The Beauty of the Ice Storm

Even though there are places without power, without a place to be, the hospitals were in a real emergency here in New England (USA) in places like New Hampshire an ice storm has caused several damages on the roads, some trees felt down, power lines felled leaving about a million of people in the dark, without electricity.

This storm stared last Thursday December 11. That day, I was attending a lunch at the end I drove the car in the middle of the storm... the whiteness of the road the snow plus the cold (-15ºC)... made impossible to drive, and suddenly I felt something strange when the car slid over the icy road I was loosing control. the car was going to crash against a fence along the road, I pulled out the emergency break and I don't remember exactly what else I did... I got stuck in the middle of the road and somebody who saw me came to me and told me to take the route with salt... I didn't know that.. and it worked.

Lebanon city, NH, morning Saturday December 13, 2008

Well, you know when the storms come, they carry lot of concerns, fear, uncertainty, pain specially is somebody dies. There is nothing to do, there are no controls to avoid these events. What is real is that we can see the other side of the mess, that inexplicable beauty. Now, with a simple camera I have tried to capture some pretty views of this cold place of the country.

Pines and birches covered with ice. Saturday December 13,2008

This past weekend was sunny and cold, but I could enjoy the brightness of the ice on the trees.

On Monday December 8, in Burlington Vermont, an hour and half where we live, we welcomed Ignacio Valdivia and Ana Lucia and others who came from my city home, Arequipa - Peru. They will stay in the New England area for 3 months, welcome aboard Nacho and friends!

Ignacio, Ana Lucia and me!

Thanksgiving Day

This is a traditional celebration. It is primarily a North American holiday, except Mexico. In the USA it is celebrated the fourth day of November as last Thursday 27th. This celebration is related with the English settlers, in their intent they settled a new style of life in the North part of USA known as "New England". These English people called "pilgrims" were a Christian group ready to conquer the New World. Unfortunately, many of them died at the beginning because they were shocked with the wild cold, that was around 1620. Many Native Americans helped them when they didn't have enough resources to live. When the pilgrimgs had their first harvest, usually in October, they shared their goodies with the helpers. In this matter, the governor of the English settlers declared that date as: The Day of Thanksgiving for harvesting the fruits that the Lord gave through the men's labor. In 1789 the first American president George Washington recognized that day as The National of Thankgiving, then Abraham Lincoln and in recently time, 1941, the Federal Congress declared as a national holiday in all the country.

The final harvesting in my garden - October 2008

A Farmer's Market in Norwich, VT - October 2008

In that way, the Thanksgiving Day is for us, being immigrants, a special time to share a dinner with family and friends. Last year we met Giovanna from Lima, Peru and for the second time was Takashi Kobayashi from Japan and the other guests were friends from China: Yan Song, husband Jingang Gui and their child Suhan Gui. It was a wonderful dinner! Michael cooked chicken with basil sauce and some more condiments, for appetizer we had spaghetti with red sauce and for dessert vanilla ice cream with raspberries and brandy. Takashi cooked sushi and some Japanese sweet tofu also he shared with us plum wine - Umeshu, and the Gui family some delicious chocolates. I was in charge of the cleaning and arrangements. We played Chinese checker, we talked about garden, science and some of our funny live experiences...

Our first Thanksgiving dinner - November 2006

in a house of a good friend.

Thanksgiving dinner - November 2007

Video: Saying 'Thank you' in our own languages

Thanksgiving at home - November 2008

Family Gang-Song

Fiestas Patrias!

PERU

My country with full of rich historic past is going to celebrate its Independence Day! Comparing to other countries, Peru has 2 days to celebrate it, July 27 and 28. Days that the country was freed from Spain in 1821. Costumes, typical food and dances, colloquial life experiences made Peru a special country like many others in the world.

