Epilogue: Español IV

So this blog is clearly over. I am home, and life in Oakland isn't nearly exciting enough to warrent internet publishing. Plus, as much as I am glad I have this record of my time abroad and I know it has entertained at least a few of you over the past 9 months, it's a bit stressful to "remember" to write about my thoughts and then compose them in a blog-appropriate manner. I'm definitely not cut out to be a blogger.

But, I figured I should write some final words about my experience with Spanish, since that was one of my major themes early on and I didn't write much about it at the end. So, I begrudgingly admit that I learned a lot while I was there, I speak a lot better than I did when I arrived, and I can function pretty well living in a Spanish-speaking country. Especially traveling, when you realize that most travelers speak little if at all, and chit-chatting with random strangers (taxi drivers, tour guides, other people you meet en route) about random stuff. This was most clear to me when I was solo for a week in Cusco, which turned out really well. I'm still strangely competitive though--I got little highs from chatting with our Inca Trail guides in Spanish when my companions couldn't, but then I feel bad about myself when I meet people who speak much better than me. And of course, then there's the office and group social environment, which is totally different. I think my the end I caught maybe 50% of the office banter, which was an improvement over my original 25% but still... and public speaking, no way. I had told myself I was going to give my discurso de despedida (goodbye speech) at my office happy hour in Spanish, but I chickened out. My excuse was that I was working up until the very end and thus didn't have time to prepare, but really...I was glad not to. Speaking in front of a group of bilingual people is a whole 'nother level.

I'll never be the one who says yes! I'm fluent in Spanish, and my favorite response to "How's your Spanish?" will probably always be "mas o menos", but I know enough to be happy with my accomplishments. Still, I'm also happy to be settling back into the world where I can comfortably make a hotel reservation over the phone and I enjoy being asked for directions on the street. But I do need to find some Spanish-speaking opportunities around here soon...

Home Sweet Home

Well, we're back. The Lima fog managed to stay away last night so we flew out and connected through Miami with no problems. We ate well due to our upgrades to business/first class. Our car didn't start, but we pushed it out of the garage and into the street (with the help of random people passing by), and fortunately a new battery was all it needed. Our subletters apparently didn't water our plants for 9 months nor felt the need to set the clocks to the right time, but other than that our house looks the same. Right now Taylor's out being a best man and I am reacquainting myself to bad TV in English (I watched plenty of telenovelas and bad American TV dubbed into Spanish while abroad), while enjoying my first bowl of cereal with normal milk, since that's all we have in the house at the moment. Tomorrow morning I have a job interview at 10. So now I must try to sleep. Good times all around.

Los Museos

This weekend we visited three museums and a ruins site. Right now I'm exhausted--it's tiring to be a tourist! But anyway...

Yesterday we started at the Museo de la Nacion, which is supposed to have an extensive "summary" collection of artifacts from all of Peru's pre-Columbian cultures. Which I guess it does, but compared to the museums we went to today it was greatly inferior--the layout and design of the exhibits isn't that exciting, there isn't much explanation, and the whole thing just feels stuck in the 70s. But, we saw some stuff.

After lunch we went to Huaca Pullcana in Miraflores, which is a later and much more extensive complex from the same people who built the pyramid near our house. I also went there 3 years ago during my "city tour" of Lima at the end of our first Peru trip, but of course then I had no idea where I was or what I was seeing, and now I realize it's just a quick bus ride away. I recognized some things from that first tour, but since then they have opened a whole new part of the site--a climb to the top of the pyramid--so the tour was actually quite different. The photos of the pyramid aren't that exciting, though, so here's a view of the whole site from the top of the pyramid:

The most interesting part of our tour was that we shared it with a group of 4 girls who were visiting for a school project. They were funny, asking random questions of the guide and asking us funny questions about the U.S. At the end we didn't have enough time to visit the "administrative" area where the museum had set up scenes of daily life in the town, but the guard let us in to see one small part. So here's a picture of me and girls, and the rear end of a model inhabitant:

