El Bien Comun, or, Institute for Common Good, is a NGO (non-governmental organization) in Lima focused on protecting common resources in Peru such as water, soil, etc. The Director is Richard Smith - a white guy from the Springfield area in the US who came to Peru as a Peace Corps volunteer and never left. He talked with us in particular about helping the Indigenous populations secure land rights. They are funded by various foundations and the Spanish governmen...

For lunch on Tuesday we went to a restaurant called "La Bistecca". It's another very nice restaurant where only the affluent eat. It's buffet and made to order style, so it was a great way for us to try things we wouldn't get a chance to try otherwise. It costs $25/person. They had Fondue (fundo!) and served ice cream made out of their traditional pink fruit. Donato - our host - said he and his friends come about once a week and eat from noon to 6pm with short ...

Monday was marked as our day to learn about the Mestizo community. Tuesday was marked as our day to learn about the Indigenous community. Woke up Tuesday morning to hear there was an earthquake Monday night around 1am. I was awake, but didn't feel it. Our opening thought was centered around the concept of "Ubuntu" - the essence of humanity. "The best of you is the best of me, the worst of you is the worst of me." 45% of the Peru population is indigenous. W...

Dinner Monday night was our third big exposure to Peruvian food. We were exhausted after a really long day at the Y and in the slums. The bus ride to dinner took about 1.5 hours. Eating dinner around 7:30pm is customary. Lots of people fell asleep on the bus on the way there, and of course we took incriminating photos. We went to a very nice restaurant (our hosts did their best to impress us) and started out with an appetizer that I'd never seen before. It's ca...

Our first visit was to the Peru YMCA in Lima. They have a beautiful facility that puts US Ys to shame. They offer so many services with such minimal resources. Just like in the US, there is an Association office and then different branches for different service areas, although they don't call them that here. We first got a tour of the Y from the gentleman who runs this branch. Among many of the cool features, this Y has a pool. I noticed the men in the pool we...