2006

This year I first time:

• did rafting
• did paragliding
• have been to South America
• saw corrida
• ate guinea pig
• survived earthquake
• have been on the desert
• swam in Pacific Ocean

The Most of my life:

• highest point - around 5000 m a.s.l. - Pastoruri mountain
• longest time abroad - 5 months, and together almost 9
• longest time without sleep - 37 hours

I intend to continue:

• learning Spanish
• learning salsa

I regret:

NOTHING! Never regret anything I do.

Left on a jet plane

The biggest adventure of my life so far has ended. I came back home from Peru. I traveled for around 27 hours, passed 6 time zones. I'm experiencing a jet lag. It's 7 am, and I'm still awake. It would be just 1 am in Lima. Wikipedia says, that sometimes skipping sleep at all can help to recover fast. I will see. So far I haven't slept much in last two nights, because of flight and goodbye party on Wednesday- see previous posts (as soon as I get them updated).

Triple goodbye party

This will be a story of my goodbye party(-ies).

Monday Went to my old workplace. I wanted to see my boss to give him back the books for Spanish. And he told me about the Christmas dinner at reastaurant in the evening. I didn't miss last chance to see my coworkers and say goodbye. Especially, that food was great (it was some oriental chinese-or-something restaurant). The amazing thing was, although I was sitting at Spanish speaking table, I was talking with people all time. In Spanish! Tuesday Trainee dinner. My "last supper" with my friends in Lima. We were 12 foreigners, everybody prepared something from their country. I prepared ruskie pierogi. This was good idea, but next time I will know what to do to make them better. See some of the pictures here. And read more about on Szymon's blog. Wednesday Goodbye party. That was my last party in Pipas. Last and unforgetable, with all my friends present. Most of them signed my shirt, that I got from Sandra (see below). Thank you all for being there!

Pictures from Arequipa, Cusco and Machupicchu

View pictures from trip to Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco, Sacred Valley and Machupicchu. Read description (in Polish).

Conectividad

This Tuesday was event that everybody in my company was waiting for. Demonstration of Unexos switch at Banco Continental. The application, that I was working on was used for this demonstration – front-end was preparing the transaction data and sending it to the switch, on the other end few host applications were connecting to MySQL database and returning whatever you would need. At least in theory. But Murphy’s law are in effect, and sometimes something goes wrong. Now it’s over. I must make documentation of the system. Also there is another program that I worked with, which bugs have to be fixed. And that would be all! And then, if I finish that, I will have two weeks to travel around Peru.

Did you know? - Hofstede

On Saturday and Sunday is that OPS for peruvian SNs. Me, Cristina and two more AIESECers (Gabriela and Christopher) will be facilitators. But that's not what I wanted to write about. Cristina just emailed me this link: www.geert-hofstede.com with Geert Hofstede cultural dimensions. Have a look at comparison between Poland and Peru: Abbreviations: PDI - Power Distance Index IDV - Individualism MAS - Masculinity UAI - Uncertainty Avoidance Index LTO - Long-Term Orientation And the expalnation is here (scroll to the bottom of page)

