50 Things to Know Before Moving to Rural Latin America

AKA Things to Remember About Ecuador

We wrote this list in my travel journal while sharing one last cerveza at our favourite beach cabana before leaving small town Ecuador this November. It is composed of any words of wisdom we would have given ourselves or others before coming, and is in no particular order or importance.

1. Always bring sunglasses

2. Buy the chapstick with SPF - you will end up needing it.

3. If red meat is your thing, eat as much as you can before coming.

4. Always have a mosquito net (or double mosquito net if you’re a couple) handy just in case.

5. If you want good strong tea, especially black tea, bring it with you - The Horchata in Ecuador is unique and delicious, but not all day every day.

6. Although mototaxis are only 0,50$, you get a better experience walking - You never know who you will run in to or what random conversations you will have.

7. Headbands - your new best friends.

8. Don’t expect to use your blow-dryer or straightener – it’s not worth it.

9. Don’t bother bringing a shoe collection – flip flops are all you need.

10. Bring sea sickness medication with you, just in case.

11. Go invest in some antibacterial soap, regardless of what they give you.

12. Bring enough Shampoo, Conditioner, and hair products to last you.

13. If you don’t already have one, acquire a taste for fish and rice.

14. Beach wardrobe is now your everyday wardrobe.

15. Buy a volleyball/soccer ball when you first arrive.

16. If you don’t already, learn to love reggaeton.

17. Acquire a taste for beer – it will save you good money in the long run.

18. Have a collection of movies pre-downloaded on your hard-drive before coming, or make friends who have done so and swap.

19. Have a kindle or be ready to participate in book exchanges.

20. Take care of all your medical needs before coming.

21. Try out all “restaurants,” don’t fear them based on appearances.

22. Spend time getting to know the different food vendors at the market. When you find one you like, stick with them – things get cheaper.

23. Water bottles – go big and use it for everything.

24. Any makeup you can’t live without, bring a stockpile.

25. Wait for the hot water, it will come.

26. Don’t rely on the Internet for anything.

27. Ecuadorian planning – they’re punctual, just not prepared. Things will take time.

28. The ceviche is good, but if in Peru, have one last dish before coming.

29. Bring Bug Spray and Calamine, or buy them when you first arrive.

30. Learn to cook with only essential spices.

31. Get used to only buying what’s in season and cooking around it.

32. Learn to do a lot with a little.

33. Don’t underestimate the versatility of a frying pan and bread knife.

34. Don’t get your hopes up for coffee just because it’s grown there – still crap.

35. Make friends with locals.

36. Beer is your friend.

37. Cheese empanadas – NOT the same as in Peru.

38. Let your creativity flow.

39. Don’t get too caught up in the beach vibe – make goals and achieve them.

40. The party doesn’t get going until late – about midnight to 5am.

41. Go to the fish market as often as possible.

42. Accept offers as much as possibly – you never know where you’ll end up.

43. Volunteer – It’s an excellent way to experience the community in a way tourists can’t.

44. After-dark meat stick guy is your friend.

45. Don’t expect to find a mototaxi at night – they’re all drinking at the cabanas too.

46. Get used to the sounds of Latin American life – Don’t fight it. (music, dogs, horns, children, etc.)

47. Be flexible.

48. A moto is a family vehicle.

49. Bathrooms are few and far between – Get used to peeing outside and possible in public. It’s okay here.

50. Be prepared for your bowels to have a mind of their own.

The new jobs, the next move, and Costa Rica!

So Cena and I got the jobs. She is the new After-School Programs Coordinator and myself the new Program Coordinator and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Teacher at the Sarapiqui Conservation and Learning Center (SCLC) of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica.

Really we will be members of a core team of 5-6 people that run the Center, meaning like every small organisation, we will have a hand in almost everything. Cena doing some EFL teaching, myself helping with the Scholarship Program, both of us helping with the Youth Group. Not to mention helping take turns cooking staff lunches during the week and acting as liaisons with the community.

"The SCLC focuses its efforts in four areas — environmental education, community development, conservation, and tourism — in order to help form future environmental leaders, raise the organizational capacity of local communities, promote sustainable land use, and connect tourists to the local community."

It's located in a rural, less developed region of Costa Rica that despite being only around 100km away from San José, the capital, and less than 200km away from the Caribbean, it was more or less completely secluded from the economy and development of the rest of the country until the highway was built reaching the area in 1957. The town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui wasn't on the map until later when it became a port town, as it has a prime location where the Sarapiqui River and San Juan River meet. 

Have I mentioned that it's also located in the Tropical Rainforest and immediately next to several National Parks and Biological Protected zones that hosts 521 vascular plant, 194 bird, 36 mammal, 17 fish, and 36 amphibian species? Apparently "poison frogs, toucans, iguanas, and sloths are regular visitors (and residents) to the center grounds." 

Despite all this however, Sarapiquí is the sixth poorest county in Costa Rica. Which is the reason for the existence of the SCLC, which has a prime location right next to the Sarapiqui River.

So basically Cena and I are heading in to the jungle and back in to rural South America! And we could not be happier. From all estimates Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui seems to be about the size and development as Puerto Lopez in Ecuador, but far greener. After being in this metropolis ('city' just doesn't seem to cut it anymore) of 9 million in Colombia for about a month now, we are absolutely ready to leave. We do really enjoy being able to go for coffee at Juan Valdez for one of the best cappuccinos of life (and decaf too!), then a microbrewery beer, then sushi, but just the environmental stress of living in a city like this is really getting to us. I hate having to be on crowded, hot, makes-me-nauseous public transport for over 45 minutes just to get to a mall to get more contacts. Or having to fight hords of people at the grocery store. Thank god we have a little tienda right next to us that we can get most of our fruits and veggies from. Or having to plan out in advance an afternoon if we want to go sit in a park or on a bench somewhere. I miss living in rural Latin America and am very excited for this next move. Not to mention I am very excited to no longer be freezing with two jackets at 2600m above sea level, but be in the 30C heat of the jungle, at an altitude about the same as Redvers, SK. We haven't booked our flights yet, but the plan is January 15th. 

So with that in mind Cena and are going over our list we made while having a beer at a cabana on the beach the night before leaving Ecuador. As we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves in to when we moved to small town Latin America, we made ourselves (and others) a reminder list before leaving of Things to Remember about Ecuador, or rather, Things to Know Before Moving to Rural Latin America. 

(see next blog post for list)

Living in Bogota - More Western than you would think

Right now I'm sitting on the loveseat of our very European feeling studio apartment. It's about 3:30 in the afternoon, we've just finished lunch, and I'm still sipping my glass of wine. Not that Colombians are wine drinkers; we are. That is one of the aspects of Spanish culture they have not kept. They generally stick to their Rum, spirits, beer and coffee. They generally start their days later, eat lunch in the middle of the afternoon, and have supper when some Canadians are heading to bed. They party hard, cherish their coffee, and are constantly seen walking the streets

This blog is solely based on first-impressions, but Bogotá Colombia is also one of the fairest skinned places we have been in Latin America. The percentage of the remaining indigenous population is minimal compared to other countries and many Colombians are direct descendants from Spain. There are of course still many darker skinned Colombians, however, there are also many more that resemble Shakira's skin tone, who holds are regular spot on the airwaves as a matter of national pride.

Not to mention that Bogotá is a very developed sprawling metropolis city of 9 million. Shopping everywhere, big bulk sized grocery stores, 24 hour drugstores with aisle after aisle of beauty, skin and hair care products. Coming here from rural Ecuador, is night and day.

In many aspects, it no longer feels like we're in Latin America, compared to almost every other place we have been so far. Then again, I suppose this is what happens when you steamroll a Spanish colony with globalization. It feels like sprinkles of Latin American flavour in a Western city. Practically anything you watch on TV in Canada you could see on TV here. There is of course a ton of Latin, Salsa, Rumba, and Reggaeton music, but there is also an extraordinary amount of English North American music. You can buy John Frieda from the drugstore, and a giant bag of Lays and Betty Crocker from the grocery store. There is hot water from the shower at your disposal around the clock (although still not from any other tap), drinkable tap water, and internet that functions at Western speeds (although perhaps rural Western).
They have also imported Western notions of beauty and "fit". In rural Ecuador, almost all men have at least a bit of a ponch and most women are full-figured. No one seems to mind. In fact, the rule for clothes seems to be the tighter the better, at any age. And men have absolutely no problem taking their shirt off regardless of their size. However, you also have very little Western influence (compared to most other parts of the world). There are little to no advertisements whatsoever, aside from beer bottles and companies, and the only times I saw TVs they were playing football games. Here however, being "fit" is very much a trend, as it is in the West. They have managed to popularize it however with Ciclovia every Sunday (many of the main roads around the city close to cars and open up to cyclists, rollerbladers, skateboarders, and joggers, along with the grandstand aerobics class in the middle of an intersection. But the style still reflects a strong Western influence.

