No, wait! Peru's been great!

I am writing this as a follow up to my last blog post, "The First Trip Home". I didn't mean to make anyone feel bad for me or to offend anyone either! If you've read my other blog posts or seen any of our pictures, you know that I've had an abundance of great times in Peru. I've enjoyed all the travel to a variety of beautiful, historic locales around the country and I've relaxed during weekends at beach houses and resorts. I've hiked, biked, ziplined, river rafted and catamaraned. I've danced at clubs until the wee hours of the morning, which we haven't done since we were young! I've karaoked, played cheap slot machines, listened to live music, and learned to drink whisky and ginger ale. I've enjoyed various food, wine and pisco festivals, even Oktoberfest! I've eaten fresh ceviche on the beach, and fresh cuy in the Andes! I survived crazy soccer games and crazy combis! I have great memories of all the delicious food, smooth pisco sours, restaurants and cafes open until late (or early, depending on how you view the middle of the night!), outings with our fun Meetup group, nice family get-togethers, and inexpensive movies in luxurious theaters with the best popcorn and a Cusqueña!


It hasn't been Spanish only! I've read about 25 books, watched the whole short season of "Homeland" and way too many CSI and Law & Order episodes. I got to watch the entire NFL season at home and at a sports bar, so I didn't miss my team on its way to another Super Bowl win. The Peruvians I've met through our Meetup group are bilingual, and a few of Kiko's family members speak English. And of course there's Kiko, expats, and  Rihanna! 


Anything having to do with service is less expensive here, so even though I'm not working, I've been able to keep my hair highlighted and my toenails pedicured. The dogs get a trip to the groomers every three weeks instead of every three months.


I've tried Pilates, different types of yoga, and after seeing a nutritionist, I'm now invested in walking for health AND transportation.


I've learned new skills. I can communicate in Spanish and carry on conversations. I can negotiate prices with taxi drivers and shopkeepers. I can take public transportation and keep most of my dignity while holding on for dear life! I can cross any street anywhere anytime!


I now have experience working in another country. I taught English, a typical job for a native English speaker, to business executives in an office, and had an editing assignment with an engineering company. I found the perfect volunteer position with an educational program helping kids at the cancer hospital, and I love it!


We haven't had medical insurance since we both lost our jobs and couldn't afford the outrageous Cobra premium. But we've been able to obtain affordable insurance here, and for a small co-pay I have taken care of the usual general health checkups and seen a few specialists. All is well, and it's a relief to know that!


Peru has given us hope for the future. With the economic crisis at home, we feel so fortunate to have opportunity here. After being laid off from Disney and unable to find work in his field, Kiko has been able to earn his international professional coaching certificate here, and is thriving as a consultant at a fantastic coaching school. His skill and passion as a coach are in high demand, and I'm so happy that he has found his purpose and is doing what he loves. I am proud of him! He has a big, big job here. He is the sole breadwinner for us, and always gives his all, whether working with clients or putting in many additional hours of preparation at home. He has the responsiblity for taking care of our needs here, including doing his best to take care of me, as well as maintaining our home in Corona, and helping our kids when they need it. And he is working hard to provide solutions for business issues that involve his family, which is an additional strain on top of everything else. I really appreciate him and all he is doing.


So don't cry for me! I am beyond blessed, and grateful for ALL the experiences I've had in Peru! Thank you for all the love and support you've shown me - I treasure it!

The First Trip Home

Well it finally happened. My patience here has hit the tipping point, and after nearly 15 months in Peru my sanity demands a change of scenery. Actually, my husband demanded it! "Ok, let's look for flights right now," he told me one night last week, probably after I said something like, "In the US blah blah blah..."! Now I do want to encourage everyone who likes to travel to come visit Peru. I love to visit Peru, it's a wonderful country full of incredible things to see and do and eat! It's just that for me, as a foreigner who is not fluent in the language, living here is different from visiting here, especially in the situation I find myself in (ie. I moved here but didn't really move here if I have a fully furnished house in Corona, right?)


