8 other backpackers on the ship. Doris from Austria, Lisa from Australia, a couple from Argentina, Ethan from the USA, Martin from Sweden, and Chris from Austria, and a slightly older gentleman from Chile.

As we got settled in, we realized that it was unlikely we will be leaving on time. In fact, the Austrian and Australian girls had been there since Saturday waiting to leave. We began to take bets on when we would leave...In the end, we left about 6:00 p.m. Our journey to the Amazon had really begun!

TUESDAY, DAY TWO - THURSDAY, DAY FOUR

Time passed both slowly and quickly. We made several stops along the way at various towns on the river bank. We met some of the locals on the ship, there for both business and pleasure. We enjoyed surprisingly good food at meal times (as the chef served us, he flirted outrageously with Arturo), and we read a lot. Of course, we also socialized with the people on the ship, talking and sharing our stories, while watching the incredible landscape.

Then, we stopped.

And didn't move

We were stuck in a sandbar.

After several hours, a small boat happened to come by and tried to help. They left quickly as they realized they were doing nothing but wasting gas. Eventually, a tug boat came and, after several more hours, we were moving again. We lost about 12 hours as a result of this, but we chalked this all up to 'part of the adventure.'

Several times through these next few days - which have now kind of blurred into one day - we saw pink and gray dolphins. Dolphins? Yes, the Amazon, and the rivers which form it, have fresh-water dolphins, both gray and pink. They are fascinating to watch, but very difficult to photograph. By the time you see them, move your camera and look through the tiny screen on the back of your camera, they have long since gone back under the water. I've included a photograph here from the following website which has some interesting information about these rare dolphins. http://www.amersol.edu.pe/ms/7th/7block/jungle_research/new_cards/14/report14hm.html

In addition to the amazing dolphins and tiny villages along the way, I realized something incredibly disturbing: all garbage from the ship was put into the river. I suspected that the toilets were going straight in, but thought that, surely, some garbage was being saved to deposit when we arrived in Iquitos. Then, we had a small pane in our windown break. When the guy came to sweep it up he promptly dumped all of the glass directly into the river. That is when it hit home: all garbage from the ship was put into the river. Of course, this was nothing new, but the amount of traffic and the type of garbage had changed and now was, as everywhere in the world, affecting life as you'll see when I write about Iquitos.

That small bit aside, the journey was relaxing, smooth and enjoyable. I learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em poker, read a book in Spanish (Tuck Everlasting - Tuck Para Siempre), read two books in English, watched incredible scenery, played with kids on the boat, talked with interesting foreigners, and had lots of time to think about my life.

THROUGH TO FRIDAY, DAY FIVE & OUR ARRIVAL DAY
On Thursday night we were told that we would definitely arrive in Iquitos Friday morning. To celebrate, we had a little party with the remainder of our beverage and snack supplies. We were all a bit tipsy as we went to sleep that night, but went to sleep relaxed, knowing we would arrive by the time we woke up.

Before that happened, I awoke to the light being switched on and three policemen asking me if I spoke Spanish. Sí I answered, a bit disoriented. They were there to search the boat for drugs. Lisa, the girl from Australia, had been storing her bag in our room and that was their first object. Second was to look at our documents. I was a bit nervous to hand over my Peruvian resident's card and Arturo's national ID card while, next to me, Arturo was snorning loudly, oblivious to all that was happening. The police didn't seem to care about the Peruvian passed out in my bed and began to search our things. Our bags seemed to pass inspection, but he took out a bottle of pills and a small statue from Lisa's bag. He tested the statue with some pink liquid to see if there were drugs inside. Since she wasn't carrying any, the statue was clean and we were free to go back to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, ignorning the sounds of the search that was going on throughout the ship, there was anothing knock at the door. More police. They entered and wanted to search under the mattress. This was difficult as Arturo would not wake up or move. The policeman was very kind as he gently lifted Arturo's legs and looked under the mattress. We passed inspected yet again, as did - to the best of our knowledge - everyone else on the ship.

In the morning, we arrived into Iquitos where we were promptly greeted by someone from a hostel with a swimming pool for s/15 per person, per night (that's about $5).

A swimming pool?

We were sold.

We hopped into a moto-taxi with him and were on our way. And when I say 'we' I mean the entire group of backpackers together...off to the next stage of our adventure: Iquitos and the Jungle.

The Road to the Amazon: Huánuco, Tingo María & Pucallpa

2008-08-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

HUÁNUCO

We began our trip in Huánuco at a cheap little hostel with lovely artwork (ha ha) and an amazing shower. While the town itself isn't much to look at, it is geographically important as it lies on the upper reaches of the Río Huallaga, the major tributary of the Río Marañón before it becomes the Amazon.

Nearby is the Temple of Kotosh, one of Peru's oldest archeological sites, dating back to 2000 BC. Despite being out of the way and, essentially, in the middle of nowhere, there was a very knowledgeable guide and it was a well-organized site. There is a replica of the Temple of the Crossed Hands, as well as original parts of the various temples to see. It is unbelievable that after 4,000 years, many parts are more or less intact.

Even more incredible are the three Echo Points throughout the complex of temples. It's a very small circle where, when you speak, there is an echo. However, those outside the radius of the circle cannot hear the echo at all. As the guide was explaining this, Arturo and I exchanged skeptical looks - but then we tried it. Sure enough, when I stood there, I could hear a very, very loud echo, but those around me just heard my voice as it normally is. Scientists have still been unable to explain this...

We also took a little side trip to visit the house of Perrichola. This is the original home of a woman, Micaela Villegas, famous for her romance with Count Amat, essentially the King of Peru, sent from Spain, during the late 19th century. There are many versions of the story, but I most prefer the following: Amat fell in love with Micaela, who went to Lima to work for an Italian family. The family's name sounded similar to Perrichola, and thus is the reason this became her name. Amat, in his 60's, very much desired this beautiful 18 year old and offered her anything she wanted. She told him that she wanted to see the moon at his feet and he built her the Paseo de Aquas, still standing today in Rimac, where he could stand, at night, next to the water with the moon's reflection at his feet. It is also said that he bought her a gold and silver coach and, a less disputed fact, had a child with her. Probably the more likely story is that Amat called Micaela Perra Chola (half-breed bitch) during an argument which, combined and changed, became Perrichola. Regardless, he was later sent back to Spain and, altough in his 80's, married his niece and fathered other children with her. As for Perrichola, both during her time with Amat and after, she did her best to help her town and her people...although she apparantly angered quite a lot of people as she lived quite well because of her relationship with Amat. We went to this house, a simple one-floor house with a plain wooden carriage outside. Who knows what really happened...

TINGO MARÍA
Next stop was the tiny little town of Tingo María. Surprisingly, although it only has a population of 15,000, it is a thriving, bustling town which almost every Peruvian has heard of. Why? Because during the reign of Sandero Luminoso (Shining Path), in the 1980's to early 90's, this area - where much of the country's cocaine production happens - became a haven of violence. Oddly enough, however, this area, along with the rest of Peru, doesn't have serious issues of drug abuse. It's more about money and business than anything else.

Now, fortunately, the area is under control and the only signs we saw of the dangerous history were several security points which both questioned and, occasionally, searched people, along with a couple of whispered offers for coca on the street.

The landscape is beautiful, surrounded by mountains, waterfalls and caves. We went to the Parque Nacional Tingo María, enjoying La Cueva de las Lechuzas (the Cave of the Owls). This cave, surprisingly, is not known for its owls, but rather its colony of special "oil birds" which lives exclusively in the dark. If killed, these birds yield an abundance of oil which people use just like regular oil, mainly for cooking. The cave also houses stalactites and stalagmites, bats and other birds. The most beautiful part of the cave is the view from inside, looking out into the sunshine shining through the mouth of the cave.

Next stop was a beautiful, hidden away waterfall (of which we cannot remember the name).

Someone told Arturo about a waterfall, he asked around, and we took a taxi to a house with a dirth path next to it. We paid our ingreso to the house - apparantly for walking along their property - and were told to simply 'follow the trail' for about 45 minutes. Luckily, after about 40 minutes, we met some locals walking on the path (smoothly walking along the sliding mud in flip-flops like it's nothing while we were sliding all over the place) and found out that we had missed our turn. We backtracked and made it to a delicious waterfall, hidden away from the world. The sun was hidden by the trees and the water was freezing, but it was beautiful. We took a quick, barely-in-the-water dip to cool off and refresh ourselves.....

When we got back into town, we devoured fresh river fish and several jars of maracuya juice (passion fruit) and then walked over to the local Botanical Garden. It looked closed and was locked, but Arturo rang the bell and, after paying, we entered to walk around. It wasn't the most impressive of gardens, mainly because it didn't seem to be looked after very well, but nevertheless, it was a pleasant place.

PUCALLPA
Getting into the Amazon is tricky. You can't just drive there. So, other than flying, there are limited options. Pucallpa is one of the biggest 'jungle towns' directly connected by road to Lima, followed by direct boat access to the Amazon. It is for this reason that we went to Pucallpa: to take a boat to Iquitos, the official starting point of the Amazon, where several rivers intersect, forming the great Amazon River.

Probably the most famous place to visit in Pucallpa (for tourists at least) is Yarinacocha. This is a lake, now entirely landlocked, although it was once part of the Río Ucayali (My personal opinion? Another result of global warming). We ate lunch and then went to the lake, not quite sure what to expect. Our moto-taxi (tuk tuk as I still think of them), took us to to a lake surrounded on one side with restaurant after restaurant serving fresh, cheap fish. We were so disappointed that we'd just eaten lunch!

We hired a boat to take us over to a zoological center which, while it did house much local wildlife, wasn't the most thrilling of all the zoos I have been to. In fact, it was more sad than anything else to see the animals in tiny little cages. The one redeeming fact is that they used much of the surrounding nature as part of the cages, from the ground to the trees.

From there, Arturo remembered that we were near the Albergue of a friend's family. Our boat driver took us over and we just walked in, Arturo announcing "Hi, I'm Arturo. I'm a friend of Sandra's." That was more than enough (this friendliness is one of the things I love about Peruvians). We were welcomed into the house and sat and relaxed for a bit, enjoying some nice conversation and the beautiful house and its grounds. After warm good-byes, we were on our way to enjoy the end of our journey on the Yarinacocha by watching a tiny little boat with 7 people make their way along the lake.

Then, we had a lovely dinner along the lake, filled with delicious food, bzzzing mosquitos and San Juan cerveza, the only beer brewed in the Amazon.

The next day the real adventure began: the boat to Iquitos (and the subject of my next blog entry).

Sex and the City

2008-07-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

July 31st: The big day. "Sex and the City" movie opening in Lima! Everyone else has seen it. Now, it is my turn! Wait! I'm in Iquitos, at the beginning of the Amazon Jungle...

August 1st: THIS is the big day. We arrived back in Lima in the afternoon and after doing a couple loads of laundry it was off to the theater.

It lived up to and beyond my expectations. A 30-minute show never seems to be enough and this was over 2 hours of pure enjoyment.

Now, back to reality. More laundry to do, grocery shopping to get done, and work to start on Monday. First, Brenda and John, my friends from Ireland are arriving into Lima in a few hours. Plus, Arturo's friend, Chote and his wife Di, are visiting from the States. So, it may be back to reality, but it's not such a bad one...

p.s. Blog on the trip and photos to come in a couple of days.

My Birthday, My Promotion, My Mom and Our Vacation

2008-07-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

MY BIRTHDAY

Mom arrived late on the 4th, the night before my birthday. But, since it was after midnight by the time we got home from the airport and I have absolutely no patience, Arturo and Mom gave me my gifts around 1:00 a.m. on the 5th of July.

Arturo got me exactly what I needed: a new (really cool North Face) backpack. Now, I finally have something comfortable to bring to and from work...plus as a daypack for a trek. Mom gave me a beautiful pair of earrings and butterfly scarf, but the best gift was that she gave it to me in person. I love getting mail, but it was so nice to say thank you to her in person. She also gave me gifts from Dad and Grandma (thank you to both of you).

