It's been a long week. I haven't been able to blog because first last Wednesday, a horrible stomach infection won the battle it had been fighting since the previous Saturday when I went to central Lima. I ate in a dirty looking restaurant off the Plaza de Armas for 5 soles. Here when you order the "menu ejecutivo" or the executive menu, it usually just means the cheapest thing they offer and includes a first and second dish and a drink, and they always have them ready to crank them out for whoever comes in. I think I ate an onion salad on the side of my appetizer that was soaked in dirty Peruvian water, because I got really sick.
It was terrible because I was invited to a 2 day conference hosted by the OAS and FLACSO of civil society groups in preparation for a proposed meeting of ministers responsible for public security in the Americas. As that got started, my stomach started doing sumersaults, and I had to leave to a clinic. I was prescribed some stuff, but then went a whole day without getting it or paying the clinic because in my delirium and headaches I forgot my ATM pin and froze my card up. Needless to say, it was a rough couple of days, but I was feeling better by Saturday night.
So I started Saturday night out at a Fiesta Mexicana hosted by one of my coworkers, but the only people really there at first were older people who work with her husband at the Canadian embassy, so that was a little weird until my coworker finished making an amazing selection of legit Mexican food and another coworker showed up. Then a mariaci band showed up and later we all started dancing to the Peruvian's beloved cumbia songs. Then I continued the night out with my roommates and we went to some party hosted in the backyard of a nice suburban house. And finished the night at an awesome bar in Barranco called Tizon. Barranco is a really nice area with lots of places that play rock music in their playlists.
Overall, it hasn't been the most eventful week. However, Monday night I ate some cow heart, in the form of anticucho de corazon, which is basically cow heart on a skewer. It is very good! Once you get past the slightly rubbery texture. I don't think I was told it was cow heart until after, but it didn't really bother me. Then, last night, after watching Green Street Hooligans, I went with my roommates to La Bombonera in Surquillo to play some late night fútbol. It is not in the nicest neighborhood, but it is a bunch of soccer fields up on the roofs of some buildings, where you can reserve a little field for just a few bucks each. We played 4 on 4 against some people from another house, and we won after a long comeback. I am needless to say the worst on my team, but I did okay as goalie, since it allowed the others to actually control the ball on offense :). The French guy who lives in my house got a little annoyed with me because I suck, and he kind of has a quick temper, but other than that, it was good.
Other than that, I'm just getting a serious urge to get out of Lima, because I think I'm a little bored here. Fortunately, I have a trip planned to Quito in November to meet up with Mike and the BC kids studying there, and then will go to Cuzco/Machu Picchu/Puno in early December! Though I want to start volunteering somewhere, because my English teaching job has not come through yet as no new clients have called him, and I'm just really not motivated to rock climb here, as the wall I checked out doesn't psyche me up enough to get over there after every long day of work. I also think I might try to take a Portuguese class at the Centro de Estudios Brasileiros which is run by the Brazilian embassy right by my house. Yea, might be crazy, but I think my Spanish is good enough to do it, and I love learning languages!
Finally, to anyone who can read Spanish, I strongly urge you to check out the Peruvian author I posted a picture of at the beginning of this blog. Julio Ramón Ribeyro. His short stories are absolutely incredible. There are some here. "Los gallinazos sin plumas" is amazing, and Peruvians really recommend "Sólo para fumadores." Anyway, if you can read Spanish, they are really short stories, and well worth your time.
