Magical Circuit of the Water

It is definitely summer here in Lima!  We had a little heatwave earlier this week, but it has cooled down for now, for which I am grateful.  On Sunday, I went with Luis to the "Circuito Magico del Agua"- a sort of fountain-themed amusement park.  Kids can get wet in some of the fountains, and there is generally a cooling spray of water wafting over the entire place, which is pleasant.  My translation in the subject is akward word-by-word, but its literally what the place is caled.  There was a special show in which images were projected onto a waterfall- was pretty cool (complete with music). 

Here is a photo of me silhouetted in front of a giant fountain.  And I am so technologically inept today that I cannot figure out how to rotate this 90 degrees counterclockwise.  Swivel your heads to the right, por favor.

Next photo:  Luis and me in front of a neon fountain.  Cant see the fountain very well, but its there.

And that is about as exciting as it gets here in Lima.

Huancayo

Im here in the central Andes (6 hours from Lima by bus) in a city called Huancayo.  EDAPROSPO just opened a new office here in October- their first office outside of metropolitan Lima. 

Not so many gringos here- I think I have maybe seen five in the last four days.  I went to the big Sunday market yesterday- stalls line both sides of a major street and it literally went on for miles.  Sad to say, they were selling the same junk (touristy and practical) that I have seen everywhere.  Here is a not-so-great photo I took at the market:

The weather here is sorta nuts- it rains one minute and then theres intense sunshine the next.  Its chilly, too- in the high fifties because of the elevation.  Gotta bring the raincoat with me at all times.

There is not a whole lot to this place, as evidenced by the photos I took from the roof of my hotel - this is downtown.

Some nice hills in the background, but thats about it.  The next photo is of part of the main church in the central square (happens to be right in front of my hotel).

The dome is kinda cool, I must admit.  I was pretty bored this weekend and when I tired of roaming the streets while being harassed by Peruvian men, I found the local mall with the only movie theater.  Leave it to me to find it- civilization!  I saw "Gulliver`s Travels" dubbed in Spanish.  It was really bad, but a nice little escape for an hour and a half.

I return to Lima on Thursday and I dont think Ill be missing this place.

Bolivia Trip

Click here to see my Picasa album from La Paz and Lake Titicaca.

Had a fun New Years in La Paz with my friend Julie (she is on her second Kiva Fellows placement- she was in Peru for her last one). We went to a fancy restaurant with a bunch of expats living in La Paz.  Did the twelve grapes (you eat one for each upcoming month of 2011) and made our twelve wishes.

We then spent three days and two nights at Lake Titicaca ( a three hour drive from La Paz).  There was awesome hiking at Isla del Sol in the lake, but the elevation is so intense that it makes any kind of exercise really difficult.   But, still managed to walk around a bit and take a few photos :-).

The Avon Lady in Peru

Checkout my Kiva Blog post #4 here.

The Robbery

Ok, so I left off last at a big mall in Los Olivos (where no tourists go) with the young men practicing picking up the ladies.  I was getting a little tired of this and decided it was time to go.  I told Luis I wanted to grab a taxi, but he suggested that I take a combi (which would wind up being multiple combis).  I said I wanted to take a taxi.  So Luis went with me to get a taxi and I left.

Fast forward about 30 minutes- there is a ton of traffic trying to get me all the way back to Miraflores and the taxista tells me he is going to take a short cut.  Sounds reasonable.  Basically, the guy takes me to God forsaken nowhere (all the while I am asking where he is going and that I want him to go a different way).  I have a feeling he is going to stop somewhere with burning trashcans and dirt roads and tell me to give him all my money, and I am right.  I'm scared shitless, but I'm ready- as soon as he stops the car, gets out and opens the back door, I throw him my wallet and take off running.  I actually don't remember how I got to a street corner where there are a bunch of people, but I did.  I tell them I'd been robbed and don't know where I am.  I immediately call Luis, crying, as soon as I feel safe enough and tell him the story.  He asks to talk to a woman I am with to explain where I am.  Twenty minutes later (I'm waiting with the nice woman and her husband on a street corner), Luis arrives in a taxi to rescue me.  I am so relieved!  I get in the back of the cab with him and he holds me as I cry for a few minutes.  But then I'm okay.

This cab driver actually will take me to Miraflores.  As I calm down in the backseat, Luis continues to hold me, stroking my hair and telling me everything is ok, that he would not let anything happen to me.  At some point during the cab ride, I look at Luis, still in his arms, and he tells me he likes me.  I'm surprised, but not that surprised, and then he kisses me. 

Was that not a scene from a movie?

How to be a Player

The last 36 hours have been super bizarre.  It all started when my buddy Luis called me around noon on Saturday and invited me to a "workshop" he was helping to give at the university of engineering.  He said he thought I would think it was interesting.

So, I met up with Luis and his friend's brother Anthony (aged 15) downtown and we all took the bus to the university.  I knew Luis had been studying books about "How to Be a Pick-Up Artist" (PUA for those in the know, really) and I was pretty sure that was somehow related to the workshop.  Right I was!  Below is a poorly-lit pic of Luis speaking at the "Art of Seduction" workshop.

 I was at this thing for almost three hours and the "students" were all males in their early twenties.  The idea was to practice pick-up lines and body language so as to have more success in the discoteca, bar, supermarket- where ever.  And I helped in some of the presentations as the sample female- so funny. 

So, after this exciting workshop, Luis and some of the other leaders tooks the boys (and me) to a big mall in Los Olivos (near the airport) to practice their new-found skills.  Oh man.  These guys were going up to any female between the age of about 16 and 25 and trying to be smooth....I was giggling in the background.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this Saturday's events....coming soon.

A Delightful Photo

Here I am with the staff of the EDAPROSPO office in Huarochiri:

Notice that I am a bit more casual than the others in the office.  This was the day I actually got the most dressed up!  Other days it was just jeans with the hiking boots.  I am in the central office today and am looking a bit more put together.