There are a few things that this country boasts however. One of which is the clearest Spanish accent of any other Spanish speaking country in the world. This, combined with the Intensive Spanish classes Cena and I started on Monday, mean that we can actually clearly understand people on the street, radio announcers, and the TV. It doesn't just sound like background noise anymore as it did in Ecuador.

The second and perhaps most important, being their coffee. Colombia is reputed for having some of the best coffee in the world, and it's absolutely no lie. But I'll come back to this crucial feature. Other than this however, our 12 km 4 hour walk around part of the city Sunday revealed that while the city itself is beautiful as it ressembles various Spanish cities, most of it is littered with trash, graffiti, and police. Not to mention that Bogotá is apparently the 9th most densely populated city in the world, just behind Chennai, India and just before Shanghai, China. This means that at rush hour, the streets are mad. And not just for cars I mean. I have honestly never had to walk through that many people in my life, other than on the floor at concerts or festivals. But here in Bogotá it's the norm. Even doing some grocery shopping after class at around 1:30pm the streets are absolutely filled with people.

Cena and I are very happy to be here taking Spanish lessons. To have our own apartment with hot water and internet, the possibility to further explore the city and its culinary gems and food carts, along with the travel opportunities later on to other parts of Colombia. I do miss Ecuador though with it's markets, it's simplicity, it's beaches and music, and can't wait to keep travelling North. The one big saving grace is Juan Valdez. (Along with the access here to fabulous international beers that I miss from Europe)

Juan Valdez is essentially Colombia's Starbucks, except a thousand times better. Not only is the coffee affordable (about 1,50$ for a small cappuccino), but the coffee is strictly 100% Colombian. However, the biggest difference between Juan Valdez and most corporate coffee chains, is that the shops are not owned by investors but rather by the 560 000 coffee-growing shareholders. Oh, not to mention the coffee is fucking delicious. One of the best cappuccinos I've had in my life. However, as it directly aimed to replicate the success of other coffee chains around the world, it does eerily ressemble Starbucks.

What can change in a year...

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it — change the way you think about it."
— Mary Engelbreit

Today officially marks one year since I last got back to Canada. And my the things that can happen and change in one year.

Arriving in Canada, my world felt in shambles. I had just left Switzerland and my job there, and Gooner had just died. Everything felt as if it was crashing for the month of October. I started questioning everything. My degree, my job, the institution I worked in, the idea of the righteousness of the institutions in the first place, and the somewhat perilous and fragile state of the world order and international economy. I didn't know where to go or what to do. I absolutely didn't want to go back to Canada, but I couldn't stay in Switzerland either.

After 3 months in Canada (2 in SK and one hitchhike/couchsurf travelling West), I had a plan. It wasn't a long term plan, but it was plan that would allow me to get back to Europe and out of Canada. To keep travelling and absorbing life. It would also allow me to get away from offices, computers, elitist rich people, pale uptight people in dreary suits, and policy research, and let me get to 'real' life in the streets of the world. Let me experience that life, the life that these pale people with money were making decisions about.

Still feeling shambled and lost, but no longer defeated, I left for Europe to stay for a month with some friends in Germany. I didn't do much there but try to get my life together, re-adjust to life in Europe, and keep good company. Along with quick quasi hitchhike trip across Germany to Munich to see Ckatu. Although it was for no more than a week, that trip was to become the first of many consciousness changing experiences of the last year that would lead me to this very spot, outside writing this blog while listening to the waves crash on the Ecuadorian shore and swatting off bees every 5 minutes with my flip flop.

It wasn't a eureka moment or one thing in particular about that trip, but rather the culmination of all the people I met and spoke to, the amazing conversations I had, and the wonderful experiences around Munich. It was a very subtle but powerful change of consciousness that I largely credit to the conversations with one of the guys in the van I got a ride in, and everything with Ckatu. Without going in to a long story, for I could write an entry alone on these two and their experiences, they are both citizens of the world with multicultural international experiences and refreshing ideas. Ckatu is Ecuadorian and has quite the story behind her, and the guy had just gotten back from 6 months in Bali, Indonesia implementing self-sustaining waste recycling programs.

From this moment on I felt a little renewed. I went back to my dear friend's place in Hannover, got my stuff together, and left for Barcelona, with a quick couple day stop in Brussels along the way. Barcelona fit into my plan I worked out in Canada in which I decided to take a Cambridge certificate that would certify me to teach english as a foreign language to speakers all over the world. This course, while extremly useful and a big contributing factor in reshaping the goals and long term plans I now have for myself, not to mention the wonderful short term plans and jobs that were to come, did not factor in the tremendous change of consciousness that I experienced in Barcelona. It was rather the sheer vivacity and lifestyle of the city itself and all the wonderful people and times I discovered in it, including one very special person that guided me through a much needed spiritual rejuvenation, and another I met towards the end that helped inspire and finalize the plans that were to come.

Through the course I was taking I was serendipitously given a room to live at in the home of Maria Roca, a gifted and celebrated artist nearing retirement, and a spiritual healer. The month I spent with her, learning from her both directly and indirectly, being guided through emotional meditations and readings, both while I was living with her and continuously throughout the months right up until the day I left Spain, forever evolved and altered my consciousness, and rekindled my intuitions. This and a few other unforgettable nights in Barcelona with some equally unforgettable people contributed to this consciousness changing that would lead me to start looking for opportunities, of any kind, in Latin America. (*Worth noting that I loved Barcelona dearly, and would have stayed there if given the chance, however the state of its economy and visa procedures made that all but an impossible option.)

After countless applications and interviews, I ended up being offered 4 different positions in 4 different countries, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru. What made me decide on Peru, I'll never remember fully. Perhaps it was the option that was the least shocking on the system, as it involved going to Arequipa, city of over 1 million. Perhaps it was simply the farthest South. And so only a few short weeks after that interview one afternoon over skype, I found myself eating breakfast at a cafe down the street from my hotel in Latin America. After getting over the incredible shock the first week laid on me, I was already falling in love with it all and meeting some fabulous new people. It was in one of the first staff meetings the first week of teaching that I met Cena, who like me had decided on Peru among half a dozen job offers. From that moment on, from that very first non-stop conversation, my life had subtly but dramatically evolved again.

We explore and absorbed life in Arequipa to its fullest and quickly realize that it was not so much Arequipa or Peru that we loved, but the latin american way of life, the culture and the language. Of which there was so much to see across the continent. So after finishing up our contracts we left to travel  the rest of Peru, ending up in Cuzco, seeing Machu Piccu, Lake Titicaca, Puno, the floating islands and their culture, the colca cañon, the deepest in the world where we did some trekking and climbing in and out of the canon, as well as camping in a tropical oasis. After being satisfied at having seen enough of Peru, we pooled our money and hoped a bus that would take us 52 hours north to Guayaquil, Ecuador, the largest city in the country. Where we took another bus 4 hours west to arrive at Puerto Lopez, small fishing town on the coast where we started work at a grassroots social development organisation teaching english classes and volunteering twice a week on a program to develop reading skills and provide social alternatives to local kids.

In Puerto Lopez we have learned so much exploring the community and their culture, absorbing the lifestyle, and taking advantage of all the leisure time to explore our reading interests, develop more ideas and plans for the future, and improve our Spanish. This point here is a sort of culmination of latin american explorations that has evolved and honed ideas and plans I have for myself and my future. Things are now looking brighter and clearer than ever, with the least amount of stress and most amount of appreciation for life that I have ever had. But my, what a trip to get here. And what adventures are still to come! For this point of clarity has not satiated some previously unfulfilled travel desires, but has rather evolved and refined my ideas of what a life can hold, what kind of life can be lead. It has given me a renewed appreciation for the world and its multitude of secrets and wonders, and the people that live them. I want to continue to live with them and learn from them. I have never before seen such possibilities of such wonderful, simple, happy lives than I have now. I am no longer eagerly waiting for the next things to happen, but am absolutely enjoying the present moments, and I look forward to enjoying such moments in the future. All in one year, who would have thought.

