Bring On the Tourists!

Over the past two weeks I was lucky enough to have a few visitors from the US.  First to arrive, with no more than a week and a half notice, was my good friend from Villanova, Steve Gentoso.  For those of you unaware of who this young man is, he is the brave soul who ventured with me on BOTH of my journeys driving across the country last year.  Both routes, to and from SD to Philly; oh, and he also happened to play on my rugby team with me.  Upon his arrival, I immediately sent him on a solo journey to the North of Peru to visit Mancora.  Due to the short notice of his arrival, I had work all week in Lima, so I sent him up to the beach towns where I knew he would enjoy himself more (he did).  He made it back to Lima by Friday in time to meet up with another friend of mine from ‘Nova who had arrived in Peru to volunteer in hospitals, Kaela.   

We had a few drinks Friday night, but since I had a rugby game Saturday, we didn’t go too crazy.  Saturday, Steve and Kaela came and watched my game, we won!  The two of them had arrived on the perfect weekend as a buddy on the rugby team was celebrating his birthday at his aunt’s Peña.  A Peña is a traditional Peruvian music club filled with folkloric music/shows, dancing, drinking and eating.  Needless to say, we had a blast, and they got to know a bunch of guys from the team.  The following week, Kaela and Steve made their way back up to Mancora for another sun-soaked week.  I, unfortunately, could not accompany them due to work and the fact that I will be going in two weeks with Casey and J-Mac.

After another week up North, Friday night, Steve made his way back to Jersey (for Father’s Day) and Kaela made her way back to Lima.  Once again, I had a rugby game Saturday (my LAST one down here!), so we took it easy that night.  Another convincing win and a delicious BBQ at the field kicked off the Saturday festivities.  Following the game, we all made our way to check out a new bar in Miraflores which may soon become our official team bar.  We spent the night drinking, enjoying a bit of food and possibly a little too much laughter.  It was a treat to spend such a memorable last game/night with my team, Old Markham, and I look forward to my next chance to play with them in the future (Possibly this Halloween)!

A quick note…I have failed.  It is difficult to admit, but it is true.  My attempt to spend 500+ days basking in the sun, tanning and enjoying the smiles that a beautiful, sun drenched day puts on each and every individuals face has ended at almost EXACTLY one year.  If you include the last month or two of my senior year at Villanova (April and May), I was able to arrive, be it by plane, train, bus or automobile, to a land of sunshine and smiles during my journey around the Americas during the last year.  Be it the beautiful beaches of San Diego, the gorgeous mountains of Vermont, the sun-stretched Andes in Argentina, or the beautiful sunsets in Peru, the sun has been there to join me through it all.  Until now; thus, I have failed.  But fear not, as I am back to chasing the sun North as I head to Colombia and then on to Panama in the coming months!  Bring me back my sun!

My next round of tourists will be arriving tomorrow and early Thursday morning.  We quickly head to Cusco this weekend for the Inti Raymi festival (one of the largest in Peru all year) and a stop off at Machu Picchu.  Like I mentioned before, we will then head up North to Mancora for six days, and then they are back to the States.

Since I don’t see myself posting while the two of them are here, Happy Fourth to everyone who follows! Have a wonderful long weekend when it arrives and be proud to wear the Red, White and Blue…we are lucky to be so privileged!

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” - JFK

Riding in Comvi's with (Peruvian) Boys

For those unaware…the title is a play on the title of the movie Riding in Cars with Boys.  Though I have never personally seen the movie, it fit too perfectly for me to pass up the opportunity!  Just a couple of funny/heart-warming stories to relay to ya’ll!

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I often forget exactly where I am in the world while I get caught up in that little thing called LIFE down here in Lima.  Anyways, the other day brought me back a few years.  While taking a comvi home from rugby practice, a young couple (I am talking 13-ish), took a step on the crowded bus, looked around and immediately got off.  Most inexperienced traveler’s here in Lima would assume they were just waiting for a less crowded bus.  While they would be factually correct, there intuition would be failing them; as the true reason for the couples’ quick turn-around on the bus is that no seats were available for them to make out on!  This immediately got me thinking about the little nuances similar to this in the US.  Where as in the States’ you often find young couples going to the movies or staying late after school to hang out, here in Lima the common make-out spots are open parks and comvi’s.  Don’t get me wrong, it seems movies are a popular hang-out spot for teenagers here as well, but with the addition of the comvi, those Peruvian girls have one more spot to meet “the One” while riding in Comvi’s with Peruvian boys.