In the mountains

Last weekend I was on a desert (see below). This time - complete change of climate. With Szymon (Pol) and Sandra (Mex) I went into the mountains, to Huaraz. We left Lima on Friday. First we had some difficulties to find a bus company, that would take us to Huaraz, because they didn't have tickets anymore. Finally we found one quite comfortable bus going there. Interesting fact: just before boarding a bus everybody had to leave their fingerprints. In the morning we arrived in Huaraz. The city is located 3100 m above sea level, around 420 km from Lima. After visiting tourists information we started looking for place where you can buy coca leaves. They say that chewing it helps fight with altitude sickness. We went to market where you can buy literary everything - from clothes to food (e.g. fruits, raw fish, meat, etc.). We also found leaves. Their taste is horrible, I don't know if it really helps. Maybe at least it doesn't get worse. After we found a hotel, which costs only S/.10, first aim was Mirador. It's a hill from which you can see whole Huaraz and you should have great view to all Cordillera. Unfortunately that day was cloudy, and we couldn't see much (photo above). Next point was village Marián. From this village you can get to Willcahuain. Willcahuan are ruins of pre-inca culture that used to live there almost 2 thousands years ago. What you can see around is so much different from what I saw so far in Peru. It's like completely different country. People live their lives working on fields, breeding cows, sheeps, goats and llamas. They didn't stop their work, but only kids seemed surprised by the tourists. Asking for directions can be really tricky. Everybody was giving other information. Where are the ruins? "Straight ahead", "left", "right". How far away? "35 minutes." "4 hours", "Oh, very far". It started to rain. Seems normal thing, but for me it was first rain since few months. In Lima never rains. We reached the ruins. Until today I'm not sure if those were the right ruins. If so, then they are in perfect condition, surprisingly how it survived all those hundreds or thousands of years. After coming back we wanted to go to banos termales, but it was already closed. So we went to eat some Peruvian food, which was cuy, chicharon and trucha frita. Day two. When Szymon said in the morning, that he wants to go to the mountains, to Pastoruri which is over 5000 meters high, I didn't believe that we would all go there. But one hour later we were sitting in the bus that took us for the trip. Along the way were many stops, first to drink mate de coca, then to see and try natural mineral water (with lot of iron in it) - Aguas Gasificadas, see some interesting plants called Puya Raymondi... Finally we reached Pastoruri. From there we needed to walk around 2 km to the glacier. This trip was very "commercialized". On every step you met people offering you something, from chocolates to pictures with lamas. At this altitude you could feel lack of oxygen. I saw people who were not able to walk and were carried down on the shoulders. To go up, take pictures and go back it took around two hours. Then we went back the same road down. Some food in tourist's restaurant, and then back to Huaraz. Later that day we still went for while to a bar to dance some salsa, and then to bus terminal to go back to Lima. I arrived in Lima at 6.30 Monday morning. Went back home, had shower, one hour of sleep and then to work.

Pisco, Paracas, Ica, Huacachina

Finally I went for trip out of Lima this weekend.

On Friday evening, with Szymon (from Poland) I went by bus to Chincha. We took Soyuz bus, cost S./20 because of elections. It takes 3 hours to get to Chincha. We arrived at place just before midnight. There we met with Sandra (from Mexico). From Chincha took bus to Pisco. There we found a hotel, where after bargaining we could stay for S./15.

Early in the morning, at 7 a.m. we went thru deserted streets of Pisco to the center to take a trip to Paracas. Whole day trip costs only S./40.

The first part of the trip are Islas Ballestas. We went to port in Paracas, where we boarded a boat. But before we did that, we could listen for while to Peruvian version of mariachi in a restaurant. Islas Ballestas is an archipelago of 3 islands where several species of rare animals live in their natural environment – like sea lions, Humboldt penguins, pelicans and many more. We were cruising for almost two hours among all those wonderful animals.

Second part was Reserva Nacional de Paracas. We were going on the bus, on the roads of salt, sand and dirt desert to finally see breathtaking cliffs, beaches and more of desert.

After the trip was finished, we went back to Pisco. While Sandra went to Chincha to get her baggage, we had some time to eat and see a little of the city.

Next stop was Ica. In Ica we stayed only for while to see Plaza de Armas, and then we took taxi (cost S./4) to go to Huacachina.

Huacachina is an oasis in the middle of the desert. The lake is surrounded by hotels and restaurants. We checked in to Casa de arena hotel (S./15 per night).

The biggest attraction of Huacachina is sandboarding. Of course we had to try it for ourselves. On Sunday morning we went to rent boards (S./5 per day), and after that we went to the dunes to slide. We've picked the worst moment of the day to do that. We went up exactly at noon. It was hot as hell, sand getting everywhere, in your shoes, under your shirt, into your eyes. Maybe for those, who tried snowboarding before it would be easy, but for me it was first time to do any of them. I must say, that it's great fun, but the heat was unbearable. After this the only thing I was thinking of, was to go under the shower to wash the sand off, and then to jump into swimming pool.

