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. :)