Yesterday, while discussing with a bunch of peruvian friends about the problem of ensuring an employee doesn't run away after a 3 months training period (which just happened for the company I'm helping set up), I realized the possibility probably existed (because of the same lack of rules that prevents signing a contract with responsibilities on *both* sides) to offer a salary with a bonus at the end of the working period. Something like a basis of S/.1000 and a monthly bonus of S/.500 which is kept aside and only paid at the end of the employment term (6 months, one year, whatever), and not pay it if they leave before then.

This might be the only way to make people think before they leave.

Because come on... it's not fair to work in a nice job for 3 months, just time for you to know exactly how things work and become efficient, and then run away to another company which pays 10% more (and which doesn't have to train you).

A little 5.8 earthquake shaked Lima again today (and again, the epicenter was around Ica, poor guys). Surprisingly, I didn't feel it. At the time, I was out getting the keys to my new offices, but my employees were quite scared (very few of them ever felt an earthquake from a building's 6th floor) and told me about 10 minutes ago.

The USGS report can be found here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009cpa1.php

It's funny, it didn't happen for so long that I had almost forgotten about that permanent threat. When happening like this (above 4), the first is generally followed by a few repetition waves. Let's see what this week tells us about that.

Damn, and now we're moving to the 9th floor... More fun to come, I guess.

I'm a double uncle now. Joanne, my new little niece, was born today (far away from here) at 5h45am. Apparently everybody is well.

The "Huachiman"... how many times have I heard this expression now? No idea, but it still makes me smile every time. First, I thought it was some kind of savvy old man, but in fact it's only a localisation of the term "watch man". There are plenty of these guys in Miraflores, so you might hear the term frequently, yet you never quite catch why they don't simply call them "guardia" or something...

On my latest trip inside Peru, I went to San Vincente de Cañete (other article to come soon, hopefully), and got invited to eat cuy (guinea pig) in a cuy farm.

I took very explicit pictures of the cuy in my plate, so for the faint of heart I decided not to show it here (I'm trying to figure out the best way to show it to non-faint-of-heart only).

Anyway, a cuy farm is something like this (see me standing next to my next meal):

Apparently, in a matter of 12 weeks, there's a complete new cycle of cuys, so all of these 900 cuy actually are born and killed in 12 weeks time (and then it starts all over again).

The cuy has a taste of something between chicken and rabbit, but is quite difficult to eat (not much meat), which makes it an expensive meal for high-standing parties.

This year was my first New Year in Peru. Sadly I haven't been able to enjoy the opportunity so much as I was stuck home for health reasons.

Anyway, I got a few elements of the things local do to celebrate...

First of all, generic stuff: they go out, dance and drink. That's pretty much the same as any country I've been to until now. They also fire loads of fireworks, and these apparently cost *a lot* less than in Europe. Apparently they don't worry too much about the security side of that, so children can buy them and burn themselves to death without any problem (apparently that doesn't happen too much, or at least it doesn't make the news as it does in Europe).

The specific things are a little funnier though. I'm ordering them from less to best fun:

1. grapes in champagne: *most* people in Lima will drink champagne (or something similarly bubbly) with 12 grapefruits inside their glass. They eat each grapefruit one by one, making a wish for each one of them.
2. wearing yellow: on the first day of the year, wearing yellow brings luck. So apparently yellow underwear are under high demand by the end of the year. Wearing red apparently means you want hot sexy things to happen to you (haven't verified the information though, and it might be an exageration).
3. burn mf, burn!: they dress a kind of human-size puppet with suff they're not going to wear anymore, then they take it out on the street, throw some kerosene at it (that's what they call it, but it's probably any kind of highly volatile combustible) and... burn it. This is supposed to show that we throw the old stuff to make place for new stuff. When arguing that this could be given to charity instead, I get answered that charity doesn't want things with holes in it... pretty much as in Europe, but I would have thought people here weren't so picky about the things they receive, considering the difference between "poor" in Europe and "poor" in Peru.
4. running with a suitcase: some people, in some areas of Lima, consider running a whole "cuadra" (block) with a suitcase actually means they "travelled", so they do that on the first day of the year, then they don't need to travel anymore. Travelling is highly regarded from what I could gather, as it is proof of you having the financial resources to do it *and* the culture (afterwards) of the place you went to.

