Diary of a Gringa

I'm a Peach from Atlanta Ga, Making a life in South America ¿Quieres aprender Inglés a través de Skype? perfil del profesor Whats the easiest way to learn a foreign language online? Practice online with native speakers at the cheapest rates available. View my Teacher Profile on Italki.com

[diaryofagringa]

My goal for Peru.

When first arriving to Peru, I was amazed at how unorganized some infrastructure seemed. Don't be fooled, their economy is bustling and products are surely getting around. Good for them! They deserve a thriving economy. But in development, I would truly be disappointed if this grand landscape disappeared in a web of cables and pollution. For this reason, it is so crucial for people in developing countries to have access to sustainable technology. We cannot lock everyone into a web, it is simply irresponsible. 

Our group, is here to promote sustainable development through building a learning center and hosting workshops. Please be acquainted with our cause! xoxo

Con Luz,

G

[diaryofagringa]

It's Always Sunny In Arequipa

When I woke up with my usual morning fang, I wasn't expecting to have such a chill day. 

The neighbor visited pretty early and announced that we were going for a walk in the Plaza de Armas (center of town). 

We took a taxi, and our first stop was la oficina de El Pueblo (the local paper). I published an add for a Native English Tutor.. The add is printed in every paper for the next four days, for a whopping 13 soles ($4.66 US Dollars)

Cross your fingers for new clients, mama wants a new apartment ;)

Next on the agenda was guitar shopping! My neighbor's little boy is an aspiring rock-star.. so from store to store we checked out all the strings. At one store, the chico working there demonstrated how one guitar sounded. He looked at me and said "que musica?" I responded, with Red Hot Chile Peppers and he busted out in Californication like he was born doing it. He didn't stop there.. Otherside, and Scar Tissue was also hidden up his sleeve. It was truly a fun moment. 

Finally, was birthday cake shopping. Hell yea! This was the highlight of my day. We went with a cherimoya fruit cake. To die for. Now Im all sugared up, and typing about my day. Like anyone besides my mom is gonna read this...   ;)

Con Luz,

G

[diaryofagringa]

HOY

Today was a rather busy day. I took a break from my homesickness and launched a full-on Monday. 

I dropped off my CV (or resume..) at two institutions. The first was a Catholic University, not so much my style but I'm willing to learn some cool stories while I teach English. 

The second was an English School right off the main-strip. While I was eating lunch, ensalada de fruita, they called and scheduled an interview with me for tomorrow morning! Winning!

This afternoon I went with Tia (Aunt) Carmen to the cementerio. Where I visited some relatives. Man that lady is popular even among the dead crowd! I really must've needed the zen, because this walk through the cemetery centered me right back to where my focus should be. Thank god for those folks in there.... 

What I found very interesting was the differences in prices... To purchase flowers in the United States can be very expensive. For this bouquet we paid 2.50 Solace ($1 US), they were fresh cut and came with a bottle of water, with the top portion cut off to act as a vase. Also interesting, when we returned to buy more flowers and forgot to get water, once we were in the cemetary.. There were these mamitas who walk around and put the flowers up for you and water them, for a small tip. I love how the creation of jobs here are somewhat endless. 

Con Luz, 

G

[papalagiblog]

The Incan agricultural terraces at Moray.

[diaryofagringa]

So this is an ancient grocery store. This is where I was Christmas Day 2012 and it was enchanting, centering, and we had the whole place to ourselves. 

[weednymf-blog]

Search for Inca 'lost city' in Amazon may endanger indigenous people

A six-week expedition starting in July will try to find Paititi in the Megantoni National Sanctuary in south-east Peru

This guy is truly disgusting. More from the article: 

A French writer and adventurer plans to explore one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon in search of a “lost” or “secret city” that may have been built by the Incas, but there are fears that the expedition could endanger the health of isolated tribes that have never been exposed to common human diseases.

Thierry Jamin believes that the city, which he calls “Paititi”, could lie somewhere in a 215,000-hectare protected area called the Megantoni National Sanctuary in the Cuzco region of south-east Peru.

His website describes Paititi, or “Paititi-Eldorado”, as the “Incas’ secret city” – “one of the most fascinating stories of the Inca mythology”, the “biggest archaeological enigma of South America”, and the place where the Incas hid “all the treasures of [their] empire” when Europeans invaded.

Oh, how strange that he’d mention the possible monetary benefit of discovering and inevitably stealing and/or helping other colonizers steal Inca treasure? 

But some experts fear that such an expedition would pose a threat to isolated indigenous Nanti people – sometimes called “Kugapakoris” – within the sanctuary. One of the main reasons for the sanctuary’s creation 10 years ago was to protect groups of indigenous people who have had little or no contact with outsiders and are extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases because of their lack of resistance.

According to the sanctuary’s “master plan” for 2007-2011 – a 160-page government document outlining strategies and programmes to manage the area – the 215,000 hectares are divided into a number of “zones” where different activities are permitted. The biggest, most remote zone is in the sanctuary’s far east and is called the “Strict Protection Zone” (ZPA). Its first stated aim is to protect “voluntarily isolated indigenous people”, with scientific investigation only allowed in “exceptional circumstances”.

[diaryofagringa]

Citrus Quinoa Salad Recipe

• 3cupscooked quinoa • 2carrots, ribboned • 1/2cup Chopped Cilantro • 1orange, juiced • 1lime, juiced • 1tablespoonavocado oil (olive oil is cool too…) • 1sweet green pepper, diced • 1/2cupcrumbled...

