Last days in Lima

I am wrapping up my last days in Lima. My apartment has treated me well. I cannot express how nice it has been to live next to a 24-hour supermarket. I should also mention that my street, Tarata, is quite famous in Lima. Everyone has heard of it, mainly because it is the site of the most significant terrorist attack in Peru. Fifteen years ago, the Shining Path communist militant group set off a car bomb killing dozens. Tarata is in Miraflores, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Lima (and thus Peru), and the national sentiment compared to what Americans felt with the Twin Towers on 9-11.

My internship has run its course. I gained some valuable experience and accomplished my goal. The most important thing I learned was that I do not wish to go directly into the public sector after completing law school. This is not because of disillusionment with the United Nations, as many might expect. On the contrary, I was quite impressed with the work of my colleagues in the face of such colossal challenges such as tackling corruption in Peru and undermining the trafficking of illegal drugs. The reason I will choose not to enter directly into the public sector is because all from whom I have solicited advice at the UNODC office have recommended that I gain the professional skills and discipline especially available in the private sector. Only after such experience would I be placed at suitable mid-level to high ranking position; whereas by starting straight out of law school, I would be placed at the bottom. In the five years it would take me to work my way up to a suitable position from the bottom, I could have gained valuable skills in the private sector as well as a better wage. Furthermore, I noticed the stress my colleagues suffer in their constant insecurities about funding. I would much rather be in a position to offer money as opposed to a position of perpetual pandering to donors.

Besides work, I have mostly been spending time with friends. Claudia and Christobal Paz threw a very nice going away party for me. They invited a bunch of the friends I had met through them, made a huge pasta dinner, and finally performed for me at their parents’ home. I was very touched. I also was able to meet a future Michigan Law classmate of mine, Adam Freed, who was working with the State Department in Lima. We went out dancing with some friends.

It turned out my disappointments with my friendship had been largely cultural after all. My efforts at better communication with my friends had finally started to work. I learned not to expect the most exact promptness and, at the same time, my friends made efforts to call if they were going to be late and better articulate plans to me. After sitting down and talking with my friend Beto, he had taken seriously my complaints and I now claim him as my closest Peruvian friend. I was finally able to visit the call center he runs and we made a trip to Ica together (see next postings). I have also spent some time with Ines, a girl who organizes missionary trips and works with one of the most important churches in Peru. My friend base seems to have widened dramatically over the short time I have been here.

As my boss will be on vacation, I plan to travel for the next 2 weeks before returning home on May 17th.