They stole my damn dental floss...

...and almost everything else of value that I own. Thus, my first day in Guatemala wasn´t spent admiring volcanos and talking with locals. Rather, it was spent at the American Embassy applying for a new passport, canceling credit cards, and grieving over the loss of all my camera equipment. Oh well, I was bound to happen sooner or later. I have covered way too many miles over the past several years not to have been robbed. I am just upset because it was aviodable and will prove to be extremely expensive. Live and learn. On the bright side, a number of gracious people helped me yesterday. The man and his family who offered me money and lunch was more than touching. The nice Guatemalan girl who gave me her e-mail address, phone number, and a recommendation for a place to stay proved very useful. And all the people at the Los Lagos Bed and Breakfast for trying to cheer me up. I thank all of them.

Now I find myself in the back room of a small paper store in "Chi Chi" Guatemala. I arrived here a couple hours ago via a chicken bus from Guatemala City. Chi Chi was my second choice, the first being Xela, which did not occur due to my stupidity on the bus yesterday. I would love to post pictures of this rough highland town, but I can´t, as my camera was lost in the fiasco. The bus ride was very memorable. Think elementary school bus, but with 3-4 adults to each seat and a driver who was trying to beat his own personal Guat City to Chi Chi land speed record. Did I think we were going to make it safely? Sort of. But did we? Yes.

Anyhow, this is going to be a short entry. As I write I realize it I am not really in the mood to do so. I will spend two nights here before heading back to Guatemala City to pick up my friend Tayllor. From there it will be off to Antigua, with many more stops throughout Guatemala to follow. I must say, while I have only been here for a couple days I am ready to see a familiar face.

Making Up for Lost Time

Jetlag is a funny thing. I should know. For the second time in as many weeks I am in the throes of being lagged. And while the negative aspects of a thirteen-hour time change done twice in a week are probably well documented, the positive attributes are more likely to be lost in the haze of time travel. One of those positive aspects is the remarkable productivity that occurs during the early morning hours of the workday. Always wanted to work out at dawn? Enjoy watching the sunrise? Ever felt the need to wake up at 1:30 in the morning to write a blog entry? Come to Singapore.

So I suppose I should note that yes, I have been extremely lazy over the past month in terms of updating my blog. While unfortunate, it was necessary. I needed to get out in the world and experience some things so that my entry didn't only consist of the mundane aspects of my daily life here in Singapore. Remember, for every two day trip I take beyond the shores of my little island state, there are five days in which I am forced to don business casual clothing and make presentations in Power Point. With that said, I have decided to productively use these unlit hours of the day to share some stories from the past month.

My last entry chronicled the adventures of the Hong Kong Triad as we explored that small, extra-special island of the People's Republic of China. What has happened since then? Well, in addition to working, doing laundry, and eating, I spent my weekends in the neighboring countries of Indonesia and Malaysia. Additionally, I made a brief, but extremely fulfilling trip back to the States.


Indonesia. Fifty-five minutes from the coast of Singapore, by means of a luxurious high speed ferry, lies the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Bintan. There one can find five-star resorts, world-class golfing, palm-lined beaches, and a number of other hyphenated attractions (have I used that line before?). Apparently it is remarkable. I wouldn't know; I didn't go. Instead, I boarded a slightly more outdated ferry for the two and a half hour trip to Tanjung Pinang on the southern end of the island. While the northern end of Bintan is essentially an extension of Singapore's style and grace, the rest of the island is, well, developing. Now, keep in mind, I do not mean developing in a negative sense. Rather, I welcomed the chaotic streets, fragrant foods, and overall dusty nature of my point of disembarkation. As expected, and characteristic of every developing country I have ever been to, I was met by two things upon arrival: stray dogs and a throng of local 'tourist guides' seeking my attention. Well, a guide named Raymond finally earned my attention, but it wasn't easy. I suppose I am become a little bit more skeptical of people's intentions in my old age. When I was younger I would just toss my bag in the back of a car and head off to whatever hostel they claimed to represent. "Oh, you said it was called 'Mugandleavefordead Youth Hostel'? Sounds nice, let's go!" Now I actually ask questions. For Raymond, he earned my business by accompanying me from place to place while I ran various errands and concurrently asked inane questions about Bintan, Indonesia, and his life. I figured any would-be thief wouldn't have put up with such crap. So off we went to the east coast of Bintan, to a promised resort with huts on the beach where I could spend a couple of days relaxing. However, after an hours drive what we came to was a very shady shack-of-a resort with a old Englishman and a Malaysian prostitute playing cards on the front porch. Bad vibe. After promising Raymond that I would pay his commission in exchange for a less-than-shady place to stay, we hopped back in the truck and headed back along the coast to a number of less, well, brothel-like locales. So what did we find? A group of thatched-roof huts on stilts situated a few hundred yards out in the middle of the South China Sea. A slight upgrade, to say the least.


