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Special Update from the Field: Beaches, Safaris + Cambodian Glamour Shots
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 1 April 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa Kiva Fellows are nothing if not creative. We’ve gone to elaborate lengths to convince you that it can be hard to visit borrowers and that when we’re not trekking for miles, we’re doing elaborate calculations or dealing with databases and reporting. In truth, it’s all a front for an extended holiday from our regular lives. You thought our recent Carnival coverage represented a change of pace? Think again!
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What was your last business trip like?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 30 March 2011
By Noreen Giga, KF 14, Peru Mine entailed traveling around Central Peru for a week and a half. Part of a fellow’s duty is to complete a Borrower Verification. Kiva selects a random sample of ten clients that represents an organization’s portfolio and sends it to us fellows. We, in turn, visit each and every client on the list to verify that they are who they say they are, that they indeed received a loan for the amount posted on Kiva’s website, and to talk to them about their business and loan use.
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Sweet And Delicious Picarones
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 30 March 2011
PicaronesOne of our family’s Cusco traditions is to go out for picarones, which are deep-fried, donut-shaped treats with molasses drizzled over them. Though not the healthiest snack in the world, they are delicious.
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Entrance fees to the 7 Wonders of the World: how much is too much?
Blog: 501 Places - 30 March 2011
Have you ever stood outside a world famous monument or historic site and questioned whether you can justify spending the money on the entrance ticket? The chances are that you’ve only thought about it briefly before accepting your lot and paying up for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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A Night At The Cockfights
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 26 March 2011
Squaring Off at the Cusco CockfightsFor our first seven weeks in Peru, my daughter and I lived with the Chavez family in the Santa Monica suburb of Cusco.
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River Rafting The Chuquicahuna
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 22 March 2011
Running the "Chuqui"Our shuttle picked us on Cusco’s Plaza de Armas and we rolled out of town and headed for a point on the Chuquicahuna River, also known as the “Chuqui,” about an ho
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Update from the Field: Fun Facts, Field Visits + Back to Basics
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 21 March 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa For many Fellows, this week was about getting back to basics: the borrowers. In between fun facts about Kiva Fellowships, doing database detective work, and reflecting on the internal dynamics of Kiva's partner microfinance institutions, Fellows found themselves in the field again and again, much to their delight and often to the delight of borrowers.
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Bits and Pieces
Blog: A Wayward Journey - 17 March 2011
Just a few little things to post here, so I’ll make a bizarre post with all of them! The first is that we’re almost there! ALMOST THERE!!! At this point, we are planning to arriving into Ushuaia MONDAY AFTERNOON! If you have any contacts with the local press, please inform them that we’ll be reaching the [...]
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Cusco Characters: Senora Melvyn
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 17 March 2011
Melvyn Douglas: 1940's Hollywood Leading ManApproximately 60 years ago, a Peruvian couple was anxiously awaiting the birth of their child and in the days leading up to the delivery, they had yet to
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Peruvian Fusion: Salsa Dancing
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 13 March 2011
One of the things that many foreign visitors to Cusco try is Salsa dancing. There seems to be dozens of Salsa Dance schools and clubs (Mythology, Mama Africa, Kamikase, Roots, etc) clustered around the Plaza de Armas.
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Highlights of 1 Year in South America
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 11 March 2011
Last Tuesday we celebrated one year of travelling (and 10 days before that our blogoversary), all but four days of which were spent in South America. It’s an important milestone for us, as when we left the UK we had saved a years worth of travel funds to give us the chance to make Simon’s [...]
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When the rains stop… Cusco in Festivals, 2011.
Blog: The Brink of Something Else - 11 March 2011
The rainy season will finally come to an end in a few weeks, Cusco will once again be blessed with too-blue skies and clear mountain air, and all of a sudden every time I turn around there will be a raging Andean fiesta going on. Peruvians, like all latinos, love their festivals. Most tend to [...]
