New Living Arrangements

I recently moved to a new apartment, also in Miraflores. The original plan was to stay with Tere a week or two upon arrival to Peru then move, but Tere had graciously invited me to extend my stay in her apartment for over a month to give me more flexibility in my apartment search. However, upon my return from Buenos Aires, she would begin traveling (to Brazil and Europe!) and I would need to find my own place.

I met a couple of young professionals at a party with Tere in a beautiful high-rise apartment overlooking the coast. After the party, we went back to their apartment with the younger attendees and continued to talk through the night. I got to know them well enough that they offered me a room in their apartment. The 3-bed, 3-bath apartment was very nice and centrally located, so we agreed on a price and I would move in upon return from my trip.

Both in their early thirties, Hector and Carlos are friends and complete opposites. Hector is very serious and careful. He is a lawyer for a company that owns and manages several hotels, restaurants and nightclubs. In his spare time, he assists an NGO that rescues, vaccinates, cleans, feeds and tries to find homes for stray street animals (ie, dogs and cats). I plan to help him draft some grant proposals in English to submit to some animal rights groups in the States. He strikes me as very responsible.

Carlos is at the other end of the spectrum. My first image of Carlos is drunk at the party and trying to seduce several of the older (50+) women, some of which might have had husbands. Carlos’ family owns a company that produces fruit concentrate that is distributed in grocery stores throughout Peru. He helps run the business. Carlos is the type of guy that puts his arm over your shoulder and says “Escuchame, escuchame… (“Listen to me” - number of times depending on how much he has had to drink), bróder (Spanish pronunciation of “brother”)…” and then sometimes goes on to make a point. When it is not a Saturday night, he is much more sedate. Carlos’ parents own the apartment and there are several pictures of his family, including his two adolescent sons and his ex-wife.

The first week has gone fairly well. The first night was a little crazy, since it was a Saturday night and I had to tell Carlos to turn down the music at 5:30 AM. But since then, both roommates have made several gestures to make me feel comfortable. Among other things, Hector has taken special care to get a plumber to fix my bathroom and Carlos left his TV for me to use while he was away visiting his parents in Piura.

I think the situation is possibly the best I could ask for. I am constantly speaking Spanish and hanging out with my new roommates. A nice 24-hour supermarket is half a block away, my gym is one block away and the happening parts of town are within a 5-minute walk. I have cable TV, wireless internet, hot water… what else could you ask for? Plus, a woman from my office lives 5 blocks away and offered to take me to and from work as long as we practice her English on the drive.

Day Trip to Uruguay

Our one trip out of Buenos Aires was to Colonia, Uruguay. I was excited to check another country off my list. After a 45 minute ferry ride, we arrived in the old colonial town. Here are some pics from the trip.

Buenos Aires

I had such a great time in Buenos Aires with my Uncles Mark and Kirk and their friends Tom and Charles. We stayed ten days in the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in el Retiro, the nicest part of town that is home to embassies, high-end fashion boutiques and private art galleries and is most reminiscent of Paris. One thing someone told me that I thought rang somewhat true is that Buenos Aires’ architecture is French, its cuisine Italian, its language Spanish and its politics British. I can't say exactly how accurate this is, but Buenos Aires is definitely the most European city in Latin America that I have been to.

Ten days was probably the longest time I have spent in such a nice hotel. Normally my travels involve multiple destinations (and we did make a day-trip to Uruguay – see entry), but Buenos Aires deserved all the time I could give it. The hotel afforded me the rest and relaxation needed to properly explore the city. The hotel had annexed a stately mansion located behind it and the pool was in the courtyard between the two buildings. I understand that Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and a well-known Argentine director stayed in the mansion’s private suites while we were there, also where Madonna stayed while filming Evita. The service was very good and I got to know the staff well by the end of the ten days. The gym was quite nice and I especially enjoyed the sauna and relaxation room, where I spent a great deal of time sipping lime flavored water and ginger tea and reading the latest Economist.

Typically, our routine involved breakfast, exploration of a new part of the city, late lunch, afternoon nap, workout (for me) then dinner around 10 PM, as is customary in Argentina and much of Latin America.

Buenos Aires is a walking city. Walking around districts like San Telmo, la Recoleta and Palermo and observing their old, distinctive architecture are very pleasant activities. The parks, monuments, cafes and bustling sidewalks make for a lovely experience for the most part. Mark and I had somewhat of an adventure after visiting Plaza de Mayo, the governmental center (the Casa Rosada - the Pink House - in the picture above is the equivalent of the White House in the US), when it started to rain and work had just let out. Kirk, Tom and Charles had their own trouble flagging down the first taxi and Mark and I finally gave up on a second taxi and opted to use the bus system. Making it about ten blocks in an hour in the bumper to bumper traffic with the bus overflowing with passengers, we finally decided to walk the remaining ten blocks by foot. Traffic is a major problem (as in Lima) around the time work lets off between 5 and 7 and walking was definitely the better option.

We managed to fit in a few cultural activities. The Malba art museum contained some great contemporary works by Latin American artists. The Rojo Tango performance at the exquisite Faena Hotel was stunning. The intimate dining room sat about 50. The band played behind our table and the dancers used most of the room as their stage. There were 4 couples who displayed refined skill and a great deal of emotion in their dance performance. There were also two singers that had very nice voices. We also made it to Evita Peron’s gravesite (in one of the pictures above) in the Retiro Cemetary, which struck me as very similar to cemeteries in New Orleans. Unfortunately, the Teatro Colon was under renovation while we were there.

