Sunday Lovin': The Finale

This is the last Sunday Lovin'! Can you believe it?! I can't. I will be in Peru next Sunday, but I will be on my way to the lovely city of Cusco and just won't have the time to write on the blog. But if I DID write a Sunday Lovin' next week I'm pretty sure it would go something like this...

1.) I love that my boyfriend is here
2.) I love that I am going to Machu Picchu
3.) I love that I am going home to see my family and friends
and
4.) I love that I am sad to leave here. It means I have had such great experiences and have built many wonderful relationships.

So that gives you an idea of what it MIGHT look like next week. But this week, I am loving...

• Event Success: I am so thankful for the success I have had at SAE. Our event attendance has increased immensely and this means more profit, which is great for our little NGO! I am so happy to be a part of this success. I have learned so many great skills and developed many important characteristics through my internship. It has been such a lovely experience and I have been so blessed.

• My 365-day Journal: I am not big on keeping up with a journal, so it seems kind of weird for me to keep a blog, huh? But anyway, I have found one way to write down my thoughts and activities and that is thanks to my 365-day journal. Each day, I write down 3-4 sentences about my activities, what I'm feeling etc..And then on that same day next year, I will write another 3-4 sentences on the same page and I can look back at where I was exactly one year ago. I love the idea, so I'm hoping to be able to keep up with it!
  

• Dinner with Hannah: Last night Hannah Groff and I had dinner at Astrid y Gaston. It was recently named to a list of the top 50 restaurants in the world. And we ate there. Crazy!! The food was delicious, but the company was even better! :) Some of the highlights include:

1. Hannah, talking about the interior of the restaurant, states, "This kind of makes me think we are in Wisconsin" Which I say, "Really?? I've never really been there. Have you ever been to Wisconsin" and she says, "No."
2. Me, embarrassingly, in a totally relaxed position, placing my arm across the top of my head and Hannah asking what I was doing. Mortified, I quickly put my arm back in my lap and hoped that no one else saw me. How embarrassing. Hannah had a good, long laughing fit about the situation.
   
3. The free bread and appetizers! Yum.
4. The delicious food and pisco sours
5. Not realizing that the little desserts they set on the table weren't free. We eat all of them, and then it shows up on the final check. How could they do that to us?
6. Our "interesting" waiter. I only wish we would have been able to hear him...
7. Hours of great conversation with a GREAT friend.
   

Hannah, I am so glad we got to experience Lima at the same time! :) It's been a wonderful experience. THANKS!

• The Royal Wedding: I definitely woke up for the wedding at 4 AM and then watched multiple replays that evening. Ha. Obsessed? Maybe...

• Spanish Class: I said good-bye to my wonderful Spanish teacher this week. I had an awesome time studying Spanish with her and learned so much. Hopefully, the learning will continue when I return to Los Estados Unidos.
  

So that's what I am loving as I enter my final 2 weeks in Peru. This whole experience has been amazing and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to travel and learn and explore our wonderful world! I am sure I will be blogging some more in the coming days to help the days go faster! Hasta pronto, Kyle! :)

Pub Quiz Answers:
1.) South Africa
2.) Spain
3.) Fiction. With wind resistance and the shape of the penny, the penny would barely break the skin of a person walking below.
4.) Fact. According the National Weather Service the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 700,000. The odds of being attacked by the shark are 1 in 8 million.
5.) The Hummingbird

Shout out to Goshen's class of 2011 who are graduating today. Definitely wish I could be there to celebrate with you! I will be listening to via 91.1 The Globe. You guys did it!! Enjoy the celebrations.

Quoted in the sermon of the royal wedding (and my new favorite quote):
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire"
--St. Catherine of Siena

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Royal Wedding

Just sitting here. The only one awake in my apartment at 4:54 AM. Watching the Royal Wedding.

Am I crazy?

Maybe a little...But this is SO cool :)

Good morning, world!

Next stop: Starbucks

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Sunday Lovin': Easter Edition

Sunday Lovin' is back! Only one more Sunday left after this....crazy, right?!
Life has been great here. This week was Semana Santa so we had Thursday and Friday off work. This mean a lot of sleeping in and completely relaxing. Loved every second of it. Currently, I am wrapping stuff up at work, getting ready to pass on my vast knowledge of SAE event coordinating :), looking forward to my trip to Machu Picchu, and looking for a job for when I return home! Fun times all around!

