Recent Foodtography Snackeria

Me likey a lot food photography. One day I will get to buy my dream lens. For now... some recent snaps I took of recent foodsnacks...

The Bugs....they are everywhere!!

The sun came out today (for the fourth time since I've been here). So, like the last few times the sun streamed through the office windows, I cut out early. Home for a quick change into tennis shoes and off for a walk in the glorious sunshine. You miss it SO much when it's not there! The Limenos must have Vitamin D deficiency. I'm surprised they remain so cheerful! They say a lack of sunshine can contribute to symptoms of depression. Not here. These people are quite chipper despite the occasional "Hay demasiado frio!" I'm not going to argue with them there.



On the way out the door, I absent-mindedly grabbed my camera. I thought I might get some sunny shots of the ruins next to my house. I knew the battery was almost dead, but I only wanted a few pictures.



Next to the ruins was a older model, sky blue Volkswagen Beetle. After taking a few pictures of it, I noticed a red one a block away. I thought, You know I must see at least one of these everyday. Laura Jr., my senora's daughter, has a turqouise Bug and a yellow one is parked near my office most of time. My inner monologue continued as I walked a few blocks and came upon a more worn black Bug. Two hours until it gets dark... Let's hunt some Bugs. So, I invented "Shoot the Bug" game in which I tried to find and "shoot" as many Bugs as I could in the next 120 minutes.



I became pretty competitive with myself after a while. Trying to find one more, then one more, then another. Blocks after blocks chasing run away Bugs, trying to get more than one Bug in a frame, getting shots from underneath the front bumper, seeing if I could get pictures without the driver noticing, playing frogger with traffic to catch the Bug across the street... I got so good that I could see those little domed roofs from three or four blocks away. By the time it started getting too dark to take photos, I was so exhausted that I was hoping not to see another puttering down a side street so I wouldn't have to detour from my path home.

I made it home victorous with 43 sightings (New High Score) in two hours (all within a ten by ten block range from my house).



Check out all 43 Bugs "shot" today...click on the photo below to see the whole Picasa web album. The "shots" are in chronological order. From the little blue one that inspired the game to Laura Jr.'s turquoise number (shot before going into my house to eat dinner).

I'm an American, and so are you!

Just a few cultural tidbits to share with everyone...(I'm going to list it like Rebecca M.)

1. Sarcasm: Now, it isn't that I'm claiming that sarcasm does not exist in this country, but I sure haven't encountered it. Furthermore, everytime I take a stab at it, everyone thinks I'm serious.

"¿Qué?"

"No, no. Una broma." No, no. It's a joke.

Of course, I am trying out sarcasm in my second language, and I'm accompanying the Spanish words with the culturally appropriate American gestures. So, maybe, I'm just not doing it right. However, it's disturbing to see 14 wide-eyed faces staring at you over the conference table with little thought bubbles forming, "This gringa's crazy."

2. Elevators: So you know how awkward Americans are in elevators? We all get in trying so hard not to touch each other and, then, commence to staring at the little numbers lighting up above the door. And, if anyone violates our elevator norms, we become extremely uncomfortable. Peruvians are exactly the same. One thing I didn't have to adjust to.

3. Identity: Most Peruvians guess first that I am Colombian (I have no idea why). Their next guess is Spanish, then usually France or Holland. I usually have to play this game in cabs, on buses, in bodegas, and in the supermarkets. My favorite is when they think I don't speak Spanish so they try to guess amongst themselves. Here's how the conversation went the first couple of times (translated into English for your reading pleasure):

"Are you French?"

"No, I'm American."

This is the part in which I receive a really puzzled look. "So am I," my interlocutor responds.

A little light bulb comes on in my head. Oh yeah, that's technically true. The culturally appropriate response is then, "Oh, well, I'm North American or norteamericana."

That usually satisfies them, unless they want to play a third round of "Are you Canadian or United States...ian (in Spanish it is estadounidense).

At first, I was pretty confused about not being understood when I called myself "American." I mean, heck, that's what I am. So, I thought. Here, I am norteamericana or estadounidense. I usually say the former, because the latter is harder to get out of your mouth. But, now, I like it. When I say, "I am American," I am grouping myself in with Colombians, Mexicans, Canadians, Argentines, Chileans, and Peruvians. In a country in which I stick out like a sore (very tall, white) thumb, I get to say that we all have something in common. We are all American. How's that for turning national identity on it's head?

