4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days

Last week I saw the Romanian film 4 months, 3 weeks, & 2 days playing at Alcazar. This is probably the most important motion picture I have seen all year, and believe me that I have been well on my way to earning the Cineplanet gold card for a while now. (Meaning I go to the movies 2-3 times a week).

4m, 3w, & 2d was absolutely perfect as a film, and the story was riveting though admittedly not something that I felt so comfortable watching.

Every scene was full of visual and audible information bursting with symbols and color and compassion. I think that movies taking place near the end of communism (Good Bye Lenin, for example) have such intriguing material to work with that such scene development is possible. The sets put forth a lot of details about the era that give the viewer the gritty sense of what it was like for these young students living in Romania.

The film is delicately layered with images/scenes of intercourse and motherhood that really get at the center of the film's subject matter. To me the most important and impressive scene was one that I was about to discard as lengthy and boring before I realized what was going on. When Otilia goes to Adi's house for dinner and the camera focuses on Adi and Otilia as they don't say a word though Adi's parents and uncles tell family stories and compare today's (1987) audacious youth with their own. When I stopped trying to read the fast moving subtitles and just saw the beautiful faces of Otilia and Adi. The scene segues into an argument that Otilia and Adi have over what they would do if Otilia were to end up in Gabita's situation. It's a scary though accurate example of male ignorance of birth control and the actual choices that women have to make and the ones that they have no control over. This is why this scene to me is the most important one of the film: this open discussion of what if: the need for more information from one's partner. It is one of the least shocking scenes of the film, though I think it leaves the viewer with the most to take away. Discussions about birth control need to be existent and open. Women need to be shown the respect by men and other women and society to make the decision that is best for them -- and it is a woman's decision--whether it be abstinence, using a contraceptive, having an abortion at a suitable juncture, or having a baby. If a woman is as daft as Gabita when it comes to making this decision, I pray for more Otilias, responsible partners, and widespread and comprehensive sexual education in this world.

Vacation

Foreword: I know I have not written in this blog this year like I had planned, but I suffer from a stressful schedule and a severe lack of inspiration.

After working at my newest job for 9 months, I finally have a real vacation. I traveled for a week to Arequipa (1st time) and Puno (2nd time). Now I don't know what to do with myself. I can tell that I have been working a lot because even as I write this I start to type the common phrases that I write about 50 times a day at work (ex. 1st choice), rather than what I actually want to type (1st time).

In short I loved Arequipa. The city is beautiful and the people from Carlos's adolescent past were very heartwarming. Special thanks to Luis Miguel for his vocabulary lesson and sharing his sangre (home-brew pisco) with us and to Linda for the best lunch turned pisco afternoon and evening I have had in a while. It was cool to see Juanita, the frozen Andean girl found in the mountains close to Arequipa as well as the Molino de Sabandia, which reminded me how enjoyable it is to escape into the country. El Convento de Santa Catalina was more than I expected and the view and queso helado at Yanahuara were quite refreshing. I would go back for an extended trip to visit the Colca Canyon, the Cotahuasi Canyon, and Misti as well as Corire, home the the great people I met. For restaurants, El Turko II was excellent (the first ostrich meat I ever tried), El Colibri was adequate and Tradicion Arequipena was representative of Arequipa cuisine. Nothing was as tasty as the fried chicken at 9 pm on Sunday, the final course of our lunch at Linda's house, though we still need to go back for the adobo.

This time around I got a deeper impression of Puno and Lake Titicaca, though I still didn't get to do everything that I wanted due to logistics. Kathy and I made it to Taquile Island and Copacabana on the Bolivian side, though I really feel like I missed out on visiting the Sun Island via catamaran. I give the Bolivians credit for making immigration the easiest and least sketchy border experience thus far -- I'm only missing Colombia and Brazil now. The food at Incabar was delicious as well as the food as Casa Andina Private Collection's restaurant, though Incabar was much more generous for a lower price. Colon Inn was comfortable and their restaurant was good as well. In terms of heat it was fine. One must keep in mind that it is very cold at night in the altiplano and you need to bundle up. Do not forget sunblock during the day, however.

