Computer Meltdown

Posted on March 26, 2014 by kdwyer27 under Peru

The old Kerry was back. With a vengeance. After months of going with the South American flow of a relaxed pace and inefficiency, I was done.

I sprinted across the street, yelling at the Movistar service technician who was doing his best to ignore me while he dialed his phone.

“Excuse me, when are you coming to my house to fix my internet?” I demanded.

He waved a paper, nervously refusing to look at me. “I’m at this house. I’m not the tech for your house.”

“But you were at my house on Saturday. And you left. And I still don’t have internet!”

“Another tech…” he tried to turn his back to me but I stuck with him.

“Who? When?”

“I don’t know. But not me.”

“But it was you. You were at my house. And you didn’t fix anything and now no one has come for 3 days.”

“Ahh. Matthews, right?” He was trying to placate me and I knew it.

“Yes. There.” I pointed to our house.

“Okay, I’ll tell them.” His eyes darted about, refusing to look at me. I interpreted that as a fear of being caught. I was convinced this guy had deleted our job request for the past 3 days because he didn’t know how to solve our internet problem or didn’t want to deal with it. Matt later said the guy was probably afraid that I was going to drag him across the street to our house. At 5’3”, I’m bigger than he and had rage on my side, so that might have been it.

I stalked back across the street while glaring at the guy on the corner who had watched this entire exchange. Slammed the doors to my house. ARGGG. Why is it so hard to get things done here? Why can’t I speak better Spanish so I don’t sound like a 5 year old? Olga, our housekeeper, tiptoed around me. She had never seen me angry, much less livid, these past eight months. And I have never seen a Peruvian mad; they go into begging mode when they want something. Not this American. I wasn’t about to beg someone who was screwing me over. But I am no fool. I had tried the begging: I had sent Olga out to talk to the tech when I first saw him across the street because I thought the begging might work. It didn’t. Of course, my in-your-face aggression didn’t either.

I explained to Olga what happened and why I didn’t believe that he wasn’t suppose to be at our house.

“Well, he did have an order for the other house…” she ventured.

“Did you see it?” The lawyer in me was out in full force.

“No, but I said Matthews to him…”

“Hrmph. But he was here on Saturday and left and no one has come since.”

“The same guy? Here? Oh.” She retreated.

I had a new plan: when he was done with the other job, I would waylay him again and demand that he call his tech office immediately to find out when someone was coming to my house. I looked out the window. Damn, his car was gone. He had snuck away.

The saga began when an electrical storm knocked out our phone, internet, and computer on Friday. The worst part was that about 30 seconds before it happened it occurred to me that I should shut down the computer. But I didn’t. There was a pop on the screen and then no phone, no internet, no computer. The storm was intense and lasted a couple of hours, so I didn’t really expect service to return quickly and I was ignoring the fact that the computer wouldn’t turn on. By the next morning, it was clear that we needed service, but a review of all the paperwork from our provider, Movistar, and its on-line site (via my cell phone, which thankfully has a data plan) revealed that the only way to call for service was from a Movistar phone. Ours didn’t work; that was part of the problem. So we walked to our friend’s house and her housekeeper called Movistar for us and explained the problem. A tech would come within 24 hours.

And he did come, later that afternoon. We explained the problem and showed him that the phone and modem both didn’t work. We also explained that the modem wouldn’t power up at all – clearly it was fried, not that we know that idiomatic expression in Spanish, but he seemed to understand. He checked a few things, confirmed nothing worked and then said he needed to check the lines but had to wait as a strong storm had kicked up. He waited, we waited, and then, next thing we knew, he was gone without a word and nothing was fixed. We hung around the rest of the day, optimistic that he would return. Wrong.

On Sunday Matt returned to our friend’s house and called Movistar while I hopefully waited at home. This time, Matt couldn’t get out of the automatic system because there was already a service code associated with our phone number and the recording said a tech would be out within 24 hours. So we waited around the house all day and no one came.

On Monday, Matt had a coworker call as the 24 hours was up to 48 hours and still no resolution or return visit. This time, we received a new service code and his coworker told him they had another 24 hours to send a tech. What? They already had 48 hours and no one had fixed the problem, but apparently that is the way it works here. So I again was homebound, waiting for the tech who never arrived. At some point our phone came back on and later there was an automated call from Movistar. I didn’t quite understand all of it, but thought I hit the right number that indicated we still had a problem as the internet was not going to work until we got a new modem.

On Tuesday, Matt had a coworker call another time as 24 hours had elapsed yet again. Same routine: new code, 24 hours. I was ballistic by this point. How can Movistar buy itself another 24 hours just by giving us a new code? I felt chained to the house as I was not going to miss the tech visit and had instructed Olga to be on high alert for anyone at the door. On Monday I ran to the door or window about every 2 minutes as I was fearful of missing the tech guy when he arrived. I was doing the same thing on Tuesday, which is how I saw the tech across the street and accosted him. After that incident and still no tech, I insisted that Matt go to Movistar after work and explain in person what was happening and what we needed. He did and was assured someone would come the next day (today) and that the tech would call first. Matt also asked whether the tech would come with a modem in his car and the woman laughed and said yes.