Peace
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Qué Tal Gringo
Oi, I should be asleep, but I got a lot to talk about before I forget. So first, last Wednesday, I dropped off my bike at a little tiny bike shop on a side road in a shabbier part of Miraflores. It turned out I had to pay S/. 50 to get the pedal welded back on and get a maintenance/cleaning done on the whole thing. I think I could have got a new bike from this little shop with really good prices for less than I've paid in total now, but I guess it's been a good learning experience. At least the bike looks new now. It sounds a lot better too. I had a nice chat for about an hour with the shop owner Luis on Friday after work as he finished up his job on my bike. He was a really cool guy who also was really good and worked hard at his job. He, like many others here, was really confused about what on earth International Studies is. In a developing place like Peru, education is certainly on the rise, but it tends to be all at a very practical level. Whenever I try to explain it through my internship, they follow-up with, yes, but what is your carrera, which is their word for major/career. There is not the biggest understanding of the concept of studying international relations/ethics. Nonetheless, he was really interested that someone from the powerful US was interested in his country. He himself has tried for 9 whole years to make it to the United States, but he says they don't let in those who deserve it, and only let in those who don't, those with la plata. He seems to be doing well enough for Peruvian standards, but he definitely works a lot. He only has one son, but he says he could never do what many immigrants would do and leave their families to immigrate; I suppose that is a product only of severe desperation. Family is highly valued in this culture. Despite his desire to go to the US, you can hear the pride he has for his country and its amazing food and people and land.
I have noticed the phenomenon of a great deal of pride for Peru a lot, as well as a movement for all Peruvians being united as one group. I'm sure it has its roots in a lot of history, but from what I know of recent Peruvian history and of what my friend Carlos has told me, this is really only something of recent years. With Peru's late economic success and emergence from its years of conflict, people are able to unite as being part of one Peru, which seems to have the potential to make it a great example among the region. No longer does everyone have any reason, nor desire, to flee to the United States. And they're all convinced they have the best cuisine outside of France, which may be true dependent on your taste.
Saturday, I had a really great day exploring the Historic Center of Lima, but only the part of it in the district known as Lima Cercado, as part of the Center lies across the river in Rimac, where hopefully I'll go sometime when I'm more comfortable here. I started taking a combi up Arequipa to around as far as the main set of the city's really cool parks, which I have yet to explore, near La Victoria where I bought the bike. Then, I wandered up toward the center and found a really cool alley full of grafitti and stores selling burned CDs and old books. I bought a few Jazz and "Chill Out" CDs, the guy who said music was his life told me. The chill out ones are not the best purchase I've made.
Then, I walked up Jiron de la Union, where I passed a cool plaza where Peru's independence was declared, as well as an ultimatum for democracy announced in 1956, which needless to say wasn't heeded. I started to get my first taste of the interesting colonial architecture of Lima's center, where there are apparently 1600 old balconies.
I have noticed the phenomenon of a great deal of pride for Peru a lot, as well as a movement for all Peruvians being united as one group. I'm sure it has its roots in a lot of history, but from what I know of recent Peruvian history and of what my friend Carlos has told me, this is really only something of recent years. With Peru's late economic success and emergence from its years of conflict, people are able to unite as being part of one Peru, which seems to have the potential to make it a great example among the region. No longer does everyone have any reason, nor desire, to flee to the United States. And they're all convinced they have the best cuisine outside of France, which may be true dependent on your taste.
Saturday, I had a really great day exploring the Historic Center of Lima, but only the part of it in the district known as Lima Cercado, as part of the Center lies across the river in Rimac, where hopefully I'll go sometime when I'm more comfortable here. I started taking a combi up Arequipa to around as far as the main set of the city's really cool parks, which I have yet to explore, near La Victoria where I bought the bike. Then, I wandered up toward the center and found a really cool alley full of grafitti and stores selling burned CDs and old books. I bought a few Jazz and "Chill Out" CDs, the guy who said music was his life told me. The chill out ones are not the best purchase I've made.
Calle Quilca: Boulevard de la Cultura
interesting
Then I got to Plaza San Martin, a monument to Peru's libertador.
Then, I walked up Jiron de la Union, where I passed a cool plaza where Peru's independence was declared, as well as an ultimatum for democracy announced in 1956, which needless to say wasn't heeded. I started to get my first taste of the interesting colonial architecture of Lima's center, where there are apparently 1600 old balconies.
Then I came to the Plaza Mayor or the Plaza de Armas, where many important buildings are located, including the Catedral de Lima and the Government Palace.
Finally, I went to Parque La Muralla, where I got views out toward the slums north of the Rimac River, including Rimac. It has a cool preservation of old city walls and an old house as well.
Bridge and northern districts of Lima
Rímac and Cerro San Cristobal
Yea, I could read that writing that far away, fortunately my camera has 12x zoom so everyone else can too.