I came back to Lima in time to see Wanted with my sister and Susana. I found it to be very entertaining visually, though it did not take my mind very far. That night there ended up being a party on my terrace and we have almost cleaned up entirely from that. For now as I mentioned I don't know what to do with myself. I am happy to be back in Lima with Carlos and Mapache, though the weather is absolutely depressing which doesn't leave me with much of an urge to go out and do anything.

We'll just have to see what tomorrow brings...

Buenos Aires Review

For a long weekend myself and three other PFLers jet set to Buenos Aires for the best that this city has to offer. This is my report:

Many people refer to Buenos Aires as the most European city in South America. I think the cobblestone streets, corner cafés, and fashion coifs make it easy to see why people might think this, but I like to believe that each place is unique and beautiful in its own way.

The main attractions of Buenos Aires are shopping, tango, fútbol, and restaurants (pasta, meat, alfajores and wine not to be missed). My enthusiastic travel companions and myself partook in all of these delights to some extent.

Day 1

On our first day we took up Marcos’s offer of a free city tour. Our transfer came promptly upon our arrival to the apartment that we had rented (BA Home Rental). He took us to the Marriott Hotel where we unfortunately had to wait 40 minutes for our tour bus to arrive. I am not a big fan of bus tours---I prefer to be on the street and walk around, which I appreciated at La Boca and Caminito. La Boca was our tribute to Argentine soccer, where we saw La Bombonera home of Boca Juniors Athletic Club. Perhaps I will return to this stadium one day to watch a game with my boo. At Caminito even the old people were fashionable and the tango dancers were all the attraction despite the holes in their fishnets. (That might be an oxymoron)

We wrapped up Day 1 with a well earned fancy dinner at Cabernet, in Palermo Viejo. Fried brie cheese, risotto with mushrooms, and Los Alamos Malbec for me.

On our way out of Palermo we spotted a bar with Guinness. Guinnesssssssss. Not very Argentine, but we had some pints. (Sullivan’s Bar).

Day 2

On our second day we got down to business. There are a lot of boutique stores in Bs As and we were determined to see as many as possible. It is likely that we stepped into 55% of all boutiques in Buenos Aires. On this day we went to Avenida Santa Fe, starting at Av. 9 de Julio and heading west. Reaching Burger King, we hailed a taxi to Alto Palermo. Today’s conquests: Zara, Albanese, Scombro, Cuesta Blanca, Zool, Freddo (ice cream), Caro Cuore, and more.

Dinner at La Huella, across from our apartment on the corner of Pueyrredon and Gutierrez. That waiter was adorable. I could have put a bow on him and given him away as a present. My lomo con champignons was delish.

In the evening we visited former PFLers Mark and Shelby. We went out with Mark and his Texan roommate to Milion Bar. Their conversation was … interesting.

We then took on the Bonairense night life at the coolest (according to some people) boliche, Crobar. I was impressed by the size of the club, and I did see a transvestite outside as promised. The club was rather infested with intoxicated young Argentines who had spent more time working on their hair than on their game. We stepped outside at daylight and went back to our little nest in Recoleta.

Day 3

More shopping. Galerias Pacifico and La Florida. Today’s special shopping mention goes to Susana’s beautiful red flats from Perugia and Anyela’s very practical and finely designed laptop bag (also from Perugia).
For dinner we met with former PFLer Rory and his small crew of metropolitan diners. We tried Bangalore in Palermo for Indian food and flavorful beers.

Day 4

San Telmo! We got there rather late in the day, though I really enjoyed it. Pedestrian streets, feria artesenal, street performers galore, more quaint boutique shops and good empanadas at El Desnivel (though notably not good service to go with them). It was here I found the obscure liqueur Hesperidina, which I had been sent to Argentina to find. I have yet to try it. I will let you know if it is worth it.