The first thing I did today was to instruct Olga that her most important job of the day was to answer the phone (I was worried that it would be a recording and I don’t understand those well) so that we didn’t miss the tech’s visit. Yep, she missed the call. I was furious and, while I didn’t yell at her, I did go yell in the other room. After I calmed down, I asked her to call Movistar (as our phone now worked we could call from home) and find out if a tech was coming. After about 20 minutes she came and told me that Movistar had no record of any problem with our line, but that she had a code and a tech would come in 24 hours. WTF??? By this time, I was ranting in Spanish the best I could (though I really need to learn to say WTF) and asked Olga how that made any sense when the tech was here, on Saturday, when we have called every day for the past 4 days and when Matt actually went to Movistar yesterday. She seemed puzzled by these questions and seemed to find it perfectly reasonable that we would wait another 24 hours now that we had a code. What?? I had had enough of this senseless conversation when there was a knock at the door.

Yes, it was the same tech- from Saturday, from yesterday- at the door. I went to the computer room when he arrived and politely explained, though I really wanted to wring his neck, that the modem didn’t work and we didn’t have internet. He looked at it and conceded that was the case, but said he didn’t have a modem because he was there to service our …phone. What??? I told him that he knew the internet and modem didn’t work since he came on Saturday (I thought it prudent to ignore our conversation of the prior afternoon). He responded that he was here for the service call from 11 am yesterday that said there was a problem with the phone so that is what he came to fix. (*@!^$&(^$ But, he assured me, he would come back in a half hour with a modem because he knew we had been waiting for it. It is now 3 1/2 hours. I am still waiting.

This whole exchange proves that you can take the girl out of America, but you can’t take America out of the girl. I am still trying to figure out what part of this bothers me the most: the lack of internet, which I depend on for my amusement while I am home alone all day; my loss of independence as I feel chained to the house (despite sneaking out to use my friend’s internet at the moment); or the sheer inefficiency, which my Type A personality can pretend to handle most of the time but really can’t.

Update: The (same) tech showed up, a mere 6 1/2 hours late. But he had a modem and we are connected again. Yippee! Next step: finding out if our iMac can be salvaged. Fingers crossed…

Happy St. Paddy’s Day – Better Late Than Never!

Posted on March 18, 2014 by kdwyer27 under Celebrations, Peru

Yesterday I was in Lima obtaining my Peruvian residency card. It was a typical bureaucratic experience with two items of note: the Peruvians determined that I am a green-eyed blond (and here I thought I was a brown-eyed brunette for the past 45 years) and my residency stamp is on the visa page with a JFK quote, which seemed fitting for St. Patrick’s Day. I did not have the luck o’ the Irish when our plane from Lima arrived over Cajamarca, circled a few times, and then flew back to Lima as the pilot determined the weather didn’t permit him to land. Or maybe not landing was the lucky part! In any event, for that reason this post is a day late.

Although the month of Carnival festivities had worn us out, we decided to throw a St. Patrick’s Day party last Saturday for our expat and Peruvian friends. The Peruvians were quite interested to know what a St. Paddy’s Day party entailed, and we were at a bit of a loss – uh, drinking and wearing green? But we stepped it up and made corned beef (from scratch, no handy pre-brined meat here), potato salad (okay, not entirely Irish, but the potatoes count), oatmeal cookies, and Irish cream brownies (courtesy of our friend Sarah), greeted everyone at the door with a shot of Baileys or Jameson and had the Irish tunes playing. Matt boss, Peter, contributed some Pogues and other contemporary Celtic tunes that complemented our Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem collection quite nicely.

Corned Beef

Decorations

Tin Whistle

Slainte!

Cheers!

Upia Kushun (cheers in Quechuan)

It was pretty cool to have 5 countries represented : USA, Canada, Peru, Colombia and Mexico and everyone enjoying a typical American St. Patrick’s Day party. But the Peruvians like to sing and dance. While I was tempted to teach them all Weela, Wallia, I was concerned that this group of educators might not see the justice in the song but instead wonder why I was singing a song about killing a baby. (My kindergarden teacher wondered the same thing and called my parents for an explanation. True story.) We put on some YouTube videos teaching Irish dance, but as all I know about Irish dance is that you have to keep your arms down and shoulders straight, that was short lived. We gave the Electric Slide and Boot Scootin’ Boogie a shot (thank you, Mistina and Sarah), but in the end, Latin music prevailed. One of the teachers noted, “you Americans dance with your legs, not your hips” and I think she understood why learning to salsa is not natural for us! The party went until the wee hours and a good time was had by all.

