A Real Job

(www.atriumstaff.com)

Today was a great Monday.  Because it was the first day of my new job!! Hurray!!!

After two months of job searching and some interviews, admittedly not a lot, I finally got hired by Berlitz Languages to work in their Palo Alto Office as their Kids program coordinator/business development rep.  So, I will work on coordinating and selling Berlitz Language programs tailored for kids in the entire Bay Area, but focuses on Palo Alto for the time being.  Right up my alley.

I had originally applied for a different position, and when I didn't hear back I assumed that they found someone else.  But what had really happened was that they had reorganized the entire company and had combined two jobs into one.  And I almost missed out.  They sent me a job description and told me to respond if I thought I could do all the things listed.  With some prodding from friends and family, and my conscious telling me to just use the practice, I told them that of COURSE I could do everything they asked....

Well, interview followed interview which was followed by an offer and a lot of question asking, which was followed by my acceptance and a lot of paperwork.  And now, I'm legally employed for the first time in....2 years!!  Almost exactly a year since my contract in Spain was up!

And I have an 8 hour, salaried job, with benefits and vacation days, for the first time EVER in the US!  Its a huge first.  I almost had to take the bus for the first time since grade school also.  It was almost an extremely epic day.  Its weird to be experiencing something for the first time in your home country, in your home town(ish), that everyone kinda takes for granted.  Everybody works and commutes and take the bus/BART/commutes, but its all new to me!

It was another interesting culture immersion in the morning because I wandered around downtown SF and people watched before I went into the office.  I saw crazy long lines at Starbucks and at Peets, but hardly any lines at any of the other multiple coffee shops. But almost everyone walking around had their little take-away cup of hot beverage, or was plugged into their mobile device. I saw people heading to work in their California casual and people dressed to the nines.  I also saw more Walgreens than Starbucks.  Weird.  Walgreens really are taking over the city.

I learned a lot both in and out of the office, and it feels good start working legally again, even if it means paying taxes, and to have a full time position in a company that does something that I'm interested in.  Although, it means less free time, and therefore less travel time.  I guess you can't have all the benefits of a real job without all of the restrictions.  At least not yet....Happy Monday!

Need a spare part?

This weekend being memorial day, we took a trip up north to see some wine country.  We went to visit friends of my parents, and also to check out a possible site for a wedding.  On the way up we stopped in the town of Winchester to go check out a place called a Pick n Pull.

Pick 'n Pull...sounds like some weird type of BBQ joint.  But no, its a place where you can check out old broken cars and pick and pull stuff from them to suit your fancy.  Neither my parents or I had heard of such a place so being the adventure seekers that we are, we pulled off 101 to take a look.  It also didn't hurt that we needed a head rest for a bad seat in my car.

You pull into a big lot with a horribly placed taco truck and then walk into this warehouse thing that is just filled with..stuff.  We were directed to a cashier who asked us what we needed and she looked up my car on the computer.  Very fancy, then she gave us a map of where different makes of cars are put up, and asked for entry fees.  You pay 2 dollars each to go inside and get a hand stamp.  It was like being at some weird fair for adults.  When you through the doors and into the HUGE lot behind you all you can see are rows and rows of orderly, old, broken cars, like this.  Basically a junk yard.  But a really well organized one.

It was so interesting inside that we spent a lot of time just marveling at this previously unknown part of California.  The cars were more ore less ordered by country of maker's origin, so cars were grouped by Asian, European, american, and SUV, but we focused on the Asian car section.  Everything was homemade in this place from the pulleys to the things holding up the cars.  They had lifts made from old chains and wheelbarrows with old tires on them. They used old rims to form a little stand for the cars to be placed on.  I wouldn't like to be there in an earthquake.

We saw tons of people there from little emo kids to big trucker types, to little old men to this very clean looking all American family.  It was fascinating.  Mostly the engines and bumpers were taken off of the cars, but a few doors and well and insides.  It would have been really interesting, along with shocking and depressing, to know what had happened to this cars.  A lot of them were banged up, but not completely totaled.    A lot just looked old and tired.

 In the end, we didn't buy anything because the line was too long and we learned that there are Pick 'n Pulls all across California!!  There is even one in Oakland, so we are going to try that one.  Maybe the models will be newer, but whether or not we find anything, it will provide for another great weekend adventure.  I would say that was the best fun $2 has bought in a long time.

Friends

from styledip.com

Something that I always look forward to when I come home is seeing friends.  For the past 4 years I have been home sporadically and for short periods of time and trying to work and prepare for traveling again, and eat as much as I can and hang out with my family.  Between all of these things, and that some friends have been moving around, its been hard to see everyone I have wanted when I was home.  I always saw just a handful of people, with the promise to see others when I was home again.

This time around, being in the mindset of being home to stay, I have seen a lot of friends.  I've been able to see college friends, middle school friends, friends I made in Spain, and friends from old work places.  Over these two months I've come to realize how much I value the friendships that I have and how important they are to me.

I sorely missed my friends in Peru. I missed being able to see them and just do nothing, or to talk about anything and everything and get their opinions, or text them some random message. I love being with Carlos (obviously), but sometimes you really need your good girl friends, and I'm definitely loading up on quality time.  It also makes me more and more excited waiting for Carlos to come up so he can meet all of these friends who are so important to me.

Yesterday I met up with a friend who I hadn't seen in AGES, and when we got together it was so great to be with her and catch up.   I think this is what draws me back to the states, more than the familiarity of places and food and cool things to see.  There are always cool things to see wherever you are, but its having access to my friends, being able to call them, to see them, to visit for a few days.  When you live in a foreign country, its hard for people to just drop by for a weekend.

