Peruvian Ponderings: La Paz, Bolivia

Sunday, August 24, 2008

La Paz, Bolivia

Overlooking Plaza San Francisco, a chilly rainy day in the clouds...

Llama fetuses at the Witches Market-- supposedly the locals bury these under their new homes for luck and good fortune.

Typical stall at the Mercado Hechiceria (Witches Market)

Palacio Legislativo...next to bullet-riddled Palacio Presidential

Tales to come...

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Spanish Word of the Day

Oct 30: multilingual---poliglota
Oct 29: to rebel--rebelarse
Oct 28:peace--paz
Oct 27: parade--desfile
Oct 26: strong--fuerte
Oct 25: machine gun--ametralladora (in honor of the armed men outside my apartment this morning)
Oct 24: insanity--locura (in honor of my job in Peru)
Oct 23: rip off--rasgar fuera (i.e. peruvian postal service)
Oct 22: twinkle--titilar
Oct 21: to call it quits--hacer las paces
Oct 20: anticipation--prevision
Oct 19: growth--crecimiento
Oct 18: remember--recordar
Oct 17: pumpkin--calabasa
Oct 16: happiness---felicidad
Oct 15: change---cambiar
Oct 14: empathy---empatia
Oct 13: uncertainty---incertidumbre
Oct 12: luck--suerte

Mira mas polabras del dia debajo...in the archives...

Random PERU Fact of the Day

I know I am slacking...
Oct 23: Peruvian Song Day
I was informed last night that while Halloween is not really celebrated in Peru, October 31 is still cause for celebration. It is Peru Song day, where people celebrate the music of Peru-- I gather by dancing their butts off all night long. I might just partake in such revelry.
Oct 22: Bocinas
As in many large cities, drivers in Lima take liberty in honking their horns at every opportunity. Often, honking at an intersection replaces actually stopping at said intersection. Honks are also used to catch the attention of people who might wish for a taxi ride, especially if they have light skin. They are also used at the whim of drivers with no discernible rhyme or reason. These horns range in sound from guttural sputters to high pitched whines, and everything in between.
Oct 21: (pardon the haitus...) Music
The main types of music enjoyed by Peruvians include salsa, merengue, cumbia, and reggaeton. Many people I have met have been interested to know what kind of music I like. I find they are happiest when I tell them that I like the aforementioned types of music. And, when I add in that I also like to dance. Yo me gusta bailar....
Oct 16: National Drink
While the national liquor of Peru is pisco (debates with Chile aside), the national soft drink is Inka Cola. It is a neon colored yellow fizzy beverage that tastes to me like bubble gum. They love it here. BTW, did you also know that you can make a cake using the boxed mix and a can of diet soda only (no eggs, no oil, nada). Amazing and true. We did it and the cake was deeeelicious.
Skip a few days of slacking....
Oct 13: Scandal Ensues
All 17 members of Peruvian President Alan Garcia's cabinet resigned this weekend after the discovery of a major scandal in which these politicians accepted oil company bribes in exchange for lucrative energy contracts. This comes one month before a major multinational economic summit taking place in Lima...that should be an interesting week....

See more at the waaay bottom of this page in THE ARCHIVES.

Wise Words

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"But surely for someone who attempts beautiful things, it is beautiful even to suffer whatever it befalls him [or her] to suffer." - Plato

"When someone makes a decision, [s]he is really diving into a strong current that will carry [her] to places [s]he had never dreamed of when [s]he first made the decision." - Paulo Coehlo

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection" - Bhagavad Gita

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes" - Marcel Proust

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware" - Martin Buber

"Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side of that sword, there lies convention and tradition and order, where " all is correct." But on the other side of that sword, if you are crazy enough to cross it and choose a life that does not follow convention, "all is confusion. Nothing follows a regular course." --Her argument was that the crossing of the shadow of that sword may bring a far more interesting existence to a woman, but you can bet it will also be more perilous." - Virginia Woolf

Archive: Spanish Word of the Day

Past Words of the Day live here...

