tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297215602011-07-07T16:19:20.855-05:00Diary of a short-term missionary and would-be social entrepreneur...miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.comBlogger591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-9064043575808791312010-04-04T18:20:00.005-05:002010-04-08T01:05:54.256-05:00

Nostalgia for a Life Less Ordinary...I've been thinking lately about a piece of advice I got shortly after Peru, which I blogged about near the beginning of my stay there: don't compare your new country to your old. Don't come with the expectation that things will be "the same." It's a whole new ball game, and should be treated as such.Ironically, I think I and quite a few other former interns

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-14409032016998200622010-01-31T01:47:00.004-05:002010-02-01T23:08:58.271-05:00

Seattle vs. Trujillo vs. New York?A while back I blogged about the surprising similarities between Trujillo, Peru & New York City, probably all the more striking for being unexpected.I came to Seattle with the opposite bias - ie I expected it to be a lot more like New York than it actually has turned out to be. So with those expectations in mind, I will now compare & contrast the differences

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-41226019907394171512010-01-20T01:23:00.005-05:002010-02-01T23:23:50.791-05:00

Disasters, and What we Can and Can't Do About ThemI've written before on this blog about some of the disaster zones I've been in (9/11, Hurricane Ike, the earthquake in Southern Peru). But I have a feeling these are all small potatoes compared to the truly big ones: the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and now Haiti.My experiences are enough to give me an idea, maybe, of the sheer scale of a disaster

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-30793094747161300982010-01-05T00:23:00.002-05:002010-01-10T23:41:07.844-05:00

What I've LearnedI recently went on my first visit back to Peru since living there from May 2007-May 2008. One of my best friends there was getting married, and I had promised I would come back for his wedding!It had been about 18 months since I left, so I was expecting to find a lot changed, and I did. The gritty street boys' center in Lima that had first brought me to Peru had moved out to a

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-45465675998541824052010-01-03T20:22:00.005-05:002010-01-03T23:16:53.950-05:00

The American Dream isn't always a sure thing...New York Times, January 2, 2010http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/02/nyregion/02laborers.html In the Shadows, Day Laborers Left Homeless as Work Vanishesby Fernanda SantosCarlos Ruano was down to his last $50 when his landlord kicked him out in September because he could no longer pay rent. He sent the money to his wife and children in Guatemala and

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-12076084798778988092009-07-12T23:11:00.003-05:002009-07-12T23:32:20.112-05:00

En Casa LatinaThis Saturday I started volunteering at Casa Latina, a nonprofit community center in south Seattle which serves the Hispanic immigrant population with English classes, a free clinic, and most importantly, a call center for day jobs. The Casa's basic model of empowerment is to provide immigrants with a community that speaks their language (including Hispanic and non-Hispanic

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-34151090722502162302009-06-28T22:20:00.002-05:002009-06-28T22:32:01.932-05:00

Things I love, and don't love, about living in SeattleI moved here a few months ago. Now that I'm telecommuting I can live anywhere, and I decided it was time to reconnect with my West Coast roots. However, I'm new to Seattle, and here's what I've found so far:Things I enjoy:Fewer people. You can actually get a table at Barnes & Noble! The rents are lower, there's room on the sidewalk, and

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-49338547061050547342009-06-22T01:36:00.002-05:002009-06-22T01:43:35.974-05:00

Forget giving a man a fish - give him broadbandOne of the exciting trends I observed in Peru was that while the country might be underdeveloped in terms of roads, running water and electricity, young people in cities that had even partial coverage were already pretty wired. You might not own a watch or a refrigerator, and you might make only a few dollars a day, but you could easily have a

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-7755183208192897032009-05-03T20:22:00.006-05:002009-05-06T18:04:44.446-05:00

Thoughts on the Financial CrisisLast week, while in New York for work, I went to an event hosted by the Center for Faith & Work at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. The speakers were Pastor Tim Keller and Julian Robertson of Tiger Management, who I hadn't heard of before but apparently is a titan in finance, one of the inventors of the hedge fund or something like that.It was basically a mini-panel

