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Journal Entry Eleven in Peru - 14/03/10

(posted 3 weeks later)

I'm sitting in a "mid-range" (according to Lonely Planet Peru) hotel room in Huancayo waiting for my tour guide to arrive in 15. It's a day-long tour of "traditional" areas and attractions in the vicinity and I'm wondering for how long I can stay awake. You see, I took an 8-hour sleeper-bus up from Lima and although it was much more comfortable than a plane and I did sleep through most of it, it wasn't an uninterrupted stupor. I did get to hear a salsa-fied version of Coldplay's "Clocks" and see bits of a random movie with JT and the guy who won the Oscar this year. The whole experience was a bit surreal. Whether I make sleeper buses my method of future transport in Peru depends on if I can arrive in Lima at 7am on Monday morning, get to work by 8 and teach a whole day of classes without passing out!

...

I am back and the tour was great. Exhausting, but fascinating. At the onset, I thought 'traditional' would be a bit boring and that I should've taken the archaeological tour. However, this would have been a fruitless exercise as the touring agency only has the one van and traditional was the tour of the day. In fact, they delayed our set-off until they'd rustled up enough tourists to fill the van. Also, I didn't understand much of what the guide said in Spanish and this would be a much bigger problem when you are standing in front of a bunch of oddly-shaped rocks!

So, we visited a few workshops of 'talleres' in the area: a 'textileria' in Hualhas where they weaved alpaca wool amongst others, a silver jewellery 'plateria' and a bee-keeper's house in San Jeronimo, and a 'lecheria' or cheese-plant in Huaychulo. I realised I've never seen cheese being made until then, except on that British programme, "How the Victorians did it" and it doesn't seem to be that different. In fact, in the street market of Huancayo, we saw cheese being sold in that intermediate stage between lumpy milk and hard cheese. Also of note, I had some 4-day fermented honey wine, which was interesting, and not in a bad way. It's a shame I couldn't buy any, but travelling light is essential and I already splashed out on some cheese and honey. There was an old lady at the textileria who was also giving out a drink which looked like dirty dish water, but I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous and didn't want to tempt the onset of the altitude sickness everyone had warned me about.

Our next stop was the "Laguna de Paca", which looked like a flooded field in parts but made for some stunning scenery with the surrounding mountains. On the drive to the lake we saw plenty of cows, sheep, goats and pigs, but not a single llama. Apparently, pigs are a treasured pet in these parts, along with guinea pigs, although both eventually become dinner. I also saw the large white statue of the Virgin Mary on a hilltop in Concepcion, Peru's answer to the Christ of Rio. From my few weeks here, I have discovered that the mother of Christ plays a more important role on Catholicism here than God. Penultimately, it was lunchtime in Ingenio, the trout-breeding town. It is unbelievably tasty, despite being a 'pink' fish, which I hate having previously eaten salmon. Again, it was served with rice and potato, but I managed to finish it by virtue of leaving the rice and most of the potato untouched. I think there's no need to mention the salads... During lunch, I made friends with the mother and two daughters of our group and even managed a conversation. My Spanish is improving, although I take far too long to think out what I'm going to say. After lunch, while waiting for the rest of the group to assemble, I wandered over to the neighbouring restaurant and tried to snap 'artistic' photo of a kid on a swing through an archway. His brother saw me and informed the kid of the fact, after which he watched me intently with a look of either suspicion or disappointment that I hadn't snapped him. Thereafter, it was a hop across to the trout farm to see the varying sizes of trout through their lifetime.

Our final visit was to the Franciscan monastery of Santa Rosa de Ocopa, in Ocopa. The church isn't anything to write home about despite being unconventionally pink, but the monastery was a delightful experience, albeit a wee bit too long. [I just tried to click Ctrl+S on the notebook I'm writing on! It is 10:30pm and I am waiting to board my sleeper bus back to Lima.] Although, while I was waiting for the group to collect itself I watched a hummingbird gathering nectar in the cloisters for a very ling time. And, I saw about 50 different types of hummingbird, despite them being stuffed ones in the monastery's Amazonian fauna room complete with monkeys, a crocodile and my first ever stuffed snakes. The monastery also has the most amazing library with ancient books and bibles in various languages, including Arabic and Japanese. For those who care, the Franciscan monks do make wine - I saw the room they make it in. I must remark on the paintings and general portraying of Christianity and the indigenous people. All the paintings show the monks and 'teaching' and providing aid or the unarmed monks being shot with arrows by the Indians and there is even a wall of faces titled something along the lines of 'monks who died a violent death'. Of course, no mention of is made of the conquering Spanish who arrived earlier with their guns and killed who they wished and took what they wanted. If your first encounter with a white person is a rifle explosion in your face, you are hardly going to wait for the monks to pull something out of their cassocks!

