Let Them Read Books

As I mentioned once before, I am the entertainment for the little kids who pass through the EDAPROSPO offices.  Most are between 1 and 3 years old; they come with nothing to do but sit on Mom's lap or run around the office like gremlins, which annoys the staff to no end.  Today, I brought in two board books (in Spanish, of course) to add to the fun.  They were a huge hit!

I read the two books to about five kids each, and then they took turns playing with the books by themselves.  Ideally, their parents would read to them, but that didn't happen - yet.  Above is my first book buddy- the poor kid was in the office for close to five hours.  Good thing her little brain got stimulated.  I am buying more books tomorrow- I will be the mobile gringa library.

The Know-It-All

Living in Lima takes patience- everything from transportation to the supermarket check-out line seems to take FOREVER.  I know not to stop at the local Metro supermarket after work when I'm hungry and flustered because I will inevitably come-off like a mega asshole. 

On Friday, I was obnoxious on a combi, but I can explain.  I really want to avoid being the patronizing, everything-in-your-country-barely-works American, but I get frustrated.  Combis seat about eleven people and they are not allowed, by law, to carry more passengers than they can seat.  Bigger buses can, but mini-vans can't.  But who enforces this law?

The Scene:  

I'm out in "the field" with a loan officer and we board a combi that is basically full.  At the next stop, the assistant lets on about five teenage girls and it's packed.  I give the combi assistant dirty looks for a while, and then say loudly, "Sir, I believe the law prohibits carrying more passengers than you can seat.  Is this correct?"
Combi Guy:  Silence.
Me:  Turning to the person next to me:  "Do you know about this law?"
Person next to me:  Shakes head yes.
Me:  "Sir, I just can't believe that you would put these kids' lives in danger." 
Combi guy remains silent.

We're almost back to the office, but at the subsequent stop, the combi guys lets someone else on, while no one else has gotten off.  I lose it and exclaim, "This is unbelievable- I'm getting off!"  I get off in a huff.  The loan officer is still on the combi.

The loan officer gets off a block later and walks back to meet me.  I'm still pissed, but feel bad that I made a little scene.  We walk back to the office together- the giant gringa and the diminutive peruana.  And so it goes.

The Food Post

Having just hit one month in Lima, I feel like I can now make some general food observations. 

Here are the Peruvian foods I like the most:
1)  Lucuma anything! (surprise, right?)
2)  Canchita- like corn nuts
3)  Sweet Potato anything (called camote here)
4)  Ceviche
5)  Habas (fried dried beans)

On a day-to-day basis, I eat a ton of rice and meat dishes (generally at cheap little restaurants where I happen to be) and I really think that's what most Peruvians eat.  Chicken and rice overload.  If not rice, then it's potatoes.  As per usual, the meats don't really do it for me. I tried a bite of anticuchos (grilled beef hearts) and they were ok, but not my fave.  I also tried mondongo italiano, which looked like an Italian pasta dish with French fries.  Problem was, the "pasta" was cow intestine.  Too chewy- ick. 

On my list to try is this little fellow below:

He is called a cuy, or guinea pig.  He is a delicacy in the Andes.  When I taste him, he will definitely need to be cut-up into tiny little pieces so that I cannot recognize his rodent body form.  I hear he tastes best slow-roasted on a spit.  I'm waiting until I'm actually in the Andes for this taste treat.  :-)

I commented yesterday, while at lunch with the folks from work, that no one had an identifiable vegetable on their plate.  Ají de gallina, pictured below, is a big favorite for lunch.  If there is a vegetable on your place, it is solely for garnish or color.  And, I repeat, potatoes are not vegetables.  I am taking my multi-vitamin everyday for good reason.

Kiva Blog Post #2

Perhaps not as inspired as my first one, but here it is if you're curious.

Carabayllo

If I close my eyes right now, I feel like I'm still on the combi - sort of like after a day at the amusement park and while lying in bed, you still feel like you're on a rollercoaster.  Today I went way north of Lima with a loan officer to a place called Carabayllo to visit borrowers.  This place has electricity, but no water or sewage.  Here is a neighborhood we stopped by:

As we left Comas, where the local office is, civilization seemed to sort of slip away.  The familiar smell of burning trash returned, and the dust kicked up.  There are not many public schools the further out you go, but there are private schools that have very low tuition rates.  The first borrower we visited used her loan to make improvements to her elementary school.  She is a more "well-to-do" woman, according to the loan officer, but saw the need for a low-cost school out here and commutes a long way each day to get here.

