“Your most important objective is to get home safely”

My family just confirmed dates to visit me here in Perú, and it brings to mind a very important topic that I’m sure everyone is aware of, would like to share: SAFETY. With the recent shooting on the Metro bus in Seattle in a post 9/11 era, I am sure most people are ultra safety conscious. But whether in Rome, Seattle, Lima, anywhere, there are some tips that are more applicable to different parts of the world.

Prior to leaving for Lima, I attended an incredible one-week orientation at NIH with other Fogarty fellows as well as heads of research institutes and mentors. I wished we had a bit more extensive country-specific panels on safety, but there were some really helpful tips being passed out that day. And the take home message was an important one: “Your main objective, even though you are there to do research and promote global health, is truly to get yourself home safely.” Yes, no better words could have been uttered to convey the importance of staying safe, even though we are here to promote global health.

So here we go, a few tips I picked up from the locals and also from my own experiences:

MONEY & IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS

I think most people know not to flash your cash, jewelry and important documents around on the street. That goes without saying. You wouldn’t do that in your hometown, why would you do it in a foreign country? And yet, I still see tourists walking around with their wallets in their back pockets and their passports dangling from their necks for the whole world to see. Really…? That’s just a big bullseye sign for thieves and pickpockets. Maybe it’s just easier to hold up a sign that says “Rob me now”.

Don’t carry a lot of $$ on your person at any one time. Travelers’ checks help, but I would say when you land at the airport, exchange just enough money to get you into town + a little extra, and then you can exchange more when you get into town. The rates are usually better in town anyways, and they do take credit cards. In Lima, you have to show either a copy or original of your passport in order to use a credit card, and the banks do charge fees, so be aware of that.

Scotiabank doesn’t charge fees to take money out if you have a B of A visa, hurray!

Money belts work, use them…I have also found a jacket with an inner pocket and pockets with zippers are fantastic. I keep all my important things there, and only papers, chapstick, toiletries, snacks, water etc in my actual bag. My friend told me that bag is more of a distraction rather than a place to carry important things (of course, my chapstick and my cracker snacks are extremely valuable to me. But not things I can’t replace)

Another cool trick my local friends passed on to me: if you really refuse to use a money belt (because who is going to carry a money belt every day of their life when you actually live in the city?) and don’t have an inner pocket, hide your money within the pages of a notebook. What??? The logic is that if a robber steals your bag, they usually go for the wallet and throw the rest of the stuff onto the street before running off. So if you are that “lucky”, you can recover your money once they throw your bag away.

DON’T CARRY YOUR PASSPORT AROUND…MAKE COPIES

Another perhaps more obvious fact, don’t take your passport with you unless you absolutely need it. Make copies, and keep one at home with someone, keep one in your wallet and some other place safely. I actually kept copies of my credit cards, emergency numbers, passport, driver´s license etc. at home in California, copies locked up in my apartment, and at my office. That way if anything happens, I can recover it and show proof at the Embassy that I had all these documents at one time. Also kept information on all the numbers to call if my credit cards got stolen.

A GOOD BAG WILL SAVE YOUR BELONGINGS AND POSSIBLY YOUR LIFE

Unfortunately in Perú, carrying your laptop or big things are not really safe. So I have just left my laptop at home completely and use a flash drive or Dropbox for work. I did invest in an expensive slash-proof backpack and smaller travel bag. The nice thing about these is that there is a wire mesh in the straps and within the bag so a robber can´t just cut the straps or the bag and take the contents. There are also combination locks you can buy for these bags too.

But my most favorite accessory is a little clip on all of my zippers that attaches to the strap or buckle so it is more difficult to merely pull the zipper and take its contents. I figure, if it takes me about 2 minutes to open my bag, it will at least take a minute for an experienced robber to do so (and make a lot of noise and commotion while doing it).

Bought my bag from Pacsafe, which can also be found on Amazon: http://pacsafe.com/ But even so, I rarely use it and bought a leather shoulder bag here with a very sturdy strap and back pockets with zippers for daily use. It is just easier to have something smaller that you can hang onto.

Of course, carry your bag in the front of you and close to your body, and I have also learned to actually zip my jacket over the bag. That way, it is pretty much impossible to have anyone try to grab your bag or cut the strap when it is inside your jacket. I also clutch onto the strap or have one hand over the zippers that are more exposed on the front. Maybe overkill, but at least I hope it lets robbers know that if they are going to try to rip my bag away, they are going to have to fight for it.

But the advice was if a robber does approach you, just let them take it. Things are just things…they can be replaced, but our own physical and personal safety always rules first.

CROSSING THE STREET

Wha…? Crossing the street is insane here. Even with traffic lights, most drivers don’t care and even speed up when they see you coming. A glimpse of the typical traffic in Lima, and this is pretty much ubiquitous here.

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And oh, have discovered that cars turn right from the MIDDLE TURN LANE EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT ALLOWED. >_< Turn signals aren’t always used, of course. So what to do? You definitely have to look both ways multiple times. Following the crowds can be helpful, but some people are reckless when they cross the street. Just have to be extra cautious. I have already seen two major traffic accidents within the first week here.

ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS, LOOKING AT A MAP

Asking for directions if you can manage Spanish seems to be the way to go. You definitely don’t want to be fumbling around with a huge map out in the street…that just screams robbery. I usually look up a map either at home or in a safe place (e.g. bookstore, department store) where it was less crowded first, then drew a simple map on a small piece of paper. In dire need, I looked for a police officer or a guard and looked up the map that way. Generally the officer will help you anyways.

There are tons of security guards around the city. There is the National Police or Policía Nacional del Perú, PNP, usually dressed in conspicuous green uniforms such as these:

There are also other units, with the blue-uniformed Serenazgo who operate at the municipal level as neighborhood watchmen (the very same who knocked on my door after the naked gringo in the shower incident…haha, please refer to my earlier post about living in Lima for the full story.) There are also local security guards generally dressed in dark brown or brown who guard local businesses such as banks and casinos.

I am also told there is a force of tourist police, prominently in districts such as San Isidro and Miraflores. Good to know…if you get robbed, they would be the ones to contact besides the Embassy for lost documents and other numbers with the Fogarty program.

http://www.pnp.gob.pe/direcciones/dirture/turismo.html

http://www.limaeasy.com/emergencies-help/emergency-numbers

I have to also add that I did buy a city map here, and it has saved my life many times. I bought it from one of the local book stores for about s./30 ($10.80) that shows all of the streets and neighborhoods within Lima. Google maps isn’t always accurate, so having this map was essential.