You will succumb to the powers of Inca Kola!

Inca Kola is the most popular fizzy drink in Peru. So much so that other drinks are changing their colour to trick people in to buying theirs instead. I should get a photo but it is a disgusting luminous yellow drink and your first sip is going to leave you gasping for water. Not because it's disgusting, but because it's so sweet that even a sweet tooth like mine will not save you from it.

Yet, give it a couple more tries, mostly because the occasional event only serves it and you are dying of thirst or you don't want to offend your host, and you will find a peculiar familiarity creeping over you. It will feel right to drink Inca Kola in Peru and you will watch yourself, with a certain laissez-faire, pouring yourself a second glass. Give it time and you might even start buying it and drinking it alone in your room!

Tidbit I forgot from the last entry:

I'm pretty sure the model daughter's boyfriend suggested I get my teeth fixed!

At our first meeting, after telling me all the good food I should try in Peru, he said, "also, Peru is really cheap for dental and medical things, so if you're staying long and you want to get anything fixed you should do it here." (!!!) I'm pretty sure this is not normal introductory conversation. What say you?

Journal Entry Ten in Peru - 07/03/10

Highlight of the day: Meeting some of the sweetest kids ever.
Discovery of the day: 12 year-olds have the shortest attention span imaginable.
Feeling right now: Happy, but finding it difficult to grasp the fact that a whole week has gone by.
Nooooo.... : Being nice to some classes is no longer an option.



It's been a long silence from me, I am aware, but it has been a very busy week and if I don't get a grip on my schedule very soon, this journal might very well become a weekly one. I must try to live as well as work.

Last Sunday, amidst fears of a tsunami, I joined a van-ful of strangers (apart from one who is a teacher at school) on a 3-hour journey to the beaches to the North of Lima. I am told the truly great beaches in the North are a 15-hour journey away, but we day-trippers settled for these, which I later found out are beaches for lovers. Fortunately, we didn't run in to any of these miscreants as the tsunami-scares provided us with a deserted beach. The tsunami, the one that was happening in Hawaii, also meant the sea-level had dropped, exposing a layer of starfish-covered rock. It was possibly the most awesome thing I have ever seen on a beach. There were also accompanying sea cucumbers and sea urchins, but the starfish outshone them with their bright orange glow. I feel a Wordsworth-esque poem coming on and if I wasn't in another jolting van, I would probably indulge. Yet, it is not to be. I shouldn't forget the swarms, really there is no other word, of orange crabs scuttling out of our way. And, I thought there were no orange crabs...





This exposure of sea-creatures turned out to be a veritable buffet for the hundreds of seabirds, and some not quite of the sea, who had collected around. I'm not aware as to whether the birds are usually around in such large numbers, but their presence made the main section of the beach untenable as it was covered in bird droppings. However, the section we had was just fine. The majority of beaches in Peru, or at least the ones I have seen, are surrounded by very high cliffs, which led me to be quite unafraid of a possible tsunami. Probably not completely justified, but it is rather reassuring if you live, as I do, on top of said cliffs. It also means you get a fair bit of privacy, apart from possibly the eager ramblers very occassionally crossing the cliffs. Looking at these high cliffs, I saw a triplet of vultures. Unfortunately, I was too far to see if they were the elusive Lammergheier type. I doubt it, but was hopeful.

After spending way too much time at the beach - the Peruvians do like their sunbathing and frolicking in the sea and banana-hammocks are far too fashionable for my liking - we went to a nearby home/restaurant for a local meal of papalahuancaina (papa-la-wun-ca-eena - a boiled egg in a yellow sauce with potatoes and an olive) and chicken and rice. Dessert was an almost unmentionable slice of watermelon. It was a pleasant meal and heartening to see the two youngest kids of the family, probably no more than 10 years old, helping their mother out by providing the table service.

Lunch over, we proceeded to spend the next hour or so at the Pre-Incan burial ground nearby. I don't know what it was like when it was in use, but presently it seems to operate on some sort of exchange system; the locals and tourists take ancient pottery, and bones for those with morbid tendencies, in return for garbage. Seriously, it is a weird mixture of a graveyard and a rubbish dump. All the valuables once buried with the bodies having been taken a very long time ago, it must have no value to archaeologists and has been abandoned to its fate. You can clearly see the 'graves' as slightly raised holes in the ground cocooned by woven leaves and a random mixture of bones and skulls lie here and there, after the weird have had their picture taken with said remains at the most attractive position. The earthenware must also have no value as they lie scattered around, mostly broken, with the occassional tourist picking one up as it matches his garden ornaments perfectly. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Never ones to let morbidity get the better of us, the next hour was spent at another lover's beach, this one aptly named Quita Calzon, which means "remove underwear"! Unfortunately, the climb down was rather a steep one and the odds of breaking my ankle outweighed the pleasure of another beach and possible nudity, so I stayed atop the cliff watching vultures and checking out the scenery, which varied between the Pacific Ocean and desert. Of course, I would be sitting half-way down the steep path feeling pleased with myself when none other than a kid on crutches starts climbing back up. To be fair, he did have the aid of the crutches. I probably could have done it if I had a pair of them too...

