Do you remember when you were in college (or first lived on your own) and the first time you tried to do laundry? Most likely, you waited until you had no clean underwear left and were forced to visit either the local laundrymat or tackle the chore yourself. Of course, I´m speaking for men simply because I guess women have an endless suppl y of undies. Either way, you had a lot of dirty clothes. You performed your best Santa Claus impression and slung the bag of smelly clothes over your shoulder and headed towards the nearest washing machine. Now imagine yourself in a hot, crowded city walking down the street with that bag. Your back is hunched over to help balance all that weight and sweat is dripping down your face. You´re itching to wipe the sweat off but you´re afraid that if you let go of the bag then all of your momemtum will be lost.
At first I didn´t want to admit to myself that this was happening to me. I´m a 26 year old adult... (at least I think so), I should n´t be putting myself in these types of situations anymore. I knew that someday I would have to deal with the dreaded laundry, but I still put it off until later. I don´t know why, it just happened.
I live in a pretty busy part of Lima called, Chacarilla, which, if you want to compare to something you know... maybe Brookside or Prairie Village in the Kansas City area. (comparable in size). I took my bag and scoped out the closest laundrymat I could find. I walked into the place and immediately they said to me, ¨We can´t wash your clothes... you have too many.¨ They charged per item, and I needed a place that would charge by the kilo. Even though the workers laughed at my situation, as well as my accent, they did give me directions to the nearest place I could take my clothes. So I picked up my bag and walked out to head to the second destination. I finally arrived, gave them my clothes, and asked for the nearest back specialist.
I am on my way to pick up the clothes now. I should inquire about a delivery service... just like I did in college.
-BJM
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Return to Lima
…a continuation of my previous post...
The bus ride back from the south of Peru to Lima was pretty good. There was another Bingo game as well as many of the same passengers that joined us on the trip to Chile. However, you’ll never guess what movies we watched on the return trip… if you’re thinking of the movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, then you’re just cynical and only want bad things to happen to me on this trip. But if you’re thinking that another round of Enemy of the State and The Punisher were in order, then you’re right. I won’t waste too much time talking about the movies, however, if you haven’t checked them out yet I would recommend a date night with The Punisher. Then, if you have time, Snakes on a Plane – another under appreciated masterpiece.
As I mentioned before, the bus ride was comfortable. I had plenty of space for myself and they served dinner and breakfast the following day. Despite these luxuries, it was still a bus. Lucia and I had the good fortune to sit in front of a woman who didn’t quite do so well. During the night she managed to throw up for about 3 hours, non-stop. After the second hour I really stopped feeling disgusted and just wondered if her life was in danger after losing that much fluid. The poor woman kept going in and out of the bathroom, which, I’m sure felt more like a carnival ride rather than a smooth bus trip.
After at least 30 minutes of downtime to let the bathroom air out a bit, I felt it was safe enough to enter, with caution of course. The bathroom door swings out, so to open it you must pull. Also, there was an “occupied” light that shines bright red if someone was in the bathroom and has locked the door. All signs were clear for me to enter, so I opened the door and, naturally, there was a woman using the bathroom. Shit!
I should have just kept watching The Punisher. Embarrassing is an understatement. Instead of trying to find my seat, I was trying to find the exit to the bus. I can’t imagine what the woman was feeling. Of course after she exited the bathroom I made no eye contact and purposely stayed away from her the rest of the trip. I felt it was the best thing for the both of us. Also, I stayed away from the bathroom for the rest of the trip.
All in all the trip was worth it. I did what I needed to do (legally speaking) to remain in good standing with the immigration office and we had some fun. If you've got some time, and little money, the bus services are definitely worth it.
-BJM
The bus ride back from the south of Peru to Lima was pretty good. There was another Bingo game as well as many of the same passengers that joined us on the trip to Chile. However, you’ll never guess what movies we watched on the return trip… if you’re thinking of the movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, then you’re just cynical and only want bad things to happen to me on this trip. But if you’re thinking that another round of Enemy of the State and The Punisher were in order, then you’re right. I won’t waste too much time talking about the movies, however, if you haven’t checked them out yet I would recommend a date night with The Punisher. Then, if you have time, Snakes on a Plane – another under appreciated masterpiece.