Today we visited two more archeology/history museums. The first was a private collection, called Museo Rafael Larco, and it was pretty amazing. The exhibits were well laid-out, but weren't so big that they were overwhelming. We soon realized that it was because most of their collection was in storage. The storage room was open to the public, and it was impressive to say the least. It was like being in a huge university library, but instead of books on the shelves there were clay pots organized by their shape and theme. Here's a picture of Taylor in the "stacks":

The other thing this museum is known for is its collection of erotic art from a pre-Incan culture that produced a lot of it. That room was pretty interesting to visit too, but I didn't take any pictures, sorry!

After the first museum we at lunch at a local seafood place, which was quite delicious as always. It's finally (and quite suddenly) getting cold here in Lima (like California cold--cloudy and in the 50s), so I ordered a fish soup and it totally hit the spot. Then we walked about 15 minutes to the next museum. The neighborhood these museums are in is called Pueblo Libre, and it's one of the middle class neighborhoods of Lima that I didn't think existed when I first arrived. I soon learned that they did, but I didn't have any reason to visit any of them during my normal daily activities. So I'm glad that finally, on my last Sunday in town, we visited the museums and the neighborhood. It was nice to walk through quiet parks and down normal streets. Taylor and I agreed it looked like it could be Brooklyn, although neither of us has spent much time in Brooklyn. I hope that next time we spend a significant chunk of time in Lima--and I hope there is a next time--we can get to know better the more "real" parts of the city, through Peruvian friends or just being adventurous.

The second museum we went to was the National Anthropology, Archeology, and History museum, and it was also well done. Unfortunately by the end we were tired and were not paying the closest attention to the exhibits, and we also missed the 1 hour of sun while we were inside. Also, the real disappointment of the afternoon was that we couldn't find shoeshine boys in the plaza outside of the museum. I've only had my shoes shined once here (and that was my hiking boots after coming off the Inca Trail), but it's actually quite a nice service when you need it done. How come they are only around when you don't want them?! Oh well. We did have a good walk back to the bus stop to help work off our huge lunch.

Despedidas por Comida

Now that it's our last weekend, we have arrived at the time of despedidas, or farewells--both with people and with Peruvian/Limeno things. Not surprisingly, much of this involves food, so I thought I'd write about them through this lens. On Thursday we went for our last pollo a la brasa--rotisserie chicken--at our local polleria. Yum yum. The thing I'll miss most is the spicy creamy sauce in which you dip the french fries.

On Friday we went out for lunch at work--all the chicas, or women under 35 (8 of us). There were a variety of things to celebrate, but among them it was my despedida. With 8 people we couldn't really agree on a restaurant, but eventually we settled on Bembos, a Peruvian fast food chain. I thought it was ironic that I would be celebrating my last work lunch in Peru with a fast food hamburger, but hey it is better than MacDonalds and I wasn't about to jump in the middle of the where-to-eat discussion. Well, when we got to Bembos it was packed, so we ended up at TGIFridays instead. Heh! I actually didn't mind, because (as I told my coworkers when they asked) I don't go to Fridays at home so it's not like we were going somewhere that I would be eating at every day in a week's time. But still--Fridays for my last work meal in Lima!! It was pretty ridiculous. They have a special lunch menu where you get an appitizer, main dish, and a soft drink, so I ordered "Buffalo Wings for One", "Jack Daniels Chicken", and a Coke. Seriously, that's how it was on the menu--nothing had a spanish name except for the quesadillas. The buffalo wings were actually pretty delicious--exactly the kind of greasy comfort food I sometimes really crave from these restaurants--but the main chicken dish was pretty gross--an overcooked chicken breast, a baked potato, and some green beans from a can. Ug. And all the decorations were so over the top--I don't remember them being this bad last time I went to Fridays in the States, but maybe I'm forgeting or maybe it just stands out more abroad. All the waitstaff were fully decked out in flair, the guys were wearing silly hats and one of the women was in pigtails. Seriously. Then they sang a spanish version of their cheesy happy birthday song to some poor person at the table next to us. It was totally surreal. But hey, it was fun going out with the girls.