The biggest surpise of all was a package from Sarita, which arrived a few days later, filled with my favorite fruit leather snacks, the new Barbara Kingsolver book and an iTunes giftcard (does she know me or what). Plus, there was a lovely card reminding me that I may be far away, but I am not forgotten. The combination of this package and the many other emails, facebook messages and phone calls were received. It really helped me to feel a bit closer than I am to all of my friends and family.

Anyway, enough sappy stuff. What did we do on my actual birthday? Well, we walked around Miraflores, our neighborhood, for most of the day. The weather was incredible and we lunched at the park and walked for hours along the malecong, the sea cliff wall.

Then, that night my friend Anna came over and we had an apperitif before heading out to dinner. Anna brought me, after listening to me complain for a week of treking, a fantastic type of head gear that I have always wanted to buy. I don't know what it's called, but it's a kind of scarf that you can change into about 50 different ways. She also wrapped my wonderful surprise gift in the best wrapping paper ever - photos from our trek! After our mini-cocktail hour, we left for one of my favorite restaurants - ever: Rosa Nautica. It's on a pier in the ocean and it just beautiful, with delicious food!

The next day, we went to another of my favorites, Punto Azul, for ceviche and other fish/seafood dishes with Arturo's family, his parents and brother.

All in all it was a great birthday.

MY PROMOTION
Another wonderful 'present' that happened to be 'given' to me the day before my birthday was a semi-promotion at work. Unfortunately, the head of our English Department is leaving. Even though I have only worked with him for a short time, I am very saddened by this. Steve is, seriously, the best person I have ever worked under. But, he has a fantastic job offer in India and, after over 10 years in Peru, is heading to another country and continent. Maria, the Deputy Head has moved up to Interim Head of Department and I was offered the position of Interim Deputy Head. I was quite surprised since I have been here less than a year and, truthfully, still learning so much about the int'l exams we prepare our students for. However, the headmaster, Steve and Maria have all assured me I was their #1 choice. They complemented me on learning quickly, speaking up with new ideas, and bringing a fresh perspective to the department and the school. As Steve told me: "We all know what we are doing - we've been doing it for years. What we need to know is how to do it better, how to change what we have been doing for years to further improve." So, I have accepted, will earn about $100 more per month, and will be the Interim Deputy Head through the end of the this school year. Then, we shall see...

MY MOM

It's been great having Mom here. I really feel settled here now - really at home - so it has been great to show her My Lima. So far, I think we've done a good job of showing all the best that Lima offers.

We've eaten fabulous food (Peruvian food really is incredible), toured center of Lima where old colonial buildings and the enormous catacombs, been to La Punta, a beautiful peninsula nearby, and taken her to the black market where she bought numerous DVDs for about $1 each (yes, they are all pirated). On her own, Mom went to a museum and a bus tour to some nearby ruins.

Together, we played scrabble - in Spanish (and thanks to Arturo's help, I came in 2nd place) - and went shopping at the Inca Markets nearby. As you probably can tell, this section should really be called My Mom & My Boyfriend since Arturo has been with us almost the entire time.

Trujillo

For mom's final weekend here, we went to Trujillo, a small city about an 8 hour bus trip to the north. Unfortunately, the day before we left I was sick with the flu and mom's stomache wasn't doing very well. However, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, we both felt well enough to get on the bus-cama (a bus with seats that recline back like in 1st class on an airplane) and so all three of us went up to Trujillo.

There, we took an amazing tour of Chan Chan, one of the larget pre-Incan cities in South America. Although it is still being reconstructed, it was incredible. We had an amazing guide who explained all sorts of fascinating details included in the palace we walked through. For example, the Moche people considered squirrels incredibly important. They watched their habits to see if El Niño was coming. The squirrels would essentially get all crazy, and flit around storing extra food...alerting people to what was coming. Check out wikipedia for more infor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Chan

We also walked around the beautiful city with amazing buildings, most of them now banks or other businesses. Since it is costly to restore and even more for upkeep, there are also a large number of building that are in a state of disrepair. Luckily, though, more and more there is an effort to reverse this affect. Plus, most restored buildings are open for the public. We walked around several of them and were stunned by the beauty.

After going to the Museo de Jugetes, a Museum of Games, we got together for an afternoon refreshment with Arturo's friend Fito who lives in Trujillo.

For our final day, we went to Huanchaco, a small little beach town about 20 minutes from Trujillo. We walked along the beach, mesmorized by the surfers, the waves, and the fisherman in their traditional caballito boats. They use these boats for just 15 days and must make a new one every 2 weeks. We, of course, enjoyed some more delicious seafood for lunch, did a bit of shopping, and then headed back to the city of Trujillo.

On the way, we stopped at a new shopping mall to see the financial improvements that Trujillo is currently experiencing. Then, we lazed around the hostal reading, talking and relaxing before getting out bus-super-cama. This new service is about $15 more expensive than the bus-cama, but lets you literally lie down, completely. I was impressed, although Mom said she still ached from the ride.

Another birthday & Mom's last day

Monday, July 14, was Arturo's mom's birthday and mom's final day here. Arturo's dad organized a little party for her with the aunts and uncles and delicious criolla food. It was a very enjoyable afternooon which involved lots of stories, lots of jokes and lots to drink. But, mom left feeling happy and comfortable leaving me with such a warm and welcoming family and, all in all, it was a wonderful way to end her trip.

OUR VACATION

Now, we are heading off to the Amazon for our July holiday. Yeah!! We are taking a bus to a boat to a town...I don't really know the details as Arturo is planned it. All I know is that we'll be in the Amazon (yeah again!!), away from bustling Lima, phones, Internet and work (a.k.a., no blog updates, no phone calls and no emails for the next couple of weeks). Yeah!!

Tomorrow is the big arrival!

2008-07-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but...

Since we no longer have a maid, I have been cooking almost every week-night.

Anyway, these are meals cooked simply to eat and to have leftovers for lunch the following day. Needless to say, they aren't usually worth breaking out the camera.

Then, there are Arturo's Tacos (I can hear the groan of you faithful blog readers...yes, I am talking about the tacos again!).

Last night, Arturo was home early, I was home early, and Nilo came over to drop off Arturo's bike.

He stayed, Arturo cooked, we had cocktails, and the camera was brought out.

In other GREAT news...

Kathleen and Ron have had their baby! Aidan Jacob Sokolov was born on Saturday, June 21st, weighing 8 lbs and 10 oz. Pretty darn cute, eh?

NOW, FOR THE BIG ARRIVAL...

Mom arrives tomorrow! This means several good things...

First, it means I get to see my mom! And it means I get to see her, in all of her glory, speaking Spanish like the locals, here in Peru, my home. That's a pretty good feeling.

(Although, I am unduly anxious about her arrival at the same time that I am excited. I really want to impress her with my Spanish and my life here. I guess, ultimately, I'm still just her daughter.)

Second, her arrival means there is only one more week of teaching before I have three weeks off! That means that soon Arturo and I will be exploring the Amazon jungle. Literally. How cool is that?

Third, it's my birthday on Saturday! Mom, Arturo, my friend Anna and I are going to Rosa Nautica, one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever been to (that includes restaurants in NYC). Check it out: http://www.larosanautica.com/rn_ubiquenos.html

Video Diary (of sorts)

2008-06-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

I decided it was high time to download the photos on the camera. So, here is a sort of Video Diary of what we've been up to in the past month, in addition to me working a ridiculous amount.

Actually, even this includes work. On the left is a photo of the winning team from The Great Gatsby Jeopardy game my 11th graders and I played at our Gatsby party. The party theme is what explains the crown on my head an pearl necklaces my students are wearing. They are holding their prizes: a coupon to turn in an assignment one day late without penalty. Believe it or not, they were thrilled at this prize. On the right, my excited Debate Club students are smiling wide after they won their first advanced debate in the Peruvian Debate Association monthly debates throughout Lima.

Other photos include:

* Arturo relaxing with a friend on his birthday

* Father's Day

* Playing Scrabble (embarrassingly enough, Arturo won)

* A big all-day-all-night gathering of old friends Arturo grew up with

All work and no play

2008-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've written because I am completely overwhelmed by work. For those who have heard me complain before, this really is another level. I teach about 100 students and am supposed to grade 6 pieces of work, 2 each for the categories of reading, writing and oral work, every 8 weeks. That's 600 things to grade every 8 weeks! It is impossible!

I'm not going to go into all of the gory details here except to say that in two and a half weeks my mom comes (yeah!) and in three and a half weeks Arturo and I will be on our way to the Amazon.

Update #3

2008-05-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Now, for the highlight of my time in Peru: the Andes Mountains. My friend Anna and I were talking about both wanting to go the Andes over our one-week break...and talking turned into a real trip...

Ana, Rick (her partner) and I went with Nilo (a good friend of Arturo) our fearless, expert guide for the Santa Cruz trek. This four day, three night trek took us up over a pass of 4,750 meters or 15,583 feet. It was an incredible trek, filled with incredible sights.

To begin our trip, we took on overnight bus to Huaraz, the main tourist destination to begin all outdoor activities in the Andes. We took a bus-cama (meaning bus-bed) for about $25 which is like first class in an airplane. The seats recline all the way back, we get a cozy fleece blanket, and food and beverage service. Needless to say, I actually slept pretty well.

We rested for a day in Huaraz to acclimatize to the 3,100 meters (about 10,000 feet) which included lots of sleeping, resting, reading, getting a massage, and eating - as well as meeting Nilo for some last minute needs such as water-purifying tablets, snickers and other snacks and a rain poncho (we had rain ponchos personally made for us for about $12). Our second day, we went for a 3-hour walk with Nilo. We realized how beautiful our trek was going to be as the Cordillera Blanca (the White Mountain Range) gave us snow-capped mountains galore. Just a tidbit of information: there are 36 peaks over 6,000 meters (almost 20,000 feet). Incredible, right? Before the hike, Nilo told us it was to acclimatize us for our trek, but since he later told us we "passed the test" I know it was also to make sure that we seemed capable for the trek. As a celebration, we went to a beautiful garden restaurant, hidden away, and had delicious trucha (river trout). Then, it was back to the hostel to rest and pack for the next day...

Day 1:
We had to take a 3 hour bus ride to get to the trail head. Nilo called it a "freaky ride" before we started, but after we safely arrived he renamed it el viaje de terror...and it was. It was up and up and around dangerous curve after curve. I actually sat for most of the trip with my eyes covered and sweat dripping down my face. However, after arriving, all was well. We met our donkey driver and were on our way. We began our trip in the Cordillera Negra (Black Mountain Range) with the sun shining in beautiful clear sky, wearing t-shirts. We passed through a couple of tiny villages and, for a while, had a group of kids following us. They got a special treat as a bizarre event happened: Rick's hiking boots broke. The sole came apart from the boot. They are Scarpa boots, an excellent brand and Nilo just kept repeating "I have never seen this before....in 15 years I have never seen this." But, Rick was relaxed and we took some string and tied the boots together and went on. A few hours later, one of the soles came completed apart from the boot. Luckily, it was a fairly easy walking day and Rick used his Crocs that he had brought along to wear at the campsite. That's when I knew I had chosen good trekking partners: Rick continued hiking in the Andes mountains at about 3,500 meters in Crocs...still smiling and in a good mood. So, we continued walking, talking, snacking and sharing in the glorious surroundings - and glorious they were - and ended our day with a delicious warm meal, coca-leaf tea, a sky filled stars, so clear we could see the Milky Way and think we saw Venus and Mars.

Day 2:
This was the hardest day of the trek. We knew this in advance and were all a bit nervous. I hadn't reacted very well to going up to 4,300 meters while trekking to Machu Picchu in 2006 and was most nervous about the high altitude. However, this is where having previous experience and a good guide comes in (plus my oh so satisfying snickers). From my previous experience, I knew that I would feel worse the higher we went, but that when we went back down I would feel better. So, although I felt like my head my explode, I wasn't freaking out. Nilo by my side, reminding me to rest and take breaks, was also a big help. So, instead of wheezing the way I did before at over 4,000 meters, I actually was just breathing really hard. Actually, I am really proud of all of us: slowly but surely we climbed to the top. (I must mention that about 5 hours into our 9 hour day, Rick's boots completely broke with no hope of repair - and he hiked to 4,750 meters, 15,583 feet, in Crocs!!) As we crossed the pass and saw an incredible mountain peak, glacier and glacier lake, we were all a bit overcome with emotion. Lots of hugs were exchanged and some tears fell....nature is just so amazing.