SOME OF ITS ATRACTIONS

This place is called Moray located in Cusco. It is possible that this place was the agricultural research center. Each platform develop a microclimate. It was the potato, the corn a subject of such study, but it seems the most interesting for this researchment was the coca leaf.
From South, Arequipa, the White City, surrounded by three big enormous volcanoes standing out one of them, the Misti volcano; it is a city of dry soil but arid, sunny all year around rains in summer time! City of deepest canyons as Colca and Cotahuasi. In this city you can find the unique bullfighting without causing injury to the bull itself but sometimes either the bull's owner does not agree with the results, he might fight with the winner. The impressive monastery Santa Catalina is one of the more interesting to visit in the country.


By southeast is Puno city, with the floating island Uros and the highest navigable lake in the world called Titicaca lies between Peru and Bolivia.

In the Midwest is Paracas and the Cathedral a rocky formation caused by the wind and sea erosion. It dates of upper Eocene between 30 and 34 million years old.In the North part Chiclayo city is El Señor de Sipán one of the astonish tomb after the Tutankhamen tomb in Egypt, valuable pieces were found through 4 m deep.

PERUVIAN COLOQUIALL LIVING

What a formal annoucenment here in Cusco! It was located near to a central market where Michael and I had for breakfast fruit juice, hot chocolate and bread with skin milk... It says:

Mr. Thief, it is forbidden to robber in this market, there is an agreement to hung you and then to bring you to the police station (PNP). :) For Sunday lunch menu in a local restaurant of the Inca's Sacred Valley in Cusco is chicharrón (Pork rinds) with roasted potatoes and onion salad with hierbabuena (kind of mint). You pay in the Peruvian current money 13 soles (S/.) around $4.50. It is highly recommended to lunch with at least 3 persons otherwise you won't finish your meal!!!!
This cute lady from Arequipa is delivering milk door by door each morning, using as a vehicle a donkey. She feeds it with alfalfa along the walking.There are some corners as target which this ice cream vendor making sound with a special tool as a sign that he is arriving to the place to sell D'Onofrio ice cream, such as--> chocolate sandwiches with vanilla, bombons, cup Copacabana, delicioussss!

In the daily menu board it is omitted the "s" in the phrase "pecado frito" it should says "pescado" (fish) instead "pecado" (sin).

For Sorojchi or Soroche (high altitude sickness) this add suggests something important but also it works very well a cup of coca tea!
This is funny, this is a man dressed up as a woman with some balloons on his chest and backside. Then he goes to the beach or places crowded of people selling sweets in a ironic, and sarcastic feminine voice to the men:"Hey, handsome! buy this candy bars, come on honey I have bubble gum for your girlfriend". If the customer denies to buy something to this dressed up guy, he says in a normal voice: "You are bad classmate!" :)))

ENTERTAINMENT

Peru has food diversity as well as dances: marinera, festejo, huayno, vals criollo, chicha. (click to watch videos)


Video: typical dance from the Andes - Teatro de Arte Cultural Cusco

Playing a guitar and singing and old and nice Peruvian vals under the sunset...

Perhaps a 'festejo' in voice of Eva Ayllón singer, the Peruvian symbol, it is so fun! These are recorded videos from her perform in the Hopkins Center, Hanover, New Hampshire USA in octuber 2007. She got a successful night. Americans danced with the Peruvian rythm. Michael and I did the same! Eva is Perú!

video: Ingá - Hopkins Center, New Hampshire, USA - October 2007



video: Eva Ayllon: "I don't speak in English, I only sing."

Hopkins Center, New Hampshire, USA - October 2007

Tapping dance!


Video: "Shooting" Hopkins Center, New Hampshire, USA - October 2007

Thanks Eva!

NATIONAL PRIDE

Condor Flyght - Cotahuasi Canyon, Arequipa

Alpaca Suri - Alpaca Feast 2000, Arequipa

Inca's stone with 12 angles, Cusco

Still the list continues--> Pisco Sour, Ceviche,Parihuela, El Choclo con Queso (corn with cheese), Inka Cola (soda), El Señor de Los Milagros, Pollo a la Brasa, Christian Meir (a handsome), Mario Vargas Llosa, Radio Programas del Perú and its 'Mi Novela Favorita", D'Onofrio ice cream and cake, Sublime chocolate, Aji No-Moto , Gloria Milk...and ourselves the Peruvians.Peruvian Government Palace - Lima, Perú