Plaza de Armas and other adventures...

Last night Devin, Amy and I decided to head to Lima's Plaza de Armas (aka the Plaza Mayor) for some sightseeing and dinner. The cab ride there took at least 30-45 minutes on the smoggy highways and streets of Central Lima, but was only 35 nuevo soles ($12). The Plaza is beautiful and we arrived at the perfect time: dusk. The government band (I'm guessing) played outside the Palacio Gobierno and the sun began to set over the yellow buildings in the square. We haven't quite figured out if President Garcia lives in the Palacio Gobierno or not, but it is essentially the Peruvian equivalent of the White House.
In addition to the Palacio Gobierno and the yellow buildings (I don't really know what they are), the Plaza has the Cathedral of Lima as well. We headed over to the Cathedral and as we neared one of the chapels I heard the "Wedding March." Quickly thereafter a bride and groom exited with their family following. We tried not to be a bother so we stood back until the had left the chapel area, but we had not gone undetected. A number of the youngest wedding members came toward us asking "De donde son?" The three of us made friends with about five kids who requested our email addresses and to be in our photos (which Amy has). It was very cute, but I felt kind of bad for disrupting the wedding festivities. Then we wandered around the area finding some food and Peruvian kitsch stands, as well as a singer/salesmen who would pitch vegetable steamers between songs. Eventually we settled down for dinner at Tanta and had sanguchos (Peruvian sandwiches), Peruvian beer and some tasty desserts. We were supposed to get together with my friend Diego for drinks later, but he had to cancel due to a family obligation. Anyhow, we called it an early night at 10pm because the three of us were exhausted.

In other updates, I found a USB cable for my camera at a little camera shop near the grocery store, so I have pictures now! I also started a picasa album, which I think somehow I can link to this... I'll figure it out.

First day of work

I really need to get more creative with these post titles... however, creativity has not been my strong suit lately, but I'll work on it.

On to the story... yesterday I decided to go into work for a little bit to start my paperwork. I successfully called my first cab and got to the Embassy in about 5 minutes, apparently I live close. I passed a "Luxor" casino on my way, which was hysterical. They do have bingo and slots though, so at least I know what Monterrico (the neighborhood of the Embassy) nightlife is like.

I arrived at the Embassy and went up to the first security guard I saw. I explained that I work there and that it was my first day and was quickly asked for my security badge. Again I explained that it was my first day and that I did not have a badge yet, so I handed over my passport. I waited outside for a couple of minutes and the guard returned and asked for which section I work. I answered "econ" and then he went back inside of the guard shack. A few more minutes pass and then he comes back out and asks for my supervisor's name, so I tell him Marcos and then wait some more. Eventually they let me inside the security shanty and make me empty my purse of anything electronic, which since I had not emptied it since I arrived in Lima it was full of phones and ipods and computer cords. After walking through the metal detector and getting my purse back, Marcos met me to escort me inside. Apparently, with my American passport the guards were supposed to let me into the Embassy lobby without hassle. Oh well.

I work on the fourth floor of the Embassy, which is so secure that I need to separate passcodes for the two locks it takes to get into my office. Once in my office, I met our secretary, Leilani, and a co-worker, Russ. It turns out that summer (in the US) is turnover season at the Embassy, so we are down three people and our secretary is about to switch posts. My office is already small, but with these reductions it will be only 5 employees for the next three months (myself included). I think I will be working on some neat projects, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the US Peru Free Trade Agreement implementation. I'm starting to feel very lucky to have gotten this opportunity and I really hope I can learn something here.

After Marcos' office tour, Leilani and I took all my forms and made the rounds to turn them in. Check-in is a long and daunting process. I hope to complete it on Monday, but we'll see. I have my security briefing on Monday which means that I will finally get a badge, but until then I have to go through the daily security rigamarole and be escorted everywhere I go.

I ended up meeting the other interns for dinner and I think we have a good group. Two of the others, Devin and Clement, work in the Consular Affairs office while Amy is in the Public Affairs office. They showed me around the Embassy area and the "El Polo" centro comercial, where there are several restaurants and some shopping. We had some gelato and then later had crepes for dinner. I had my first pisco sour and it was quite good. It was very similar to the Miraflores cocktail I had at the Violet Hour with Christine, Laura and Meredith. This makes sense as the cocktail had pisco, bitters, and egg whites in it, as does the Peruvian drink.

This afternoon Amy, Devin and I are headed to the centro historico to see the Plaza Mayor. Essentially we are going to the old part of town to see the palacios and cathedrals. I hear its very beautiful there, so I'll be sure to take lots of photos.

I have arrived

Well, after months of waiting I finally have made it to Lima. I had a long travel day yesterday starting with a 10:30am flight out of OKC. Then I was supposed to have a four hour layover in Houston, but storms turned that into a 7 1/2 hour layover... so I didn't arrive in Peru until 2am. Luckily, my boss, Marcos, had arranged for a driver to come and pick me up and take me to my apartment, so I left customs and saw my driver waiting for me with a "Miss Leslie Eldridge" sign in hand.

I am staying with a Peace Corps officer, Neil, who is out of town for the next couple of weeks. The apartment is very nice and even comes with a housekeeper, Dani. I have my own room and bathroom and free reign over the kitchen, etc. I'm really lucky that Marcos set this up for me.

My spanish is coming back to me quickly. I still get pretty nervous chatting with folks, but Peruvians have been very friendly and patient with me thus far. I can tell that this will help my spanish immensely; let's hope that I don't lose it again after leaving.

Anyhow, I'm exhausted so I am going to head to bed. I'll write about my first day of work tomorrow. Hasta luego.

A long overdue update

I knew that I wouldn't have a lot of time for posting this spring, due to the absolute craziness of my school and work schedules, but I didn't realize it would take me nearly 6 months. My apologies to the one person I know reads this and the few who will in the future. The goal of this little blog is/was to document the entire process surrounding my internship, rather than just what happened once I got to Peru. Well, there goes that. I guess I can give a brief synopsis of how things have gone so far, so here goes...

Immediately after receiving my assignment I got to work on all of my security clearance paperwork. Most of this is not really paperwork anymore, as it is online, but this really just means that I don't have to pay as much postage... the work is still there. After listing off everyone that I know and every place that I've lived, I pressed submit. That left the fingerprints and a couple of minor forms. I went to the UofC police department to get my fingerprints taken and to be friendly with the cops who were curious as to why I needed fingerprinting. And of course, I ended up mailing my package the day on which it needed to be postmarked. This should not surprise anyone.

Several weeks later I received a phone call from a State Department investigator. He needed to interview me in order to complete my security clearance. We met at the Reynolds Club, my regular study hangout, and he asked me some interesting questions. I laughed at most of them as they seemed fairly ridiculous, but I guess that means I passed the test.

A few weeks later I found out that I was "secure," so then I began other preparations. My flights have been booked, and I've made plans to live with a Harris School friend's boyfriend's mom in Lima. I've had contact with the other interns at the embassy, and all of them start before I do.

Right now I am still filling out forms and getting shots, etc. I've run out of time for today, but I'm sure I'll write something a little more detailed in the next few days.