Days 3 & 4:
With frost on our tents, we began our day with yet another delicious, full meal cooked by Nilo. From this point on, it was mostly either downhill or flat. The landscape continued to change, although the snow-peaked caps never really disappeared. We passed patches of incredible greenery, beautiful glacial lakes, enormous rocks and fascinating cacti, flowers and orange mold. As Anna is a geography teacher, we also talked about how and why land forms the way it does and, repeatedly, about the wonders of tectonic plates and water...which are really what formed the beautiful mountains we were looking at.

We ended the trip the same way we started: a beautiful, clear, sunny day. But, we were changed. As cheesy as this sound, it is true: the incredible Andes had burned themselves into our memory forever.

Our "victory dinner" our first night back in Huaraz was delicious Thai food, followed by a sound night of sleep (it does feel good to get out of the tent and into a warm shower and comfortable bed). Early the next day, Arturo arrived. We had a lovely breakfast, followed by a day of not doing very much at all. It was perfect! Anna, Rick, Arturo and I had dinner together and then Anna and Rick were on their way back to Lima.

We had one more day before I left. We did a bit of rock climbing in the morning and then took the bus to visit Mancos, the town Nilo is from...and also the town where Arturo owns some property. The property is beautiful, so lush and green, and perfectly situated: to one side are the snow-capped mountains in the Cordillera Blanca and to the other side is the lush green farm-filled lands of the Cordillera Negra.

The next morning, I got on the bus and came back to the reality of Lima, a.k.a. work.

All in all, it was an experience I will never forget.

Next big trip: the Amazon in July!

p.s. If you want to see all of the photos, go to: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9od46cm.9emqrblu&x=0&y=-z8vocm&localeid=en_US

Update #2

2008-05-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Now, for the whole reason we went to the States: Christian and Emi's wedding:

We got to NJ on Saturday and went straight to meet Sebastian, Arturo's new nephew.

What a cutie!

He's got light hair, blue eyes, and that amazing baby smell. He's a pretty mellow little baby who loves to walk (or rather be carried) about, held tight and close.

After spending some time hanging out with Sebastian, we went to meet Arturo's parents and eldest brother, Martin, at the hotel. Arturo and I gave Sebastian his gifts, both from us in Peru and some lovely clothes my grandmother picked out to send along.

Then, we lazed about the hotel room for the rest of the afternoon. I took a lovely little nap with Sebastian...who continued sleeping on Arturo after I woke up!

At night, we walked over to the nearby Outback Steakhouse for a classic American...oops, I mean Australian...dinner, followed by some drinks and more conversation back at the hotel.

The next day was the big day: the wedding. We all enjoyed a leisurely breakfeast buffet (which was free thanks to Arturo who used to work with one of the waitresses) and returned to the room to get ready.

Finally, we were all dressed, ready and in the cab to Weehawken for pictures with the Manhattan skyline behind us.

From there, we left for the marina in Queens, our departure point for the wedding cruise around Manhattan.

The ceremony was performed on-board before we left the dock. Then, we had cocktail hour, followed by dinner and dancing -- all while we were driving around Manhattan, viewing all the sights. I met many of Arturo's family members that lived in the NYC-area. Some I knew already, some I met for the first time. For me, one of the most fun parts was able to hold my own in Spanish. Although I'm sure the cocktails helpled, I finally felt confident with my Spanish and realized how much I have improved (Of course, when I told Arturo this he told me that's what he's been telling me for months).

The night moved along and we went outside to view the Statue of Liberty and the Brookyn Bridge...and then returned inside and promptly forgot all about Manhattan as we danced the rest of the night away.

The next day, Arturo and I got up early and took the bus into the city and then the train to JFK...and I went back to Lima while Arturo and the rest of his family stayed for the rest of the week to enjoy Christian, Emi and Sebastian's company, plus NYC and NJ. They went to Central Park, the Bodies Exhibit, the Brooklyn Bridge and, of course, to enjoy a good hamburger!

Update #1

2008-05-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on for the past few weeks...a quick visit back to the States and a week's holiday climbing in the Andes. For now, I'll start with the trip back home and go from there (Update #2 and #3 coming up soon!).

WHY GO HOME FOR THREE DAYS?
Arturo's brother's wedding was on the last Sunday in April. I arrived with Arturo and his parents on Friday afternoon, but I had to return to Peru on Monday morning to finish teaching for the week. Luckily there's only a one hour time difference.

HOW WAS THE TRIP?
Aside from the fact that it was a whirlwind of a visit, it was really fun.

WHAT DID I DO?
On Friday, Arturo and I met his brother at LaGuardia, said a quick hello, and left to go to my grandmother's house. After another quick hello, we went to run some important errands. First, I got my International Driver's Permit. Now, I've got a year before I have to take the Peruvian Driving Test. Yeah! After depositing some money in the bank, we stopped by our favorite store, EMS, and managed to find Arturo a $100 coat for $40 because of a broken zipper.

Then, we went back to grandma's house where Mom and Wayne were waiting for us. Despite terrible traffic and some track problems, Dad, Sarita, Effie, Benjamin, and Leo were able to make it to dinner. As usual, grandma prepared a delicious - and enormous - meal. Of course, in addition to the delicious food, we had some wonderful conversations. It was so, so great to catch up!

After staying up late going through the boxes and packing up more clothing to bring to Peru, Arturo and I left early the next morning to head to NJ for the wedding weekend. We walked from Penn Station to Port Authority, a mere 8 blocks, but it felt great to be in the city...and tasted good, too. We had 'dirty water dogs' which tasted yummmy!

Next, it was off to NJ to meet Arturo's nephew and get ready for the wedding on Sunday. Details coming up in Update #2...

Photos to prove it!

2008-04-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

I've been claiming to do certain things, but have yet to provide the photos to prove it.

For example, rock climbing.

Well, here are the photos to prove it!

And, of course, as I was not the only one climbing, I have included a photo of Arturo.

Pretty impressive, eh?

Then, there are some other events, such as our Passover dinner (not exactly a Seder, but more of a gathering of two guys, Arturo and his friend Javier, who have Jewish girlfriends, me and Tamara from Argentina. We invited two nice Israeli girls from the hostel and a couple other friends came along.

Things that make you say 'aww'

2008-04-12T17:18:00.001-07:00

Since our camera broke and there isn't too much going on right now, I have decided to dedicate this week's blog to kids. Not just any kids, but those who are somehow connected to me. So, if you like looking at adorable little ones, this is the blog to bookmark.

First, of course, my niece and nephew. Ellie and Micah continue to be the cutest kids ever...and, no, I'm not biased!

I receive regular phone calls with the following dialogue:

"Hi Aviva, it's Rach. OK, Ellie...what do you have to say to Aunt Aviva?"
"How are you?" Ellie asks.
"Now you're turn, Micah."
"I love you!" shouted/screeched into the phone by Micah.
"I love you, Aunt Avi," quietly whispered into the phone by Ellie.

Then, of course, comes Arturo's new nephew. Sebastian is about two months old and already on his way to being in the adorable competition. We get to meet him in a few weeks are are so, so excited!

Andrew: Just born yesterday, he is already charming his big sister Sarah. Welcome new little cousin!

Now, for some other adorable children....

Leo the Lion: Finally, despite the long wait, Leo finally got lederhosen!

Maya: Looking all grown-up with her very own cat handbag!

Big Sister Violet & Baby Brother Gibson: My friend Rebecca now has two children! Unbelievably, Gibson just celebrated his 1st birthday!

Owen (future dentist?): Lauren & Yuri recently celebrated Owen's 18th month. What a smile...

Sophie: I remember when Sophie was born and now Andrew and Lauren must getting ready for her to start school. How time flies!

Now, for the slightly different baby category...but no less important...

First, there is Kathleen. Obviously, from her rotund belly and radiant smile, a baby is on its way!

Next, my friend Kim has a new baby, but a different kind: a sweet puppy named Achilles (named after her unfortunate tearing of both Achilles tendons).

Hopefully, looking at this blog made you smile as much as I did while putting it together. Maybe it made you think of some adorable baby in your life. Maybe it reminded you why we women go through 10 months (not 9!) of pregnancy. Or maybe it just made you say "Awww...."

The Bad and Good

2008-04-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

There's a topic that I haven't written very much about. I haven't written because I don't want to worry anyone - including myself by thinking about it too much. Guessed the topic yet? Earthquakes.

About a month before I got here, there was a huge earthquake south of Lima. While it devasted the towns of Ica and Pisco, Lima was essentially untouched. I bravely claimed that big earthquakes didn't happen every year so, statistically, I was better off that a big one had just happened. Since arriving, I have changed my way of thinking a few ways.

On one hand, I think that since we now have the knowledge of where the major fault lines are in the world, there should be no cities directly on top of them. On the other hand, there are potenially dangerous natural disasters all over the world and we can't really ever escape them.

But, back to earthquakes. According to Wikipedia, the average recurrences of earthquakes in the United Kingdom - an area with very little seismic activity - is as follows:
an earthquake of 3.7 - 4.6 every year
an earthquake of 4.7 - 5.5 every 10 years
an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years.

Even at home this is happening and we don't even realize it. In March there was a small earthquake, about 3.0, outside of Boston and a tiny tremor of 1.0 in Connecticut. In February, there was a 3.0 earthquake in Troy which lastest a whopping 2.3 minutes.

Also, researches do not believe that earthquakes are increasing, we're just reporting them more which makes it seem like there are more. In fact, I've read some claims online which say that the big 7.0+ earthquakes are lessening.

There are have been six tremors since September. Five of them have been tiny, almost like a big truck driving by. However, one of them was 5.6. Luckily, I was with Arturo for this. We had spent the night at his brother's place which is in the hills. I woke to about 8 a.m. to a huge rumbling and shaking. In fact, almost more than the shaking, it was the noise. It was over by the time I got dressed and make it to the front door. My body continued to shake for sometime and the next few nights I woke up when a big truck drove by.

Last day, there was another tiny tremor during the day. I slept through it like a baby. I felt incredibly relieved. I'm not saying that earthquakes don't scare me. They do. A lot. But, perhaps I'm becoming accustomed to something which, let's face it, we don't have a lot of control over.

So, now for the connection to the title of my email:

The bad - Earthquakes will happen. Wherever you are.
The good - I'm not living in daily fear...something you just can't keep up...and

Sometimes you forget...

2008-04-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

On the way home from school yesterday, my (new) friend Ana asked me "Do you sometimes forget you're living in another country?" I immediately answered yes and we went on to discuss how the everyday things - job, making dinner, going to the movies, etc. - sort of takes over the "Wow! I'm in another country and should go do amazing things every free moment!" I don't think this is a bad thing...in fact, at least for me, it's a very necessary feeling. I find it comforting to just relax and live life.

That being said, there still are, of course, wonderful and amazing things that still happen everyday because that is what life should be about - wherever you live.

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DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
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After an unfortunate accident, we no longer have a working camera.
While we hope to fix this situation soon, in the interim blog entries
will contained limited photographs that we have been able to get from
other people's cameras. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
*****************************************************

ROCK CLIMBING: Last weekend we went rock climbing and had a fantastic time. I only went to the rock climbing gym three times in September and haven't had the time to do anything else since. So, it was not an easy day for me, but once I got over my own feelings of embarrassment at being the complete novice, I realized that the group we were with was really supportive and that we're all still struggling to learn...and then I had a really great rest of the day!

FOOTBALL: Arturo continues to play football (soccer) once a week which is great. The gym is fine, but actually doing something outside is better. This is a picture of him with Chris, a 19 year-old Nigerian who has come over to play football and is staying at the hostel for a month. I have been invited to join my school's women's football club. We shall see.