St. Patrick’s Party

Latin Dance Prevailed

Bellying Up to the Bar

Attempting Irish Dance

Camaraderie

Hamming it Up

Sweet Treats

Clean Up

One Parade Too Many – Cajamarca Carnival Part 2

Posted on March 8, 2014 by kdwyer27 under Cajamarca, Celebrations, Peru

I hate parades. I like the crowds, merriment and people watching before the parade, but I get bored silly sitting on the sidelines and watching endless streams of paraders. Until attending Markesan’s June Dairy Days parade became a cottage tradition that I was shamed into by my young niece and nephew, I had managed to avoid parades for a good decade. Then we moved to Cajamarca. There are parades for Saints, Patria (Independence), Carnival and endless other reasons, or so it seems. Because we want to participate in cultural events, we have gone to most of them. For Carnival alone we attended 3 parades, the paint parade and two “normal” parades. We were under the impression that Sunday and Monday’s parades were distinct, but with the exception of some floats, generally carrying the barrio (neighborhood) queens and princesses, Monday’s parade wasn’t much different than Sunday’s parade. On Sunday, Matt, Mistina and I went to the parade early and managed to get a good standing spot near the beginning of the route. The vendors were hawking everything from food, toys, super soakers and plastic, hats and umbrellas to protect from the super soakers, balloons and pails of water that are customary at all of the Carnival events (including the burial of the Ño Carnivalón!).

Hats for Sale

Need Protection?

Water Protection

Treats

Mask Man

Chair Lady

Hat vendors

Puppets

After waiting about 1 1/2 hours, the parade began and even I was impressed. The costumes were fantastic and so different from what we have in the US (or at least at June Dairy Days). The only major irritation was that despite staking our spot for 2 hours, we were battered by people shoving past us. We lasted at the parade for about 1 1/2 hours before I got bored.

We then went to two teachers’ house for additional festivities that included throwing water balloons off the balcony at departing parade attendees. Note: there was major retaliation when a guy threw a bucket of water at us and then a flatbed truck spotted us and drove down our street to douse us with water. We also had the special treat of a homemade Cajamarquino meal: Chupe verde (my favorite herb soup with potatoes, egg and fresh cheese), chicharrones (fried pork), sweet potatoes, yuca, corn and delicious Peruvian condiments. Dessert was fresh cheese with honey. Delicious! As if the food wasn’t amazing enough, we also had very pure cañazo, 14 year old beer and chicha de mani (a peanut based liquor) that had a smell reminiscent of Chinese food and an interesting smoky flavor. After eating, the karaoke machine was set up and we listened to our friends sing Peruvian songs. Then the dancing began and we got some salsa lessons. Honestly, I think Latin Americans are born knowing how to salsa; I clearly was not as I am usually thrusting the wrong hip!

On Monday we were off to another parade, but this time we were prepared.

Prepared to Play Carnival

Mistina, Sarah, her 2 1/2 year old twins (Emma and Beau), Matt and I went to the parade route and after a block of scoping out the crowds decided that paying 20 soles each ($7.20) for front row seats was worth it! Later we realized that a front row seat with a plastic roof might have been a better idea. We were generally exempt from intentional water attacks due to Emma and Beau so we didn’t get to use our balloons as that would have prompted an attack that would have certainly involved the kids.

Enjoying the Parade

Roof dwellers ready to attack

Girl in Hat – note the plastic enclosure she is in

Yummy

Figgy goodness

And then the parade began and apart from the floats and the fact that some of the marchers looked like they had been drinking all night (and probably were), it was just like the parade the day before! We lasted about 2 hours (after waiting 2 hours) and then decided to leave. Little did we know that leaving was not easy as access to the route is blocked off by viewing stands, makeshift structures, trucks and the like. We walked several blocks before there was a small opening that we were able to climb through, with the help of many kind strangers, to get out. The parade lasted several more hours, so we were all happy we left when we did. Next year, two parades will definitely be my maximum and one might even suffice.

Baby snake penis!?

Note the kid in back!

Everyone wanted a picture with this guy!

Drunk Andean Santa!

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Today we have another Carnival Celebration: the Davy College Unsha. A tree is erected and then you have a party to chop it down! Last night we watched a tree get dragged down our street and then a few hours later Mistina and I walked down the block to see what the commotion was. With the world’s dullest ax they were cutting branches off the bottom so that the tree would fit it into the hole in the middle of the street. I was not convinced the power lines were safe so we left as they erected it. Apparently these trees are “planted” in the streets all over the city!

