"Saudades" of rain

A friend of mine sent me an email a couple of days ago which took me back to the beautiful times we spent in Brazil. He said "The other day it was raining a lot, and I pictured you … next to the window looking at how the sky was falling down and the rivers were running through the streets"

Given that in Lima (where I come from) it hardly rains, and when it does it is almost unnoticeable, I used to be / still am so amazed by the rain and the strength of the storms. I remember Johi asking me if I ever used the window cleaners of a car, or if I ever handled an umbrella… which I never did till then.

Rain here is different. I don’t see rivers, but I see lakes. The sky turns grey instead of spark with lights.

Enjoying the moment

Over the last month, my life seems to have gone on a rollercoaster which keeps in high speed.
I love being busy, and I am currently enjoying what I am doing. I started my job on employer branding at this well-known financial institution in London and for the ones that know me well, this is the mix I was looking for, and the experience is quite rich from all perspectives.

On another note, the wedding is closer and closer. We are very excited to see how it will be like and try to spread the excitement about it. I never imagined you need to plan so much in advance and that weddings nowadays are such a big business (at least in US, UK and Peru). Believe me, its handy!

I am looking forward to show my dearest friends my country and of course the unique moment of the celebration... its true that along my path in AIESEC, i have met people who became quite important in the different stages of my personal life, and I want to see them there!
The website: http://www.veroandjoost.com/

Easy peasy!

Memoirs of a special time

I always wanted to share with my parents my life abroad. Pictures and videos can always help, but experimenting my same feeling is different. I used to close my eyes to enjoy the street music in Amsterdam and call my mother so she could hear. I used to remember every detail to to recreate them with a clear description.

My parents were used to travel quite a lot in Latin America when we were young but Europe represents more than a touristic attraction to them, it's a piece of who I am now.

Trying to go to Peru at the Harry Potter Style

After London, we went to The Netherlands where everything was covered by snow. We were warmly received in Eindhoven by Joost's family who ensure we had wonderful days. We met with my sisters who arrived directly to The Netherlands, and with some friends, we were everywhere, or better said:

Amsterdam, Rotterdam (where I lived for more than a year), Den Haag, and Maastricht

We spent wonderful Xmas like at home.

My sisters and me

Once back in the UK, my dad learnt that as typical British you should drink a lot of tea but also a lot Guinness

Latest news

Lots of things happening lately, which make me feel London already as home :)

Joost and I through a triple celebration party for our November birthdays and our recent engagement. Toasts, speeches, drinks, dancing, Latin dancing, and even AIESEC dancing... good friends which made the night memorable!

Sightseeing in England; visiting the tremendous and luxurious Windsor Casttle led by a local (yee!), a friend called Oli and Coysi
Salsa classes thanks to the thoughtful invitation of Taco. Even though, as latin you might believe you know the moves, it all makes sense putting it together with the story of the twists. And it ends up to be very useful, fun, sexy and even romantic.

Finnally, we got a tree ;)

Soon, the Moon family coming to Uk and The Netherlands for Christmas!! Cant wait for them to be here!

Peruvian presidency
I found this video "The Royal tour" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNi_m3RP-Fk&mode=related&search=) the other day and it made me remember the Toledo’s years in the country.The presidency of Toledo in Peru could have been a success, and I actually believe it was from the economical and democratic point of view. (Most stable economy in Latin America by the Economist, and a massive social restoration after years of corruption,etc.)
The first president of native origins was elected by a majority of the population who felt identified and hopeful by someone who grew from humble origins (cleaning shoes on the street) and managed to go to Stamford, and develop an impressive career (taught in Harvard, worked for the UN, etc) Quite a big unsaid promise for so many people that hardly have the possibility of school! Keeping in consideration that its always spoken about the fact the poor people dont have a say in the country, i believe that was their waited opportunity.

Then, there’s a reason why education is so important in a country as Peru. The government of Toledo became the worst in terms of popularity. All those masses that sometime supported him became the opposition without any background reason they would even deeply understand. That’s how majorities without education are vulnerable to media. These were mainly handled by the few minority of the country where politics, skepticism (natural after the corruption from the previous period), criticism (the guy wasn’t a good speaker), resemblances of the discovery of corruption involving media companies, and an unspoken sense of discrimination (I think this last point deserve another conversation on cultural identity), led the content.
I remember taxi drivers conversations; the main source to gather people’s opinion. Some of the comments were:
- “If the president isn’t able to recognize heir illegitimate daughter, he is not capable to lead the country”-“ The country cannot be worse. The president is spending the money of the country on their personal duties”
“There is no work”

At the end, I am not sure how many people remember what the guy did for the country (regardless his bad speeches) but this reflection refreshed my believe once again on How important education is for the development of a country as Peru

Superman in Machupicchu!

The scriptwriters of superman have chosen the Inca's city of MachuPicchu for the superhero to dedicate time to reflect. Nonetheless, his thoughts are cut by the presence of a villain who he has to confront to save the humankind.

See? Peru is really a good business ;)

And the client? we have plenty!
I believe Latin America or at least South America is way further when customer service refers compared to Europe. This might be because of the high importance that one client represents for a company, and in the social structures of a culture as close and personal as latin, the mouth to mouth comes into protagonism when buying refers.

In Europe, sometimes it seems the power of the mass in a comsumption society, tends to put the customer in a second place. I remember a couple of months ago buying a M&S salad that was so naturally prepared and "nutritionally balanced" that it came with a massive insect. I put the salad aside and wrote and email to the customer service department complaining about it and attaching pictures and the receipt. All I got at the end is a bunch of emails sent by different customer services executives after 2 days (after an standard email saying they someone will contact me in 24 hours) with apologies for the event and with a request to ship the salad to their offices for further review.

A different reaction was given to my sister when buying at this prestigious supermarket in Peru when a similar situation occured. The approach from the company was to call my sister to personally apologise, and send someone to pick up the package at her convinience with a voucher to exchange the purchase and the promise of a follow up letter to determine the cause of the event.