Going out in Lima

Here are some photos from our crazy outings with other gringos staying in the hostel.

DINNER: This one is a good-bye dinner with some guests who were at the hostel for several weeks. They were studying Spanish at a nearby school (actually, as of tomorrow, it will be my Spanish school, too!).

FIESTA: The following photo is from a big night out. As one should expect in Peru, it began with pisco sours, followed - as you can see in the photo - by cervezas.

AMIGOS: We also went out one night with Arturo's friends and, although I didn't understand everything, I felt like I held my own with the Spanish conversation. I was pretty nervous before going, but it was actually a really fun night. This night was prep work for an upcoming mini-reunion on Wednesday. Arturo thought it would be good if I met a few people in advance so I could feel more comfortable (an excellent idea which I love)....and thought I hate to admit this, the one thing I have found is that it's easy to talk when it's chismoso (gossip - usually "girl talk).

Using my new vocabulary

Just a quick funny story that happened today...

I was speaking with some Spanish clients about learning how to speak Spanish. After I mentioned that I was starting a Spanish course next week, one of the guys said that all I really needed to do was get a grammar book and practice. I explained that I needed the discipline school offered and "tambien soy floja."

I was very proud of myself for saying this - it's one of my new Spanish words meaning lazy. I was saying "Also, I'm lazy" in Spanish. The reaction was one filled with confused laughter, followed by Arturo jumping in and asking the meaning of the word in Spain. Turns out, flojo/floja means loose or lax and is used in many different ways. In Peru, it means lazy. In Spain, it means easy (as in your legs are loose).

Pride at using my new vocabulary was quickly replaced with an attempt to explain what I really meant in Spanish. All was understood...and, of course, we all - including myself - thoroughly enjoyed the joke.

Aren't languages a funny thing?

Time flies

I feel like I just wrote yesterday, but it was four days ago. How did it get from Monday to Tuesday? It's weird because on one hand time is going very slowly (as I have no specific place to be everyday), and on the other hand, it's flying by...

Things are moving quickly because everyday is packed with so much - even when it's not. Life at the hostel (where we are living until we find an apartment) is never without excitement. People come and go on a daily basis from all over the world. The mix of languages and cultures is thrilling. I am also learning more about working here. I can now show someone around, check them in and out, and am even approaching people (Spanish-speakers, too!) when they are sitting at the table with two guidebooks looking confused.

A merging of cultures has happened on a more micro-level as well. This week we had a long lunch with friends of Arturo's and tomorrow night we have a dinner planned. Slowly, in small groups, I am meeting everyone. Everyone in Arturo's life (actually, all the Peruvians), have been very friendly and welcoming. However, my limited Spanish means that at some point people are trying to speak English or I am smiling and nodding and laughing with others, but am understanding little.

A current hot topic which, as in all countries, involves many opinions, people talking over each other and lots of emotion - making it extremely difficult to follow along in Spanish - is the return of ex-President Fujimori for trial with charges/accusations about bribery from the past. He has been in exile in Brazil for the past decade and it's a hot topic about what his sentence will be, how much time he will actually serve and whether it will be in seclusion in his house or in prison, and more. I am still understanding it all myself or I would just write a full explanation here. If you are interested in knowing more, here's a website I am currently studying: http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/inca/fujimori.html.

The good news is that next week I will begin a week of private Spanish classes. This is a little more expensive - about $20 more - but hopefully it will push me along further than I am. Spanish is definitely the one thing that is frustrating me. It's limiting how I can live here and the amount I must rely on Arturo...which is difficult for someone as independent as me. If all I needed to do here was ask directions, shop and eat in restaurants, I would be fine. However, I am trying to live here - to find an apartment, to sign up for a gym, to socialize in groups, and so on.

On a more laughable, but not enjoyable, topic is that of mierda. For those of you who do not speak Spanish, here is your first lesson (and isn't it always the bad words that we learn first?). Let's see if you can figure out what mierda is. It has, oddly enough, played an important role in my life for the past two days. Arturo's hostel is in an old house (http://www.albergueverde.com/) which comes with charms and challenges. One of these challenges is that every few years the 'plumbing' system needs to be cleaned out. We noticed that the toilets weren't flushing with a lot of water pressure and so Arturo arranged for a plumber to come. The 'back-up' pipes needed to be cleaned of all the mierda from the past three years. We left while the plumber was still working for lunch and returned to a hostel which smelled like a farm. No, that's not right. A farm smells much, much better. It turned out that the plumber couldn't finish and just left - with all of the entry points to the backed up pipes open. We flew into action. Arturo and a friend of his, a trekking guide, closed and sealed the entry points with limestone; I went out a bought incense sticks to help with the smell; Arturo explained to the guests what was going on. The next morning, Arturo got a different plumber to come and they fixed the entire things within two hours. It's a big joke now...la mierda...but I think it's only funny because it was resolved quickly and easily in the end.