The weekend was full of reading and, well, reading. On Sunday Raymond returned to the east coast to pick me up and take me on a tour of Tanjung Pinang. There we found a fisherman whom we paid to take us around the Indonesian port town in his boat. For several hours I was able to visit mosques, temples, and churches before finally catching my ferry back to Singapore.


Whew...Indonesia. So, a week later I was off again, this time to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. For some reason Kuala Lumpur, or KL, has always seemed like one of the more exotic cities on the planet. And it is, to an extent. The prevalence of very cheap luxury hotels and shopping malls is not necessarily exotic. However, as a Muslim country, both the people and the number of mosques made KL a unique destination. I should note that while Indonesia is a Muslim country, the island of Bintan isn't overtly so. However, Malaysia, as another Muslim country, was, which made it all the more interesting. It was the first country I had ever visited in my life where seeing a woman in a burqua was not uncommon whatsoever.


So...KL. I was pretty much on a Mosque hunt, trying to take in as many religious sites as possible In addition to the mosques, I spent a significant amount of time at the KL city centre, which includes the world famous Petronas Towers and a man who was adamant that I befriend his daughter and take her back to the states with me. My weekend was punctuated by a visit to a phenomenal Chinese restaurant in a local shop house. I had passed it many times on my way to the subway. While seemingly simple, consisting of a number of tables in what was essentially an open garage space, I noticed that it was always extremely busy. Following the travelers rule, which is that the best food is always found where the crowds are, I decided to visit for lunch. To say that I wasn't even remotely disappointed would be an understatement. The chicken curry rice that was recommended to me was phenomenal, as was the ice coffee and frenetic atmosphere of a local's hotspot. That restaurant was the highlight of my weekend.


And finally, my last week, which was spent working in suburban Chicago and celebrating with my best friends in the city. The work week was spent in meetings with people who prior only knew me as a voice on the phone. It culminated with a presentation to the executive group on the work that I have completed for the summer. The weekend was about fun. I was lucky enough to spend it with my best friends celebrating the upcoming marriage of Jonathan Greer. Debauchery? Yes. Fun? More so.

Of course, between these trips I have explored Singapore. I have found that beyond the seemingly sterile surface lies a flavorful mix of Asian culture. I suppose, to further explain, if my trip back to the States did anything for me it was that it made me realize how much I am really enjoying my time here in Singapore.

So, what's next? Friday morning I leave for a long weekend in Cambodia. Afterwards, in just a couple of weeks, this dream will come to an end. I am reaching the twilight of my summer, which means that I am on the precipice of my return to the real world. I suppose, if you think about it, graduate school isn't real at all. Did I pull the Golden Ticket for the summer? Yes. How? No clue, but I would be remiss to say that I wasn't grateful for it.

Looking at the clock I realize that it is 3:50 am. Over the past two-plus hours I have written my blog, ventured downstairs for some instant ramen and a beer, and become tired once again. Until next time...

The Adventures of the Hong Kong Triad

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It just sounds exotic. Not sure why, but the island city in the South China Sea has always beckoned for a visit. I finally relented this past weekend and set forth for what I would like to call, "China Light".

My co-conspirators, or The Hong Kong Triad, as I will dub our little group, met up on Friday evening in the city. I have known Tim (Janke) and Dawn since I was a wide-eyed and fresh-faced college grad just starting at Deloitte. By the time I had commenced work with the firm they were already seasoned Deloitte veterans. Thus, it was Tim and Dawn, along with many others, who taught me how to survive the rough and tumble world of dispute consulting. Truth be told, that pretty much entailed developing a taste for beer and an obsession with airline and hotel rewards programs.


Anyhow, Janke has been living and working in Hong Kong for the past few years, so he would be the host and guide for the weekend. His place near centrally-located Lan Kwai Fong was the perfect stepping off point to explore everything the city had to offer. Moreover, his child-at-heart approach to the Hong Kong social scene made our proximity to the HK nightlife even more helpful.


