Tutorial: Crossing the Street

There are certain things you take for granted in your life, like knowing how to cross the street.  Of course, anyone who has been around a child knows full well they don't take such knowledge for granted and you employ constant vigilance around roads, driveways, etc. until they start to catch on that you look both ways, hold the hand of the grown-up, and carefully walk.

It's not quite as simple here, because a lot of the crosswalks are unmarked, or people don't really pay attention to the lights, or it's just different than what we're used to.  We still look both ways, and we still pay attention to the lights, and we still grab the hands of our little girls. 

But we've also learned the value of what I will term the herd crossing.  When you need to cross a busy street, simply look around for someone else who looks like they are crossing.  I have learned that having a small child is a minor advantage, as cars and police officers will give you a slight preference.

WARNING: DO NOT GET SLOPPY.  Not everyone thinks your bambino is important enough to stop for, so constant vigilance is still important. 

 

Stand on the side of the road, looking to and fro, assessing the lights, when people seem to stop.  When the lead person steps off the curb, be ready.  Your time window is but short.  If you hesitate too long, another car will inevitably inch up and you'll have to wait for the next herd to assemble.  Inconspicuously attach yourself to the herd and you should be able to safely cross (and live to see another day).

 

Spiced Carrot Muffins (or Bread)

This won't be a recipe blog, but I wanted to share a delicious recipe that fits right into fall.  I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course!).  The blogger calls them Banana, Carrot, and Greek Yogurt Muffins but I think Spiced Carrot Muffins sounds tastier (and, now that I'm looking over her post, that's what Martha Stewart called them, too!)

I adapted them for high altitude by:

• Decreasing the sugar by 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Using pourable yogurt instead of Greek (we can't get Greek yogurt here and high altitude recipes need more liquid anyway)
• I made one batch decreasing the leavening by 1/8 t, one decreasing 1/4 t, and one just as is.  All turned out well.  So I think I will probably stick with decreasing 1/8 t.

I also mixed my own pumpkin pie spice (1T ground cinnamon, 3/4 t ground ginger, 1/4 t ground cloves). I would have added 3/4 t ground nutmeg to this mix but it wasn't at my spice store. 

Those of you dwelling at sea level or close can just make this according to the posted recipe.

My tips and observations after making this three times:

• A double batch works well in a 9x13 pan or the Pampered Chef stoneware large bar pan
• It cooks great as bars and I assume would also work well as bread (much less work than muffins in my opinion).
• I am going to put a little frosting on them for Mirabel's half birthday this week. Cream cheese frosting would be delicious!
• They taste sweet and delicious and the bread is very moist.  The pumpkin pie spice flavor makes these perfect for fall. 
• There is much less sugar in these than normal bread but they still taste sweet.  I did use plain yogurt but that has sugar here, so my version might be a bit sweeter than if you use plain yogurt without added sugar.
• I didn't put raisins in because I haven't bought any here and that didn't have any ill effects.
• I forgot to put my shredded carrots for one batch and they still turned out well...albeit more crumbly than when the carrots are baked in.

This is a new favorite fall recipe for me!

A few of my favorite things....

We've been here for two months now...I just realized that this week.  And I thought I would share a few of my favorite things about living in Peru.

Pretty flowers in the yard 

We've got a lot of flowers in our yard, including these beautiful roses.  There is also a cactus, a "Tinkerbell tree" (no flowers on that right now- maybe it will appear in the future), several bushes and a few other flowers scattered about.  I have anything but a green thumb, so I am hoping that Flor's watering and my benign neglect will be enough to keep them going.  Because of the weather here, they seem to flower pretty consistently- we always have some flowers in the yard.

