This is an excerpt from my travel blog, Walking with Inkas, and was originally written on May 25, 2006.
. . . continued from Pearl #14
On Wednesday evening, I
got to go to my first reception, at none other than the DCM's house. It's as
luxurious as the Ambassador's house, although less museum-like and more homey.
I could definitely enjoy the perks of either of those jobs. I'd especially
enjoy the personal drivers. As I tell people here, my driving in the States
isn't that great. No way do I want to drive in a foreign country!
Anyway, this reception was in honor of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for WHA Charles Shapiro, who was briefly visiting Lima. Sounds fancy, no? It is. Based on what I can tell, he's pretty much second in line to Condaleeza Rice (fondly referred to in the intern house as "Condee"). Okay, no, he isn't, I lied. But from this link, you can see that he's one of the high branches on a very confusing tree of officials. I'm still new to this government hierarchy thing, you'll have to forgive me. In any case, I got to sit next to the guy, and he spoke to me directly on several occasions. I even got a huge laugh from the crowd when he turned to me and said "Isn't that right?" with such gusto that I replied with equal enthusiasm "Oh yeah!" before realizing that I wasn't quite sure what I had just agreed to. But it seemed safe to say that he wasn't playing one of those childish pranks where you ask a person to "just say yes" only to lock them into an unsavory, and potentially compromising, positions. He was too nice to pick on me like that. I continued enjoying my Pisco Sour.
Now, as this was my first
Pisco Sour, I must give due acknowledgement to this famous beverage of Peru. Pisco, a
type of grape-based brandy, is famous for its unusual flavor, and is used in
several varieties of drink. The most famous of these is Pisco Sour, which
somehow involves whipped egg whites to create a frustratingly elusive white
foam on top. No matter how hard you try to get a good impression of the foam,
it dissolves before you can dissect the nuances of its flavor. When your lips
touch the citrus-yellow base of the drink, however, they're received by such a
potent zing of taste that they suddenly recoil and are hesitant to return!
Basically what I'm saying
is that Pisco Sour is a strong drink! As I've been made fun of for saying this
out loud among my fellow Pisco Sour drinkers, I must admit that one glass of
the stuff does not constitute an adequate sample size. In fact, my college
education taught me that I should ideally consume no less than 29 more Pisco
Sours before asserting that it is indeed strong. Only with 30 samples can I
have statistically conclusive results. I'd say the odds are in my favor,
though, as it took me over an hour to finish one Pisco Sour, which was only
slightly bigger than two shot glasses worth of beverage (including the foam).
The wine I had afterward took me less than 20 minutes, and I was eating at the
time. I'll stick to my guns. That drink was fuerte (strong)!
The rest of my week was
relatively uneventful. I began learning Access and attended a CLO (Community
Liasion Office)-sponsored Happy Hour, where I tried my first Cusqueña beer,
which I prefer to the Pisco Sour. This was a good opportunity to get to know
some of the other Embassy personnel a little better, and dinner was delicious!
On Saturday, Jared and I took advantage of a CLO-sponsored bike tour in
Miraflores, which was my first excursion to a different part of Lima. It's beautiful!
Miraflores is one of the richest neighborhoods, situated right on the coast and
home to much of the Lima
nightlife. It's also one of the key places that the Embassy houses its
long-term personnel. Their apartments are magnificent! I might have to take the
Foreign Service Officer exam come spring and become a full-time government
girl. We shall see.
continued in Pearl #17 . . .
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