First off-it is really weird to celebrate Halloween in the spring. I am so confused with being in the southern hemisphere. I keep thinking that Easter and the 4th of July is right around the corner. This year I will spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas in shorts and probably sweating from the humidity and heat. whoooo.
Anyway. Halloween, like most things in Peru, is different. Oct.31 is not just Halloween (what one of my students called an imported holiday) it is also the Day of the Traditional Peruvian Music (Dia de la canción criolla). Kids celebrate it at school, and families and friends celebrate it. It is basically Peruvian Music Appreciation day. People go to restaurant/bar/venues called "Peñas" to listen to music and they eat traditional Peruvian food. One of my other students said that it is a great excuse for people to celebrate and have a good time. We were talking in one of my classes about the different holidays and the students were saying that the younger generation maybe doesn't celebrate the "Dia de la Cancion Criolla) and they are getting pulled more and more into Halloween. It seemed they were a little sad that this bit of culture was seemingly dying off. However, in another class with students more my age, they talked about celebrating both holidays with family and friends, so I don't think it's as endangered at the older generation fears.
October 31st is also a great time to go out if you want to pay a lot of money for a party. If you go out to party, you don't have to worry about getting up early the next day-EVER. Nov. 1 is All Saints Day and Peru, the good Catholic nation that it is, has declared Nov. 1 a national holiday. So it doesn't matter if Halloween, or the Cancion Criolla day falls on a Friday or a Monday, people will always be able to party hardy on Oct. 31 and not worry about going to work with a hangover. Pretty darn lucky.
Another interesting factoid about Oct. 31 in Peru, at least in Lima is that poor people or people who live in the "new villages" in the mountains surrounding Lima, will come and "trick or treat" in town as a way of celebrating Halloween. Many times they are not dressed up, and they can be kids or teenagers or whoever and they just knock on your door and ask for things. A student said they ask for anything and Carlos says they ask for sweets and if you don't give them something they get angry and could paint your house. Automatic trick if you don't give them a treat. I'm kinda glad I have work all day so I don't have to deal with these people. I think I prefer the US version of trick or treating, less threat.
Hope everyone has a super duper Halloween! And, here is some Peruvian Criolla music to get your culture on too.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The US Embassy Experience
At work, we are rather busy. Our kids have passed through the job interview parts and now they have to get their visas. The first step is to fill out a tedious applicaction online, that we do with them to make sure there are no mistakes. Sometimes the site works like a charm and we finish 10 applications in an hour, and sometimes it won't load and takes 3 hours to do the same thing.
The next thing we do is fill out an online form so they can get a voucher to pay for the appointment in the Embassy. The website sucks and the form suck. This is aparently a new system, and I guess they are still working out the kinks, but I mean...come on US...at least make the system work before releasing it to users....we had to tell our first group of kids that they had to pay their Embassy fees and show up for the appointment in 2 days. Very stressful for them.
Finally on the day of their appointment, the kids have to line up and have their papers in order. We also tell them to have paperwork showing what their parents do and how they make money and how much money their families earn montly. They wait in a line outside, and on a line inside and then they have their interviews which last around 5 minutes. They are asked basic questions, and then either their passport and their paperwork is kept, or they get their papers and the passport back. If you come out of the Embassy with your passport it means your visa was denied, if you passport stays inside, it means your visa was approved. Some of these kids are so lost though and they come out and are totally in shock and have no idea what happened to them.Out of about 120 kids that have gone through already only around 7 have had their visa denied. All the kids go in nervous wrecks and they come out so relieved you can see it in the way they walk and how they interact with eachother. Its actually a really nice feeling going to the Embassy to wait for them when they get their visa approved. It is-as much as I think this word is really hokey, heartwarming.
The part that isn´t so fun about the Embassy ordeal is that I have to wait outside. The first day was super hot and I got sunburned. The second day was overcast and cold and I had goosebumps for most of the morning. Thanks Peru Weather. The Embassy has weird rules as well. As an American I cannot just deicde to go to the Embassy one day. I have to make an appointment. You are also not allowed to loiter in front of the Embassy. They let me for a bit while a helped the kids get their stuff in order, but as soon as everyone is gone, then they shoo you out. But, only to the side of the embassy. You just cannot be in front of the door area. They don´t try very hard to make you try and cross the street. Sometimes the traffic police on duty blows her whistle at you. Peruvian Security at its finest.
