A Day to Myself in Trujillo

This morning’s wake up call was severely unexpected. I was half awake, listening to my bunkmate Alex get ready, when I opened my eyes for a split second. I see him in mid air, jumping on top of me. I curl up to protect myself as he yells, “Good morning, Elder! It’s baptism day!” He is a strange fellow, but he is pretty easy to get along with.

We got ready and had breakfast a little later than I had planned because we were planning on going out in the morning. We had a pre-trip meeting with Doug, who is one of two SEED interns out here currently. He informed us that he couldn’t go with us until later, so we planned on an early afternoon trip. Then we spoke with Alena, who is the main director of the program in Dan Per, and she said the best time to go would be the morning, so we planned on tomorrow going out and paying a visit. Suddenly, we had an open day with not much to do.

We brainstormed some ideas to make something out of our meeting, and then I took a small nap. It was short, and even though it was still morning, it was awesome. We went to lunch at this sandwich place, and it was very delicious. They had small sandwiches for 2 or 3 soles a piece with pollo (chicken), pavo (turkey), chicharron (pork), huevos (eggs), everything. They were on a delicious bun, and we put our own mayo and aji on it. I coupled it with a bottle of Coke, which is a million times sweeter than the Coke in the States. It was a very satisfying meal.

Upon returning to the hotel, we decided to go swimming, so we all changed and met at the freezing pool. Brennon was the first to take the plunge, and he challenged us all to a cannon ball contest, which got us all to jump in. The water was so cold; you got used to it after a while, but it was always cold. When you got out, the air was immensely warmer than the water, and it was not warmer when you jumped back in the pool. We all ran up to the steam room after the short stay in the pool to warm up. The steam boiled up over a bundle of coca leaves, which made the steam room warm and aromatic. We tried to get the sauna working, but it was never warm enough.

After a shower, I went to the girl’s room next door to watch a movie. We put on The Italian Job, but I fell asleep before the first job was even finished. I slept through the movie until somebody knocked on the door. I don’t remember who it was, but they gave me a funny look when I answered the girls’ door with bedhead. We went to dinner at the Italian place where we had been recommended to go, but I didn’t like my meal that much. Susana and I split a small four-cheese pizza because we weren’t very hungry, but I think they put bleu cheese on it, so it tasted a bit like vomit. And it was way over-priced. But that’s ok I guess; you won’t really remember the food, but the conversation and the experience.

When we got back to the hotel, Susana and I ended up having a great talk. I was ready for bed, but we just started talking. It is fun to be so close with everybody here. We all have a cool bond with each other, and I hope that we will all still be friends after the trip, even though I won’t be around for a while.

Trujillo, the Second Largest and Dirtiest City in Peru

Thursday started at 3:30 with Nate’s alarm. I groggily showered and finished what little packing I had left. We met downstairs and bussed to the Lima airport. Our wait there was not very long because Tyler and Cooper slept through their alarm and made us late, which I was not complaining because I would rather wait in a hotel rather than an airport. We quickly moved through check in and security and waited in the tiny terminal downstairs. When it was time to board the plane, we took a shuttle to the airplane and boarded from the tarmac.

The flight was only an hour, but it was just enough to finish my book. It was a great book, but the ending made me a little sad. I would recommend anybody who asks to read The Kite Runner. The Trujillo airport is really small. There is not even a gate because they all board from the tarmac, and there is only one baggage claim for the flight or two that comes in daily. We bussed to our hotel where they weren’t ready to check us in because of the earliness. We left our luggage and separated for breakfast, and by the time we returned, the rooms were ready.

I am sharing a room with Alex for the week, and our room is sooo small. I guess I am just used to the luxury, but it is cramped. The girls’ room right next to us has to rooms, one for each bed, two TV’s for each room, couches, a table, and, well, everything to make me jealous. It will be alright though; I don’t plan on spending too much time in there anyway. The rest of the hotel is really nice, especially given the area we are in.

Trujillo is a dusty city. There is sand everywhere, almost like vast desert land, but more humid. There are hardly any nice buildings, mostly walls with graffiti or half-standing edifices. We did pass by the construction site of the temple, and it will stand out when it is finished just because of the extravagance, not to mention the height and the lights. Our hotel is located right on the plaza de armas, and my window looks onto the same grassy area with a weird statue that looks like it only has one leg (at least from this angle). A busy street is right below us as well, so the traffic sounds honk and rev all day.