I met the girls below when we stopped by their house to interview their father, who has a mototaxi business.  It was about 11AM and I wondered if the older one went to school:

I am the sort of Kiva court jester with the little kids around here.  When I meet with borrowers, there are always little kids around, and they love it when someone pays them lots of attention.  This little girl below, hanging out at her mother's store, was ecstatic to have an adult play with her:

We played with a piece of twine for longer than you'd think you could possibly play with said twine.  These kids are just learning to talk, and many times have cute speech impediments (like not being able to pronounce their "r's"), but that usually means their Spanish is Greek to me.  For instance, "tres" without the "r" sound becomes "tdes" which sounds to me like "diez."  I knew this could not be her actual age, but I continued to ask until she held up three little fingers.  Duh.

What Not to Wear...in Comas

Comas is in the "northern cone" of Lima and is actually much closer than Huaycan- only takes about 50 min to get there by taxi.  The streets are generally paved and they have several major supermarkets within the municipality (the true sign of civilization in Peru).  This "Metro" supermarket is my landmark in Comas:

The weather has definitely warmed-up, especially in these outlying areas, and it's sunny and in the high 70's during the day.  I thought I would step things up and wear a dress (up until this point it's been excursion wear out in the field).  This dress hits at the knee and is fairly conservative, or so I thought.  Here's a pic (it's the black one on the right):

I knew as soon as I started walking down the main street in Comas that the dress was mistake.  Apparently, showing any part of my legs is asking for trouble.  When I got to the office, no one said anything about the dress- at first.  But, one of the loan officers asked me to fix a photo of a borrower using PhotoShop b/c she certainly wasn't taking me to his (the borrower's) neighborhood dressed like that.  Oh dear.

Yes, and so went the day, me wanting to pull-on a pair of pants, avoiding eye-contact with anyone on the street and pulling the dress down whenever possible.  The security guard at this office was a big fan of the dress:  his name is Charlie and I first wondered if he had some sort of developmental disability, but I now think he just has a goofy smile.  He told me today that I "looked like Barbie" and I turned red and told him I did not.  He said it a second time, this time in front of some clients, and I got upset and said, "No me digas cosas así en la oficina."  Translation:  "don't say things like that to me in the office."  That shut him up.

Tomorrow it's back to the t-shirt, jeans and hiking boots uniform.  Lesson learned.

Rollin' in the Combi

Lima's public transportation "system" is all about entrepreneurship- the government really has very little involvement.  There are "micros" (old school buses, but owned by private citizens) and "combis" (also privately owned) which are utility vans converted into a sort of bus.  Take a look at this photo from inside a combi:

The seats are packed really tightly together, and I have a terrible time squeezing in.  I've apologized to several people who have wanted to sit next to me, but can't fit because my knees are in the way.  I generally say, to a get a laugh, "Lo siento, soy muy grande."

Combi drivers are known for laying on the horn and making crazy maneuvers to pick up passengers.  The driver picks the music, and this is essential- regeton is really popular, as is regular hip-hop, salsa and cumbia.  The assistant yells where the combi is going, solicits passengers and collects fares.  Here is a pic I took yesterday of a combi assistant while stuck in traffic on the way to Huaycan:

Don't want to give the wrong impression here:  I do take a lot of taxis.  The combis are super interesting, but make a zillion stops and take forever.  The taxis here are cheap and fast.  Lately, I have been becoming friends with my cab drivers.  The other night, one was telling me about how his little sister had come down with "tuberculosis of the brain" and I asked, "Could it be meningitis?"  He told me that was it.  The poor guy was so worried about her- she was in the hospital, he didn't know how his family was going to pay the bills, etc.  Another cab driver told me that I might be his "media naranja" (soul mate) and I told him that he was sadly mistaken.