"Constructing Peru " and "Peru
Interesting things to be written on that hillside, no? The vibrant colors of the houses in the pueblos jóvenes (shantytowns) is really fascinating to me as well.
Old City Walls to defend from attack by river
Finally, on my way home, I was aggressively approached by Pedro the Bolivian, a clean, but sketchy looking older guy who tried to get me to go have a beer with him. Maybe my Spanish getting better isn't always a good thing. It prevents people from getting to the point of the con they're trying to pull. He was rapidly asking me questions about what I'm doing and said he wondered California
Other than that, I've secured an English-teaching job, for which I'm waiting for a call back that someone wants a class. It's going to be a little hard getting paid on my tourist visa though. I also went to the rock gym, the first full-time one, of which the owner is really proud. It is a sweet little outdoor bouldering wall that actually has a decent amount of wall. Unfortunately, they don't make all that much money to offer me a paying job. They even make all their own holds. But he said I could climb for free if I help them out time to time, as he said he really appreciates what I'm doing here. He also said his son was born in "the f****** North America ," but hey no offense intended, as he laughed it off. Really interesting guy, I was looking at a newspaper article on the wall in his office that he and a partner traversed the entire length of the Andes in Peru
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Maybe I should make shorter posts, more often.
Hola,
I am just sitting at work with not much to do and figured I could write a blog. I haven't said much at all about my job. I am really enjoying it! I was more or less transferred from the Legal instruments team the first day when I could not understand the española Sonia too well. Funny after being in Spain this summer for 5 weeks, but wow, Peruvians are much easier to understand. I was really flustered as I had really just arrived in Lima and suddenly all the staff were introducing themselves to me and explaining what they do, and I was just getting lost. I guess it's for the better, because I don't know really know anything about international law. So the deputy director Mèlanie put me in sort of a hybrid position between Legal instruments and Public security team. Hopefully if my work is appreciated enough, they will give me some work with more legal issues, though it's really all interconnected.
As the UN's organizations are caught in a horrible mess of bureaucracy, it's easy to say that yes, UN-LiREC struggles for funding, especially when state or IGO or other donors consider disarmament, they think of nuclear non-proliferation and North Korea. In Latin America, this has been more or less a non-issue for some time. To cap it off, 13% of funding has to go back to the Office for Disarmament Affairs headquarters in New York, and UN-LiREC never sees any of it again. What is in fact a big issue in Latin America is the fact that of 14% of the world's population and 4% of the world's civilian firearms, 40% of all firearms homicides occur here. In 2001, there was a major politically-binding instrument in the UN General Assembly called the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. This is what most of UN-LiREC's work is focused around in recent years. Working to eradicate the excessive availability of small arms as they only reinforce the structures of the drug trade, gangs, and a general culture of violence that varies in intensity in different urban and rural environments, and causes the biggest barrier to economic improvement for certain communities. They do this in combination with working alongside the UN Development Programme and other groups to provide alternatives for marginalized populations.
Anyway, I don't know how much detail anyone wants to hear about this, but it is definitely interesting work, and I'll try not to ramble too much. As my supervisor Amanda told me, it's not exactly the best job to integrate into your nightlife conversation, but it's work that she enjoys. My first task was helping out with a proposal we sent yesterday to Canada for a 5 million dollar project centered around the crisis area in the Northern Border Zone of Ecuador and taking a multi-sectoral approach to combat the illicit firearms trade in the Andean Community. I had to prepare a background report on the illicit arms trade and the proliferation of weapons and the effects of armed violence in this sub-region. It's crazy because I'm researching and learning that global problems are a lot more complicated than I ever imagined in the real world. With my limited understanding of the issues in light of new thoughts and revelations, it sometimes seems there is no right answer. Sure, the subjectivity of Intro to International Studies was a new challenge, but this takes it to a new level. It's certainly my biggest challenge but also probably the best thing about the job, because it's going to make me redefine more accurately my ideas about these issues. At the same time, there's not the biggest place for idealism when you're working for a system as both UN-LiREC's ideals and the donor's ideals (both of which have their own responsibilities and systems in which they work, making it ever more complicated) trump individual thought to some degree. I suppose this is why people end up reconciling their beliefs with whatever life path they end up choosing. And only those in academia or leadership positions can really try to influence any system and it's thought process.
