Hello Peru... How are you?
9-2-11- Arrive in Peru on the night of the 8th... after traveling all day youd think Id want to sleep. I cant sleep on planes tren or in automobiles.. okay, thats not completely true... I cant sleep well. I left Samara at 430am on the 8th, got to the SJO international airport at 9ish, checked in and waited ... I had a direct flight to Lima.. and they played a movie on the flight so it wasnt so bad. My friend Sandra works at a really nice hotel in Lima so a Taxi-shuttle man was waiting for me with a SIGN :) It was a class act. He took me to Sandras deceased grandmas house where she was waiting. I was orginally going to stay with the family at there house, but its full full full.. I guess thats what happens when you live in a really cool city and have grandkids... they move in when its time for College... SO the guest gets her own place. And its actually not so bad. Besides the ghost. Just kidding, but that was my first thought. Great.. Im all alone, in LIMA in the late grandmas house, and there is one bedroom, thus one bed... Im staying in the grandmas bed? hmmmm.... but really the house is great, its a complete 50-70s time capsul. Neat, but for my first night in Peru I was a little uneasy.. But now I have come accustom to the sounds the house and the neighbors make.. no ghost here... well if there are.. they are pretty nice. And I am very very thankful to have such a place to stay. I just have to figure out where I am in the city in relation to where I want to be.... must find a map.
But before I bother figuring out Lima, I have a ticket to take a bus to Cusco on the 10th. So before I head out on that adventure, Sandra shows me around Lima a little bit. WOAH how cool is this place! Its a mix of cultural historical buildings and really cool modern hip. If I was a yound business person I would LOVE to live here.. but I am a coutry mouse and I just dont think its for me.. but Ill enjoy it while Im here. Okay, so I get a mini tour.. and we go out to LUNCH! O-H MY GOD! The CEVICHE here is toooo die for! The mariscos are excellent. Im talking pulpo (octopus) and fresh fish and its in this deliciously perfect creamy sauce with sweet potato (chamote) cooked to perfection on the side. This was one veggie I was PUMPED to see.. because in Samara Chamote is used more like an adjective. Im sure they eat chamote.. but they say things like "esa fiesta erta chamote (what a PARTY!)" "El llego con una cara chamote (He showed up pissed)" SO I think Chamote can be a GOOOD thing or a bad thing... depending on the context.. so I was like a kid in a candy store! OH CHAMOTE! I was soo happy to see it!... hehe oh and did I mention PERU knows whats up with CORN! The call it CHOCLO and its HUGE! Its big and white and each kernel is massive and flavorful! Also before the food comes out, the servers bring cancha... fried corn... But this kinda doesnt pop... its like the CornNUTS and POPCORN had a baby.. Or maybe its more like the old maids when you make popcorn on the stove (the only way you should eat popcorn)... but bigger! Its sooo good. Funny- makes me remember my Highschool Science teacher, Mr. Erickson, and I remember one day he said "the only reason people eat popcorn is for the salt and the butter" HA.. this might be true.. but its soooooo good. Sorry CR but your wussy corncobs aint got nothing on Peru... they only have like 1000000 different kinds of corn, and I can only imagine they are all great... Okay enough about the corn, lets get to the good stuff. But really- PERUVIANs have GREAT... I mean AMAZING FOOD. Hands down. They KNOW what they are doing...
Okay so Feb 10th, my bus leaves at about 3pm so the morning is mine. Sandras friend works at a Colegio in Salamanca. Its a non-profit school so we set up a meeting so I can learn a little more about how these groups sobrevivir (survive) in Latin-America... I might me on "vacation" but I have CREAR on a BIG back burner in my brain oven.. and a girls got to network. SO the idea was to go to the school at 11am... but finding a security taxi was difficult. I had the number for what I thought was a taxi company... but I guess it was this friend of a friend that is like a taxi... or more like a "secure ride"... But I dont know this, so when I call and the guy just says "hi" Im taken back.. and when I tell him what I need he hangs up... or the connection was broken, so I call back.. and he hangs up. GREAT! How am I going to get to the school... Long story short.. I find a cab... well Sandra finds me a cab.. but when they are "contracted" for the jobs, sometimes they dont have any markings on the car... so Im waiting for this cabbie and this women in a little red car is telling me shes here for me... I hope you can imagine my hesetation... Meanwhile this young sleeze ball drives by... see me and says "yello... wat r u luuking at? Princesa kan I Help u?" UGH BUUZZ off. I just shook my hand in this general direction and decided to have a little faith, and it turns out the cabby lady was for real.. and she even waited for me while I had my meeting at the Colegio.
The school was really cool. Supports about a 100+ little one, ages 3 to 5... I guess its more like a preschool.. but is confusing... In Spanish they have tons of words for schools..Kinder, Escuela, Colegio, secundario, prepa, and EVERYWHERE its different. Escuela some places is just school in general.. otherplaces it elementary. I though Kinder was just Kindergarden, but I think its more like elementary... and COLEGIO- This could be middleschool OR Highschool and Prepa UGH- this could be highschool or like a techinical school (like a two year program after HS) and Secundaria this other can be Middle School or Highschool.. COLOR ME LOST! Seriously I thought english was vague... Okay but the school was built by a man from Suiza with plata... He built the whole school and supplied everything for the first 6years, and on the 7th year the rose would lose its petals and the beast remain a beast of find true love and convert into back into a man.. heheh.. j/k... on the 7th year the school would have to support itself.. and the trouble with many non profits NGOs is that finding th funding is the tough part. SO I toured the school and got the low down on how they survive. A little from here, a little from there... but I also got some great connects for CREAR. There is an agency in Puerto Rico that helps nonprofits with fundos... They specifically deal with international groups that deal with poverty and hunger... Have I mentioned I want to establish a community garden in Samara... hopefully this PR group will be into it and give us some $$ so we can get that project underway.. Basically I had a good and interesting time at the school and I plan to volunteer once I got back from Cusco and the INCAN kingdom.. so how about a little more about that.