Our plan for going home together with the dogs for the summer will not be possible for various reasons so Kiko is sending me home alone while he stays here with Kianne and Maddie. I'll miss my husband and my dogs, but Kiko will join me for a few weeks in August and then we'll both come back to Peru together.  He has lots of work already lined up, and several business trips to different parts of Peru. Probably not a lot will change for him, except that I won't be here. He'll get along just fine. 


I've been thinking about what I'm looking forward to when I get home. Here's my list, in no particular order:


- My house! With my own things!
- My car, and being able to drive
- English, the language and the muffins
- Doing my own cooking, laundry and house cleaning (believe it or not!)
- The peace and quiet of my neighborhood 
- Not having to worry about slipping on a random section of slippery sidewalk and almost falling on my, well, you know
- Smiling at people and having them smile back at me
- Being able to count on drivers following traffic laws (for the most part) like stopping at stop signs and not crossing three lanes of traffic to turn in front of you)
- Being able to walk on a green light or across a residential street without fear of getting run over
- Target, Walmart and Costco!
- More product choices
- Less expensive products
- My parents,  and my kids (even though they don't even live in California, at least I'll be in the same country!)
- My friends
- My church
- Less (a lot less) humidity
- Dependable hot water and water pressure in showers and sinks
- Other breeds of dogs besides Schnauzers
- Air conditioning
- Big hugs when I see my friends and family, not just the cheek-to-cheek kissing sound
- Personal space, and saying "excuse me" if people bump into each other (or their grocery carts)
- Flushing the toilet paper down the toilet!!!
- Electrical outlets that always work and don't spark when you plug things in
- Carpet!
- In summer, it doesn't get dark until later
- Using a garbage disposal
- Walking barefoot around the house without getting dirty feet because of the constant dust from the construction, vehicles, and lack of rain!
- Mexican food and margaritas; my parents' Mexican cooking
- A sense of order


Ok, I'll stop there. No point in overdoing it. I guess I'm a little bit excited to be going home for awhile. I hope it's as good as I'm anticipating it will be, and I hope I will appreciate it once I'm back in the US.

The year is up, and we're still here

Well here we are. A year ago, on March 21, 2011, we arrived in Lima with a one year commitment to living in Peru. Even though I had visited Lima many times, I didn't know what to expect when actually living here, and the expectations I did have were quickly quelled.

We began our year-long adventure the only way we Pobletes know how...late! We were behind from the start, buying our plane tickets only nine days before we left. We got serious about the packing two days before departure, and still had to rely on the kindness of our dear friends, the Murphys, to get us going. With just a few hours left before we were to leave, Traci took over my suitcases, and even with her painfully swollen arm she was more effective than I was. Jim rushed to his house to bring us an extra suitcase, and I still had to purge the pile of items I wanted to bring. We ended up with five suitcases, which were packed with the following: winter clothes and shoes; our down comforter, two sheet sets from Costco and my pillow; two new beach towels (also from Costco); my Penn State Snuggie, coffee mug and a small Nittany Lion banner; dog accessories for two (bowls, leashes, rawhide chews, toys, etc.); nine small, flat items of wall and table decor and a cross; a folder full of cherished cards from friends and loved ones; a few books, including the Bible, some Bible Studies and the writer's bible, otherwise known as the AP Stylebook (all mine); and many books, binders and business supplies (Kiko's). Really and truly, not a whole lot. Who moves to another country with only five suitcases, leaving behind a fully furnished house? The drive to LAX in the limo that my thoughtful parents got for us mirrored the darkness and rain outside - I was sad.

My life in Peru didn't exactly start out the way I had expected. While it was tough to leave my family, friends and church, I knew I had lots of good things waiting for me. However, once I got here I found things different than I had imagined. While we were very fortunate to live in the family apartment, it wasn't a place of my own. The volunteer leadership position I was looking forward to didn't work out because the church we loved when we were here in 2009 had changed drastically and I no longer felt comfortable there. The small group of expat friends I met in '09 had dispersed, and Kiko was immediately immersed in classes, work, and family activities. I felt really lonely and depressed.

