Adios Lima

Que tal mis amigos? I have boarded a very nice bus & I’m now leaving Lima after three nights. My emotions are a jumbled mess & I question if I can articulately express myself. In that jumble are strands of excitement, pity, appreciation, anxiety, and anticipation; thankfully nausea isn’t in there yet!

I feel as though I got a very decent flavor of the capital, a city of 8 million (approximately greater-LA’s size), and I left with a sense there is no identity there. The city moves incredibly fast; so much so, it was difficult to get any locals’ attention (expect for the one’s I was staying with). The majority of the time when I was able to communicate with them, many said they disliked living there, dreamed of going somewhere else & for me to be very careful. One 26yr old, gorgeous btw, said she was going to work on a cruise ship seeing there wasn’t any way for here to make a living has she was paid in Soles but shelled out rent in Dollars (s/3.5 to $1). Everyone freaked me out too about safety & I was overly vigilant; walking at 9am I clutched my “murse” like I was keeping national secrets.

I chose to walk mainly, logging endless miles, and sadly, much of the city is slapped with poverty, but when you came to the historical & artistic divides of the city it was stunning. I’m nothing but a point & click man on the camera but I hope to get some shots up so you can see the city. In Lima, I chose primarily to snap the beauty as to leave the ugliness behind.

If I went to Lima & spent the entire time solo I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed myself, but thankfully I had a very unique & wonderful experience staying with a family. A friend of a friend (Lourdes) allowed me to stay in her family’s home; I believe 4 generations were living in this house. Pedro, Lourdes’ 58yr old brother, took me as family & I’m not sure how I can ever repay him. Every night I would return just after dark (high alert on safety) and we would sit at the table & talk for hours. Now this may seem normal to those who know my penchant for gabbing, but the 27yr age gap with the vast language divide made for interesting & stuttering conversation. Luckily we found an equalizer; Cristal! The beer of choice for Pedro, and we shared many “tall-boys” (650ml = $1 US). A couple of those & who knows what I was saying “Si” to, but it worked for us. One night, I took it as a high compliment, he had his 2 daughters (early twenties) take me out to dinner & sangria in Barranco. It was my times at dinner, over the humble kitchen table or just in the family’s presence that I really loved Lima. The people when they slowed down & took the time to share, it worked out well (I had a similar experience at a restaurant where I talked to the two waitresses for 3hrs one afternoon). I’m sure many Limenos feel the same; if their city could just become as beautiful as the citizens.

My anticipation is mounting for my work in Cusco. I don’t want to discredit the next week of madness (I am hitting up 2-4 cities but I’m just winging it & figuring it out day by day where to travel & stay), but I am really anxious to help the Peruvians. They aren’t a charity case as a nation, I understand that they are proud, yet, it’s apparent some of the things we have in America are just not accessible here. As parents we move to a “better” school district or pay thousands to have our kids go to a school we deem more acceptable, which is fine but imagine if there was no school or you had no options. That is what Cusco and many parts of Peru are facing; a lack of quality learning environments. So, needless to say, the fun of Lima’s lights & whatever else I find out here, is secondary to what I hope I can leave behind.

Things I’ve learned thus far:
--Being a gringo in a restaurant will get you slow service; being a single male gringo in a restaurant you might as well pay rent
--Sports are listed opposite as in the states…Example: Lima y Chile means the futbol match is in Lima the day I left town & not in Chile; wish I would’ve known to stay & watch it
--My Spanish is getting worse & by worse I mean I can’t stop, playback, or pause anyone!!!
--The Spanish keyboard is just enough different than the English version to drive me nuts or look like a complete moron on my emails. Getting the “@” sign to work is like keying in your security code at work
--Mosquitoes in Peru are transparent or stealth; I haven’t seen one but have about a dozen bites --Everyone loves Obama in Peru & hates Bush – one things are universal

Overall 4 nights in and I love it; eye-opening as planned, fun and still just scratching the surface. I hope y’all can say the same. - M

And I'm Off

Day one is in the books; safe, sound, sweaty & satisfied with myself. The trip itself was cake; 6hrs to Panama that felt like 10 minutes thanks to some borrowed Ambien, a quick stop at the Panama City mall, I mean airport - there was one hot dog stand there but 5 places I could’ve purchased a HDTV set?! Finally a quick 3 and half hours into Lima where I was gifted my own row & found out cocktails on international flights are free. When we finally landed in Lima I had no real emotion, just calmness. I thought I’d be worried or even excited but I was merely pedestrian.

Immigration, customs & baggage was a breeze & then the greatest signn ever was smack in the front row, “MARSHAIL CAYLE.” My new friend Pedro Huarta was there to greet me with a sign he guessed would be my name; nothing could’ve been more clear. We exchanged our awkward “come esta’s” and off we went. From landing to the house I am staying at it was barely over an hour.

Pedro’s English is about as good as my Spanish, so our conversations were interesting. Luckily we both know how to say & understand Lakers & Kobe. With that, my 58yr old amigo & I were talking about Chinese food & basketball, I knew I was in good hands.

Once back to the wonderful house I am staying at for a couple nights, I became anxious & wanted to walk around the city before dark. I hadn’t picked up a city map yet, so going off the crude ones in my guide book, I headed out. I tried two taxis but they couldn’t understand my desired destinations, so I kept walking. Lima is a seriously chaotic city; cars are everywhere & they don’t stop for lights, let alone people. I was on edge some, seeing I really had no clue where I was going or even what I wanted to do if I got there; that’s what’s interesting about nowhere. Well, an hour and half later the sun had set, I was lost & decided to retrace my steps.

As time passed, I was hungrier & hungrier, sweatier & sweatier (humid is an insult) & becoming a bit more anxious. That anxiety kicked up when a free roaming pit pull started down the same block I was. I quickly changed sides of the street, hurried my step & figured I’d just pass on dinner my first night in Lima…that is until I suddenly heard my name. My good Kobe-loving amigo Pedro was walking back from the market just at that time. We strolled the rest of the way home, sharing a little, and then he offered me a dinner of fresh bread rolls, cheese, olives & instant coffee; it was delicious & I ate plenty. It was nice the two of us there trying to communicate; he asked if I like Obama & knew Bush as an oilman from Texas…sums it up I suppose.

Overall it was a terrific day seeing I got a real taste of Lima & how the good people here live. I actually figured out where I ended up when I came home & have much confidence in day two & three of my adventures. Wanted those who care that I’m safe & here; the world is smaller than we all think.

3 More Nights in the US

I’m starring down it now – the weekend festivities are behind me, my bag is packed (heavy), and now it’s just a matter of some final goodbyes & getting on the plane Wednesday night. 

As the trip becomes imminent I realize how much I will miss two things – Cash and my luxury of showering twice a day.  I haven’t missed my dress socks from the corporate world, and I don’t plan to when I get to Lima.  For those of you wondering; I don’t have an exact plan when I arrive in Lima.  I know I need to be in Cusco by the 5^th for Orientation into my program, but the 10 days between landing & Orientation are completely up in the air & those decisions will be made on Peruvian soil.   

I wanted to ask anyone and everyone to email me while I’m gone with ideas about new career paths you may think will interest me; everything is open for discussion.  I will have ample time to sit around & think about what & where I want the next chapter of my life to begin & I’d love some catalysts from those I trust the most.  I believe I will have access to the Internet so communicating will be available to me when I feel the urge.  

Next time you hear from me, I will be just one with my pack & the locals of Peru.  I wish you all a wonderful Spring & will see you all this summer.  Adios.