Ding, Dong the Ño is Dead – Cajamarca Carnival Part 1

Posted on March 6, 2014 by kdwyer27 under Cajamarca, Celebrations, Peru

Cajamarquinos know how to party! Cajamarca is the Carnival Capital of Peru and the official Cajamarca “Programa Carnaval” has events beginning on January 23 and ending on March 9. To the uninitiated (us) it was a little hard to figure out what is Carnival related and why, but here are the main events that we experienced.

Water, Water everywhere. This phenomenon actually began before January 23 when my friend Mistina and I were on a walk and got sprayed with water from a passing vehicle. She bore the brunt of the attack and looked at her soggy clothes with a shocked expression . “What was that? Is this water?” We decided to assume the best, that it was water, but were confused by the experience. We had never encountered any anti-American animus but wondered whether something had happened while we were on Christmas break that would lead to random, anonymous aggression. A couple days later I was walking my usual bike path route when WHOOSH! A bucket of water was thrown at me. Thankfully, the aim was off so I was merely splashed with the aftereffects. I turned and yelled at the passing vehicle (maybe even made a nasty gesture, it was instinct, I swear) and the guys in the truck bed were busting a gut. Matt did some investigation at work and learned that water antics are a part of Carnival and start sometime in January. So attacks with water balloons, super soakers, buckets and hoses are all in good fun, condoned and to be expected. Despite this, we didn’t have too many other experiences with random acts of water until the parades this past weekend. Matt inadvertently stumbled into a water fight in our neighborhood last week, but as some of the participants were his students they respectfully gave him a pass. The same thing happened this weekend as we were walking from one of the parades.

Armed

Ready to Launch

Packing

Need Protection?

Water Protection

Ño Carnavalón. This guy shows up everywhere and can best be described as the Life of the Party (or, in this case, Carnival). For awhile I understood him to be a demon but I am not sure that is the case although he was dressed like a devil when he got married to the Doña Carnavalón in Baños a couple of weekends ago and he generally looks pretty scary. Saturday’s parade was the Ingreso de Ño Carnavalón (Arrival of the Carnival Ño), the event that really gets the party started. Sunday and Monday’s parades featured the Ño (or various versions of him), last night was his wake (yep, he died. Probably from too much partying) and today was his cremation in Baños. RIP until next year Ño Carnivalón, and maybe we can finally get a full night’s sleep! Last night the music started in Baños at 11:30 pm and this morning on Matt’s 5:30 am walk to work he passed three guys, one holding up his friend, who was holding a beer, and the third playing a snare drum. The party never stops!

The Ño and Doña Arrive

Doña and Ño

Ño cremation

The Paint Parade. “Stay home,” we were warned, “It’s dirty. People are out of control.” Saturday’s parade, while technically called the Ingreso de Ño Carnavalón, is locally known as the paint parade. Apart from the truck carrying Ño and Doña, the rest of the parade is comprised of gangs of people, who sing, dance, drink and throw paint at everyone and everything. People, cars, houses, the police – nothing is sacred. We were invited to our friend Maribel’s house, which is conveniently located on the parade route, for breakfast and to enjoy the parade. And by “enjoy” I mean lob water balloons and, when those ran out, buckets of water at the parade participants from the roof of her building!

Attack

A Clean Start

Filling Balloons

Ready

Getting Ready

Kiera Can’t Wait

Not that we were safe. First, I will never engage in bomb making as I managed to soak myself (and Matt) by overfilling balloons. Kiera, Maribel’s niece, was worse and changed her clothes 2 times before we even began (of course, she is only 8). Then the neighbors decided to wage water war on us (and they were slightly higher up and had better throwing arms) and finally, this truck was in the parade to retaliate against roof watchers like us.

Retaliation

Waiting…

Ready on the Roofs

House BEFORE the parade – last year’s effects

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After the parade passed we had a nice, traditional lunch of fried trout, corn and rice and then decided to join the fray. I was a little nervous given all the warnings, but wasn’t going to be the party pooper. So 8 of us packed into a sedan cab (9 counting the driver) and buzzed off to the fun. And was it fun! Being conspicuously paint free, we were quickly accosted and painted. People literally surrounded us and slapped, threw, dabbed or dumped paint on us. And then they offered us shots! We were invited to tag along with one group and at every turn they would herd us along with them. It was hilarious – singing (the same endless tune with different verses, which Matt and I faked knowing as people urged us to sing), dancing, drinking (okay, I declined the shots for the most part as I think the bottles had as much paint as alcohol in them). Eventually we ran into some friends of Maribel’s and we ditched our first gang and joined our second one. We ended up in front of someone’s house and the carousing continued, including the homeowners bringing out chicha de jora, a traditional corn beer, cañazo, distilled sugar cane, and a pan of rice and sausage. Apparently these street parties are common as we saw many of them. Of course, now that we were part of the parade, we were doused with water, which was karmic payback, no doubt! After a couple of hours, the crowd was getting drunk, it started raining and we decided to call it a day on a high note. The paint parade got two thumbs up from Matt and me and was our favorite parade of Carnival. To get a complete feel for the event, check out Matt’s blog where he posted videos of the day. http://mattgeiger.blogspot.com/2014/03/carnivales-2014-day-one-videos.html