Last week was quite an eventful week when it comes to storytelling.  Let’s start with the more embarrassing/frustrating of the bunch.  After proctoring an end-of-the-unit test for my students Friday morning, I was on my way home to celebrate the start of the weekend.  As you know by now, this isn’t my first time riding through the city, and at times the drivers in Lima can be a little over-aggressive.  Knowing this, I am always very alert and aware of my surroundings while on the road.  One particular spot always seems to be a bit of an issue for the Limenos trying to make their way to work.  There is a tricky intersection where cars have the option to veer right or stay straight which inevitably causes massive issues for the drivers here.  Since drivers here will do ANYTHING to gain just one spot in front of another car, it is not uncommon to find a driver, from the FAR left lane, attempting to cut through three lanes of traffic and make a quick right turn.  Well, clearly this isn’t anything of news to me, and if it isn’t news to me, then by no means is it news to anyone driving a car here in Lima.  So last Friday, while trying to weave my way cautiously through this intersection, all hell breaks loose (most definitely an exaggeration).  As I am passing through the intersection, I notice another car making its way through as well.  Seeing as how I am a big person on a small bike, I decide to use the car as a shield and pass through the intersection trailing this car.  Well before I knew it…SMASH!!! I had run directly into the back of this idiot who had decided, after passing half-way through the intersection, to slam on his breaks and allow a fellow idiot to cut over from the far left lane and pass by.  I smacked into the back of his car pretty good, but landed on my feet while allowing my bike to fall to the pavement.  The driver, either unaffected or unaware, continued on through the intersection.  I stopped for a brief moment, realized that out of the 20-or-so cars in the intersection not ONE was about to stop and ask what happened, and moved off to the side of the road.  Once again, escaping relatively unscathed, I was able to catch a glimpse of the car I had hit driving away, and HAPPILY noticed two decent sized dents on his trunk left by my handle-bars.  Once again, it was my left thumb that took the brunt of the damage, as I am pretty sure it was the only thing between the handlebars and the trunk of the car.  I continued on my way home, and couldn’t help but find myself laughing cheerfully along the way.  I don’t know exactly what led to the laughter, but I imagine it was a combination of the absolutely HORRIBLE drivers here in Lima, combined with yet another crash on my bike and, of course, the fact that I had once again emerged relatively unscathed.  Just another bump in the road!

Some tear-jerking stories from the past week…

Last Wednesday I broke the news to two of my favorite students that the following two weeks will be my last two weeks of teaching here in Lima.  We quickly discussed how we would go about transitioning to a new teacher and class was underway.  About 20 minutes later, while the students were in the middle of an exercise, I left the room briefly to grab a glass of water.  Upon my return, Ursula immediately proceeded to tell me that, “We felt a lot of sorry,” that you are leaving us as our teacher.  Though I didn’t show it, I was extremely honored and had a brief moment of sadness pass through me (Before you say anything, I swear they have improved their English under my instruction, but when it comes to portraying emotions in a foreign language it is very difficult – trust me).  I don’t expect all my students will react this way, but it is nice to know that my hard-work has been appreciated by some!

Lastly, again on Friday, I was lucky enough to receive a package in the mail from my loving uncle, Tom.  My mom had told me many weeks prior that he had sent something, and I had given up hope on it actually arriving to its intended destination.  I figured somewhere along the way (it’s a long way from Detroit) it had gotten lost in the mail, snagged by some corrupt policemen, or just misplaced.  Either way, it is and always will be the thought that counts and I was touched at his attempt to reach out to me.  So you can imagine my shock when last Friday I receive a phone call asking me to come downstairs and sign for a package! I threw some clothes on and flew downstairs eager to see what had arrived.  I couldn’t have asked for a better assortment of things…between a few fun-sized packs of Snickers, a few different books (in Spanish and English), and a hand-written note (the best part by far) from my uncle, I knew this was shaping up to be one heck of a weekend.  What made it even better, was the conversation that proceeded on my Facebook account after offering a few mini-snickers to my rugby buddies.  The love I felt from both my family and my rugby teammates on that day cannot be explained in words.  All I can say is my heart was filled with more than its fair share of love last Friday.

Hope you enjoyed a little story time…I wanted to get a blog in before tonight because my good friend from Villanova, Steve, will be arriving from New Jersey tonight.  A shout out to our good friend Ean Mulligan who was supposed to be joining Steve on the trip; unfortunately his grandfather passed away and he was unable to make the trip.  You will be in our thoughts this week Ean, I hope all is well and everyone in your family can remember all the special memories that man brought you.  It may be a while before I blog again, but I will try and sneak one in somewhere between Steve’s visit and Casey and J-Mac coming to town!

“If we couldn’t laugh we would ALL go insane!” – Jimmy Buffett