We had a meeting with the SEED interns to start our day’s agenda, and they reviewed all the business plans we were assigned to. I am in a  group with Nate and Shannon, and our plan is for a small bodega (or mini-mart) by a fellow named Luis. We had been making plans about what we will do when we get here, but it mostly was flipped up-side down a few days ago. We shortly made plans for the day, which was a meeting with Luis in the evening.

After our meeting, we found lunch at a small corner restaurant. We are all a little weary about eating some of the food, especially the vegetables which are washing in local water which is advisable not to partake of. Part of my meal came with a salad, and I ate it. Whoops. I still feel fine though. The rest of my meal was pollo a la plancha, which was a chicken breast with French fries. I really likes it, especially coupled with a sweet Coke.

I ended up taking a nap in the next-door girls’ room after lunch. We met downstairs to head out to DanPer for our plan tour. DanPer is a joint venture from Denmark (DANmark in Spanish) and PERu. They grow vegetables like asparagus, peppers, artichokes, grapes, etc., and can them for companies like Del Monte. They are a huge employer and work really hard to support their employees. They are the corporate sponsor of the SEED program here in Trujillo; their employees are encouraged to participate by getting their entrepreneurial ideas together, taking classes, and putting together a business plan. Their plans are run through us students on the Go Global program for approval, which is what we are doing here in northern Peru.

The plant was very different than the other plants we had been to. It was very labor intensive, which means they didn’t have fancy equipment that did the work, like the other factories had. There are rows and rows of workers that stand there all day, peeling asparagus or pitting peppers or canning veggies. Our tour was very personal, getting right in the process and following it from cooking to canning to shipping. We went through two plants: one for peppers and one for asparagus. We didn’t catch much of the asparagus plant because by the time we got there, everybody was headed home for the day. We asked too may questions in the pepper plant (our group was all in operations, so we all knew what questions to ask).

After, we met were given some samples of some of their products; it tasted better than I thought it would. We were all tired of standing and anxious to go to our meeting with our people. Finally, we were able to ditch the ridiculous garb we were required to wear, hopped in a taxi, and hurried back to the hotel.

We found our guy, Luis, waiting for us. He seemed very nervous, and I just wanted to tell him to not be nervous, but this step in the process is a big deal. We are the last hurdle before the decision, and we have a large say on the decision. Our meeting went well. We had a hard time coming up with questions, but they came eventually. I was able to follow mostly, but Nate had to translate occasionally. Luis spoke very softly, so with the other meetings going on, I found it hard to focus and figure out what he was saying. The SEED interns showed up, and Luis seemed to relax a little with familiar faces. He seems genuine and humble, which I think are great traits. We will trek out to his place this week and perform due diligence to better create our recommendation.

Our meeting lasted for not quite an hour. The interns wanted to have dinner at this restaurant they were suggested, so we went with them down the road a block to a neat little nook in the wall. The food was a little more expensive, given that you can eat a two-course meal with a drink for 5 soles (about $2). We were seated outside, and even though it is winter down here, it was very pleasant. The sky glows at night, a mix of the humid ocean air coupled with the city lights. It was a little chilly, so we turned on the stand heaters that warmed the patio. Dinner took forever to come out, which seems typical out here. I had some pasta with alfredo sauce, which Peruvians always serve with ham slices in it.

It was a great night. I hung out with the girls next door and fell asleep on their bed. They woke me up and sent me to my bed not much later, and I zonked out. I thought Trujillo would be a drag because we have free schedules all day for a week, but I think it will be the most rewarding part of the trip.

Lima, Wednesday's Post

Not having to be ready until 9:00 is such a great feeling. You can sleep in, have a late-ish breakfast, show up to your meetings late because the door key to your room doesn’t work, etc. It really beats getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning.

Our first meeting was up stairs in a conference room in our hotel. A representative from MIDIS (don’t ask me what the acronym is) came and spoke to us about social inclusion. He talked about their doings, which was similar to welfare programs in the States. He said that even though some people may have one factor of what they need to get out of poverty, but it can be worthless unless other factors are there. Por ejemplo, a person may have a bank account set up for them (which in some of the programs, they automatically do it for them), but if an ATM or bank is not near their village or community, they cannot take advantage of it. Overall, it seemed that their program was setting up incentives to keep people dependent on the state, which caused many pointed questions on our end. We all talked with each other after and exchanged ideas, all of which were critical of his presentation.