As I mentioned before, the bus ride was comfortable. I had plenty of space for myself and they served dinner and breakfast the following day. Despite these luxuries, it was still a bus. Lucia and I had the good fortune to sit in front of a woman who didn’t quite do so well. During the night she managed to throw up for about 3 hours, non-stop. After the second hour I really stopped feeling disgusted and just wondered if her life was in danger after losing that much fluid. The poor woman kept going in and out of the bathroom, which, I’m sure felt more like a carnival ride rather than a smooth bus trip.
After at least 30 minutes of downtime to let the bathroom air out a bit, I felt it was safe enough to enter, with caution of course. The bathroom door swings out, so to open it you must pull. Also, there was an “occupied” light that shines bright red if someone was in the bathroom and has locked the door. All signs were clear for me to enter, so I opened the door and, naturally, there was a woman using the bathroom. Shit!
I should have just kept watching The Punisher. Embarrassing is an understatement. Instead of trying to find my seat, I was trying to find the exit to the bus. I can’t imagine what the woman was feeling. Of course after she exited the bathroom I made no eye contact and purposely stayed away from her the rest of the trip. I felt it was the best thing for the both of us. Also, I stayed away from the bathroom for the rest of the trip.
All in all the trip was worth it. I did what I needed to do (legally speaking) to remain in good standing with the immigration office and we had some fun. If you've got some time, and little money, the bus services are definitely worth it.
-BJM
Monday, April 13, 2009
Chile!!!!!
This weekend Lucia and I traveled to Chile. I had a couple days off from work in honor of Holy Week, so I thought I would take advantage of it to do a little traveling. Plus, I needed to travel outside the country to obtain my work visa anyway so I used the two days off to fulfill this function.
I chose Chile based on convenience and price. It was the fastest and cheapest option of any foreign excursion, and based on my current salary those two factors are very important. Cruz Del Sur, a great bus service here in Peru, took Lucia and I to the Southern-most city in Peru, Tacna. I bought a round-trip ticket for about $75, which, included breakfast, dinner, and great service for a 20-hour bus ride. And my favorite part of the bus ride – the movies – we watched four movies on the way to Tacna. Enemy of the State, Shooter, Underclassman, and The Punisher. What a line-up of movies – Will Smith, Mark Walberg, Nick Cannon, and some dude that played the Punisher – unforgettable. They were so unforgettable that we actually watched The Punisher twice. I know what you’re thinking – LUCKY. Exactly. By the way, they were dubbed in Spanish... even better!
Wait, there’s another perk when riding this bus – Bingo! If you were lucky enough to win the bus bingo game then you would receive your ride free of charge. However, Lucia and I weren’t paying attention while the attendant was reading the instructions, so we inadvertently shouted “BINGO” when I thought I had won. But, if we had listened at the beginning we would have known that you don’t win unless your whole card has been called – yes, about 30 minutes of B25, I38, N44, G73, O22 before someone could shout a legitimate ‘Bingo’.
We arrived to Tacna not knowing exactly how we were to cross the border into Chile. I met two surfers from New Zealand who were also in the same predicament. They said they were going to take the train, but it was going to be a slow ride, probably another 3 hours. I told them maybe, but maybe not. Surprisingly, we didn’t have to walk very far before 12 guys approached us saying “Arica, Arica, Arica, Aricaaaaaaaa”. Okay, I guess they can take us to Arica, Chile. We talked to one of the guys for a while and he convinced us that it was a safe ride to Arica… he would even take us to our hotel. We made the deal, paid the money, signed a form and we were off to Arica in a very appropriate ride - an early 90’s, grey Ford Taurus. I started to have flashbacks of sophomore year in High School driving around South Kansas City in Jerry Miller’s Taurus – sweet. I think the only difference between then and now was the music… Smashing Pumpkins and Dave Mathews versus Peruvian Reggae Tone and Salsa… hmmm.
