{ Monthly Archives }
January 2006
Calle Porta: Rooftop View
Looking out towards the sea. 
The Clowns
Paul and Will on the roof! Paul juggled a bit while Will ran around. Paul had just balanced a club on his nose (I think he’ll put that picture up on his blog) and is trying to help Will do the same.
We also found out that there is a clowning school around the corner from us. Paul is very excited about the prospect of taking juggling classes…!
Schedule
I couldn’t be happier with the way things are progressing! Besides all the email contacts I’ve made and are in conversation with, set meetings and visits are falling into place. Currently on the schedule for next week:
Monday: All day in San Martin de Porras with Ruth (public health nurse)
Tuesday: 8-10 spanish class. (Paul and I are switching days so that I can spend Monday with Ruth.) 11am meeting at PRISMA with Phabi re: her drug use and sexual behavior paper; then meeting with Hilary to help with her survey questionnaire submittal
Wednesday: 8-10 spanish class. Afternoon (roughly 12-6) teen boys’ focus group in Las Pampas with Angela.
Thursday: Afternoon teen girls’ focus group in Las Pampas with Angela.
Friday: 8-10 spanish class.
Valerie and I are also going to meet with some faculty at a local University sometime during the week. And then (hopefully) on Saturday we’ll go down to Paracas!
La Comida
What do we eat around here? Like in the States, mostly things made at home — we’ve only had three meals “afuera.” We eat at home for virtually every meal. The most exciting part of our daily eats is that during the week, either lunch or dinner is prepared by Josefina (with leftovers) and the quality of life that has given us is wonderful. So, we eat:
— Dishes with quinoa and fresh vegetables
— Dishes with rice and fresh vegetables
— A yellow vegetable stew whose name I can’t remember
— Sandwiches (“El Triple”: avocado, tomato, and egg is a popular and personal faves)
— Coke (we normally wouldn’t dream about having a coke, but something about being abroad; we crave a little each day.)
— Fresh fruits (current kick: pineapple)
— Cereal and oatmeal (we found my favorite quaker squares cereal and oatmeal for Will)
We wash everything in purified water. We’ll pick up iodine tomorrow to aid to the water to ensure that all the nasties are cleansed from our greens and veggies. We take procaution with peeling, washing, and prepping foods. And we are enjoying the fruit and veggie carts at street corners and amazing selection of fresh everything.
Afternoon in Barranco
Will and Paul wave from Barranco. I had a meeting this afternoon at Valerie’s lovely Barranco flat (complete with beautiful ocean views). We were joined by Phabi from PRISMA (angel!) and Angela, a doctoral student at Hopkins (way cool!) and met over lunch. Paul got Will to fall asleep and he took his 2 1/2 hour nap while we talked shop and had lunch. Afterwards, the three of us (Paul, Will, and me) went exploring in Barranco. We enjoyed the wonderful ocean breezes, sunshine, food festival, and parques that surround downtown Barranco.
Parque de las poemas. (I think I’m remembering the name incorrectly — but that is the basic jist. The obelisks have poems by prominent authors throughout the park.) As is the case with much of this part of Peru, young lovers were strolling through the park — the girls carrying small bouquets of roses, obvious tokens from the blushing lads hurrying along at their sides.
