My stay in Lima has come to an end. I'm pleased to say that I was able to accomplish what I hoped within the past 10 days. I've developed the necessary contacts within the Catholic University, the US Embassy, the National Council on Decentralization, and a leading NGO on rural development. Additionally, I have gained a good understanding of the perspective in Lima towards the situation I'm about to encounter down in the sierras.
I am definitely looking forward to Puno for the obvious reasons of wanting to begin my work. At the same time, to be completely honest, I am not a fan of Lima.
So before I go, in honor of my dear friend Alvaro, I would like to present you with a list simply called "I'm not going to miss"...
-the contamination that is completely palpable
-the fear of being mugged or pick pocketed (I do attribute a bit of my paranoia to the security briefing at the US Embassy)
-the taxi driver's insanse driving
-the combi (bus) to the university...you have to experience it yourself to understand
-seeing the sun only ONCE during my entire time here
-being slightly electrocuted every time I touch the hot water faucet in the shower
-trying to interpret what our Finnish housemate is saying...seriously, no one understands him and he won't slow down or shut up for that matter!
-having to take a taxi or a combi to get anywhere
Tomorrow I leave for Puno with my NGO coordinator, Juan Villegas by bus. He has been attending a conference here in Lima and so we planned to travel together. The trip will be split in two days. First, I will ride from Lima to Arequipa overnight (roughly 15 hours). In Arequipa we will stay with Juan's sister and I will have a chance to play "tourist" in the beautiful city center. On Tuesday we'll head out for the five hour trip to Puno.
Once I'm settled in Puno later next week I will post an update!
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