PLAY YOUR “NO HABLO ESPAÑOL” OR “I DON’T KNOW” CARD WHEN SOMEONE MAKES AN INQUIRY

The first weekend I was in Lima, I was walking around with Erin in Miraflores looking for apartments when a guy on the street asks me in English “Do you know what time it is?” Being the naive newbie, I looked at my watch and answered him. Erin pushed me to keep walking, and told me later that sometimes robbers ask you a simple question like that to distract you while he or another accomplice robs you. (Evil!) So if they ask you, don’t whip out your cell phone or flash your rolex (you shouldn’t be wearing a rolex anyways…but even inexpensive watches are targets). Just keep walking and say “I don’t know”

Another strategy while I was taking the Metropolitano was when an obviously Peruvian man came up and asked me for directions. I was like, “really…?” Among a huge crowd of locals, they ask me, an obvious foreigner for directions to the bus. Well, having my bag under my jacket and clutching onto it for dear life, it was pretty near impossible for him to steal anything (as everything valuable was also in my inner pocket). Then not 20 minutes later at another station while I was transferring buses, I got asked the exact same station. I just said, “No sé…perdón” (I don’t know…sorry”) and walked the other direction.

Of course, use your best judgement. Little old lady holding a baby in her arms asking for directions on the Metropolitano may be a little less threatening, but still be careful. Youth doesn’t always mean innocence. My prof from Seattle was robbed in Mexico by a bunch of little kids who surrounded her and unzipped her bag within seconds. I do answer questions now if I can help, but I am always clutching my bag while I do so. And I keep a clear distance between myself and the person I am speaking with.

WALK LIKE THE DEVIL IS CHASING YOU

A good pair of walking shoes is needed. Not just for hiking, but because I pretty much run through the city even when I am just walking to the market. Getting backed up or trapped by crowds is just an invitation for theft. We already stick out enough physically and already deemed a target. But I would rather be a moving target than a stationary one. It must be pretty funny to see a tall Chinese woman (well everyone thinks I am Japanese here for some reason) half running through the streets. I am pretty sure one day I will trample some poor little Peruvian woman or man with the way I am walking/running through the streets of Lima.

SIT IN THE BACK OF THE BUSES, AWAY FROM THE DOOR, AND HAVE YOUR PAYMENT READY

I will talk about different transportation methods in Lima in another post, but for now, I was given the advice by my mentors here to sit away from the doors and in the back of the buses. Why? First, driving here is scary. I was told that my friend got his driver’s license just 3 weeks after his first time behind the wheel. If there are any accidents, you don’t want to be in the front where most accidents happen.

Secondly, stay away from the doors, as sometimes robbers pretend to be passengers, board a bus and then run out with your stuff.

And of course, try not to get on buses that are empty, and for the smaller buses, ones that look like they will fall apart at the seams (and there are plenty of those.)

Buses are cheap here: only about s./1 to s./1.20 ($0.35 – $0.43)  here no matter how far you go on coombis, micros/chamas or bigger autobuses, and the Metropolitano costs s./2 ($0.71). Smaller mototaxis (which seat only 1-3 people) are even cheaper, about s./0.70 ($0.25), but are definitely less safe and not really recommended. You don´t want to fumble around with opening your wallet for payment, so get your cash out and put it in your pocket in front.

For the Metropolitano, you need to purchase a card and put money on it. I brought a card holder that hangs around my neck from the US, and keep that hidden under my scarf. When I need to get on the bus, I just whip it out and then tuck it back in.

I think that is it for now. Stay safe!

Peruvian Food Porn – Part 1

Yes, the post I have been waiting to write…all about the incredible food I have been experiencing in the past 3 weeks.

HOME COOKING

I had the pleasure of staying with a Peruvian family the first 3 weeks, and got fed authentic homestyle dinners. All fresh produce and meats from the local markets in Los Olivos/San Martin de Porre. Most things came straight from the farm down the road and then directly to the kitchen.

Perú is the birthplace of the papa or potato (well, Chile according to others), but there are over 3,800 different species of potatoes here! First up is the delicious and humble huayro, which is yellow, very starchy with a fine crumbly texture. First meal I had in Perú included this dish of boiled huayro with a sauce of yellow aji (sauce made from peppers, can come in all colors and flavors, spicy or not), queso fresco (fresh cheese), milk, salt, and some soda crackers. Blended to perfection, then poured over boiled huayros, topped with a boiled egg. Mmm…

Next, chicken marinated with aji rojo. Very simple, just marinated and then covered in sauce and boiled over medium flame for about an hour. Tender and delicious…

Another beautiful papa (well it’s only distantly related actually), the camote, or commonly known as the sweet potato. My favorite, the flavor is so intense, it is not like any other sweet potato I have ever eaten. Just boiled, nothing more. So delish!

A beautiful side dish of nabo (daikon) sliced thinly, with thinly cut sweet peppers, marinated in vinegar with a little salt. Omg, my favorite side dish…daikons are so sweet and refreshing. Amazing (sorry can’t get the photo to rotate!)

Simple salad of boiled mixed veggies, sprinkled with lime juice and olive oil and a little salt.

Dinner next day: steamed tilapia filet in soy sauce (called sillao or see-yao…same as in Canto!) with green onions. Just like mom makes!

It was also the birthday one night of the daughter of Dr. Quino where I was staying. They had a surprisingly European menu: boiled mini potatoes, sausages, aji amarillo (yellow aji), green olives, bread, cheese, nuts, dried fruit, and lots and lots of alcohol, lol.

Let’s talk about fried food, cuz there are a lot of fried foods. Your typical breaded fish and chips as well as a mountain of grilled meats (tripe, stomach, cow heart…yum…) all served with a side of salad. Out with my friends in SJL one evening. To wash it all down, delicious drink of chicha, which are usually sweet fermented or unfermented drinks with lots of sugar made from fruits or corn. My fave is the chicha morada made from purple maize…omg, so refreshing and delish (not pictured here). Fantastic late night dinner!

If there is any national dish that represents the life and culture of Perú, I would hope it is ceviche. Raw and cooked seafood with citrus acid from the juice of limes or lemons, served freshly as the catch of the day. Ceviche is usually not served late in the day as the fish will not be as fresh…and most cevicherias don’t seem to be open that late anyways. Perfectly genius, if you ask me. Here we have I believe flounder with toasted Peruvian choclo or white corn, fried squid, a side of some sort of potato or yuca (?), and a scallop. Omg, so fresh it was still moving. Amazing flavor, all the taste of the ocean. You can see a glass of chicha morada here…the perfect lunch! All for about 11 soles, which is like $5!

Breakfast made by Erin! The big thing here is simple foods: sweet rice cooked with cloves and anis with condensed milk and topped with cinammon, and bread topped with queso fresco and avocado. Oh, and a cup of coffee and some bananas.  Yummo!

Yes, there is Asian food here. We went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch! Sushi was super fresh! Chicken udon noodles, yum…

And chicken fried rice or chaufa con pollo as they call it here!

I found all the ingredients to make my own Chinese dinners too! Just your regular pork and mushroom noodles, wonton soup and chicken stir-fry with black bean sauce.

Here was a French style cafe where I had a chicken salad sandwich with a side of potato salad and a latte. Very good, the baguette was light and crispy, yum!