SCHOOL: I have realized what truly wonderful people I work with. Although the school has many of the usual problems in terms of organization, last minute announcements, and so on, I work for and with very, very supportive people - and it makes a huge difference. The end of our first term is coming up in four weeks and I have been working accordingly in my classes to finish our major CAT (curriculum assessment tasks) for each term, one written and one oral. Then, I discovered that, unlike I am used to, the last day of term is not the last day to collect work. Two weeks before the end of term you have to submit your grades and then the last day of term report cards are handed out. Not surprisingly, I was (and still am) a bit stressed at losing two weeks of working time. Additionally, I have become the co-coach of the Debate Club. This has been a great experience so far, but also another drain on time and stress. This week was the Pan-American Debate competition with students from Canada, the USA, Bermuda and Peru. Additionally, the British Schools of Peru debate is coming up in a week and we needed to have an in-school debate to decide who goes to that. Needless to say, it's been a very hectic and stressful week.

Now, back to that 'supportive staff' bit. First of all, Steve, the head of my department is always there to answer questions I have...often patiently explaining to me how things work since I am new at many of the classes and school systems. Maria, my co-Debate coach - who used to do everything on her own - has been fantastic to work with and, although she thinks I am simply helping her, I am learning a tremendous amount from her, too. Finally, at the Finals for the Pan-American Debate, held at one of the nearby universities, Steve turned to me and told me that he will take the kids back to school (all 32 of them) by himself and I should stay for the final luncheon. This meant that I missed the last period of the day (although I had a free period) and was able to relax, eat a great meal, and watch a Peruvian dance show. I returned to school refreshed and relaxed...only to encounter Steve who told me that he just had a long conversation with Dave, the head of the upper school, about what an amazing job I am doing. So, all in all, I'm working more than I have since my first year of teaching, but the ambiance and support is far superior and that makes all the difference.

DRIVING: I have been learning to drive for the past month. Well, learning to drive in Lima. Basically, I have had to re-learn all of the driving instincts I have developed since I started driving 16 years ago. A few examples:

You should never use your turn signal unless you are actually turning. For example, you shouldn't use it to switch lanes.
The people inside of a traffic circle should yield to those outside of the traffic circle...but you should never yield in a way that stops traffic...and you can turn off the traffic circle from all lanes.
If you make eye contact with a driver, it means you are letting him get in front of you. You must be aware of other drivers, but must avoid eye contact...unless you are at a small intersection in which case you must make eye contact to know who is going to cross the intersection first.
When turning, it's best to be 'covered.' This means that in a one-lane turning space, there are actually two of you, both next to each other, within inches of each other, and one of you is 'covering' the other one from oncoming traffic while you turn.

These are just a few of the new instincts I am developing. I am proud to say, that I am getting the hang of it all and now have driven to and from school by myself several times. Well, when I say by myself, I mean without Arturo. I pick up a colleague on the way to school and ride home with another...but this is still a huge step for me...

That's it from the 'everyday amazing stories' for this week...

Semana Santa

2008-03-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy and, for a while, rather uneventful. Not bad...just nothing of any import to really write about. However, then Semana Santa started. Semana Santa is Holy Week (literally "Saint Week"). Of course, it's not very clear to me why it's called Holy Week, since we only get two days off from work. Sure, some people are going to church each day of this week leading up to Easter, but that isn't important. In my opinion, either the name needs to be changed or the Peruvian government needs to give us off the entire week. People keep laughing when I say this, but I'm serious!

Anyway, I happily took the extra two days off and we decided to relax. Wednesday night we went out to celebrate one of Arturo's friend's birthdays. I've been very little fun since I started working -- in bed by 10:00 p.m. with no exceptions. So, I decided to just stay out late and let the night flow. The night ended by dancing salsa and merengie (or trying to) until 4:00 a.m. Impressive, eh? Needless to say, much of Thursday was spent sleeping and recuperating.

(NOTE: the photo included in this blog is a reenactment of the evening, played by actors and not the real dancers)

Friday morning and early afternoon was spent helping Arturo's parents move some of their things to Arturo's brother's apartment. They have sold their enormous three-floor house, since it's just the two of them, and they have bought an apartment. The only tricky part is that they have to be out of their house in a couple of weeks and their new apartment won't be ready until December. So, the bulk of their things will be stored at Arturo's brother while they move into a smaller, temporary apartment for the next six months or so (just don't ask any details about the interim apartment since they haven't found one yet).

After finishing with the parents, we took off for our Semana Santa trip. Just a two-day trip to the small mountain town of Canta, a couple hours' drive from Lima. We had everything we needed and were ready! Two hours into the trip we hit a bit of a bump in the road. This is, of course, after me screaming and covering my face for most of the previous hour. Peruvian drivers just don't seem to be scared of a passing other cars while driving on a narrow road with a sheer drop off of a rocky cliff and no guard rail. Arturo was an amazing driver, always keeping his eyes on the road and staying calm in the face of oncoming traffic.

Anyway, about that bump in the road. There was a small avalanche of rocks up the road and - since there is only one way to go - we had to turn back around. As we turned around, we felt disappointed, but still excited to be on holiday. Then, the excitement grew as we noticed a campground about 30 minutes down the road. We pulled in, paid our 12 soles (about $5) and looked around with satisfaction. There were barbecue pits, a playground, two pools, and loads of flat grass to pitch our tent on. Just as we finished, it began to rain so we skipped the bbq idea and bought sandwiches and hot dogs at the food stand. We used our headlamps to do a little reading and fell asleep around 9:00 p.m.

The next day we rose to a bright, sunny day and decided we needed to do something else. We started driving in the direction of Lima and Arturo came up with the excellent idea of going to La Punta in Callao, a small district (sort of like a state) just next to Lima. La Punta is a beautiful neighborhood along a beach, with incredibly preserved colonial architecture, and the original wall of defense along the coast, built by the Spaniards and then, eventually, used by the Peruvians to win their independence. We walked around, feeling relaxed and hours away from the hustle and bustle of Lima (when in fact we were just an hour away). We had a delicious lunch of fresh ceviche and fried fish, wandered around the boardwalk, and then took a 40 minute boat ride to see some of the sights. Nearby is Palomino Island, where a sea lion community lives. You can take a day-long tour - including swimming with the sea lions! - but we missed the 9 a.m. departure. Instead, we took a lovely little boat ride around (with no sea lions) and then went over to the Real Felipe, the walled fortress. Although the two hour tour of the museum/fortress was way too long and way too hot, it was a fascinating piece of history. You can read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Felipe.

We came back to our apartment where we washed away the dust and watched a movie. All in a all, a pretty good weekend. The best part is...it's not over yet! We have one more day...

Welcome Sebastian

2008-03-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to update my blog, but mostly all that's been going on is regular life stuff. I've been working a lot because the school year just started. Arturo's been patiently teaching me how to drive in Lima's crazy traffic. We've gone out with friends a few times and seen his family a couple of times, but it's mainly been work, dinner, bed. It's been good, this normalcy and routine, but it doesn't make for a very exciting blog.

So, I have decided that Sebastian deserves a blog entry.

Sebastian is Arturo's nephew. He was born in NJ a couple of weeks ago and, so far, we know that he's adorable, his parents are happy, but busy, and that Arturo's mom is thrilled at finally becoming a grandma.

Welcome Sebastian! We can't wait to meet you!

Back to reality & an announcement

2008-02-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Alexis and Dana are back in their respective homes telling, I am sure, lots of tales of their adventure. Here is a brief retelling:

After spending a lovely couple of days in Lima -- most especially enjoying Larco Mar, the shopping mall built into the side of the sea cliff, and Pisco Sours -- Alexis met Dana at the airport, flew to Cusco and were promptly told that there is a strike and their entire trip was up in the air.

Troopers that they were, they remained calm and woke up at 3:00 a.m. to take an alternative and, of course, longer route, to get to Machu Picchu. Following their excellent tour and almost crowd-free visit to the famous site, they hoped that they would make it back to Cusco for the night (as they were told, yet again, only that it might work out).

Luck was on their side and they made it back to Cusco, only to discover the next day that all flights out of Cusco were canceled. The best alternative, the bus, was completely full. Thanks to the "team" working for them (Arturo and a tourist agency), they took a bus to Puno and enjoyed a one day tour of Lake Titicaca...plus a definite flight back to Lima on Sunday morning.

However, long before their flight was scheduled to leave began a night-time game of "Who gets the bathroom." Alexis had a bit of an upset stomach, while Dana's body was completely rejecting something she ate. After a night of nonstop vomiting, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to make the flight.

Apparently at the tiny airport of Juliaca, Dana caused quite a scene...but after a security guard took her blood pressure and she was offered unlimited coca leaves, someone gave her an anti-nauseous pill which allowed her the strength to get on the plane. Thanks to the wonderful staff of LAN, Dana was permitted to sit (on the floor) near the bathroom for easy access during the hour and half flight. I am sad to say, I have no photos to share from this.

Meanwhile, our plans for a relaxing beach weekend seemed to be over. Then again, maybe not. We knew that Alexis and Dana wouldn't get back to Lima until late Sunday afternoon and it just seemed a waste not to take advantage of Martin's offer to come to his beach house for the weekend...so, Arturo and I joined his brother and friends at the beach area called Asia.

It was was of the best weekends I've had in Peru. The beach area basically consists of several developments, each of which includes houses (with no security fences covering them the way it is in Lima), tennis courts, soccer fields, and, of course, direct beach access. It wasn't empty, but didn't feel overcrowded. Houses could only be one floor, but all contained roof-top patios with small pools. Every house was painted white and contained huge glass walls, surrounded by flowers and grass.

In addition to riding bicycles around, walking along the beach (the Pacific is way too cold to swim!), we enjoyed delicious food. Martin told us that he was taking care of all the food for the weekend...and we were all very pleasantly surprised at what a masterful chef he was. He cooked an incredibly meal of swordfish with rosemary, salad with vegetables and grilled chicken, and risotto. Incredible!

Of course, I can never be anywhere without finding some negative. The one thing that was obvious from looking around at the mountains of sand around us, I realized that we were essentially in the middle of the desert. However, I decided to ignore how much water and other natural resources were used up to create the beautiful oasis -- and decided that we're definitely getting a beach house next summer.

Essentially, renting a house for the summer is like getting a share on Fire Island or the Hamptons -- but better! For about $3,500, Arturo's brother had a private bedroom, with two beds, and a private bathroom, less than a one minute walk to the beach for 3 whole months. How far away from Lima is this? Only about an hour! (So, friends, you might want to plan a trip to visit sometime from December - February).
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Announcement:
Arturo's nephew is born!

Sebastian was born at about 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 24. Arturo and Martin followed Peruvian tradition and began celebrating the night before. Here they are, celebrating (baby pictures to come soon).

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The weekend ended with a reunion at our apartment in Lima - with a very sick Dana. We went to the pharmacy, got some more medicine, and then Dana slept for the entire day while Alexis, Arturo and I (finally) went out for some delicious ceviche and other seafood, walked along the surfing beach near our apartment, and had a final Pisco Sour at the beautiful Rosa Nautica on the water before Alexis headed to the airport for her flight home.

(Oddly enough, at the same time, my grandmother in NY and a colleague's son in Italy, also seemed to have a terrible stomach virus.)

On Monday, I left school a bit early, I came home to a bright-red Dana. Since she felt better, she had walked down to the beach...forgetting sunblock and the fact that Peru is much closer to the equator than San Francisco where she lives. Did an upset stomach, dehydration and sunburn stop Dana? No! We walked around a bit, sitting down to enjoy a snack, and even do a bit of shopping. Then, we went to Barranco, the 'bohemian' section of Lima with beautiful old buildings, and enjoyed Italian food (her stomach still wasn't the best). Of course, she was promptly sick when we got home, but was still, unbelievably, fun to hang out with. Next morning, at 5:30 a.m., she hopped into a taxi and - medicine in hand - began the long journey back home.

Despite a bit more adventure than I had hoped for Alexis and Dana, I had an incredible time with both of them. It was fun to have friends here and fun to show friends what I love about Lima.