The homeward journey was uneventful, although we witnessed a beautiful sunset over the Pacific from atop the mountains, as we had to drive through mountains to get to the beaches. It's strange country this. On the way out, we passed through an area warning of mist and it was truly magical mist. You could've expected Gandalf to walk out any minute and ask you for the ring. Only difference being that we were surrounded by desert rather than mountains or forest. In fact, it felt a lot like driving through the Sahara at 4am before the sun had come up, with the only difference being that the top soil of the desert in Peru was a dark black rather than the Saharan orange dust.

That was last weekend's trip and this weekend's was quite the opposite, with a leisurely 1-hour drive to the South of Lima with the family I stay with. Naturally, we left an hour later than we planned - collecting family is not an easy thing to do, especially as quite a few of them had packed to stay for the entire week and the rest had done the same. Eventually, we made it to a little house they had rented for a week, 10-minutes walk from the beach. After a quick clean-up, the first item on the agenda was getting the inflatable pool filled up. Yes, we were 10 minutes from the ocean, but a pool in your house is the ultimate goal and the grandmother is old and some members prefer a pool to the ocean. I'm pretty sure the aunts took turns to watch me while they sunbathed and I "braved" the Pacific. It was a lovely beach - just the right amount of waves and not too deep, although I was a bit worried when the lifeguards rushed in at one point. I still don't know what it was about, but they didn't pull anyone out and they didn't seem too bothered about having let someone drown, so I imagine it was a false alarm or a drill. Although, a drill on a crowded beach seems unwarranted. The beach being crowded was rather a negative, but it wasn't too crowded that it wasn't pleasant. I think I'm almost back to my 15-year-old tennis colour now, even with sunblock. I'm still working on the washboard stomach though...

Anyway, the weekend was a very leisurely layabout in the sun finishing up Garcia Marquez's autobiography, which I recommend for anyone who wants to be a writer. Saturday evening turned in to a bit of a party with the whole family arriving at some point with their other halves and the free-flowing of beer. Even the dog got to drink some beer, which ended with her throwing up all over the place, but then that was to be expected. I slept on the top half of a bunk-bed and prayed it wouldn't come crashing down on the grandmother sleeping below me, not for any other reason than that the double bed had already broken. I think it was the son-in-law and he does have a tendency to dive in to things, as experienced first-hand with the mini-pool at the grandmother's house, so maybe it wasn't entirely the bed's fault.

The beautiful cousin, who turns out to be a surfer AND an artist (OMG, get me a fan!), turned up on the Sunday afternoon, but my joy was short-lived as we all travelled home in readiness for another week of joyous teaching. More on the teaching in the next entry, as I have to head home now to go shopping. It has been ascertained that I need a beach towel.


Hasta Mañana!

p.s. - If you want a link to more pictures, drop me an email.

Journal Entry Nine in Peru - 27/02/10

Highlight of the day: Having my first Peruvian chocolate eclair. It's filled with a custard-like substance, but sweeter. Not too bad, but not quite the same addictive of the original P&S ones.
Discovery of the day: Reporting news accurately without sensationalising is no longer a given.
Over-riding emotion: A wee bit fed-up with this build-up to the tsunami in Hawaii.
Nooooo.... : The dog stole my handkerchief and swallowed it whole! I'm afraid he's going to die of indigestion.




I am watching the Cee-eN-eN coverage of the earthquake in Chile and the expected tsunami. It's been on for about 15 hours now and the last 5 hours have been centred around the expected arrival of the tsunami in Hawaii. At first, they showed the evacuation process and built up to disastrous consequences quite effectively, I thought. For the last hour and a half though, they have been running with the scrolling headline that the "first wave will hit any moment now". And now, with it beginning to appear that it's going to be a very mild tsunami, the reporters are almost trying to incite panic. They just spoke to a tourist who had been evacuated to higher ground and when it became obvious that he was very relaxed and not in the least scared for his life, the reporter did all but shout, "Panic, damn you!" at him. The anchor barely managed to prevent himself from swearing at some guy who was casually, albeit recklessly, walking on the deserted beach. Apparently, some surfer dudes are actually waiting to catch the wave. Yes crazy, but the way they built up the tsunami, they probably figured they'd rather die trying to catch the ultimate wave rather than clinging on to a coconut tree.