Feliz Cumple

What an odd, but enjoyable birthday I have had.  First, we'll start out with a pic of me and the folks at the Huaycan office at lunch:

You can't see much of it, but there was a big ole chocolate cake with fruit on top for dessert.  They sang to me in both Spanish and English.  The folks from the main office all called me on my Peruvian cell (3 separate calls) to wish me a happy birthday.  It was very sweet.  At the end of the day, just before I was leaving, I was presented with a giant stuffed dog:

Not sure what I will do with this guy, but the thought was super.  Then, when I arrived home at about 8, I was greeted by Yesica and Kaylin with sushi.  My first sushi in Peru was tasty, and unexpectedly, a cake appeared after dinner:

And guess what kind it was?  Yes, lucuma!!   It was heavenly - I tried to eat as much as I could, but only two pieces would fit in my belly.  I am sooo stuffed right now.  We have about 3/4 of the cake left, which we will give to the doorman in the morning. 

All in all, a fabulous bday in Peru.  Special shout out to Ms. Lizzie who somehow managed to get a hold of my Peruvian cell phone number, which I have given to almost no one.

Another Day in the Dust

I just returned from Huaycan to my apartment in Jesús María- only took two hours.  Yep, each way.  I am only at this office until the end of this week, but the other offices are comparable distances away.  The mini-buses are I are well-acquainted.

So I spent another day meeting with borrowers and interviewing them for updates on the Kiva website.  The typical schedule is that I go out "into the field" with Luis in the morning to find borrowers they haven't seen for a while, and in the afternoon I stay in the office to meet with borrowers in groups who are making payments.  The morning is much more action-packed in terms of scenery and movement, but I get more done in the afternoon.  Here is a photo Luis took of us in a mototaxi scaling the side of the dusty hill:

I have a funny relationship with Luis- he is super macho with me, as I assume he probably is with most women, but I really think he is trying to be a gentleman.  I sort of love it and hate it at the same time.  For instance, he stepped in front of me twice to "protect me" while out today.  The first was because there was a stray dog fight in front of us on the street, and the second was because a man he thought looked suspicious came and stood within five feet of me. 

Lunch is a fun time at the office.  We all eat our lunches together in the back room and chat for a full hour (the office is closed from 1-2).  The conversation is usually only somewhat comprehensible (today it was about Peruvian party games) and I ask stupid questions to try to keep up.  I always get take-out, but of course, and most of the staff brings their lunch.  Today I got special chicken noodle soup (not eating a whole lotta fruits and veggies here), and I was enjoying it, until I got to the chicken part.  It was parts of chicken- the feet, to be exact.  Both of them.

Huaycan: A Different World

Here's a picture of where I was today:

How crazy is this place?  This district, on the outskirts of Lima, is built into the sides of these rocky hills.  I took a motorcycle taxi (kind of like a tuk-tuk in SE Asia) up to the top of one of these hills with a loan officer to visit a borrower.  Here's the view from the top:

The roads aren't paved, so there is dust everywhere and it gets worse when a vehicle careens by.  It's super difficult to find houses up in the hills, so Luis (the loan officer) had to ask about ten people where a certain lot was in a certain area (A - Z).  I am guessing there is no postal service?  Sheesh.

I am quite a novelty up in these shanty towns.  I don't think folks have seen a whole lot of gringos, and definitely not a female as grande as I am, so I get lots of points and stares.  The bold among the gawkers (usually high school kids, love them) yell, "hello" or "good-bye." 

I like the people I'm working with in the Huaycan office: there are three women and two men.  I mainly go out into the field with Luis, the loan officer in charge of the Kiva loans, and he is quite a guy.  Definitely a charmer/character, the 24-year-old told me today:  "The older hens make delicious broth."  Referring to us older women, since now everyone in the office knows I will be turning 32 on Wednesday.   Ugh...

Link to my Kiva Blog

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2010/11/11/this-too-is-lima/

Check it out!  It's all about my time in Huaycan, which is a super low-income area way outside of central Lima.

Inca Kola

I had to have a post dedicated to this famous Peruvian soda.  It really is so popular here - you may have sampled it at a Peruvian restaurant in the States just to try it.  You probably marveled at the bubble-gum like flavor, and maybe never had any again (as was my case at El Pollo Inka in beautiful Torrance, CA).  Well, here in Lima, everyone drinks this stuff.  Today at lunch, at a popular Chifa (Peruvian style Chinese food) restaurant, I was blown away by how many of my fellow diners were drinking Inca Kola.  You really can't miss the stuff sitting there on the table - it looks like sparkling urine.  I think it may go especially well with Asian food...