Oct 11: movie---pelicula
Oct 10: predicament/calamity--apuro
Oct 9: (2) (to go with fact #2) how disgusting---que asco
gratitude---gratitud
Oct 8: birthday--- cumpleaños
Oct 7: earthquake---tremblar (pequeño); terremoto (grande)
Oct 6: mustache---bigote
Oct 5: sleepy/tired--cansada
Oct 4: to live for the day -- vivir al diaOct 3: deceptive/misleading---engañosa
(inspired by Sarah Palin's debate strategies)
Oct 2: riot gear-- antidisturbios
(in honor of the scary police force out in full gear this morning)
Oct 1: freakish--insolito
(in honor of a man we met last night)
Sept 30: to foretell, predict--pronosticar
Sept 29: peruvian slang for "cool"--chevre
Sept 28: art and design-- arte y diseño
Sept 27: hope-- esperanza
Sept 26: legend-- leyenda
Sept 25: patience-- paciencia
Sept 24: story or report---un relato

Archive: Fact of the Day

Past Facts of the Day live here...

Oct 12: Shining Path Terrorists
Guess who's back???? The Shining Path perhaps. This is not great news. The Shining Path thrived in Peru during the 90s, bombing Lima and killing 70,000 people, bringing the nation to the brink of collapse. While thought to be nearly snuffed out, this rebel group still operates in the Northern jungle areas dealing drugs and doing whatever else terrorists do. Today, the group, apparently growing again, killed 14 Peruvian soldiers and 5 civilians in an ambush.
Oct 11: Paddington Bear
...came from "Darkest Peru" where he lived with his aunt Lucy in Lima. Because no one in his new London home could pronounce his Peruvian name, he went by Paddington, the name of the rail station where he was found by his new family. Paddington is a spectacled bear, that illusive little creature I hope to see before I leave Peru.
Oct 10: Mannequins
Virtually all of the mannequins in shop windows here boast the scariest of facial expressions...something between utter glee and arrant insanity.
Oct 9 (2): Kitty Burgers :((((
Today gets two facts, as it has just come to my attention that Peru is about to host a two day festival centered on the consumption of mass quantities of fried cat. yes, cat. Animal rights groups are not happy about this. Neither am I. No wonder I never see any stray cats around...
Oct 9: Night life.
Night life in Lima...goes all night. Unlike clubs at home (which are called discotecas here...clubs are strip clubs), the bars and dance clubs stay open until dawn. For this reason, it is easy for the wee hours to fly by as quickly as you are spun around by some suave latin american. If it werent for hangovers and sleepiness, I would participate in this bacchanalia far more often. Es divertido.
Oct 8: Battle of Angamos
Today is a national holiday in Peru (and, coincidentally mi cumpleaños). The holiday here is to remember a decisive battle that took place during Peru's war with Chile in 1879. Here is the baffling thing---Peru lost this battle. In fact, it was kinda the reason they lost the whole war. And yet, the Peruvians celebrate this day. It is confusing. I thought my Spanish teacher might shed some light on this subject, but when I asked he was just as baffled. Peru baffles me daily.
Oct 7: Earthquakes
Peru is located on a convergent plate boundary (for all those who remember what this is from geology class) at the meeting of the Nazca and South American tectonic plates at the coast. This movement, also responsible for long term building of the Andes, causes several small tremors relatively frequently in Peru. The last major earthquake here occurred just last year in August 2007 not far from Lima. It measured 8.0 on the magnitude scale and lasted 3 minutes (a looong time for an earthquake...by comparison the Loma Prieta lasted only 15 seconds)
Oct 6: Lluvia
While any Limeno will likely tell you it doesn't rain here, it does get misty enough to transform the sidewalk into a slippery slick and make you think it is raining. It is so humid here, I think the skies should reconsider their tempered trickles and relieve the build up with buckets of rain. Weather recommendations aside, that it does not rain here often certainly has its benefits.
Oct 5: Pisco
Contrary to some reports, Pisco can, in fact, give you a hang over. While this strong clear liquor is often used to make pisco sours (which, contain frothed up egg white, limes, and sugar), it is also delicious mixed with fruit juice (fresh grapefruit is my new favorite). And now I am going to go back to trying NOT to think about pisco and its after-effects.