Beautiful Ecuador

Today is now October 1st. My god, how time flies. How things have changed in the last two weeks since my last blog. From a city of 1,5 million to living pretty much off the grid now. Not to mention a few stops in lake titicaca, the tropical jungle, snow capped 4900m, and machu piccu along the way. My life right now is dirt roads, bamboo and wooden huts with palm tree roofs, children running around barefoot and shirtless, and bars and restos with hammocks and sand floors along the beach. 

This new reality is wonderful, save for the fact that this lifestyle means the internet leaves A LOT to be desired. In fact, this is the first time I've gotten my blog to work since getting here. Facebook on my computer is still totally out of commission. Not to mention  netflix and any movie or TV streaming or downloading is completely out of the question. 

At the moment I am also still recovering from a cold I caught from Cena, who caught it from all our altitude and climactic changes on our trip, and I have a slightly sprained knee playing in the ocean yesterday. So today is a sit down and do nothing day (which it's just noon and it's already driving me up the wall), so I'm going to take this all as a sign from the universe to sit here and write a quick update and make this damn website work.

I've been thinking a lot about lives lately. As in, what determines a 'successful' life? Western convention dictates career, family, house, etc. More liberal 'open-minded' westerners will tell you that happiness is the key to a successful life. I'm beginning to question however, if it has to be 'successful' at all. Is there really a need for this indicator and its socio-cultural implications?

People here for example, most of which have been here there entire lives, are all fisherman and small business owners. At 11am you will see them laying in hammocks, sitting at tables with friends, drinking beer, playing cards, etc. They have already finished the 'longest' part of their day and are now just enjoying life and working as need be. They're not worried about financing their car, they have an old moto. They're not worried about how to pay for this year's 4 star family vacation, or if they're going to get that next promotion. Life is very simple. People riding their bikes and motos around, drinking 1,25$ 600ml beers on beach bars with friends, playing cards, chatting, playing with their kids. They have no such concept of success or failure. Life is life, and that's all there is to it. 

Us North Americans however, were born in areas of gas guzzling over-consumption where everyone bitches about how broke they are, how much they need to win the lottery, and how much they need a bigger TV. I was unhappy with all of that and left. Got my Masters and started travelling the world. But why? Why travel? Is it to see things? To learn about new cultures? Is it running away? Or is it a search for a replacement culture? A way of life that could perhaps be better than the one we were born in...


For example, when we were in Puno seeing lake Titicaca we took an afternoon trip to see the Uros floating islands on the lake. It was remarkable. These people constructed these completely sustainable floating islands and now live their lives in little monetary free communities complete with solar panels on every hut roof. Seeing something like this thriving really does make one think of the possibilities. 

Here in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador marks the 7th country I've lived in. I love it here very much. The simplicity, the beauty of life, nature. But at the same time, I'm frustrated by the lack of simple things that would make life easier. Such as an outlet in the bathroom. A citronella candle or fly strip. Internet that works. Not to mention the wealth of social, economic, and political problems a poor place like this has. 

Peru was a fantastic first step in latin america, and I would never trade my time there for anything, but it was time to leave. Overly touristic, ie, very overpriced and full of ridiculous tourists companies, extremely polluted, greedy, etc. Ecuador so far wins hands down. People are so much friendlier, life is more simple, yet easier than it is in Peru. Far less polluted. More emphasis on safeguarding natural beauty rather than trying to make money from it.

Yesterday for example, we made friends with the hospedaje owner (place where we're staying), and he took us around town on his moto (the 3 of us yes, gotta love developing countries) then to this fabulous beach on a national reserve outside of town where we just played in the waves and laughed like little kids. Turns out this reserve and beach also has some fabulous hiking, black sand beaches and lookout points to be explored. After we changed and dried off back in town, took a walk to the centre (down the dirt road adjacent to the beach to the more populous area of dirt road by the beach) and got two hot dogs and amazing fresh fruit smoothies (all for 3$), and then just sat on wooden chairs under a bamboo and palm tree bar in the sand enjoying it all. And this is legit palm trees and bamboo, not tourist resort style. All with the continuous sound of the waves crashing in the background.

Absolutely wonderful. But after this? Who knows. Maybe stay here for a few months, re-find that precious mind-body-spirit balance. Figure things out. Maybe be vagabonding workaway adventurers for a few months at random places around Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica? Maybe take a contract in Costa Rica? The more I've been thinking about it, the more I'm considering Costa Rica and Upeace University for potential PhD locations. But we'll see how things go.

But the more I think about it, the more I think here in Puerto Lopez is a much needed stop. Peru feels like it just flew by with that horrible split shift schedule and all the stresses of life there. Time to regroup, slow down, and take a breath. 

What goes down must come up?

Life is funny sometimes.. I know I’ve started many a blog and writing torrent with this same line, but it continues to amaze me. Maybe it’s just one of those facts of life that you never get over, from 6 to 60.

You can feel so sure at one moment, and feel like you’re grasping at straws the next. But between moment A and B, what changed? What is that precious differential that can make you confident and adventurous one moment, and cripple you to stress and a certain fear the next? Fear isn’t so much the right word, as it’s not a fear of failure, fear or loneliness, or fear on financial grounds, as are most traditional ‘life’ fears. So ‘fear’ of what? Is it more a general anxiety? A worry about something? Maybe it’s just the natural feeling when you are in the process of ending yet another chapter to open another. A chapter more unknown more unsettled and more up in the air than any chapter I’ve ever lived before. However, a chapter with infinite possibilities.

Before I thought that Barcelona was the transitional chapter, but now I have the feeling that this is as well. Maybe everything from the moment I left Switzerland up until present has been transitional. It would make sense, no? Who knows, maybe Ecuador, given two months, will also be categorized in to this ‘transition’ to something. I guess that depends what comes after right? But how? On what? Does it depend on a career objective? On self assurance of life directions? On love? On friendship? On the evolution of personal values and self?

Sometimes I wonder why I keep putting myself through it. Through all the stress that comes with moving this much. With keeping this nomadic lifestyle. Wouldn’t it just be much easier to do as all the Americans I’ve met do? Have a permanent place in Canada somewhere where I have a job and make ‘real’ money, then come on 3-6 month adventures from time to time. Maybe it would be. But then where? Doing what?

Then there’s the question of PhD… If I choose this path, then I am committing to at least 3-5 years in one location. So should I not live out my nomadic fantasies now? Then again, is a PhD really what I should do? Would I be happier doing something else? It does re-challenge the financial issues.

I just feel like everything is up in the air right now. But at the same time, I am fairly sure of so many things. It feels like thinking inside a paradox. One of assuredness and of dizziness. Of path and forest.

“Take it one day at a time” or “We have all the time in the world” I say to others, all the while re-affirming it to myself. This is the secret to it all, no? To enjoy the process and not be end-goal centered. Focus on the means, not only the end. For the processes are the beauty of life, right? In which case, taking it ‘one day at a time’, and not stressing about these questions or queries is most definitely the right plan. However, it’s a lot more difficult to execute than it seems. Because life is full of events that force you to think more long term. Or at least short term. Force you to plan and manage.

As much as I love not having a concrete 3-10 year plan, being extremely flexible and adaptable, and having the freedom to go live on the coast for a month if I want, I do very much love having some sort of structure. For instance, being under a 3 month contract was nice. It offered some concrete structure to a nomadic existence. Perfect. Only problem, was what happens when the contract expires, and you don’t want to renew it? Find a new contract? I should really really just be focusing on enjoying this next month and a half of freedom and travelling, so why can’t I? Why am I so caught with the bigger question and to what happens after this time?

Well I have exactly 17 hours to put this all to rest, or some sort of tepid truce in my mind before we catch the bus to Colca, commencing exactly two weeks of adventuring that will bring camping and touring in the Sacred Valley, exploring Cusco, marvelling at Machu Piccu, regrouping a few days in Arequipa, then bussing 42 hours to Ecuador, to our new temporary home on the coast. Not to mention all the packing that needs to happen between now and then, and settling of deposit in Ecuador somehow.

*Deep breaths*

I suppose it all is just some inevitable fact of my existence, all this worry and stress and questions before taking another leap. I’m sure if I re-read writings before other ‘leaps’ they would be very similar. I am taking the leap with someone this time, so I suppose that things will inevitably be different. They have to be. So why don’t I feel that way? Perhaps because nothing has happened yet. Because all of my previous experiences have all been me dealing with everything?