Maribel and Kerry

Chicha and Conversation

After

Packer Pride

Matt and Our New Friends

Clean Up

Don’t Cry for Me – I’m in Argentina

Posted on January 20, 2014 by kdwyer27 under Argentina, Peru, Wisconsin

After a wonderful 3 1/2 weeks in Wisconsin over Christmas, Matt and I escaped the bitter cold for Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have literally gone from a low temperature of -17 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 degrees F. For the first time I understand why people think we are crazy to live through Wisconsin winters – I’ll take the heat over the cold any day.

Our time in Wisconsin was non-stop as we packed every moment with visits with friends and family. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I had all but two of our days booked before we even got to Wisconsin! As an added bonus, the frigid temperatures allowed us to spend those two unplanned days with Shannon and Kieran whose school was closed. We spent our last weekend in the US with friends in San Antonio, Texas – a good way to ease back into warmer temperatures and a less hectic pace. Here are pictures of some of the fun we had in the US.

Puzzle Success

The Domes

At Little Green Lake

Winter in Wisconsin

Bloody Marys in San Antonio

Yummy

Fun with the Cousins

Peter’s First Admirals Game

Family Dinner

Supporting Mick

Mick the Human Hockey Puck

And then we were off to Argentina, via a 24-hour layover in Lima. Because we have been to Lima a handful of times, we decided to take it easy and spent a leisurely day walking through some parks and along the coastal cliffs before we headed to the airport for our midnight flight.

After what seemed like endless travel and waiting (our connection in Chile was delayed), we finally landed in Buenos Aires. While both Matt and I still have a lot of Spanish to learn, we were proud of how well we navigated Argentine immigration and customs. Unlike other countries we have entered, the Argentine government took our mug shots and thumbprints. As Matt pointed out, we have no idea what the US government does for non-citizens, so maybe this is similar treatment. Our flight had been delayed about two hours so we were relieved when a driver holding a “Matt Geiger” sign was waiting for us. Franco took us to our apartment in Palermo Hollywood, a very nice, vibrant part of the city, where we met our landlady, Norma. Norma was headed to Washington DC to stay with her daughter for 6 months and spoke excellent English, which was a bonus for us after a night of little sleep and travel. As we are in Buenos Aires for 3 1/2 weeks, we opted to get an apartment because it was more economical than a hotel and would give us more space. We are happy we did so and have settled in nicely to our new digs and neighborhood.

Our apartment is a duplex, which means we have a downstairs living area and narrow staircase up to the second floor. The second floor has an office niche that we are using as a luggage storage and clothes drying area, an awesome walk-in closet, bedroom, another patio, and a unique bathroom area – a small, separate toilet area, a nice open area with the sink, a bathtub and a bunch of open shelves and then the shower, which is a narrow 5×2 foot area that has the patio door at the end of it. While the door is frosted about halfway down, I think I may be flashing the neighbors when I shower! There is also a typical European shower in the downstairs powder room toilet area – a hand held shower and a drain on the floor, but I will stick with flashing the neighbors rather than showering over a toilet in a 3×2 space. The upstairs is too narrow for photos, but here are pictures of the downstairs.

Living and Dining room

Dining Room

Plant Patio

Pool on Patio

Kitchen and Breakfast Bar

Living Room

Living Room and Patio

Galley Kitchen

Buenos Aires is amazing – we love the vibe here and are having a great time despite the heat. The food and wine are delicious and the dollar is strong. More to come soon…

DIY – What Was I Thinking?

Posted on December 12, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru

As part of my mission to make our Peruvian house a home, a bedroom makeover was top of the list. Here is why.

Clash of the Colors

The duvet cover was ours, but the rest of the room was this hideous when we arrived (and the balcony doors had full-length, red and blue curtains too). I couldn’t stand waking up in such a horrible space and when I returned to Peru in September, I resolved to have it redecorated by Christmas. But I wasn’t sure how to start – when I was in the central market I would stop in curtain shops and look at fabrics but didn’t see anything I liked and wasn’t sure how to find more options. As luck would have it, a departing Peruvian teacher friend, Jocelyn, offered to sell me a gray curtain and sheers. Because I also needed a shade, Jocelyn graciously offered to take me to the central market to buy the fabric and have the shade made. And so it began…

