Tag Archives: Cusco

Chicas peperas

Posted on by under Life in Peru

Single guys who visit Cusco read this and consider yourself warned.

I had my students do one of my favorite writing exercises last week: write a story in groups, with each student contributing one line at a time. This way the story develops itself instead of following a pre-determined storyline.

Here’s how one group started their story:

(student 1) “One day I woke up in the gutter…”
(student 2) “There I found Romulo Leon…”
…

And a little further down:

(student 3) “Then we went to Don Diablo disco…”
(student 4) “Where we started dancing with 3 chicas peperas”
…

Chicas peperas? I’d heard many students say that Don Diablo is a dangerous place, where you can get robbed or get in a fight. But chicas peperas was new to me.

My students explained chicas peperas are girls that typically hang out at the less reputable discos in Cusco. They get guys to buy them a drink, or bring the guys a drink themselves (servers typically don’t wear uniforms, so you don’t know). Next thing the poor guy knows is when he wakes up in the middle of the Plaza de Armas…

  • Where’s my wallet?
  • Where’s my cellphone?
  • Where are my clothes? What happened?

We usually go out to the typical tourist spots on the Plaza de Armas such as Mama Africa, which have always been safe to us. If you’d prefer to get away from the tourist traps, I believe most of the neighborhood discos in Cusco are safe as well, but best ask the locals first.

Mama Africa, early in the evening

Mama Africa, early in the evening

Update: the scoop on peperas in Lima, from a reliable source.

Parque Kennedy in Lima is even worse than Q’osqo for the peperas. My best moment was while drinking sundown pisco sours with my brother, newly arrived that afternoon and off the plane. We dumped our bags at the overnight hotel and i took him to Cafe de la Paz on Kennedy for the best pisco sour i know (nice outside terrace, excellent sandwiches, too).

So my single, younger brother notices after 15 mins that he’s getting stared at by a couple of v pretty girls. As soon as he makes eye contact with one of them they’re at the table like a shot. I fake that i don’t speak Spanish (my brother doesn’t need to fake that bit) and it took about 20 minutes before they invited us to a disco later that evening. They leave to “Go get ready for later…see you boys there!!” and only then do i tell bro what a pepera is and how it all works.

He decided not to turn up for his date.

Baby’s first restaurant trip

Posted on by under Life in Peru

We took Brianna on her first restaurant trip. Some fellow expat bloggers (Barb, Rachel and Stuart) will love me for this… We didn’t take her to one of my local favorites such as Coco Loco’s, Trotamundos or Makayla’s, but to McDonald’s!!!

Eat your veggies, put some ketchup on those fries!

Eat your veggies, put some ketchup on those fries!

At McDonald's in Cusco

At McDonald's in Cusco

Look, it was Patricia’s idea, plus we had a coupon 🙂

Actually most Cusquenians don’t seem to mind that a McDonalds opened on the Plaza de McDonalds – digo, Plaza de Armas – it’s pretty low key without its typical big golden arches. In addition, we had just come from RENIEC, the mother of all Peruvian bureaucracy, so I was ready for some good American style efficiency and capitalism!

Baby's first, but not last, visit to RENIEC

Baby's first, but not last, visit to RENIEC

RENIEC is the agency that issues DNIs, the Peruvian national ID card. Like all of the bureaucratic agencies in Peru, RENIEC is full of pencil pushers whose only goal in life is to maintain their steady paycheck, regardless of how much they may be holding back development in Peru. I mean, I could have been working instead of trying to hold my baby up straight so she could put her “footprints” (not kidding) on her ID papers.

I’m cranky now, gimme a cheeseburger 😦

Cusco – general strike pictures

Posted on by under Life in Peru

There has been a lot of social unrest in Peru as of late, in particular in the provinces. The working class, the poor and indigenous people have been justifiably unhappy with the neo-liberal free-trade policies of the government in Lima. The worst unrest happened in Bagua last month, but there has been widespread social unrest all over Peru recently.

Here are some pictures of the general strike in Cusco today:

During strikes there are typically demonstrations by the main government buildings and the roads are often blocked. For example, there has been an ongoing dispute in Sicuani that caused temporary chicken shortages here in Cusco, since trucks were not able to come from Arequipa.

Here in Cusco social unrest is very mild. Thanks to the tourism industry the standard of living in Cusco is much different from in the rural areas. If you live in Cusco, the reality is that you should plan for about 5-10 extra days of vacation every year.

Finally, during strikes here in Cusco you see Peruvian police (PNP) standing by everywhere, in case, you know, an ice cream vendor comes by 🙂

Baby pictures

Posted on by under Life in Peru

Here’s a few more pictures of our baby Brianna. Some were taken at the Clinica Paredes where she was born, and a few more here at our apartment in Cusco:

She’s already a week old, and both mommy and baby are doing well.