Then again, maybe everything comes in its own time. That peace and serenity will return, along with the resolve and faith. Perhaps it’s just the cycle of human nature to go through these waves. The deal with the up is that it must go down eventually.

My last problem then, is I wonder, will it go back up if I don’t stress and work for it to? If I can truly manage to forget about it and not worry about it, will it still work out and go back up the same as the alternative method?

Reflections on the past 3 months: becoming myself and a thank you to everyone that helped me do so

Wow. Nearing the end of August and there still has not been one blog post this month. I swear I haven't been intentionally avoiding my beloved writing space. Many other writing facets have been detectably ignored as well. For example, I still have an unfinished email to my wonderful correspondance friend across the world that has been collecting dust for half a month now, after postponing commencing this reply for at least 2 months. I also have a growing list of new emails to respond to from people like my mother, to long lost European friends, to close friends from Canada. Not to mention a few increasingly pressing Skype calls that need to be had.

However, it's not only in regards to writing! Oh no.. I have been working on this relatively short and fairly interesting 262 page novel for over two weeks now. I am about 6-7 weeks behind in the one and only TV show I watch right now. And I have become fantastically pro at planning my lessons in the space of 5 minute between when I arrive to class and my students start arriving. I also think in the past months, the only time I have been on Facebook, checked my email, or browsed news articles online, previously all part of my breakfast routine every morning, have been during class while my students are busy working.

So what have I been doing then, if not all of these things that used to take up a significant portion of my time?

Short answer: living life.

I've naturally started doing a lot of reflection on my time here in Latin America recently, as my 3 month contract here in Arequipa is up next week and I've decided not to renew it, despite offers to take up the posts of TEFL teacher and/or Teacher Coordinator. Which means that it has been over 3 months now that I've been living life down here, and as I have been mentioning on Facebook, I have no plans to end it any time soon. To the contrary, I plan to continue working my way around the continent.

The main conclusion that I've come to, is that in these last 3+ months, I have become more myself that I have been in years, possibly ever.

Clearly it was a process, not just a lightbulb moment. As such, there are many things and people that I think have had a direct impact on the process. Firstly, Jo, my boss and big sister in Switzerland who opened the door to new possibilities. Secondly, and possibly foremostly on the spiritual scale, Maria my spiritual guide in Barcelona who served as the catalyst as well as mentor. Thirdly, and most recently, the latino lifestyle where tranquillo and flexible are more of a guide to life than a slogan or motto people throw around. There have also been, of course, many friends along the way who have helped tremendously; from my "friends" in Brussels who taught me some hard life lessons, to my Russian/German friends and my homie who taught me about true friendship. Finally, whose importance is to be marked rather than reneged by their placement on this list, Cena, the missing piece of the puzzle.

You all have had a tremendous impact on my life, and some of you, I hope will continue to have for years to come.

At peace in my own little headspace

The day before I left Barcelona, I went to see Maria at her office near where I lived to say goodbye. On top of wishing me luck on my new adventure, she wanted to do one last tarot reading for me. In this reading, among the many things she said, the prevailing theme for her was that this next step would be a vacation for my mind and soul. Well, I've been here now for about 2 and a half months, and that is the perfect tagline to express my headspace right now.

Physically it is definitely not your stereotypical carefree vacation commemorated by a week of lounging on the beach getting fruity drinks brought to you. Physically it is more like walking uphill at altitude on broken streets dodging little yellow cars shooting out of every which way on every intersection, while trying not to think of choking on all the pollution as you try to make it to work for 7am. Not to mention the fact that it is not summer here, it is winter, which yes is still sunny and very-much snow free, but still has a 15-20 degree temperature change between afternoon and night. Which combined with the aforementioned pollution, has brought about a nasty cold that I have been battling for over 3 weeks now.

My mind however, feels like it is very much on vacation. I woke up this Friday morning of this Peruvian national holiday around 8 (yes that means I managed to sleep in 2,5 hours) with the sun pouring in through the window onto my pillow and a slight chill in the air. However under the 4,5 blankets it was nice and toasty warm, and I couldn't help but smile. My mind was perfectly at peace. Sure I had been fairly down for almost 3 days prior to this morning, due to some drama managing to permeate my wonderful little barrier, but those moments are inevitable. If anything, it just worked to make me appreciate this peace of mind even more. I opened my laptop to find Facebook open, and after having read the first 2 or 3 posts complaining about this, and upset about that, I promptly shut it and laid my head back down in the light.

My mind being so at peace has also clearly had wonderful effects for my soul. It feels at harmony with things. At peace with myself, my life, and my plans. Working together they have managed to shut out all the bullshit perpetuated by so many other people out there, and just focus on the light. As a result, I do feel a bit out of the loop with what's happening with almost everyone else, but I really couldn't be happier about it. If this is what out of the loop feels like, than I don't know if I ever want to be back in. Living in the now, and in my now, not anyone else's, has been absolutely wonderful. I still have all of my plans and thoughts about everything of course, but it has reached this beautiful balance.

I will have to extract myself a little bit of course, as even my friend's here are wondering if I've moved. If not in my mental space than the physical one imposed by my cold the last 3 weeks. This weekend though, tomorrow morning to be precise, we are catching a couple soles 2 hour bus to the coast with a few friends. Again, it's winter so it will be cold, but it will be fantastic to just be in a national park looking out at the ocean breathing in lungfuls of fresh air for a day or two. Not to mention, when we get back Sunday or Monday, a friend from Saskatoon happens to be here, in this part of the world in Arequipa for a few days. Also with Arequipa day and weekend long fiestas coming up mid-August, Jasmin coming and month long touring in September, and travelling up to the Ecuadorian coast end of September to be settled in there for my birthday in October, there will be a lot going on the next 2 months. Much to look forward too. :)

The Peruvian quest for cheap Jack Daniels - desayuno a desayuno

I've experienced so many adventures here on a day to day basis that it is hard to even know where to begin to recount or explain them. This one, however, is still fresh in my mind. It is the tale of a majestic quest taken on by two crazy Canadian girls to find cheap whiskey. But not just any whiskey, Jack Daniels.... And we did. Here is our story.

As a prelude, I must mention that to buy alcohol here is normally fairly expensive (in comparaison to everything else of course). To find a good selection, you must go to the Supermarkets, which cost S/. 35 for a bottle of good Chilean wine, and S/. 114 for a bottle of Jack Daniels. There exists however, this mythical street deep in the markets on the other side of the centre. A street that is composed of nothing but little Peruvian alcohol stores selling wine and hard liquor at vastly discounted prices. A bottle of Jack is rumoured to only cost about S/. 42 there. So as we knew we had a work party to attend Saturday evening, the Inauguration of the second location, Cena and I decided to set forth on our quest Saturday afternoon after work.

Saturday morning
For one of the first times, we woke up early Saturday morning feeling refreshed, energized, and ready for the day. Since this was my old place however, the single digit temperature of the room did have something to do with the 'energetic' morning. It also at the time did not have a working kitchen, so forced us out of the house early to find breakfast. So we took a little detour on our walk to work and stopped to pick up pollo and queso empanadas, peach yogurts, bananas, and an orange. We even made it to the park across the street from work a full half hour before we started teaching to sit and eat our breakfast.

After working 3 hours (an extra half hour for late exams), we headed back to my place to quickly drop our stuff off, change, and head out on our venture.

Saturday Afternoon
Our first task was to actually find the market. Considering it spans out over many, many, many blocks, you would not think this would be a hard place to find. Well, to find the fringes of it, it was not. To find the right area where we wanted to be? Another story.

We walked off in the general direction, crossing the Plaza del Armas, Cusco Coffee, and continued walking in general market territory. Now our plan was to just stop by the mythical alcohol street, buy some wine and Jack, find the food markets for fruits and veggies, and head home.... Ha.

Well as we continued walking we unmistakably landed in the market, however nowhere near the right end of the market. And as things are far from organized, I had nothing but a general vague idea of how to get to the area we wanted. So we started trying to go off memory as best as possible navigating the fringes to find the right street. Nope, still not finding our street.