Anyway, now they've realised that the tsunami has limited itself to raising the water level by a few metres and they aren't going to get any drama, so they've returned to the actual tragedy which is the earthquake in Chile. Here in Peru, they are treating it as a way of life. Apparently, the earthquake in Peru approximately 2 years ago resulted in more than a thousand deaths, so to them, it's sad, but could've been worse. A Chilean diplomat just said they've got it under control and don't need any outside help at the moment, as they have stringent building laws etc.

Stepped out for a minute and they have returned to Hawaii. The reporter just went through events on the North American coast; water level rises and some damage - buoys were damaged! You'd think they would be celebrating the fact that they have such a good warning system and evacuation methods in place, rather than looking for damage and disaster. It's almost like they are trying to 'compete' with the Asian tsunami... I feel like they are going to be so pissed if Japan gets a 'proper' tsunami. I don't think that less should be made of the possibility of a repeat of the Asian tsunami, but I feelthey should have dialled down the drama when they realised that all the places that were supposed to be hit by the tsunami before Hawaii, barely felt it.

I apologise for the rant. All this scare-mongering is making me want to stop following news. First swine flu, now this... All I have to say is, do your research before you panic. Panicking never helps anyway.

If you would like to brighten your day, after this depressing post, check out the trousers the Norweigian men's curling team is wearing. I have no idea why they are showing curling in Peru. I wonder if they even take part in the Winter Olympics...

Journal Entry Eight in Peru - 24/02/10

Journal Entry Eight in Peru - 24/02/10


Highlight of the day: Sighting my first hummingbird
Discovery of the day: Catholic morality is wide awake at 3am.
Over-riding emotion: Sleepy and tired.
Nooooo.... : Forgot the hot sauce after spending an extra 15 minutes wandering round the supermarket trying to remember what I'd forgotten.




It had been a rather drab day and I had just about given up getting anything exciting out of the day when, on my way home, I saw my first hummingbird! I had been told they could be found around the school, but not expecting or looking out for it at that particular moment made it that much more of a highlight and a definite raising of the spirits. I changed my route today to avoid another encounter with the old security guard with whom my initial attempt at being nice by smiling and exchanging pleasantries every morning and evening had turned awkward with his inability to understand that my Spanish currently extended only to the polite greetings and repeated efforts to have a lengthy conversation. I was beginning to feel rude and a long tiring day didn't need that cherry on top. Now, with the possibility of encountering hummingbirds, the route will be changed permanently, although I will have to forego the more fragrant of my jasmine trees.

I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have opened with the good news, as now all that remains is to describe the drabness. There was one minor amusement in the wee hours of the morning when the son of the household returned home after a party with his girlfriend who was too tipsy to go home. Mum was awake and immediately setting up a makeshift bed for him on the living room floor as they couldn't possibly share a room under the roof of a good Catholic woman. It goes to show liberalness, artistic temperament and disowning one's mother religion in favour of astrological fervour counts for nothing when you live with your mother!

Currently, school is a bit chaotic as the special software they got in order to modernise the timetabling method has failed spectacularly and it might well be the case that we have no idea which class and where to teach come Monday morning. I have suggested that they announce a Sports Week, giving them time to sort it out and me time to finish my lesson plans. Sitting in the library trying to concentrate, although constructive, has given my a rather painful bruise on my upper right thigh due to the strangely designed desks I keep slamming my leg in to when I attempt to get up. Not getting up was proving to be an excellent preventative method until the librarian actually shooed me out in order to go home herself.

My eyes are drooping, so I'll sign off to watch one episode of the Big Bang Theory before I hit the hay.

Hasta Mañana!

Bureaucracy, on a good day, makes me sigh...

On a bad one, it makes me weep.

Journal Entry Seven in Peru - 21/02/10



Fortunately, it wasn't a day for crying, but there was plenty of sighing. On Friday I went to the Immigration office to get my tourist visa changed to one which allows me to sign contracts in the country. Yes, you need a special signature and stamp for that. It wasn't the first time either, as I went on Thursday, but didn't have my Andean migration card, which is a small slip of paper they should staple in to your passport (like they do in Thailand) because you need it to leave the country, but don't because they are saving money on staples and can earn more from you when you lose it. So, having returned with the required documents, you are told you need photocopies of everything, presumably they are saving on that too and making more money because they do have a convenient little booth for photocopying. After queuing for photocopies, you go join a very long queue at the bank to pay an administration fee. Thereafter, you join the correct queue, unlike us who wasted half an hour on the wrong queue, and get told to go back down to the bank and pay for the actual visa! Then you sit around waiting for the stamp and signature. You can't nip out for a bite because they don't let you in to the building without ID and your ID is now lying in a pile waiting to be processed. Fortunately, it didn't take very long and I can now legally put my signature to a document. Success! Although, I have many more similar trips to take before I get all my documents in order. Oh, bliss...