So what did we do? Apart from hanging out with Hong Kong's Finest? Oh, stuff and things. We spent a lot of time walking around Central Hong Kong and in the hills above the city. While on our jaunts, Janke shared with us colorful tales about the history of many of the buildings and some of the urban legends surrounding HK. While he prefaced each of these stories by explaining that they were gathered piecemeal from other people, I was able to later Wikipedia them to ensure their validity. On a side note, some people don’t trust Wikipedia. However, anything that contains obscure information such as the fact that Dolf Lundgren, or Ivan Drago for you Rocky IV fans, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at MIT before interrupting his studies to become a lightly acclaimed actor, must be trusted in all respects. Regardless, apart from walking miles around the city we also ate great food, had good drinks, and enjoyed some of the festivities marking the 10th anniversary of the HK handover to China.

A few other things to note:
1.) Asian budget airlines were not made for anyone taller than 5’6”. Four hours of near-fetal position travel is not nearly as fun as it sounds.
2.) My admin Jamie and I bought lottery tickets today. Well, I gave her the numbers and she bought the tickets. In exchange for running mathematically vigorous exercises that included regressions, derivatives, integrals, and picking numbers based on second cousins’ birthdays, I will receive 10% of the overall winnings…$500,000 Singaporean for those of you who are counting. If we win everyone is coming to Singapore. Wish us luck.
3.) I am sick right now. I don’t think it is SARS, but I will keep you posted. Conventional wisdom would blame it on my lack of sleep, extensive travel, and overall unhealthiness while in Hong Kong. However, I believe it is one of those rare air condition-induced colds. I honestly believe that going from 60 to 90 degrees and vice versa multiple times per day must have long-term adverse health effects.

I'M A MERLION! MER-LION!!

When a Brazilian athlete reaches some particular level of fame it becomes socially acceptable, if not required, for that athlete to drop a portion of his name and, henceforth, be referred to by a single moniker. Such athletes include Pele, Ronaldo, Nene, and P-Diddy. Well, Singapore is the Brazilian athlete of Southeast Asia. It was born into poverty, worked hard under the guidance of a hard-ass coach, went solo, and is now reaping the benefits in the form of high-speed escalators, 24-hour McDonald's, and giant Merlion statues in the harbour. Singapore; it is a tremendous story of beating the odds, really.

So now that I have officially been here a week and the jet-lag induced diatribes that filled my last entry have somewhat subsided, I believe I am ready to give a "so these are my feelings towards Singapore after a week" entry.

I like it. I do. Sure, it is a clean and a bit sterile, but those are just the malls. And yes, while it is physically impossible to go ANYWHERE without having to walk through at least one mall, having to do so is worth it, as the city that lies adjacent to the Body Shop, to the left of Sony store, and just past the Gap, is a flavorful, colorful, and fascinating one that rivals anywhere I have ever been.

The most notable aspect of Singapore, one that will rarely be debated by anyone who visits our little island, is the quality of food. Amazing. I have found myself stuffing my face full of dumplings, curry, fried rice, more dumplings, chili crab, ramen (the real kind), and dishes that I just point to and hope for the best. From fancy restaurants to hawker stands with picnic tables, there is something, something damn good, for everybody.


Neighborhoods. I have walked miles and miles this weekend. From Little India and the Arab Quarter, to Chinatown and the Central Business District, I hit them all, and I like them all as well. The cultural diversity of Singapore is incredible. It is a true crossroads, not only of business, but of culture as well.

One of my favorites was Little India. It is a little frenetic and smells of incense and curry, which is what attracted me in the first place. Another was Chinatown, which is a mix of being artistically and architecturally significant, and being corny. The first time I went, last week, I only saw the latter. Today I was introduced to the former, and loved it. I plan on being back there a lot this summer. Overall, I can't wait to get to know what the city as a whole has to offer.

The weather. It is hot and humid...and do you want to know something? I am ok with it. I really thought it was going to bother me more than it has. Will it get old? Yes. Will I welcome the weather in Berkeley when I return? More than anything. But until then, I am ok being gross and sweaty all the time. Weird, I know.


Activities. I went out on Friday night, on my own, looking for trouble. Well, trouble is hard to find in Singapore unless you are chewing gum or spitting. What I did find was Clarke Quay and some really nice people to chat with and have a beer. That was the start of my weekend.