We crossed the border quite smoothly; I think the baggage check guys might have been taking their mid-morning nap because they barely even noticed us as we walked through the metal detectors with all of our bags. We arrived to Arica, formerly part of Peru, but taken by Chile a little over 100 years ago, and we noticed that nothing is open. It was similar to a ghost town. It looked like the only thing that was open was a small restaurant near the beach and McDonalds. Since I feel nauseous every time I eat McDonalds (no offense to 99% of my friends) we chose the Chilean restaurant. We took advantage of the calm atmosphere and laid around the beach for a while, walked a lot, and took pictures of the war monuments placed all over the small city.
The following day we woke up early knowing that we had to go back to Peru in the late afternoon. We decided that the huge cliff that we noticed the previous day needed to be hiked. After a jumping a few fences and climbing through some make-shift gates we found the route to the top. It took a while, but we managed to hike up the side of the big hill/small mountain until we reached the peak. Supposedly, as legend has it, a Peruvian soldier, riding his horse, was chased by Chilean soldiers up this same hill carrying the Peruvian flag. He planted the flag on top of the hill/mountain before he was forced to jump off the cliff, along with his horse, committing suicide. Today, in that same place stands a Chilean flag that looks over all of Arica… along with a huge statue of Jesus. Under the statue is a plaque that reads – “Por la razon o la fuerza”. (for the reason or the force). Sounds like something Jesus would say for sure.
You can also find a small museum at the top of this cliff, who knew? You can check out the pictures to see some of the museum, but there was one interesting piece that I would like to share. The museum displayed a copy of the Chilean war campaign to occupy Lima.
The last part, under strategies and objectives it reads – “Ocupar Capital para imponer la paz”. Occupy the capital, Lima, to push (or impose) the peace. I was not proud when I immediately associated this logic to the American military philosophy in the previous years.
Anyway, unfortunately I have to cut this story short (it’s too long anyway)… TO BE CONTINUED MAÑANA. I love you…….
pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/bjmyp6
-bjm
I chose Chile based on convenience and price. It was the fastest and cheapest option of any foreign excursion, and based on my current salary those two factors are very important. Cruz Del Sur, a great bus service here in Peru, took Lucia and I to the Southern-most city in Peru, Tacna. I bought a round-trip ticket for about $75, which, included breakfast, dinner, and great service for a 20-hour bus ride. And my favorite part of the bus ride – the movies – we watched four movies on the way to Tacna. Enemy of the State, Shooter, Underclassman, and The Punisher. What a line-up of movies – Will Smith, Mark Walberg, Nick Cannon, and some dude that played the Punisher – unforgettable. They were so unforgettable that we actually watched The Punisher twice. I know what you’re thinking – LUCKY. Exactly. By the way, they were dubbed in Spanish... even better!
Wait, there’s another perk when riding this bus – Bingo! If you were lucky enough to win the bus bingo game then you would receive your ride free of charge. However, Lucia and I weren’t paying attention while the attendant was reading the instructions, so we inadvertently shouted “BINGO” when I thought I had won. But, if we had listened at the beginning we would have known that you don’t win unless your whole card has been called – yes, about 30 minutes of B25, I38, N44, G73, O22 before someone could shout a legitimate ‘Bingo’.
We arrived to Tacna not knowing exactly how we were to cross the border into Chile. I met two surfers from New Zealand who were also in the same predicament. They said they were going to take the train, but it was going to be a slow ride, probably another 3 hours. I told them maybe, but maybe not. Surprisingly, we didn’t have to walk very far before 12 guys approached us saying “Arica, Arica, Arica, Aricaaaaaaaa”. Okay, I guess they can take us to Arica, Chile. We talked to one of the guys for a while and he convinced us that it was a safe ride to Arica… he would even take us to our hotel. We made the deal, paid the money, signed a form and we were off to Arica in a very appropriate ride - an early 90’s, grey Ford Taurus. I started to have flashbacks of sophomore year in High School driving around South Kansas City in Jerry Miller’s Taurus – sweet. I think the only difference between then and now was the music… Smashing Pumpkins and Dave Mathews versus Peruvian Reggae Tone and Salsa… hmmm.