Pachamanca, a traditional Peruvian dish that traditionally was cooked in the ground using hot rocks and leaves from a banana tree or other bigger tree. It’s so cool, every great culture has some similar type of cooking food in the ground or wrapped in leaves of some sort. My friend Erin invited me over to join her at the house of her friend Marisola, who lives north of SJL. They are such a wonderful family. I got to spend the day with her family in a house that they designed and built themselves. This is where Marisola and her family lived:

Made from lots of different meats, veggies and papas, Pacamancha is representative of the type of rich and savory cooking that really is indicative of a sophisticated appreciation for good food.

First, wash and scrub the papas: we have camotes, yuca and I can’t recall the name of the second type of potatoes.

Then scrub and peel your fava beans or habas.

Use plenty of green marinada de cilantro for your meats. Cut your meats into equally sized portions. Today we are using pork, beef and chicken, yum!

Cut a slit into the potatoes and also fill with marinade. Genius cooking here…

We also have a side of choclo, steamed in a separate pot.

You layer all the ingredients, meats on the bottom, into a large pot. When cooking on the stove, you want to put a layer of plastic with some water on top so it steams your food. It adds moisture and is the same principle as wrapping the food in a leaf.

Next we make our drink. This fruit comes from the Peruvian jungle and is called Maracuyá. It’s such a cool looking fruit! It looks like a citrus fruit, and is completely acidic and sour. You cut the maracuyá in half and scrape out the insides. Put it all in a blender with a bit of water and blend well. Using a sieve, you filter the sediments out, pressing out every last bit of flavor with a spoon. Then add more water and sugar. Mix and serve the deliciousness.

How do you know that your pacamancha is ready? By the smell. In about an hour, the kitchen starts to fill with the most delicious aroma. It was pretty much exactly and hour on the dot. Serve with rice. It was truly an unforgettable and beautiful experience, one of my favorite days in Lima so far. Must really thank Marisola, her family and also Erin for bringing me along to witness such an incredible process.

I’ve yet to touch much on dessert and sweets, but will get to that in my next post. But will just leave you with a few of the more popular and ubiquitous chocolate you can find here in Lima.

¡Buen provecho! Enjoy your meal!

Moving in, meeting the neighbors…a lot more exciting than it sounds!

So I’ve reached the start of my 4th week here in Lima already…cannot believe time is going by so quickly! And I think it’s time to talk about what the housing situation is really like.

I have been fortunate enough to already have experienced a variety of different districts. And not just walking around, I got to stay in three different districts in Lima already, each with its own flavor and speed of life. A little introduction: In reality, Lima is a huuuge city with nearly 9 million residents in about 800 sq. km (310 sq. mi). The province of Lima is divided into 43 districts, with Lima itself the name of a district.

Here is the district of Breña and Lima near the center of Lima, by the Palacio de Justicia:

Lima is home to both the very rich and the very poor and with all walks in between. The more developed and urban areas (that attract the tourist $$$) include Miraflores, San Isidro, Magdalena del Mar and others. I currently live in between Miraflores and San Isidro, and hence pay a little bit more for everything including rent, groceries, and shopping.

Larcomar is a typical high-end Western style mall, but the cool thing is that it is built into the side of the cliff over the beach. So when you first walk to the plaza above, you don’t see the mall below until you walk down one level. Pretty cool, and wonderful views of the ocean.

Here is what Miraflores looks like (tourist district, Óvalo de Miraflores, Larcomar Mall, El Circuito de Las Playas (Circuits of the Beaches) and Parque Kennedy) :

LOS OLIVOS/SAN MARTIN DE PORRES

When I first arrived, I lived in a district near the border of Los Olivos and San Martin de Porres, which is north of the city center of Lima. And boy, let me tell you when I told people I was living there, I got reactions between “O, Los Olivos es muy tranquilo y seguro (Los Olivos is very peaceful and safe)” to “¿Por qué? ¡Es muy peligroso allá! (Why? It’s really dangerous there!)” I was fortunate enough to have secured housing with the Family Quino through my mentor at UW prior to arriving.

Los Olivos is really close to the airport, and I lived by a major street called Jiron Tomás Valle. While heterogenous, the area I stayed in had mostly older and more established people. You don’t see a lot of skyscrapers, and the biggest thing in my area was going to the Plaza Norte, which was the mall with the grocery store Metro there. Here is what the area looked like and the house I stayed in:

Tomás Valle at night

And here is Plaza Norte:

 

There were also small local markets and also a big shopping area called Mercado Central that is very similar to Women’s Street in Hong Kong. You can pretty much find anything and everything for a lot cheaper at all of these markets. Living with the family Quino, I got to learn how to shop and get to these markets, which in my opinion has much more Peruvian flavor and local culture. (Apologies for the lack of pictures, but safety is a concern and it wasn’t advised that I ever take a camera out and start taking photos in crowded areas).

One of the more interesting things was that Tomás Valle was a very busy street right next to the Pan American highway. The traffic there is incredible. There were no stoplights. You just have to pretty much run across the street when you get the chance. Rule #1 of crossing the street in areas like these: follow the crowds and be grateful if there is vehicular traffic. At least if the cars are stopped, you can walk in between them without worrying (as much) about them running you over. And the cars here do not stop or slow down for pedestrians…

Another interesting thing in living here in Los Olivos/San Martin de Porres was security. Every house was pretty much sealed behind a brick wall with a large multi-locked steel door with spiked fencing all around. There were locks and keys on every door. I lived on the 3rd floor, and to access it, you had to get through two separate doors with locks and keys. Getting locked out was common. Since I didn’t have a set of keys, any time I went from upstairs to my room to the kitchen downstairs, I had to make sure someone had left the key in the door so I could get back in. And I couldn’t come or go without someone being home, and had to coordinate every day with Mary, the sister of Dr. Quino, to get back in the house. I hate to say it, but I definitely felt a little claustrophobic at times. But I understand that burglary in that area was no joke.

Another thing you have to learn: no hot water unless you heated it for an hour beforehand. My floor was actually a part of the balcony of the house, which meant I actually lived outside of the building of the house. Which meant it was cold…very cold at night. At times if I didn’t wait long enough for the water to heat up, I would have to take cold showers and then shiver all night waiting for my hair to dry (didn’t get a hair dryer until right before I left this place…big mistake.)

Last thing were the cats at night and the roosters during the day…the neighbor behind our house had about 5 cats who liked to scream all night long and roosters and chickens that like to crow all morning. Then about 4:30 am every morning the roosters would start crowing and wouldn’t stop till about 9am. I was under the impression that I was living on a farm. It was definitely an interesting experience. But although I sound like I am complaining, I am really grateful I got to live with a family and experience another part of town.

Cats and roosters lived in this building behind my house:

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SAN JUAN DE LURIGANCHO

The first weekend I was in Lima, my friend from Seattle, Erin, who has been an incredible friend and has been looking out for me, invited me to her place in San Juan de Lurigancho, which is in the north part of Lima. She has been living there for 2 years, and originally was there living with Sisters in a Catholic covent and volunteering in the local community church. Really an amazing person, and am so proud of her.