I began to adjust to my new life little by little, or as we say here "poco a poco". It was great having the dogs for company and to get me out of the apartment. I started working, and working out, meeting people and going out. Perimenopause hit hard, and I cried a lot. We traveled to new places, and I stayed by myself while Kiko traveled for work. And then the situation at home changed. Allie was supposed to live in our house and take care of it for the year Kiko and I would be gone. However, her own situation changed when she was laid off from her fulltime job. She decided to move to Denver, and with Erika still at school in Pennsylvania, we had to make some adjustments which included a few new residents at Yellow Pine Ridge. Having one daughter move out of state and the other one on her own on the east coast, a very dear friend whose cancer returned, and parents going through various health issues while being so far away has been emotionally difficult. 

Now that the year is over, I feel like I should be a different person from the experience. My Spanish is much better than it was when I arrived, but I'm still not fluent. I got a job as an English teacher after just a few months, and after working for nine months I'm back to being unemployed. I volunteer for a great program once a week, but I could be doing more. I'm comfortable walking and taking public transportation by myself, going to mercados to shop, and talking with the maids in the park as we walk "our" dogs. I don't understand the upper class culture, and even though I generally live in it, I don't fit in.   

So I have to ask myself, "Now what?" Or as translated into Spanish, "Y?" Which translated back to English is, "And?" Haven't I had life-changing experiences? Shouldn't my attitude reflect everything I've experienced here? Why wouldn't I be more accepting, understanding, patient? Instead, I feel like I have more questions than answers, and am still perplexed and even frustrated by life here. I should be BETTER than I was before I came here. Otherwise, what's the point? What have I ACHIEVED???

Back to my question, "Now what?" It's mid-April, Kiko is growing professionally and so are his business opportunities. Here. In Peru. But he's really happy with what he's doing, happy to give back to his country by using his coaching. Happy to be with his family, his language, his food, his culture. So it's best that he stays here, for now. As for me, I'm ready to go home for awhile, to my own house, to spend time with my parents, and friends. Actually, we hope to be able to go home together for the summer, then Kiko will return to Lima and I'll look at my options. In the meantime, maybe I'll just enjoy Peru without trying to accomplish something. 

La Playa

It's the beginning of March and summer is nearly over in Lima. The uniform stores have been busy, and most kids are back in school. But there's probably a few more weeks of hot weather and as long as it's hot, people will flock to the beach on the weekends. Limeños really do live for "la playa". Because Lima's sky is grey for pretty much nine months of the year, people take advantage of the summer by spending as much time as they can at the beach.


Many Limeños compete with the surfers by going to the local beaches that border the districts of Miraflores, Barranco, and Chorrillos. These beaches sit below the cliffs of the Costa Verde, with the coast highway separating the beach from the hillside. There are about 15 different beaches divided by jetties, with many of them covered in large, round stones but the surfers don't care what's on the shore. Peru is known for its awesome surfing up and down the country's coast, and as proof many of the beaches have Hawaiian names like Waikiki and Makaha. A few of the Costa Verde beaches are more people-friendly, and if people don't want to travel very far, these are the beaches for them. There's also the beach where the fishing boats come in to bring their catches, and the "restaurants" that make and sell those fresh catches. 


Then there are the beaches south of Lima. Every weekend there's a mass exodus to these southern beaches, whether it's just for the day or for the weekend. On Friday afternoons you'll see maids loading up the cars of the weekend beachgoers, everyone wanting to beat the traffic out of town.   


Kiko and I like to go to a public beach called Punta Rocas. It's at the end of a stretch of sand lined with different outdoor restaurants. Each restaurant is basically a wooden shell that only opens during the summer. When you sit on the beach in front of a restaurant, you get an umbrella and two chairs (maybe even lounge chairs with cushions). Each restaurant even has a good sized swimming pool set up on the sand to attract families with kids. While you lounge, you can order food and drinks from a menu and it will be delivered to you on a small plastic table. We recently enjoyed some fresh mixed seafood ceviche and bottles of ice cold Cusqueña beer, a great experience to have on the beach! No more packing up coolers, beach bags, chairs and umbrellas! We just grab our towels, sunscreen, and books, and if we forget our books, we can buy them from vendors who constantly walk by with their endless supply of jewelry, pareos, cotton dresses, DVDs, plastic sand toys, and of course ice cream!