One curtain replaced…

We went to the market and Jocelyn took me to a particular shop on a fabric street. One interesting thing about the central market (which after much confusion and discussion I determined is really just the main shopping district in Cajamarca) is that similar stores are clumped together – so the stores on one block all sell cookware, and the stores on another block all sell fabric, and on another block they all sell eyeglasses. It was odd to us as we initially expected there to be a variety of wares on a block, but apparently that isn’t how it is done here. It makes sense on the one hand because if you are looking for an item you can go to one street and look in all of the stores for it. But it’s a huge hassle when you don’t know where that one street is! So while I had found a street with curtain shops, they weren’t exactly the fabric shops I needed as those were on another street. Jocelyn was amazing in action – I had learned to barter with handicraft vendors and taxi drivers, but I had no idea that one could barter in a fabric store. But barter Jocelyn did and we left with 5 meters of the same fabric as her curtain for $36. Then we went to another shop around the corner where Jocelyn introduced me to Jhon who Jocelyn said would make my shade for a good price. John said he would have the Roman shade ready by Tuesday and would come to my house to install it, all for $24 – sold! The last time I bought a Roman shade in the US it was 1/3 the size and cost over 3 times as much.

My excitement was short lived when I realized that I needed to paint the room before the shade was installed and I had 4 days to do it. Matt wisely wanted no part of this project and urged me to hire someone to paint the room. But we were booked most of the weekend, so we wouldn’t be home to let someone in the house and supervise him. Matt then suggested I move the delivery date of the shade to give me more time to hire someone. But I was too excited to get the room renovated so I stubbornly forged ahead.

I went to buy the paint on Friday morning. First stop was the hardware store around the corner from our house that has a large sign out front advertising paint. After some confusion, despite the word for paint being “pintura” they say “latex” here, I was informed they had two colors: white and beige. On to the next store down the block. There the clerk gave me paint brochures and I picked out an okay color only to be told that they had two colors: green and white. What the heck? Wouldn’t it make sense to tell that to me before showing me the brochure and discussing the color I wanted? At that point I gave up on buying from the mom and pop shops and caught a cab to the “big box” hardware store. I quickly found a color I liked and the guy started mixing it – by hand with a 2×4! It took about a half hour. When I asked about a stir stick to mix the white paint I was also buying, he had no idea what I was talking about, which should have been obvious to me as he was using a 2×4 to mix the paint. I rooted around my backyard and found a 1×1 stick that I used. Matt and I got a good laugh about how quaint this process was until I actually went to use the paint. Obviously, that 2X4 had been frequently used as my paint had old dried paint pieces throughout it. It was awful – with every paint stroke I had to pick off the paint chips. It definitely made me regret doing my own painting. Of course, if something like that had happened in the US, I would have returned the paint, but 1) something like that wouldn’t happen in the US and 2) I didn’t see managing that conversation in Spanish. Despite the setbacks and the need for 2 base coats, I managed to have the room painted by Tuesday.

Taping

First Coat

An hour before Jhon was scheduled to arrive, he called and asked if he could come on Wednesday. About an hour after the appointed time on Wednesday, I called Jhon and he assured me he would be there in 20 minutes. Over an hour later he arrived and installed the shade. It looked great, but by then I had realized that I needed a new curtain rod for the curtain that had started this project, so Jhon, Matt and I discussed what we needed and Jhon said he would be back on Friday with a new curtain rod. A no-show on Friday, Jhon said he would be over on Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning I happened upon his shop while I was in the market, so I stopped in to see if he was coming over later. He showed me the rod and then asked if I wanted the supports for it. You think? So that delayed the project until Tuesday. You guessed it, Tuesday came and went and another call to Jhon confirmed that he would come on Wednesday. Delays are the norm here, so it honestly didn’t bother me much when Jhon didn’t come when he said he would. But then he did arrive and this is what he brought.

What the heck?

Mismatched

He seemed genuinely confused that I would want the curtain rod and supports to match. He also neglected to put the knob on the end of the rod, but by this point I was so sick of waiting that I had Jhon install it and planned to deal with it later. About a week later, we ordered a rug for the room from a department store, so that gave me the incentive to pull out the paint and finish the job. The date for the rug delivery came and went and when we called we learned that our order was canceled. Matt went to the store and then was told that the rug wasn’t available in Peru! So I am considering the room done for now, even though we would still like a rug. Lesson learned: next time I think DIY – don’t!

Almost Done

Much better

Done

And if you are wondering about the bare bulb, I am not even going to try to find a light fixture here as most houses have bare bulbs throughout and I do not know whether there is a street in the market carries fixtures!