Going to the Embassy was not as exciting or difficult as I had originally thought, I guess it is the paperwork beforehand that is more difficult and even with the waiting, its good to be out of the office in whatever weather is happening to happen, and to see the kids happy faces when then come out(with an approved visa).
The next thing we do is fill out an online form so they can get a voucher to pay for the appointment in the Embassy. The website sucks and the form suck. This is aparently a new system, and I guess they are still working out the kinks, but I mean...come on US...at least make the system work before releasing it to users....we had to tell our first group of kids that they had to pay their Embassy fees and show up for the appointment in 2 days. Very stressful for them.
Finally on the day of their appointment, the kids have to line up and have their papers in order. We also tell them to have paperwork showing what their parents do and how they make money and how much money their families earn montly. They wait in a line outside, and on a line inside and then they have their interviews which last around 5 minutes. They are asked basic questions, and then either their passport and their paperwork is kept, or they get their papers and the passport back. If you come out of the Embassy with your passport it means your visa was denied, if you passport stays inside, it means your visa was approved. Some of these kids are so lost though and they come out and are totally in shock and have no idea what happened to them.Out of about 120 kids that have gone through already only around 7 have had their visa denied. All the kids go in nervous wrecks and they come out so relieved you can see it in the way they walk and how they interact with eachother. Its actually a really nice feeling going to the Embassy to wait for them when they get their visa approved. It is-as much as I think this word is really hokey, heartwarming.
The part that isn´t so fun about the Embassy ordeal is that I have to wait outside. The first day was super hot and I got sunburned. The second day was overcast and cold and I had goosebumps for most of the morning. Thanks Peru Weather. The Embassy has weird rules as well. As an American I cannot just deicde to go to the Embassy one day. I have to make an appointment. You are also not allowed to loiter in front of the Embassy. They let me for a bit while a helped the kids get their stuff in order, but as soon as everyone is gone, then they shoo you out. But, only to the side of the embassy. You just cannot be in front of the door area. They don´t try very hard to make you try and cross the street. Sometimes the traffic police on duty blows her whistle at you. Peruvian Security at its finest.
Going to the Embassy was not as exciting or difficult as I had originally thought, I guess it is the paperwork beforehand that is more difficult and even with the waiting, its good to be out of the office in whatever weather is happening to happen, and to see the kids happy faces when then come out(with an approved visa).
Friday, October 21, 2011
Korean food in Lima!!
This past weekend Carlos and I went to a Korean Food restaurant. I found it because it is along my old taxi between jobs route. I say old, because I no longer take the taxi unless I am in a horrendous rush. The first time I saw it, I was a super tourist and pulled my notebook out and jotted it down. It took me a while to pin the place down to its actual location and then a while to convince Carlos to try it. He is usually down for trying lots of different kinds of food, but we had a kinda bad experience the last time I made him try Korean, which was in Madrid. Sorry Madrid, but Asian food and you just doesn't work. Too expensive and not good enough.
Anyway, this weekend we finally went after work on Saturday. When you pull up there are little pictures of a Korean boy and girl on the front and when we walked in there was a Korean lady that stared and us and then called for, her daughter? Who was definitely a Korean-Peruvian. Each eating party, be it two people or 6 people, is put into a separate room and you have a little bell thing that you ring to call for service. Carlos was enamored with this little bell. The little place mats were quite cute:
The menu had some helpful pictures, but not helpful descriptions and I have to guess on some things, but I went with the old standby for ordering. ie, ordering what I do when I don't go with my Korean friend: Friend Mandu, bulgogi, and spicey tofu soup. I asked if the meat came with the special appetizer dish things and the girl said yes, along with white rice. Hurray!! It also came with wheat water, thing. It ended up being way too strong for either me or Carlos, and we opted for cokes.
When the food arrived, it occupied 2/3 of a 6 person table. YUMMM. Aside from the dubious looking tofu soup, which was amazing, everything quite normal looking. We STUFFED ourselves. It was so good to have food that was different from Peruvian and didn´t seem to be in anyway influenced by it. Ok, there were some kimchee hotdogs, but I didn´t try those. Carlos liked all of the different foods, except for the kimchee, but I actually liked it for once.
When the bill came it was a little high, especially since eating out usually means eating chifa, which is 10 soles each, but I would say this was very worth it. I think I would order a different meat dish next time because their bulgogi was a little...strange, more soupy that I am used to. To top things off, we found a Korean store next door! They have all sorts of random Korean Ingredients, and random house stuff you always find in Asian Grocery Stores like shower caps and knives and scrubbers and stuff. The old woman saw me take out my phone and she was like " no foto". Boo. But I managed to buy some fish sauce, where the old man asked me if we knew what it was for. Haha, yes.