That last sentiment, reminds me of a line in the school's discipline policy: "Sarcasm has no place at S** J****." It's going to be a tough year... Rumours are circulating of a Secret Sarcasm Society in which to exhaust our pent-up sarcasm. On the topic of the school, my previous entry mentioned chaos, the reason being I had come from a meeting with the other senior teachers and the head on the switch to IB. The meeting being bilingual and switching back and forth from one language to another probably didn't help, but I doubt a meeting ever reaches its conclusion when groups of people break off and have their own discussions while the main meeting is still in progress. At the end of it, I had a pretty bad headache, only to have to go and sit in on a demonstration on how to use a SMARTboard. SMARTboards are cool and innovative, but I wonder if they actually do anything to make you a better teacher or to help the kids learn better. The tutorial consisting mainly of smart tricks and fancy side-stepping didn't lead me to think it would be more than a distraction, but it's the policy of the school to impose usage. Modernisation for the sake of modernisation, methinks. This is where my whole comment on show over substance came from and then it reminded me of the figure-skating fiasco at the Olympics (link). Yes, not everyone's cup of tea, but how can you leave out the quad and still win? Especially when the girls are doing them! (Go, Miki Ando!) Okay, unrelated sports link over.

Nevertheless, my meeting with the relevant people in an attempt to get the syllabus adjusted to reflect the ages and learning capabilities of the kids went well and I'm now starting the first year of secondary with more hands-on, practical knowledge and leaving the abstract ideas for the more senior years. Nothing much can be done for the current seniors, but this is a start. Now, I must start stocking up the lab with the basic instruments. Maybe I can sell the SMARTboard in my class on the black market and use those funds... Darn, there's that sarcasm again!

Well, it's Sunday morning, so not much has happened today, but yesterday was spent at my host's mother's house, sunning, reading, splashing around in the little pool and trying to understand the conversation. My host banned me from working as she thinks I work too hard from 7am to 6pm, but I haven't figured out how to tell her that I spend the first and last 2 hours of the day on the internet. Lunch was a special meal of beef ravioli, which was very tasty, albeit highly un-Peruvian.



Highlight of the day: Yummy McDonald's chocolate sundaes
Discovery of the day: Signatures and official stamps cost too much everywhere in the world.
Over-riding emotion: Content, but lots of work to do.
Nooooo.... : I've just realised that I have to learn the names of approximately 180 children.


Nada más!

Journal Entry Six in Peru - 17/02/10

Highlight of the day: Optimising my route to school so that I pass 2 jasmine bushes that smell divine.
Discovery of the day: Show and bluster counts for a lot more than usefulness and ability even in this part of the world.
Over-riding emotion: Complete and utter chaos
Nooooo.... : Found an Araliya tree (frangipani) today, but the flowers don't smell of anything.


More on the 'discovery of the day' tomorrow. Today, I feel the need to tell you more about living in Peru. I don't feel I have touched on the food enough either... Peru is going through a phase of gaining international fame for its local cuisine. They are actively promoting their food to the rest of the world. In fact, as one of my colleagues pointed out today, the front page story of a local newspaper was the fact that Beyonce had been in Lima for one day and that she liked the food! So, it's only fair that I do my bit.

I mentioned the anticucho de corazon before, a kebab of ox heart and also the chaufa, or Peruvian Chinese food. Since my host makes lunch for me every day, I haven't had much opportunity to eat out, but she makes pretty decent food. The other teachers in school have been impressed with my lunch, albeit disappointed when I point out that I didn't cook it. Today I had 'esceviche de pescado'. I'm pretty sure I spelt the first part of that wrong, but I had to do the best with the pronunciation I heard. It was fried fish with fried onions and an egg with rice and sweet potato. Very tasty and flavourful, unlike the day before when I had some sort of bean puree. Unfortunately, spicy food doesn't seem to be her forte, so I'm going to the shops soon to buy some Peruvian "hot sauce", which I have tried and was just right for spicening things up. I'll have to keep it in the school fridge so as not to hurt her feelings... Meanwhile, last weekend I had the opportunity to taste another Peruvian speciality, 'lomos saltado', spicy meat strips fried with onions and rice. They also give you chips with the meal, potatoes and rice being a common combination here although it does make a meal unfinishable for me. I have been promised the "famous" 'seviche' soon, apparently raw fish 'cooked' with lemon. I'm not sure whether to look forward to that or dread it.

Unfortunately, my desserts have been limited to fruit salad and jelly, so that aspect is not very exciting. However, the jelly was made with milk and strawberries, so that's quite a new idea. Today, a fellow teacher brought in cake for his birthday, but it wasn't anything to write home about. The ice cream I had on the weekend was pretty good and my boss has suggested I try D'onofrio, which she considers the best in the world, but then she is slightly biased. I really must find the time to visit the bakery, but it's been too late when I get off work these days.