Around 7 pm it was the time to go back. First by taxi to Ica, where we stopped to have a dinner, and then by bus back to Lima.

Under this link you can see picture gallery with all pictures from our trip.

Have a nice day, folks!

Parapenting

On Saturday I decided to go paragliding. Lima is perfect place - strong wind from ocean, high cliff. Here some impressions how it could have felt:

Earthquake

Today, I woke up suddenly around 5:50 a.m. I woke up, because I felt the ground shaking, as if a really huge truck was passing by. Fast I realized, that this was just an earthquake. News say, that epicenter was some 200 km from Lima, around 90 km from the coast. Magnitude was 6.4 in Richter scale. So far no casualties were reported and loses are minimal.

Peru - different food

Cuy

Peru is a country of great diversity. With over 1.2 million sq km, it has such different parts as coast (Costa), mountains (Sierra) and jungle (Selva).

Today one of my coworkers has a birthday. And this is the reason why we all went to a restaurant, that serves very typical food from southern part of Peru – from Arequipa. This is sometimes too "typical" even for Limaños.

The food served is among others: pig’s feet, cow’s udder, bull’s testicles (very tasty indeed), and my personal favorite, the cuy. I must admit, it’s very tasty. Althought most Europeans wouldn't like to even think of eating that.

Chicha de jora

And drinks – one typical drink from that region (specially Cusco and Andes) is Chicha de jora which is made from maize. And after food you can drink anis. It’s stronger drink, similar to Turkish rakı or Greek ouzo. And the way you drink it – you get a small bottle (approx. 10 cl) that is circling at the table. And it should be finished with the last person. If not the bottle is not finished, or gets empty earlier, you need to order another round.

And of course the most typical one – pisco sour. But let me write about it another time.

Traffic

Lima is a city with around 8 millions of inhabitants. So the traffic is not easy here.

Starting with general impression of the traffic – it´s not a complete madness, but still close to it. Besides, probably many cars don’t use unleaded petrol, so they pollute the air horribly. Buses: There are few kinds of them – combis (very small buses for around 10 persons, which means, that there could be also 15 or 20 people inside) and micros (small or a bit bigger buses). Those buses are old and don’t look reliable.

In each bus, besides the driver, there is another man at the door. He, or sometimes she, collects the money (1 sol for longer route, 50 centimos for short one[1]). Besides his/her job is to look for potential passengers, shouting out the names of the streets, etc.

The buses go literally every few seconds, they have set routes, and sometimes two or more of the same “line” are going even right one after another. In this case the drivers fight over passengers by racing to the next person on the sidewalk. Another way of travelling around the city are taxis. They don’t have taximeters, so you need to negotiate the price with your driver prior to getting in. Which sometimes causes a jam if a cab stops for too long to discuss a price with a person on a sidewalk.

Not only cars are serving as taxis. There are also so called mototaxis, which are made of three-wheeled electric motorcycles. You don’t find them everywhere, only closer to the city centre. I wouldn’t dare to get into such thing. Pedestrian crossings (a.k.a. zebras). No such thing. Almost. Only on very busy junctions. But normally you have to cross the street in any place convenient. Just watch for the cars, so you don’t get run over by one. So each time I go to work during morning rush hours, it can turn to life-thrilling experience.

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[1] 1 euro = 4 nuevo soles

My new workplace

This is a picture of my desk, with the computer I'm working at, and one of my colleagues. I'm supposed to have english Windows installed. Maybe soon. My first days in company are all about learning - learning about company's business, their main products, how does it work, what will I do, etc., etc., etc. In another words - induction, induction, indu... (Somehow reminds me similar situation I was few months ago - if you know what I mean) Besides that constantly meeting new people, that I work with.