Yesterday I went to Comas again, by day this time, and didn't get attacked by "pandilleros" (gangs) like last time. The area actually looked quite good by day. It is very close to the first large hills leading to the Andes.

Just a little update on the visa procedure in Peru...

Starting somewhere at the end of 2008, turist visas will be granted for up to 183 days when entering the country. Considering this doesn't cost anything more than 30 days, you'd be better off asking for 183 days upfront.

Increasing your days allowance isn't possible anymore, so you don't need to go to the Minsterio de Relaciones Exteriores, av. España, to update your visa. You will be fined a US$1/day fee when leaving the country though, for the amount of days that you used in excess of your authorized stay.
So if you intend to stay in Peru for 10 days, but you have plans to possibly delay the return date, don't hesitate to ask for 183 days upfront, they won't molest you with that.
If you have a 30 days visa and enter on the 1st of January 2009, and intend to change your plans and stay up to the 20th of February, you will have to pay a US$21 fee. This is fined when you leave the country (usually tourists do this going through the airport). Together with the US$30.5 airport fee, this means you *have to take US$50.5 with you when leaving Perú (don't forget you'll also have to pay the taxi to get there). Make it US$75 to be on the safe side.

When filling your visa sheet in the plane (if you are coming by plane), don't fill the things you don't know (like the amount of money you intend to spend or the address you're going to stay at - apart from mentioning in which city and giving the name of an hotel). If they need you to fill these fields, they'll ask you at the customs desk, don't worry.

When getting to Peru by plane (and in 2008), you might have had to queue for up to 50 minutes to pass through the customs desk (I've had anything between 0 and 50 minutes queue in my 5-times entrance in Peru this year)., no matter  at what time you actually get there. Well, the beginning of US national holidays makes it slightly worst. Hopefully this waiting time will be drastically cut in 2009 with the introduction of a dozen new customs desk (they are there, almost ready, since the end of September 2008, but unused so far).

There are bathrooms before and after the customs queue, but you can't just leave the queue to pay them a visit, so plan ahead ;-)

Once you passed the customs desk, you can go get your luggage. You will (generally) be asked for your luggage ticket, which they should have stuck to your plane ticket at departure time.
Once you have your luggage, you have to pass through the SUNAT (VAT=IGV authority in Peru) to check your luggage. You have to provide them the second form you have received in the plane. There are people able to pre-check your form before you get to the end of the queue (and start pissing people off because you get denied because your form isn't complete).
Once you have given your form to the SUNAT officer, you will be asked to press a green button. The result is either a red or a green light being lit. Generally, you get green, but if you get red, you will be asked to go on the side and get your luggage checked by a SUNAT officer (they scan it and eventually ask you to open it if it's suspicious). The whole process generally takes no longer than 10 minutes (including the queue at its worst state *and* the luggage check).

Even if you get the green light at the SUNAT check, you might *still* be asked to follow an officer for a body-check (a big scan machine, no touching involved) and they will ask you to sign a paper and apply your thumb signature saying you accept to go through the scan (they are not particularly explicit on what happens if you don't accept).

Once you are *finally* out of the whole process since getting down the plane (the fastest I've been was 10 minutes for the whole thing), you get to the international arrivals exit, where a crowd of people awaits other people. If you didn't get a taxi booked to come and get you (some hotels offer the service for free), you have to choose your destiny:

1. ask an official taxi (I think the only official taxi company there at the time of writing is Taxi Green Aeropuerto), which show clearly the fee to get to any Lima district (for example 45 soles to Miraflores)

2. choose an independent taxi driver, which will charge you less (up to 25 soles to Miraflores), but as they say you don't have the security of getting a long-term company taking care of you, and sometimes you get into *very* crappy taxis that way

Although rather adventurous, I like to take the official taxi there, mostly because when I get down the plane from a 13h flight from Madrid, the last I want is to be discussing the price and watching the road to check the taxi driver is not taking me to a remote and unsecure location.

Welcome to Lima!

Again, there's been a lot of time since my latest post. A lot of things happened, again, but I'm not going to talk about all that now.

Today, I am particularly fed up about Peru and its legal+administrative system and I wanted to make a note about all that.