Preferencia (preference)

There are four groups that get preference here: elderly, disabled, pregnant women, and parents with small kids.  Thanks to our toddler, I qualify for the latter category.  In the mornings, when I take Miss M to school, I've also got A with me.  We always have a seat on the combi because if there isn't one, people move to give me their seat.  And when I pay our rent (done by going to the bank and depositing money in the landlord's account), I automatically get bumped to the front of the line.  A major advantage when there always seem to be about 50+ people in line.  They have special lines in grocery stores for these "preference" categories.  I've only been moved to the front of the line once (I don't exert my privilege) but that was nice. 

And when we were coming through Lima, we got shuttled to the front of the security line, as did everyone else with small kids.

A sign on the combi- doesn't show moms with small kids but some of them do.

Sign in the grocery store- note mom in the middle with small kid. 
They extend the same preference to dads, too.

Not doing routine cleaning

Flor does a fantastic job of cleaning and it is such a treat to not have to do the sweeping, bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, etc.  Dave washes almost all of the dishes- so it's just the day-to-day picking up that is in my bucket.  I think that will be an adjustment when we return to the states and can no longer afford cleaning help. 

A taste of home

My best friend always said that she was making a beeline for our house in case of natural disaster since we have so much food in our pantry.  Cereal topped the list.  Our cereal variety is much more limited and we're paying more per box than we ever did in the states, but we managed to find some sales on corn flakes and stocked up.  Gluten free cereal that works for breakfast and an easy snack about town for the littles?  Sure thing....oh...and we've also been stocking up on milk.  Much easier to do when it's UHT and you don't need to keep it in the fridge.  We get it for about 33% off.

Part 1 of our Cereal Storage- Dave made me stop buying cereal

Part 2- Cereal and Milk (bottom shelf)

We are liking being here, miss some aspects about home (especially the people) but are starting to settle in.  We enjoy staying connected via Skype, email, and Facebook!

And like a good neighbor.....

Ace Hardware is somehow involved with a big(ish) box hardware store here called Maestro.   This type of store is new in the past few years.  Dave was (of course) happy to find this outlet, given his tendency toward handy-man-ness.  And the fact that he's a licensed contractor and all and doesn't really have an outlet for that here.

I wanted to let you all in on the crazy differences between an American hardware store and one in Peru.  (There are several small corner shops, called Ferreterias, that sell hardware stuff, but their selection is more limited given the fact that they are only about as big as a typical US bathroom.  It's kind of like a one room Ace Hardware.  They are good places to pick up screws or glue or small little things you need.  We are on the hunt for fly traps which so far have only been sighted in these small shops, not the big box place.)

First off: Grass.  You know how we have lots of healthy sod rolls in the US?  Well, here's what you can buy here.  (Note: most people don't have any kind of yard, so you don't need big.)

Just under $3 US for a square meter 

Second exhibit: Wood?  Not so easy to find.  Just one aisle.  Right on par with the amount of brick.

Third up: They have some do-it-yourself displays, a la Home Depot.  One of them is shown below.  What do you think they are showing you how to build?  (Think: hot.)

And last (but my personal favorite).  A cute little DIY display on how to build an electric fence.  (Something that many people have on top of the fences that are around their house.)  See how effectively the cartoon man is getting zapped?

No need to worry about burglars with one of these babies!

However, Dave was NOT able to find much wood (and what was there was quite expensive and truly 2x6 or 2x4), or very many tool options (about 1/2 an aisle with a focus on concrete tools), or any number of other "normal" hardware store products.  Just some of the differences between the US and Peru!

A brief bout of homesickness

So, we're about 6 weeks into this crazy adventure.  And I've been feeling just a bit homesick.  Nothing too serious.   

• A little crabby.^
• Missing a few of my food staples that were easy to get in the US but hard or too expensive here.*
• Feeling a bit frustrated that my Spanish isn't just magically turning into fluency.+
• Just missing family and friends and a place where everything feels normal and doesn't require a lot of extra thought.