The first week, the first friend visit

2008-02-20T18:13:00.001-08:00

I'm on my way to the beach for the weekend, but wanted to write quickly before heading off. This was my first week of work and the first visit from a friend.

First, about school. Despite not wanting to go back to work and despite extreme nervousness about taking on a teaching schedule way beyond what I've done before, it's been really good to go back to work. I truly enjoy the people I work with and, although the anxiety isn't gone and I have a TON of work ahead of me, I am excited about the upcoming year.

Second, about my visitor...actually friends. I am thrilled that two friends from college decided to come visit. Alexis arrived on Sunday night and we have two great days of hanging out in the afternoon (since not much was ready at school and I got to leave early). Dana arrived on Wednesday morning and met Alexis at the airport to fly to Cusco and see Machu Picchu.

Now, due to an unfortunate strike in Cusco, they couldn't fly back to Lima today. But, the good news is that they are going to Puno to see the floating islands in Lake Titicaca and have a definite flight back on Sunday morning. So, sadly, we won't get to go to the beach, but they'll get to see more of Peru (and I'm still going to the beach).

p.s. The building in the picture is not my school - it's the presidential palace. As Alexis said, it looks European...with palm trees.

Colombia

2008-02-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

I know that I wrote a couple of blog entries while in Colombia, but I want to summarize the entire trip in one blog...so some of this might be a repeat...and it's definitely a lot to read...but there are lots of photos plus two videos!

CARIBBEAN COAST
After a lovely overnight at the airport in Bogota (we arrived at midnight and left at 6 a.m. the next day so we just slept on some chairs in the airport), we flew to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. For the first time in my life, I was greeted by a hotel representative waiting to drive us to the Decameron, an all-inclusive resort (for about $60 more than the price of our plane tickets, we had 4 days at this resort -- so why not?). Despite our high expectations, this was probably the least favorite part of our trip. In fairness, we were excited to travel and not yet ready the 'lay on the beach and do nothing' part of our trip, and we didn't feel well so we couldn't even enjoy the free open bar. In the end, though, unlimited food, drinks, and beach-time wasn't really that bad!

Toward the end of our time at the Decameron, we began to explore the rest of the coast. We went to Taganga, a tiny village full of scuba-diving centers and near Playa Grande, a lovely beach on a bay only accessible by boat. In the boat on the way back, we met four really nice Colombians who drove us into Santa Marta to try Colombian ceviche (tasty...but nothing next to Peruvian ceviche!) and then took us all the way back to our hotel. This was just the first of many friendly Colombians we met.

After storing our luggage at a hostel, we took a one-hour bus ride - with our daypack - to the entrance of Parque Nacional Tayrona. This national park includes jungle, forest, beaches and city ruins. After a couple hours of walking, we arrived at this mecca for camping, relaxation and beach. We rented a tent and went out for a walk through Arrecifes, La Piscina, and Cabo San Juan de la Guía. The next day we did a short trek to Pueblito, seeing nice tropical forest scenery and the ruins/remains from this once major town. From there, we continued for a couple of hours to Calabazo where we hopped on a bus back to Santa Marta. Even though this was a short trip to Tayrona, it was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Next, we went to the well-known city of Cartegena. It is, indeed, an incredibly beautiful city full of colonial buildings, sea views, and ruins of the old wall which protected this city - once from the pirates and English ships which attacked the Spanish colony, and eventually from the Spanish themselves as the city declared independence in 1810 (although this wasn´t official until 1821, two years after Simón Bolívar´s troops defeated the Spaniards for Bogotá). The entire area has a definite Caribbean-feel, but especially Las Islas Rosario (or so I think, having never been to any of the islands). We took a one-day trip to the island and, finally, were in the crystal-clear-blue-green waters you see in postcards. It was a great end to our time on the coast.

BOGOTÁ
At 2,600 meters, Bogotá´s 7.5 million residents enjoy hot, sunny days and cold, cold nights. We arrived expecting little and left with a wonderful impression of Colombia´s capital. We stayed in the ´old´part of the city which was filled with lovely, old, low colonial buildings. The famous gold museum was closed for renovations, so instead we went to the Botero museum. While I knew the artist Fernand Botero, famous for his extremely rotund characters, I was impressed with the vast collection (all donated by the Colombian artist). Our favorite was the Mona Lisa. We took the cable car up to the top of one of the beautiful mountains which surround the city, taking in the view and several churches and restaurants built at the top. We enjoyed delicious coffee, fresh juices, snacks on the street, some Middle Eastern food and were ready to go. However, before leaving, we had the outstanding privelege of joining in the International Peace March (against FARC) in Colombia´s capital. This was an amazing experience which showed the incredible power people can have - without violence, without money.

MEDELLÍN
If you´re like me, you might have only heard of this city because of Colombia´s cocaine cartels. Well, it´s time to revise this image in your mind. Pablo Escobar is dead, the city is incredibly safe, organized and is surrounded by green hillsides (so if you´ve seen the movie "Blow" it´s time to rethink what the city looks like - since it was filmed in Mexico, not in Colombia). We enjoyed a night out with an ex-client of Arturo´s, enjoying the area known as Zona Rosa in El Poblado. Our first tourist destination was to visit the two famous cemetaries in the area. By this time, Arturo was on his second or third book about the ´drug war´in Colombia and was mostly interested in seeing Pable Escobar´s tombstone (Weird? Yeah, I think so). To get there we took the Metro - the only in Colombia and an example for subway riders around the world. As it opened in 1995, the entire Metro is modern, clean and new...but the amazing part is that no one speaks loudly, plays music, sings, screams, pushes people, or gabs on their cell phone. It´s incredible. However, by this time, I not only had the flu, but also some serious stomach problems. I´d been able to push through the previous week of not feeling great, but in Medellín I had to finally give into my body. I went back to the hostel and Arturo spent that afternoon, and several days following, touring the city while I mostly slept, read, blew my nose and ran to the bathroom. My two favorite things that Arturo did are:

Visit Pablo Escobar´s tombstone, a simple and plain stone which says: Cuando veas a un hombre bueno trata de imitarlo; cuando veas a un hombre malo examinate a ti mismo...When you see a good man, try to imitate him; when you see a bad man, examine yourself.

Go to the once infamously dangerous area of Barrio la Francia is now improving. Arturo took the public transport cable car up to this area, now filled with schools, a huge library and even tourists. There, he met a lovely family who took him home to their house and fed him a feast.

After listening to all of Arturo´s fun, I admitted defeat and went to the pharmacy for some medicine. Arturo had cooked for me, brought me water, and been patient with my whining...but even someone to take care of you sometimes isn´t enough to get better. Our last day there, after I´d started to feel a little better, I joined Arturo for lunch at his friend´s house, followed by a party at the hostel, including a live vallenato band (this is my new favorite kind of music, by the way). Arturo then went out to a discoteca with his friend while I went to bed.

ARMENIA
We decided to include Armenia in our trip because Arturo´s sister-in-law, Emi, is from there. We thought we would go there for one or two day to see the city, meet her brother, and then be on our way. We got there, realized how amazing the area is and stayed for our last five days in the area. Although not, on the whole, beautiful, the city is quickly improving. The central plaza had a wonderful photography and art exhibit outside and the city converted one of the nearby main streets into a pedestrian-only walkway, filled with lovely shops and friendly people.

Our first day, we went to the incredible Parque Nacional del Café. According to Lonely Planet, the government´s goal was to build an "American-style theme park." It may be a theme park - the theme is coffee - but it is so much more. It includes a timber tower, museums with the history of coffee, an ecological path which includes coffee plants and stations with information and demonstrations, and a plaza surrounded by colonial-style buildings. If you wish to continue on, you can come to the typical amusement park rides, including a roller coaster, ferris wheel and more, or - like we did - you can just take the gondola ride back to the entrance, enjoying the sweeping views of the park and surrounding area. This is the department (sort of like a county) of coffee plantations and it was obvious from the view we had. After leaving the park, we went to visit Emi´s brother and his family. We met, said hello and then enjoyed lechona, pork mixed with rice, stuffed inside a pig and baked, at a local restaurant. After eating, we went back to the apartment and ended up staying and talking for the next several hours, making plans for lunch later in the week.

The next day, we left for Salento, a tiny, typical pueblo paisa. We looked around the main plaza a bit, bought some snacks and left for our final destination: Valle de Cocora. We had three options: pay for a jeep ride, pay for a horse ride, or do an easy two-hour walk. We decided to be cheap and see more of the countryside and walk. After less than an hour, a truck pulled up next to us and offered us a ride. We arrived in the valley with beautiful mountains all around us and, after asking around, found a señora working at a small shop who rented rooms at her finca (farm) up the mountain. We walked uphill for an hour and arrived to the farm, complete the cows, roosters, turkeys, and more. After relaxing on the hammock and talking to our host, the youngest son of the family (about 8 years old), the rest of the family came home, too. After dinner we went to bed and got up at 6 a.m. to go for a short trek. Of course, the rest of the family woke up at 4:30 a.m. so for us it was early, but for the finca it was late.

With our handrawn map from our señora, a big bottle of water and some delicious sweet fruit gel snacks, we left. After about an hour we came to the palm tree. This was one of the landmarks on our map - a big palm tree with nothing else around it. After the palm tree there should have been a gate which went into the forest and up to the top. We walked around for another half an hour trying every which way with no luck. There was no clear path, it was incredibly cloudy (we were at about 3000 meters - cold and cloudy!) and we couldn´t see anything, but we also didn´t want to get lost. Then, walking a bit in front of Arturo, trying to find a path in the thick forest, I heard "grrrr." It wasn´t that loud, but it was clear. The second and third "grrrr" came and, as Arturo says, "Ok, you win!" We went back downhill and back to the finca. Was it a puma or jaguar, both of which are a problem in the area? We think so...although our señora agreed with a bit of a smirk on her face so who knows. After the most delicious lunch of trucha, trout, from the local rivers, boiled with milk, butter, garlic and onions, we went back down to the valley and took the jeep into Solento and the bus to Armenia.

From there, we got some help from the tourist information at the bus terminal and went to a finca hotel in Montenegro. Here, for the last two days of our trip, we enjoyed tropical weather (hot, humid with rain showers in the afternoon) and ammenities which we didn´t have elsewhere -- a small porch in front of our room with a hammock, a pool and a jacuzzi/hot tub. We enjoyed cocktails in the jacuzzi, played a mean game of Uno (in which I sadly lost 3 games to 7) and went to a nearby canopy. I´ve seen friends´pictures of canopy rides in Costa Rica, but had never done one myself. It was a blast! We soared through and above the tropical forest, eventually getting comfortable enough to go upside down and hands-free. It was incredible and over way too fast (although it was about an hour of floating through the sky).

Our last day was spent with Emi´s brother and wife for lunch, followed by a bus ride back to Bogotá, an overnight, and one final day before we left for Lima. It was nice to be back in Bogotá and sad to be leaving...but like all trips, ours had to end at some point...

OTHER FAVORITE MOMENTS

Watching Arturo blow his nose and cough, immediately after saying "Yeah, I think I´m getting better."

Explaining to one of the many women who wanted to give me a massage on the beautiful beach at Las Islas Rosario that we didn´t have any money...and the ensuing conversation - all while I was being given the most incredible massage - that we only had 2,800 pesos (about US$1.50) and weren´t trying to bargain down the price - we just didn´t have more money.

Breaking the clasp on my bikini top less than a week into our trip

Wrist bands! We had to wear a wrist band at the Decameron and again at Parque Tayrona. We were afraid that we were going to get a new wrist band from each new place.

Enjoying the kitchen facilities at several hostels -- as Arturo went to the store, bought food, and cooked while I rested and tried to get better.

Colombian Coffee!! And learning that Starbucks and Juan Valdez (a conglomeration of Colombian coffee growers) had a contract that excluded Juan Valdez from entering the café market...and now that the contract is over, Juan Valdez cafés are around the world - I saw one in Times Square in January. The best part is that not only does the Juan Valdez Café offer only 100% delicious Colombian coffee, but the profits go more directly into Colombians hands.