We left San Telmo tired but too soon if you ask me. We regrouped at the apartment in preparation for the Tango Show, which we were not sure if we were going to do or not. Confirming our reservation with the theater itself, we got dolled up. We looked hot that night. See picture. I really liked Esquina Carlos Gardel—admittedly touristy but the performers were excellent and there was a seemingly limitless supply of wine. Some us would be interested in the long haired Tango dancer’s number if anyone gets their hands on it.

Day 5

It’s now or never for shopping (and art). We split up to make our shopping strategy’s more effective to be sure that we got every last shoe or article of clothing necessary before coming back to Peru. I also visited MALBA for my cultural fix. I wasn’t blown away by the featured exhibits, but I did like the octopus on synthetic blanket and the large pulp print displayed on the wall of the first floor. O Imposivel, a sculpture by a Brazilian artist was also really cool.
We all managed to find space in our luggage for our new treasures and headed for the airport in a very full taxi. Our GOL flight was slightly delayed as could be predicted so we kept ourselves more or less entertained at Ezeisa until finally saying goodbye to Argentina.

Kathy and Abby’s Great American Adventure

Sometimes I feel like I never have a moment to myself to even reflect on what I have been doing lately, let alone write about it and post it in my blog. I did promise this post about a month ago after I returned from the US.

I had a great time while I was home—I saw some of my really good friends from elementary school, high school, and college—pretty good turnout considering the different places that we encountered each other.

Honestly the trip was too short and I didn’t go with the energy to do everything that I wanted to do—but it was totally worth it. It made me realize again how much I really miss my sister and the adventures we used to have and that is why this will be a tribute to our Great (Mini-) American Adventure in March 2008.

In the original plan I was going to rent a car and go and pick my sis up at the airport—though I forgot (couldn’t find) my driver’s license when I arrived at the airport and I ended up sleeping in at the time she arrived. I promise I really will go to the airport to meet her the next time. When she got to my mom’s house we both just slept in anyway.

I think we had one of my mom’s creations for lunch that day before my mom’s FJ took us to Leominster to go shopping with my sister-in-law. Shopping! I heart TJ Maxx and Target—I took a healthy dose of consumerism that day and updated a couple of phases of my wardrobe. We ended up at the Olive Garden for dinner with my brothers and mom’s FJ. The Olive Garden is something that I tried for the first time in 2006 when my mom and I went to Hershey, PA. It definitely qualifies as one of those restaurants to be featured in a great American adventure – don’t fill up on the breadsticks.

That night we hit my hometown with my siblings—Paisano’s, Singapore… again places like the Olive Garden that I didn’t ever dream of looking forward to. I give credit to the cougars at Singapore and a juicy scorpion bowl.

Then it was Easter Sunday. While my sister-in-law prepared the Easter supper, I discovered the wonders of Guitar Hero. It…is.,.AWESOME! I am almost ready to buy my own PS3 and plastic guitar so that I can master the mean licks and beat Sam at something, muahahaha!

The next day I drove Sam to work in his Chevy truck and went back to the house to chill until Kathy woke up. We took Sam’s truck for a ride—shopping, Dunkin Donuts, running errands…and then dumped it on the train tracks. I mean we parked it at the train station and took the train into Boston (damn that was more expensive than I remembered).

I made an attempt at lomo saltado for dinner for my mom and sister—it was not quite lomo saltado but it had a good flavor.

The next day it was my task to shove all my purchases and other treasures into my duffel bags so that I could come back to Peru.

I would like to go back for a longer stay sometime, though I’m not quite sure that is going to be. My sister is coming to Lima for some weeks during her summer break (yay!) and I am getting everything prepared for Kathy and Abby’s Great Peruvian Adventure.