Hurrah for exploring! I will be back...hopefully
Korean Restaurant Nodaji
Av. Aviacion 3257
San Borja, Lima Peru
Anyway, this weekend we finally went after work on Saturday. When you pull up there are little pictures of a Korean boy and girl on the front and when we walked in there was a Korean lady that stared and us and then called for, her daughter? Who was definitely a Korean-Peruvian. Each eating party, be it two people or 6 people, is put into a separate room and you have a little bell thing that you ring to call for service. Carlos was enamored with this little bell. The little place mats were quite cute:
The menu had some helpful pictures, but not helpful descriptions and I have to guess on some things, but I went with the old standby for ordering. ie, ordering what I do when I don't go with my Korean friend: Friend Mandu, bulgogi, and spicey tofu soup. I asked if the meat came with the special appetizer dish things and the girl said yes, along with white rice. Hurray!! It also came with wheat water, thing. It ended up being way too strong for either me or Carlos, and we opted for cokes.
When the bill came it was a little high, especially since eating out usually means eating chifa, which is 10 soles each, but I would say this was very worth it. I think I would order a different meat dish next time because their bulgogi was a little...strange, more soupy that I am used to. To top things off, we found a Korean store next door! They have all sorts of random Korean Ingredients, and random house stuff you always find in Asian Grocery Stores like shower caps and knives and scrubbers and stuff. The old woman saw me take out my phone and she was like " no foto". Boo. But I managed to buy some fish sauce, where the old man asked me if we knew what it was for. Haha, yes.
Hurrah for exploring! I will be back...hopefully
Korean Restaurant Nodaji
Av. Aviacion 3257
San Borja, Lima Peru
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The baker, the butcher, the candlestick maker
Something that I really like about Peru, and Spain that you can´t really find in the US are people who provide a singular service. I remember being in Amsterdam and one of the tourist attractions were all of the shops that sell just one item. Like the bench store or the toothbrush store or the condom store. These are kinda like over the top, but its the same idea.
Today at lunch this man came knocking on the door with a rolly suitcase and what looked like rolls of something. He said he came because the cleaning guy asked him to come. Ended up that he was coming to bring plastic garbage bags for us. And all he sells are garbage bags. He has his own recipts and everything. I love it. This is kinda similiar to my post on Peruvian Whistles, where each whistle has its own meaning and sound.
I love that there are shops that sell just one item, like fruit, or meat or dried goods. In the central market there are stalls that sell plastic bags that you can imprint with your own logo. There are little slivers of shops that just sell shoes. There are still hardware stores here and people you can go to that will provide just exaclty the service that you need. This is changing slightly, and you can also go to the HUGE supermarkets or the Ace Home Center, or the mall, but I would say that as many people that go to the huge megastores, more still use the little shops and individual sellers.
On the other hand...you also have the man walking down the street who can sell you clippers, dvds, fruit, plastic ware and eggs and offer to clean your shoes too...
Today at lunch this man came knocking on the door with a rolly suitcase and what looked like rolls of something. He said he came because the cleaning guy asked him to come. Ended up that he was coming to bring plastic garbage bags for us. And all he sells are garbage bags. He has his own recipts and everything. I love it. This is kinda similiar to my post on Peruvian Whistles, where each whistle has its own meaning and sound.
I love that there are shops that sell just one item, like fruit, or meat or dried goods. In the central market there are stalls that sell plastic bags that you can imprint with your own logo. There are little slivers of shops that just sell shoes. There are still hardware stores here and people you can go to that will provide just exaclty the service that you need. This is changing slightly, and you can also go to the HUGE supermarkets or the Ace Home Center, or the mall, but I would say that as many people that go to the huge megastores, more still use the little shops and individual sellers.
On the other hand...you also have the man walking down the street who can sell you clippers, dvds, fruit, plastic ware and eggs and offer to clean your shoes too...
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Mystery solved
Where we live there is a hair salon right on the corner. Since the first day we moved into the studio, I have no been able to figure out for the life of me the hours or how they make money. I saw a sign on the front that says it is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 3pm-9pm. My first thought was, Is this really a hair salon?? Or do they do other activities there too?? Then I tried to keep an eye out on the opening hours, and it is mostly open at this time, but sometimes its open until 11. 11?? A hair salon? Ok, Peru.