Last but not least, as mentioned before, Arturo and I signed up for rock climbing at an outdoor/indoor gym. We went and 'practiced' on our own for two days (it was fun, but without any real skills) and then took our first official lesson of the course. We learned how to use our legs instead of our arms, although I obviously need more work as my arms are sore today and not my legs. We'll continue to practice the techniques we learned over the next few days and then will take our next lesson. I'm really excited (but so sore)!! If you want to check out where I'm learning to climb, go to: http://www.basecampperu.com/.

Time to get out into Lima and keep exploring so I am not proofreading this and apologize for any errors above. Que sera sera!

Another Day

Above is a photo from our Friday night Fiesta. The first is Anke from Denmark after her first Pisco Sour lessons. As you can tell, she is already an expert. The other is a nice group photo at the hostel before we went to the discoteca.

Today, I joined a rock climbing gym and bought climbing shoes. Arturo and I are signing up for a course together and start tomorrow (although we played around for over an hour and I can already tell that my arms and legs are going to be very sore tomorrow).

I also had a nice session of whining and complaining about my Spanish, or lack thereof. So, tomorrow I am going do something about it and will go to sign up for a language course.

Una nueva amiga

Buenos Dias!

The big news of the day: I have a friend!

After a "fiesta" on Friday night, I slept late on Saturday. I hate sleeping the day away, but now I can give lessons on how to make pisco sours, the unofficial national drink of Peru - and I can say that I officially enjoyed my first Peruvian discoteca.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, I met my new friend, Kim, for coffee. Kim is an American living here with her Peruvian husband. My friend Bettina in NYC put me in touch with Kim before arriving here and, after many emails over the past few months, Kim and I met. She has been an incredible help already about life in Lima, getting a job, an apartmet, etc. Most important, though, it felt great to leave to go meet my friend. Like I have a life of my own here...or at least the beginning.

Of course, I will never forget what the Girl Scouts taught me: make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. In honor of that mantra (and at the specific request of Kathleen), I am including a photo of a 'last supper' in NYC before I left.

El viaje a Peru

The decision to move from Brooklyn to Lima was made several months ago and I am finally here. The subject of this blog is "El viaje a Peru" -- the trip to Peru. I've been here for a few days and while I am definitely thinking about the future, I also find myself reflecting on the path I took to get here. So, I have decided to dedicate this first blog to that path...

The summer began with my birthday in July, celebrating with my beloved Aunts Abbe and Stacy, Mariane, cousin Isaac and Grandma Ann in Ithaca. It was followed by many, many hours of work. My mornings were filled at school teaching incoming freshmen, followed the afternoon-evening at Brides.com working with my old Publisher and several wonderful new colleagues. Of course, I did manage to take some time to enjoy my last summer in NYC before moving out to Long Island to live with my grandmother in August (thank you Grandma for the free rent and cheap luggage storage). Before I was even settled, we were off to visit Gloversville, my parents and childhood friend Rebecca. Then, before I knew it, I was in Ireland, with my friend Sarita, to visit Brenda and Ellie, friends from my time in Korea. Brenda and her fiance John opened their home (and kitchen and 'wine cellar' to us), Ellie flew over from England, and we also were able to visit the family farm of a close friend.

Then, it was back to NYC to work at school just a little while longer before Sarita and I hosted fun-filled party with our friends. Soon after, my sister Rachel arrived from Alaska with my adorable niece and nephew. We had a wonderful week, including a trip to our favorite Prospect Park "Egg Zoo" (as Micah calls it) and a tremendous, wonderful surprise party to say good-bye. In between, I managed (thank you Rachel!!) to pack 191 pounds in two bags...oh, yes, there was quite a surcharge at the airport for that...

Now, I am here in Lima. So far I have wandered around - or rather have been led around by Arturo - my immediate neighborhood of Miraflores, including some adorable cafes and parks. Today we went to the Central section with beautiful, historic Spanish architecture. Tonight, we're going out. What exactly does that mean in Lima? I will let you know.

In many respects, I feel like I am on holiday and am enjoying every moment of it. At the same time, I am also thinking about finding a job, finding an apartment, speaking Spanish and so on (Spanish has not been flowing off my tongue, but it has not been horrible either). This coming weekend we will look for an apartment, join a rock climbing gym and buy me an alpaca sweater because it is much colder here than I thought.

p.s. I didn't know how people felt about posting pictures online so I only posted a few...