I made up for my lunch at dinner, when we went to one of Lima's best Italian places for a last gathering Katharine and Amy (my newest peruvian officemate and her gringa friend). The food was good and the company was fun, as it should be. I love how dinner here is an evening out--we met around 9 (although la peruana arrived after 9:30), and we left the restaurant at 12:30, ready to go straight to bed :-)

Today we had our last italian gelato in Lima, after visting some tourist sites (I'll write more about that tomorrow). We decided not to hit any more fine Peruvian restaurants this weekend, because although they are delicious and cheap compared to where we're headed, we've had a lot of that type of food in the last month.

Monday will be my official despedida at work. Friday was supposed to be my last day but I'm going into the office in the afternoon, to meet with my boss who was travelling during the second half of this past week. Work is tying up nicely--it probably would have been fairly stressful if my boss had been around since there are infinitely more small tasks I could do for my project/paper, but since he wasn't and didn't call me from DC as I was expecting, I pretty much finished everything I can. So, since I'm leaving I'm leaving, and that's that. Monday late afternoon there should be a despedida cake for me (we have cake at all birthdays/going aways/other random occasions in this office), but who knows if my boss will actually remember. Either way, a group from work is going out for happy hour and then to Pablo and Vanessa's house to offically send us off, and that should be fun.

It feels totally different leaving here than it did leaving Chile. In Chile I was sad to leave the comforts of Santiago and I was nervous about life in Lima, but most of the people I met there had already left so I wasn't leaving anybody. Now I'm totally excited to be returning to the US and the various things that come with that--English, our house, and hopefully a permanent job I like--but I'm sad to leave the people. All the Peruvians I've spent time with have been so friendly and sweet and fun--son muy buena gente, y les extrañaré.

Me Quedan 10 Dias

Only 10 days left! I can't believe it! There's so much I still have and want to do before I leave, but at the same time I am increasingly focused on life after May 31. I just bought my new cellphone online so it will be waiting for me when I arrive.

I have been busy with work, not surprisingly. I gave a lunchtime presentation to the office on Thursday and one of my tables got sent to the Minister of Finance on Friday, but I still have to finish (er, write most of) my big paper and tie up various loose ends in the next 6 days. My "work-life" balance has included going into the office last Saturday and I plan to do so again tomorrow, but I still feel pretty good about it. I'm working extra hours but also fully enjoying my time outside of work, rather than feeling like I can't do anything fun until my project is finished, which is how I was last spring.

So fun stuff ... last Friday night a bunch of people from work went out for a happy hour at a nearby brewpub, which was fun and unusual--happy hour is definitely not a tradition here, and most people think it's weird to go out before 10 pm at the earliest. But I was soooo happy just hanging out with friends and some good beer (though crappy pizza), grabbing some ice cream before heading home, and being in bed by 11:30. I wish I had tried harder to organize this type of event when I first arrived!

On Sunday I enjoyed Mother's Day lunch at Katharine's house (host of Cinco de Mayo), which was of course delicious and filled me up for the rest of the day. This weekend so far has been full of comida rica as well. Riquisma, in fact. Last night my boss took us out to dinner at one of the city's top restaurants. Yum! And today we had lunch with Pablo and Vanessa at another top cevicheria--the one owned by Lima's celebrity chef whose flagship restaurant we went to after their wedding. Yum again! But we're planning to take it easy for the rest of the weekend.

My mind is going in a million different directions at the moment--making lists of things to do before we leave (eat), and also things to do when we arrive (shop). I'm inevitably not going to get it all done, but it doesn't stop me from trying. Next weekend we've decided not to leave the city for an excursion, but instead we'll hopefully be able to enjoy leisurely most of the remaining things on my Lima list. I can't wait!