Nonetheless, despite my confusion, my initial response is that I approve of the activities of UN-LiREC, but I suppose this isn't really the forum for details! Okay, I'm rambling, and anyway, just some initial thoughts that I hope will be a little more clear in a few months. It's hard to get in the rhythm of independent study and research for 8 hours a day in front of a computer too, but I'll get into it and learn a lot I think.
Elsewhere, things are going super chévere. I'm living with a few really awesome people, including a crazy Spaniard from Asturias, an Irish guy more recently from Boston, a Floridian, a French dude, many Peruvians, and an older Australian guy. It's an eclectic bunch, but overall it flows well, and Hugo the Spaniard will certainly be the reason my Spanish betters the most, besides reading academic texts for work spending half the time on wordreference.com. We went to a party at a big student house on Saturday which is part of this network of Peruvian and international student houses and gatherings. It was a lot of fun, as parties in Lima tend to be on people's roof terraces. Surprisingly, I met the first two Americans who were not at a backpackers' hostel on the way to Cusco. They were from Colorado of course. Then it's mostly a lot of French and a few other Europeans. There is certainly the impression here that most native English-speakers don't care about learning another language. At least it I live with and will hopefully meet a lot of people without that attitude. Though it's certainly an arduous process getting used to casual conversation in Spanish, and you find yourself stuck a lot. Certain nights I'm just not up for it, and it definitely is a cause for some loneliness, but fortunately I have some English speakers around the house. Anyway, it will get there, and I think I'm already improving way quicker than I was in Madrid because of the lack of the BC companions to fall back on.
Unfortunately, my office is separated from the main house in a conference room out in the yard, so interactions seem to be brief with most of the people I work with, and it's hard to break the language barrier and get to know many of them. But my fellow intern Carlos is a 30 year old Peruvian lawyer who is contemplating switching to international law. We have been getting along really well and having more or less fast paced bilingual conversations, which is kind of fun. He mostly gets a really big kick out of learning practical English slang and dirty words. Hopefully I'm ready for an interview I have this afternoon to teach for an English language school near my house. The director e-mailed me saying I should call in, but he meant come in to the office, so I think they could use a native speaker around. Okay, I should find some work to do now.
Chao,
Brandon
I am just sitting at work with not much to do and figured I could write a blog. I haven't said much at all about my job. I am really enjoying it! I was more or less transferred from the Legal instruments team the first day when I could not understand the española Sonia too well. Funny after being in Spain this summer for 5 weeks, but wow, Peruvians are much easier to understand. I was really flustered as I had really just arrived in Lima and suddenly all the staff were introducing themselves to me and explaining what they do, and I was just getting lost. I guess it's for the better, because I don't know really know anything about international law. So the deputy director Mèlanie put me in sort of a hybrid position between Legal instruments and Public security team. Hopefully if my work is appreciated enough, they will give me some work with more legal issues, though it's really all interconnected.
As the UN's organizations are caught in a horrible mess of bureaucracy, it's easy to say that yes, UN-LiREC struggles for funding, especially when state or IGO or other donors consider disarmament, they think of nuclear non-proliferation and North Korea. In Latin America, this has been more or less a non-issue for some time. To cap it off, 13% of funding has to go back to the Office for Disarmament Affairs headquarters in New York, and UN-LiREC never sees any of it again. What is in fact a big issue in Latin America is the fact that of 14% of the world's population and 4% of the world's civilian firearms, 40% of all firearms homicides occur here. In 2001, there was a major politically-binding instrument in the UN General Assembly called the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. This is what most of UN-LiREC's work is focused around in recent years. Working to eradicate the excessive availability of small arms as they only reinforce the structures of the drug trade, gangs, and a general culture of violence that varies in intensity in different urban and rural environments, and causes the biggest barrier to economic improvement for certain communities. They do this in combination with working alongside the UN Development Programme and other groups to provide alternatives for marginalized populations.