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-32976275127031051152009-04-05T17:44:00.003-05:002009-04-10T00:04:00.662-05:00

Work Less, Pay LessTwo things I said years ago, half-jokingly, are now coming true.When I left New York, I told some of my friends that I would come back when the economy tanked, when people left the city, rents fell, crime rose – basically, when it returned to what it was before it priced people like me out. The other thing I started saying a few years ago, as I compared my salary and hours to

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-22396530166877935542009-02-20T20:00:00.003-05:002009-02-21T11:50:16.329-05:00

Cost of living and who's really "rich"Since leaving New York nearly two years ago, I've heard several offhand comments made by people from other parts of the country about how wealthy New Yorkers are, as if they're on a completely different level than ordinary Americans. This has left me scratching my head. Are they really?After living in New York City for nearly ten years, four of them as a

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-4533865754404558812009-01-31T14:59:00.005-05:002009-02-21T11:50:38.195-05:00

¡Viva la globalización!Today a new HEB Mart opened in Missouri City, Texas, about 20 min. from my house. Over the years I've noticed an increasing number of American grocery stores have an "International Foods" aisle, with a small assortment of couscous, teriyaki sauce and basmati rice. However this gigantic supermarket, with a very ethnically diverse clientele, actually has 3-4 shelves just for

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-86599668331984336032009-01-23T20:10:00.004-05:002009-01-27T19:48:53.807-05:00

Slumdog Millionaire and the Real "Street Kids"Yesterday the Academy Award nominations were announced, and Slumdog Millionaire, the sleeper hit filmed in the slums of Mumbai, India, received 10 nominations. I never thought I'd see the day that a film about street kids - portrayed with both harsh realism and fairy-tale redemption - would become a mainstream hit.Having known real "street kids", and

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-58364776416872288452009-01-09T17:44:00.002-05:002009-01-09T19:26:55.238-05:00

An Atheist's Perspective on MissionariesSome of my friends have asked me, based on my personal experience, whether missionaries in Peru or other parts of the world are seen as imposing their Western Christian values on other parts of the world. While there is no doubt that this has happened in the past, and in some cases continues in the present, I have found in my personal experience in Mexico,

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-83181339812470851382008-12-28T21:33:00.002-05:002008-12-30T15:54:42.336-05:00

2008: A Year for Starting OverLooking back on this past year, I feel like I'm halfway through a complete life makeover. After nearly ten years in New York and 13 months in Peru as a missionary, I came home this year to embark on a nation-wide, six-month job hunt. Now I have a job, but am still trying to decide whether to relocate to the West Coast or the East Coast next year. After two years

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-2167351428039214342008-11-21T14:56:00.003-05:002008-11-29T12:13:05.784-05:00

So What Does a Missionary Do Next?About two years ago, when I first decided to give up a career in publishing and spend a year abroad in Peru, I had a vague idea that I when I came back home I could find another job in publishing, or switch to non-profit work if I really enjoyed my time with the mission. Of course I didn't realize that I'd come back to the worst economy since 9/11 (

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-78932072399594145202008-11-05T19:58:00.005-05:002008-11-06T16:00:34.421-05:00

My Stint as an Election Day OfficialThis year, inspired like so many other young Americans to contribute to my country's political process, I volunteered to help man a polling station in nearby Missouri City, a suburb of Houston, Texas. Well actually, I was recruited by a couple at church who run their precinct's polling station every election. What a great thing to do!So, a few observations

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-4047734052754780472008-09-30T13:24:00.003-05:002008-10-03T13:21:07.444-05:00

America, Cutting BackSo now in America we are in the midst of a full-on economic (and political) crisis. The failure of Wall Street and our financial system has been compared to that of a third-world country, the kind that have to get bailed out by the World Bank and IMF. I've heard that many retirees have already had their 401K's and savings cut 20%.Given the high, and increasing, cost of

