biblio¨lame¨a

Ok let me explain...

Been doing a bit of work on a report for use with the microfinance project so my colleague, Marta, and I figured what better place to do research and gather sources than at the national library (biblioteca) of Peru. Talk about culture shock.

This place is nothing like what I grew up on back in the States and or what I knew from VT. First of all before we even enter the library we have to state our purpose to guards stationed out front. Then we proceed to a security check-in where we have to give the serial numbers of our computers, among other information. Now we finally enter the library building and must BUY a pass to do anything. 8 soles later we head up to the study room. Both of us wearing backbacks, we have to take out the materials we are using and lock our bags in a locker. Now, realizing we both had computer, the library attendant kindly reminded us we have to pay for the use of energy. Seriously? This meant walking back downstairs, getting a form written, then walking to the cashier, paying, and finally bringing your receipt back to the library attendant. Ok, now all that was done. It was time to immerse myself in some books, the real reason I came.

Unfortunately, that would be impossible. After walking in I first realized there were no books anywhere...maybe in another room I thought. I was right, however this room is inaccessable to the public. One must know the book he/she is looking for or find it in an electronic card catalog then request the library attendant to go retrieve it. This was really frustrating because I love so much the freedom back home to browse aimlessly among the shelves or have that one book you´re looking for and navigate your way through the dewey decimal system to locate it. These are simple satisfactions, but things you´re just unable to do here.

The past week I´ve been eating a lot of sandwhiches. I LOVE crafting the perfect sandwhich. There´s nothing like it. It´s definitely an art and I admire anyone who has those skills to create something so delicious. As the materials I typically use back home seem to be unavailable here, I´ve been seeing what the street restaurants have to offer, and let me tell you, there are some artists here. My most savory experience to date would be that at a small corner shop called ¨Club Sandwhich¨close to my house. I ordered the shreaded chicken topped with cheese, lettuce, bacon, chips, and aji (a spicy mayonaise type sauce). And they even toast the bun on the grill. One bite had me head-over-heals for this place. An explosion of taste in my mouth. These things make me happy...and I think Club Sandwhich and I are going to have a long, fruitful relationship.

Until next time...