News on the home front, my host's daughter who lives at home is a model. Enviably, she seems to spend her time either on holiday at the beach or working out at the gym. Also, I think my first rent cheque has gone towards buying a pool for my host who gets very hot because, as her son rather amusedly pointed out to me, she is going through the menopause. It's reassuring how many words are pretty much the same in the two languages, just pronounced more 'Spanish'. It's an inflatable pool (before you get too excited), as we live on the first floor of a block of flats and I wonder where they plan to put it as there isn't much empty space around here. Having not described the flat before, I should say it's an immaculately kept (despite having a shedding dog!), spacious 4-bed flat which takes up half the floor.

There is no pleasant way to lead in to this, but it is a part of Peruvian life so I should point out a rather gross oddity in that you cannot flush your toilet paper, but have to bin it instead. I'm slowly getting used to it, although it is a habit and I was afraid I'd block up the system a few times. This is a Peru-wide fact, I believe, as the sanitation system just cannot handle it. In fact, in the school, they don't even have loo rolls inside the cubicles, but only dispensers in the common area of the toilet and you have to take some in with you. I think that covers that subject, so let's move on.

Since I don't want to end on that note, let me tell you about the pieces of art my host's son gave me. He is an artist, but these were works of a friend of his; photographs altered in photoshop to look rather mystical. One is a pineapple-like fruit overlaid with an orange tint. The other is a delightful bright pink and white mist overlaid on a photo of coca leaves or "Hoja de coca". These are the leaves of the coca plant, from which cocaine is also obtained, but the Peruvians dislike drug connection to this plant which was considered sacred by the Mayans and they drink coca tea. I don't think it makes you high, but I will try it at some point.

I will stop now before today becomes tomorrow.

Hasta Mañana!

I've been to the beach!

Journal Entry Five in Peru - 14/02/10


Highlight of the day: Not needing to bargain taxi fare, having managed to pass for a local.
Discovery of the day: Peruvian beer doesn't smell nasty and tastes ok.
Over-riding emotion: Enjoying a lovely weekend.
Nooooo.... : I forgot to take my camera with me this morning and it was a beautifully sunny day and the view of the sea from Miraflores was amazing.


I have survived my first full-on encounter with Peruvian driving and traffic, albeit barely. The general rule here is "don't stop". I am absolutely serious and it was conveyed to me by Peruvian drivers. Everyone here drives at high speed and keeping any space between your car and the one in front is merely a temptation for the car behind to overtake. So, the result of stopping is that the car behind WILL crash in to you. However, this seems such a common occurrence that when we crashed in to the Merc in front, they didn't stop to exchange insurance details but drove on as if nothing had happened.

Not to worry, I am fine and unscathed. In fact, that trip yesterday to the South of Lima was an experience. Living in Miraflores (which is where I live and the school is 10 minutes walk away, so I haven't been anywhere else) is pretty much the same as living in Colombo 7. Everything is upmarket, safe and clean. In fact, on the taxi ride to Larcomar, the nearby shopping centre, I had a complete sense of deja-vu as if I was driving down Duplication Road near the British Council. Yet, as you leave the area, you are exposed to a much broader, clearer view of Lima as a whole. The unfinished, unused tram track rises above the motorway, a reminder of a past government's attempt to drum up votes before the money ran out. The houses gradually morph from the modern, 'designed' houses of Miraflores to block houses where only the front wall is painted for appearance's sake. Looking towards the rising hills you see the shacks built on the incline, getting more unstable as they get higher. The government has put in bright yellow staircases for access and, at night, the street lamps indicate rows upon rows of abodes covering the hills as far as the hills stretch out, given the fog isn't blocking your view. The idea of so many people living permanently in makeshift homes, without water and electricity (because the street lights are the only source of light you see) is rather stark. And yet, Beyonce is coming to Lima and tickets sell for between $100 and $200.

Our destination on this trip was the beach and despite being rather overcast, it was still very hot and the hole in the Ozone layer in Lima means you still have to use sunblock so, those of you coming to visit, please bring 80-100 factor sunblock even if you don't burn. It was my first contact with the Pacific Ocean so a dip was required despite the sea not being particularly tempting: crashing waves and sandy, unclear water. However, the birds skimming the waves for fish was a sight I could watch for hours. A group of pelicans were following the crest of the waves, which built up unbelievably quickly to about 2 to 3 metres and crashed down even faster, with delightful skill and a flock of smaller birds were hovering further out, the occasional splash indicating a diving individual going for its prey. Yes, I know I should have photos, but I was unprepared and we will repeat the trip soon for photographic reasons and hopefully to include a sunset.