Sitting in the jacuzzi during a terencial downpour and storm until finally convincing Arturo that the rain wasn´t going to stop anytime soon and it was dangerous to sit in a pool of water during thunder and lightening.

Watching "The Hot Chick" on our final bus trip (one of the worst movies I´ve ever seen...but we were on a bus, so I watched it -- dubbed in Spanish!)

All in all, it was a great trip. Colombia is an amazing country - it has the warmest and friendliest people, varied landscapes from the coast to the mountains, and has the infrstructure to support both its citizens and tourism. Go Colombia!

VIDEOS...you need sound to appreciate them....

"I really feel better!"

"No más FARC!" (The Peace March)

Glass half empty...I mean full (a rant)

2008-02-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

THE NEGATIVES: I have to start work tomorrow. We bought a car and have nowhere to park it so I might actually have to take a taxi to my car each morning (thus, paying more money than just taking a taxi and taking longer to get to and from work). I'm scared to start full-time teaching here and am afraid that the courses I have to teach will be too challenging. I have a friend arriving tomorrow night and have to work instead of just hanging out. There are still at least 4 loads of laundry left to do (and it takes two days to dry the laundry outside since it costs almost $1,000 to buy a dryer). My stomach is still upset and I'm not sure how I'm going to teach while going to the bathroom every hour. Since I can't afford cable, there are no English programs to watch on tv and the only thing on are Spanish soap operas and these bizarre reality game shows. I'm broke and won't get paid for another two weeks.

THE POSITIVES: I have two friends from college coming to visit this week! My dad sent me a beautiful Valentine's Day bouquet! It's summer and not winter! I have an amazing boyfriend! We have a car and can go places on the weekends! My Spanish is improving! I read almost a dozen books in the past two months! My mom is coming to visit in July! Oh...and I just had a fantastic vacation in Colombia!

Photos from Colombia

2008-02-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hola! After four days of not doing much except for reading, sleeping and running to the bathroom, I have decided I am better. I´m not actually feeling much better, but it´s just time.

So, today we are leaving Medellìn - a city which Arturo saw a lot of - and heading to Armenia. We have two very big plans in this city: 1) Visit the brother of Emi, Arturo´s sister-in-law, who is from Armenia, Colombia
2) Go to Parque Nacional del Cafè, the "disneyland" of coffee production. (Don´t ask what that means...that´s what Lonely Planet says)

Here are some photos of our trip so far...some from the Caribbean coast, with a friend (ex-client) of Arturo´s, the Peace March, etc.

Hola from Colombia

2008-02-05T12:38:00.000-08:00

So far, Colombia has been amazing. The people are the friendliest I have ever met -- and are all working so hard to make their country better and better...as evidenced by the peace march (no màs FARC-no more FARC) we joined in today in Bogota. There were marches all over the world so perhaps you´ve seen it on the news. Let me tell you, it was an incredible experience to be with all of the Colombians showing, saying, demanding that their country continue to improve.

In addition, the scenery here has been pretty incredible. We spent about a week on the Caribbean coast, including an all-inclusive resort (for only $60 more than our plane ticket, we added 3 nights of this), an amazing national park where we camped, and the legendary city of Cartegena which did not fail to impress. Our favorite place was definitely Parque Tayrona...here´s a photo of the beach which was just a short trek into the park.

Now, we are finishing off our time in the lovely city of Bogota, surrounded by beautiful mountains, on our way to Medallín (don´t worry if you don´t know this city, I´d never heard of it before either).

In other news:
*Arturo was sick and is now healthy
*I am now sick with the flu and cannot seem to get rid of it
*We dropped the camera, broke the lens, and got it fixed in one day for $50
*I am discovering first-hand the differences between Spanish in countries (not so much that one cannot be understood, but still obvious differences)
*The coffee really is incredible

A Visit Home

2008-01-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

While I have free time during my summer vacation (remember, summer and winter is opposite in South and North American), I decided to go home for a visit. Mostly, I visited with friends and family.

My trip started out at my dearest grandmother's house for a few days and then I went into the city for the weekend to run some errands (get a visa from the Peruvian consulate) and visit some of my favorite people and places.

First, I went to my old school in Brooklyn to visit. I felt like a rock star as kids literally screamed when they saw me. After school, my newspaper staff and I went out for drinks and catch up. Sadly, the newspaper has not really gotten started. While I didn't feel a pull to be teaching there, I am incredibly disappointed that my girls haven't been motivated enough to get this done without me there breathing down their necks. Anyway, after hanging out with students for non-alcoholic drinks, I met the ACORN staff for real drinks. It was great to catch up with everyone!

The rest of the weekend was spent with friends -- eating. I had brunch with the "A-Team" which turned into a late afternoon coffee. Then, I met all of my oldest and dearest friends. I felt very lucky because one friend came into Brooklyn from Washington D.C. (and she's 4 months pregnant!) for the weekend. Two other friends traveled in from Long Island and New Jersey for a wonderful Saturday night dinner gathering with a delicious dinner and desserts. I got to eat at my favorite sushi restaurant, had a big sleepover party for a weekend and got to see all of my closest friends. I couldn't ask for me - but there was more!

The end of the weekend came and was, again, filled with more eating. After brunch, I met Arturo's brother and fiance to see the tree at Rockefeller Center and have lunch at Pardo's, a Peruvian chicken restaurant which has a branch in NYC. It was wonderful to see them. I just wish they lived in Peru, too! To help with my sadness, I had a dinner (yes, eating again) with some college friends which was a blast.

Finally, the weekend really ended and I went back to Long Island for the week with grandma. The week included a lot of shopping - buying, returning, buying and so on. There are some things, such as sheets and cooking equipment, that are much cheaper in the U.S. Other things, such as clothing, just fits better and, depending on how hard you search the racks of TJ Max and Marshalls, can also be less expensive. In addition to the daily shopping excursions, I got to spend a lot of time with grandma, which included, of course, several excellent scrabble games.

At the end of the week, grandma and I drove upstate to visit the rest of my family: mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, aunts, and cousin. It was quite a reunion! While we did have amazing food and a lovely white blanket of new snow to enjoy, the best part was seeing everyone. I was able to spend quality time with everyone and it meant a lot to me. Luckily, the family visits continued when I got back to grandma's house with a lunch with family friends and a lovely dinner with cousins. I definitely don't miss NYC -- it's the people I miss!

However, my trip did come to an end. And the surprising thing is that I was more than ready for it. After about two weeks, I started to miss home -- and by home I mean Peru. Who would have thunk it?

Tiempo Libre - Free Time!

2007-12-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a fun week off from work, filled with lots to do...

One day, my friend Kim and I went for a long walk and lunch. Another day we went shopping at Jockey Plaza (a big shopping mall here). She also inspired Arturo to cook his famous tacos since she gave us fantastic new dishes for Christmas - specifically for tacos as she knows about Arturo's obsession...

Arturo and I have also been shopping, but for a used car. We found one, but after the trip to the mechanic, decided it wasn't the car for us. We've got another appointment tomorrow. I really want to come back and have a car. Although there are tons of cheap buses within Lima, they are very, very slow and the routes rarely take you directly where you need to go. For example, in a taxi it takes about 30 minutes from my apartment to school. In a bus, it takes almost 2 hours and you have to transfer to two buses. So, a car is really a necesity here.

Another nice thing that started this week is exercise. I've been going to the gym again. Although I realize this is a false start as I leave for New York on Sunday and am sure I'll be eating my way through the next three weeks, it's always good to raise your heartbeat and burn some calories.

Tonight, a Swiss guest is making fondue and tomorrow we have another reunion with some of Arturo's friends from school.

Sunday I will hopefully be on an airplane. Close family friends gave me one of their stand-by tickets (they used to work for an airline) which is a blessing as it's saving me a lot of money, but it's a busy time of year so I hope I make the flight. If not, I'll be flying on New Year's Eve!

Christmas Celebrations

2007-12-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

Fireworks! Cheering! Kissing! Champagne! What holiday am I talking about? Christmas in Peru, of course!

Christmas Eve started with a big turkey dinner at the hostel. There were about 10 of us, from the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Brasil, Australia and Peru. Arturo has 'discovered' that Brasilians call turkey peru (this is pavo in Spanish) because the turkey originated in Peru. I don't know if I believe this claim so I looked online and didn't find anything. Arturo has yet to provide me with a credible (or any) source to prove this. However, it is true that Brasilians called turkey Peru and I will leave it at that.

After dinner at the hostel, we went to Arturo's uncle's house for more of the same. His parents, brother, uncle and aunt and cousins all joined together to celebrate the holiday and, as promised, at midnight there were fireworks, cheering, champagne and a lot of kissing all around. Then, at midnight (!!!) dinner was served. After we ate, the kids were woken up, and presents were handed out. At about 3:30 a.m., his parents drove us back to our apartment where we promptly passed out.

One part about this tradition that I really like is that you don't have to buy presents for everyone. You exchange presents with your immediate family or the people you are closest to. No obligation to find some small, but nice, but inexpensive present for every single breathing being. We gave his mom new clothes, books to his dad, and a really cool laptop adapter set to his brother, as well as gifts to the young kids. His brother brought some food, and we brought three bottles of wine. Surprisingly, I also got some gifts myself. Arturo's brother gave me a fantastic t-shirt from Abercrombie and Finch, a pretty expensive brand here. He called Arturo a few weeks ago to ask my size. This made me feel very much a part of the family and means a lot to me. However, as nice as my t-shirt was, the star present was definitely Arturo's gift to me. He bought an incredible necklace/earring set from some designer he knows here in Lima. It's polished silver, and a piece of special wood from the jungle. It's beautiful and definitely the nicest piece of jewelry I own (perhaps it's time I stopped buying the $1 earrings on the street!).

More than just presents, though, what I enjoyed most was being part of Arturo's family. Everyone was friendly, gracious and warm. They even said that they were impressed with my Spanish (which, of course, made me like them immediately). It felt like any normal holiday, talking, laughing, catching up on old times, and getting to know new people (me!). I felt so comfortable. When I was telling Arturo how much I enjoyed the night and how sweet it was for his brother to buy me a gift, he said "of course, you're part of the family." (Is it too cheesy to write how great my boyfriend is?)

Christmas morning, December 25, we enjoyed a relaxed morning and delicious lunch (thanks to a big surprise and very appreciated food delivery from his brother and fiance in NJ). Then, Arturo went to the hostel and I went...drum roll, please...paragliding! An Australian guy, Pete, who has stayed in the hostel on and off for the past six months offered to take me (ok, he didn't exactly offer, I sort of asked - but he said yes!). Marco, who works at the hostel, went with me. I didn't feel nervous at all, even while Pete was connecting me to all the straps and tightening the helmet. Then, just before we took off, he started talking about how I shouldn't worry and it was safe. This, of course, made me a bit nervous. But, within two minutes we were floating in the air, sailing over the sea, the cliffs, the buildings of the city and it was incredible. I left the camera on the ground so all I needed to do was sit back, relax and enjoy. Many people feel queasy their first time. Luckily, this didn't happen with me and Pete told dirty jokes, old paragliding stories, and spun us up, down and around. It was beautiful and peaceful. Then, just as my stomach started to react, we cruised back to the ground and landed gently on the grass. I decided that instead of a car, we should buy two para gliders, but Arturo thinks that might be a difficult way to commute to work. I think we could make it work...

Holiday Cheer

2007-12-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

Luckily, I have rebounded from the tough weekend last week. A few things have happened which have helped this along.

First, school ended and I don't have to work until Feb. 18. Yeah!

Second, I've been hanging out more with my friend Kim. This has been a great outlet to feel like I have my own life here. We went Christmas shopping together, have been walking on the weekends when we can, and talk on the phone regularly. It's starting to feel less like we're getting to know each other and more like we're just friends. Which is really, really nice.

Third, and most important, I went with Arturo to two reuniones (see below for more info.) and had a great time at both of them. One was with his close friends from school, grades K-12, and the other was with some friends from his university. Everyone was friendly and Spanish was flowing off my tongue (ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was much easier). For the first time, I wasn't even aware of where Arturo was in the room. I just sat and talked...and it felt wonderful. Above is a photo of me deep in conversation -- in Spanish!