I read somewhere that 3/6 weeks and 3/6 months are hard when you move to another culture.  Someone who was a foreign exchange student commented on a personal Facebook post that 9 months is when you really get the new culture, think it's superior, and don't want to go home.  We'll see!  ;)

For right now, it feels a lot like college when the initial excitement has worn off and break seems a long way off or when a new baby comes home and disrupts your whole world.  At this point, we'll keep on keeping on....I'm working on a few projects around the house like a mini-art gallery for the girls, a family calendar and menu board, and some fall decorations.  And I'm really thankful for Skype and the internet access we have!

One of the limited salsa options- $3.50 for almost 16 oz. 
Dave got in trouble for taking this picture and played "stupid foreigner." 
We paid $1.69 for 24 ounces back home.

^ Fortunately, family has been very gracious.
* Foods such as:

• Cheese (crazy expensive, and the standard cheese is nothing like the block or shredded cheese in the states.  Queso fresco is (for our family at least) an acquired taste.  And I really miss the standard cheese that melts into ooey goodness.)
• Salsa (we found it in one store- something like $5 for 8 ounces of Old El Paso brand).  Mostly, it just doesn't exist.  At least I can make some.  You can buy tomatoes, cilantro, onions, limes, and peppers.  It's just a lot more work.  So much so that I haven't actually made any yet.  Maybe I need to teach Flor the wonders of salsa making....
• Corn tortillas (this is more a miss for the fam, but we ate a lot of them in the US thanks to the gluten free diet 75% of us are on).
• Ice cream.  The ice cream here doesn't have cream or milk as a primary (or sometimes any) ingredient.  Instead, it's more like ice milk.  Or vegetable fat and water. Seriously.  Primary ingredient is water, followed by vegetable fat and artificial flavorings.  I don't even eat it, and if you know me, that's saying A LOT.  I miss Breyers.  And Izzys.  And Grand Ol' Creamery.  And any other premium ice cream.  And you can't exactly have someone pack a pint or half gallon.  :(
• Milk.  All they have is UHT (ultra heat treated) milk here.  The girls drink it just fine but it kind of grosses me out.

+ I can get by in regular outings just fine.  But things like the 2 hour required parent meeting at M's school today meant that my brain was completely overloaded and I didn't even get everything they said.  It does give me an appreciation for immigrants.  It's a brave thing to try to get around in another culture.  And I don't even have a job (and still feel like there isn't enough time in the day to focus on language stuff).  I've been talking with Flor (our empleada) and I did a few lessons in Rosetta Stone.  At present, I don't feel like I have time or money to go to a formal language school but we'll see if I feel the same way in a month.

Cultural Norms and Expectations- Part 2

Our second event a week ago was an all school family event for M's school.  Cue cultural expectations.  We were expected to:

• Attend
• Donate a dessert (which was then sold)
• Purchase meal tickets and/or food that was for sale
• Purchase 40 soles worth of bingo tickets (about $15). 
• I think we were also supposed to sell Bingo tickets to other people and invite them to attend, too...but we didn't exactly do that.  We did take Flor and Alex with us and paid for their food, so maybe we sort of did what the school wanted.

The event was held in a rented facility far away from the school (30 min taxi ride) and, as mentioned before, it was at the same time at Alex's first communion.  After his communion wrapped up, we took our family as well as Alex and Flor and hopped in a taxi.  The driver gave us a price, overshot the destination (his own fault...) and then charged us a sol more because he had to drive farther.  Note to self: always carry change when taking taxis so you can pay them the exact amount agreed to before the ride and not be held hostage to the driver not giving you change.

When we arrived, it was mass chaos.  It was a huge gym, with various things happening on the floor (we missed the all school talent show but we got to see some dogs being put through their paces, as well as a mini-soccer game and some songs).  We also made it in time for bingo.  However, I had paid the money and turned in the cards because I didn't have any idea when we would arrive relative to bingo and hearing numbers in another language over the loudspeaker didn't inspire confidence in our ability to follow the numbers being called.  We ended up dropping off my apple pie (which seemed to turn out well and sold out fast), got our meals (and found out that while I thought I bought 4 chicken dinners, I actually got two chicken and two pork), and purchased some supplemental food (papa a la huancaina and some fancy rice which was actually my favorite thing.  We also bought a caramel apple for M and some cotton candy to share.)