The day then extended to a trip to the local stadium for my friend's husband's weekly basketball practice. It is a rather grand stadium meant for football but extended to basketball, of which there is a national league. Competitiveness is not high on the list of Peruvian characteristics as the teams consist of members of a range of ability, including overweight men to old guys with grey hair and even the occasional wife who imposes herself on the practice courts and runs around energetically only to have no one pass the ball to her. Perhaps it is the fully made-up face that puts them off... The practice ended with a hop across to the local 'off-license' where everyone sat outside on the pavement and drank beer. The Peruvian method for social drinking is something I've never heard of before: they have a few bottles of beer a one glass. You pour yourself a drink and pass on the bottle to the next person who then waits for the glass and does the same. The wait between drinks means no one gets drunk very fast. I tried one drink so as not to offend the others and it was actually bearable. Still more a fan of the Pisco sour, though.

I also had my first taste of Peruvian Chinese food, or Chifa. Actually, I'm not sure if Chifa is just the name for a Chinese restaurant or if it also describes the food. Chaufa is fried rice, I think... It's good. I have to try more dishes.

Oh dear, it's later than I thought and I have to write a 500 word essay on what I got out of "The Blindside". It's the latest Sandra Bullock movie about a kid who needs special help in school. I should've known there was a catch when we watched a movie for a teaching tutorial.

Hasta Mañana!

Journal Entry Four in Peru - 12/02/10

Highlight of "the day": A nice, long cold shower after a very hot day.
Discovery of the day : Toiletries are about the same price as in the UK, although I did go to the main supermarket in Lima, which might be over-pricing. Must check out other shops.
Over-riding emotion: Exhausted
Nooooo.... : Peruvians appear to have a fondness for putting aniseed in their sweets. Not a fan.


I finished the syllabus just now, apart from a few additions to be done tomorrow (today, it's past midnight). It should suffice, with the addition of the first sections of a few topics from the IB syllabus which I left at school. I'm trying to include lab work, which they haven't done at all previously. The lab is utterly basic though. I might have to strong-arm the school managers to buy some basic equipment - the "physics lab cupboard" is full of unrecognizable, hefty equipment. It might be an idea to make the kids try and figure out what they do... fulfil the "analysing and evaluating" sections of Bloom's revised taxonomy.

I wonder if I'm beginning to sound like a teacher...

Enough of the work info, let's move on to the interesting events of today. Almost everyone in school loves my smile (proof to follow) and I have officially been asked THE question: "Are you single?" I now have two self-appointed matchmakers.

Hasta Mañana!

Journal Entry Three in Peru - 10/02/10

Highlight of "the day": Coming face-to-face (or should I say cheek-to-cheek?) with my first hot Peruvianos!
Discovery of the day : There are people in Peru who think China will take over the world (in 10 years...)
Over-riding emotion: Bliss
Nooooo.... : I have to do a "practice"-run of a class for some fellow teachers. Scary. I have a mental block when it comes to pretending people aren't who they are...


Well, I missed "The Big Bang Theory", but it was totally worth it for my first Peruvian birthday party and finally getting some eye-candy. I'm glad to discover that my nerd genes aren't so bad that I'd pass up a party for some awesome scientific comedy. Unfortunately, I am afraid I can't extend the new-found attractive gene to the rest of Peru as they were all brothers and their cousins weren't following suit. It could be a specific combination of genes in that particular nuclear family...

Apart from this, it was rather an uneventful day. I sat through a Sex-Ed tutorial for teachers, which was in Spanish so I didn't understand why the rest would suddenly burst out laughing. It seemed fun, which makes me more determined to learn Spanish faster. At the moment, I dread to think what I sound like to a Spanish speaker. My grammar is atrocious, but I am slowly increasing my vocabulary. I think the family are taking bets as to when I will be fluent. From tonight's discussion, I gather the estimates range from a very optimistic 2 months to a steady 1 year.

At the moment, I am trying to write up a syllabus for the Physics grades I will be teaching, 8 and 9, the two pre-A'level years. The Peruvian system is very strange in that all the schools teach what they want to - there is no curriculum. And, since the kids go to University at 16 (!!!), they cram some very advanced content in to the syllabus and leave out other more basic theory. My job is to make sure the gap between the basics and the IB syllabus is bridged before they start on that in 1 or 2 years time. It's proving difficult as the previous years were taught in Spanish and the syllabus needs to be translated by me!

So, I'll be getting back to that now...




A whole new meaning to the phrase "graphic sex":

Journal Entry Two in Peru - 08/02/10

Highlight of "the day": Meeting lots of lovely, smiley Peruvian teachers.
Discovery of the day : Peru has no national exam for all students at any level, merely an entrance exam for University.
Over-riding emotion: Pride and contentment - had a decent conversation in Spanish with my host.
Nooooo.... : The school wants me to teach Chemistry, as well!!!