I ended it by attending Bornfire, a fire spinning show that was part of the Singapore Arts Festival. Absolutely fascinating. And, as you can see by the pictures, bright and somewhat dangerous. Slowly but surely I am starting to get to know the city. I am excited that as the summer progresses I will me more people and attend more unique events. And, hopefully, find some trouble.

Finally, my job; it is why I am here, after all. One word: lucky. I don't know how I was able to land such a great opportunity. Essentially, on a high level, I am working to reorganize the way the human resource services are provided and managed for the entire Asia Pacific region. My charge for the summer is to create shared service centers so that the HR services that the company provides can be as efficient and effective as possible. What is great is that I am kind of running on my own here; basically I am acting like a consultant. My boss, who is an absolutely wonderful Irishwoman, gave me a short intro on Monday and now I am off and running. Am I scared? Kind of. Am I a little lost? Yes. Am I excited? Very. There is a lot to say about my job and the opportunity, but I will probably have plenty of time to detail the happenings as my summer progresses.


So what's next? Things. I am going to spend next weekend in Hong Kong. For you Deloitters out there, think way back. Waaaayyyyy back. Now, think plaid. Are you there? Are you thinking of Janke? Yep, Janke, D-Nice (who is in Beijing), and myself are all meeting in Hong Kong as a sort of Deloitte reunion, HK style. Some of you out there, and you know who you are, should turn your cell phones off for the weekend. Then it looks like I will be heading to Seoul, Korea, for work the week after. Depending on how work goes, and what type of travel budget my boss thinks I should have, I could be visiting a lot of places for work this summer. We'll see.

Oh, and for you Berkeleyans, six words: Aneesh arrives tomorrow for the summer. Yep. Singapore will never be the same.

Alright. Many of you are just waking up to start your Sunday. I just yawned and am about to prepare myself for bed so that I can be fresh for my Monday. With that said, I hope everyone is doing well. Shoot me an e-mail or call me (I have a cell phone now: +65 97580967), as I would love to talk to each of you and share more of Singapore with you. Until next time...

Jetlag-Induced Ramblings

These are just ramblings. They were compiled during the haze of what has been my past few days. Some where recorded during the flight from San Francisco to Singapore, while others were written at five in the morning when I was wide awake because my body has yet to adapt to the fifteen hour time difference between California and Singapore. Anyhow, I have only changed them a little, as I think they are kind of funny now that I am somewhat coherent. I will be sure to write a real update tomorrow...or sometime. It will include a real impression of Singapore, and some information about my project, which is a really wonderful opportunity that I am excited to share with everyone.


I. The Flight to Singapore

I am currently over the north Pacific hurtling at 34,000 feet in a glorified pop can towards Tokyo. We just passed the international dateline, which, in a way, still baffles me. About 75% of the occupants here in coach are high school students in some student ambassador group. They are probably going overseas to be exposed to new cultures, do community service, and get drunk for the first time...or at least for the first time legally.

At first I was worried that I was going to be stuck sitting next to one of them. I imagined annoying high school conversations entailing fifteen kids hovering near my seat while discussing what it is going to be like away from one’s parents, who on the trip is going to hook up, and who has cooties. However, I am actually sitting next to the equivalent of two high schoolers in the form of a single person. This apparently explains why I am only entitled to 78% of my seat. This rarely happens to me on short domestic flights, but always happens when the length of the flight exceeds 8 hours. Therefore, in retrospect I was wrong about sitting next to a high schooler. Since the average high school guy is about six foot, 105 pounds, I probably would have had room to spare instead of playing footsie with an overweight middle-aged man for the 11 hour flight to Tokyo.

Roeper from the show "Ebert and Roeper" now does a mini “review” prior to each movie shown on United. It is actually a pretty cool idea. The best part is that he tries as hard as he can to justify why I should spend the next two hours of my life watching the Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, John Travolta epic, “Wild Hogs”. Instead of saying something about how it appeals to the adventurous spirit of middle-aged men he should just say, “You are on an eleven hour flight. What the hell else are you going to do right now?”

II. Singapore and My Apartment

I live in a shopping mall. The first six floors of my building is the mall called the Far East Plaza. I walk by three shopping malls to catch the subway, which is in a shopping mall. I transfer trains in a shopping mall. The subway lets me off at work, which is located in a shopping mall. After work I went to the grocery store for some essentials. It was in the basement of a shopping mall. I then grabbed some green curry…in a shopping mall. Freaking Singapore. On the bright side, I like that I can buy cheap electronics or have suits made if needed.