We had a couple of hours to kill before our next visit, so we took advantage of the time and went to lunch. We walked down to the main circle again and dropped by the TGI Fridays. It was about triple the cost than my meal yesterday, but still pretty good. After lunch, I took a nap and did some pre-packing for the flight the next day.

We gathered in the lobby to depart in our taxis to Prom Peru, which is government entity in charge of tourism. They gave us a Peru bag, a hat embroidered with the marca de Peru, a notebook, and a pen, and because nobody sat next to me, I took another one from the empty chair. The presentation was very professional, the powerpoint was well designed, and the presenter was very knowledgeable. There was a server who brought us dough balls, little sandwiches, and orange juice after the lecture, and it was weird to be catered to in such a way.

The hotel welcomed us, Susana, Brennon, and myself left shortly after to go to Susana’s cousin’s house. If I haven’t said already, Susana is from Lima and has family still here even though she grew up in Switzerland. She is coming back to Lima after we finish in Trujillo to spend some time with her family here, so she packed a bag and left it at her cousin’s place. It was an interesting place. Not that it felt sketchy, but it felt like authentic Lima. We were in an apartment complex where it was filled mostly with Peruvians; we seemed far away from San Isidro, the rich part of Lima where our hotel was.

Before we had left for Susana, we had decided to meet up at a mall that is right on the beach. We surprisingly had to trouble finding the others, but we didn’t do any shopping. The sight was so engaging. The waves would roll in on the beach far below as the lights gleamed from the city behind us and on either side. There was a cross that was lit up on one side, and there were lighted pillars that marked where the mall stood. Brennon and I went on a small adventure in the mall to figure out movie times for Fast and Furious 6, and we had a great chat. The others followed (Shannon, Tyler, Susana, and Cooper) and we watched the movie like they do down here: In English, but with Spanish subtitles. Everybody loved the movie; I’m a little critical, so I thought it was alright, but not great.

Our last night in Lima was really fun. Overall, I did not get the best impression of the city, but I would really love to come again with somebody that knows the city well.

Birthday in Lima!

Just to clarify, I’ve been a day late recently. So the post usually is for the day before. Maybe I’ll be able to catch up….. Maybe.

I woke up this morning, and before I had even gotten in the shower, Nate wished me a happy birthday. It was pretty insignificant really, but I genuinely appreciated it. For breakfast, everybody sang happy birthday, and Dave brought out a chocolate cake for Aniko and me to split (remember hers was yesterday). I had three bites and called it quits; I couldn’t do super-chocolate cake for breakfast.

We met in the lobby of the hotel and were briefed about our visits for the day. First was the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, which is based here in Lima. The foundation believes that property rights are crucial in fighting poverty, so they specialize in changing the legal and political culture of third-world countries to help bring their poor out of poverty. I didn’t especially like the visit. There were two presenters who were lawyers who had worked in the field in different projects. What they said was interesting and boring at the same time, but having read the founding president’s book and talked about it in class, I mostly followed and understood what they were saying.

After the visit, we took a taxi to El Centro de Lima. We were split into four groups with Spanish-speaking leaders to help those of us who don’t speak. We were given a place to be dropped off, and we all disembarked. We were the first and the farthest. Everybody passed us as the drivers dropped the groups off closer and closer to the Presidential Palace. Of the four groups, we could only find three of us, which was cause for worry. We waited for several minutes, then decided to walk to the palace to see if we would pass them on the way. No luck.

We consulted with each other and decided to walk down to the plaza de armas to see if they were down there. We acutally thought that was where we were going, but we ended up being several blocks away. The area was super sketchy. I was being way too paranoid about the girls in our group. I always had my protective eyes on them. We made it to the plaza but didn’t see the others, so we decided to trust that they were mature enough to figure it out for themselves, so we went to the cathedral that is on the plaza (I think it is the national cathedral). The inside was beautiful, but not as immaculate as Cuzco’s tabernacle. The downstairs catacombs were open for viewing, so we were able to see (not specially; it was open to the public) some graves and bones and tombs.

After the cathedral, we split up for lunch. We went to an authentic place where my two-course meal with a drink was about $4. I ate papa rellena, which has been my favorite Peruvian food so far, and arroz con pollo. With lunch finished, we were given a special assignment. We were sent to drive to El Centro to try and find the other guys. Luckily, we found them quickly, and we all took taxis to the next appointment.

