Up in Smoke

I was all set to make home-made bread today so I got everything ready, plugged in the bread machine and off it went. A couple of minutes later, it stopped. I had forgotten the critical step: plug the machine into the power converter to take it from 220V (Peru's voltage) to 110V (to safely run the bread maker). Unfortunately, even after leaving it to sit for several hours, it couldn't be revived and was declared dead at approximately 4.25pm. It was a silly, rookie mistake and I am just grateful that I didn't do it to my brand-new KitchenAid mixer (but there's still a chance...)!

Earthquake today

Just wanted to let any interested folks out there know that we are all safe and well here following today's earthquake. The rumble that I felt was like the vibration that you feel when a piece of heavy earthmoving equipment is approaching from some distance away. Both the sound and vibration grew stronger over about 20 - 30 seconds before the evacuation siren sounded and we had to leave our building. There was no damage to our building, home or N's school and we are all fine. After the building was cleared we all went back to work. Thank you to those of you who sent emails today expressing your concern. It is nice to know that you thought of us.

 

If you want to know more about the earthquake click here:

 

http://earthquake-report.com/2013/09/25/very-strong-earthquake-acari-peru-on-september-25-2013/

This site mentions that three miners were killed by the earthquake. These workers were not at our mine and at the time of writing, those deaths are not confirmed.

Misti and Chachani are active today

We are very lucky that from where we live we can see the three big (>19,000 feet) volcanoes that overlook Arequipa. Today we noticed that Misti and Chachani are puffing out smoke, indicating an increase in activity (once a geologist, always a geologist). Here are a couple of photos of Misti this morning:

We have our "Go Bags" (which we keep ready in case of evacuation due to earthquakes (frequent here) or volcanic eruptions (less common but still obviously a possibility)) just in case we need to. Let's hope not!

Lo Que El...? (What the...?) #2

Here's another quirky thing about living in Peru. This sign was on the door of a toilet cubicle in Lima airport:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Unfortunately it's a bit blurry, but it says: "Le agradecemos no arrojar papeles ni toallas higienicas en el inodoro" which translates as "Please don't put toilet paper or sanitary towels in the toilet." That's right folks, no toilet paper in the toilet please (there are rubbish bins inside every toilet cubicle for the used paper to go in, so you can imagine that they don't always smell too good). Evidently, sewerage systems in Peru are not designed to accommodate toilet paper, which is designed to be put into... sewerage systems.

Lo Que El...? (What the...?) #1

I thought I'd add this occasional section because it's a fair statement that we see some pretty strange things here from time to time. A week or so ago I saw a tiko (one of the many little taxis that operate all over the city in Arequipa) with a huge tree tied onto the top of it (I wish I'd been able to get a photo of it but sometimes these things go by so quickly that there isn't time to get the camera out and grab a photo). The tree was about as big as the tiko and extended well over the windshield of the car. I made a comment to our agent about it and he told me about the time when he was with another ex-pat a few years ago, and they saw a tiko with a cow inside. Yes, folks, an actual cow, sitting in the back of the taxi. And no, it wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

You don't look a day over 473

One of the wonderful things about life in Peru is that there are a lot of holidays. It seems that every month there is at least one government-sanctioned reason to take the day off work and school. In August, the major holiday in our part of the world is El Dia de Arequipa (August 15), commemorating Arequipa's anniversary. Like many holidays in Peru, the celebrations for El Dia de Arequipa start the day before. The day before El Dia de Arequipa the city was as packed with people and traffic as I've seen it yet. I had to go to the ATM at a local shopping center and instead of the journey from work to the mall taking about an hour (as usual), this time it took a full hour and a half, just because of all the additional vehicles and people who had come to Arequipa and were out and about in the city for the festivities. There was a famous Peruvian band playing in the city that night so that would have drawn more people to the city too.

 

Coming from a relatively young country like New Zealand, it's amazing to me that a city can be as old as 473 years, but that was the number of candles on Arequipa's cake this year. In the "modern-traditional" way that is the custom, Arequipa Day (and any other day to be celebrated: birthdays, baptisms, job promotions, Tuesdays, etc.) are punctuated with copious amounts of fireworks and partying. On holidays, these parties and fireworks last all through the weekend. I've been awakened by fireworks at 6am, and heard them at midday and in mid-afternoon. The lack of available darkness with which to see them at their best effect doesn't seem to be a reason to not set them off.

 

In addition to these everyday festivities, our city's special day is also celebrated with a huge procession that winds its way through the city. This parade stretches for about 4km and includes dancers and performers from all the regions around Arequipa. It starts at about 6pm and wraps up at 11pm. I wish I had photos to include in this post, but since we haven't been in Arequipa long and I was a bit worried about security with so many people out to watch the parade (and since our security people were on a higher alert than normal, and warned us to take extra precautions for our safety) I elected to give the parade a miss and we spent the day at home relaxing and listening to the fireworks instead. Certainly we missed a wonderful, amazing spectacle. Next year we'll try to go and hopefully then I can share some pictures with you.

 

 

Small fish, big sea

About a month ago I started my new job. I am in my 14th year working in mining and really enjoy what I do. I have a great job and the opportunity to live and work in a country as fascinating and challenging as Peru is the experience of a lifetime. Of course, it's not just a matter of packing up one office, moving into a new one and hitting the ground running (although it would be great if it was).

 

We are the first ex-pat married couple to be working at our company's mining operation here in Peru. Usually just the husbands go to work at the mine and the wives stay home, either with the kids or on their own, to spend their days however they will. As far as Peruvian culture goes, the wives almost always stay at home to care for their children until they leave home (if they leave; it's not uncommon for multiple generations of a family to all live together in the same house). If they have young children, it is very rare for mothers to work, and certainly not full-time, and certainly not in mining. So what I am doing is not normal. Here's an example: recently I interviewed a number of different women to work in our home to help us with cleaning, cooking and looking after our son while we work (yes, a maid). There was always an interpreter at the interviews, as my Spanish isn't fluent yet and none of the women whom I interviewed spoke any English. When I explained to each of these women that I needed a maid full-time (as in all day, every week day) because I work full-time as a mine engineer, they all expressed the same look of total amazement, that a woman with a young child would contemplate such a thing. At one interview, the woman who was coordinating the interview on behalf of the maid agency was completely shocked to know that I was working at a mine. She had never met an ex-pat wife who worked before.

 

The people whom I work with are really friendly and seem to go out of their way to make me feel welcome. I look forward to going to work and being with them. At the same time, there are some times when I feel a bit alienated and wish that I was just a little bit less "different". I don't dress the same as most of the other women who work at the mine (most of whom work in administrative roles and tend to wear more "fashionable" clothes than the standard mining wear which is jeans/long pants and a polo/button-down shirt, which is what I wear to work), so I look different. Obviously I'm not a man, so I am clearly different in that regard than most of my work colleagues (there are two other female engineers in my department, so I'm certainly not the only one). And I am definitely different than all the other ex-pat wives, as I am at work when they are in town, catching up over coffee or visiting the market together. I'm grateful that they include me in their invitations to do these things, but it can be hard having to say "Thanks for inviting me but I'm working that day" over and over again.

I am grateful to have this job and as I said I really enjoy the work that I'm doing. I'm blessed to have stayed employed for this long and to have been given this opportunity. I guess my point is that it doesn't come without some sacrifices and challenges. One of the challenges is to embrace being "different" and to see it as a strength instead of something to regret.