Friday, October 22, 2010

First two weeks in Perú

Hello all! I know I have been silent on here for a while- yesterday I was able to get my internet set up in my apartment, and I should be able to post more things from here on out! Firstly, I am doing well so far and enjoying meeting everyone at work. There are quite a few folks who live in my neighborhood, so I've been using their wisdom to go around my area here. Lima is a huge city compared to what I'm used to, so I'm adjusting to what everything looks like and the traffic. Oh the traffic! I think in the long run it will be worth it though.

I arrived at my apartment on the 6th and really like it so far. The rest of the building is pretty quiet. The hardwood floors are also really nice- I enjoy sliding around on them (maybe too much).

Here is my living room. I have some planters on the window sill, and then to the right of this is my dining room, and my balcony going off that. The furniture is a little out dated, but it is pretty comfy. I'm thinking of getting some covers for it though.

As far as goings on, there is a lot of advertising going on for Halloween.  I am not sure how much people actually celebrate it, but there are things for sale in the store. I bought some pumpkins for 2.19 Nuevos Soles/ kg. I don't know how much that came out to. I carved one of them tonight, and I might leave the other one for now. It's sitting on the table in my entry way and I like that. It adds a little bit of seasonal decor. It is actually spring time here, and all the tropical trees and what not are blooming, so it is not the normal October weather I am used to!

This is the pumpkin I carved tonight. He's a little ghost guy! In past years I've tried doing faces and they don't come out like much, so I tried something new this year. For a first attempt I think it went pretty well. I found a stencil on the internet, but I just drew it freehand on my pumpkin. It occurred to me that I don't have any candles, so I will have to buy some. Tomorrow I am going to Jockey Plaza with a few neighbors. It is a big shopping mall with all sorts of stores here in Lima. The Marine Ball is coming up, and even though I already have my shoes, not everyone is in the same boat!

In addition to just learning my surroundings, I have also been adjusting to all the food preparation and groceries, etc. It is not suggested that I drink the tap water here, so I have water delivered (it's the local equivalent of deep rock, etc) and have a dispenser for it. It works well but cleaning dishes is always a "process". I have been experimenting with cooking, but one thing that is hard is starting a pantry all from scratch. There were a few things waiting for me when I got here, but I just bought salt and pepper last weekend. I hit the Savory Spice shop in Boulder right before coming here, and I'm glad I did! The spicy adobe and italian cheese mixes have been getting me through quite a lot! Here is an example of my inventiveness:

I made breaded chicken using corn flakes. The mashed potatoes turned out really well because I added some of the italian cheese mix. The salads here you have to be careful with. I bought the packaged lettuce from a trusted grocer with high quality produce, and  then I used cucumber and carrots because I could peel them. Of course, I realized I had no salad dressing. I actually made some. It might sound a little weird, but tasted very good. I mixed some mayonnaise with some juice from a can of green olives. I then added some maple sugar, some more of the italian cheese mix, some mustard powder, and some black sesame seeds. It turned out a little liquidy (I started out with too much mayo and had to add more olive juice than I planned), but other than that it was pretty tasty! For those who care, the wine is a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Also very yummy.

Well, it has been a long week, so later I will continue to post some updates on what I've been up to. I can't believe it's only been two weeks!

Ciao!

3 comments:

  1. Hey! Glad to know things are going well.
    Your place looks big and pretty.

    Isn't your pumpkin the oogi boogi man from nightmare before Christmas?

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  2. Yes he is! He looked familiar and I couldn't figure out why... I'm posting a pic of him in the night time on my FB.

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  3. Ha ha! I was going to say he looked more like the boogie man! Also, I was wondering what wine it was, so thanks! Sounds great and I love your lounge :) Yay, wood floors!

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