Then out of nowhere, I spot wine bottles out of the corner of my eye. Yes, that stall is definitely selling alcohol! We'll just nevermind the fact the two front stalls were alcohol, and the rest of the building cheap market hair salons. We take a browse around and find a 1L bottle of Jack Daniels for S/. 50. Considering it is still far cheaper than the supermarkets, that we weren't sure if we would ever find our mythical street, and that it is better to have more bottles than none at all, we buy the bottle.

Okay, so we have a reserve of Jack in Cena's backpack, just in case, so we feel adventurous enough to start wandering random streets in attempts to find the street we are looking for. This works fine for about the first half hour or so, until we suddenly find ourselves completely out of the market and on surprisingly peaceful and tranquil residential streets.. Fantastic, but definitely nowhere near the right area.

So we wander for another half hour or so, turning left and right at random intersections in order to seek out the busy and noisy. Then we see a man pushing a wheelbarrow full of random crap. Definitely getting close. Cross another street, find a random roundabout, circle left, and voilà! Back in the market! Success! But wait.. still nowhere near knowing WHERE in the market.

So we continue our educated guesses about which sections we are in, and where we need to go. Crossing the cleaning supplies/candy section. The underwear, lingerie and electronics section. The bathroom products and backpack section. Then Oo, the shoe section. Clearly we had to investigate.

After getting lost amongst the walls of shoes thoroughly scoping out the selection for a good period of time, our low blood sugar starts kicking in and we realize that we hadn't eaten lunch. It then became the imperative new goal number 1 to find food.

So we leave the shoe markets and start wandering in the direction of the Plaza, where we are sure along the way we will find something.

Sure enough, we wander past a cake shop, stop and marvel/drool over the displays, and realize there is a cafeteria thing inside. So we head inside, to find gelato and sandwiches for S/. 3. Consider our love for sandwiches, we immediately stand in line at the pollo counter and get two (each) of the best homestyle chicken sandwiches we've had, eaten in a sort of Peruvian food court.

After this fabulous food, we decide we need coffee. Given that normal Peruvian coffee is all instant, we agree we need to seek out one of the coffee places I had staked out for having good coffee, and continue to walk in the general direction of the Plaza.

Suddenly we stumble across Café Venezuela, a place that my Peruvian friend Alex had recommended ages ago but for its distance I had never gone to. Decided to give it a shot and go in.

One hint of the scent of freshly ground and roasted coffee beans in the air and the menu having Cortados and other coffees from Spain, and we were sold. Best proper café con leche I had had since leaving Barcelona. Cena fully enjoyed her first Cortado experience as well.

Feeling energized like nothing but the first proper coffee in months can do, we start walking towards the plaza to try to buy a bodum to be able to make our own coffee at home.

Finding nothing, we are about to resign ourselves to buying one at Starbucks, when I suddenly spot Spiderman walking just ahead of us. (Making him the 4th character to see behind Winnie the Pooh, Santa and Green Santa). Cena is stoked. She loves spiderman and we had just seen an add for Hombre Araña 3 (Spiderman 3) and laughed at the translation earlier that day.

Once we finish laughing over spiderman, we realize that it is already 5 o'clock, and as we had planned on showing up the the party (which basically had mandatory attendance for teachers) fashionably late at 7 or 8, we had to get moving.

Saturday Evening
After making the trek back to Cena's place, and deciding we weren't going to bother showering or changing, but were still going to show up 'fashionably' late, we decided to start enjoying our single purchase of the entire day: our 1L bottle of JD. Oh, sorry. We also bought a bottle of water at the store nearest Cena's place to drink the Jack with.

We had just started sipping our first glass when we spotted Aaron, one of the 4-5 roommates living in Cena's Hospedaje out at the kitchen table crushing some coca leaves to make a pitcher of this coca pisco drink.

Considering it isn't every day that you get an offer to try a pitcher of pisco style lemonade made with a pile of coca leaves, we couldn't say no and sat down to have a drink with him. Soon enough we were sitting there we Aaron, his girlfriend, Mama Leo, and another roommate before we realized that we should probably start walking over to the party.

After 20 minutes of flasks vs. water bottle debates, we settled on a small flask and a half and half water bottle of Jack and water and set off.

After an energetic walk comprising of Cena and I switching between talking non-stop in French and English and laughing hysterically, and Aaron and his girlfriend following us in near silence, we arrived with perfect timing.

Sunday Night
The party turned out to be fantastic. Stocked bar with our boss Chris playing bartender and smoking his stogie all night, and all of our favourite people there all in the same state as we were in.

After hours of Cena and I floating around individually, being the social butterflies we are talking to anyone and everyone in many different circles, we found ourselves back in our Canadian corner with our 2 other Canadian/pseudo-Canadians, plotting our escape.

We all filled up our drinks/water bottles and made a break for it, with half the party following us out the door. We walked down to the main street, decided on a karaoke bar, and haggled an S/. 8 taxi ride of 6 women (in a 5 seater extremely small taxi) to the place.

Once we got to Boxes, the karaoke place, Amanda (the pseudo-Canadian) and I's Coordinatrice skills kicked in. Between the two of us, we managed to get discounted cover and a private room for our entire group consisting of a private karaoke machine, disco lights, and bar service at the touch of a button. Amanda also managed to blame all the spilled drinks on the crappy tables and got them all taken off our bill.

Insert several hours of hilarious and ridiculous private karaoke sessions with an entire room full of extremely drunk people with tequila shots.

The trip home was equally as adventure filled as Amanda, Cena and I grabbed a taxi and took it to Plaza Yanahuara near to her and Cena's place. Here we ended up talking for hours before Cena decided to climb one of the palm trees, proceeded to fall off with a garbage can breaking her fall, then promptly decided she was hungry and was going on an adventure for tacos. We all parted ways, Amanda and I going home, Cena adventuring for tacos.

Sunday morning
After weeks and weeks of getting up at 5:30-6am for work at 7, we wake up around 8am, estimating to have slept something like 4 hours. Seeing as it was early and we were feeling good, albeit starving, we decided to venture out for breakfast.

It didn't take us very long in to our very slow and tranquil walk to realize that we might still be drunk. Actually, it was the hysterical laughing fits at absolutely nothing at all that tipped us off...

Our breakfast was fabulous and equally as hysterical. It all started with two giant bottles of water which seemed surprisingly difficult to open. After a struggle between laughter I opened mine, and Cena was still completely unable to open hers. We laughed at our suddenly very weak muscles and she promptly got up and walked over to the next table of men and asked him to open her water bottle as I laughed from a distance.

Getting back to the table our buns with butter and marmalade had arrived. I tried to butter my bun but as usual it was rock hard. So we tried to think of the Spanish word for soft to ask the waitress, however without success, so we reverted to our usual method of trying out the French word with a Spanish twist. However, the French word for soft is moux, pronounced "moo". So when Cena decided to ask for some "moo" butter we completely fucking lost it and decided to just warm it up in our hands.

Finally, after an hour or two of hysteria when we were almost finished our coffee, we decided that it would probably be best to go home and nap for a few hours. So we started our equally slow but hysterical walk back, taking twice as long going uphill as we were walking so slowly it seemed as though we were barely moving at all.

And so ended the quest, with our two crazy Canadian heroines laying back down in bed and thanking the gods for their fantastical past 24 hours and their cheap Jack Daniels. 

A living breathing example of globalization and its cultural steamroller

What an interesting place this is to live. I am living and breathing in a class A example of globalization and capitalist economic development. Working in Arequipa Peru for an American owned and mostly staffed company teaching English (American English) to wealthy Peruvians who must get their certificate for work purposes. I actually have the opportunity to sit down and write something today because we have this day off, the 4th of July. These Peruvians love to go eat at TGI Fridays and go wander the mall when they have nothing better to do, checking out the lastest American movie (dubbed in Spanish) playing at the cinema. 

It is quite the change from being in European countries that are fiercely protective of their cultural and linguistic wealth and diversity, and are in a position to take extreme measures to retain their independence. Even little things, like showing only a specific percentage of American films, the layout/look of shopping centers (or their existence all together), or how they view learning another language such as English (they see it as becoming more international, nothing more, nothing less). 

Countries like Peru on the other hand, are not in a position to be able to protect themselves from the American cultural steamroller that is globalization. In order to develop their economy they needed to open their borders to foreign investments. Pretty soon, you see Starbucks popping up, McDonalds, KFC and Burger King fast food centers, TGI Friday's, malls, and cinema chains that have become the hallmark of American influence abroad. 