My apartment is great. It is a two bedroom on the twenty-third floor of the building. The kitchen is simple, which works since I don’t cook. The living room has floor to ceiling windows providing a view of my balcony, and beyond that, the skyline of southwest Singapore. It’s a pretty badass view, I must say.

I left my neighborhood, Orchard Road, or as Lonely Planet puts it, a blitzkrieg of shopping, yesterday to explore a bit. I went to the entertainment area of Clarke Quay and then found my way to Chinatown. I am not sure why Singapore needs a Chinatown since a majority of the people here are of Chinese descent. It is akin to having a Chinatown in Beijing. Or a Little America in Cheyenne…which exists. Ok, never mind, it makes sense.

I found a good radio station: Singapore’s 91.3, 100% Pure Fun. It plays good mix between music I currently love and music I loved when I was fourteen. Playing right now: Now That We Found Love What Are We Going to Do With It? By Heavy D & The Boyz. Which, by the way, is a good question.

The humidity is going to kill me. While I can say that my time exploring the town was meant to get my bearings, it would be a lie. More or less I was on an island-wide search for air conditioning.

Singaporean English, or Singlish, is ridiculous. Apparently they speak English here in Singapore. I haven’t heard it yet. I have heard Hindi, Malay, Chinese, and a language that sounds kind of like English, but whose word order is mixed up and lacks pronouns. However, I do like the fact that everything is written in four languages. Singapore definitely lives up to its multi-cultural billing.

I just had the greatest toast of my life. On the surface it was just bread, butter, and some sort of jam…but it was amazing. I have no idea what they put on it, but I suspect it was crack.

An Epilogue...and a Prologue

I am where I started: sitting on my uncomfortable wooden IKEA chair at my functional IKEA desk, acting pensive and thoughtful, and typing about my travels. As promised (ok, not promised, more like proposed) here is my one-third-trip epilogue-prologue. Essentially, I will give a few final thoughts on my trip to South America and will lay out a few hopes and aspirations for my forthcoming trip to Singapore.


I was worried about heading to South America. My concerns weren't constructed in the traditional sense. I wasn't worried about safety, logistics, health, and the like. Rather, I was worried about how we were going to construct our research project, who we were going to talk to in order to obtain sufficient information within that construct, and whether or not we as a team were even going to be able to stand each other after three weeks. Oh, and I was worried about whether or not I was going to survive Luke's snoring. But it was all for not. I am happy with the work we did; my expectations were exceeded. Moreover, I loved the people I traveled with. From the five Israelis in Bolivia, to Luke and Niels, and everyone in-between, I am happy I was able to experience South America with these people. Oh, and the snoring? iPods are amazing snore-neutralizers.


Now I am trading the muddy roads of Peruvian villages for the spit-shined ones of Singapore. Moto-taxis will be traded for the subway, civiche will be traded for curry, and $2 beers will be traded for those that cost $12. Overall, it is going to be a significant change...obviously. However, I think this is mainly due to the fact that I have never really lived in a shopping mall before.


Anyhow, there is so much I look forward to in Singapore: the mixture of cultures, the proximity of exciting destinations, and the 60%-off sales that are perpetually occurring at any one of the 75,247 malls located on the island. I am also looking forward to a paycheck. While cubicle life isn't entirely inviting, being able to buy items with money that is not subject to 7% compounding interest will be nice.

So there you have it. Pretty skimpy on the hopes and aspirations, but I can imagine that several will come to me during the 18 hour flight to Singapore. In fact, I bet they will include aspiring to find a way off of the plane, and hoping that I won't be stuck in the "United coach-seat" position for the rest of my life.


Finally...the pictures. I took over 600 of them. I have posted a few here, but I plan to post my favorite ones a photo sharing site for all to see. Some are good. Some are bad. Some are frameable. I will post the link once I have posted them.

Alright...for those of you I saw in California: Thanks. It was nice to have a little "home" for a couple of days. For the rest of you: I will see you soon. Until then, keep in touch. Skype me (paulderemer), e-mail me, or call me (will give a number once I have a phone).