A Lack of Libros

Christmas came early this year! At least, I think David M. might agree. One of the most frustrating aspects of this trip (besides the piropos...which is a story for another day) is the lack of libros (books, that is). Peru isn't real big on books. That isn't a criticism of Peru's educational system (which I know little about) nor is it a suggestion that Peruvians do not read (I know for a fact that they do...I've seen it.)

Books of any genre (including dictionaries and textbooks) can only be found in very clean, sparkling librerias and only at surprisingly high prices. (P.S. Why doesn't Lima have a black market for books when it has one for everything else?) Generally, the books tend to be $5 or $10 more than US prices. I assume that is because there are no book factories in Peru. Books in English come from the US, and books in Spanish come from Spain. Then, they are set on polished wood shelves (wrapped in annoyingly impenetrable cellophane) and guarded by crisp-shirted Peruvians.

"Puedo ayudar usted?"

"No, thank you, I'm just looking."

Therefore, the summer reading that I was hoping to have has turned out to be...unavailable (aka unpaid for my checks from Joe). Unlike, David M. I assumed that I would buy books in Peru thereby making it unnecessary to lug 15 books through the airport. David, we should have chatted pre-departure about this. Dear Joe, please recommend that research be done on enjoyable reading material before peacing out (bookless) to a non-English speaking country.

So, I've been going to a local international high school/English-service church to poke through a very dusty room full of books, most printed about 3 or 4 decades ago. Occasionally, I run across a Danielle Steele (which I refuse to read), a Pulitzer Prize winner (unfortunately I read it last Christmas), and "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" (it's actually pretty insightful).

Thankfully, via the bookstore about 5 blocks from my house, Santa or my guardian angel or the libreria manager needing to clear out the stock room decided to "gift" me an book sale! And not just any book sale, an English book sale at 10 soles per libro! I can't rave about the selection, but it was much better than dusting off self-help books from a church's basement. I bought "My Invented Country" by Isabel Allende, "The God who Begat a Jackel" (no clue what that's about), and "The Conquest of the Incas" (a book sold only in Latin America that's as big as Harry Potter #4).

So, thank you, Santa. Next year, I'm going to ask for a Kindle.

Press Releases in Peru

Promsex just issued a press release about the success of the Gay Pride Parade last Saturday. Maribel, the author, used several of my photos! I'm excited, because I've never been published before, and photographic journalism has always been a secret dream job for me.

Photos: Kashgar

For photos of Kashgar City click HERE.

For photos of Kashgar Food and Products click HERE.

For photos of Kashgar People and Fashion click HERE.

For photos of Outside Kashgar City click HERE.

Pride in Peru

I marched in Lima's 9th Annual Gay Pride Parade yesterday (Saturday, July 10, 2010). Now, when I say I marched in Lima's 9th Annual Gay Pride Parade, I marched in the FRONT of Lima's 9th Annual Gay Pride Parade. I mean in the very front. Leading the charge. My org, Promsex, funded the parade so our staff carried the opening banner. On occasion, while we were marching, I would stop to take a photo of the very colorful line behind us. When I did, I saw that the front truck would stop too. So when I say I was leading the parade, I'm not kidding. It was incredible! I can't say the reception of surprised onlookers was particularly welcoming. Mostly they looked like they were watching a horrible traffic accident. There were hecklers, but, like Maribel said, "No respondes. La indiferencia mata." (Don't respond. Indifference kills). I would make the argument that "la celebracion mata" (celebration kills). That's a weird phrase, but the celebration of who you are and what you believe (a celebration of self-love and pride with pure happiness) also defies the nay-sayers. And what were we celebrating? Yes, we were celebrating being gay, lesbian, transexual, bisexual...we were even celebrating being straight. But, primarily, we were celebrating love and humanity's ability to love. That is what we should be most proud of.


Some of Promsex's staff...I'm so happy to be a part of the family!



Preparing for the parade.





















This is Jorge. He works in my office. His shirt says, "Dare to jump out of the closet."







Beginning the march. The opening banner: "We are free. Are we always?"













There's this illusion that homosexuals have sex and heterosexuals fall in love. That's completely untrue. Everybody wants to be loved. ~Boy George