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.

Gift Baskets Galore

Below is a picture of a gift basket I helped to put together for clients at the Huarochiri office yesterday.  Not all clients get these special baskets- only borrowers who have taken out five or more loans.  This is more folks than you would think.  Women (who are more than 80% of the borrowers) will borrow a small amount of money every four months for years and years and years.  It's like a permanent loan.

There are basic essentials in the gift basket- like cooking oil and toilet paper (yes, it is TP and not paper towels) and also traditional Peruvian Christmas treats.  Most important among the Xmas treats is the panetón (in the blue packaging).  This Italian-like fruitcake baked good is all that Peruvians eat for dessert at Christmas. And, surprisingly, no one bakes their own panetón- you have to buy it at the store.  There are tons of brands of this stuff.  I have tried it and I was not a big fan.  I'm hoping that if I try it again dipped in hot chocolate (also included in the gift basket), I'll like it more.  A popular kind of Christmas party here is a called a Chocolatada in which you get hot chocolate and some panetón to go with it.  Not a bad idea for a party, but I'd switch out the panetón for some butter cookies.  

Chosica and beyond

Below is a picture of the central park here in Chosica.  It's kinda cute, kinda not.  Chosica is two hours outside of Lima and is a weekend getaway spot for limeños.  No other gringos sightings in the last two days.

Luis, my buddy from the Huaycan office, lives about 20 min down the road.  He and his two friends came to meet up with me Sunday afternoon.  We wandered around and had a couple beers.  Was pretty fun. 

Today and yesterday I've been in the Huarochiri office, which is actually very close to Chosica.  Huarochiri is another sort of "county" and extends for miles and miles- way up into the mountains.  I left the office a little after noon to visit some Kiva clients and follow up with them- and didn't get to the destination until almost 2!  I went with a handsome (but short) loan officer named Hernán, who was all but mute.  Most Peruvians (esp. loan officers) talk my ear off and have a zillion questions for me.  Not this guy- lots of silence on the bus.  Destination (forgot the name!) pictured below:

It was chilly and windy up there- felt like the Andes, even though I'm not sure it was.  Definitely had a rural feel to it.  The clients we visited all had dirt floors.  We finally had lunch at about 3:00 (good thing I had a pack of crackers in my backpack).  It was a huge half of a chicken cooked on an open fire in the central plaza with a couple pieces of potato.  I am so over eating the meats- especially the meat that is difficult to remove from the carcass.  I inevitably leave half the meat on the bones and then am chastised for wasting food (this time by the woman grilling).  I suggested she feed it to a nearby stray dog.  The vegetarian princess cannot help herself at times. :-)

Kiva Blog Post #3

It's about communal bank borrower groups.  Want to see it?  Click here.