Here's some Lovin'...

1.) Easter Dinner: I am sad to be missing out on Easter dinner with the family. But I did get to eat Subway for lunch today and it was terrific. It even had pickles on it which I have been craving. Perfect :) And while I definitely missed the company of my family being together, I did get to skype with the entire family while they were together at my parent's house. It sure sounded like a party! And it was so great to see everyone.

2.) TGIFridays: For the pat 4 days I have been on vacation from work. It's Semana Santa (Holy week), after all! So I had a lot of down time, did some reading, went to a museum and saw a movie. One of my faves was going to TGIFridays with the two lovely ladies that I am living with. We rarely cross paths now that they are back in school and I am interning, so it was nice just to get out of the house together and catch up and eat some good food. (I feel like a lot of my sunday lovin's are about food...ha, sorry!) I have been truly blessed to live in a house with two wonderful women and an awesome host dad. I will miss them all dearly when I return home.

4.) The quietness of Easter break: Easter break means get out of town! Lima was eerily quiet this weekend, and I loved it. Although, the lack of transportation was a bit of a downer sometimes, seeing the city in such a tranquil light was pretty awesome.

5.) Countdown: Now, countdowns aren't always the greatest things. Sometimes they can make it seem like time in just dragging along. But I am SO excited for my trip to Machu Picchu (see facts about Machu Picchu on this website: here) and to see my boyfriend (Sorry, no website about him...) that I have a countdown on my computer. Yay only 1 week and 6 days!! Also, it seems that my family is also looking forward to seeing me again. One particular member of my family, Sarah Bontrager, even said, "This countdown is more exciting than the Royal Wedding, in...? How many days? Who cares...Allis' coming home!" :) Thanks for the love, family! You rock. Can't wait to see you all again, too.

6.) Modern Family: I looooooove this show (Thank you, Rachel Yoder). It is Hi-larious. And totally makes me laugh. I am all caught up on the most recent season, but I am now starting to go through season 1. So stinkin' funny. Each character/family has their own quirks and it just makes me laugh and laugh and laugh....You should really check it out sometime!

...And lastly, I was quiz master (Watch out, Kirk Stiffney!) for our Trivia Night of Wednesday so I'll leave you with a few sample questions. Answers to come later....

1.) Which country's flag has the most colors?
2.) Who won the 2010 soccer world cup?
3.) Fact or fiction (Myth Buster's style!): A penny dropped from the top of Empire State Building would kill someone on the ground below.
4.) Fact or fiction: You are more likely to be struck by lightening than to be bitten by a shark.
5.) Which is the only bird that can fly backwards?

Alright, Thanks for reading along!
Happy Easter. Hope you had a blessed time hanging out and eating with family and friends.

"He is not here, he has risen....” --Matthew 28:6

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Inspired

On Wednesday night, I was out a little bit later than usual. We had our normal Trivia Night at a local pub and I sat around chatting with some of the participants and other interns. After seeing that it was approaching 9 pm I decided it was time to start my long trek home. I always try to leave early, but always dread leaving because I know how the commute usually makes me feel. So off I went. Walked through the park. To the metro stop. Slid my card. Boarded the next speedy bus and headed on my way to my normal stop, Javier Prado. I left the metro station, as I always do, and made a bee-line for the paradero (where the combis pick up the passengers). On my down the exit ramp, I took notice of a lady that is usually sitting there selling candy. She looked like she was carrying with her all that she owns, and that night she had a little girl sleeping on the cold, hard cement next to her. I am not sure what happened--if the sight of the small child asleep made me do it--but I turned around and went back and handed her 5 soles. This is equal to about 2 dollars. She started to dig through her bag of candy getting out a handful, 5 soles worth. Which is A LOT. But instead I said, "Solo necesito uno, gracias" (I only need one, thanks). She looked up at me with surprise in her face and said, "gracias y dios bendiga" (Thank you and God bless).