Certain measures have of course been taken to protect certain Peruvian cultural landmarks, such as the world heritage cites of Machu Picchu, the Colca canyon, and even the main square, Plaza del Armas, in Arequipa. However, as these places remain untouched (except by tourism), the rest of Arequipa and Peru are slowly changing. It is incredible to go outside the central areas of the city to the poorer parts, and out in to the countryside. Even when you escape the car and pollution filled metropolises, you see nothing but garbage, waste, and factories lining the edges of the cities and surrounding dirt roads and fields. 

Yes economic development is absolutely imperative in order to bring up the standard of living within countries like this one, but at what cost? Languages and cultures all over the world which hold incredible wealths of information encoded in their very identity, are slowly being forgotten in the face of the Western cultural and economic steamroller. The fact that you have to go out of your way here to buy a bag of coca leaves to make coca tea or coca pisco, one of the quintessential elements of Peruvian culture, yet you can buy burger/sandwich at every corner really says something. 

That being said, certain elements of Western culture are highly appreciated. I just feel that a better happy medium needs to be found. A way to incorporate elements of this new international culture and language into existing cultural wealth. Create a culture 2.0 if you will.

Your average day in Arequipa

I've been in Arequipa for a little over a month now, and life has settled into somewhat of a routine. If you can call mastering the art of dodging across 4 lanes of sign-less chaotic traffic routine. So I thought I would share what my average day looks like.

5:30 - iPhone alarm starts going off, and snooze will be hit 3 or 4 times before getting up is seriously considered. Nicely snuggled and warm under 3-4 blankets and completely dreading the thought of getting out from under them.

6:00 - The sun is finally up and light coming in through the windows. Time to start actually planning the dash to my sweats and hoodie.

6:15 - Finally accept that I cannot sleep any longer and grudgingly get out of bed and get ready.

6:30 - Finish getting ready and track down my course books and materials

6:35 - If at Cena's place, sit down for a wonderful (albeit rapid) desayuno of delicious orange yogurt smoothie, fresh cheese empanada, fresh rolls with jam and cheese, and tea that Mama Kuy in her sleepy state prepared as she considers it madness to leave to work with out breakfast. If my place, throw a granola bar and fruit in my bag.

Photo by Cena Rouzes

6:45-50 - Undertake my 5-8 minute power walk to work, past the combis stop (one of the few pre-planned chaotic stops), across more lanes of traffic, across the bridge, and through the park to Extreme.

6:50-55 - Make the first of many travel mugs of black tea and do some last minute lesson planning for my class starting in 5 minutes.

7:00-11:00 - Teach 4 hours of Intermediate and Advanced young adult english classes.

11:10 - Walk back home avoiding the taxis offering me rides, street vendors trying to sell me things, and floods of traffic and people congesting the streets, and proceed to strip off and change out of my work clothes the second I enter my room.

(If I haven't slept for a few days and need to nap throughout afternoon, proceed directly to 16:00)

12:00 - The lunch menús have started and we head to one of our favorite 5-7 soles ( 2-3$) 2 course lunch menus nearby consisting of a huge bowl of hearty soup complete with giant chunk of meat, potato, squash, and corn or very interesting but delicious veggie for starters, and a heaping plate of rice, vegetables and usually chicken or pork as the main plate, always accompanied by chicha or limonada.

13:00 - After a crazy delicious amount of food, we usually head to one of the many cafés I have scoped out for a café con leche. Following this, we either sit in the café and talk, practice Spanish, go to the main square or a park and people watch, or wander the city checking out markets and stalls.

Photo by Cena Rouzes

Photo by Cena Rouzes

15:00-30 - Head back home to a luke-warm shower, if necessary, as a 6am shower is suicidally cold. Plan out lessons, do some admin, chill, and change clothes again for work.

16:15 - Start my 30 minute walk to the second Extreme location where I teach my evening class, or proceed to fuck around for 30 more minutes and catch a 4-5 soles taxi ride there. Sun will also set while I'm in class, so I have to carry my two layers of jacket with me and face the sun sans sunglasses or risk lugging them around in my bag all evening.

17:00 - 5 minutes of last minute lesson planning, as Peruvians are consistently 15 minutes late, and proceed to teach for 2 more hours.

19:00 - Finish work and either head down the street to Alex's Hotel to chat with her, have a drink, hang out with other Peruvians, or wander the city, or meet up with Cena or occasionally Preston or Adriana and wander the city, find some food, watch a movie, hang out, or have a drink. Either way, proceed to inevitably lose complete track of time.

24:00 - Realize that it's already midnight, and I have to be up in 6 hours, and start thinking about heading to bed.

1:00 - Finally get serious about this mystical sleep thing and go to bed. Instantly regretting the fact that I have to be up in 4-5 hours and vow to go to sleep early the next night.

Life keeps you on your toes

I feel like life is always full of choice. This may seem like a glaringly obvious fact of life, and to point it out a bit pointless, but bear with me for a moment.

I feel like we are always making choices between things. Between locations/destinations. Between friends. Between potential jobs. Even between realities at times. That certain things just simply cannot co-exist. One new happiness takes away from another. But I suppose 'tis life no? A series of fleeting moments combining to make up one's existence.

Take Peru for example. There are many wonderful things about living here. But many things had to be given up in order to get them. Is it not possible certain elements of two realities to combine to form a better one? Does it always have to be one or the other; mine or yours?

I think a re-conception of reality is in order. A re-visitation of what we consider life to be and how we organize it.

Sometimes I think its amazing that there are not more conflicts throughout life and the world. Such astoundingly different people all sharing finite resources and space, making their way through life together.

Being as adaptable as I am, throughout all of my travels I've thoroughly enjoyed meeting, co-existing, and learning from vastly different people from all over the world and their perspectives on life. Never missing Sask or certain groups too much because they never fully matched up with my worldview, just enjoying the adventure and the ride.

However...

Recently, I have met someone that has come closer than almost anyone else I've ever met to matching my worldview completely. And while this has been absolutely fucking wonderful, it has made the differences of backgrounds, values, and worldviews held by others around me that much more obvious. On the surface everything is still peachy, but underneath I find myself much more intolerant of their intolerance and impatient with their impatience.

Then again, perhaps this is all part of the adjusting phase of suddenly being around someone where things are so easy. Or again perhaps part of the reality check that I am no longer in Europe, now that the initial shock/high of South America/Peru has worn off.

All very interesting developments happening in my brain right now...

But life in Arequipa is still absolutely wonderful and Peruvians still such lovely people. This is most definitely the beginning of a lengthy new adventure. Teaching English is also still wonderful. Although I have discovered that there is a French language academy here that is looking for teachers. Something to look in to...

For now though, at this moment, I am perfectly content just living life and enjoying this ride. I have faith that light will be shed on certain things and new understandings gained all in their due time.

So is this what a balanced life feels like...

Ah la vida en Peru... ¿Donde comenzar?

Well, I love it. That's a good place to start. love love love.

Sure you can potentially get run over absolutely every time you cross any street in the entire city (save for 3 or 4 intersections that have traffic lights or stop signs), but a delicious roaming alpaca steak grill appears every evening down the street (where S/. 9 or 4$ Cad gets you a giant steak, potato and salad), so it all balances out in the end.

 It's all part of the adventure.

Sure my room/casa has no heating, or insulation (other than a foot thick cement wall which seems to act as a cold storage room rather insulation), which makes the 10C nights absolutely freezing, but during the day it's bright, sunny and 20C every single day.

Love this winter.

Sure it's not nearly as international as Europe, which means people who speak French or English (other than tourists or American colleagues) are not nearly as plentiful as before, but I have made some wonderful local Peruvian friends and as a result my Spanish has improved dramatically.

And the people I have met, including my 3 roommates, are all so damn wonderful! All genuinely good people. I feel so fortunate.

Sure the poverty is striking sometimes, and usually very humbling (all of this reflected in my pay check of course), but there is nothing better than sitting down for a delicious and ridiculously hearty 3 course S/. 6 meal at a place that looks seemingly untouched by globalization within view of a few volcanoes.

Arequipa is all this, all at once.

For example, sure the power may have just went out, taking with it all lights and the internet that finally just started working (albeit at dial up speeds) again this morning, leaving me laying on my bed in the pitch black, illuminated only by the light of my laptop, but the latino life is so laid back, that this is okay. Nobody makes a big fuss. Life goes on.

There are more important things to worry about.

