Coke Bottles

Important note: On Saturday August 7th, I will be holding a thank you dessert and slide show at around 8:00.  This is times where I want to share with all of you wonderful people who care about my life what this year has meant to me.  It will be held at my parent's house (map).  If you use google calendar, click the button below, if not please send me an email if you can come  Just FYI, I am still working raising money for this year.  Thank you to all of you who have done so this year, but I am still a little short.  If you are able click here for  my fundraising or to the Kids for La Oroya project (if you do this, just send me an email to let me know you helped out, I will want to say thank you).  Thanks for this year and I am happy to say it continues!

Vicuña

It is a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon, but I am quite aware that 3,000 miles north of here, everyone is getting ready to blow up the night sky (and hopefully not themselves) with fireworks, feast on hot dogs, microbrews, laughter and bumping music.  So happy 4th of July to everyone.

I am still so blessed to be here in Peru.  My life is something that I truly treasure.  Whether it is a Saturday of world cup soccer, bathroom cleaning (the year as a janitor has come in handy), more futbol, cebiche, a pirated copy of the new Karate Kid move in spanish, and then a night out on the town with great people or it is a 4 hour ride up into the Andes for a 2 hour meeting of video taping with kids and then 4 hours back or it is just working in my office, I am blessed.

Speaking of the World Cup, in the center of Lima, there is a big screen and stage.  This fan fest goes on during every game and so Ginna, Liz and I decided to go watch the US Ghana game there.  As I have previously mentioned in this blog, just being in main squares usually brings awesome things into my life and this was no different.  I was standing around watching the game and a guy in a coke t-shirt came up and just said "sigueme" or "follow me."  I have learned that when these situations come up, it is something you just have to do.  So before I knew what was happening, I was on stage being interviewed by a local newscaster about who I am, my favorite food in Peru (Tacacho con Cecina), and the US' chances in the up coming game.  Then Ginna, Liz, a few other americans, a couple dutch guys, and I found ourselves dancing around with a brass band trying to get the crowd ready (and they kept giving us more coke to keep our energy levels up).  The game of course did not end in the way we all wanted and I am sure that they got some great photos of me being sad about the overtime loss.

Watching the world cup in the Plaza

But these situations always make me feel strange because I do believe that because I stand out, because I'm from the culture I represent, this stuff happens to me.  It is strange because I always want to blend in.  I have been here long enough that I can answer the phones at the office (and open the door from my phone).  I can navigate myself anywhere in Lima by bus.  I can complain about the Metropolitano, am always cold, can handle room temperature beer, but I am still 1.85m (6' 1"), white, blond, and have a horrible north american accent (so much so that taxis occasionally don't recognize my street because my vocal difference between Bolivar and Bulevar is hard to hear) and that is after the surprise that I actually speak Spanish.  I still surprise people when I say my name is José but that is because if I say Joe, people think I say John, Jeff, and a slew of other names.  So it annoys me that I am constantly the one who is given loads of free coke (or some equivalent experience) while there is a woman 2m away who is having her son run around our feet picking up the empty bottles so that maybe they can eat today.

This year, I have been blessed to get to know wonderful people, to be involved in projects and to try to be Peruvian.  But I still look like I am of privilege and therefore am often treated as such.  I don't have a point to make from this, they are just some thoughts.  I hope the the Coca-Cola empire flooded the Plaza de Armas with enough bottles that the bottle lady ate well.