As I walked away I couldn't help but feel a little smile start to form on my face. I hoped that she would be able to use that 5 soles in some way to help her get out of the situation she was in. As I continued walking, I thought how I could have given her more. At least 10 or 20 to pay for a few meals...or something. And then my head started spinning. Thinking of all the people in this world that are in similar, or worse, situations than she and her daughter were in. How can we help? What can we do? More specifically, what can I, a 23-year old individual, do? Can one person really make that big of an impact? I felt overwhelmed, as I am sure many people do when they think of the problems in our world....

As I hopped onto the bus that would take me home, I began thinking about a few organizations and people that I have heard and read about in recent weeks that ARE making a difference. And I am pretty sure at one time or another they felt overwhelmed, too. But we all have to start somewhere.

So here's a little run down of the books, blogs, and organizations that are inspiring me right now.

• TOMS shoes: As many of you know, I applied for an internship with TOMS shoes, got interviewed, and then later found out I didn't get the position. I was bummed. But obviously I am here now, and HAPPY :) What TOMS does is sell shoes to their customers and with part of the profit they receive they buy a pair of shoes for someone who needs them. It's a one-for-one business model. TOMS is a quickly growing organization that provides shoes for kids who need them, and in turn, the shoes allow kids to go to school and stay healthy. Blake McKoski started his giving business as a small project in Argentina after a brief visit to the country. The organization--after 1 million pairs of shoes given--obviously has grown immensely. You can read more about TOMS shoes here: www.TOMS.com. Inspirational? I think so...
  

• Three cups of Tea: I am currently reading this book about Greg Mortenson who was a climber and stumbled upon a small, secluded village in Northern Pakistan. After building relationships with the people who had helped him, he decided to return one day to build a school for the community. After many crazy stories and many trips back and forth to Pakistan and other countries his organization has built hundreds of schools to spread education. The idea is that education will keep kids away from falling into terrorist-like groups and will promote a better future for all. If you have been reading the news there are allegations that pieces of this book are untrue and fabricated. (Article here). This could be true? But regardless, the idea of his projects and organizations are inspiring to me. One small relationship can lead to helping thousands and thousands of people over time. Inspiring....
  

• Shine project: In my down time at work, I spend some time online. Reading blogs, mostly of friends in far off places. But through these friends I find other blogs that are inspiring. One, specifically, is called The Shine Project. This woman is creating a movement to help our world shine. She encourages weekly projects that help others, the world around us, and help you to love yourself. Because it creates a network of people who you know are doing similar projects it inspires you to do your own! I am excited to keep following this blog and see what happens next! She is touching so many people's lives just through her writing on the web. Check it out...here!
  

I want to make a difference, too. I know that all these projects have started out small. So why not me? Why can't I start small and make a difference in a few people's life. Even if the project doesn't turn out to spread like wildfire, even if I don't go on to build thousands of schools or give away 1 million shoes, I made a difference in a few people's lives. THAT is worth it.

So what I want from to do is challenge you to be inspired by these projects and other projects you have heard about. And I think we all need to help keep each other to stay accountable to helping those who need it most!
I want to start something....not sure what it will look like, who it will be helping, or how it will even begin. But I know I want to do it. So, help me by asking about my ideas, giving me ideas, and holding me accountable to my goal. While seeing one lady sitting on the sidewalk did inspire me to start thinking about how to help others, I want that drive to continue for the rest of my life!

Thank-you for reading my thoughts. After my commute home the other night, I just couldn't shake my feelings so I definitely wanted to get them down in writing. Thanks for following along. And I will be home soon! :)

Chau

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
--Edward Everett Hale

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
--Anne Frank


"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. "
--Mother Teresa

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Sunday Lovin'

Hey Everyone! I'm back with some Sunday Lovin'. Read on to see what I am loving this week :)

1.) Choclo: I LOVE the gigantic corn here. It's called Choclo. And it is awesome. It's pretty fun to eat and with a little bit of queso. Yum!! Definitely makes me excited for some fresh sweet corn and mint tea this summer. But for now the gigantic corn is doing just fine. ha.

Yum, yum! Giant corn!

