Not too much big news, but lots of little stories and side notes to share. So. Patrick is a 40 year old from New Caledonia. Yes, New Caledonia. Ten bucks says you have never heard of it and you're pulling up google maps to see where it is. Go ahead. I'll wait. So as you can see, it's a French island not too far from the coast of Australia. Patrick frequents The Point in Lima as he is a business developer and is building work for himself in South America and stays there as opposed to hotels. The staff all know him and enjoy his company. It's funny- Patrick's French accent is so thick that I can understand his Spanish better than his English when he talks to me. I said farewell to Patrick when I left Lima because I knew I wouldn't be seeing him before my flight back to D.C. (which is in 6 weeks by the way...). Welp I was sitting in the terrace 3 nights ago when someone came up behind me and asked me what I was doing at The Point in Arequipa. It was Patrick! What a sight for sore eyes! Seeing a familiar face of someone I had spent nearly 5 months hanging out with off and on was such a treat! Patrick showed up with Nicolas and Laurent, also from New Caledonia but their English was near perfect as opposed to Patrick's. The next day the guys checked out and decided to go to a hotel for 15 Soles more per night for private rooms each. I suppose the men in their 40s decided they wanted a bit more privacy even though the hostel isn't very occupied right now. On another note, another man in his early 40s has been staying at the hostel for almost a week while his car is getting fixed. Andy (his birth name is Anass- I kid you not, I saw his passport) from Morocco has lived in Dupont, Washington D.C. for 20 years, worked as a software Engineer for 10 saving up to take 2 years off to tour the U.S., Central America, and South America. Andy bought a Honda Element and 5 professional cameras for this trip and he's 1.5 years in. Andy is a fascinatingly brilliant man who happens to only talk about himself, but for the most part, I enjoy listening. I had asked Andy to help me with a favor getting my digital camera fixed. Last week I walked by a repair shop with a man fixing a camera and decided to ask how much he would charge to clean my lens. When Jason and I went Sandboarding back in January, I got some of the ultra-fine sand stuck in the lens and you could even hear the scratching of the sand against the metal when I turned my camera on or zoomed in on something- not pleasant. Welp when I first inquired about a price, I was told he would charge 100 Soles for the size and brand of my camera which is about $37. It's funny- back in the states I would have considered damage like this irreversible and settled on buying a new camera so in retrospect, $37 to repair my $200 ish digital camera was not unreasonable- if I lived in the states. Ultimately, I knew this guy was trying to charge me a gringa tax and that a Peruvian who brought in the same camera would pay at least 20 Soles less. I disappointedly told him that was too expensive and that I didn't want to pay more than 60 Soles. I let him know I was going to walk around and get some more price quotes, returning in a day or 2. After discussing with Andy his camera repair prices in South America, I was more and more convinced that I was being ripped off. He told me that I shouldn't pay more than 70-80 Soles. I decided to ask the 21 year old Peruvian Hostel Manager, Chris to come with me to drop off the camera. We had planned that I would wait outside because the shop owner had already given me a price quote. When Chris and Andy (who also tagged along) came out of the store where I had initially gotten an estimate of 100 Soles, they asked me if I would be willing to pay 95. Luckily they were joking and let me know that Chris got the guy to do it for 50 Soles! Wow. This guy was willing to accept 50 Soles, meaning he gave me a 100% markup. Just goes to show a) how inexpensive things are in South America b) gringa tax is a real thing c) ALWAYS bargain. I gave Chris a kiss on the cheek, graciously thanking him and bought the boys each an empanada. I also dragged them around town because I sort of forgot where exactly the store was and only remembered the general vicinity and it was hot outside. I was grateful! Andy came with me later that evening to pick it up and sure thing- only 50 Soles. I now have a fully functioning camera- yay!
I still have that icky cold and haven't wanted to bring it around the kids at the school where I had decided to volunteer so I still haven't started! Hopefully i'll be ready to go on Monday.