We also did a fair amount of shopping. Buenos Aires is a fairly fashion-forward city and many of the clothes available there are difficult to find in cities other than New York, London, etc. I also love the opportunity to soak up Kirk’s fashion sense. Palermo Soho was probably my favorite place to shop, with its gorgeous tree lined avenues and cobblestone roads. In its center, Plaza Serrano was a gathering point for the bohemian crowd and a great place to have a beer and people-watch. Leather is also a well-known product of Argentina and I was able to find myself some nice leather shoes.

The dinners we shared were almost always fantastic. Being from Kansas City, it is difficult for me to admit that Argentina has the best beef in the world (as it is claimed), but I will say most of the steaks I had were incredibly delicious. The cuts of the meats were sometimes different than what most people from the Midwest might expect. We also dined at several fine Italian restaurants. All our meals were enhanced by flowing stream of Malbec, a very tasty wine from the region of Mendoza.

After dinner, the other guys would usually call it a night and I would take the opportunity to check out Buenos Aires’ vibrant nightlife. My night experiences were interesting, though I did run into the same scene that I encountered in Lima. Generally, people go to bars and discos to meet up with a group of friends or go on dates, not to meet new people. Of course, after explaining that I was visiting and didn’t really know anyone, people were generally more open. However, it did take an extra effort to meet people.

My night experiences ranged from tranquil to insane. Club 69 was a fascinating place with about 30 colorfully costumed actors, some as transvestites, which engaged in various pantomime and slapstick acts on a stage and on a stripper pole platform which could be moved around the dance floor, all while a New York DJ pumped out electronic beats. I discovered a nice cognac drink called an Alexander at Milion, an old mansion with a pleasant courtyard that had been converted into a bar and restaurant. I was convinced by the hostess of Bar 6 to accompany her with her sisters to Pacha to sit at a VIP table while DJ Roger Sanchez pounded out his house music. Unfortunately, the amount of drugs being consumed (nearly everyone in the disco being on something) made me a little uncomfortable and I ended up leaving early. I talked for a while with a group of young professionals at Asia de Cuba and had some brewed beer with a group of American students at the Buller. The mirror disco balls in the picture above are from Museum. I went to a number of other bars and discos and feel confident that Buenos Aires lives up to its reputation as a city that never sleeps.

I am so happy that I decided to visit Buenos Aires with my uncles and their friends Tom and Charles. I gained a lot from our conversations and am very thankful for their generosity during this trip.

Law School Update

Good news! I got into Michigan Law for the fall term. I've also gotten into American University at this point and turned down by NYU and Colombia. I'm still waiting to hear from Cornell, Georgetown and Harvard among others, but I would say there is about 90% chance I will be in Ann Arbor starting in late August. Cheers!

The beach house II/San Bertolo

I had another nice weekend at Tere's beach house. Here are some pictures of the house along with a picture with Amira. I also met Lucytania (bottom picture far right), family friend of Tere's, who lives in San Bertolo, a few kilometers south of Punta Negra (where Tere's house is). Lucytania does surfing competitions and is a very good painter. She introduced me to a bunch of her friends and we stayed out until 6 in the morning dancing as usual.

Children's Books and Music

I met a very creative woman, Claudia Paz, who is Tere's daughter Kim's childhood best friend. Claudia makes children's books for ages 4-7 (1st and 2nd grade) in Spanish. She has two books now and will release the third very soon. The books come with a CD of music that goes along with the story and that children can sing along to. The music and story are culturally Latin (with Afro-latin rhythms, a peñada and everything). She writes the story and creates the illustrations herself and composes the music with her two brothers and sister. I've also hung out with her brother Christobal and they are very sensitive (as Tere puts it) and talented people. The messages of the books are very wholesome, like being there for your friend when he is in need and not making fun of him.

She has a great Colombian publisher and the books are a HUGE hit in South America. She was even invited to Washington, DC, to promote her book to a Spanish immersion elementary school there. She gave a concert performance with a projected Powerpoint display of a book for 150 children and they loved it. She has one of those charismatic personalities that enables her to retain the attention of a concert hall full of people when she wants to. One of her dreams is to tour to promote her book in the United States (the other is to start a version of Sesame Street in Latin America). She and I both think California would be a great place to start marketing her book and see if there are bilingual or immersion Spanish elementary schools that would be interested in inviting her to perform. We also talked about expanding the potential of the material for teaching by providing a translation of the text and lyrics for adult non-native speaking language teachers or interactive activities that children could engage in after being exposed to the material (she is also an elementary school teacher in Lima and the mother of two).

So, this entry is also a solitication of interest. If anyone reading this is interesting in or knows someone who might be interested in promoting Claudia's children's books and performances in the States (ie, contacting various Spanish immersion or bilingual elementary schools), please send me your contact information and she can send you a sample of her Powerpoint presentation and music. I know she would really appreciate it.

My Work

Because of sensitivity issues, it looks as though it would be counterproductive for me to discuss publicly what I've been working on (kind of like how US law enforcement is complaining about what is divulged on HBO's program The Wire). However, I have been having some very cool experiences learning about intelligence gathering by law enforcement, including seeing a police officer arrested for bribery. It's also been interesting learning about some of the technology being used to fight crime. I hope my boss continues to put faith in me so that I can make a positive contribution to the intelligence community here in Peru.