Sure this laid back attitude makes it next to impossible to make any kind of plans with a Peruvian, but on the other hand, they are seemingly perpetually in a good mood! Despite the harsh conditions life has handed them they are always smiling, laughing, and joking around.

Even the ancient toothless lady selling crap on the street all day long to survive. Other cultures should take note.

Sure the organisation I work for is one of the least organised I have ever seen in my life, and I have to be at work ready for the day at 7am, but it's staffed with some good people and great students, which makes it not only worthwhile but enjoyable.

On that note the power is finally came back on, so this feels like a good place to stop for now. This has made a good warm-up/intro blog to ease in to everything that is Peru and Arequipa.

More details to come next time. :)

In Peru (With 10 hours to kill)

Story of my life

So here I am, yet again writing another blog entry from Starbucks. Although I should get points for it being a Starbucks in Peru at least. The big difference, aside from the continental shift, is that this time I would have rather sat down anywhere else in this entire airport other than Starbucks. Spain and their beautiful delicious coffees forever cured me of my overpriced Starbucks addiction. That chapter of my life has happily come to a close. However, my laptop was dead, and I needed to charge it. After finding 2 different outlets in 2 different shapes elsewhere in the public terminal, none of which fit the one I have on me for my macbook, I resigned to staking out one of the precious tables at Starbucks that almost all have access to a US/EU plug, of course. I have to admit though, the one thing Starbucks has going for it, is that it’s reliable coffee and tea. It always tastes the same, no matter where in the world you are. So if you happen to be in a country or place that does not have that great of coffee, it sometimes seems like a godsend. At this particular moment, as underslept as I am, I am quite happy with a ‘proper sized’ 500ml highly caffeinated tea (as it’s only 9:25am local time and I’ve already had a small breakfast tea and a coffee). 

To whoever finds themselves reading this, I still have a full 7 hours to kill before my flight to Arequipa, so this will probably be a lengthy entry. You have been warned.

I also want to apologize for any English discrepancies that may pop-up. Although I am actually switching things up and writing this in word to avoid obvious typos, I have a feeling my lack of sleep combined with the switching between 3 languages will vastly overpower MS Word’s meagre Spelling and Grammar Check capabilities.

I am in Peru. That’s right. 

It’s still in the process of sinking in. Although perhaps it’s just my current location that’s restriction my perception, because a few hours ago during my breakfast of Papaya smoothie, al latte (basically a do it yourself café con leche), yogurt, and giant bowl of fruit I definitely felt the Peruvian presence. Not to mention the fact that the waiter seemed to take an eternity to bring things out, yet no one was the least bit bothered or impatient, that is aside from the one women ridiculously snapping her fingers from the corner of the room to gather his attention. 

The friendly thing is also most definitely not an exaggeration. Perhaps it’s just a characteristic of the northern half of South America, Central America, and North America? Because I definitely feel the similarities between the Canadian friendliness and the atmosphere here. Although no one walks around apologizing incessantly, that is still just Canadians. But what a difference already from Barcelona to the terminal to plane shuttle bus in Madrid filled with Peruvians. The feel of the crowd had completely changed; even the expression on everyone’s face was different. It was like a very pleasant, complacent, neutral expression with a hint of a smile. Not a surly, arrogant and/or closed off expression that the majority of Europeans tend to carry around. And here in the airport in Lima, there are people smiling and chatting everywhere. Starting up a conversation when all you initially wanted was to get something out of your bag, move their bag over a bit so you can squeeze by, or plug your laptop cord in to the outlet next to them.

The style was also instantly different. Although the Spanish would probably have the most relaxed-stylish look of the Western Europeans, this has a much more… ‘New World’ feel. You know, casual. People were dressed up, some for business, but it didn’t have the put together, I-spend-hours-picking-out-my-wardrobe-to-make-it-look-effortlessly-stylish look. The standard look for men is a button up shirt, usually chequered in some shape or form, or pin stripes to switch it up, untucked with jeans, or tucked in kackies or work pants. With comfortable but still nice street shoes. Women it is still characteristically Latin American with the bright colours, but the jeans, tops, shoes, etc. are still far more ‘Americas’.

On this trip alone I have also gotten mistaken twice now for being from Spain and three times for being from France. I definitely take it as a compliment. Especially since I’m wearing the comfiest non-sweats clothes I have. For Spanish, this is of course until I inevitably just start agreeing with everything in the conversation because my limited Spanish has run out, and then have to admit that I don’t speak much Spanish. At which point they usually look a little taken aback and ask where I’m from. “Canada” never ceases to illicit amazement, conversation, and a new friend, wherever it is I am. If it is from France, it is obviously a French speaker that I’ve met (who just start speaking to me in French half the time, I must have “FRANCOPHONE” stamped on my forehead), who are usually in disbelief when I tell them I’m Canadian, and immediately retort that I clearly do not have a “French Canadian”, otherwise known as “Québec”, accent. And then begins the conversation that there are actually other French speaking areas in Canada, yes Saskatchewan is one of them, yes it is a real place, no you haven’t heard of it because it’s not very populated, or exciting, and no you haven’t met any others because Saskatchewanians as a whole don’t usually travel that much.

I have also only been in Peru (or South America for that matter) for about 4-5 hours and have already met and made friends with the Peruvian Minster of Foreign Relations, Jorge Mendez Torres-Llosa, who has given me his personal email (and took the time to write down mine!) and told me to keep in touch, particularly for future hiking expeditions or if I take his advice and decide to enter the Canadian Diplomatic Service. He was one of those that assumed firstly that I was from Spain, but was then delighted that I spoke French (he is a great lover of the language) and assumed I was from France. And again, it was the “Canada” that solidified everything. Moral of this (and many other) stories, never doubt the possibilities of languages!!

What else.. Peruvians do not travel lightly? From what I gather anyways..

This hasn’t taken up nearly as much time as I would have liked. Well the flight was largely uneventful. Typical transatlantic. Had to walk about 2km from one terminal to the other in Madrid. Full flight that left late, packed with screaming children all around me. Men that insist on using the back of my seat to support themselves when they decided to get up every hour of the 12 hours flight time. Couples that insist on reading in immediate proximity while everyone is trying to sleep with the insanely bright for a airplane reading light. And horrifyingly uncomfortable and cramped seats that it make it all but completely impossible for me to properly sleep. Although I’m sure my mother could still have fallen asleep within minutes. The food wasn’t bad however. Funny though, the Spanish airline doesn’t ask if you want food, they simply tell you to put your tray down so they can give you your plate. There is no option, you will eat. Even at 3am before we landed everyone eagerly woke up to eat breakfast. Stark comparison to most flights I’ve taken where people couldn’t be bothered to lose another hour of sleep time for airline food. Plus it was all vegetarian. Delicious surprise. I do already miss the bread and cheese from Europe though, not to mention the coffee.

Oo only three more hours until I can check my bag. Yes when I went to check my bag in Barcelona it was an all time high of 37kg. Thank god it was a very flirtatious Latin American guy working the desk, and when I chatted using my usual line about how difficult it is to pack your life in to one suitcase, he let me spilt the bag in two (thank you burton!) and check two (still heavy) separate bags at no charge. Not gonna lie, I’m a little nervous for the next flight, It’s all young women at the check out desk. I will most likely have to pay a fee of some kind. But I might not have to pay for the 7 hours of locker use storing my bag, so it might all work out. J

All in all, so far it’s been wonderful. Things here are much simpler. Everything from the décor (or lack there of), to number of restaurants and stores (or again lack thereof), to the selection of movies/TV on board (again, lack thereof). But I love it, I really do. One of my least favourite things about North America is the wasteful excess of everything. There is no need to have 1000 channels on TV, just so you can charge people 120$ a month for them. No need to have a selection of 50 movies on board when the flight is only 12 hours, 6 will do. It is an airport, not a shopping mall; 8 restaurants/fast food places and 4 stores is plenty. Also, I love the fact that I am no longer surrounded by fucking Gucci, Fendi, Chanel and Louis Vuitton everything. However, still not in the excess of comfortable sweats and hoodies galor of a (English) Canadian airport.

Hopefully all stays this well between here and Arequipa!

Having trouble saying goodbye

I'm having trouble saying goodbye. I can't believe I leave tomorrow. 29 hours from now. I leave Barcelona, I leave Europe, I leave all my wonderful fabulous friends I've made here. Yes the good people will always be there. Yes, I'm moving on to new adventures and new places, new experiences all around, filled with more fabulous people, blah blah blah. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm leaving these ones.