mi querido cerro azul

Después de un fin de semana completamente juerguero entre Asia y Lima y un viaje a mi país nativo para semana santa no vengo a la playa y casa linda de mi precioso en Cerro Azul desde el 13 de marzo. El día está bonito. La gente de verano ya regresaron a Lima llevando su bulla, su basura y sus sombrillas con ella. (!Adios molestosos!) Hubo un temblorcito (para variar) que me levantó, pero ya estaba medio despierta porque la melliza celeste estaba chillando como siempre. Por fin dormí echada en una cama cómoda, con mi precioso cerquita. Mi jugo y conversación me estaba esperando (que buenísima gente es Sra. Vega.) Me bañé con agua caliente y presión. Eché mis cremas recién compradas en los EEUU porque a partir de ahora me voy a cuidar todo --piel, cuerpo, alma y mente, etc. (nunca es tarde para renovarse :) ) Dejé mi laptop en Lima porque no pienso trabajar este fin de semana. Hice mi crucigrama en la computadora (casi la hice completa) y jugué el clásico Pacman. Faltan unos posts sobre el fin de semana juerguero y mi viaje a EEUU (aka Kathy & Abby's Great American Adventure - será con fotos). Por mientras voy a disfrutar de la riquísima aroma de carapulcra y mojarme los pies en el mar del ''otoño'' peruano.

hora del almuerzo

He tenido ganas para postear ultimamente solo es que cuando tengo esas ganas no quiero sentarme de frente mi compu, como ya trabajo con mi compu 9+ horas al dia. Hoy decidi tomar mi hora del almuerzo (comiendo mis lentejas y arroz con pepinillo y tomate :P) y usarla para mis cosas interactivas (o sea internet) personales. Acabo de reservar un auto para alquilar en Boston cuando voy en un par de semanas (asu, ya queda poco tiempo para preparar). Revise mis correitos electronicos, mi blog, el blog de mi precioso, y los blog de los que me han comentado ultimamente. Bueno, fue un buen descanso en el world wide web...ya me toca volver a trabajar. Hasta luego, amigos virtuales.

La crema y la venda de nuevo (I'm a klutz)

Anoche me enfrenté con la noticia que las cosas no iban a cambiar como pensaba (y quería) y por eso estuve algo zombie en la mañana. Igual logré hacer mucho en la oficina antes de que se fuera el Internet en la tarde. Durante uno de mis “breaks” para sacar no sé que de la cocina, me paré con el pie dormido (numb) y pisé recontra mal y me caí. Como en ese momento mi pie todavía estaba dormido no sentía nada. Me dí cuenta que ya tenía que enfocarme para no tropezarme más (i.e. snap out of it). En un rato se fue el Internet y no podía hacer nada menos comer pizza, salir a almorzar con mis colegas (si comí dos veces, pero dos veces un poco) y comer torta en honor del cumple de mi gerente. Es chévere que tenemos cosas como pizza day en el trabajo—pero sería algo básico tener una conexión inalámbrica que podría llegar a las 25 personas que tienen que conectar simultáneamente en la oficina. Mi pie empezaba a hinchar y doler más y más hasta que con el no Internet y el dolor dije que ¡basta! Como mi torta y me voy. Caminar hasta Plaza Vea y comprar mis pastillitas en ruta a mi casa casi me mató (literalmente como tenía que cruzar Marsano y Aviación en Ov. Higuereta con un pie inútil). Lo traté a mi pie una vez en mi casa con agua fría y una vendita prestada del vecino. Todavía me duele y no tengo idea como va a amanecer. Pues el punto es que soy una mujer independiente—pero hasta las mujeres liberadas e independientes necesitan un poco de cariño (TLC) de vez en cuando. Imagínate si fuera viejita—estaría sacando rayos X en alguna clínica que no podría pagar porque no tengo seguro médico (otra cosa que quiero que cambie pero no tengo tiempo para cambiar). Me atrae mucho la convivencia con alguien que quiero mucho y en que puedo depender cuando me duele el pie tanto que apenas camino. Ya sé (¿saben?) con quien quiero convivir—y por algunas buenas (y malas) razones todavía estoy esencialmente sola en Lima. Encontrar mi propio lugar es una prioridad para mí pero no sé que haría en un accidente como me ocurrió hoy si no tenía a alguien para cuidarme cuando sea necesaria o sin un gato que marcaría a una ambulancia por lo menos.