an old friend from far, far away

Okay, I'll start with the good news that the interview went tremendously well and I will be working with them starting Monday for the week. The director and the director of marketing are wonderful people and I look very much forward to getting to know everyone next week.

I just received an e-postcard from an old friend. In fact, we were pen pals from my sophomore year of high school on. I still have all of the letters, the postcards, books, etc., that he sent to me. He is from Novosibirsk, Russia. Geographically we have been so close to each other that it could have been possible to meet face-to-face. From Japan I could have taken a flight easily. Arkadiy was in San Francisco just about at the time I was due to give birth to my daughter five years ago in Portland, OR. So close...and yet, still worlds away.

I often wonder if our life paths are ever destined to cross. He was, and remains, an important part of my life, of my growth as a young person learning about the world, and a symbol of a certain committment to something so simple as a pen pal relationship. We have been in some sort of contact, on and off, since 1987. That is impressive in and of itself, considering I was only 15 or 16 at the time. That is almost 20 years.

And I have not been forgotten. Nor has he. I hope that, one day, we do meet.

back in Perú

It is so nice to be back in Perú. I love this country. I'm not sure what it is, but it is just warm and the people are so nice and open. Even though the traffic can be a bear--not so much speaking here of the traffic jams but of just the run-of-the-mill frogger games you have to play to cross the streets and the white-knuckle (but dirt cheap) taxi rides, I have found that I can overlook a lot of that. Eating hasn't been too huge of a problem; I get rolls before each meal but I can also ask for a serving of rice with my dinner as opposed to vegetable-oil (read: soy oil)-fried potatoes or anything containing gluten. People here, in my experience thus far, are more than welcome to adjust anything I order to what I need it to be. Service is a beautiful thing--and you don't have to go to the most expensive restaurant in town for it, like in the States. The inexpensive grilled chicken spot around the corner where one person can eat a full lunch, with fresh-squeezed lemonade and everything, for under $5 will give you excellent service.

I found this apartment on CraigsList, had by an Englishman married to a Peruvian lady. They have a few different apartments here, one of which I am in this trip. I am paying $200 for 9 nights, have my own kitchenette, dining area, king bed, cable TV, and WiFi. It's on the 3rd floor of an apartment building here in the heart of Miraflores, three blocks away from a Whole Foods-type market (yet not quite as expensive! YIPPEE!!! and also with excellent service, I might add) and did I mention proximity??? It is one of the safer neighborhoods in Lima, although in the 90s it was huge into the drug scene. The government cleaned this area up and has made it into a great tourist destination--lots of non-Spanish speaking gringos bumbling around. I get some looks of relief when I open my mouth when I enter a restaurant or have a question at a store.

Tomorrow at 4 p.m. I have my interview with the Spanish language school here in Miraflores, not terribly far from here. I admit I'm nervious. I have given formal speeches in Japanese and teach in Spanish all the time...but have never had a job interview depend on it. It would be really nice to establish a relationship with this school in which I can arrange a once a year teaching/study position, with a possiblity of developing a commercial interest with bringing students to their school. I'll keep you posted on how things go. Then I have a ticket tomorrow night to a neat sounding cultural show called "Brisas del Titicaca" (Breezes of Titicaca), which is supposed to be a musical folkloric exploration of the Peruvian Andean highlands. I'm bringing my camera.

This weekend I think I may head back south toward the desert area where I was this past summer. I would love to do a little more exploring down there, although I know it is really hot there now being that it is summer, and there are a couple of places I wouldn't mind visiting again if I can get there...like that witch colony, Cachiche, in Ica.

So that is my catch-up for now. More later!! Hasta luego. Wish me luck tomorrow!