Finally, Carlos shed some light on the topic (don't ask me why it took about 2 months but...sometimes his head is in other places). There are hair salons that stay open late, or just open later to cater to the women who want to have their hair done to go out! ooooooooooooo. And finally, just like that-mystery solved.
Finally, Carlos shed some light on the topic (don't ask me why it took about 2 months but...sometimes his head is in other places). There are hair salons that stay open late, or just open later to cater to the women who want to have their hair done to go out! ooooooooooooo. And finally, just like that-mystery solved.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Organized chaos?
Hmmm, not quite. I'm talking about the bus system.
When I first arrived in Lima, the bus system seemed like the most chaotic "system" of transportation I had ever seen. I didn't start taking the bus on my own until we moved out and I was forced to take the bus.
The way the bus system works is that the bus rattles and zips and clangs and speeds on by and there is someone hanging out the door who is yelling destinations. If the bus gets flagged down, then it pulls over, the person hops in and as soon as the passenger's foot if off the ground the bus takes off at high speed. The busses will zip into and out of traffic like no tomorrow to get one car length ahead of the other bus and then cut that same bus off to pick up a passenger. I used to think the buses went only in straight trajectories, I know know that I am mistaken, however on the road past my house about 20 different busses will take me the same location. Lucky me. It also appeared to me that the buses have absolutely no schedule, this is also false. Well not entirely. They seem to come at whole times. Like 10:10 or 3:30. However, they all happen to come at the same time, which makes everything even more confusing-but the point is, they have a routine.
I have figured out that to get from my house to either of my jobs, I can take one bus. I could also take 2 buses, but why take two (and pay double) when you can take one and pay once? This bus passed my first day job and then it continues and turns right where I need it to turn and drops me off right in front of my night job. AWESOME! It comes every 10 minutes more or less, on intervals of 5..so like 5:05, 5:15 etc. On a no traffic day, it takes about 20-30 min to get to my teaching job. I'm very glad I have found the bus that takes me where I need to go. Now the only problem that a co-worker pointed out is that since my bus is one of the big ones, more people get on and that means more stops are made. Like on every corner.
This is the chaotic part again. You can get on an off ANYWHERE. You can get off on the corner of your office even if the bus stopped at the stop that was a few meters ago. Its a bus mentality that makes things great for the person getting on and off and really bad for people who want to get to their location on time. I am still working on figuring out the entire system, but I like that I am able to figure out the organization in the chaos, even if its just a little bit.
When I first arrived in Lima, the bus system seemed like the most chaotic "system" of transportation I had ever seen. I didn't start taking the bus on my own until we moved out and I was forced to take the bus.
The way the bus system works is that the bus rattles and zips and clangs and speeds on by and there is someone hanging out the door who is yelling destinations. If the bus gets flagged down, then it pulls over, the person hops in and as soon as the passenger's foot if off the ground the bus takes off at high speed. The busses will zip into and out of traffic like no tomorrow to get one car length ahead of the other bus and then cut that same bus off to pick up a passenger. I used to think the buses went only in straight trajectories, I know know that I am mistaken, however on the road past my house about 20 different busses will take me the same location. Lucky me. It also appeared to me that the buses have absolutely no schedule, this is also false. Well not entirely. They seem to come at whole times. Like 10:10 or 3:30. However, they all happen to come at the same time, which makes everything even more confusing-but the point is, they have a routine.
I have figured out that to get from my house to either of my jobs, I can take one bus. I could also take 2 buses, but why take two (and pay double) when you can take one and pay once? This bus passed my first day job and then it continues and turns right where I need it to turn and drops me off right in front of my night job. AWESOME! It comes every 10 minutes more or less, on intervals of 5..so like 5:05, 5:15 etc. On a no traffic day, it takes about 20-30 min to get to my teaching job. I'm very glad I have found the bus that takes me where I need to go. Now the only problem that a co-worker pointed out is that since my bus is one of the big ones, more people get on and that means more stops are made. Like on every corner.
This is the chaotic part again. You can get on an off ANYWHERE. You can get off on the corner of your office even if the bus stopped at the stop that was a few meters ago. Its a bus mentality that makes things great for the person getting on and off and really bad for people who want to get to their location on time. I am still working on figuring out the entire system, but I like that I am able to figure out the organization in the chaos, even if its just a little bit.
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