There are numerous Limeños who either own beach houses, have friends or family with beach houses, or rent beach houses, either in a small, older beach town like Punta Hermosa, or in a newer area known as "Asia". Asia is a series of private beach neighborhoods along the coast where people spend their summer weekends, or maybe spend an entire month. Each "neighborhood" has its own amenities, like a clubhouse, pool, and restaurant. Whether families go to their beach houses for the weekend or a longer period of time, they often bring their maids and nannies with them. This way they can enjoy their trip without having to worry about cooking, housekeeping or taking care of the kids. 


There is a commercial shopping and entertainment district in Asia called El Boulevard de Asia. It's a little like Vegas, rising up in the middle of the desert (because even thought it's the beach, the coast of Peru is still the desert). The Boulevard is a large, outdoor mall that includes high-end stores, cafes and restaurants, bars and clubs, and a grocery store. The entire mall is only open for the summer, a period from about New Year's Day until Easter - all of the mechandise is stocked at the beginning of the season and whatever isn't sold is trucked back to Lima when summer is over. If you get a bit antsy at your beach house, you can drive down the highway to the Boulevard, and have some dinner, a coffee or ice cream, or a few drinks while most likely running into people that you know from Lima who are there for the same reason that you are. As the hour pushes midnight, you'll begin to see the parade of clubgoers, mostly young people from about 16 to 30, walking back and forth along the uneven sidewalk. The younger girls totter in their high heels, and are constantly pulling down their tight, black miniskirts, apparently their standard clubbing uniform! The younger guys don't dress up at all, opting for jeans and a t-shirt, often looking like they grabbed the shirt from the floor where it landed the night before. 


When we were there in January, we did what many others do on a typical night. We had coffee with Kiko's sis and brother-in-law, then went into a clothing store that had a DJ playing and were offered free bottles of Peroni beer ("what? a free beer for coming into your store? uh, sure, thanks!") We walked around until our family left, then found a bar where we sat under the stars and enjoyed some delicious, fruity pisco drinks while listening to a Pink Floyd tribute band. We people-watched, and we both saw several people we knew - I saw a friend I had met in Spanish class in '09, and Kiko saw a guy from work and a friend from grade school, who ended up staying to have a drink with us. This friend told us he had a contact at a club called Nikita, so after the band finished playing around 2am, we headed over to the club, even though we weren't dressed for clubbing. Cover charges at these clubs are expensive, and the friend got me in free, saving us 100 soles (about $37, which we would never spend at home for a few hours of dancing, even if there WAS a place to go dancing). This club is where the "older crowd" goes (haha), and it's actually outside amidst pretty, lighted trees. There was a white tarp shading the dance floor, and the DJ played a mix of salsa and American dance music. After dancing pretty much nonstop for almost three hours, we left the club (which was still packed at 5am!) and chose Peruvian-style stuffed baked potatoes as our after-clubbing snack! After a full night acting younger than we are, we ended up back at my sister-in-law's beach house and in bed by 6am. Not something I would do very often, but it really was fun to experience this aspect of beach life!


We got back to the house earlier than most of the people who party at the Boulevard. These folks sleep until the afternoon, then get up and spend the rest of the day on the beach. If you don't want to make the long walk to the sand, you can go upstairs to the roof of your beach house, where there is usually a terrace with some kind of tarp or cover for shade, tables, chairs and lounge chairs, and a small built-in swimming pool. You can build on your roof in Peru because houses are made from concrete, and roofs are flat. It's so different from the beach houses in Newport and Balboa. 


It's kind of lonely being in the city on a summer weekend. There are 12 apartments in this building, and we're the only people in it...everyone else is at the beach!