Barcelona was much more than just a transition for me from Europe to Latin America, it was an affirmation of possibilities. Of possible happiness, possible friendships, possible lifestyles, even possible relationships. And who in their right mind, after seeing and experiencing all these amazing possibilities would want to leave them? Tis the nature of life though, forever changing, forever evolving.

I have felt more at home in Barcelona, more like me, than I have anywhere else since first setting foot on this continent in London exactly 4 years ago this month, effectively starting my love affair with it and prompting my move to Brussels a little while later. Saying goodbye to it is much more than just leaving a city, a country or a continent, even perhaps to return one day. It's like saying goodbye to lover. There were bad times, and there were good times, hardships and ecstatic enamored moments. Lover's spats and passionate make-up sessions. I forever changed as a person because of it. So when I say that the love still runs deep, I trully mean it. However that doesn't change the fact that it is still time to move on.

Extremely sentimental I know, but that's how I'm feeling right now as I sit at my favorite neighbourhood café, savoring this café con leche and croissant as if it might be my last. And who knows, it very well might be. Because if there is one thing that life has taught me, it is that it is completely unpredictable, and we must savor each moment. It is not with pessimism but with a appreciative realism that I say nothing lasts forever. Take in and appreciate those wonderful moments sitting on a terrace sipping corona as the sun shines down on you and your closest friends. Live in that moment while it is happening, because you truly never know if it will be repeated. Those blissful roadtrips whizzing down the seemingly never ending highway as you're reclined in the passenger seat, music blasting, sun shining, breathtaking landscapes and skyscapes all around. Those afternoons spent at 2,600m caught up in excellent and deep conversation surrounded by some of the most beautifully imposing mountain ranges known to man. Those are the moments worth living in life. Those are the moments that one day we will look back on with nothing but glowing fond memories. It only makes sense to give them the proper attention they deserve while we are in them.

This is why I'm having trouble saying goodbye.

Envoyé de mon iPhone

Winds of change

Right now, as rain pours down on grey Brussels, and as I drowsily watch from the warm, albeit a little damp, comfort of Café de la Presse, sipping my old favorite latte that just doesn't compare to the cafe con leche of Barcelona, running my tongue along the new wire on the inside of my bottom teeth which contrasts starkly with the stange smoothness of my top teeth, I can't help but feel like I'm in a dream. Not a, I can't believe I'm so happy sensation, but rather an intense surreal feeling. Like past present and future are all colliding, or rather imploding on each other as I watch transfixed from the eye of the storm. I don't really know what to make of it. I assume it's all being brought on by my rather sleepless and stressed state, my braces getting removed marking my last trip back to Brussels, and my impending move to Peru, all joining to signal the end of one of the most significant chapters in my life, spent physically across Europe, intellectually continuously pushing personal boundaries, and emotionally and spiritually navigating an ocean of uncharted territory. Not that this new chapter will not be doing precisely the same thing, getting even more lost in the senses, pushing new boundaries and overcoming new challenges, all the while attempting to instinctually guide myself from one place to the next, both in regards to the tangible and intangible. So what separates this 'old' chapter from the 'new' one? Or rather than 'chapter', perhaps 'section' is more appropriate. Chapters within sections that make up the novel that is my life. Geography is the obvious answer, as one was spent across Europe and the next Latin America. But physical location is only the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps the section ending was more formative, whereas the next is more about growth. Perhaps the old was about revelations and lessons and the new more focused on dealing with and incorporating these thoughts in to something useful. Regardless of the theme, or cause and effect, I am feeling the winds of change. However right now I am still caught up in the storm feeling quite wind-blown, distraught, and displaced, waiting patiently for that calm serenity that is said to follow.

Envoyé de mon iPhone

Barcelona: end of one chapter and beginning of another

Barcelona has definitely treated me well. Too well perhaps. The first month here doing the Cambridge CELTA at International House was so intense that I barely had time to breath the sea air. In fact, I don't think I saw the sea by day until the general strike at the very end of the month. But after I returned from Brussels in April, the city was mine to explore - in between never ending job searches, back to back interviews, and lengthy essays and applications of course.

The lifestyle here is so laid-back and chill, it almost reminds me of small town Saskatchewan. I mean this in the sense that people will meet for drinks or tapas at 8-9pm at their favourite bar or square, greeting the bartenders and the regulars on their way in, and have nothing planned past that. Inevitably though, one thing leads to another, and the night ends up finishing across town with everyone walking home and catching the re-opened metro at 6am, on a wednesday. It's a wonderful metropolitan city / laid back Spanish culture fusion. Of course, I must concede that these are not Catalans that I speak of, who tend to be very conservative in nature, but mainly latino/a internationals. As with every place I go, I inescapably attract others from my own community, the international, cosmopolitan community. However, as with many other places with this similar siesta and fiesta culture, one of its main problems is unemployment, leaving Barcelona to hold the title of the highest unemployment rate in the entire EU. There is a good reason why Germany, with its culture (to stereotype a bit here) of uptight highly efficient and driven Germans has by far the best economy in the entire EU.

"Esa puta will just have to deal with it mañana, cuz tomorrow is my fiesta day!" exclaimed Celia of Bolivian origins last night in good Spanglish (for my benefit) with big smile and look of nonchalant defiance as she animatedly recounted a story of how her co-worker left early, leaving her alone closing up when she was unable to close the cash register. But this is how things go here. They aren't fighters per say, but they will definitely tell you and everyone else how they feel about it. People are very excitable and passionate in many different aspects. Be it over someone coming close to cutting them off in traffic, Barça missing or scoring a goal in the football match, or greeting their friends that they haven't seen in an entire week.

While the Brits I live with may go sit on the beach at night to smoke weed, the latino/as smoke it right outside the door of the pub during intermission of the football match. When the Brits are hanging out you'll find them drinking beer in our living room chatting over youtube clips. When the latino/as are hanging out you'll find them in a square with street-vendor bought beer playing around on a guitar. While the Brits lower their volume in the pub when they're about to say something offensive, the latino/as don't flinch throwing the insults decorated with the mierdas, putas, and concha de tu madres (the few swears I understand) at top volume.

This exploring time I mentioned before has been anything from life-changingly delicious (if I knew of a stronger positive adjective I would use it) culinary adventures to different wine and cheese places, brunch terraces, tapas and pinxtos bars, and fabulous insider restaurants and pubs with Brad (among a variety of people as diverse as Swedes to Mexicans), a chef from American origins but long since been a permanent resident of Spain, speaking fluent Spanish, Catalan and Basque; to crazy fun midweek 6am dancing nights with the Uruguayans Dana and Rodrigo; to drinking wine, tasting new tapas and far out restaurants, and sampling more delicious cafés con leche mid-afternoon (which is anywhere from 2pm to 7pm here) with Hayley, the Occupational Health Therapist/Hostel Receptionist from Australian origins who is also a resident here with her Argentinian/Italian fiancée. Not to mention all the time I spend on my own (or occasionally with the Brits + Brigitte or other random people I've met)(which obviously has no or little $ involved because I'm poor) chilling in parks, wandering/walking around the city discovering new places, laying on the beach or on the roof terrace in the sun (when it does come out, as April is a weird weather month here), and reading and sitting in cafés reading and working, one of my fav activities regardless of where I am in the world.

I think Barcelona has been the perfect transition place from my European adventures to my Latin American adventures, which with any luck with be starting in the next few weeks. Although it is quite bittersweet, the thought of leaving Europe and all the fantastic people from many countries I've met over the duration of my time here, all the crazy wonderful latin americans I have met and spoken to in the last month alone have given me a lot to look forward to. :) Now all that's left to do is end this fucking stressful waiting game these people/organisations from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (where life moves much, much slower) are playing with me, and tell me when they would like me to do my [anywhere from 2 to 12 month] contract with them. Because I desperately need to figure out where I'm going to first and book my flight, because I can't afford to live in the industrialized, aka highly expensive, area of the world much longer. There's only so much cous-cous, cheap microwaved tea, and uncomfortable dark hole-in-the-wall rooms one can handle, when for the same price or cheaper elsewhere, I could have a comfortable sun-filled flat, nature all around, and affordable fresh delicious food. And yes, that is my criteria for a 'comfortable' living. Mas o menos affordable delicious wine and lattes.