2.) Countdown: I may--or may not--have a countdown on my computer desktop counting down the days until Kyle gets here. hmm. Probably not the best idea :) But it is exciting to see the number of days get smaller. And what I LOVE is that the first night that I set-up the countdown I went back to look at it and the moment I read it, this is what it said: "22 days, 22 hours, 22 minutes, 22 seconds". Weird, right?!? But I thought it was pretty cool.

Hey Kyle, get your booty down here! :)

3.) Burger King: I think it's so fun that we went to the mall's food court for our weekly post-church lunch, today. We all were able to pick whatever food we wanted. Millie and I went for the classic cheeseburger and fries and settled on the one-and-only Burger King. Yuuum. I loved it. Now I only wish that they didn't have such a scary mascot.

This guy seriously freaks me out!

This also reminded me of the list I have been making in my head for the food I want to eat. I'll just make note of it on this blog so that ya'll know where to take me when I get home :)
-Chipotle Burrito
-Wings from BWs
-El Camino (Actually, ANY mexican food will do)
-Chipped beef on toast
-Long John donut from the Essenhaus
-Arby's curly fries and Jamocha shake
-Chicken breast supreme
...Start making plans, friends. I'll be home soon :D

4.) Easter Break: I am WAY excited for this next week, because my Friday is on Wednesday. We have Thursday and Friday off of work because of Easter weekend. Like I said earlier, we were thinking of making plans to go somewhere, but at this point people are feeling a little stressed about school work and are probably just going to stick around Lima to catch up. Which is fine, because Hannah and I have a few things planned with some people from her work. And maybe we'll even find something fun to do over the weekend. Museums, anyone?! I'm excited for the break no matter what happens.

5.) Commute=life: I think I love that the commute to and from work just feels like it's a part of my life. It's just how it is and that's what we do :) Even if it does take 1 hour and 30 minutes to go 10 miles. Who cares! That's life. I like to say..."asi es la vida"..."such is the life". So I am glad that this part of my day feels less like a frustration! But there are some days... :)

Sooo. That's what I'm loving on this week. We have a trivia night coming up at work and are still working out a few details for the last week of April (Not by my choice...) and then it will be May. So so crazy! Then it's wrapping up details and transferring all my files onto the work computer so they have access the work I have done so far. And then I'll be off the Machu Picchu! Yippee!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and that you are looking forward to another exciting week!

"I have decided to stick with love, hate is too great of a burden to bear"
--Martin Luther King, Jr

Special shout-out to my cousin Lindsy and NEW cousin Joe, who got married this weekend!! I am so excited for you guys and, of course, sad I couldn't be there. But I will be home soon to properly congratulate you :) Hope your day was everything and more! Love you both.

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Cookie Monster!

Not much new to report here. I will admit I HAVE started to count down the days until my trip to Machu Picchu. Not that I am wishing my time away here, but I am so excited to see MP and, of course, see a special someone.

Last night, I asked Kyle what he was most looking forward to about coming to Peru. I was expecting him to say, "Of course, seeing you, honey!" But nooooo he says, "I can't wait to go to Machu Picchu". I pointed out that his answer was WRONG! and that he should change his answer...his argument was that Machu Picchu is one of the wonders of the world. So to that I say...
Machu Picchu, you win this time!!

This week our event at the clubhouse was Helping Children in Peru Informational night. We showed the TOMs Shoes documentary and then 2 organizations came in to speak about what they are doing to help children in Peru. I think it was a successful night, with opportunities for volunteers and these organizations to connect with each other. Despite running a little overtime, it was a good event! :) I was excited to put it together and see it through.

My last few events here include: Pub Quiz/Trivia Night, Wallet Making Workshop (with recycled materials), and a informational night about cycling in Peru. Others that I have planned are a Traveling Tips evening, another pub quiz, and an informational night with Ciudad Saludable that is working for a cleaner city through sanitation and recycling. Whewww. I can't believe I will only be here for 3 more events. That is just CrAzY!

Easter is right around the corner and here that means Thursday and Friday off of work and for many it means GET OUT OF THE CITY! My host sisters and I are still in the planning stages of what we are going to do...but we better decide soon or else we'll have no where to go! :) We may also just stay close to Lima and do a small trip close to the city. We'll see! Whatever we end up doing it will be welcomed change of pace.