Anyway, I don't know how much detail anyone wants to hear about this, but it is definitely interesting work, and I'll try not to ramble too much. As my supervisor Amanda told me, it's not exactly the best job to integrate into your nightlife conversation, but it's work that she enjoys. My first task was helping out with a proposal we sent yesterday to Canada for a 5 million dollar project centered around the crisis area in the Northern Border Zone of Ecuador and taking a multi-sectoral approach to combat the illicit firearms trade in the Andean Community. I had to prepare a background report on the illicit arms trade and the proliferation of weapons and the effects of armed violence in this sub-region. It's crazy because I'm researching and learning that global problems are a lot more complicated than I ever imagined in the real world. With my limited understanding of the issues in light of new thoughts and revelations, it sometimes seems there is no right answer. Sure, the subjectivity of Intro to International Studies was a new challenge, but this takes it to a new level. It's certainly my biggest challenge but also probably the best thing about the job, because it's going to make me redefine more accurately my ideas about these issues. At the same time, there's not the biggest place for idealism when you're working for a system as both UN-LiREC's ideals and the donor's ideals (both of which have their own responsibilities and systems in which they work, making it ever more complicated) trump individual thought to some degree. I suppose this is why people end up reconciling their beliefs with whatever life path they end up choosing. And only those in academia or leadership positions can really try to influence any system and it's thought process.
Nonetheless, despite my confusion, my initial response is that I approve of the activities of UN-LiREC, but I suppose this isn't really the forum for details! Okay, I'm rambling, and anyway, just some initial thoughts that I hope will be a little more clear in a few months. It's hard to get in the rhythm of independent study and research for 8 hours a day in front of a computer too, but I'll get into it and learn a lot I think.
Elsewhere, things are going super chévere. I'm living with a few really awesome people, including a crazy Spaniard from Asturias, an Irish guy more recently from Boston, a Floridian, a French dude, many Peruvians, and an older Australian guy. It's an eclectic bunch, but overall it flows well, and Hugo the Spaniard will certainly be the reason my Spanish betters the most, besides reading academic texts for work spending half the time on wordreference.com. We went to a party at a big student house on Saturday which is part of this network of Peruvian and international student houses and gatherings. It was a lot of fun, as parties in Lima tend to be on people's roof terraces. Surprisingly, I met the first two Americans who were not at a backpackers' hostel on the way to Cusco. They were from Colorado of course. Then it's mostly a lot of French and a few other Europeans. There is certainly the impression here that most native English-speakers don't care about learning another language. At least it I live with and will hopefully meet a lot of people without that attitude. Though it's certainly an arduous process getting used to casual conversation in Spanish, and you find yourself stuck a lot. Certain nights I'm just not up for it, and it definitely is a cause for some loneliness, but fortunately I have some English speakers around the house. Anyway, it will get there, and I think I'm already improving way quicker than I was in Madrid because of the lack of the BC companions to fall back on.
Unfortunately, my office is separated from the main house in a conference room out in the yard, so interactions seem to be brief with most of the people I work with, and it's hard to break the language barrier and get to know many of them. But my fellow intern Carlos is a 30 year old Peruvian lawyer who is contemplating switching to international law. We have been getting along really well and having more or less fast paced bilingual conversations, which is kind of fun. He mostly gets a really big kick out of learning practical English slang and dirty words. Hopefully I'm ready for an interview I have this afternoon to teach for an English language school near my house. The director e-mailed me saying I should call in, but he meant come in to the office, so I think they could use a native speaker around. Okay, I should find some work to do now.
Chao,
Brandon
Monday, September 7, 2009
Bicicleta Rota
So I jynxed myself with that post last night. I said my bicycle would break on me one of these days, and of course, it breaks this morning!
I'm riding along casually and suddenly the pedal just falls right off the crank. It's completely stripped and loose and I have no idea if a part is missing or what. Anyway, I shoved it into a taxi without agreeing a price, and he then tells me a way extorted price, and takes me to the wrong Calle Tamayo (the one people actually know about). Then I have to tell him he took me the wrong way, and he yells at me for the 10 minute drive to the other one, repeating a hundred times how stupid I am and how he asked if it was the Calle Tamayo by the school and I didn't answer him. I sort of felt bad, but I told him to stop when he was going the wrong way, and he just said, no, no, I know where I am going. Fortunately I only had just enough coins in my pocket to pay him, or he would have tried to snatch everything else he could have, lol.