We crossed the border quite smoothly; I think the baggage check guys might have been taking their mid-morning nap because they barely even noticed us as we walked through the metal detectors with all of our bags. We arrived to Arica, formerly part of Peru, but taken by Chile a little over 100 years ago, and we noticed that nothing is open. It was similar to a ghost town. It looked like the only thing that was open was a small restaurant near the beach and McDonalds. Since I feel nauseous every time I eat McDonalds (no offense to 99% of my friends) we chose the Chilean restaurant. We took advantage of the calm atmosphere and laid around the beach for a while, walked a lot, and took pictures of the war monuments placed all over the small city.
The following day we woke up early knowing that we had to go back to Peru in the late afternoon. We decided that the huge cliff that we noticed the previous day needed to be hiked. After a jumping a few fences and climbing through some make-shift gates we found the route to the top. It took a while, but we managed to hike up the side of the big hill/small mountain until we reached the peak. Supposedly, as legend has it, a Peruvian soldier, riding his horse, was chased by Chilean soldiers up this same hill carrying the Peruvian flag. He planted the flag on top of the hill/mountain before he was forced to jump off the cliff, along with his horse, committing suicide. Today, in that same place stands a Chilean flag that looks over all of Arica… along with a huge statue of Jesus. Under the statue is a plaque that reads – “Por la razon o la fuerza”. (for the reason or the force). Sounds like something Jesus would say for sure.
You can also find a small museum at the top of this cliff, who knew? You can check out the pictures to see some of the museum, but there was one interesting piece that I would like to share. The museum displayed a copy of the Chilean war campaign to occupy Lima.
The last part, under strategies and objectives it reads – “Ocupar Capital para imponer la paz”. Occupy the capital, Lima, to push (or impose) the peace. I was not proud when I immediately associated this logic to the American military philosophy in the previous years.
Anyway, unfortunately I have to cut this story short (it’s too long anyway)… TO BE CONTINUED MAÑANA. I love you…….
pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/bjmyp6
-bjm
When are we turning around?
5am. Saturday Morning. 4 Peruvians. 1 American. 30 Kilometers. Done. Well, not so much.
In January I visited Larcamar, a small tourist district of Lima, which sits next to the ocean. I took this picture from the top of one of the cliffs near the shore looking towards a small peninsula about 15 kilometers away. (about 9 miles). At the time I thought to myself, “Self, wow, what a view.” I was of course talking about the ocean-front view, not of the dying, pink flowers in the foreground.
I had the opportunity, once again, to take in this view last Saturday morning. However, this time I wasn’t a tourist trying to catch the sunset, I was part of a Peru Running Club training for the marathon here in Lima next month. When I say – “once again take in the view”, I really mean that if the sun had actually risen at this point in the day it would have been a good view. It was so early in the morning that I actually ran passed a restaurant of people still enjoying their Friday night… I don’t know which group was crazier – I’ll go with the runners club.
So, to give you a little history first, earlier last week I was speaking with a fellow teacher who had heard that I enjoy running from time to time. He said that I should join him this Saturday for a long run around Miraflores here in Lima. I said, “Oh, great, I would love that.” This is where it gets a little fishy. He told me that the run was 20 kilometers, which, for me is a long run. I would barely be able to make 20 kilometers (11 or 12 miles). However, I always know that when I’m with a new group, trying to show off a little, that my adrenaline is pumping and that would probably help me finish the 20K. I agreed and we arranged the time and place to meet his running group. First mistake.
