Living in Peru : your everyday companion

by
Rodney Dodig

I read Larry J Pitman’s articles titled “Why Do I Live in Peru (Parts 1 & 2)” that were recently published here in Living in Peru and it got me to thinking about what attracted me to Lima as a second home. I think that as people get used to living in a place they tend to stop noticing the little things that make living there the most enjoyable. You get busy with the everyday facets of life and quit noticing those things that put a smile on your face and give you a warm feeling about where you are at in that moment.

by
Walter Raffo

Peru is an outstanding destiny for tourism purposes; and you can find thousands of reasons to visit it. But you have to remember that it is also located along the Pacific Circle of Fire. As such, small tremors can occur pretty regularly, although larger quakes that do damage are much less frequent. However, it doesn't hurt to be aware and prepared in case a tremor occurs.

by
Larry J. Pitman

We can live every day of our lives and, sadly, not know anything much different.

This thought was stimulated when I read recently that only 20% of Americans have a passport. If this is so, then four out of every five Americans do not consider travel to another country as part of their lives. In other countries such as China and India, that percentage must surely be lower.

by
Nicholas Asheshov

The last time global warming came to the Andes it produced the Inca Empire.  A team of English and U.S. scientists has analyzed pollen, seeds and isotopes in core samples taken from the deep mud of a small lake not far from Machu Picchu and their report says that "the success of the Inca was underpinned by a period of warming that lasted more than four centuries."

by
M. Dora Bruce

This year I visited Peru for the second time. The first year (2007), spending a month in Miraflores and a month in Cusco, touring as far as Puno. This year I returned to Miraflores for a few days, and then headed south, wanting to experience the Peruano desert and complete that circle by travelling by bus up into the Andes as far as Arequipa. The result was that I spent another 10 weeks in Peru, being amazed by such things as the Nasca Lines and falling in love with yet another city - Arequipa.

by
Rodney Dodig

Last March I received a general invitation in my E-mail to attend a 20/20 Cricket competition at the Lima Cricket and Football Club in the suburb of Magdalena via the expatperu web site I had registered on. It was being played over three weekends and since I had no plans for the last weekend of the competition I thought it would be an interesting experience, plus I was surprised to see this sport being played here. I E-mailed the gentleman, a Julian Walter, who had sent out the invitation expressing my interest. He responded promptly and agreed to meet me at the entrance to the Club and give me some background on the sport in Lima and his team. It turns out he is the Captain of the Lima Cricket Team.

by
Larry J. Pitman

You’ll see them as you walk around my neighborhood.  Men on the street, hanging out, and you might think that they are just loafing around.  Well, they are not.  They are working.  They are the caretakers of the street.

by
Marie-Louise Saina

Soon a friend of mine will be celebrating a change of decade birthday - or a zero ending birthday. All decade birthdays are significant as an age benchmark and so it is for my friend who is feeling a bit depressed over this particular birthday. I believe that as we get older we all experience this type of insecurity. After all, I remember having my first emotional meltdown at age 29 because I was about to turn 30. It felt like 30 was such an old age. Then when I turned 35, I realized that I was actually happier, healthier and stronger emotionally in my thirties than I had been in my twenties.

by
Amber Eve Anderson

Jose Luis Carranza’s “Lustmord” is an overwhelming onslaught of colors and textures, animals and eyes.  The canvases on which the paintings are made are barely big enough to contain all that Carranza packs into them, as if each painting were his last.  The walls on which the works are hung are saturated with energy, bursting forth into the crowd that only inhibits them more.  As a viewer one feels as if he is entering a space where he is not welcome; eyes glare at him accusingly while insects and guns and grass assault him on every side.  One gallery wall is painted black, perhaps hoping to give the illusion of more space, but a gallery three times the size couldn’t have held the same works any more comfortably.

by
Larry J. Pitman

Usually we shop at the supermarket a few blocks away. It is convenient and easy to get everything we want. Occasionally, though, we go to the local market located far enough away that we have to drive to get there.  Because I go once every six months, it is an adventure. If I had to do it every day that would be another story. That is because it is a powerful experience for me since I find it difficult to be in a large crowd for an extended time.