Anywho, SJL is a bit more rustic and “movido” or choppy according to most people. Funnily enough, when I told my host family I was going there to visit, they kinda freaked out and warned me about how dangerous it was. But ironically, people said the same thing about me living in Los Olivos.

Well, with Erin’s help, we took the bus with her friends back to her place. SJL is a less developed part of town, even less developed than Los Olivos. No major malls or shopping centers. Smaller brick houses, unpaved roads, and local markets and restaurants dominate the area. According to Erin though, the community has really flourished and new parks and paved roads are popping up all over.

Here is what a typical house would look like and the surrounding neighborhoods:

Erin’s church was also beautiful and the community was fabulous. I got to sing with the music ministers while Erin led and played guitar:

This past weekend, I also got to visit an area north of San Juan de Lurigancho with Erin to her friend Marisola’s house (who was super sweet, more on Marisola later). The interesting thing is that the development goes up the hill. Basically the further up the hill you live, the less financial resources you likely have, because the prime real estate is always closer to the main roads and at the foot of the mountains. You can see here all the houses lined up. Most of these families build their own houses. Usually not much indoor plumbing and fixtures, but I have to say, their houses are pretty spacious and beautiful inside. Even a cute little furry welcome when we went to the house:

I understand that it is a little bit more rugged in these parts, and you have to be more careful. But I have to say, I found it quite safe as long as you keep your eyes open and walk with groups. Of course, I was accompanied by Erin and her friends the whole time. But even riding on the bus to and from these areas, I didn’t feel threatened or anything. Most people were very friendly and nice.

I felt there definitely was some sort of misunderstanding or area bias happening in different parts of Lima. People from the richer areas told me Los Olivos was not safe, and people who lived in Los Olivos told me SJL was not safe. Funny how that is…but in reality, if we are talking about theft, people get robbed all over. We know that’s true in the US…even in the good ol’ San Ramon where I’m from, there are robberies and crime and theft. So I think it pretty much boils down to keeping your eyes and ears open, not flashing your money or belongings about, and not putting yourself in risky situations.

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MIRAFLORES

So last week, I finally moved out of Los Olivos/San Martin de Porres after a very harrowing 1.5 weeks of searching, banking headaches and lots of waiting to a new apartment in Miraflores, close to San Isidro.

I live right by the Metropolitano bus line, and am smack in the middle of the University of San Marcos in Bellavista (north of me) and IMPACTA in Barranco (south of me). It would’ve been nice to continue living with the Quinos, but I definitely needed more of my own space and also to be closer to work. It took me over an hour one way on the Metropolitano to get to and from work to both sites. You can see how crowded it is on the buses every day:

I moved in last Friday, all excited to be in my own space. The area is much quieter: no chickens, no cats…the first night was wonderfully quiet. I slept in until 9am. And my apartment faces a little park called Parque Mercedes Caballero:

Thought I had found my dream apartment until Sunday night about 10pm…I noticed there was a puddle of water on my kitchen countertop. I thought it was condensation from the shower, and just wiped it up and went back to setting up the apartment…until a few minutes later, I felt a drop of water on my head. Followed by another. I climbed up to the top of the counter in my kitchen and saw a river of water leaking from the ceiling down to the counter.

O.M.G. As I inspected more closely, I saw more rivers and rivulets running down the walls. Then I noticed water was dripping all over the floor in the kitchen from the ceiling lamp. I walked outside my apartment (insulated apartment, no windows except the ceiling windows) and saw that it was misting…it wasn’t even raining! But as I looked up, there was water pouring in from everywhere.

There wasn’t much I could do except get pots and pans (I had exactly 4 in my apartment, and all of them went to good use) to catch the water, and throw the 3 towels I had in my possession on the floor. Panicking, called my best friend in New York and freaked out on the phone. He suggested I call the landlady, but I knew she was out of town on a work trip. Called her phone, but no response, so just left a frantic message and sent an email.

Just then, out of some sheer miracle, a gentleman entered the building. I asked him if he knew what to do to get in contact with my landlady. He politely asked to see my apartment, and when he saw the water coming from the ceiling lamp, told me to shut off the electricity and use lamps instead. Turns out he was the manager of a construction company. He told me to that he would bring his engineers back in the morning to inspect the apartment and find a solution.

This is what my kitchen looked like (after I had spent all weekend cleaning and organizing it):

Luckily I still had enough hot water to shower…

Next morning, the gentleman came back with his crew, but also the landlady had received my message and got her service men to come and inspect the apartment. The engineers were able to help me communicate what the problem was, and left the service men to fix the apartment.

I missed a day of work, but at least I got my apartment all cleaned up and back to looking lovely. Sigh…that was Monday, my 3rd day in the apartment…

Thursday comes and I had an appointment to get a phone line and internet connected with the local company called CLARO. They came at 4:30pm, and said they needed access to the roof, so we went to the third floor of the building and rang the door bells and knocked on the door. No answer…

So we went back downstairs and went to the building next door. A very nice couple let us go up to the roof through their apartment, and I went back inside with another worker to get things connected. I was really happy, had only been using a mobile router for the past 2 weeks, and ironically, the router didn’t work in my insulated little apartment. Oh well, nicer to have an actual internet line anyways.

A few minutes later, I get a knock at the door, and a heavy set gentleman is standing there. He very hurriedly tells me in rapid non-Latin American accented Spanish that there was some disturbance and asked if I was having workers on the roof. I said, “yes, I am getting my internet connected.” He tells me that the next time I have workers here, that he needs to be notified in advance.

Apparently what had happened was he was in the shower and the Claro worker on the roof saw him while he was bathing. And apparently he was so freaked out that he couldn’t finish. Me and the other worker were speechless…I mean, what do you say to that?

While the man was talking, I kept thinking, “he doesn’t sound Peruvian…maybe he is an American…”

I said in my broken spanish that we had knocked on the door but no one answered. He admitted that he may not have heard while he was in the shower…but then he said he wanted the names of the Claro workers and was going to file a complaint with the company. I apologized profusely, and he said he wasn’t mad at me, but rather at the workers for their insensitivity. Then he went back upstairs.

I was kind of shocked, as was the other worker. When the other guy came back from the roof, his colleague asked if he saw a man showering, and the other worker denied seeing anything.

Few minutes later, a uniformed man walks to my door. He asks to speak to me, and by this time, I am thinking “O f*ck, I am going to get arrested for getting my internet and phone line connected.” The officer said he just returned from a Sr. (we will call him Bob Thompson’s) apartment on the 3rd floor, who was my neighbor. He said apparently one of the workers had climbed to the roof and was watching Mr. Bob Thompson showering, which bothered him a lot. The officer then asked for my name. I was thinking, “why don’t you get the name of the Claro guys? It’s not my fault! I didn’t hire them!”