The total investment on this bike, with the several taxi rides included, already equals what I would have paid for a functioning bike on sale at La Victoria...ouch.
I'm riding along casually and suddenly the pedal just falls right off the crank. It's completely stripped and loose and I have no idea if a part is missing or what. Anyway, I shoved it into a taxi without agreeing a price, and he then tells me a way extorted price, and takes me to the wrong Calle Tamayo (the one people actually know about). Then I have to tell him he took me the wrong way, and he yells at me for the 10 minute drive to the other one, repeating a hundred times how stupid I am and how he asked if it was the Calle Tamayo by the school and I didn't answer him. I sort of felt bad, but I told him to stop when he was going the wrong way, and he just said, no, no, I know where I am going. Fortunately I only had just enough coins in my pocket to pay him, or he would have tried to snatch everything else he could have, lol.
The total investment on this bike, with the several taxi rides included, already equals what I would have paid for a functioning bike on sale at La Victoria...ouch.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Fotos de mi habitación y mi bicicleta fea
My nice little room! In the shower, the hot water comes by running it through an electrical box that heats it up instantly, so it has to be on extremely low pressure to make it hot...Today, I think I took too long a shower, and it shorted out the bathroom light and hot water and all the outlets in my room.
La vista de mi ventana.
Front porch.
Yep, the salesman really hooked me up with this pile.
Nice, definitely going to break on me one of these days. And what's worse is where I keep it it continues to get wet with rain. It makes the loudest creak when I'm riding that it scares people when I go by.
Te Amo Peru!
Ayyy, I've left way to much to write about...I've finished my first week at work and everything is settling in here really well. I was definitely a little bored here for a little while, but now that I've started work and begun to get to know some of my housemates, I'm starting to enjoy everything a little more overall. The area around my house is super nice too, there are plenty of really good Peruvian/Peruvian-influenced restaurants within a few blocks where you can get an appetizer, main course, and a drink for S/.8 or less. Lima has a very large presence of Chifas, which are Peruvian-influenced Chinese restaurants. You get the best wonton soup ever and a delicious main course like an egg omelette on top of chaufa con pollo, and of course the standard Inka Cola. It saves me the pain of cooking too often, because to cook a good meal here would cost just as much at least, especially with the higher class Vivanda grocery store that's near my house.
After work Tuesday, I got a big ole haircut, and I'm already missing my long hair...It was a rather obnoxious story, because this (slightly off and creepy) guy I live with wanted to score points with his girlfriend by sending me to her salon, where all the women there shamelessly tried to set me up with one of the girls that works there. I ended up tricked into going to dinner with them, which wasn't so bad because the salon owner was an interesting lady to talk to. They also convinced me to take antibiotics for a nasty stomach ailment I was already experiencing, and I think it worked despite my hesitance to resort to them so quickly. As much as there is such a sense of brotherhood among everyone here, it sometimes can be a little too much. But it is kind of cool to be able to know that there are a lot of people around who would do a lot for you no matter how well they know you. And even to a foreigner, how they pull you into their inexclusive community without hesitation. I'm not saying it's the only attitude in any situation, but it's definitely a common sense I get in interaction with locals here.
Then Thursday night I saw Taylor Morton, who happens to be taking off the quarter to travel South America. Lima was his landing point, so he'll be back here in November again. It's always nice to catch up with an old Brophy grad. After much pain of effort, Saturday morning I finally found a supermercado which was selling the cheap section tickets for the Peru-Uruguay match yesterday afternoon in the World Cup elimination rounds. Peru has no chance of qualifying, but they got their second win at the game my Irish house mate Simon and I went to to make their record 2 wins, 4 ties, 9 losses. Many were approaching us after as we were likely the only gringos in the Popular Norte section. They said that we had brought the good luck. The funniest thing about the whole day was two young Peruvians who claimed to be 14 were curiously stalking us along the walk up to the stadium. We thought they were just really bad pick-pocketers, but I was a little worried since I had my camera. Then, close to the stadium, they pop up from behind and ask if they can enter with us because if we say they are with us, they get in for free. They turned out to be really funny kids who sat in front of us and tried to explain us everything about the soccer game and went on with endless questions about the plato típicos of the US and Ireland and the star players of our football teams. They had come out to the stadium, which is far out in one of the more-slummy suburban areas, from La Victoria, and helped us get on the right combi home.