Another Sunday, Another Beautiful Walk in the Country

Posted on December 2, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru, Scenery

Matt, Mistina and I set off for Llacanora on Sunday afternoon with the goal of finding the waterfalls near the town. Matt and I had previously embarked on this trip but were sidetracked by the cave art of Callac Puma. A worthy diversion, but this time we wanted to reach the waterfalls. Mistina, a teacher from Nebraska, was game to join us and was tasked with keeping us on track to our final destination. What a great time! It was about a 5 mile walk on picturesque country roads from our house to the small town of Llacanora. Once in Llacanora, we saw a sign for the waterfalls, but the directions subsequently became unclear so we kept asking everyone we saw, which included a guy walking down the street, an old lady minding a store, a lady who was actually there to go to the falls for the first time and didn’t know where to go either (we told her once we found out) and a couple of guys getting drunk sitting outside a shop (on our return trip, one guy was passed out and the other had inexplicably removed his shirt). You follow the the road above Llacanora and eventually turn left down an unmarked dirt path. It’s about another kilometer to the first falls. We never figured out what is referenced by the 1000 meters on the sign – perhaps the turn off.

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Once on the path, we knew we were on the right track as we passed “tourist restaurants” and knick-knack stores. Eventually, it became even more obvious due to the amount of other people enjoying a day in the countryside. The paths were well traveled and generally easy to navigate. We arrived at Hembra Falls and were impressed.

Hembra Falls

Picnickers

Path

Ladies selling snacks

Sign for the first falls

We kept climbing upward and eventually arrived at the even more spectacular Macho Falls, which are about 30 meters high. Due to their size, we couldn’t get a photo of the entire falls with our i-phones.

Macho Falls

Pool Beneath Macho Falls

Matt, Kerry and Macho Falls

Above the Hembra Falls

Alta Vista

On our way back, we decided to walk on the other side of the river. We arrived at this aqueduct, which we either needed to cross or go back down and around to cross the river. Mistina mustered up her courage and went across.

I took one step and chickened out. A man standing below starting shouting up words of encouragement and succeeded in shaming me into crossing. I started across in a most undignified fashion as my coach yelled specific instructions (in Spanish) to me. I froze at the wire I had to step over, a maneuver that required me to actually stand up a little.

Pathetic Kerry with Cheerleader

Under the direction of my drill sargent, I made it across and then Matt came skipping over. Okay, maybe he wasn’t skipping, but he certainly had no fear – note that he is walking on the edges of the aqueduct and not with his feet in the middle!

Fearless Matt

Matt Crossing

We left Llacanora, but not before watching two little kids zoom down a steep hill on a skateboard. The younger one clearly wanted us as an audience and gave a little wave as they set off and then again upon arriving at the bottom. Super cute. We headed back on the road to Baños and stopped at one of the restaurants along the way. These “campestre” or countryside restaurants are very popular and usually open only on the the weekends. They generally have large grounds with play areas for kids, huge tables set up under multiple pavilions and a nice, family feel. We chose one that in a valley that had about 50 cars in the parking lot and cheerful music and felt we made the right choice when Matt and Mistina saw several of their students with their families. We only had one glitch when the waiter tried to seat us in a table off in a alcove. I think he meant it kindly, but nobody puts these gringos in the corner and we asked to sit with the rest of the clientele, a request that was granted. Unfortunately, they were out of about half of the items on the menu as we arrived around 3:00, but Misitina had fried trout, Matt had grilled beef and I had a delicious stewed kid (as in baby goat, people!) dish. We ended our meal with picarones, fried squash/sweet potato doughnuts, and as we had already walked about 7 miles, walked back up to the road and caught a cab home!

Kiddie table

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 26, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Celebrations, Peru

I love Thanksgiving. It falls around my birthday so the 4-day weekend always feels like a special birthday present. I come from a family of great cooks and the Thanksgiving menu has evolved over the years to include the traditional favorites along with an awesome pumpkin curry soup (thank you, Nikki) and my grandma’s antipasto (because we cannot have a family meal without an Italian dish). For the past decade, Matt and I escaped to our cottage the Friday after Thanksgiving to relax before the rush of the Christmas season. We would pull out the sofa bed and watch movies, eat turkey leftovers and not have any company. A real treat! This year is obviously different. Matt is working on Thursday as Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Peru (although I noticed that the stores do have “Black Friday” sales). So I am feeling a little bereft about missing Thanksgiving, while at the same time recognizing that my life is one long weekend and we have a lot to be thankful for.

Because I am not the only expat to feel this way, the American and Canadian expats held a Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. My friend Sarah, the school librarian, and I went to pick up the turkeys on Sunday morning. We took them to the host’s house to clean them and get them in the oven. While Sarah and I were each cleaning out the inside of a turkey (no tidy giblet bag here!) and plucking stray feathers, I realized my turkey still had its head! Thank goodness Sarah is from Alaska and no stranger to cleaning animals, so she gamely lopped off the heads of both turkeys. Interestingly, the feet were already off but included in the bag.

Sarah, the turkey slayer

Gobble gobble

Robert, our gracious host

Ready for the Oven!