Pork meal.  Underneath was a boiled potato and a plastic sleeve of sauce. 
Chicken plate was similar, but with fried chicken instead of pork.

Potato dish and just a touch of the rice on the right side.

Frankly, the whole thing was noisy and echo-y and after spending several hours in an all Spanish speaking setting where I wasn't sure if we were setting a foot wrong or right, I was more than ready to get out after we ate our food.  So, that's what we did...well, after M got her face painted (another 8 soles).  I hope it was a successful fundraiser, we certainly did our part in putting up about $50 toward the event.  The money was going to purchase instruments for the school band.

Our little kitty.

Interesting Cultural Observation- Bathrooms

So....bathrooms are a little different here in Peru. And the day after we had a 24 hour planned water outage as well as a kid home sick with a fever (thankfully not puking), it seems appropriate to let you in on some bathroom secrets.

First off, we are fortunate in that we have running water, a shower (with tub!  Not as common here.), and indoor plumbing/toilets/sinks.  Life is a little different than the USA in that we have hot water, but it's solar heated in a tank on the roof, and when the hot water runs out, it's out.  It takes a little while to get to our sink/shower and the pipes themselves are not insulated.  So hot water is best used on a continuous flow pattern and not as great for things like washing kitchen dishes where you tend to turn the water on/off as you wash some then rinse. 


Rooftop water tanks

Anyway, bathrooms.....

Differences:

• You can purchase electric heaters/showerheads that heat water at the source.  Yes, this seems like a bad idea on surface (electricity + water typically doesn't lead to good things) but if installed properly, lots of people have hot showers this way without negative impact. 
• Heating your water with electricity is really expensive and the alternative option is outlined above- a tank with solar panels.
• The plumbing can't handle toilet paper, so everywhere you go there are trash cans.  Yes, they still use toilet paper, you just can't flush it.  So now you know, if you travel through Latin America.  Use the garbage can. 

Traveling Tips:

• Make sure to carry some tissues or toilet paper with you.  And soap or hand sanitizer.  In public settings, there is usually a toilet and sink but they may not provide toilet paper or soap.  Best to be prepared.
• In a mall or public area setting, there may be a large roll of TP on the wall near the sinks instead of one in each stall.  It pays to be prepared and look around before you enter the stall.  I may or may not have learned this one through personal experience.
• Public restrooms may have a toilet, but a surprising lot of them have only the toilet, not a toilet seat.  So, practice up on your squats or be a good planner when going out.
• Sometimes, you go to a restroom and have to pay a small fee to use the bathroom, ostensibly for the four squares of tissue that the bathroom attendant gives you.  This is not unlike Europe.  Plenty of free restrooms abound, including in restaurants (you should buy something if you go in) and shopping malls.  If you use a restroom in an open air market, you are more likely to have to pay.  Plan your outings well, especially if traveling with small children.

Our concessions:

• We found that the hot water tank works pretty well most of the time and provides most of the water we need.  But if it's a cloudy day and the sun is hidden, you are out of luck.  Since we like to take showers, and prefer warm ones at that, we opted to install one of the electric shower heads.  There are two styles, one that is a major box on the wall (this is more frequently used by people who don't have water tanks like we have) and then a smaller one that allows you to turn on the electric heat only when needed.  We got the latter.  It was about $100 and will be a permanent upgrade.  Our lease allows us to install things with permission and the knowledge that we leave them for the next tenants with no compensation.  In this case, the school that owns the house also sent one of their maintenance people to install at no charge to us.  So, Merry Christmas, Dave.  Hot showers guaranteed for our time here. 

Our new electric showerhead- wires run along the ceiling

• I carry TP and hand sanitizer when going out.
• We make sure that everyone uses the bathroom before we leave the house.
• We change our garbage frequently.





Keeping it real, see post for details