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-37357820378873055672008-09-18T11:08:00.004-05:002008-09-18T17:58:44.110-05:00

Disasters and their consequencesWell, here I am, seven years after 9/11, five years after the Great Blackout of 2003, one year after traveling to the earthquake zone around Chincha, Peru, and once again in the midst of a disaster zone: Houston after Hurricane Ike.I've been living in Sugar Land, just southwest of Houston, all summer. I've been job-hunting and planning on moving to either the East

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-35124159032438283812008-09-11T08:54:00.004-05:002008-09-11T09:17:29.600-05:00

Remembering 9/11A pause to commemorate the seventh anniversary of September 11, 2001.I was in Brooklyn that day, staying with my sister not long after graduating from NYU, and looking for a job in the midst of the Dotcom crash. My sister lived in Williamsburg, a trendy warehouse district right across the East River from Lower Manhattan. Looking down Metropolitan Avenue, the main cross-street

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-89997505437999235372008-08-22T10:09:00.002-05:002008-08-22T10:19:55.019-05:00

My New Greatest HitsPeople ask me all the time if I miss Peru. The truth is, there's a lot that I miss, and a lot I don't miss. (Most of what I miss has to do with people, and most of what I don't miss has to do with a lack of creature comforts, like hot running water, A/C & paved roads... I never fail to appreciate a beautiful clean bathroom now.)It took me a month or two to get over not

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-80423889915044480412008-07-11T20:57:00.009-05:002008-07-25T14:55:09.651-05:00

It's a Small World After AllThe fact that Americans are talking so much these days about our global predicament (ie climate change, our dependence on foreign oil, and the fact that Budweiser's been sold to the Belgians) has actually made my transition back much easier. I used to feel like America was in a different world than, well, the rest of the world. Today I think our global

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-37646341103289928312008-06-20T13:14:00.006-05:002008-06-20T21:18:54.546-05:00

Subtle ChangesSo I've now been home for just over three weeks, and as almost always happens when I travel from one continent to another, it's been difficult to integrate the two worlds. While you're in one place, the other feels like a dream, or like another world, which I suppose it is.So for instance, while I was living in South America, I slowly began to forget the kinds of food I ate in North

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-2534183253995534982008-05-24T11:47:00.004-05:002008-11-06T21:42:10.660-05:00

Another Month of DespedidasA year ago, I wrote about the goodbyes I made as I was leaving New York, and the series of "despedidas" for interns who were finishing up their year at the mission when I arrived in Peru. Now, a year later, it's my turn to say goodbye to Peru, and it has been surprisingly difficult. It seems that the connections I made in our small missions community in Trujillo have

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-19057481232371366122008-05-02T19:55:00.003-05:002008-05-02T20:19:43.627-05:00

Welcome to the Jungle18 months ago, when I first decided to live in South America, my two travel goals were to visit Buenos Aires and the Galapagos Islands. This was before I realized how expensive both would be to visit, even from Peru. (Tourism to major destinations in South America is still somewhat of a luxury item, reserved for businessmen and foreigners.) What has turned out to be a lot

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-43149937014188641252008-03-26T17:08:00.005-05:002008-03-26T17:28:21.833-05:00

Trip to the Peruvian AmazonA few highlights from my recent trip to the birthplace of the Amazon River:Navigating a jungle marsh...Traditional way of calling for help in the jungle...Freshwater dolphin sightings...More to come on my trip in a future post...