I told the officer that I just moved in and didn’t know what happened. I said that we had knocked on the door of the apartment, but no one answered. The officer mentioned that he understood, but that Mr. Thompson was very intimidated and didn’t feel comfortable. At this point, I am just half fed up with everything and almost said in English, “well, what do you want me to do about it? It is not my fault that the Claro guy was a peeping tom!”

I said to the officer, “Well, here are the two workers. You can talk to them.”

The younger guy who was in the apartment with me actually went up and apologized. The other guy, the accused peeping Tom, didn’t say anything. I think he was probably thinking he had been caught. I apologized profusely again, and mentioned that I was new to the area. The officer also mentioned that Mr. Thompson was from the US, and also did not feel comfortable with the situation.

I asked if the officer needed anything else from me, and he said no. I mentioned I was new to the neighborhood and asked if he was police. He said no, he was part of the “Serenazgo”, who are kind of like community surveillance officers. Well, I didn’t know the difference and was pretty freaked out nonetheless.

After all that, the internet and phone line were finally set up. I had exactly 15 minutes before a work call with my professor in Seattle, but felt really terrible (and kinda curious) about Mr. Thompson. So I dashed upstairs to his apartment and apologized again. Then I asked if he was American. Turns out he was from California and working for the consulate here in Peru. He actually turned out to be a really really nice person, and was super understanding. He said he was bothered that this guy actually was standing there laughing at him. He said if he had just mistakenly saw him, no big deal…but to be standing there LAUGHING…that was out of line.

I totally agreed, said that guy was an a**hole for staring and laughing, and that it was unacceptable what he did. But turned out Mr. Thompson knew a lot about the neighborhood and gave me some tips to stay out of trouble. So cool…think I made a new friend.

But yeah…what a wild ride. Definitely an interesting way to meet your neighbors. But glad things finally are settling down and I feel more comfortable in my space. But in just 3 short weeks, definitely have experienced some pretty diverse and intense parts of living in Lima…lol, probably more unique than other people’s experiences in Lima so far.

Communication > grammar

The first thing everyone asks when I tell them that I am going to work in Perú for a year is “Wow…how’s your Spanish?” Well actually they ask “Oh, where in Perú?” But usually the second thing is “How is your Spanish?”

I find it rather amusing that it is such a major inquiry, but interestingly enough, generally only from people from the US. Surprisingly, most of my family (immediate and extended) or my friends from abroad didn’t really ask me whether language was a concern. They were actually more concerned about safety, food and physical. Oh, and whether I would go visit Macchu Picchu.

Having been here for about three weeks, I can say at least I am getting by okay in day to day life, at the office and at home. I can pick up most things, but of course, me speaking is another issue. It’s hard to find the words and then I find myself worrying if I have used the right verb conjugations and correcting myself mid-sentence, which I am sure is not any easier for the listener to comprehend.

But one really important lesson I learned when I was traveling through Zurich and Italy with my cousin Melissa and her folks was that you have to try to communicate, even if you don’t think they will understand. Hand motions are really essential. The combination of pantomiming and even just a few basic vocab words will get you far. Got me and Melissa through the whole of Zurich when the shuttle back to our hotel decided to stop elsewhere and we were left waiting for hours by ourselves in the dead of winter…also got us some pretty amazing food in Milano, a few marriage proposals (all for Mel), and a chance to see the Pope and get his Christmas blessing. Not bad for a bit of french and spanish between the two of us.

Anyways, I think personally why I didn’t really sweat the language details was because none of this was really new to me. You see, despite my California girl accent, I was a FOB. Yes, “Fresh off the Boat” immigrant from Hong Kong back in the late 80s. *gasp*…yes, this Bay Area girl actually was made in China. Got the smallpox vaccine mark to prove it too.

When my family and I moved to the US, I didn’t know English either. Granted things are a lot (or should be) simpler when you are five years old, I remember getting teased and feeling frustrated not being able to speak the language. I did ESL classes for at least two years. I got picked on and laughed at by kids in my kindergarten and 1st grade classes because I didn’t know what they were saying, and was so frustrated when I couldn’t communicate with my teachers. And that was dealing with the world of a 5-6 year old, with parents and family who could help me. And I remember how scary and embarrassed I felt trying to speak the language imperfectly and not understanding what others were saying to me.

So now that I am older, I really don’t give a big whoop about not speaking perfectly. And I learned to read people’s expressions and context. I have enough vocab to be able to figure out about 85% of what people are saying, and if I need to, I ask them to speak slowly, repeat what they say or write it down.

Now you may be thinking, “Well not knowing the language can put you in compromising situations and put you in danger.” Well, logically, I wouldn’t put myself in a dangerous situation like walk down a dark alley by myself at night or go down a sketchy part of town by myself even in the US or any English-speaking country…so why would I do that in Perú? And luckily for me, height is a very helpful factor.

For example, one time I was waiting for my friends from Berkeley in front of the Pompidou Museum of Modern Art in Paris. I was approached by some French guy who asked where I was going and where I was from. Knowing about only 5 phrases in French at the time, all I could muster up was “Le musée d’arte…mes amis…mes amis…” which was my way of saying I am waiting to go into the art museum with my friends. Well, for some reason that was some signal for the guy to get friendly, cuz he tried to put his arm around me. Although he was bigger in girth, I definitely had about a half a foot on the guy, and just very quickly backed up away from him. He obviously didn’t like it, and angrily said some stuff in French. I just kept smiling and said “Get away from me, you dirty bastard…” And he left me in peace. If needed, a swift kick in the groin and then a mad dash inside the museum would have been appropriate (10 years in martial arts and still my SiFu says that is the best defense if necessary.) So no problem!

The last major point I would like to make is that there are so many more brave individuals who left their home country without any knowledge of the local dialects. And they have survived and thrived just the same. Sure, you are not as comfortable as you may be in your home country. And even if you knew the language, there are always elements about the new and unfamiliar that are difficult to cope with in the beginning.

But having been fortunate enough to travel a bit in the world and also to have had so many colleagues from all over the globe from non-English speaking countries (Japan, Brasil, Germany, Italy, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Mexico, Perú, Indonesia, etc.), I feel I am very lucky in having had both the world experience and language training prior to setting foot in Lima.

I think that is what is different for me between knowing a language from the textbook versus communication. Even if you know a language fluently, communicating with your peers is a different skill. I really see communication as a way to make a connection with your fellow human being, which transcends just basic grammar and vocab. It can be done with a smile and a handshake, or a frown and a laugh.

So as I continue life here in Lima with my broken Spanish, as difficult as it is sometimes, I am more than grateful to have this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone. In reality, I feel quite comfortable in terms of being able to communicate. As my Dad has always taught me, “You should always respect the person who speaks with an accent or imperfections in their language, because the person who speaks with an accent is just a person who knows more than one language.”

 

 

A lot more Chinese than you think

Today I went to a Chinese-Peruvian, or what they call a “Chifa” restaurant for lunch with my coworkers. There are a ton of Chinese people here. Two of my coworkers have the last names Chang and Chung. The owner of the restaurant today looked Chinese, so I decided to try Mandarin on her. *Ding ding ding!* She spoke Mandarin, and looked pretty pleased that I could break out some putonghua with her too.

