Made a visa-run down to Arica, Chile and had an amazing time. There was warm weather, cold beer, an excellent hostel (case de huespedes) but it was the 3 girls from Denmark (the Denmarkians) that made the trip one that I will never forget. They were, as they say in Danish, “kræftedeme lækker!” There’s one in particular and if you’re reading this, remember, “Du er smuk y te extraño.” This weekend really solidified for me that traveling really is all about meeting new people and learning that this world is a lot bigger than we can imagine. Plus why not get out and travel? You might just meet some cute Danish girls along the way…

The “Free Education” graffiti piece along with an anarchy symbol caught my eye. Not sure how the Chilean education system works but I’m sure that free education trumps any type you pay for

Chile vs. Peru

There are quite a few differences between Chile and Peru that threw me off upon arriving. The most challenging of which was the speed of their spanish along with slang that I had never heard before. Second difference was the money and trying to figure out the exchange rate so I didn’t freakout when my beer cost 500 Pesos. Third was the taxi system, unlike Peru which is a giant free for all, Chilean taxis have specific zones and it takes a while to understand what area is designated for each numbered taxi. All in all, it was a terrific trip and I look forward to another one in 3 months. 

Oh and the pictures of ‘Peru’ and 'Chile’ are from both borders as I crossed into each country. The 'Peru’ is a common design found on t-shirts and stuff in tourist shops. 

This is the 6-7 hour bus ride I will embark on come Thursday. What’s up Chile?!

Talked about revenge with my class today (18-22 year olds) and what we considered ‘permitted acts of violence’. One student replied verbatim, “I don’t like dirty hands, so I would call a mercenary”. “Clever”, I replied, “and how many of you know a mercenary?” Over HALF the class raised their hands. I had to know more. “Oh ya teacher, it’s very easy to find a them in Peru and if you want more pain, it’s just a little more money. For like S/. 50 he will break the arm of someone”. To which I responded, “Well in that case, you are all going to pass this class”. Just a normal conversation in a Peruvian english class. 

I’m well aware of altitude differences affecting weather, but it’s aways an interesting sight to see snow capped mountains while walking through 65 degree weather in the city. 

Peruvian Post Office...

Is on an ‘indefinite strike’ due to too low of salaries. Just went to ship something and stood in line for an hour; at least they’re striking for legitimate reasons.

Bought my bus ticket to Tacna today and will be crossing the border into Chile on Thursday; gotta renew that Visa! 

Soccer / Fútbol

Me:I'm excited for some soccer this afternoon
Student:It's called 'Fútbol'
Me:Not in America kid
America renaming Europe's most popular sport. TFM.

After walking by this I thought, “Wow, Che Guevara looks really feminine”. Then realized it wasn’t him, although there is a striking resemblance…

After a 4 hour class this morning and a rigorous boxing workout, I decided to get a massage. Arequipa has many massage parlors, but I kept hearing that the ones that are run by blind people are the ‘sure fire winners’. They weren’t kidding. For S/.15 ($6) I got a helluva half hour massage. Saturday in Peru > Saturday in the States. 

Final Four are tonight and you better believe I’ll be drinking Peruvian beer and streaming those games. Kentucky is my last thread of hope, but they’ll pull through; they’re a #1 for a reason. 

Walked around waiting for an open table at a Menu today and thought “why not take a picture of a side street?” So here it is. Exciting stuff eh? 

On a non-sarcastic note, I am STOKED for the final four games tomorrow, regardless of the fact that Michigan State choked and completely obliterated my bracket. 

Also if you haven’t checked out any of the political cartoons concerning the GOP / GOP primaries, they’re worth a look. 

Shout-out to my brother Mackenzie today; I’ll never forget that Boise State victory and those 2 wild nights we had in Vegas last year. Blood will always be thicker than water.

Living abroad has its pro’s and con’s, the latter being the realization of things you miss, the majority of which are people (drinking fountains are a close 2nd). Not having Facebook has saved me a lot of time, but is a pain in the ass when trying to contact people. If you wanna send me a message, e-mail me at ‘degenh@hotmail.com’ and I’ll get back to you pronto. Even if it’s to say “your blog sucks”, it’d be nice to read some english. Happy 3 day weekend from Peru!

