December in a Flash

STATUS AS A TENANT -  As I had mentioned in a previous post, I had been lucky to have found an apartment on the same building as the MEDA office. Yet, my luck ran out. I was asked to moved out, since the landlord's wife wanted to have the apartment to herself for the month of December and January. Thanks to Jessica (my manager), I was able to negotiate with the landlord to receive my deposit, December's rent and compensation for the breach of contract. However, I was left without a place to live...

Giannina and me at La Punta, Lima

Luckily, out of the sweetness of her heart, Giannina (MEDA accountant) invited me to stay with her family, while I sorted things out. Given that I had less than 2 months left on my contract and the holidays coming up, Giannina offered me to stay with her for the duration of my internship. I FOUND AN ANGEL! I cannot express how thankful I am to her and to her lovely family. 

THE HOLIDAYS - I had planned to take advantage of the days off work and travel from Lima to Machu Picchu by land with a couple of friends. However, due to last minute changes my friends could not come down to Peru and thus I was left without plans for the holidays. Without a place of my own and without X-mas plans, my boyfriend (Patrice) convinced me to head back home for the holidays. Due to the circumstances, Jessica understood and allowed me to leave a few days earlier to make most of my time in Canada ... 8 days later... I was back to Montreal and it had never felt so good to be home!

To celebrate my homecoming, my boyfriend's mom bought us the famous Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. It was officially our 1st X-Mas tree and one that will never be forgotten. In the picture, you can see our adorable Sakic, who I have also missed very much. 

SMALL REFLECTION AFTER 5 MONTHS OF WORK -18 days in Canada with family and friends has made admit it more difficult to be back in Lima, I must admit. Yet, knowing that I only have 1 more month left working with the Techno-Links project has also made me nostalgic. I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with my field manager, Jessica Villanueva. She has constantly trusted me with new tasks, encouraged and supported me along the way. I have learned a great deal by her side, not only about the project itself but also regarding the development field and career options in general. Working with Jessica has made this internship experience all worth it!

Coming up.... general reflections about my 6 month internship working with the Techno-Links project.

Second Month: It's all about Peruvian Gastronomy

PERUVIAN GASTRONOMY

When I mentioned to friends and family that I had the opportunity to live in Peru for 6 months, the first and the most frequent comment I received was: "Be prepared to gain weight".  I am beginning to understand what they meant...especially with the most delicious "churros" I have ever tried in my entire life! and the worst of it all is that they are sold for only s/.1.20 each. 

Peruvian Gastronomy House - Historical Center of Lima

Peruvian gastronomy is a booming sector. It has become a national symbol of pride, and such that this gorgeous building (which used to be National Post/Telegraph building), is now the Peruvian Gastronomy House.

CEVICHE:

I cannot continue talking about gastronomy, without mentioning the world famous "Ceviche". It has been declared as part of national heritage and June 28th is the National Day of Ceviche!

Sea Food Menu: Breaded Fish (Left) and the world famous Ceviche (Right)

Fruit: Granadilla

Ceviche - raw fish marinated in lemon juice and spiced with aji - is usually served with onions, lettuce and a side dish... in this case yucca. 

At a seafood restaurant in Cerro Azul (2 hours beachfront town south of Lima), ceviche is considered as an entree and comes with the main plate - more fish, more salad, rice and another element that cannot go unnoticed... Peru's famous "Aji" (chili sauce).

EXOTIC FRUITS: GRANADILLA

It has been two months, and yet the majority  of the fruits sold at the market are still completely foreign to me. Yet, one of the fruits that I have been able to recognized and have ate with great nostalgia is "La granadilla". It has been 14 years since I last tried a "granadilla", usually a fruit that I used to eat on a daily basis in Colombia. It was so emotional that I had to take a picture! I hope to explore more of these exotic fruits in the next 4 months remaining.

I hope to update this entry as I further explore the world of Peruvian gastronomy!

Primer mes in Lima, Peru

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

CLOUDY. There is no sight of the sun..ANYWHERE!! During this past month, I have only seen the sun 3 times in total. There is a blanket of clouds that extends across the Lima skies during the winter time. The cloudy skies have even made an impression on Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, who referred to Lima as, "the saddest city on earth."

View from my bedroom -- This is what Lima looks at 9am, at noon and at 5pm.

I would not go to the extent to calling it the saddest city, however not seeing the sun has been THE hardest adjustment thus far. Some Peruvians have reassured me that spring should be just around the corner. 

TECHNO-LINKS. I am currently working as the value chain development intern supporting MEDA's (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) Techno-Links project. In a nutshell, Techno-Links is a competitive matching grant fund promoting and expanding the access of agricultural technologies for small-size producers in Peru and Nicaragua. It is an exciting and busy time for us here in Lima, as the 16 winners of the grants will be announced shortly!

My cozy office at the Techno-Links office in Peru

Did I mention that I live in the same building as the office? Just 5 floors away! It makes a huge difference, especially those working days that go from 9 am to 7ish.

SECURITY. Another advantage is security. I do not have to take public transportation carrying my laptop and allows me to stay a bit later at work, when needed. However, one should not be too confident. Last week, I had a minor security incident. After work, a security guard followed me to my apartment and began an extremely inappropriate conversation. Thankfully, I received full support and guidance from the MEDA staff and the appropriate actions were taken in response.

I share this story because I want to encourage all my fellow intern colleagues to please report any security incident, even as small as you may considered it to be. As Jennifer (MEDA HR) told me, even if you are physically OK, any incident could also have a psychological impact.  As a result, if something happens to you, please talk to someone about it. 

RELATIONSHIPS. On a happier note, at the end of August my boyfriend, Patrice, and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! On the day, he surprised me with a lovely bouquet of flowers and delicious chocolates sent to my apartment.