I had the standard run of the mill “chaufa con pollo” or chicken fried rice. Ironically because I couldn’t understand the names in spanish, I asked the owner in Mandarin and she told me it was fried rice. But it definitely got confusing, as my friends were communicating with her in spanish, I was speaking with her in Mandarin, and all my friends were American so we spoke English. AY YI YI! Anyways, this wasn’t the restaurant I ate at today, but this is pretty much what it looks like. Tastes the same too, just your standard fried rice.

x

Pretty good, and dirt cheap! Only s./6, which is like less than $3 USD. And you always get a soup before your entree included. We had wonton soup, which actually wasn’t wontons…it was just the wonton wrapper in chicken soup with some lettuce. Not complaining though, it came with the meal.

Even before I arrived in Lima, people have been telling me how Chinese things are. Of course, Chifa has evolved to be a different type of cuisine. Not 100% authentic, but still with the local flair of the Peruvian cuisine. The Chinese immigrants have definitely assimilated into Peru, and many Chinese descendants consider themselves fully Peruvian.

A few weeks ago, I was walking downtown in Miraflores, and all of a sudden I come to a large crowd of people and this is what I saw:

I was like, “whoa, what country am I in??” It was definitely a shocker, but it was apparent that the Chinese and Peruvian cultures are well assimilated in Lima. The parade was sponsored by a huge supermarket here called Wong. I mean, it doesn´t get more assimilated than that. Sadly, I have yet to run into a supermarket in the US with a Chinese last name as a brand. (Yoshida or Kikkoman are the closest so far, and they are Japanese! And only condiments, sadly.)

Some other photos from the parade:

 

The trippy thing is that so many of my colleagues have clearly Chinese-in-origin last names, but they don´t look Chinese at all. I think that is really cool. It really is a testament to how far back the Chinese immigrant population has been present, and how welcoming the Peruvian nation is.

One evening, I suggested cooking wonton soup (La sopa de wantan) for my family. The first try, I went to the market and asked for some ground pork. Unfortunately, they didn´t have any, so Mama Mary suggested we buy pork in the supermarket and grind it at the local market. We went to the local market, and they only had ground chicken. The butcher wasn’t willing to contaminate his meat grinder with pork meat. Hmmm…so we go back to the house, and Mary says “Why don’t we just chop it up really finely?” Mind you I had about a kilo of whole pork tenderloin and for some reason, the knives in her house were really dull.

I told Mary that it would take a whole day just to cut the meat, and there was no way that we would be able to cook the meat evenly. Yet she was persistent as she really wanted wontons. I finally said, “No, sorry. I am Chinese, and I know how to make wontons. I am sorry, but we will just have to wait.” She was disappointed, but I had to put my foot down. As integrated as Chinese culture is in Perú, I couldn’t do my grandma, Mom and aunts justice if I didn’t make a proper wonton. We ended up just making pork soup with noodles and bok choy.

The next week I was able to finally find my ground pork and wrapped wontons for the family. One interesting thing is that they wanted to add Chinese sausage to the soup. I was like, “wha…?” I had never heard of that before. I guess it is a chifa thing, but I very politely insisted that no one in Hong Kong or China adds chinese sausage in wonton soup.

The other thing that made me laugh was that the family asked about how much cinammon I use in my chinese cooking. I answered, puzzled, “Uhm…none…”

They replied, “But cinammon is from China, how could you not use it?”

I said with a laugh, “True cinammon is definitely not from China. I think it’s from India.” They were shocked, but I know my family and I never used cinammon in any Chinese cooking. But I love that so many of the “Chifanese” customs are so prevalent here that they confuse it with Chinese heritage.

They also do have dim sum here in Perú, but have yet to try it. They have the usual, spring rolls, buns (although the filling is different), etc. They call them “bocaditos chinos” which I think translates to Chinese small bites.

The next week, I was able to finally go to the Barrio Chino (Chinatown) with my friend Erin. Like any other Chinatown, it had the omnipresent red and green gate with the words 華橋 (literally “Chinese gate”) or something like that on it. Smelled and looked like Chinatown with soy sauce chicken and ducks hanging in the window, but most of the waiters and waitresses were Peruvian.

Erin and I had lunch in a chifa, and I spoke Cantonese with one of the Chinese waitresses. At first I think she was shocked that I could speak Canto. Secondly, I think the other customers were quite amused that I was speaking canto.

I will definitely go back and try the dim sum here sometime, without any expectations that it will be the same as home. But as open as I am to try and accept the local version of Chinese here, I am still cooking Chinese for myself and my friends here at home the way I know how. All the ingredients are available here, and while sometimes dishes and flavors can be improved upon, sometimes it’s best to not mess with a classic. (e.g. my soy sauce chicken)

But very glad and impressed with the strong presence of the Chinese heritage here. Asian invasion indeed!

 

 

More detailed information on how I got my housing

Hi everyone!

Some of you heard about my leaky roof situation on day 2 of moving to my new apartment…will blog about that later. For now, here is some more detailed information about how to secure housing in Lima, especially for my Fogarty folks. Hope this helps, contact me if you need any further advice!

1. Ok, the first thing I recommend you do is to search online using these two websites:

urbania.pe
adondevivir.com

You can customize your searches, and send emails directly to the owner or to the real estate agents (agente inmobiliario). This works really well, and they get back to you pretty quickly.

If you want to call them directly, sometimes you can click on the contact information. Numbers beginning with 9 are cell phones, others are landlines. Country code is 51, and if you call from a cell phone in-country, precede the number with “01” (not sure if you have to do that calling from the States too.)

Furnished 1 bedroom range from $600-$1000 USD/month, some include internet, gas and electricity, and some do not. Most ask for a 2×1 payment, meaning first and last months rent + 1 month as deposit.

If you are working at IMPACTA, look for places in Barranco. For other places like University of San Marcos, try Miraflores or San Isidro. Or if you really don´t like much of a commute, you can try Pueblo Libre, which is the more historic part of the city. I live very close to the border of Miraflores and San Isidro area. I recommend also living close to El Metropolitano, the newer rapid bus services. The line runs along la Avenida Paseo de la República. IMPACTA is by the stop called Balta, near the Ovalo Balto and Avenida Nicolas Pierola.