5:30am on Saturday morning arrives with some great weather. I was getting excited and nervous. I met my friend, Marco, at the starting point and we began around 6am. 5 runners in total… a small group, I thought. We started at an annoyingly slow pace – so slow that I felt like walking. But, our route was along the coast so the ocean breeze felt great, and I figured that once the sun came up it would be a beautiful view. We continued the fast walking for about 20 minutes, then, without words everyone increased the pace to a slow jog. At this point I’m thinking, come on people, let’s start running. Well, at kilometer 5 we took a quick bathroom break at a gas station then increased the pace to a steady jog – more of my style.
Two of the group members are very experienced marathon runners. They begin to run a little faster, which is more of my pace – … if we were running a 5K. I am trying to show off so I agree to join the faster group. The fast group is a good one, I’m happy to be in the fast group, we’re cool. Second mistake.
We kept the pace for about 30 minutes, then for 45 minutes. Okay, I’m starting to get a little fatigued at this point. We’ve been running, what feels to me to be a 7-minute per mile pace, for about 45 minutes… all in the same direction along the coast. I finally asked the guy in the group, when are we turning around? He points to a spot along the beach, which I’m familiar with… the peninsula (remember – “self, wow, what a view”). I cough a few times and they laugh at me and ask me, “How are you feeling?” “Are you going to make it?”. But, I’ve translated this for you, they asked me in Spanish, and my oxygen-deprived brain couldn’t comprehend Spanish at that point so I asked them to repeat, por favor.
After I come to terms with how far we’re running I told them that I want to slow down. But there’s a problem, I don’t know the route. Okay, I told them that I would wait for the slow group to catch up and just run with them. They said, “Oh, the slow group doesn’t run this far, they’ve already turned around and are heading back.” Okkaaaayyyyy. After I heard this news the two runners actually convinced me that it’s not that much farther before we turn around and that I might as well keep going. I oblige and continue running farther away from my former life… a life without leg cramps. Third mistake.
We finally reached our half-way point and I asked them how far we had gone. He responded with a smooth, “15 kilometers”. Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee……
I couldn’t keep up with the pace any longer and I had to bow-out of the fast group. I was no longer cool. Actually, I was so slow that I probably wouldn’t be considered part of the slow group. I was thinking about the beginning of the run when we were running so slow that I felt like walking… well, it’s not so annoying anymore. In fact, at kilometer 25, I felt so happy to be walking that I dreamed about the next logical step – sitting. So that’s what I did, I took a taxi for 3 soles ($1) back to our starting point. My pride took quite a hit when I rolled up to the parking lot in a taxi as everyone is just sitting, stretching, and of course talking about me. I told my new Peruvian friends a sincere thank you… thank you for reminding me to bring some money with me just in case I couldn’t make it. They were very kind with me telling me that I did the smart thing, and that there’s no need to push my body passed its limits. Duh, I said, as I struggle to touch my knees while stretching.
Some time soon I will visit Larcamar again. It’s a great place to watch a movie, eat at some great restaurants, and generally it’s a good atmosphere for walking around/hanging out. Of course I won’t remember Larcamar for that one Saturday that I conquered the spontaneous marathon. Rather, I will remember how smart I was to bring at least 3 soles with me so I wouldn’t have to run any farther - That decision, alone, made up for the three prior mistakes. What a view.
In January I visited Larcamar, a small tourist district of Lima, which sits next to the ocean. I took this picture from the top of one of the cliffs near the shore looking towards a small peninsula about 15 kilometers away. (about 9 miles). At the time I thought to myself, “Self, wow, what a view.” I was of course talking about the ocean-front view, not of the dying, pink flowers in the foreground.
I had the opportunity, once again, to take in this view last Saturday morning. However, this time I wasn’t a tourist trying to catch the sunset, I was part of a Peru Running Club training for the marathon here in Lima next month. When I say – “once again take in the view”, I really mean that if the sun had actually risen at this point in the day it would have been a good view. It was so early in the morning that I actually ran passed a restaurant of people still enjoying their Friday night… I don’t know which group was crazier – I’ll go with the runners club.