People always warmed me that nothing is the same after college.  That if you live in a foreign country or you live in the US you won't see all of your friends all the time like in college.  Ands its true, I mean, you cannot just walk down the hall and see someone.  I have friends scattered across the globe, but the access is important for me.  It makes me feel closer, and that makes me feel better.  Even with all that Facebook has to offer in terms of stalking, errrr keeping up with people, that personal, human connection is what I love and missed in Peru.

Even now, thinking about my friends that I have seen, do see, and have yet to see makes me smile.  Cheers to friendship!  Now, I just need Carlos' visa paperwork to come through and my life will be complete!

Food shock!!

Over the past month that I have been home, I have eaten Peruvian, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, tons of Mexican food, Thai, Vegan, California Fresh, Italian, seafood, Spanish, Indian, Chicago pizza and Middle Eastern.

I love the variety of food I can get here in the Bay Area.  The ability to either go eat good, authentic food from such a variety of cultures, OR being able to buy the ingredients to make these different food items is amazing.  I've returned to my usual problem of having too many options.  When my Mom asks me where I want to eat and she starts listing off tons of places, there are just too many, so I usually let her decide.  As much as I really like Peruvian food, the usual options for eating were Peruvian, Peruvian Chinese, or sandwiches and salads.  All tasty, but not the same as being home.

Apart from getting over the wealth of food options, another thing I'm trying to figure out is bread.  There is so much bread here.  In my family especially.  We grew up with bread and I'd forgotten how much I love it.  I could eat different varieties of bread all day long without anything else.  In Peru, bread was bought for sandwiches for Carlos, and for making aji de gallina.  We would eat it at his mom's house for tea, but not much more than that.  Arriving home to find biscuits and muffins and quick breads and cookies (I consider this like bread), and SOURDOUGH bread (my personal fav), and thick wheat bread, and garlic bread, and cheese bread and, the list just goes on and on, is kinda killer.  I guess maybe instead of being too breaded out, its being too carb'd out.

I hate to admit it, but I am too carb'd out here.  I never thought I would be shocked by things found at my house.  Its time to ease back into the bread.  Gotta work out more to eat more carbs.  YUM

Another food shocker, is the variety of fresh stuff I can get here. I know that this is rather particular to California and the west coast..but its part of why we're the best coast! :-D

The stone fruit season is opening and thinking about the last time I had a stone fruit (fresh), I cannot remember.  I think it was for Carlos' birthday in 2010.  and now,  I just had one in 2012!!  I cannot believe I went for two years without eating a fresh stone fruit.  On the other hand.  The tropical fruit selection is disastrous.  I have tried getting mangos (they come from Mexico) and they are not yummy!  And I will not be having fresh passionfruit juice until....I go back to Peru, or take a trip to Hawaii :(  Why can't there be a place that has ALL of this wondrous fruit available???  and have it be good?

Its a double edged sword, having all this freshness around.  The last weekend when I went to the farmer's market, I was quite overwhelmed by all the options, but maybe by all the people as well.  All the people going for all the fresh food.

I guess for someone who likes food as much as I do, it shouldn't be a shocker that the change in edibles is shocking.  I always expect to find food  interesting when I go into foreign countries, I always forget that living away from home for a while makes me susceptible to reverse culture shock, including food.  I think the cure is just to keep eating.

Shocking bits of culture

I left Peru three weeks ago.  I have been adjusting and remembering how much I love the Bay Area for the same amount of time.  That, and working in my parent's rental property (think Cindarella-esque cleaning, but paid), and missing Carlos.

Hows culture shock, you might ask.  Well, since I was home in January for my grandmother, its not quite as shocking.  In January it was bad.  I had to remember loads of things like where to put the toilet paper, to speak in English, to eat at normal times, to hear English and not listen to people's conversations.

This time the smaller things are getting to me.  I'm not used to the silence of the drive.  Cars are newer than Carlos' car, so you don't get as much noise.  Then there is no constant honking and yelling and old buses screeching and breaking and swerving all over the place.  The drives to and from SF are quite calm, even in traffic.  It would be a deafening silence if it weren't for the radio.

I have to remember that I don't need to turn the hot water heater on to take a shower.  I can just step into it! Amazing!  And unlimited hot water.  If I weren't a good Californian and always on the lookout for drought, I would take longer showers.

The dryness of the weather is also getting to me. My sister in law says its too wet when she comes here from Colorado, but for me its too dry.  I have to lather on lots of lotion and drink tons of water.

I see a lot of real arm tattoos too.  In Peru all the taxi drivers have these arm sleeves, to protect them from the sun?  Or to look cool...but they are like fake arm tattoos.  Here, people just have real arm tattoos, but when I look at them I think, wow, thats really dark, and then I remember that its real.  Not just something printed on nylon.

I experienced rush hour on BART the other day, which was also a nice bit of culture shock.  People were lined up so nicely in front of the spot where BART is supposed to stop.  In single file lines.  Almost everyone was on their smartphone, so it was a little surreal, like a a sci-fi movie.  Everyone in a line with their heads bent down looking at something.  But very different from the chaotic way people board combi's in Lima and the Metro in Madrid.  Much more organized.  They even leave space for people to exit!

Little by little I am growing more accustomed to living back in the Bay Area.  I think I'm adjusting well.  I love the variety and the diversity, and the views, and the nature and everything about being home.  Well, I don't love that Carlos isn't here yet, and that I have to tell the same story to people over and over, but I know they ask because they are interested.