2. Payment for places is a little trickier. You can do this one of a few ways:

a) Easiest and safest way: Direct wire transfer from your banking institution to the bank account of your landlord/lady. Usually about $30-50 transfer fee, but is the safest way. They will provide you with the information when you sign the contract. Make sure you obtain the Beneficiary´s name, home address, account number, Beneficiary´s bank address, Bank SWIFT code. **Don´t pay anything until you have actually signed the contract.

b) More complicated but saves you some money way if you have time: Open a bank account here in Lima, wire transfer money from the States to your Lima account and you can do direct interbank transfers, which only cost like $1USD per transfer. Of course you have to pay for the initial wire from the States, but then you avoid having to pay $30 every month when you pay rent.
*Will need to obtain special permission to sign contracts from Immigration in order to do this. Please see below.

c) NOT RECOMMENDED: Take USD out in case from an ATM. Usually the ATM limits you to $100-200 withdrawals every time, so it will take a while. Really really don´t recommend doing this unless you have no other choice.

d) Not sure if people take traveler´s checks here. Another option is to buy a cashier´s check once you return to the States and bring it with you when you return to Lima. But you also run the risk of losing it as well. Less secure in my opinion.

e) Wire transfer from Western Union: Again, carrying large sums of cash not recommended.

***Before you sign anything, have your landlord send a copy of the contract to Rose Mary at NAMRU-6, who will put you in contact with Dr. Hugo Leno, a lawyer who will revise and change anything on your contract. Just explain that you are a Fogarty Fellow, all in spanish, not sure she speaks english. This is to protect us from signing any unsual leases. Even if you spanish is perfect, it is advisable still to have him check it. It costs $55 USD for this service, but well worth it.

3. HOW TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT AS A FOREIGNER IN PERÚ

Not easy but possible…most banks require you to obtain a Carnet de Extrañjera from Immigration, which is a whole ´nother can of worms. Usually you need a work contract from a sponsoring Peruvian company. Since IMPACTA is not officially hiring me, I couldn´t get such a contract and they wouldn´t accept the Fogarty acceptance letter.

The only bank that allowed the use of solely a Passport was HSBC that I have found so far. Citibank is also here and may also allow passports only. Even though many websites of other banks such as BBVA Continental and Interbank say only a passport is allowed, I couldn´t open one without the Carnet. It kinda also depends on if you are lucky, two workers from the same bank will tell you differently.

Doing it the legitimate way I guess, you first need to go to Immigration Offices in Brena. (La Avenida España Number 734, near Avenida Arica, Brena, Lima. Closest Metropolitano stop is at España, only about 5 blocks heading west and you are there.)
http://www.digemin.gob.pe/

You will need to bring:

1) 1 copy and originals of your passport and your Tarjeta de Entrada (obtained from the airport)
If you forget copies, there is a copy machine at Immigration
2) 16 soles (about $7 USD)  –> You can also do this at Immigration in Cusco if you are heading there, but it costs $50 USD!
If you don´t have soles, there is a Banco de la Nación at Immigration, exchange rate is about 2.77.
3) Form F-004
(The online link didn´t work for me to download the form, so you may have to get it at Immigration)

The process:

1. Get there early. They open at 8am, but let people wait in line as early as 7:40am I think. But if you can´t download the form, you still have to wait till 8am before they pass out the forms (yes, PASS OUT. The forms are not sitting there freely)

You will need to show your passport to the guard and tell them that you want to obtain “Permiso especial para firmar contratos” which lasts for 1 MONTH.

2. Head right once you enter the lobby. You will see a bunch of seats along the wall, and a sign that says “Formularios”. That is where you get the form F-004, same form for if you want to extend your tourist visa to 6 months. If you are lucky enough to fill out the form before getting to Immigration, head straight down the hall once you enter and go to the Banco de la Nación (on your left). Copy machines also that way.

3. Head round the corner to the Caja. Pay your s./16 and they will staple a receipt to your form.

4. Go back down the hallway, and you come to some stairs on your left with a couple of guards. You need to head to the 3rd floor, but need to wait. Tell the guard what you need, and he will seat you in groups to wait.
Group by group, he will let go upstairs. You need to go to the 3rd floor and wait in another room in some seats. You need line #5 or #6, but the people blocking your way will tell you.

5. When you finally get into the room where the actual counters are, there is one line with a sign (close to the entryway door) saying “Permiso especial para firmar contratos” and other things like change Migration Status. Wait in that line when told to do so.

6. You give them your forms, they have you sign and fingerprint. Then they take everything. BUT don´t leave, they make you wait in the room while they process other people´s passports and give them all together in one big pile. Once they have scrutinized your passports, they will call your name, and you sign another form. Finally you are done!

My wait time: 7:45am – 9:45am

4. Once you have that stamp in your passport, you only need to bring your passport back to the bank to open the account. You will need to work with a personal banker, so don´t bother standing in line to the tellers.

I opened a Cuenta Ahorros with HSBC with no maintenance fees as long as you maintain $400 USD every month, and costs only $1.20 to do direct interbank transfers in Lima. You also get a debit card, which does charge if you use at ATMs outside of HSBC.

HSBC is in Miraflores, on La Avenida Larco, cuadra 9, cross street is 28 de Julio.
Closest Metropolitano stop is 28 de Julio. Head west (towards the center of downtown) straight down 28 de Julio. When you come to the corner of Avenida Larco (lots of construction there, you can´t miss it), you will see HSBC on your left. they are open 9am – 6pm. I recommend getting there around 9am for less wait time.

4. GETTING READY TO SIGN THE CONTRACT WITH THE OWNER OR REAL ESTATE AGENTS (AGENTE INMOBILIARIO)

Most of the owners or agentes inmobiliarios asked me for a letter of reference/work contract from your company in Peru. As a Fogarty fellow, you may not be able to get an actual work contract as we are not directly paid by these institutes. Therefore, I sent them my award letter from Fogarty (with my stipend amount) and also obtained a letter from NAMRU-6. Your home institution should be able to help you with this. It was really crucial to get this letter for reference.

Once the contract is checked and there are no more problems, you sign the contract and everything (hopefully) will be smooth sailing.

Hope this helps. If you need any further help, lemme know.

Good luck!!

Cola means line, not Coke in Perú

I originally wanted to catch up more about how the past two weeks have been, but having had the week I had with Peruvian banks and bureaucracy, thought it was best I write my experiences down while they were still fresh.

So here in Peru, one of the first things you have to learn is that there are people and lots of them. Everywhere you go, there is always some sort of line. A line to the bank, a line at the supermarket, a line to the bathrooms, a line to get in line…just lots of lines. In spanish, the term for lining up is “hacer cola” means to line up or stand in line. Ironic that a word synonymous with refreshment and enjoyment according to the Coca Cola company means something completely different in spanish…

I’ve been looking for a new place to relocate to since the end of my second week here. The reason is that it takes a long time to get anywhere in Lima, even if you have a car. I wrote about how bad the traffic is in my last post. Well, I finally was able to sneak my iphone out and take some photos. And this is pretty much how it is all the time.

It took me more than an hour one way being squished and shoved by little old ladies and tall Peruvian men to get to one job site. A little too far and a little too much shoving just put me over the edge, so the new apartment that I’ve just rented (today!) will cut my time almost in half. It is in a district called Miraflores, which is the more touristic but more “developed” part of town. Most of the expats live there. Nice area, is a little more quiet, but traffic is still there. ***And travelers be wary when people tell you Miraflores is “safer”. People get robbed just the same in Miraflores as in other parts of town.

