Shopping in this "Developing Country"

Sometimes it is hard to remember that I am living and working in what many refer to as a "developing country". I live in one of the nicest parts of the city and my school is located in an affluent suburb, though you wouldn't necessarily know that due to the walls around everything. The people who live and work around me have a very comfortable lifestyle. Many have maids, nannies, drivers, etc. I have to continue to remind myself that many of our students have always had someone to do everything for them, as their job. Teaching children the importance of responsibility when they have little actual need to be responsible outside of school is truly a challenge, but an important one.

I went to the mall to do some window shopping the other day after work, and was surprised to see Prada, Armani, Chanel, Zara, North Face, Lacoste, etc. stores lining the mall. There are many other US shops and restaurants here. I pass Chili's, T. G. I. Fridays, KFC, Burger King, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Domino's, Dunkin' Donuts, etc. daily. And for all you Apple lovers out there... Apple products are here, just twice as expensive and not quite as many available options as in the US. I must confess, I do still enjoy a Starbucks coffee at least once a week.

Some of you may remember the pictures and stories from my trip to Peru two years ago, where in the village of Cuncani, the people have very little and live off tea and potatoes. I'm glad I already have a better understanding of the contrasts of Peru from my last trip here. It's so important to have that perspective, and I look forward to leaving the comforts of the city for a while to explore more of the realities of life for most people in Peru. A woman in my apartment building told me that many Americans come to Peru and only experience the "Miami Triangle"- visiting the two city areas of Miraflores and San Isidro, and then the La Molina area. Signs of a "developing country" are still evident, though certainly not relative to my previous experiences in the highlands of Peru.

DesTiNaTiOn iMagINaTiON

Our trainer from Brazil gave us each a DI pin!

Today, I attended a training to become a Destination ImagiNation team manager. I joined 14 other staff members from the school for training, where we worked on Instant Challenges and Team Challenges- what a treat! We spent the day brainstorming, compromising, thinking creatively, and performing for one another, while trying to keep our students' perspectives. I have always dreamed of having a space in the school for students to imagine, design, and create, but it's hard to find space for new programs.  From Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind to Sir Ken Robinson's Out of Our Minds to Jonah Leher's Imagine, I continue to read and explore how we can bring this exploration of creativity and design thinking into our classrooms on a daily basis. Destination ImagiNation is designed as an after-school program for grades 3-12, but one day, I think we'll see similar activities occurring during the school day in all of our schools. I can't wait!

United States Commissary

Our school has a special relationship with the U.S. Embassy, which allows the US teachers to acquire membership to the commissary, a small grocery store within the Embassy buildings. I went today with a friend and left with several shopping bags of delicious tastes from home! From peanut butter to ranch dressing to Tabasco sauce and Heinz ketchup (I'm a condiments lover, what can I say?!), I was able to find some of the US foods I have come to know and love, all at US prices!

I don't know how often I'll go, as there is a Wong grocery store within a very short walking distance from my home, but it's nice to know the Commissary is there. I will share that I passed on the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which were actually less than a dollar, as they were a bit melted... maybe next time!

Manicures, Pedicures, and Mixing Bowls

I've been looking for mixing bowls for two weeks, to no avail... What does that have to do with manicures and pedicures? Read below. 

One of my friends and I thought we would treat ourselves to manicures and pedicures one day last week after work. We found a place located fairly close to our apartments that was recommended to us by a few different people. The price was right, so in we went! My friend speaks Spanish, so I wasn't too worried about communicating what I wanted, but when they called us for our appointments, she was in the main room, and they walked me to a little private room for my pedicure.

My favorite part of a pedicure is the massage chair... This little room didn't have one. In fact, there wasn't even a tub of water for my feet. The woman left the room and came back with a large silver mixing bowl filled with lukewarm water for my feet. So that's where the mixing bowls are! I slipped my feet into the water with some hesitation, only to find saran wrap at the bottom of the bowl as well. Questions of hygiene came to mind, but the woman was good about wearing gloves, etc. throughout the process.

The woman actually did a pretty good job on my pedicure, and at about 8 dollars, even better! Another woman gave me a manicure, dipping my hand into yet another mixing bowl that was brought out to me. (Yes, that makes 2!) For a $5 manicure, I can't complain. I managed to communicate the manicure and pedicure information pretty well in my broken Spanish, but I think I confused the women working at the nail salon with my questions about where to buy mixing bowls. No worries though- I found them two days later at a grocery store!