So, as far as my new job goes, I am really excited about it! It is really hard to get used to working a full time job in front of a desk and computer and to stay focused, but hopefully I'll get going with it a little better. I need to go eat though, so I'll post more about it later!
Brandon
After work Tuesday, I got a big ole haircut, and I'm already missing my long hair...It was a rather obnoxious story, because this (slightly off and creepy) guy I live with wanted to score points with his girlfriend by sending me to her salon, where all the women there shamelessly tried to set me up with one of the girls that works there. I ended up tricked into going to dinner with them, which wasn't so bad because the salon owner was an interesting lady to talk to. They also convinced me to take antibiotics for a nasty stomach ailment I was already experiencing, and I think it worked despite my hesitance to resort to them so quickly. As much as there is such a sense of brotherhood among everyone here, it sometimes can be a little too much. But it is kind of cool to be able to know that there are a lot of people around who would do a lot for you no matter how well they know you. And even to a foreigner, how they pull you into their inexclusive community without hesitation. I'm not saying it's the only attitude in any situation, but it's definitely a common sense I get in interaction with locals here.
Then Thursday night I saw Taylor Morton, who happens to be taking off the quarter to travel South America. Lima was his landing point, so he'll be back here in November again. It's always nice to catch up with an old Brophy grad. After much pain of effort, Saturday morning I finally found a supermercado which was selling the cheap section tickets for the Peru-Uruguay match yesterday afternoon in the World Cup elimination rounds. Peru has no chance of qualifying, but they got their second win at the game my Irish house mate Simon and I went to to make their record 2 wins, 4 ties, 9 losses. Many were approaching us after as we were likely the only gringos in the Popular Norte section. They said that we had brought the good luck. The funniest thing about the whole day was two young Peruvians who claimed to be 14 were curiously stalking us along the walk up to the stadium. We thought they were just really bad pick-pocketers, but I was a little worried since I had my camera. Then, close to the stadium, they pop up from behind and ask if they can enter with us because if we say they are with us, they get in for free. They turned out to be really funny kids who sat in front of us and tried to explain us everything about the soccer game and went on with endless questions about the plato típicos of the US and Ireland and the star players of our football teams. They had come out to the stadium, which is far out in one of the more-slummy suburban areas, from La Victoria, and helped us get on the right combi home.
Estadio Monumental, Ate Vitarte, Lima; Peru is not quite filling it up right now
The chants of Peru were nonetheless loud, I think things would not have been so good had they somehow lost after the last minute goal.
Fortunately, there was a little fight on the field, and Uruguay got a red card.
So, as far as my new job goes, I am really excited about it! It is really hard to get used to working a full time job in front of a desk and computer and to stay focused, but hopefully I'll get going with it a little better. I need to go eat though, so I'll post more about it later!
Brandon
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
El Orden vs. El Desorden
So the last few days have been quite the adventure. Sunday, I first bid goodbye to the awesome limeños from K'Usillu's Hostel (basically only 2 of them staff the entire 24/7 work schedule). Jaime originally tried to help me find a place to live, despite warning me it would be expensive in Miraflores, that it would likely cost at least 900 soles/month, which is the same amount he makes for rotating day/night shifts (he had been working for 24 hours when I left...) for 84 hrs/week.
He is from Chorrillos, and to describe it, he imitates holding a gun, laughs, and makes a joke about life in the ghetto, because he knows I can't really relate at all. Ironically enough, though, my major work with the UN will be regarding small arms proliferation throughout Latin America, particularly the illicit firearms trade and the resulting ease of access in urban areas. I'll definitely take him up on his parting word of "visítanos!" as he helped me load the taxi.