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“No Pasa Nada”
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 10 March 2011
By Noreen Giga, KF 14, Peru I first heard this phrase while studying abroad in Spain my junior year of college. My friends and I said “no pasa nada” every other sentence when we realized there was really no limit as to when this phrase could be used. Walk in on someone in the bathroom? “No pasa nada” would be the response. Bedridden with a cold? “No pasa nada.” Walk in late to class because you overslept?
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Permaculture and Archeology: Volunteer in the Sacred Valley
Blog: The Brink of Something Else - 8 March 2011
Sunday being my new #techdetox day, I’ve been trying to use them to get out of Cusco and into the fresh air and all-around wholesomeness of the Sacred Valley (attendees of Ollantaytambo’s one and only disco may want to quibble on both of those descriptors). Last Saturday night I arrived in Ollanta just in time [...]
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Update from the Field: Man’s Day, Singing Fellows + Learning How to Count
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 7 March 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa The Fellows will be covering International Women's Day later this week but let's take a moment to acknowledge its lesser-known cousin in Kyrgyzstan, "Man's Day".
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Inca Kola: Liquid Bubblegum
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 7 March 2011
I remember trying Inca Kola when I visited Peru 25 years ago and being unimpressed with the sweet yellow, carbonated cola that is the Peruvian national drink. It has an unusually sweet, fruity flavor that is often compared to bubblegum.
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Movie Review: Contracorriente (Undertow)
Blog: The Brink of Something Else - 5 March 2011
Like the last film I reviewed, El Perro del Hortelano, Contracorriente’s cameras are in love with water – in this case the endless, mysterious, occasionally dangerous depths of the Pacific Ocean lying along Peru’s coast. With its magical realism, unaffected and powerful performances and the continuous sound of waves or touches of the colour blue, [...]
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Juanita The Ice Princess of Arequipa
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 3 March 2011
JuanitaOn our first day in Arequipa we had two goals: see Juanita, the 12-year old Inca ice princess recently found near a glacier and find a toasted bagel with cream cheese for our 12-year old d
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What does Lima look like?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 1 March 2011
I found myself asking that very question shortly after I started working with Microfinanzas Prisma. I arrived in Lima, Peru the end of January for my three month Kiva Fellowship and headed to my hostel in San Isidro, the financial district of Lima. I spent the few days before my fellowship touring the city. I [...]
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Update from the Field: Videos, Epic Commutes + Going Beyond Microfinance
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 28 February 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa Another week, another incredible range of dispatches from around the world.
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Finding A Swim Team In Cusco
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 27 February 2011
I’d love to take full credit for getting our kids onto the Cusco Swim Team but the truth is I subcontracted most of the job to company in Mountain View, California. Yes, I’m talking about Google.
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Why There Are No Movie Theaters In Cusco
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 22 February 2011
Cusco does not have a single movie theater and for a city of 320,000 people that is downright strange. Perhaps the reason can be found in a makeshift jumble of market stalls on the outskirts of Cusco; a "black market" called El Molino.
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The Evolution Of A Volunteer Decision
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 15 February 2011
Spinning alpaca yarn at Centro de Textiles Traditionales de CuscoThe decision to spend 6-8 months volunteering in South America was easy; deciding where and how to do it was more difficult.
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Milagro, Trujillo: No Miracles Here…
Blog: The Brink of Something Else - 12 February 2011
Milagro, Trujillo, Peru. In what I hope was not a deliberate act of irony, the barrio’s name means miracle. It’s hot and dusty and dry, and I’m reminded of my first trip outside of Lima, to discover to my surprise that much of Peru’s coastal region was featureless sandy desert. I’m with Leander, Helen and [...]
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Shooting Hoops At Two Miles High
Blog: AlpacaSuitcase - 12 February 2011
My son and daughter were breathing hard. I was breathing harder. Three-on-three pickup basketball is a good workout but if you are not used to playing at 11,000 feet, your lungs can feel like they are on fire. (more on Sunday morning pickup basketball here) The three of us were playing against three cusqueño men in their early 20’s and we led for the first 10 minutes but then the altitude started getting to us.