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-47031988162914693622008-02-14T15:55:00.006-05:002008-11-06T21:42:12.225-05:00

Report on our Trip to Ica, PeruFinally got to head down south again, and see the results of our project for ourselves! I think when I look back on my year in Peru, this earthquake relief effort will be rank as one of the projects I'm proudest of. Here's my official report on what we did last week.*****The team in front of a house with roofing provided by SBP.On Thursday, February 7, a group

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-80698077680971528932008-02-04T16:52:00.001-05:002008-02-29T17:11:05.901-05:00

Fun for No MoneyI've commented in a previous blog entry that everything Americans do for fun costs money. In New York, for example, people hang out at restaurants, theaters and bars. (This is actually more of a necessity than an extravagance; they usually don't have the time to cook, the space to host in their crash-pad apartments, or live too far out in the outer boroughs, Jersey or Long

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-38668796632650976862008-01-23T18:16:00.000-05:002008-01-24T18:34:32.930-05:00

Fun with SpanishTwo of my favorite words in Spanish are picar (to bite) and rico (rich), because they can be used in all kinds of colorful ways. Some examples (feel free to comment if I've got these wrong, or if you've got more):1. "picar":¡Se pica el ceviche!This ceviche is tart/spicy! (The related picante is the word for spicy.)Pica los tomates. Chop up the tomatoes.Me pica la piel. My skin

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-41025195887046702482008-01-18T16:38:00.000-05:002008-01-21T13:27:24.534-05:00

Report on Earthquake Reconstruction Project, Five Months Later(photos courtesy of Manuel Ortiz, earthquake project manager for SBP)For those of you who remember Peru Mission's earthquake relief fund, following the earthquake which struck Southern Peru on August 15, there is progress to report. After our initial $1,000 aid run to Chincha (see my entry of August 28), we contacted various

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-51645541743442053282008-01-08T17:49:00.001-05:002008-01-10T21:01:47.679-05:00

Thoughts on Coming HomeI am currently wrapping up a three-week "furlough", as we refer to trips back to the States, and have found being back home both comfortingly familiar and oddly strange. It's as if I'm slipping easily back into old ways, but seeing them with new eyes, now that I have something completely different to compare them with.Here are some of my most honest first impressions upon

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-70217759976443154752007-12-19T11:42:00.000-05:002007-12-20T14:40:45.741-05:00

Our Christmas PartyThe company Christmas party is, of course, a staple of American work culture. This year at Peru Mission, we took our first shot at it, organizing a simple dinner in a local hotel restaurant, followed by the handing out of a Peruvian tradition: "Christmas baskets" containing such useful items as sugar, oil, hot chocolate and of course fruitcake or paneton. Here are my

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-20212053480122747442007-12-09T17:49:00.000-05:002007-12-10T11:12:23.062-05:00

More Dances of Northern PeruBelow are some videos I took at Cananas, a touristy restaurant in Trujillo that features a late-night show of "criolla" singing & dancing. (Peruvian cuisine and music is referred to as "criolla" or creole because of its mixed Spanish, indigenous, African & Asian roots.)The first video is "marinera", a romantic dance typical of Trujillo; the second and third are of "

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-16580402439403884902007-11-27T20:26:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:13.137-05:00

The pleasure of traveling in bus...Peru has almost no railways, and air travel is still not affordable for the vast majority of Peruvians. Trujillo, a city of 1 million, only has about three flights per day, and its airport looks more like a local train station than an airline terminal. The crowd getting off is mostly rich Peruvians or Western tourists and missionary groups.Enter the bus

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-42201341510816231152007-11-05T12:01:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:13.457-05:00

Señor de los MilagrosAnd yet more sights & sounds of Peru... these pictures & video were taken on Halloween, as a procession was made for the Señor de los Milagros, a Peruvian Catholic icon.

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-5555214556839998802007-11-05T12:00:00.000-05:002007-11-05T12:03:39.493-05:00

More Music from Muyupampa...Lenin, our mission's architect, is playing the pipes and flute in this clip. I'm going to start taking flute lessons this afternoon...