Dolomite Alps

Day 0 (Monday)

Still in Innsbruck. I finished packing my bags, said goodbye to everybody once more. When my parents arrived, we’ve put bags to the car and then I showed them around the city – at least the most touristy places, like Hofburg, Golden Roof, Maria-Theresien-Straße, river Inn, cathedral, Hofgarten, etc., etc.

Around 1.30 pm we left Innsbruck heading to Italy. Arrived in Südtirol in Toblach (Dobiacco). There was still time for a short warm-up trip up the creek to the stinking hut.

Night

We’ve been sleeping in tent. First night was rainstorm. Fortunately, the shield has survived it.

Day 1 (Tuesday)

Tough Started cold. But as soon as sun got higher it got warmer. We two went to Monte Piano. It started with mixing the path. Until midday it got really hot and sunny. Dad tried to climb a shortcut, but he lost his grip on a stone and hurt his hand and cut finger. First sign.

Under top of Mt. Piano you can see remainings of Austrian bunkers from I World War, including this cannon position 270 meters long.

View from top is magnificent.

When we started to go down, it was just a beginning of the difficulties. We were stupid enough to ignore the sign saying that the path is closed. After half hour of walking down we saw why. Avalanche has taken the path. We should have tuned back, but no… We went on. It was very tough and very dangerous.

Day 2 (Wednesday)

After yesterday’s trip, this was ment to be an easier day. We went up the Misurina creek. This required crossing the creek several times - building bridges of stones and pieces of wood, trying (unsuccesfully) to keep water outside the shoes...

Day 3 (Thursday) Mixed weather In the morning it didn't seem, that weather is going to be bad. It was hot and sunny. As the time advanced and we got higher, it started to get colder and cloudier. It started to rain. Showering rain was all way to the top. Later in the afternoon, around 5 pm., weather got much better and with sun. And in the evening got rainy again.

Day 4 (Friday)

Rainy morning. We were getting up very slowly. It seemed like it's not gonna be any good trip. Around noon it got better enough to go for short trip, which was not finished because of comming rain (again). We decided to change place of stay on the next day.

Day 5 (Saturday)

In the morning we went to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Nice town, weather was also sunny. Walk around the town, some shopping. Later we went up, to Fazalerego pass. We tried to climb up, but it started not only to rain, but there was also hail falling.

Day 6 (Sunday)

Rain again. That's it! Decision to come back home. From 12 pm. to 9 am. next day, after over 1100 km, with just 3 hours of sleep in the night, passing 4 countries, I was finally home.

Day 7 (today)

Yes, finally home. And the thing I was missing the most - a hot tube. And good beer :)

Have a look at the pictures here. And put some comments if you want.

National Konferenz

It finished. The 4 days of conference are over. After 14 hours of sleep I'm back in shape. I broke my record with 37 hours without sleep, sleeping together 6 hours in last 4 days. Conferences in Austria have something special, that I didn't find anywhere else. That amosphere, that "Stimmung", that is created by people - both facis and delegates. Somehow I feel strong connection to AIESEC in Austria and I don't want to leave so soon. Let's not forget the award that our EB team has won. The synergy award! Congratulations and Thank you, Team! And congratulations to Sandra, our leader, to her individual Leadership award! Always conferences make me think about my future. And after each of them I had a bit clearer view, what I want to do next. The same was this time. Thank you all, that made that conference so unforgetable:

Emma - the Chair (first time I had so much interaction with chair)

Facilitators from Austrian MC

Delegates from all Local Committees

Our OC Team.

In Middle of the Action

What to start with? I'm not quite sure. Many things on my mind. I just came back from AWESOME conference. Kick-Off in Fiesch, in Swiss Alps. So many interesting people, days filled with mental work as well as lots of fun. For those, who saw last conference in Austria: Just imagine Future, but with around 300 delegates, with 5 tracks, around 25 extraordinary people in facilitators team, the most cooperative OC I've ever seen... that would be Kick-Off And there are just few pictures here.