Anyway, he tried making calls but he could not use his local edge to undercut the Miraflores prices. Fortunately I got a spot in this house which is shared with enough people to bring the price a good bit down. And I even have my own bathroom to take the lukewarm drip-drip showers in, and I promise there will be no more complaining about that.
Mi dirección:
Calle Chacaltana 114
Miraflores Lima-18
Peace
He is from Chorrillos, and to describe it, he imitates holding a gun, laughs, and makes a joke about life in the ghetto, because he knows I can't really relate at all. Ironically enough, though, my major work with the UN will be regarding small arms proliferation throughout Latin America, particularly the illicit firearms trade and the resulting ease of access in urban areas. I'll definitely take him up on his parting word of "visítanos!" as he helped me load the taxi.
Anyway, he tried making calls but he could not use his local edge to undercut the Miraflores prices. Fortunately I got a spot in this house which is shared with enough people to bring the price a good bit down. And I even have my own bathroom to take the lukewarm drip-drip showers in, and I promise there will be no more complaining about that.
Mi dirección:
Calle Chacaltana 114
Miraflores Lima-18
PERU
I have the room on the second floor behind the tree there.
The street noises are pretty loud, but hopefully I´ll get used to it. The streets are absolutely crazy in Lima. I don´t think US cities could compare at all. In fact, I learned recently it´s one of the only countries where the pedestrian does not ever have the right away, and this shows in the statistics on pedestrian deaths here. 30 km limit also means 90, and pare (stop) means honk your horn and go as low as 40. The most common method of transportation for the average citizen is their bus system called the combis. These privately run, second-hand passenger vans and buses race to each paradero to load as many passengers as they can. As it pulls up, the fee collector yells out the route (there is no official route map for the city I don´t think), and the bus is racing again before he and the last passenger have gained their footing on the bus.
Anyway, at least I live away from one of the major 24/7 noisy combi arteries of Avenida Arequipa, where my hostel was. I can get to work by a slightly more pleasant street, and so I decided a bike would maybe be safe. I went to an interesting part of Lima near the city center called La Victoria because I was told there were used bike vendors there. Tourists go to central Lima, but most stay in the in the major historical attraction areas. Picture something like some of the scenes in the classic film The Bicycle Thief (which I highly recommend). I was certainly safe in broad daylight and with all the people out parading and dancing on Sunday, but I elicited a lot of funny looks being the only gringo venturing into a zona no tan segura. Anyway, people saw me looking lost, and were anxious to help me find my way, yelling across the street Qué buscas? Well, I should have just settled for the cheapest bike on display for S/140. Instead, I decided that since I had made such a venture into Lima, I would bargain, so I tried, but it only got him to run off and find a bike that they probably just could not sell to anyone else. I followed him back deeper into La Victoria and watched them tightening the connections on the bike I got for $40/ S/120. which may not last me more than a few weeks. As a child watched me like I was an alien standing waiting for them to tighten the loose parts of this bike reassembled from junkyard parts, a sense of fear being such an outsider overtook me, and I just stuck with the bad deal and got a taxi to avoid getting lost as the sun would set soon.
When I tell limeños I am staying here for 4 months, it really brings a smile, or occasionally a look of surprise, to their face. I mean every time. Wouldn't it be nice if they could get the same response in my country, jaja...I believe they see that most people only drop through to fly to Macchu Picchu or the jungle to experience that wonderful Incan culture, which to them was lost on the day the Spaniards set foot. The Incans were "una gente muy bien ordenada: no seas ladrón, no seas mentiroso, no seas perezoso (don't be a thief, a liar, or lazy was a main foundation of Incan moral code)," and this was replaced by the disorderly mess that is Lima, this taxista told me. I think it is this ancient culture of cooperation that provokes such good treatment of someone like me, but I do know there are limits as la delincuencia, as the taxista called it, has become so widespread.
Anyway, I´ll leave it there for now and save my first few days of work for another post, but here´s a picture of UN-LiREC´s awesome facility.
Peace
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