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-55777271381248815912007-10-29T18:41:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:13.812-05:00

Gordito, Chinita & other names you can't get away with in the US One thing I've come to love and appreciate about Peru is what does and does not offend people here. They will be offended if you don't greet them with a "Buenos Dias" and a kiss on the cheek, or if you don't want to hang out and spend time getting to know one another. (Isn't it great that that's considered the norm?) However

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-84333185407417777852007-10-02T17:19:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:14.035-05:00

Another Report from the Earthquake ZoneSee email copied below, with more candid observations from the earthquake zone, about 40 days after the earthquake hit. This is from Brad Ball, former missionary and recent MBA grad who is returning here very soon to start a carpentry & wood construction training facility.By the way, if you donated to the Peru Mission Earthquake Relief fund, you can find

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-6229076605819352812007-09-29T13:02:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:14.231-05:00

Standards of Living...I recently moved from a very nice house (which I was house-sitting for a missionary family), to a very cute apartment right around the corner from our English language institute, where I work. (For you New Yorkers, this would be somewhat akin to moving from Westchester to the Village - less space & comfort, much more central location.)The owner we're subletting from owns a

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-22426964709165629362007-09-26T10:20:00.001-05:002007-09-26T10:55:19.614-05:00

Another Musical Interlude (with Dancing!)While in Lima for a conference (which I will write about in a future post), I wandered into this National Marinera competition in the Parque de la Exposicion. These couples were doing the typical dance of Trujillo & the North, "marinera". I think this part of the competition was the adolescent division...

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-66141926689548220422007-09-02T21:03:00.000-05:002007-09-12T00:28:49.012-05:00

Getting Sick in Peru is a Bad Idea (but also, of course, much more likely to happen)I've officially been sick for over a month. I don't think I've ever been sick this long before. But I started having a fever and congestion on July 31, the day I got back from Santiago. I went on blowing my nose non-stop for two weeks, and have been coughing for about three more. Even yesterday I had to cancel

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-71715941698369889092007-08-28T21:41:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:14.769-05:00

Earthquake Relief TripAmazingly, I was able to make that trip to the earthquake zone after all! As a result of our e-bulletin, we raised funds and were able to deliver some help to Chincha, one of the affected cities, this past Saturday. Jaime Avellaneda, a pastor and our mission's administrator (known around here as the man who can do anything) made all the arrangements, and I went along to

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-11318545011621127812007-08-18T17:10:00.000-05:002007-08-20T11:56:18.979-05:00

EarthquakeBeing in the northern part of Peru, where we barely felt Wednesday's earthquake, I can't report much beyond what the newspapers are saying. What I can say is that it appears very little damage occurred outside of the Ica - Pisco area -- but the damage there was considerable. The good thing about an earthquake hitting a more rural area is obviously that there are less casualties; the

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-13398687146659803392007-08-12T17:51:00.000-05:002007-08-13T23:55:35.263-05:00

Musical InterludeNow that I've figured out how to upload videos to YouTube, here are some samplings of the kind of music I've heard in Trujillo.First video: from left, this is our mission engineer and architect, and a couple guys from our local church. Gives an idea of traditional Peruvian folk music. Second video: This is a concert that took place outside of Plaza Vea this Saturday morning,

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-43932054731919695562007-08-07T11:15:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:15.096-05:00

Shopping in TrujilloWhile in Santiago, I was reminded that one of the great pleasures/distractions of life in the developed world is shopping. There was so much eye candy everywhere: big shiny department stores, cute cafes, cozy bookstores, Dunkin' Donuts AND Starbucks... I'm ashamed to admit how much I miss these places to idly spend money on useless items, now that I'm back in Trujillo.So what

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-15065966798932752032007-08-04T11:53:00.000-05:002008-11-06T21:42:16.596-05:00

SantiagoJust got back from a few days in nearby Chile. I have to leave the country every 90 days to renew my tourist visa, and two of the other interns here were planning a trip to Santiago, so I decided to join in.Chile is the richest country in Latin America, and Santiago did not disappoint. Everything was clean, organized, even hip. A couple of the most visible differences from Peru:

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Confessions of a Lima Taxi Cab DriverI've kept in touch with some of the "street boys" I met in Lima from my first trip to Peru in 2004. One of them is now a cab driver (or taxista in Spanish) and gave me the lowdown on the job. Apparently a typical Peruvian office worker, like a receptionist or customer service rep, makes about 20 soles a day ($7 US). However a taxista in Lima can take in 120

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Trujillo vs. New York?One of the most interesting things about living in Trujillo has been realizing how similar it is to New York City. Sure it's only got about 1/8 the population, and the cost of living is far lower than that in the financial capital of the world. But both are globalized 21st century cities with similar "types" of people - migrants from the hinterlands, inner cities with

miss clarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895001009771085929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721560.post-37078454480250529862007-07-18T15:36:00.000-05:002007-07-18T15:48:54.340-05:00

Peru Mission SlideshowNow available on YouTube...

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Thoughts on DevelopmentI've been in Peru nearly two months now and am learning a lot. Among other things, I am now convinced that what the developing world needs most is not money, aid or preferential treatment, but effective leaders. To quote a recent email I received from a friend at a faith-based nonprofit, "Without sustained, capable leadership, organizations (and countries) suffer

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CajamarcaI recently took my first trip here in Peru, a 6.5 hr bus ride to Cajamarca, where Peru Mission's founder Alonzo Ramirez lives. It is a very interesting town - half city, half country. You'll see campesinos or subsistence farmers sitting on the side of the road selling melons, wearing traditional clothing; meanwhile shiny new cars and American-style shopping centers cater to the

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"Recycling"Recently I asked a Peruvian if there was any recycling in Peru. She gave me a weird look and said some people went to the garbage dumps to pick up pieces of glass or metal to "recycle". I remember one of the street kids I met in Lima a few years ago had spent much of his childhood doing this.Saw this article in a recent edition of El Comercio, Peru's leading newspaper. I've

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Despedidas (Farewells)New Yorkers are well acquainted with goodbyes. We have to say goodbye to half our friends every few years, as they move to the suburbs or to other cities or back to wherever they're from. I never liked the feeling that my community was breaking up, that there was no stable group of friends whom I could rely on to be there indefinitely.However, I think there comes a time when

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Transporte Publico en el PeruAs promised, more on the colorful options we have here for getting around town:1) TaxiI live in a neighborhood with no regular bus routes, and it's too far from the town center to walk, so I take cabs literally every day. They're yellow cabs just like New York, but there are a few subtle differences.For example, averaging $1 per ride, Trujillo cab fares are about

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Never Take Radar for GrantedA few weeks ago when I first arrived in Peru, I was struck by how many big shiny shopping centers I saw in Lima, and the country's new cautious sense of optimism about the fast-growing economy and recently elected president Alan Garcia. I started to think I wasn't "roughing it" after all, that Peru was modernizing fast.Then my flight from Lima to Trujillo was delayed

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The Nuts and Bolts of Life in TrujilloSo by now it's been a few weeks, and I'm starting to feel "at home". The first few days were about readjusting to the sights, smells and infrastructure of Peru: remembering to put your toilet paper in the little trash can and not in the toilet (most countries' sewage system can't handle it); bargaining with your taxista for the price before getting in;

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First Week ThoughtsSo I have now been in Peru for 10 days, and in Trujillo for exactly a week, and I have so much to write about that I don't know where to begin! Let me start with a few thoughts on how I want to approach the next six months.First of all, I know from studying abroad in college (in Florence, Italy) that many Americans can spend significant time abroad and learn almost no language

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More images from my last days in New York...My co-workers at Nature:My church small group:And my last view of Manhattan, from the north flying out of LaGuardia:Goodbye New York... *sniff*

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I now have a timetable! I'll leave New York on Saturday, April 14; spend a month in Houston and California, with family and friends; and fly down to Peru on May 13 (shortly after catching the premiere of Spiderman 3, but regrettably two weeks before the season finale of Lost. Thank goodness for iTunes!).Leaving New York after nearly ten years is a strange prospect. On the one hand I feel "

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