Lima Entertainment

Time in Lima is passing pretty quickly. Just a week and a half ago my friend from Quito, Santiago, arrived and has been staying with me while he completes his own field research. His presence has made the time pass very quickly. We've been keeping each other well entertained. Fortunately he thoroughly enjoys the food in Peru and we've been getting as much as we can before we leave. Of course, there's a fine line between maximizing your consumption of Peruvian food and getting sick of Peruvian food. The pace we are going, it looks like I'll be nearing that threshold before taking off ... which is ideal. It helps that we save these moments for the weekend and have only lapsed once during the week.

For the most part, we are on the same work schedule. I captured some evidence that we are actually working and that I actually have a friend staying with me. No, this is no figment of my imagination - I would never reveal my secrets and post something regarding the life and adventures of Brando, that would be embarrassing (oops, wink).


As a side: I occasionally find images on currency to be interesting. Mostly these images are relatively predictable, ranging from popular heads of states and/or heads of government to famous liberators. However, one image on the Peruvian 10 Sole bill struck me. First of all, I'm no historian---just a political scientist---but I don't recall Peru being particularly well-known for their contribution to aviation. And, by the looks of the image on the bill, this pilot is either really great or is in some real serious danger in the next few seconds.


Why is the plane upside down? Let's assume he's not in the process of crashing. An image like this is generally reserved as the third or fourth image in a series after using the first few images to demonstrate the pilot can fly correctly. Image number one would show the pilot pumping his/her fist from the cockpit during a fly-by. I just don't understand.

Creepy Bunny

Today begins the holiday weekend in Lima - good ole "Semana Santa." I forgot to calculate this break into my schedule and was first worried that the government was going to be shut down the entire week - similar to my experience in Costa Rica when I was there in 2006. Fortunately, all government offices are only closed today (Thursday) and tomorrow. And, in preparation, they held a session yesterday, giving me an opportunity to conduct some interviews before the break. I feel reasonably productive going into the break. Hopefully I can tie some loose ends up while everything is shut down.

This year, I can only hope that my father makes another appearance as the traditional creepy bunny, entertaining the neighbors using the costume he acquired from the Houston Gamblers who used it as a mascot when he was doing promotional work with them. I think the costume would be best complemented with a half-burned cigarette hanging out of its mouth and a bottle of mostly consumed Rum in its hand.


This photo would fit perfectly in another line of creepy bunnies presented in this slideshow.

The Choice: Cancer or AIDS

I arrived just in time for the Peruvian elections on Sunday. The day was actually a lot calmer than I expected, giving me a chance to complete my grocery shopping and eat at my favorite seafood restaurant in Lima. Including the word 'seafood' is a bit repetitive ... if I'm going to go out to eat in Lima, it will definitely be at a seafood restaurant. Nonetheless, I roamed around downtown for a little bit and was a little disappointed that there weren't any random rallies or people driving in the streets waving banners. No worries, that magic didn't start until around 7, an hour before the national electoral court (the official branch of the government that manages elections, registration, etc.) was to call the election. I decided to attend the rally for the expected winner, which had an extra benefit of being the closest to the bus stop that I use. My preferred candidate was running neck-and-neck with the eventual second place winner and I didn't want to risk missing a winner's rally. How is second-place even considered a winner? Yes, I understand, in the U.S. we just generally accept the idea that second-place is the first loser for all of life's contest. Of course, there are occasional deviations from this assumption. For example, the second born child, but yet not to confuse this determination for the first-born male - just saying, Bridget ... I'm still the Golden Goose! Ah yes, my point. Anyways, if a presidential candidate does not win an absolute majority of votes in the first round of elections (which are held at the same time as the legislative elections, etc.), then a second round is held in June between the top-two vote winners to determine who will be president. The decisions is now between cancer and AIDS - words famously expressed by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2010, to describe the choice between the top two candidates.

Anyways, the rally was pretty interesting. It was a little bit smaller than I thought it was going to be, but it was still exciting. People were dancing and waving their flags, it seemed to be a pretty good time for them.

Finally the big show decided to make his appearance. He spoke for about 20 minutes, energizing the crowd and encouraging them to keep on campaigning through the second-round. For now, it appears that those who did not win are rallying behind the second-place winner and, thus, the first-place winner has achieved his maximum support ... something very similar happened in 2006 when he won in the first round but lost in the second round.

Overall, things are getting off to a good start in Lima. I've already had one interview with a congress person and I'll be having another tomorrow. In addition, I've met with a few non-government workers who work closely with the government. The transition has been pretty smooth and I feel good being back in Lima.