Yum

[diaryofagringa]

Little Peru Poem

You're spoiled with fruits,

All your soaps are powder

I die in your scenery

But I think you should take a shower

They call me gringo,

but I fancy the jaundiced lingo.

It's a shame really, I find them so beautiful.

Travel where you will, there's insecurity as usual.

I could keep it central and be a visitor.

Or I could dig in the clay, and join the residents.

I'm reborn here, a bright eyed inquisitor

impressed by their earthly intelligence.

la plaza de grace

[diaryofagringa]

F'n Gold-Diggers

    My partner and I had a busy day running errands - you know those days, where you almost forget to eat - and we stopped at this Chifa ( Chinese Food ) joint that our first friend from Arequipa, Marc, had taken us to in the yesteryear to discuss some details of the festival. 

    The food was delectable, and filling for sure.. and hearing the Chinese restaurant owner ask a near by customer ( en espanol - what a trip! ) to move his parked car, gave us both a giggle.  I was watching the television while eating my chicken fried rice, the news was on.

   There was a mass protest happening on the outskirts of the city, and other parts of the country too. Illegal miners blocked the streets, and demanded to know why their jobs were being shut down. A woman onscreen cried "Why are they taking away my money? Why aren't the police stopping violence, and delinquency?"

   The marquee at the bottom of the screen read, 9 SWAT Police  & 2 were Protesters injured. The protesters had to be tear-gassed to disperse.  I remember thinking "wow, if this were the U.S. and a protest got out of hand, I think the numbers would be the other way around."  

    The protesters are illegal miners who are not happy with formalization that the government has proposed. I gotta say, as scary as it was to first watch these images on the TV at the Chifa restaurant, I was admiring the peruvian people for standing up so boldly for what they want. Don't get me wrong, raping the earth on a mass scale for her precious minerals, not my thing. But you gotta be impressed that government who has no choice but to hear its people.

Article 1

Article 2

[livinginperu1]

A Central Park for Lima?

Two architects, Gabriela Sanz and Juan Manuel Del Castillo, of separate affiliations, propose converting the Lima Golf Club into a public park.

[diaryofagringa]

this is a great idea!

[diaryofagringa]

Shaken, Not Stirred

   I was relaxing upstairs, watching "Friends"   {dont judge, I'm not into dramatic telenovelas, and the pickins are slim!} and all of a sudden, I felt dizzy.. and confused.

Had I let myself go anemic? Was I experiencing vertigo? I stood up, and realized it was the ground beneath me. Great, my first earthquake. I went to the nearest doorway and tried to comfort our crying dog. From downstairs I heard Tia carmen shouting my name. I went downstairs to join the rest of the family, and erroneously left the dog upstairs. All the wall decorations were shaking, and Tia Carmen turned on the radio. It wasn't us that was really in trouble.

 The shaking stopped after about two minutes, but we were then notified that Chile's northern coast had experienced an 8.2 magnitude quake 500 miles away from us. 

 "A magnitude 8 earthquake releases as much energy as detonating 6 million tons of TNT,"  According to http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/intensity.html

No harm done here, only sadness for those who lost their lives, or homes. however when I returned upstairs, our house-trained pup had peed. 

Con Luz, 

G

[diaryofagringa]

What the hell are you thinking?

This is the response I get from some of my peers, when I tell them I've decided to move to Peru.  FAIR 'NUFF

Others have more a more absorbing reaction, and  are interested in what the changes are like for me in my daily life. 

     My first trip to Peru, was hardly a tourist experience. I did not hike the Machu Piccu trail, or bravely drink ayahuasca. I instead dove into a real-life head trip of domestic living in Peru.  Fell in love, I did.

    My partner and I, came with the intentions of hosting an International Electronic Music Festival. And what do you know? Thanks to his teeming ability to promote, and a tenacious crew of tekno-heads (from everywhere you can imagine!), we pulled off a beautiful, and conscience event.  

Festival << Link

    Coupled with the work of the festival, I also had the honor of meeting my mate's extended family.  While I enjoyed being a part of my sweetheart's reunion, it didn't take long for me to become frustrated with the language barrier. 

I learned humorously that phrases like "pain in my ass" don't always translate, and I had tia (spanish for auntie) very concerned about my anus.   

  Needless to mention, my vocabulary has expanded, but I am still no Spanish Scholar. 

    This time around, I return with lively intentions again, because I now understand just what opportunities are calling me to Peru. Being an environmentalist at heart, there is a lot to advocate for here. When I was a child, I was blessed with green-minded family, (+mom's rainbow-gathering family!) teaching me environmental conduct, such as not littering, to refrain from eating meat, and that everything can be repurposed for a toy. (I did have plenty of barbies and pokemon cards too..!)  I didn't grow up with cable television, and played outside often. My grandfather, Michael always encouraged me to talk to everyone I could (even the crazies at Grady Memorial Hospital!) Of course these memories, and stories have made me who I am today, along with a sublime sensibility of investing in making the world a better place..

    Sustainability has become increasingly important as technology advances our civilization, and demand for hyper-individualization blinds us in all of its glamour and consumption. Food production is a process for a farmer, not a factory.. JUSS SAYIN ;)

You can follow our sustainable efforts on FB Here

    There are countless reasons why Latin America is a great frontier such as, rapidly growing economies, delicious flavors, raw energies and magnificent lands.  

I invite you to stay-tuned, as I blog about cultural mishaps, victories, recipes and more. 

Con Luz, 

G

ps. What is 3rd world anyway?