Along with this Holiday Cheer, I've realized that while the holiday season here is filled with much of the same commercial stuff, there are several Peruvians holiday traditions that continue to amaze me:

1) Reuniones
Reunion in Spanish means a meeting or gathering, but I think this isn't descriptive enough. It means you get together with friends/relatives and stay with each other until there is some major reason why you need to leave. Time is not an acceptable reason. If it's 3:00 a.m. and you don't have another reunion to go to, you just stay and talk. This idea is not only with close friends. If, for example, your company's holiday reunion is a lunch, you must go prepared to stay for many hours, possibly through dinner and into the night. (This idea extends to weddings where young and old stay out all night and the bride and groom must provide both dinner and breakfast for their guests)

2) Panetón
According to Wikipedia, panetón originated in Milan and comes with several different legends, many including romantic love, of course. I haven't heard any legends told, but I have realized that, whatever the reason, Peruvians are obsessed with getting their Christmas panetón. The dome-shaped bread is sweet and usually has some dried fruit or other delicious ingredients. However, it's just a sweet bread. I have been struggling to find out what the obsession is all about. For example, Arturo often receives clients from taxi drivers (they pick up foreigners at the airport and they need a place to stay). So, yesterday, we bought 20 panetónes for each driver. Every taxi driver I've had in the last two weeks has asked me if I've had panetón and if I love it.

3) Christmas Turkey
For the most part, people don't cook full, big turkeys in their house. It's something that is done for a special occasion. Here, everyone receives a voucher for a free turkey from the company they work for (yes, I received one from my school). There are special areas set up throughout Lima where you can go and claim your free turkey. Many people at school told me they give this voucher to their maids, as a big, frozen turkey can be more of a hassle than anything else. We went yesterday and the system is really incredible. In fact, it's one of the most organized things I've seen in Peru. Of course, my voucher (called a valet here) was for a 9 kg turkey and they only had 7 kg or 13 kg, for which you had to pay extra. Tricky, eh? Anyway, I think the most interesting part about the whole system is that most people don't actually cook the turkeys themselves. After you defrost the turkey, you bring it - in your own pan - to special turkey-baking places and pick it up about five hours later.

Now, I'm off to take a nap. At 5:00 we're having a Christmas dinner (complete with the turkey I got from my school) at the hostel, and then at 10:00 the family Christmas reunion begins. That's right: 10:00 p.m. is when it starts! Arturo told me we will most likely be finished around 2 or 3 in the morning...I think after my nap I'm going to get coffee!

The Best of Times...the Worst of Times

2007-12-17T14:28:00.001-08:00

It was the best of times...it was the worst of times...

There have been some tough moments in Peru, but for sure the toughest was this past weekend. At the same time, though, it was an incredible weekend.

First, the incredible part...Every year, Arturo and his friends pitch in money to buy Christmas gifts for some small villages in the mountains. It's informal, but well organized. They get an official list of the names and ages of all school children in the village, and give each one a gift with his/her name. Every year is different depending on how much money there is or what is donated. For example, for the past 5 years, one baker has donated enough paneton (a special Christmas bread) for each child to have a piece. Other people give baseball hats with their company logos and others just donate money. This year, over 30 people made donations and a group of 20 went up north to visit the villages and hand out presents.

This was the amazing part.

We gather all the kids together, sing songs, get promises to study hard and be good, and then hand out gifts.

At first, this felt a bit superficial and classist. The light-skinned, tall Peruvians from Lima coming to the small mountain villages for one day -- and then most will leave and never think about these people again. However, watching the sheer joy on these kid's faces left me thinking that this did way more good than harm. It isn't with an official organization (so no money gets taken out for 'expenses' or lost), it isn't anything that gets promotion or advertising. It's just people who pool their resources together and donate money, products and often their time.

One interesting detail is that the parents are separated from the children. Why? Sadly, the parents tell their kids (who are grinning from ear to ear) that there present isn't enough and to go ask for more. Or, they thrust their babies in your face and ask for money. Without their parents, however, the kids are just kids enjoying themselves.

What was the bad part about the weekend?

Of the 20 people who went on this trip (which was an 8 hour drive each way, including an overnight stay), only a handful spoke to me. Some not only didn't speak to me, but actually ignored me when I spoke. There was no friendly encouragement to speak Spanish and despite a one-on-one acknowledgement that it's difficult when 6 people are all speaking at the same time, using slang, and speaking quickly, no one made an attempt to speak to me slowly and clearly. Obviously, Arturo was there, but it was so busy that outside of the car trip, he really didn't see how I was treated and we had no time alone to speak. He also, in his own way, just tried to be encouraging by telling me that it's normal and I should just relax. This was not very comforting. Essentially, I arrived back home and burst into tears.

For the first time since arriving, I began to seriously question if I wanted to be here. Learning a new language - really learning it, not just being able to order in a restaurant or tell a taxi driver where to take you - is hard. I hate having to constantly ask people to speak more slowly or to nod along and smile while not understanding what is being said.

At the same time, earlier this week, Arturo and I went out with his friend and wife and had a lovely time. I didn't get everything and couldn't say all that I wanted to, but it was all in Spanish and it was fun. I am speaking more quickly, I've expanded my vocabulary and I am reading a short Stephen King novella is Spanish.

So, I'm trying to be positive and just live life day by day (along with a friendly smile and Spanish-English dictionary).

A relaxing weekend

2007-12-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm done with Fodor's and there is only one week left in the school year, I am left with only one question: What will I do with all of my free time?

We started enjoying the extra time by having Arturo's mom and brother over for lunch.

Here I am cooking our...well, our, edible lunch. I can't say it was the best food I've ever made, but the afternoon was fun anyway. The wine over lunch might have helped me to relax, speak Spanish and not obsess over the fact that the food was pretty bland.

This is the outside of our apartment building, surrounded by a black fence and a couple of parking spaces (which we do not have included in our rent).

Arturo and I even went for a walk in our neighborhood. We realized that it's actually the first time we walked together without an agenda.

The weather was lovely, the para gliders were out by the dozen, floating above the city, and the ice-cream vendors had a nice selection of refreshments to enjoy.

After, we lazed around for the day, watched a movie and went out to dinner with some friends who were in town for the weekend.

The next day, Sunday, we had a barbecue and then went to a rock concert. That's right, a rock concert. A famous Argentinian band, Soda Stereo is on tour and a group of seven of us went to enjoy the show. Soda Stereo began in 1982 so, needless to say, the crowd was a bit older. The music was great and the show was lots of fun. The midnight hour-long walk to find a taxi after wasn't fun, but it was worth it.

Checked off the To Do list!

2007-12-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy and exciting week.

First: the Fodor's work is finished! Many late nights, many full days and much moaning and groaning on my part, and it is completed and sent to my editor. He told me that he's sure to have some questions in January, but to go ahead and send in my invoice. So, maybe I'll get paid back all of that money I spent already!

In addition to 'quite an experience,' I believe that this work is also testament to the strength of my relationship with Arturo. I can't say that I was easy to live with (or to look at) for the past week. Arturo took it all in stride, cooking me a fantastic taco meal, going to get me some coca-cola for an extra sugar/caffeine boost, making numerous phone calls to fact check information, and even putting up with having his picture taken.

Anyway, that is a load of both of our shoulders. Even when I wasn't working on it, I was thinking about it.

Second: grading at school is finished! Final exams were this past week and I have finished grading the exams and all the last minute homework/projects I've received. I've figured out my students' averages and written their individual comments for their report cards. There's tons more to do before school is over, but it will all be during the school day. No more work after school! Plus, in just a week and a half, I'm off for two months! Yeah!

Almost done...but so far to get there...

2007-12-02T04:01:00.000-08:00

The final work for Fodor's is due at midnight tonight. And what am I doing? Blogging.

I just cannot motivate to get this done...but, I am showered, dressed and at the computer at 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday after staying up to work until 1:00 a.m. (of course, this is after procrastinating most of the day and going out for a cup of coffee with a friend).

Arturo has been amazing, putting up with my crankiness and cooking for me. Which, of course, just makes me more cranky because I just cannot write this bloody chapter.

I'm sure it will get done. It must. It will. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Dad's Visit Part II

2007-11-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was Dad's final weekend in Peru -- although, as he says, it's only until next time.

We did a lot of the usual touristy things...shopping, visiting a museum, eating out, walking around, etc. All the things I haven't had time for yet in Lima. Needless to say, I had a great time!

Highlights include:

* Visiting Larcomar. This is essentially a huge shopping mall built into the side of the cliff, facing the ocean (the "mar"). There are excellent restaurants, tons of shops, a bowling alley, movie theater, arcades and more. Dad seemed to be especially taken with one of the arcades called "Coney Park." The best part? It's about five blocks from my apartment! (Did you notice the ocean behind us?)

* Sunday Lunch. We had a lovely, relaxing lunch at Punto Azul, a local lunch-only restaurant that I hadn't been to yet. Dad got some fried shrimp, and Arturo and I shared a fish dish and, of course, ceviche. The sun was shining and for the first time since I arrived here, I was actually wearing a t-shirt! This bustling place was filled with Peruvians craving seafood. Here in Lima, they generally only eat seafood during the day. It's considered 'old' and 'not fresh' if it's eaten at night. This, of course, makes it frustrating for people who work and don't get to go out for lunch. So, we have to head out on the weekends to enjoy our fresh fish!

* El Museo Pedro de Osma. This museum is in Barranco, one of the oldest and best-preserved parts of Lima. Just being able to enter one of those huge, old colonial mansions was enough, but we also got to enjoy the current Baroque exhibit in addition to making Dad and Arturo stand in cheesy poses. The art, silver, gold and other pieces on display were fascinating, as well walking around the beautiful grounds.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Last week I got an email from someone saying "Have a good holiday" and it took me a few minutes to realize that Thanksgiving was coming up. Of course, there is no Thanksgiving celebration here, but I did go to a celebration: Vicky's baby shower. Vicky is the woman who has worked for Arturo since he started the hostel three years ago. This was her last week as she is having a baby in three weeks. It was sort of a bittersweet good-bye...although we know we'll see her and the baby soon for a visit.

However, this was not the only 'celebration' going on this week. While Dad was in Puno/Lake Titicaca on the actual Thanksgiving day, he came back to Lima last night and we had a Thanksgiving meal together (or, rather, a version of a meal). At Dad's request, I made stuffing, as well as mashed potatoes and toasted chestnuts. As I had to work all day, there was no time to cook a turkey so we just had roasted chicken. Joining us was Elizabeth, an American woman from Maine who is here studying Spanish (she's been living at the hostel for the past two months). She brought delicious wine and dessert which helped make the meal that much better. And thanks to Dad, we had Thanksgiving plates and napkins.

Another cause for celebration is the fact that I now have a Peruvian bank account. My school contacted the bank they use and I was able to get a local account. Now, I don't have to pay 3% extra every time I withdraw money. Yeah! Also, school has come through on health insurance. As of December I will have health insurance. Although there is national health coverage - so if there was an emergency, I would be fully covered - the private clinics, for which you need private insurance, are better.

Well, now we're off to finish shopping for Dad - and if the weather is right (meaning it's windy), we might go paragliding!

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. It really is one of my favorite holidays...I think because it's the least commercial...and it was sad to miss it.

Dad's Visit Part I

2007-11-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

* 12:45 a.m. Alarm went off
* 1:00 a.m. Arturo left for the airport

* 2:00 a.m. Dad arrived in Lima

* 3:00 a.m. Dad and Arturo arrived at our apartment (I woke up)

* 4:00 a.m. Back to sleep

* 6:15 a.m. Alarm went off, got up and went to work

Despite such a crazy beginning, having Dad here has been fun. Busy and tiring, but very entertaining. We went out to fancy dinners (thank you, dad!) and saw some sights in Lima (the center of Lima with beautiful colonial architecture, the ocean walk in Miraflores near my place, etc.). At Dad's request, we also stopped into one of the numerous casinos, my first and probably last time, as well as a Nissan dealership to get some foreign brochures to give to his local Nissan dealership. He also came to my school and went to Arturo's hostel, and even joined us on a jaunt to one of my favorite stores, Ripley, where we bought a washing machine (yeah!!)...and got himself a sim card and now has a working cell phone.