So this morning I realized I never posted the pictures from our epic monster cookie making experience. So I am going to end the post with some photos! :) Hope you enjoy.

Millie putting all the ingredients together! So many oats!


The batter. I ate WAY too much of this...raw eggs? Maybe that's why I'm sick?

So much batter!!! And such good cookies. And sweet aprons, too :)


The toaster oven we used. It definitely was an art to figure out the right temp.


Finished Product (round 1)

On the left, Round 1 (BURNT!) on the left, Round 2 (TASTY!)
It just took some time to figure it out :)

I hope all is well wherever you are. Miss you and hasta pronto! :)

"To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love."
--Oscar Wilde

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Sunday Lovin': Election Edition!

I've lost track of how many times I have written a Sunday Lovin' post. And I am too lazy to go look what the last "volume" was. Therefore, this one is ELECTION edition! Because the elections are taking place here today. I have been reading articles, doing research and trying to figure out what really is going on with these elections. While I don't have everything figured out--Actually, I have very little figured out. I will never understand all the small intricacies and ties to the past etc...--I feel like I have read enough and I am interested/excited/nervous to see what the results are tonight. This girl doesn't like politics much, but this has been VERY interesting to witness while I've been here! Here's a TIME article written about the Peruvian elections.
Good luck, Peruvian voters. May the best candidate win!

Now onto some Sunday Lovin'....

1.) Language: The other day, while listening to a presentation in Spanish, all I could think about was how cool and interesting language is. And how we learn our native tongue, as well as a unique accent. AND then how HARD it is to learn a new language. So many details...Grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary. It's all so unique! Can't wait to keep learning! :)

2.) Jobs: I am loving my job right now! Most of the time :) But I really enjoying almost all aspects of my job. It's been fun to begin planning for future events and then be able to pass that off onto someone else. Although, it's hard to stay motivated sometimes...Hm. The other part of this isn't really LOVE, but I have been applying online to random places around Goshen, looking for a fill-in job that I can start when I get home (i.e. Starbucks, Target etc...) Any suggestions for me? Where else can I apply...via internet :)

3.) Birthdays: This weekend was a birthday-filled one. I attended a birthday party with H. Groff on Friday night. Went to a Birthday party for 2 girls from church last night. AND most importantly the-one-and-only, Kyle Stiffney, celebrated his 23rd on Friday. Awesome!! Love birthdays!

4.) Being Tired: Now, this doesn't sound so great. But when you plop into bed at the end of the day and your whole body just lets go and you fall asleep quickly. That is SUCH a good feeling. Knowing how much you got accomplished in your day. It's a great feeling! It just stinks when that tired-ness carries over into the next day. Have to get my 8-hours in...or else!! :)

5.) This website: 1,000 Awesome Things is a fun website that list 1 awesome thing each day. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time funny! And the writer of the blog has a very interesting way of writing. It's definitely a highlight of my day. If you click on the top 1000 things tab, you'll see the original 1,000 Awesome things list. Lovely. Thanks, Awesome Blog....you are.....AWESOME! :)

That's it for today. I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I am counting down the days until I get to go to Machu Picchu (28!!). But am trying to be productive and learn a lot in the last few weeks I have here. Wooo hoo. This means YOU only get to read a few more Sunday Lovin' Editions. Disappointed much?!? :)

Chau!

“20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover” --Mark Twain

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More Election reading from CNN.com (I'll update this link list as I learn more...):
Polls Open in Peru
Five Way Race in Peru Elections
Monday Results: Keiko and Humala to the run-off: Living in Peru

Elections! This weekend!

All photos by: Marco Simola (LivinginPeru.com)

The elections are coming up here in Peru!!
The picture above is one election billboard that I always found so interesting. How would you like to be driving down the road and see a GIANT cut out of yourself just hanging out with the number 8 (your party/vote number) and with the classic Thumbs-up? Ha. I just find it so interesting!

The dry law starts tonight. So no sales of alcohol until Monday morning. Bummer for me since that's definitely how I spend my evenings...NOT!

How about a whole ROW of cutouts of your self! woo hoo.

It's crazy the amount of billboards that are on the side of the road!

Vote for the muscles??

This one says: "No one breaks my hand"...it must be a saying..?