First day at school was great, except for having to sit through a bunch of talks, mostly in Spanish, of which I understood less than 1%. However, no one seems to think I missed anything. Everyone was very welcoming, even the teachers who don't speak English. The head of science is trying to convince me to teach Chemistry as well as Physics. My total hatred of organic chemistry seems not to have dissuaded him from pursuing the idea. It might be time to put him in touch with my mother so she can relate to him the story of when I tried to drop A'level Chem and she got Mr Sanders (school principal) to ban me from doing so. Ah, the good old days when you were told what to do...

Not much else of notable interest.
The English guy has decided to call the 3 of us from England "Little Britain". He's a bit of a joker.
The sun came out from behind the clouds, over which the argument as to whether they are actual clouds due to the combination of mountains and sea or if it is pollution remains unresolved.
I found a bakery near my house to satiate my sweet tooth, as my host family appear to limit dessert to fruits! Although, I do get a divine glass of fresh, home-made papaya juice every morning.
Finally sorted out the sim card. Phone number is 00511********, if anyone starts missing the sound of my voice. Although, I will get skype sorted out soon and figure out the time differences etc.
Canela, the family dog has initiated me in to the family by sneaking off with one of my socks, which was fortunately rescued before any holes were introduced to it. "Canela" means Cinnamon in Spanish and she's a well-behaved, golden retriever.

Hasta Luego!

Journal Entry One in Peru - 07/02/10

Highlight of "the day": National Pisco Day
Discovery of the day : Peruvian tv broadcasts "The Big Bang Theory" - nerd genes are happy-galloping.
Over-riding emotion: Sleepiness, as a result of a delicious lunch (of meat, sweet potato and rice) and the overcast 'heavy' heat of Lima.
Nooooo.... : Shown up by a 16-year-old American kid. Sigh.


It seems I have perfect timing, arriving in Lima on National Pisco Day; technically a weekend but you'd probably be too drunk to know or care. Pisco Sour is the national cocktail of Peru, and they have a national holiday dedicated to it. This fact has been blowing my mind since last night, although this could be largely due to the glass of Pisco Sour I imbibed. It's a nice drink: a mixture of Pisco (a grape-based liqueur), lime juice, sugar syrup and egg-white blended with crushed ice. The general opinion was that the maker of the drink last night, the jovial son-in-law of my host, got carried away with the ratio of Pisco to everything else. Yet, as the alcohol flowed so did the conversation which, generously translated for me, was along the lines of vampire bats, eating rats and the snobbish rich and their beach-front houses in the South.

Those of you who know me, and have tried to get me drunk, will know that alcohol only ever makes me very sleepy, which was just what I needed to fall asleep despite the apparently never-ending traffic on my 'window-step', apparently payback for complaining about the deathly silence of English nights. And so, on to my present abode and other tidbits. Nice little room with my own tv and a small paper cutting of the Hindu god Ganesh considerately stuck on the back of the door by the son of the household, who I gather has converted to Hinduism and was rather disappointed to find out that I am not a Hindu. He is a full-time artist, which appears to be a viable career over here, his uncle being an artist as well, with a disconcerting obssession of unicorns. My host is lovely, although her slight grasp of English will propel me to learn Spanish that much faster, although I have managed to slip in that I don't like lettuce! Kudos are welcome...

Her food is great and she may have found the way to make me eat vegetables - boil them until there is no 'crunch' left and smother with mayo. Why did no one think of this before?!? Potatoes and rice in the same meal seems to be the norm, but as the main meal is lunch and dinner is a luxury left to those who stay up late, this will be a nice change as I will be joining the ranks of people waking up at 6am from tomorrow.

My boss is lovely and, apparently, quite fascinated by British culture. Her journalist daughter has already given me a couple of impromptu hugs for saying something funny and will be arriving soon to show me around Lima and get me that all-important sim card.

Before I forget, I must dish on the teen from Oregon who put me in the shade with her impressive Spanish-speaking ability. Talk about stomping on that stereotype of ignorant Americans who know of nothing besides their own world. For those of you who thought I was brave doing this, think about this girl: she's 16 and has come across to Peru all on her own and is staying with a host family she does not know for 6 months to experience a culture which "intrigued" her. I wish I had guts like that when I was 16...

This entry will be uploaded on to various internet sites when I get access to the internet, which should be tomorrow; my first day at school.

Hasta Luego!


...Update...

Just had anticucho de corazon - ox heart kebabs (pieces on a stick, not the Britich kebab) - which was tasty. Not such a fan of the bovine intestine though... too chewy. I also saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time! From afar, but a visit to the beach is not far off...