Oct 4: Perros
In continuing this puppy talk, the dogs of Miraflores are often clothed in brightly colored jackets. Quite the fashion setters. While people in Miraflores tend to treat their pets very well, most dogs I've seen throughout this country are seemingly feral skinny mangy little things running around in packs on the streets in search of a mate, defending territory, or scrounging for some food.
Oct 3: Toilet Paper Puppies
The most popular brand of toilet paper here has puppies, paw prints and stop signs on each fluffy sheet.
Oct 2: Constitutions
Peru has had 15 constitutions in its storied history. The most recent was adopted in 1993 and was the first to be approved by the people. This current constitution, unsurprisingly passed under Fijimora's presidency, gives considerable power to the president.
Oct 1: Last Names.
If you were Peruvian, your name would go like this: Given first name, dad's last name (apellido), mom's last name.
So mine would be Jaime Fleres Maia (which I am often asked to go by here on official papers).
However, if you were a fancypants Peruvian, your name might also include the last names of your grandparents. So you may find yourself called...José Carlos Prado Fernandini Beltrán de Espantoso y Ugarteche...whoa. Only Prado would be considered this guy's last name in the states.
Sept 30: Slow your roll.
Peruvians walk very slow...by my standards at least. Yet, in a place where so much is happening I suppose it is charming to see people in no hurry to get anywhere at all.
Sept 29: 70s style
Most business people in the busy district where I live and work tend to sport muted brown and grey pantsuits straight outta the 70s. Its like I never missed the decade! Sweater vests layered over collared shirts are also all the rage.
Sept 28: Peru Greeting
In Peru, the common greeting between friends and acquaintances is a kiss on the cheek (this is true for woman to woman and man to woman greetings, I don't think men greet each other this way). I have been told the kiss is supposed to be an "air-kiss" and to actually kiss the cheek is to mean that you like the other person perhaps as more than a friend.
Sept 27: Fruit and veggie stands
...line several streets of Miraflores and (I would imagine) other areas of Lima. You can get fruits and veggies on the cheap here, with delicious treats like mangoes and avocados costing only about 30 cents.
Sept 26: Yogurt
...here comes mostly in drinkable form and is usually very sweet. They love them some sugar in these parts.
Sept 25: Taxis
Taxis work a bit differently here than in the states. Instead of a running meter, you determine the cost of your trip by haggling with a driver who has madly pulled over on the side of the road once he saw your hand in the air or your glance in his direction. This is how it works: you come up to the half cracked window and explain where you want to go. He thinks about it and replies with a price. Usually this price is more than you should pay for such a trip so you bargain with him until you decide on a price together. All the while, cars are backing up behind the cab and sometimes other cabs line up behind yours just in case they might get your business. Once you get in the cab, you might get a theme park ride around town as you wish for one of those mega-seat belt contraptions they use on rollercoasters. Sometimes it is not so bad. Always it is better not to look out the window. Moreover, it is not unusual for your cabbie to take time out of your trip to stop for gas or a chat with a buddy or get lost. It is better in such cases if you are not in a hurry. On the plus side, you will never find a cab in the states as cheap as they come here.
Sept 24: Worker bees at every turn.
The grocery stores here are highly populated with workers hawking all sorts of products from fake sugar to cereal. Virtually every aisle contains at least one such slanger, handing out samples of milk or spilling out a schpeal about why their olive oil is the best. This phenomenon is similar on the streets, where people shove necklaces in your face (it seems to be the same necklace EVERY time) or bootleg copies of The Secret or some other products for sale.

Peruvian Ponderings

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Sunday, August 24, 2008

La Paz, Bolivia

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