But before I bother figuring out Lima, I have a ticket to take a bus to Cusco on the 10th. So before I head out on that adventure, Sandra shows me around Lima a little bit. WOAH how cool is this place! Its a mix of cultural historical buildings and really cool modern hip. If I was a yound business person I would LOVE to live here.. but I am a coutry mouse and I just dont think its for me.. but Ill enjoy it while Im here. Okay, so I get a mini tour.. and we go out to LUNCH! O-H MY GOD! The CEVICHE here is toooo die for! The mariscos are excellent. Im talking pulpo (octopus) and fresh fish and its in this deliciously perfect creamy sauce with sweet potato (chamote) cooked to perfection on the side. This was one veggie I was PUMPED to see.. because in Samara Chamote is used more like an adjective. Im sure they eat chamote.. but they say things like "esa fiesta erta chamote (what a PARTY!)" "El llego con una cara chamote (He showed up pissed)" SO I think Chamote can be a GOOOD thing or a bad thing... depending on the context.. so I was like a kid in a candy store! OH CHAMOTE! I was soo happy to see it!... hehe oh and did I mention PERU knows whats up with CORN! The call it CHOCLO and its HUGE! Its big and white and each kernel is massive and flavorful! Also before the food comes out, the servers bring cancha... fried corn... But this kinda doesnt pop... its like the CornNUTS and POPCORN had a baby.. Or maybe its more like the old maids when you make popcorn on the stove (the only way you should eat popcorn)... but bigger! Its sooo good. Funny- makes me remember my Highschool Science teacher, Mr. Erickson, and I remember one day he said "the only reason people eat popcorn is for the salt and the butter" HA.. this might be true.. but its soooooo good. Sorry CR but your wussy corncobs aint got nothing on Peru... they only have like 1000000 different kinds of corn, and I can only imagine they are all great... Okay enough about the corn, lets get to the good stuff. But really- PERUVIANs have GREAT... I mean AMAZING FOOD. Hands down. They KNOW what they are doing...
Okay so Feb 10th, my bus leaves at about 3pm so the morning is mine. Sandras friend works at a Colegio in Salamanca. Its a non-profit school so we set up a meeting so I can learn a little more about how these groups sobrevivir (survive) in Latin-America... I might me on "vacation" but I have CREAR on a BIG back burner in my brain oven.. and a girls got to network. SO the idea was to go to the school at 11am... but finding a security taxi was difficult. I had the number for what I thought was a taxi company... but I guess it was this friend of a friend that is like a taxi... or more like a "secure ride"... But I dont know this, so when I call and the guy just says "hi" Im taken back.. and when I tell him what I need he hangs up... or the connection was broken, so I call back.. and he hangs up. GREAT! How am I going to get to the school... Long story short.. I find a cab... well Sandra finds me a cab.. but when they are "contracted" for the jobs, sometimes they dont have any markings on the car... so Im waiting for this cabbie and this women in a little red car is telling me shes here for me... I hope you can imagine my hesetation... Meanwhile this young sleeze ball drives by... see me and says "yello... wat r u luuking at? Princesa kan I Help u?" UGH BUUZZ off. I just shook my hand in this general direction and decided to have a little faith, and it turns out the cabby lady was for real.. and she even waited for me while I had my meeting at the Colegio.
The school was really cool. Supports about a 100+ little one, ages 3 to 5... I guess its more like a preschool.. but is confusing... In Spanish they have tons of words for schools..Kinder, Escuela, Colegio, secundario, prepa, and EVERYWHERE its different. Escuela some places is just school in general.. otherplaces it elementary. I though Kinder was just Kindergarden, but I think its more like elementary... and COLEGIO- This could be middleschool OR Highschool and Prepa UGH- this could be highschool or like a techinical school (like a two year program after HS) and Secundaria this other can be Middle School or Highschool.. COLOR ME LOST! Seriously I thought english was vague... Okay but the school was built by a man from Suiza with plata... He built the whole school and supplied everything for the first 6years, and on the 7th year the rose would lose its petals and the beast remain a beast of find true love and convert into back into a man.. heheh.. j/k... on the 7th year the school would have to support itself.. and the trouble with many non profits NGOs is that finding th funding is the tough part. SO I toured the school and got the low down on how they survive. A little from here, a little from there... but I also got some great connects for CREAR. There is an agency in Puerto Rico that helps nonprofits with fundos... They specifically deal with international groups that deal with poverty and hunger... Have I mentioned I want to establish a community garden in Samara... hopefully this PR group will be into it and give us some $$ so we can get that project underway.. Basically I had a good and interesting time at the school and I plan to volunteer once I got back from Cusco and the INCAN kingdom.. so how about a little more about that.
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