So, to give you a little history first, earlier last week I was speaking with a fellow teacher who had heard that I enjoy running from time to time. He said that I should join him this Saturday for a long run around Miraflores here in Lima. I said, “Oh, great, I would love that.” This is where it gets a little fishy. He told me that the run was 20 kilometers, which, for me is a long run. I would barely be able to make 20 kilometers (11 or 12 miles). However, I always know that when I’m with a new group, trying to show off a little, that my adrenaline is pumping and that would probably help me finish the 20K. I agreed and we arranged the time and place to meet his running group. First mistake.
5:30am on Saturday morning arrives with some great weather. I was getting excited and nervous. I met my friend, Marco, at the starting point and we began around 6am. 5 runners in total… a small group, I thought. We started at an annoyingly slow pace – so slow that I felt like walking. But, our route was along the coast so the ocean breeze felt great, and I figured that once the sun came up it would be a beautiful view. We continued the fast walking for about 20 minutes, then, without words everyone increased the pace to a slow jog. At this point I’m thinking, come on people, let’s start running. Well, at kilometer 5 we took a quick bathroom break at a gas station then increased the pace to a steady jog – more of my style.
Two of the group members are very experienced marathon runners. They begin to run a little faster, which is more of my pace – … if we were running a 5K. I am trying to show off so I agree to join the faster group. The fast group is a good one, I’m happy to be in the fast group, we’re cool. Second mistake.
We kept the pace for about 30 minutes, then for 45 minutes. Okay, I’m starting to get a little fatigued at this point. We’ve been running, what feels to me to be a 7-minute per mile pace, for about 45 minutes… all in the same direction along the coast. I finally asked the guy in the group, when are we turning around? He points to a spot along the beach, which I’m familiar with… the peninsula (remember – “self, wow, what a view”). I cough a few times and they laugh at me and ask me, “How are you feeling?” “Are you going to make it?”. But, I’ve translated this for you, they asked me in Spanish, and my oxygen-deprived brain couldn’t comprehend Spanish at that point so I asked them to repeat, por favor.
After I come to terms with how far we’re running I told them that I want to slow down. But there’s a problem, I don’t know the route. Okay, I told them that I would wait for the slow group to catch up and just run with them. They said, “Oh, the slow group doesn’t run this far, they’ve already turned around and are heading back.” Okkaaaayyyyy. After I heard this news the two runners actually convinced me that it’s not that much farther before we turn around and that I might as well keep going. I oblige and continue running farther away from my former life… a life without leg cramps. Third mistake.
We finally reached our half-way point and I asked them how far we had gone. He responded with a smooth, “15 kilometers”. Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee……
I couldn’t keep up with the pace any longer and I had to bow-out of the fast group. I was no longer cool. Actually, I was so slow that I probably wouldn’t be considered part of the slow group. I was thinking about the beginning of the run when we were running so slow that I felt like walking… well, it’s not so annoying anymore. In fact, at kilometer 25, I felt so happy to be walking that I dreamed about the next logical step – sitting. So that’s what I did, I took a taxi for 3 soles ($1) back to our starting point. My pride took quite a hit when I rolled up to the parking lot in a taxi as everyone is just sitting, stretching, and of course talking about me. I told my new Peruvian friends a sincere thank you… thank you for reminding me to bring some money with me just in case I couldn’t make it. They were very kind with me telling me that I did the smart thing, and that there’s no need to push my body passed its limits. Duh, I said, as I struggle to touch my knees while stretching.
Some time soon I will visit Larcamar again. It’s a great place to watch a movie, eat at some great restaurants, and generally it’s a good atmosphere for walking around/hanging out. Of course I won’t remember Larcamar for that one Saturday that I conquered the spontaneous marathon. Rather, I will remember how smart I was to bring at least 3 soles with me so I wouldn’t have to run any farther - That decision, alone, made up for the three prior mistakes. What a view.
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