I think all babies are cute, but it’s funny how many people here were hoping the baby would look like a gringa… “ojalá que salga con las ojos de su padre” … while all of my gringo friends were saying “let’s hope she looks like her mommy.” 😉

Baby arrives!!!

Posted on by under Life in Peru

We are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl!!!

Mom and baby

Mom and baby

Brianna Nayaraq

Brianna Nayaraq

At almost 3.9kg (~8lbs 10 oz) she’s a big baby girl! Born on June 20, the shortest day of the Southern hemisphere. Mom and baby are both doing well!!!

Yippie, lukewarm shower

Posted on by under Life in Peru

The Incas were great architects, but that was a long time ago. Building standards in Peru nowadays are pretty sad.

One of the more annoying characteristics of homes here in Cusco is that most of them lack hot water heaters and only use a little point-of-use heater at the shower head. I just installed this heater this morning, after the previous one blew up yesterday:

Point of use water heater

Point of use water heater

Yeap, those are 220V live electrical wires you’re looking at in the shower. In our buildings there is no ground wire, so you ground the thing to a nearby wall. I found out long ago that you don’t touch these heaters or metal window frames while you’re in the shower…

The heater itself cost me S/.37 (~$12) and is a certifiable piece of junk. It’s life expectancy is about 6 months, and the water is only lukewarm. When this one self-destructs in a few months I think I’ll look for a bigger and better one 🙂

Boleta de Pago – Peruvian paycheck

Posted on by under Business & Economy, Life in Peru

Here’s my paycheck for teaching ESL part-time for the month of May.

Boleta de pago

Boleta de pago

“Read ’em and weep boys” That’s what an instructor I used to know would say as he handed back his students’ graded exams. Same could be said for paychecks in Peru.

I only taught 2 classes, or about 4 hours a day, 18 days per month. The grand total is S/.800 (~ $280). Notice how S/.104 (~$35) is deducted for my retirement and my employer generously chips in S/.72 (~$25) for EsSalud health insurance. I take home S/.696 (~$250) at the end of the month.

That’s less than what the taxes on my WEEKLY paychecks at GE used to be 😦

Not that I’m an ungrateful gringo, I just do the teaching job for fun, it’s a nice way to meet local people and get out of the house for a few hours. For a single person who wants to spend a few months in Latin America teaching ESL is actually a good gig. If you work full time (4 classes ~ 8 hrs / day) you can make about S/. 1,500 (~$500) per month, enough to cover your living expenses down here.

At ICPNA my pay is actually better than average for Peru. The minimum wage in Peru is around S/.550 (~$180) per month, average starting wages in Cusco for respectable jobs like drivers, nurses or teachers are around S/.800 (~$280) per month – full time.

If you ask me, the way to make money in Peru, start your own business. That’s what I tell all my students, “Make your own luck, don’t work slave labor for a bunch of old rich guys…”

Clausurado

Posted on by under Life in Peru

For comic relief – I need it after the Bagua disaster.

Here’s a place down the street that got temporarily closed down for “sanitary reasons” or “disturbing the peace”.

Clausurado

Clausurado

These guys don't mess around

These guys don't mess around

The brick wall behind the load of dirt is where the entrance is supposed to be. You see this kind of thing once in a while here in the regular neighborhoods in Cusco. Typically it’s a local watering hole that was too loud or unruly for its neighbors.

Lucky

Posted on by under Life in Peru, Teaching ESL

I’m so lucky in so many ways… love, career, family, travel, …

A silly stroke of luck again came my way last week. At ICPNA Cusco, where I teach English part time, the teachers are not supposed to wear jeans or sneakers. My boss has devoted ample time to this, but I keep flaunting that particular rule anyway.

The other day as I walked up to the main office my boss looked at me up and down, clearly not approving of my jeans and sneakers, when one of the academic coordinators sort of barged in among a bunch of teachers who were there and said…

“… Ward, I just have to tell you, one of my former students is now in your class and she just told me how happy the entire class is to have you, and what a great teacher you are…”

A few of the teachers and I sort of played it down “you sure they were talking about me?” but I know my boss took notice. Thank you Rosanna !!!!

ESL students and me, in jeans and sneakers

ESL students and me, in jeans and sneakers

Now I don’t wear jeans and sneakers to be difficult, but because:

  • At age 35 I’m now officially a middle age white guy and my old suits don’t fit very well any more 😦
  • I try to teach all my students to be rebels

Although I love Peru there are a lot of issues here, such as poverty, corruption, prejudice, environmental protections, protection of land for indigenous people, etc. I tell all my students to be rebels, stop accepting the status quo, if they want a better Peru they are the ones to make it better.

So I am a rebel, I try to lead by example, I wear jeans and sneakers to let my boss know there are more important issues to address than the kind of clothes people are wearing.

Thanks Rosanna, and thanks Silvana!!