The sky this morning at 6:30am caught my attention and I thought “I’m sure this is exactly what Tumblr wants to see!”

Lunch today was called ‘Pallar con bistek’. I end up going to the same place for lunch because I like their 'ají’ which is a type of salsa and the one at this particular Menu is super spicy. Nothing quite like Sriracha, but it’ll suffice.

Had a Peruvian TEFL student teach my class today for practice and realized that teaching ESL is definitely not for everyone. Call me crazy but if you’re going to review vocabulary, it might help to know the definitions before hand. At some point you’ve gotta draw the line between practice makes perfect and common sense.   

This is an awesome ceviche restaurant on my street. If you’re ever in Arequipa, I recommend it.

Graded papers today and after confirming that some were copied and pasted directly from a website, I concluded that my students must think I’m ignorant. I’m also pretty sure that the half an hour I spent talking about plagiarism might as well have been in Russian.

As the sun shines bright here in Peru I can’t help think about Tika Melroy, the palest person I know. If you’re reading this Tika. GO OUTSIDE!

Let’s go SYRACUSE! March Madness Peruvian style

Arequipa is real nice but scenes can change quickly depending on which street you go down. 

Oh and how could you Michigan State? Now some Peruvian kid who can barely spell basketball is going to win the bracket challenge and spend his earnings on candy and soda. To Louisville? Really? At least I’ve still got Syracuse…for now. 

Oh Peru...

The streets of Arequipa are rather quiet today. Classes were cancelled because of a public transportation strike (una huelga) due to the increase in the price of petroleum. No complaints here though, I got to sleep in which is a commodity for me these days. 

Graded papers yesterday and it felt rather odd to tell students that their theses lacked depth or that they needed to give better examples in their supporting sentences. Less than 4 months ago I was in their position complaining that my teachers were ignorant and if they wanted a “stronger” thesis statement they should write it themselves. Oh how the tables have turned 

Nothing like Chifa on a Sunday. There’s construction going on behind the fence and it’s quite interesting to watch the progress every time I walk by. At the rate they’re going, I give it 3 months before the foundation is finished. 

I hope everyone had a terrific Saint Patrick’s Day! Trying to explain to Peruvians the significance of the day was rather difficult but telling them it was a reason to drink was quite the opposite. Had a lengthy discussion last night about which country (Peru vs. Ireland) was more known for potatoes. We settled on “it’s all relative”. 

Some kind of protest the other day in Peru. Hundreds of people yelling and holding signs, wish I knew what it was about; a good cause I’m sure. Today was payday, which makes the exhaustion of teaching 44 hours a week all worth it. 

This was the list my Intermediate class came up with about the best & worst fashion trends of 2012. I’d have to agree. ‘Blazers’ were a close runner up for 'in-style’ as were 'Fish-nets’ for 'bad-fashion’. 

Soup is BOOOOMB! Menus always serve a soup before the main dish, some of which are “caldo de blanco”, “chaque”, or “chupe criolla” depending on the day. Above is “chupe criolla”. Typical street sign in Arequipa, which I walk by everyday on my way to class. 

Learned today that I should stay away from conversations about abortion because 100% of the time, the Catholic society of Peru will fight tooth and nail against my ‘pro-choice’ position. Although I don’t think “A fetus is a life” repeated 10 times in an argument counts as a solid debate. 

I love this heavy bag. I’ll be splitting the cost with the 70 year old gym owner for a double end boxing bag and can’t wait to get started on that. Nothing quite like punching a bag to relieve the stress of every Peruvian student misspelling ‘beautiful’ & 'quiet’ in each and every piece of writing.

Michigan State for the win. It’s their year. Spartan football beat Georgia for a bowl game win and their basketball team, coming in at the number 1 seed for the West with a Big Ten tournament win, definitely have what it takes to go all the way. 

You better believe we’re doing a bracket challenge here in Peru. I convinced 10 of my students to fill one out (S/. 10 a bracket) along with a couple teachers. Good luck to all, and hopefully UNC proves that they deserve to be a part of the madness this year