Three weeks in, and I still wake up not knowing exactly what my day is going to look like. Maybe I start things off expecting a Liv Tyler sort of day only to realize halfway in that it is actually a Stephen Tyler day. Other times I luck out, and the day I thought looked like Alf actually looks like Martha Stewart (I don't care what anyone says, I find Martha Stewart to be a very attractive older lady [yes, even now. Especially now!]. Sure, she knows how to throw together a Bedford dinner party better than anyone and has a generous bank account, but I'm going to be shallow and say that I'm in it for the looks. She first captured my amorous attention when I saw her interviewing on Letterman. There was clearly some playful flirtation, and after seeing the way she uses her eyes...well, I'd melt easier than that 73% Valhrona single origin Côte d'Ivoire chocolate in her ganache. Just imagine how she looked 30 years ago!).
Thursday was one of the more unpredictable days. Once I arrived at the GEA office I was informed that we would have a visitor. Jim (I can't remember his last name, but he's a British PriceWaterhouse partner living in Hong Kong in case you want to give him a holler) is a donor supporting one of the seven schools in the Buena Voz program. As previously mentioned, he lives in Hong Kong, and he decided he would drop by Lima to check out GEA and his school. Oh and after, how about a marathon hosted by some tiny village in the Andes? Some people live in totally different realities from what I am accustomed to. Anyhow, he shows up and we (the Buena Voz team + 1, 1 being Jim) head out for a delightful seafood lunch at the upscale cevicheria, La Mar. I know that sounds flippant, but the lunch was delightful. We shared five different varieties of ceviche, imbibed Pisco Sours, and enjoyed a warmish breeze. Jim was a good guy with no pretensions, and it was valuable to meet someone from the financing side of things. However, my coworkers (all but one) don't speak more than a few words of English. Jim speaks one, maybe two words in Spanish. Enter Andrew the translator. Translating was easier than I expected, and I was able to add my commentary without either side knowing. For instance, I told Jim that Susana is explaining how now that she is pregnant she is usually cold and likes to eat all sorts of weird foods. For good measure, I added that the father happens to be Tom Cruise and the baby was conceived on the most recent space shuttle mission. Or, when Jim was telling Karina about the marathon he'll be running in the mountains, I made sure she also knew that his training includes an exclusively baby panda diet. I think everyone had much more colorful interactions this way. Is that wrong? Maybe, but that's not really for us to decide.
After lunch, Karina, Susana, Jim, and I went to the Lima museum of art (MALI) to check out the pop art exhibit before letting Jim call it a day. The building itself was stately and beautiful. The pop art was...a little bit hard to understand. I already discuss enough things about which I am not adequately educated (music, sociology, llama husbandry) so I think it's best for everyone if I just leave the art alone. The next day Jim went to Callao with Melissa to check out the school he is supporting and then it's off to race in the Andes. Hope he brought some extra panda jerky!
Friday night the Casona Roja gang (Bruno, Dino, Mariana, Juan, Etienne, two Swiss girls, one Danish girl, one German girl, two Dutch guys, Jessica, and myself) found ourselves rocking to the melodies of some local hard rock bands at Sargento Pimiento. I find the name to be deliciously clever. It is a direct translation of "Sergeant Pepper" and it rhymes. The bands were not quite so satisfying. They covered some American rock from the 70s and 80s which was fine, but their original songs were the definition of hard rock cliche (think about the songs from "This Is Spinal Tap."). For those who haven't seen Spinal Tap, I will give you a small taste of what we were up against. The best song name I remember was "Roar Like A Lion." Not really a chorus that fires the people up. Besides the lion tamers and Siegfried and Roy groupies of course, both of which came out in surprising force on Friday. We only stayed for a little while and then headed to another bar which seems to feature all your favorite 90's top 40 hits. I know I harp on the music a lot, but it is absolutely fascinating the stuff one hears. I literally can't predict even remotely accurately what song might follow another. Once the clock hit 4:30 we decided to call it a night (with "Your Woman" by White Town in the background). I'm sure that those who have traveled more than me are accustomed to the late nights out, but I tell you what brother, it's absolutely brutal when you're doing it three nights in a row. I'm thinking that Saturday will probably have to be a night in. Wait a second...what's that I hear, Juan? It's "Big Cat" night at Sargento Pimiento? No cover, you say? Heck yes I want to be on the list.
No comments:
Post a Comment