La Vida Social

We've been going out with my coworkers over the past couple weeks, and it's been fun. Two Fridays ago we ended up bar hopping with two of them, which was great until Saturday when it became clear that a cocktail at each bar was not the best idea...all afternoon I was craving bagels because that's what I ate for breakfast in college, and I hadn't felt quite that way since college...

Last weekend was more mellow--we spent both Friday and Saturday nights with my other coworker and his wife (the one who's wedding we went to in March). On Friday we went out for a delicious dinner at fancy-ish restaurant. On Saturday they hosted a bunch of people for dinner at their place, and we cooked on this swiss barbarque/forman grill type thing that was tasty but a little strange given that we're in Peru. One of the guests was Swiss, though.

This past Friday we celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the home of a new woman in my office who just moved back to Peru after 6 years in DC. It's not Peruvian at all, but yum those margaritas and guacamole were tasty! Last night we were supposed to go out with Pablo and Vanessa again (the newlyweds) to a traditional Peruvian music show/dance club, but Vanessa got sick at the last minute so we didn't. Which was really ok with us because we were pretty tired from the night before plus a day of running errands. Now we're planning for next Saturday.

So now we're down to less than a month here, I can't believe it. Just over three weeks, actually. I'm definitely in "check off the list of things to do in Lima" mode, just like I was in Santiago, but here I'm more interested in eating at certain restaurants than visiting certain sites. Although there are still a couple museums I want to go to. Today we visited the pre-Incan ruin that's a 10 minute walk from our house, right next to the pool where we swim. It's a big pyramid, and it's pretty crazy that it's right in the middle of the neighborhood. Here's a view from the top, to get a sense of the surroundings--some trees and buildings, including ours in the far background.

And here's a view looking just at the pyramid from the bottom--it looks like we're in the middle of the desert!

With three weeks of work left I have to write a 15 page paper plus two more shorter ones. It will be busy, but I'm determined not to stress--I'm all into the work-life balance these days :-)

El Desarrollo Urbano

Today Taylor and I took and excursion to Lima Centro. My first goal was to see the changing of the guard at the government palace, and we arrived just in time. The changing of the guard is a 20 minute band concert, followed by a few minutes of ceremonial guard-changing. Although the whole thing was kind of long and hot at high noon, it was still cool. Below is a shot of the guards playing:

After the changing of the guard, we visited an exhibit on books at the train station-turned-cultural center, enjoyed ceviche and refreshments at a classic old bar, and then went to explore this new park by the river that I learned about via a Lima food blog I stumbled upon this morning. The city of Lima recently restored a section of the old city wall facing the river and turned a garbage dump into a beautiful city park. Here's a picture:

The whole thing was really nice and well done, and it was interesting to see the Lima version of urban redevelopment/revitalization through public investment in open space and cultural places--complete with prominent plaques saying which politically ambitious mayor was responsible for the improvements.

Next we decided to take a bus up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, which overlooks the city center and features a large cross on top. It can't compare to the Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago and since it was hazy/starting to get foggy we couldn't quite see the entire expanse of the city, but the ride up alone was worth the trip. We started in the Centro and got a mini-tour of the old city sites, and then we crossed the river and our guide told us all about the colonial history of the Rimac district--where the aristocrats sent their mistresses to live, apparently. It was cool to see another old part of town that I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise. At the base of the hill are some pueblos jovenes--shanty towns, although by now they are pretty developed, if still poor--which our guide kindly informed us were populated by people from the highlands fleeing both terrorism and the terrible economy that resulted from the policies of the president in the late 1980s--who just happens to be running again right now. Hm, I wonder if our guide was supporting the other guy...

The views from the top weren't really photo-worthy, but here's one of the backside of the hill with some pueblos jovenes below:

Our last stop in the Centro today was a delicious meal at a cafe that's owned by the same celebrity chef who's flagship restaurant we went to after my coworker's wedding. Yum yum. I'm quickly becoming a yet another huge fan of the Lima restaurant scene, but that's for another post...