The feast was really nice; everyone chipped in with a dish or two and we had a traditional meal. A few Peruvians were invited as well as a peace corp volunteer, Michelle, who Sarah met at the grocery store. (When you hear someone speaking English around here, you tend to strike up a conversation.) My favorite non-traditional part of the meal was a pineapple salsa that Michelle’s Peruvian host mom made for her to bring to the event. Delicious and perfect with turkey. If I am ever home for Thanksgiving, I might just have to make this dish a new staple on the family menu.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yummy

Food

Kevin and the Women

Canadian-American Alliance

My favorite part!

So those of you at home, enjoy it all: the Macy’s parade, football, friends, family and food! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tambo Colorado (Vacation Part VII – Final Site)

Posted on November 14, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru

First, my apologies for the lack of posts in the past few weeks. We went out of town (stayed tuned for posts on Huanchaco and Truijillo), I painted our bedroom (never again) and we have had more social/school events to attend. Matt and I both have stepped up our Spanish studies, supplementing our weekly lessons with watching Destinos, a cheesy miniseries designed to teach Spanish to Americans, and Duolingo, an on-line language learning program. I also started taking yoga twice a week, which I love. The instructor is great, there are only 5 of us in the class (two whom I knew prior to class) and it is another Spanish immersion event for me. So life continues to go well for us in Peru.

Our last tour in the Paracas area was a trip to Tambo Colorado, which roughly translates as “red place” or “red resting place.” Built in the mid to late 1400s during the reign of the Incan Pachacutec, Tambo Colorado is believed to have been an administrative site used when the Incan ruling class travelled on the Inca Trail from Cuzco, the historic capital of the Incan empire, to other parts of the empire. It is strategically located on the road that runs between the coast and the mountains and built into the side of a mountain, overlooking the Pisco Valley. Due to the desert conditions, the site is the best preserved example of adobe construction from the Incan era and is famous for retaining some original red, yellow and white paint on its walls.

View from the Top

View from the Main Square

Almost There!

View from the Square

Walls

The pictures don’t do justice to the site, which quite large and impressive. If memory serves me, starting from the river, there was a burial ground, then buildings that were believed to house the lower class workers/animals, the large public square, and then living areas that ascend the hill and end with the ruling class’s quarters at the top. The architecture has typical Incan features, such as trapezoid wall niches (double niches in the ruler’s quarters), trapezoid doorways, and geometric ornamentation in the ruling class’s quarters. The layout of the rulers’ quarters was really interesting and designed with security in mind: rooms with two doorways, so a quick get-away could be made; narrow hallways that allowed only one person to pass; sentry niches at the doorways believed to be the ruler’s bedroom; and two very nice baths, complete with irrigation systems and drains.

Window and Niches

Ornamental Niches and Color

Sentry duty

Matt in the Bath

Colors

Finally, the site had the added bonus of our first view of the Inca trail (in the picture it winds up the hill). While it is possible that we have seen it before, this was the first time we realized what it was. The Incans had an amazing road system, with two main North-South arteries, connected by many branches. The most famous part of the trail is the hike to Machu Picchu, something we intend to do while we live here.

Inca Trail

The Birds and the Beach (Vacation Part VI)

Posted on October 31, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Paracas, Peru, Scenery

The two main draws for tourism in Paracas are the Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve, and neither was a disappointment. The Ballestas Islands, dubbed the “poor man’s Galapagos,” are a group of rocky islands teeming with birds. Those with ornithophobia beware: the pelicans, terns, boobies, and cormorants are everywhere, swooping, gliding, diving, soaring, cawing, trilling, tweeting and pooping. Oh yes, pooping. We were forewarned to wear hats and while the trip ended with only a small splatter on Matt’s sleeve, others in our boat weren’t as lucky. Guano is a big cash crop for Peru and the islands have a guard to protect the poop.

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In addition to the flying birds are Humboldt penguins and sea lions. As an added bonus, the boats pass the Paracas Candelabra, another gigantic sand figure, believed to date to around 200 BC.

Candelabra

Double Keyhole

Napping with Pals

Who’s the Boss?

Lounging Sea lions

Sea Lions

Rock Formations

Brrr

Go Away!

The day after the Ballestras we toured the Paracas National Reserve. I really had no idea what the reserve was and assumed the tour was to see animals of some kind, but I was wrong (except for a few seabirds). Instead we saw amazing yellow and red sand beaches. Poor Paracas – when it was hit by the earthquake in 2007 its landmark, a rock formation called the Cathedral toppled into the ocean. The guide still points it out, but now it is just a couple of rocks jutting up from the ocean. In addition to guano, another Peruvian marine export is seaweed for cosmetics, and we saw men in wet suits exiting the ocean with bags of seaweed. We met Peter and Annie, a couple from London who now live in the Falklands, on the excursion and joined them for a few drinks at the upscale Doubletree after the tour. (Check out Peter’s blog at http://www.peterspenguinpost.blogspot.com.) All in all, a pleasant day!