Life in Peru

GianMarco 15 Años

Watched the entire “GianMarco 15 Años” movie on the bus to Lima today, a great show taped in Lima’s Estadio Monumental in 2005.

Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we can share a good bit here. Watch the whole thing, it is well worth it.

Around 4:20 it gets really, really good. He stops for a moment and says:

“Peru is the most beautiful place, we must take care of it”

November 29, 2010 Posted by | History and culture, Life in Peru | , , , , , | 1 Comment

I don’t like Miraflores

Other than the Plaza de Armas and historic downtown Lima, Miraflores is probably the best known district of Lima, and the district most visited by tourists. I’m staying in Miraflores at the moment, have stayed here several times before, but I have to admit I don’t really like Miraflores.

To be fair, Miraflores has it’s charm. It’s a beautiful seaside location, home of Parque del Amor, the Malecon verde, Larcomar, etc. In the center of Miraflores is Parque Kennedy, where you always find a mixture of arts, entertainment, restaurants and shopping.

Miraflores is also a center of business and location of the main offices for many companies – which is why I’m staying here at the moment. Miraflores is decidedly more western or cosmopolitan than most other areas of Lima and Peru.

Parque Kennedy in Miraflores, Peru

Parque Kennedy in Miraflores, Peru

So what’s not to like? It just seems like Miraflores, being the center of business and a big tourist destination, has lost some of the things I like the most about Peru. The warmth and friendliness of the people, the laidback way of life that I’ve come to expect in Peru has been lost somewhat in Miraflores to the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.

The main tourist areas around Parque Kennedy and Larcomar are also quite sleazy at night. As a middle-age white guy (the worst demographic, but that’s another story), walking around Parque Kennedy by myself I constantly get hustled for sex and drugs. Just of Parque Kennedy is so-called Pizza Alley, a little street full of pizza restaurants, bars and discos, all more sleazy than Parque Kennedy itself. Before I ever moved to Peru, a Peruvian friend of mine told me if you really want to enjoy the nightlife in Lima, go to places like Barranco or Lince instead of Miraflores and Larcomar.

There are also many beggars and homeless people in downtown Miraflores, but not really in a way that you would empathize with. That’s not to be inconsiderate, I’ve seen many poor people in different settings from Honduras to Peru to the train stations in Europe, and the truth is that places like Parque Kennedy (or the Plaza de Armas in Cusco) just seem to attract people who hustle more than someone who just happens to be down on their luck.

I’m not saying you can’t go to Miraflores and have a good time, just that you’ll be paying extra not to see what the rest of Peru really is like.

Rant over. I’m walking down the street now to have chicken wings at Hooters in Larcomar :)

November 20, 2010 Posted by | Life in Peru | , , , , | 1 Comment

11-11

Armistice in Europe 1918. 9 million reasons to remember Nov 11, not counting the civilian deaths.

Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

More than 9 million combatants were killed, due largely to great technological advances in firepower without corresponding ones in mobility. It was the second deadliest conflict in history.
… Of the 60 million European soldiers who were mobilized from 1914–1918, 8 million were killed, 7 million were permanently disabled, and 15 million were seriously injured. Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria–Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost 10.5%. About 750,000 German civilians died from starvation caused by the British blockade during the war. By the end of the war, famine had killed approximately 100,000 people in Lebanon. The best estimates of the death toll from the Russian famine of 1921 run from 5 million to 10 million people. By 1922, there were between 4.5 million and 7 million homeless children in Russia as a result of nearly a decade of devastation from World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the subsequent famine of 1920–1922.

9 million combatants killed in roughly 4 years, that’s about equivalent to the population of Lima.

9 million reasons to delete those chain emails about the greatness and nobility of war.

Today is not a day for politics, but what worries me at times is that in high school our history teacher argued that the 20th century didn’t start until after World War One ended, that the war was in many respects the result of out-dated thinking between the powers of Europe. Similarly, you could argue that corporate and political culture in the world’s capitals today is still stuck in 20th century thinking.

A bombshelter in Oostakker, Belgium

Patricia standing by a bombshelter in my hometown in Belgium, I believe this is a World War 2 bunker.

November 11, 2010 Posted by | History and culture | , , , | Leave a Comment

   

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