Early this morning, he left for Cusco to begin his travels to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. Despite some affects from the medicine to prevent altitude sickness (the pills to prevent feeling sick from altitude comes with side affects...which makes me question why one needs to take them...).

He arrives back to Lima on Friday afternoon to spend the rest of the weekend with us before heading back home.

Now, I get to unpack all of the wonderful goodies that Dad brought for me. Thank you Grandma, Mom and Cathy!! And a huge THANK YOU to my sister who searched my boxes in storage and completed my shopping list (sleeping with my down comforter last night was so cozy).

My first guest

2007-11-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

Dad arrives tonight. I still can't believe it. It's been two months, but it feels like no time at all.

I'm really excited, but I was thinking about where we should go and realized that I don't know my 'new' city very well. I don't have a favorite restaurant in Lima to take him to. I don't have my favorite cafe. I just don't have my usual 'tourist route' of places to go with visitors (in fact, I've barely explored the city myself).

So, I've decided to accept that I won't be as good of a tour guide as I usually am, but that I should relax and enjoy my Lima with my dad (and pass the torch to Arturo).

Here's a photo of our last visit together in September.

Procrastination

2007-11-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

My goal for this weekend was to stay in and finish all the Fodor's work. I have done a tremendous amount of work, but some procrastinating has, of course, happened. I made some phone calls to friends I haven't spoken to in a while. I watched a movie (while typing, but you know how that goes). I also looked at some old photos and thought about how fast time is moving. It seems like just last year that my nephew was born. Now, his younger sister - who turned two in September - recently told me "I love you, Aunt Avi" on the phone.

(OK, enough procrastinating...back to work...)

Good worries

2007-11-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

Much of this week has been spent shopping online and talking to my sister on the phone. Why? Because Dad comes next week -- and with him, two bags of stuff for me! Yeah!!

I also watched one of the South American Rugby Championship games this week. The championship is taking place at my school so it was pretty easy to get to. There's even a women's rugby team (remember, I used to play for a bit in college), but I'm not sure I want to attend practices from 8-10 p.m. twice a week in a place that's 30 minutes away from where I live. On the other hand, it would be a fun way to meet people. We'll see.

Another 'good stress' worry is about our...well, for lack of a better word...maid. I know that it's part of society here and that I've given someone a job who didn't have one. I also know that starting to cook dinner at 9:00 at night when I want to be in bed by 10:30 puts a stress on our relationship (and my stomach). However, it still feels awkward. One of the most awkward parts is that I haven't met her yet...and at the same time, I'm incredibly nervous for our first meeting tomorrow. Although I am sure, as one colleague at school put it: You'll get used to it in no time. Who wouldn't?

At last -- tofu!

2007-11-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Slowly, routines are being established...and it feels really nice. I have a regular taxista (taxi driver) taking me to school in the mornings. I take Spanish lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays. We joined the the gym and started going this past week. We've been cooking at home (I finally found tofu!) and sit down together each night for dinner. It's been busy, but relaxing at the same time.

This week was especially fun, though. November 1st, All Saints' Day, was a holiday so we forged new friendships and went out the night before, on Halloween. Instead of dressing up and gorging on candy, we shared several bottles of wine with my new friend Kim, an American, and her husband Hugo, a Peruvian. I was connected to Kim through a friend in NY and she has been a tremendous help. It is through Kim that I found out about the job at Newton and she patiently answered numerous questions before and after I arrived in Peru. However, due to schedules, this was the first time we were all able to get together. It was so much fun that it will definitely not be the last. In fact, we already got together this morning to go walking together...

Note on Halloween: here it's a mix of the commercial Halloween, criolla traditions and a religious holiday. The younger kids do the 'usual' custom we are used to in the U.S. of dressing up in costumes and going around trick or treating. While many stores have Halloween sections, but it's refreshingly less commercial than I am used to. The only thing I missed was candy corn - I couldn't find it anywhere!

However, despite a lovely week, reality has hit home: I have a lot of work to do. My Fodor's work is not finished. There are still two places to visit and all of the updating to type into a very specific Word document, filled with codes and queries. After five hours of work, I have only finished one page. Like we keep saying to each other, this has been a great experience, but I don't think I'd repeat it. The oh-so-romantic-sounding travel writer idea? Checked off my to do list.

p.s. Despite the odd-looking picture my rice, tofu and vegetable dish makes, it was a thrill to eat the combination once again. For some reason, this culture which eats tons of beans, has not embraced (or, it seems, know about) tofu. Luckily, I found it in a nearby grocery store. Mmm...mmm...good!

Just a normal week in Lima

2007-10-27T10:44:00.001-07:00

In many ways, this is my first 'real' weekend in Peru. When I first arrived, I didn't have a job so everyday was a weekend day. Then, I went travelling...then I went away again after my first week of work. This weekend we're staying in Lima and having a very 'normal' weekend of laundry, shopping for our apartment, and a barbeque at Arturo's parents' house. After so much happening so quickly, this is exactly the kind of weekend I've been craving.

So, this blog is dedicated to a few interesting updates from the week (and then I'm off to enjoy my weekend):

PHOTOS

I finally got around to downloading photos from last weekend's trip to Huaraz. Arturo also stayed a few extra days to sort out some paperwork/legal stuff for some land he owns in nearby Mancos.

To see all the photos, go to: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9od46cm.b3bn1e3y&x=0&y=-4z74ow

This part of Peru - the northern highlands - are incredibly beautiful. Everywhere you look, you are surrounded by snow capped mountains and bright shining sun. I am really looking forward to going back.

LA COCINA

We have been enjoying our kitchen (la cocina) and Arturo has been surprising me with his cooking expertise. My favorite meal so far has been 'taco night' which included homemade refried beans, fresh guacamole and deliciously heated tortillas. Of course, the perfect complement to this meal with a fruity cocktail made with Arturo's special vodka that he 'imported' from NY.

Arturo isn't the only one who has been in the kitchen, but I am definitely not the 'domestic' one in the apartment.

And I don't mind one bit.

ARTS FESTIVAL

Last night there was an annual arts festival at my school. It was incredible. I felt like I was in a museum. As part of the IB (International Baccalaureate), students study and produce art for two years. Last night showcased their best work in all mediums from painting, photography, digital designs, fabric, paper, charcoal and more. In addition, there were performances by the orchestra, brass band and dance groups. I so wish I brought my camera as I now feel more proud than ever of my new school (and, of course, sad that the arts have lost their place in most public schools in the U.S.).

And that's my week.

Now, I'm off to enjoy the weekend.

Staff Photos

2007-10-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Another week has begun. It's hard to believe it's only my second week of teaching...it already feels so comfortable.

Anyway, my photo was taken for the school website and I thought I'd post my official teacher photo here (That's me in the middle, surrounded by some of the my fellow English teachers).

I also got my very own Vivanda card. Vivanda is the best - and most expensive - grocery store nearby. It has an incredible selection of wines and prepared foods, and is open 24 hours per day. I even found the much-sought-after tofu and feta cheese (I've been missing the strangest foods lately).

Guess I'm really settling in now.

The Census Weekend

2007-10-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today, Sunday October 21, is the national census in Peru. Why is this important enough to write about? Because the entire country is closed for an entire day. Every business must close and people must stay in their houses/apartments from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Obviously, there are exceptions. If you cannot be home, there is a form you can fill out. If you work for a hotel, you are allowed to work. However, for the most part, everything is closed. There is nowhere to buy food. The buses aren't running. Everything has shut down and Lima is a ghost town except for the university students, volunteers, and 'managers' walking around in the Census 2007 shirts. The census doesn't happen every year, but the less accurate and successful the census, the more often it needs to be held.

Of course, as a gringa, I am excluded from the census and have the freedom to go wherever I want. Since everything is closed, though, my options are limited. Actually, Arturo and I went away for the weekend to update Huaraz, another city I need to update for Fodor's, and I had to come back to Lima early. We took an overnight bus on Friday, arriving about 6:00 a.m. Then, after a full day of touring, updating restaurants and hotels and more, I took an overnight bus back on Saturday night, arriving about 6:00 a.m. in Lima. I really, really wanted to stay in Huaraz and arrive early Monday, but was afraid to risk it. Sunday night/Monday morning is going to be a crazy time since everyone was cooped up all day for the census. As I must leave my apartment no later than 6:45 a.m. to get to school on time, I didn't want to chance being late. It is, after all, only my second week of teaching there.

However, I did manage to see most of Huaraz on Saturday. Of course, people don't go to Huaraz for the town...they go for the mountains - and that is what I didn't get to see. Huaraz is one of the most popular destinations in the north of Peru, second to the Amazon. It's a very small town, filled with hostels, restaurants, tourist agencies and guides. People go to Huaraz to trek and see glaciers, the tallest mountain in South America, ice-climb, mountain bike, rock climb and any other outdoor activity you can think of.

Actually, Arturo owns land about an hour outside of Huaraz and is very familiar with the area. So, I have no doubt we'll go back. And next time, I will get to enjoy the mountains!

First Week of Work

2007-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished my first week of work...and I'm actually looking forward to next week! So far, Newton College is a great place to teach. It's not perfect (but what is?), but it's both serious and relaxed. The students are nice people, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the beautiful campus has grass, flowers and a small lake.

Currently, I am teaching two classes, a Form II (sort of like 9th grade) and a Form IV (11th grade). Unlike in the States, it's the younger students who are easier. They are little lambs who are sweet, try hard, and really do want to learn. The older students are more interested in being 'cool' than focusing on the teacher. However, the Form IV students are two days away from taking an exam they have spent two years preparing for (the IGCSE, International General Certificate of Secondary Education from Cambridge University) . So, I can understand a little agitation at school...especially since the English exam is only one of numerous exams they will take.

In terms of behavior, it's like night and day. Even the toughest kid is easy to deal with. The 'episodes' are over before I have to raise my voice and I even get an apology without asking for one ("Sorry, Miss. I'll stop talking."). Of course, the talking doesn't always stop completely, but it's so different it's incredible. As one might expect, it's amazingly simple to get used to teaching students who listen and behave.

Of course, school problems are always the same and the problems in this school are very similar to some of the problems in NYC. For example, much like "Advisory" which started at ACORN and was dismantled after only one year, Newton has PSE (Physical & Social Education). This used to be taught by special PSE teachers, but now falls into the hands of teachers from all subjects who have a 'tutor group.' The obligations to my tutor group include: a 15 minute homeroom each day and a 40 minute period every Friday. During the Friday period, I have to teach what the PSE Coordinator has put together. Today's lesson was about drugs. Additionally, I had to look at the students' grades and put students on "report," meaning they have to have a special paper filled out and signed by their teachers and parents to make sure they are on track. Yes, this is another responsibility. Yes, this is challenging linguistically as the PSE Coordinator only creates materials in Spanish. Overall, though, this just isn't such a big deal. Having less stressful classes, less physically and emotionally draining classes, just makes everything else

easier to deal with.

The majority of students are Peruvians, but as it's a British International School, almost all classes are taught in English. While the students' English isn't perfect, sadly, it's no worse than my students in Brooklyn. There are some native English speakers, as well as some other languages, but for the most part, it's native Spanish speakers being taught almost exclusively in English. As a result, classes are divided into Top, Mixed and Lower levels. For the most part, their English abilities are what divides them into these groups.

So, despite the fact that Newton is about 30 minute drive (which means I have to leave by 6:45 a.m. every morning), I am planning on signing a full contract. I'll spend a few extra minutes to get somewhere if I know that my time while there will be pleasant. Through December I will teach part-time, 2 classes only, and starting in the new Peruvian school year in March, will have a full class load.

One of the best parts has been starting my day off with Arturo's freshly squeezed orange juice. Unbelievably, he has gotten up every morning and squeezed me a glass. Spoiled? Yeah, just a little bit...but I love it...