La Vida Limeña

On my trip to the Galapagos, I met a few very special people who helped me to look at life from a new perspective.  The unique thing about these encounters is it's all we have, and if we close ourselves to the present moment, even just for a few seconds, these experiences are gone forever.  But it's important that we don't hold on to these people or experiences.  Just as quickly as they open up a new part of ourselves, new energy fills our bodies and makes us feel a little lighter.  All we have to do is relax, breath, and soak up the present moment. On my birthday, my family and I ran into an old family friend named Berenice Norris.    Though I love meeting new people, when I am feeling introverted like I was in that moment, I can be a little distant. But immediately, she refreshed me and it was like I had taken an hour nap.  Her energy was so warm and inspiring that I fell in love with her vibrations and realized I want to get to kno...

Pasión.  A language deeply engrained in my Peruvian culture that it feels as natural as my first breathes on a lazy Sunday morning.  Where I have experienced Pasión is in local exchanges at farmers' markets.  The bustling outdoor markets of both locals and foreigners haggling about prices, asking "cuanto por kilo?," a measure which I am only recently learning how to quantify. When I first started going to the farmer`s markets with Emilio, my primo, after my first week in Lima, I didn`t know the names of common veggies.  Recently, I`ve started haggling, but always end up buying the produce. It`s hard to resist as the sellers passionately convince you to buy the "papas," even though they`re their last ones and would quickly be left to rot in the states. I`ve also experienced deep passion in the dozens of "cevicherias" I visit frequently.  My favorite dish is currently the asian "tiradito de atún", a popular dish which is amazing at L...