Peruvian Birthdays

I'm pretty sure it's wishing me a happy birthday...

Birthdays in Peru are a big deal. And for the first time in my entire life, school was in session on my birthday!

On Sunday, the principal had a gathering of my colleagues and new friends at her home, which was really nice and much-appreciated. I had a cake, some presents, tasty foods to eat, and a lot of laughs that evening.

Monday was my birthday. A sign on the front door of the office let everyone know it was my special day, and I had several classrooms of kids sing to me, in English and in Spanish. And tons of hugs, kisses, and small gifts were given to me throughout the day- I even got a large avocado (yum!). I heard from friends and family in the United States, and was so happy to receive so much love and warm wishes from my new friends, students, and colleagues here in Peru. I certainly am a lucky woman!

Peruvian chocolates I received as a gift that are really tasty!

Locked In!

Family members and friends often make comments to me about one of the blog entries I wrote while in Kenya last summer, when I locked myself up in my bedroom, slightly fearful of the monkeys who had raided my canvas cottage that evening. So, in the spirit of entertaining many of you once again with a story of locked doors, I thought I'd share what happened to me yesterday evening.

I was locked in my bathroom for 2 hours.

I hadn't had a problem with the bathroom door previously, but yesterday, I was in the bathroom at around 6:00 pm, and when I turned the doorknob to leave the bathroom, the door wouldn't open. I tried locking and unlocking the door, to no avail. The door is solid wood and sturdy, but the doorknob was a bit loose; hence, the problem. I kicked the door, pulled with all my strength, and looked around my empty bathroom for anything I could use to try to slide between the lock and the door crack. Nothing. After about 30 minutes of trying to find different ways to turn the doorknob, I thought of alternatives. I could flood the bathroom and hope the water would leak to the apartment below me, but decided that would be a bit expensive in the long run. I opened the small bathroom window and called out for help. I began banging on the ceiling with the shower nozzle, hoping my simple SOS pattern would help the upstairs apartment dwellers to know I was in need of help.  No luck.


I imagined someone would notice by Sunday night, when I didn't show up for the birthday celebration that was being held for me, or when I wasn't at my normal pick-up spot for work/school in the morning, and that someone would be sent to check on me by Monday afternoon. Or that the maid would find me on Wednesday morning when she arrived. I tried to keep calm and thought about how I would pass the time.

Fortunately, I had a small makeup bag in the bathroom and found a pair of tweezers in it. I pried them open, used them as a screwdriver, and after an hour, I had pulled off both door handles, could put my hand through the door, and was ably to wry it open. Hooray- I was free! I have to say that after "holding it together" for 2 hours in the bathroom, I had a bit of a breakdown when I was released, but I can laugh about it now. Whew! I had a cup of tea, watched a little television, and went to bed for the night. Needless to say, someone is coming over tomorrow to fix the door and I'll be carrying a cell phone with me everywhere from now on!

Cooking and Cleaning

I hired a maid to do some cooking and cleaning for me each week. Culturally, this is a very typical thing, and while I am more than thrilled to have someone do these mundane jobs for me, it's quite new to me. However, I met my new maid last week and was able to communicate with her, through a colleague, about what I would like her to do. A bit of cooking, cleaning, and some laundry each week. All went well, and she arrived on time this morning.

After a brief walk around my place, we had a challenging conversation about a recipe in my Spanish-English cookbook (thank you, Liigsoo family!) because she doesn't speak English and I don't speak Spanish, and then decided that a dish she knew how to make without a recipe would be fine. Following a short and confusing game of charades, she was off to the grocery store for supplies and ingredients.

I worked away at my desk (which also overlooks the ocean- only a bit distracting!), trying to stay out of her way for five hours as she cleaned and cooked. Mmmm... the meals she cooked certainly smelled good, and my place was sparkling, from the windows to the floor. Impressive! I tried to make a list with what she could do on Wednesday as she finished up for the day.

We confirmed the plans for Wednesday and said good-bye before I took a closer look at the meal she had made for this evening... a chicken and rice meal with some type of reddish-orange sauce. Peruvian food- perfect... until I tried to cut into a piece of chicken and hit the bone. Ugh. For those of you who don't know, I didn't really eat meat until about 5 years ago, and eating it off a bone is still not something I can do. I thought we had explained that quirky rule pretty well last week, but it looks like we need to go back to the drawing board on that.

I could get used to this life pretty quickly!