Anyway, Just keep Peru in your prayers as the elections are approaching. We'll see what happens Sunday....

Chau! :)

"The future is no place for your better days" --Dave Matthews Band

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Sunday Lovin': Volume 6

Oh Hey! It's time for Sunday Lovin'. I'm having a little bit of writers block today and not sure exactly what I am loving this week. But don't get me wrong, I am still having a great time! I love a lot of things about Peru and about my experience here, but right now I am having trouble writing this post....So bear with me :) Here goes nothing!

1.) Delivery of everything: As I write this, me and the girls are sitting in the living room waiting for our lunch to be delivered to the house. Now this isn't Pizza or anything you would expect to be delivered. It's BEMBOS! The McDonald's of Peru. They deliver fast food here. What?? KFC has delivery, as well as all the other Pizza places. McDonald's also delivers to your house. Wow! Pharmacies are another place that will deliver your purchase to your house. Just a phone call away. Anything you want! :)

2.) The Sun: Soaking up some Vitamin D makes me happy. I love it.

3.) Family: My family that I am apart of here, is so great! It's so cool to feel like you are apart of a family who you aren't even related to. They have been so welcoming, hospitable, and kind to me. Also, my family in the states (currently, in Florida for spring break) are AWESOME. I love catching up with them and I miss them everyday. We have a skype date tonight, so they can make me jealous that they are all in Florida together...Boo for that. But yay for being "together" on skype! :)

4.) Monster Cookies: Who knew that the recipe makes about 300 cookies? Holy cow. We made the dough last weekend and we are still working our way through it. But they are SO tasty. I will post pictures soon of the little cookie adventure we had.

5.) Busy-ness: I'll admit it. I like being busy...most of the time. I remember writing a blog post on SST in Nicaragua where I was struggling to find things to do at my service placement as well as outside of work. I WAS BORED! I don't like being bored! I am very thankful that I am staying busy here. Spanish class, social life, work, events, working out...It keeps me going, and excited about each week. I am also realizing that I am meeting so many of the goals that I set for myself in coming here. That is a GREAT feeling.

6.) Boyfriend: I love Kyle Stiffney. That's all :)

That's all I have for this week's Sunday Lovin'. Below are the answers I promised for the trivia questions. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

P.S. I'm pretty sure this blog is following my lead about loving Sundays. They sum it up pretty well.

Love the life you live
Live the life you love ♥
--Bob Marley

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Trivia Answers:

1.) Super Glue
2.) Breathing
3.) Sri Lanka or India
4.) Because in Spanish Colgate (prounced: col-ga-tay) means "to hang yourself"
5.) Wimbledon Tennis (Men's and Women's Tournament)

Did you pass??? :)

Politics in Peru

A few of the 2011 Presidential Candidates

This is a blog post I have been debating about writing for some time. The elections are coming up here in Peru and I don't feel like I have a great understanding of what is going on to inform my readers about what is actually going going. Politics and generally confusing anyway, then throw in some Spanish and the usual historical background and BAM! No entiendo (I don't understand...)

And honestly, politics really aren't my thing...but I have been immersed in a country where elections are the first thing on everyone's mind. The elections are on April 10th with the run-off elections coming sometime in June. News about the candidates and the polls and the drama of skeletons coming out of the closest are all over. You can't escape it. So parts of this process have been catching my attention and through asking questions I am learning more.

A few interesting notes that I have learned about the elections in Peru that will maybe give you some insight into what the election time is like here:

• The parties here are not like the U.S. Democrat/Republican etc. etc. There are TONS of different parties and the party names change each year. The party is based around the candidates and often the name of the party is just the name, or initials, of the presidential candidate. So PPK is a party that stand for Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. And the Fuerza party is headed by Keiko Fujimori. There is a Peru Posible party. And many others. Apra is one party that has quite a history here, but I am still unclear about how that all fits in. So most likely the next elections will feature many different political party names, unless the losing candidates decide to run again.
  
• Peruvian citizens are REQUIRED to vote, if they have their national peruvian ID. They have to pay a fee if they don't vote.
  
• There is a dry law that prohibits the sale of alcohol 3 days before the elections. They want everyone to have a clear mind when they are deciding who to vote for, I guess.
  