The background information about Peru, to make it short, is that it is a developing country, with a fast growth, but with a deep disrespect for authority and the law (which has been deteriorated by the way government handled it in the past, following people who gladly use that as an excuse to continue disrespecting these).

Last week, the Chamber of Commerce of Lima sent us (company managers) a reminder that today, tomorrow and Saturday would be forced holiday, because of the APEC, the meeting of international powers representatives in Lima, and to lower traffic issues (these measures were already taken for the latest event of this kind about 6 months ago).

The directive says this (in Spanish):

"Hoy sábado 15 de noviembre se ha publicado el D.S. Nº 074-2008-PCM, por el cual el Gobierno ratifica la vigencia de los D.D.S.S. 009-2008-PCM y 035-2008-TR, que declararon “días no laborables” en Lima y Callao, el jueves 20, viernes 21 y sábado 22 de noviembre de 2008, con motivo de la Cumbre APEC.

En consecuencia, reiteramos que las reglas básicas a tener en cuenta en los referidos días no laborables son:

ü                  Las empresas del sector privado que realizan actividades económicas de especial relevancia para la comunidad, están facultadas para continuar laborando aunque de modo restringido. Para la prestación de tales servicios indispensables, los empleadores deberán identificar los puestos de trabajo que deberá de mantenerse durante los días declarados no laborables. Se considera que las empresas prestan servicios indispensables a los servicios sanitarios y de salubridad, limpieza y saneamiento, electricidad y telecomunicaciones, transporte, puertos, aeropuertos y vigilancia. "

...and on it goes about the rules. Basically, it says that public *and* private are on forced holiday and that only people who have a job involving special services to the community or security, salubrity, cleaning, sanity, electricity indispensable.

And so I gave 2 days of holiday to all my employees, as requested by the government.
Happy to stay in bed a little longer (the last weeks have been exhausting and most of my week-ends are filled with professional activity as well) I am, however, woken up by the vibrating sound of a construction tool in the building in construction in front of mine. "Damnit", am I thinking to myself, again, they just can't respect the directives. I take my phone and start calling...
- the police station -> "Sir, this is a restaurant" (yeah, these things happen)
- the police station -> "Sir, we don't manage noise nuisance, you need to call the municipality"
- the municipality -> "Sir, the directive is only for the public sector" -> I say "No, I have the directive in front of me, it says public *and* private" -> "Wait a minute please"
- the municipality (second guy) -> "Sir, it is to the liberty of the company manager to decide whether this is holiday or not" -> "No, I have it written here, it says public and private sector, and only exceptions are for emergency cases and attendance to public" -> "Sir, it is to the liberty of the company manager to decide whether this is holiday or not" -> "... ... yah... nevermind, bye"

And that's how it goes... I've been told it goes quite differently if the chief officer is your cousin or even a far-fetched family member or friend.

Anyway, in the article from the Chamber of Commerce of Lima, there were also phone numbers for enquiries to the Ministry responsible of the directive. Guess what... they're on holiday... (there's like 8 numbers, 3 of them are under maintenance, 5 of them don't answer).

Viva Perú, as they say!

My plans of living in Peru have been slightly changed. Once again, for business reasons, I will stay here at least until April 2009, making it a 2-years long "living in Peru" experience. I don't have much to say about that decision, except that it appears for me to be the best thing to do right now to strengthen what I've built here so far before I leave it in the hands of someone I am still to find...

As Chikako reminded me not too long ago, I need to practice Japanese in order not to loose it. Obviously, I'm already starting to loose it (I was trying to think of how one write an "o" in hiragana and didn't remember it, a week ago - that goes without even mentioning the kanji).

However, I'm starting to view it differently. This far, I have strongly improved my English by living in England, then my Spanish by living in Peru. I'm sure getting back to Belgium (or any other country which I already know the language of), I would get time to seriously get working on Japanese and, before all, find a patient mate I can write to and speak to frequently to get to learn it quicker. I've run through my friends, mentally, and I only know of Chikako as a natural Japanese-speaker. If she isn't able to help me when the time comes, I'm sure I can find a friend of a friend who is...

Anyway, there's not much point right now in me improving my Japanese if I'm not going to use it, and I'm definitely short on time right now (for business reasons). So, everything comes in time...