Making friends in Lima Like my Aunt Vicki, I love making lists.  To-do lists are my favorite, but I also enjoy making step-by step instructional lists, lists of places I want to travel, lists of potential blog topics, of men I’ve dated, of men my friends have dated, of men I’m currently dating (short list).  [...]

“Don’t go to Gamarra.  It’s not safe.” Ever since Noelle, my American friend from Spanish class, suggested we go there, I was told not to by just about everyone I encountered…Limenians included.  But the fact of the matter is, if I only did what people told me was safe, I would be staying within a 10-block [...]

Since I’ve starting blogging, many of you have shared with me things you’ve learned about Peru online; some of you have even bought books about Peru!  I hope this is because you are trying to plan a trip to come and visit Charlie and I. If not, let’s use your researching skills and have a fun [...]

In the summer of 2005 I hiked Mt. Washington with my uncle Flip and lifelong friend Pat as part of my goal to summit all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 footers.  At an elevation of 6,288 feet above sea level, Mt. Washington is the highest in the White Mountains and home of the world’s most [...]

1) The Plaza de Armas in Arequipa.  Arequipa is also known as “the white city” because many of its buildings are made from a white volcanic rock called sillar.  The city rests in the Andes around 7,800 feet above sea level and is the second most populated city in the country (around 904,900 residents) 2) [...]

Culture shock refers to feelings of anxiety, depression, or confusion that often go along with adjusting to life in a foreign country.  The process of adjustment can be broken down into three stages:  The Honeymoon Stage, The Negotiation or Frustration Stage, and the Understanding or Acclimation Stage. The Honeymoon stage generally occurs when you first [...]

An American in Peru Between junior and senior year of college, I studied abroad in the rainforest of northeastern Australia.  I spent four weeks living in an open-air cabin in the middle of the forest learning about and aiding local reforestation efforts…the experience of a lifetime.  Afterwards, I spent six weeks traveling in parts of [...]

An American in Peru What time is it? Every greeting starts with a buenos dias (good morning), buenas tardes (good afternoon or evening), or buenas noches (good night).  This is fine and dandy, but sometimes adds to my anxiety of beginning a conversation, entering a store, or asking for directions.  In addition to figuring out [...]

An American in Peru It’s amazing how much a single interaction, or the successful completion of a task can make my day and contribute to my happiness here.  Conversely, a failed task or misunderstanding can be devastating.  Who knew I was so sensitive? Here’s an example. This weekend, Charlie bought me a cell phone (I [...]

An American in Peru It’s hard to believe I’ve been here 20 days already.  I feel like I’m only beginning to adjust to life in Peru.  I’ve had a lot of comments and email responses to my blog and wanted to answer some commonly asked questions… On Married Life… Married life rocks.  I’m really enjoying [...]

An American in Peru If I wrote “Peruvian men are a bunch of scum-buckets,”  that would be stereotyping.  So I will phrase it this way:  I have encountered a lot of Peruvian men who are complete, disrespectful slime-balls.  I briefly touched this topic in the previous blog, and I would like to delve a little [...]

An American in Peru Being a housewife here in Peru is easy when you have a maid who comes once a week.  This is a social norm among the upper and middle class.  She cleans the house, does the laundry, irons, can run errands with me (or on her own), and as I was told [...]

Six months ago, I was living in Seattle with roommates, working as an occupational therapist for a home health company. Now, I am a housewife in Lima, Peru. I am delighted to finally be living with my husband who has been working as a geotechnical engineer at a mine here for the past year. We were married in October, but he has continued to work his schedule of three weeks in Peru to 10 days in the States since). When Charlie’s company offered to move us to Lima, we were thrilled as we both love international travel and getting to know other places and people.