• The advertisements here are crazy. Not so much in the sense of hateful words about other candidates but it is EVERYWHERE! There are billboards lining all the streets. The signage is so dense in some places that you can barely read the other signs. What's the point?

Just a small taste of what the ads look like. This doesn't even come close to representing the "visual pollution" that is happening on many other streets and in neighborhoods

• Because of the constantly changing parties and candidates, it seems that many Peruvians opinions change constantly throughout the running period. They aren't necessarily tied to one party of one issue that is important. There is less "issues" to vote for and it becomes more about personality and hope for a better future. **This is only one point of view that I heard, but it seems to be the case when you look at updated polls each week**

A recent poll. Shows the percentage change over time. It's a close one, folks!

• Some interesting notes about the candidates...
  
• KEIKO: One of the most controversial candidates, but one of the front runners. She is the daughter of ex-president Fujimori who is now in jail for human rights violations. He pulled the country into a better economic position, but also had other bad practices along the way. So you have strong opinions about Keiko on both sides. If elected, there is a debate as to whether she would release her father from jail. Apparently, she says she is trying to separate herself from her father...but to many, these are empty words.
• Pablo Pedro Kuczynski (PPK): Had an US passport. Many say he is too "North American" to be a Peruvian president. He has given up his US residency to prove his loyalty to Peru. He seems to be popular with the middle class, younger crowd.
• Casteneda: Former Lima mayor. Lots of corrupt practices took place under his mayorship.
  
• I am still learning more about each candidate and hope to understand more of what is going on. But, of course, each candidate has skeletons in the closest that come out before elections. And each person has their positives and negatives. People say it's like choosing between the lesser of two evils. Which candidate is going to hurt us the LEAST...not necessarily the best outlook for the next president..

A comic of the top candidates for the presidential run-off elections

The other day, I received the weekly Living in Peru email newsletter. In this newsletter the editor of the website wrote a little blurb about what he saw happening during this election time. I thought it was very insightful and interesting. So I am just going to copy and past his words onto my blog to give you all an idea of what is happening here. Honestly, it doesn't sound all that
different from an election in the United States. Here's what he has to say:

"Elections are on and who is going to win seems to be impossible to predict, which is what occupies most people's minds these days. Watching TV, listening to the radio, reading the newpapers and checking online, Peru's media is definitely having an ever greater influence on who'll be Peru's next president.

Is Humala the wolf disguised as a lamb? Will Keiko become Peru's first female president, with releasing her father the first thing on her agenda? Will PPK be considered more Peruvian now that he handed over his American passport? Is Toledo able to recuperate his image as an honest and sober candidate? And will Castaneda start to communicate more and be able to leave the shadows of corruption during his time as Lima's mayor?

As a foreign resident to Peru, I can't vote, so I sit here on the sideline listening. What hit me during the 2006 elections was that many people that I spoke to don't have a presidential candidate for whom they are ready to "die for," but rather spoke about who'll do less damage, and who lies less. What strikes me most is people's disillusion because they no longer believe in promises and more promises.

Wouldn't it be nice just to have one great candidate without skeletons in their closet, who will be able to secure better education for everyone, improve our health system, expand the infrastructure, protect the environment, ensure innovation, demolish bureaucracy and most important be able to seriously fight the corruption that continues to be the cancer of this wonderful country's past, presence and future.

Yes, I know that I'm dreaming, but that is still for free!

May the best two candidates for Peru move on to the second round on April 10. If I could vote, I'd be voting for the candidate who will work hardest to make my dream come true. Peru is the land of opportunities these days and should continue to be so in the future too.

¡Viva el Perú!" --Carsten Korch, Chief editor of Living in Peru

Anyway, I really appreciate his insight. And I think it sums up the situation well. I know that this isn't necessarily the most exciting post ever, but it is an important part of this time period of Peru. *I think* I am happy to be here to experience the election first hand. It will give me more insight into what is going on here, once I move on to whatever is next.

Go to living in Peru: Election 2011 archives, for the latest election updates: Click Here

Thanks for reading! :) Sunday Lovin' will be back tomorrow. And I'll post the trivia answers on Sunday :) Have a good weekend, everyone.

"Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason..." --Unknown

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