Here’s the district where I’m currently staying, near Jiron Tomás Valle in San Martin de Porres/Los Olivos district. There’s a mall nearby. Look at the dinosaurs! Can you see all the cars? This was about 7:30pm at night. And food stalls are always packed outside.

   

Here are some photos from the new express busline called the Metropolitano that runs pretty much north and south through town (with its own dedicated HOV, so other cars not allowed. Nice design in my opinion because the buses don’t have to share the road with other motorists!)

This is during rush hour (around 5-6pm) on my way home…kinda packed, don’t you think?

***Important advice that I learned taking the Metropolitano: if a bus is super packed, just wait for the next one or the next one. Don´t try to push and shove to get on. It´s difficult to breathe, and yikes, is more like an incubator for disease transmission on a packed bus. The busses come every 1-4 minutes, so no worries. If a bus is packed, just wait for the next one.

And there are express and regular buses. Check the route maps, or go online and google el metropolitano and click on “Servicios Regulares” or “Servicios Expresos”. Oh, and look up above the doors to see which buses actually stop where. Some buses go north and some go south. Look for the yellow plaques overhead, and also the signs above the doors for which route stops at which door. But it isn´t always accurate, especially during rush hour.

 

I did find it funny that depending on who you speak to, they will tell you whether a part of town is quiet or “tranquilo”. My family told me Los Olivos was safe and tranquilo. But when I told my coworkers who live more south in the more developed parts of town like Miraflores and San Isidro, they freaked out and told me how unsafe it was. And I was also up north in San Juan de Lurigancho visiting my friend, and people also freaked out there too. Hmmm…well, anywhere you go, you have to be cautious. So let’s leave it at that. But it is true, anywhere you go in a major city, you have to be cautious.

Anyways, back to the traffic and the lines and apartment rental…to rent and apartment, I had to pay the landlord/lady. Usually they ask for first and last month’s rent plus one month’s rent as deposit. It took me about a week and a half using my rusty spanish and lots of internet searches to find an apartment with a good location and was not too expensive. (***I recommend urbania.pe and adondevivir.com as your search engines. Very easy to use, and you can register and directly send messages. There is also Craigslist in Peru, but they are often for 3 bedroom expensive places or vacation homes.)

To pay the landlady, I went through the following options:

1) Buy a cashier’s check

2) Open a local checking bank account and transfer money in from my accounts in the US

3) Wire money directly from my bank in the States

4) Withdraw tons of cash through an ATM and pray I don’t get robbed

5) Wire cash through Western Union

Buying a cashier’s check was not allowed because I was a foreigner. Oh yay. Wiring money directly from the US costs a lot in transaction fees ($45 each time from B of A), and was not an option for every month. Withdrawing tons of cash or “efectivo” is definitely not safe unless I had an armed guard with me. Plus you can only take about $100 cash out of an ATM each time. Wiring cash through Western Union was going to be my last option as that costs even more money, and then I would be stuck with tons of cash again on my persons. So I went with the last option: tried to open local checking account.

Saturday 7/27: First I tried going to Interbank, which on its website said I could just open an account with my passport and $100. Teller told me that no one could help on a Saturday because all the agents don’t work. Okay fine…I waited till Tuesday (Monday was a holiday due to the Independence Day on 28th of July.)

Tuesday 7/30: Went back to Interbank near workplace. they said they didn’t have the authority to open the account and I had to go to main branch. Ok…went to main branch. They finally said “Sorry, you need a Carnet de Extranjera” which is essentially an International ID card, which is a whole ‘nother bag of bureaucracy you have to deal with at the Offices of Immigration…yeah, not going that route. (I got mad at the teller and was like, “all the information is on your website.” He said, “Well, the info is wrong.” I said, “Well, it’s YOUR website!”)

Same day, went back to HSBC, who the week before, some clueless teller couldn’t get my HSBC ATM bank card to work and just sat their picking his nose while I spoke with HSBC International. A lovely agent told me that she could open an account for me, but I needed to get a stamp in my passport for “permiso especial para firmar contratos” or special permission to sign contracts. Where do I get such a stamp, may I ask? Oh…at the Immigration office.

Wednesday 7/31: Woke up at 6am and went to Immigration office, got there at 7:45am and they opened at 8am. Already a line. Oh it is there that we truly learn about the meaning of hacer cola. First, they make you wait in a big lobby, and make you play musical chairs moving up the line. I waited there about 20 minutes. Got a form, filled it out, paid the cashier, then headed to another room. With chairs. Waiting in more lines playing musical chairs for about another 25 minutes.

Then they let you up to the third floor, where you get to sit on more chairs. And wait in more lines. I befriended a wonderful gentleman named Walter who was from Uruguay, but now lives in New York and San Diego. We were laughing and joking about the whole experience with the red tape, which in actuality is the same anywhere in the world. He was visiting family there and wanted to extend his tourist visa, so we ended up in the same line as we both used the same form (***it is form F-004 for the permission to sign contracts as well as to extend your tourist visa up to 6 months. Go to http://www.digemin.gob.pe/en/, the office is in Brena on Avenida España, #734, cross street Arica. Get off at the España Metropolitano station and walk like 4 blocks and you’re there.) Also befriended a Belgian girl and a Barcelona guy.

Finally we got taken into another room where there was an actual line to the counter. Finally got my passport stamped, hooray! That part took about 3 minutes. But WAIT. The fun doesn’t stop! Instead of handing me back my passport, they collected all the paperwork from about 5-8 people, set them in a pile to be all scrutinized together, and so we waited in the room with the lines…again…about another 20 minutes. By this time, I’m so fed up with lines.

Finally they give you back your passports and you are finally free to leave. Yahoo! Total wait time: 2 hours.

Went back to HSBC. Sat and waited 25 minutes before I saw the agent. It took about an hour and a half as I had to sign a bunch of forms, and the agent had to call a bunch of different people to get authorization). But finally got my account opened…or at least that’s what I thought.

…5pm that day…

Get a call from the lady at HSBC: “Excuse me, there is a problem with your bank account. You will need to come in again and fix it.”

*facepalm* At that point, I was waiting for the landlady to sign the contract, so had no time to go back to HSBC. And I was fed up with colas of all sorts. Argh. The good news was I got my keys and the landlady was awesome.

Thursday 8/1: Finally went back to HSBC and signed some other form. Also got online banking activated. This time I went right when the bank opened (banks are open 9am-6pm). Didn’t have a line finally!

Oh, and what happened with the rent? My dad had to finally do a wire transfer for me from the US, because I couldn’t transfer money in time to my new Lima HSBC account. But sigh of relief, it is all done.

So if anything, you learn to be patient and to wait in lines. Didn’t even mention how people have to stand in line a lot waiting for buses at the Metropolitano, but I think that’s enough lines for today. Just relieved that I was able to get my apartment. Moving day tomorrow! Whoo hoo!