At my office on Friday, during a four hour staff meeting, the admins brought us a snack-- which I much appreciated-- and guess what there was to drink?  You got it:  lukewarm Inca Kola.  I devoured my chicken empanada, and then slowly sipped my beverage.  Ick.  Must be cultural, cuz everyone else guzzled it down.  There is even a light version, for the sugar conscious Peruvian, which I imagine I will not try. 

I am a much bigger fan of a sugary drink called Chicha Morada (second in popularity to the IK).  It's bright purple and made from a purple-colored corn (see below).  All I can think about, the few times I've tried it, is how badly the stuff must stain clothes.  Makes grape juice look wimpy.

Run, Lima, Run!

Last night, thousands of limeños (Lima residents) took to the streets of Miraflores, all because Nike told them to.  That's right- Lima had a Nike 10k- at night, no less.  My roommate Yessica was very excited to run her first organized race, and I accompanied her down to Parque Kennedy.  The police had blocked off several streets in Miraflores for the race, and this was causing even more traffic problems than usual. 

The irony of a running event in Lima, for me, is the pollution.  When I walk down the street here, the exhaust fumes can make me gasp and choke (Now I will stop complaining about smog checks in California!)  The noxious fumes I inhale on a daily basis are really pretty worrisome, and the last thing I want to do here is run.  Along the coast, where part of the race last night went, it's a little better- there are fewer cars and the ocean might have a purifying effect on the air.  I tried to find Yessica on the coast portion of the race right in front of the fancy mall called Larcomar- built into the side of a cliff.  I couldn't find Yessica (there were so many people and everyone was wearing the same shirt), but above is a random pic of some of the runners.

Yessica was psyched after the race- great job!  It was about 9:30 by the time everyone had finished, and runners spread out to the nearby restaurants/bars.  We went to a Cuban place and had a snack/drink.  Kaylin (our other roommate) came to meet up with us, as well as another Fulbright guy (Gabriel) and his girlfriend.  A fun night all in all.

Icky poo

          The purpose of this little blog is not to rant and rave about how everything in Peru is subpar.  Just want to state that out front, because the theme of this post is plumbing, and a country cannot be judged solely on its pipes and water.  That said, a good sewage system and ample hot water are lovely luxuries we gringos are accustomed to.  As you may have guessed from the sign above, we do not flush anything but human waste here in Peru (not even at Starbucks!).  This works fine if you religiously empty the little trash can beside the toilet.  However, let it pile up in there, and things are gonna get gross.  And so, here at my little microfinance organization, it goes.  No one is emptying the little trash can, and I am now boycotting the bathroom. 

          The hot water heater situation here in Peru, at least judging from my apartment, is quite different from Chile circa 1999.  Back in Santiago, I had to use a match to light the hot water heater (scary!), but it instantly supplied quite a bit of hot water.  Here, we must simply flip a switch on the hot water heater (similar to the one above), but it takes at least an hour to heat up the tank.  Does this tank provide enough hot water for two showers?  Not really.  I took chilly showers two days in a row, which in tropical countries feels great, but it ain't so tropical here in Lima. 
          

First Day at Work

So I walked the ten minutes to work today- stopped by ¡Listo!, a posh 7-Eleven type place, for a cafe americano- and I was there.  The people in charge at Edaprospo (Educación and Prosperidad hybrid) are all men, and I got to meet with them all- David, Gustavo and William.  All are super nice.  William is officially in charge of me.  He is probably 5'2" and is adorable- maybe 50 or so, looks fairly indigenous.  I definitely need to get a picture of him.  Gustavo is younger, and a bit taller- he's very funny and keeps claiming he wants me to teach him English. David is the most gringo looking of the bunch and he's the executive director.  Below is the outside of the office.

I got my own little office and I basically spent the day translating a technology survey and a social performance summary.  I needed the help of the Internets (and wordreference.com) quite a bit.  I ventured out for a walk at lunch and got some cafeteria food at a local supermercado, as well as a lúcuma ice cream cone, but of course.  I have to give a 30 minute presentation to all branch managers at a meeting on Friday, so I am using the ultimate crutch- a Powerpoint.  Needs to be about Kiva in general and Kiva's newest policies and procedures.  Good times!