Goodbye Campo...Hello Hot Shower

Pardos Chicken is a chain of mid-scale carnivore-pleasing food establishments here in Peru. There can order a wide variety of meaty treats, from steak and sausages to all sizes of roasted chickens. Additionally, which may not seem obvious at first, if one is lucky enough and in the port city of Chiclayo at the right time, one can hang out with the contestants of the Miss Peru 2007 competition as they have a meal prior to the big show. This is a good thing, as fresh from several days without showering and after traveling for nearly twenty-four hours, this was exactly what Luke and I were looking for when we decided to kill some time as we waited for our unnecessarily-delayed flight to leave for Lima. Did we do anything to take advantage of our situation? Of course not. Who are we to a bunch of sash-wearing beauty queens? That and the fact we smelled like rural Peru somewhat precluded us from talking to the contestants. However, our disheveled state did not prevent us from realizing, once again, that the serendipitous nature of our trip had provided us with yet another entertaining moment to share.

So here we are in Lima; back in the big town. The positives of being back in Lima include an abundance of ceviche, a warm shower, and our dress coats.

So what has happened since I last blogged? Lots. When I last wrote I was recovering from a white-knuckle ride in the back of a Toyota truck. From there Luke, Niels, our newly acquired translator Alberto, and I prepared ourselves for the next part of our work: field surveys. Essentially, we designated this past week as our time to head back into the field, this time to administer a set of surveys that explored the use of electricity (for both the home and business), and, if electricity wasn't present, the expectations for the future use of electricity if installed. We identified a small village along the Rio Tabaconas, Tamborapa Pueblo, where we felt would be able to get responses that were relatively representative of similar villages in the area. Tamborapa Pueblo is a town with about 200 households that is electrified by means of a micro-hydro system that was installed in 1999. What made this town even more appealing was the fact that nearby there were an abundance of unelectrified households against which we could perform our contrasting survey.


Tamborapa Pueblo sits in the basin of the Rio Tabaconas river valley. It is a small village with muddy roads, simple structures, and a little restaurant called Anderson's, where we ate every meal everyday. There we stayed in a simple hospedaje owned by the daughter of an elderly couple that had been living in the village for about sixty years. The four of us split up the city into blocks, and set out to interview every-other household about their electricity use.

I could go on and on about the magnitude of the experience, as never before did I ever picture myself sitting among rural Peruvians in their simple homes talking about their use of electricity. Oftentimes we only spoke of the handful of light bulbs that hung from the ceiling that allowed the occupants to work into the evening or for their children to study without needing to light a kerosene lamp. For me, not hailing from a development background, it was a giant step beyond my comfort zone. Entering another's home was difficult enough; however, transcending the social, economic, and language barriers as well was, for me, a very challenging, but equally fulfilling experience.

Top Five Experiences in Tamborapa Pueblo:
1.) Playing Frisbee with my teammates and a few kids from the town
2.) Teaching a large group of kids English words in the streets of the town.
3.) Interviewing a school teacher about his use of electricity. In exchange for this interview I provided an English lesson about the correct use of some of the most difficult aspects of our obtuse language. All of this while about 20 kids looked on laughing at the goofy gringo sitting around eating ice cream speaking (to them) a funny language.
4.) Sitting with farmers in their unelectrified homes and talking about what having an electricity would mean to them.
5.) Eating at Anderson's everyday, hosted by Anita and her young son: Anderson.
6.) A bonus - Having a coffee tasting session in which Luke took us through every aspect of of the coffee-cupping process: seperating the beans, roasting the beans, grinding the beans, brewing the beans, tasting it, and finally drinking the coffee. A caffeine addicts dream.


After leaving Niels in Jaen and spending about 28 hours traveling planes, trains, and automobiles-style from Tamborapa Pueblo back down the coast, we made it back to Lima. While in the big town we met with another set of contacts. We also resumed our culinary tour, visiting a couple of places that we enjoyed most during our first stay in the city. Add in an art show hosted by the Embassy, some cosmic bowling, and a significant amount of shopping, and that pretty much sums up our final few days in the Peruvian capital.

So I suppose I should say goodbye to Peru and South America. But I won't. I will definitely miss it and will probably write some sort of South American epilogue when I get back to Berkeley. However, I suppose it will also be a prologue, as I will be preparing to leave for Singapore immediately after I return to the States. Oh, and I will start sending out some of the 600+ pictures I took while down here.

Alright...I guess that is it. I will see many of you back in Berkeley, and will talk to the rest of you as soon as I can. Chao!