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. :)