Our taxi driver had no idea where our address was. The street was unfamiliar to him, so he asked his taxi brothers for some help. We finally made it to the office, only after charging us double for him being lost. This visit was excellent. The corporation was Buena Ventura, a mining company who focuses on corporate give back. In fact, that was the entire presentation. The presenter was the Vice President of Social Responsibility (or something like that) and he showed us how integrated the communities have to be to the mine, so Buena Ventura has to take on huge roles in the community, such as providing power, infrastructure, roads, water, education, etc. It was a really cool aspect of the company, especially where Peru needs that sort of development.

We taxied back to our hotel and had the rest of the evening free. I ended up washing the rest of my clothes because they dried so well from the night before. I was informed that we were having a birthday dinner at 9 and that I should wear a nice shirt. So I put on a nice shirt and picked up Shannon from her room so we could go have dinner. Aniko and Natalie set it up (I’m pretty sure) and they asked Cooper and Nate. Dinner was at this fancy restaurant named “Vivaldi” where a piano and violin duet played all night. The girls dressed very nicely in their dresses, and most everybody else were in nice business clothes, but we guys all showed up in jeans (according to what we were told). The options on the menu were very high-class, and we were delivered a free glass of pisco sour to start (yes, it has alcohol; no, I didn’t drink it). It was great to be out and have fun celebrating.

So my birthday was just like any other day, well, at least every other day on this trip. But I had fun, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Thanks to everybody who remembered me and sent me a greeting, even if it was just in passing on Facebook.  Especially, thanks to everybody on the trip who wished me a good one.

Lima, The Capital

I woke up at 6:45; I did not set my alarm because I wanted to sleep in, but alas, my body said otherwise. I packed my bag, shoving in all of my new purchases, hoping my bag would not be too big for the flight. After breakfast, we loaded the bus and drive to the airport.

The airport is quite small; there are only 5 gates in one terminal. We waited in the cramped seating area for some time, plus our flight was delayed for a short time. I was a little nervous because I was supposed to meet Braulio in Lima, and I hopped I had communicated effectively to make sure he was on time and where he needed to be. Braulio is my roommate Rhett Barton’s friend from Lima. Rhett served in Lima on his mission, and Braulio was a ward mission leader in one of his areas.

We touched down late, and it took forever to get our luggage, which added to my worries. We finally passed the exit and was greeted by a short and smiling, clean-cut chico who only knew me through Facebook. He was so happy to see us (and I him); Rhett had given me some gifts for him and other people in his mission, so I was glad the plan was working out. He rode with us on our bus to our hotel. We chatted the whole time, in troubled Spanish from my end and decent English on his. He narrated descriptions of the areas we passed through as we weaved our way through Lima.

When we got to our hotel, he hung out with us for a bit until he had to go to work at the Peru MTC. The hotel is extravagant, again. It is the same hotel as Cusco. The Sonesta hotels are apparently several hundred dollars a night, and I love the luxury. We have a bidet (I had to look up how to spell that) in our bathroom, which I have been scared to use because I do not want to get soaked in toilet water. We went upstairs to check out the rooftop pool and gym, which we are excited to use if it isn’t freezing cold. Then Braulio needed to get going, so we took another picture and parted ways. I’m hoping to see him again on Wednesday, where he offered to show us the MTC.

For dinner, we walked several blocks down Av. Conquistadores to a main center of this part of town. There were several American restaurants that lined the round about: TGI Fridays, McDonalds, Chili’s.  About half of us decided to go to Chili’s for a reminder of home.

I don’t think they liked us there; they seated us in the far corner of the restaurant right next to the bathrooms. It was Aniko’s birthday dinner, so we sang “Happy Birthday” to her and made a temporary ruckus. We did not get the best of service, either. We asked to separate the checks, but because they didn’t have any change, they still made us pay in couples, which was really annoying.

When we got back to our hotel, I did some laundry and watched Gossip Girl with Nate and Erin. Well, I actually fell asleep watching Gossip Girl, but I was there. We went up to go swimming, but it was too cold for me. Nate jumped in, made Natalie jump in, then pressured Aniko in. I was half asleep, so I did not get too involved.

I went to bed shortly after. I read a chapter or two out of my book, which is getting intense. Also, I pretty much dumped my suitcase out, hoping I can reorganize my stuff so my case will weigh less. As I lied in bed, I realized I could breathe better than I did in Cusco. Before I would go to bed and get short of breath, but down here at sea level, the breathing is easy.