First Weekend in Arequipa

It`s Sunday night, and I must say that this weekend felt really long (good thing)! Friday night I went out with my coworker Adriana, her boyfriend, and her two friends Martin and Cecelia. We all met at an Irish bar on a narrow cobblestone walkway behind the main cathedral in the center of town. (I took these pictures the next day).








We drank mojitos (that`s right, mojitos in an Irish bar in Perù) and played pool. I`m not sure what the name of the pool game was, but basically whoever sinks the most balls wins (you can hit any ball you want). Then we went to a place called "Death of the Toad" in English. This place had live music and many different courtyards. The five of us shared a huge red and green layered drink that came in a jumbo martini glass (the namesake drink of the bar).

Saturday I spent the day walking around the historic part of town. I started with brunch on the 2nd floor of a restaurant overlooking Plaza de Armas (the center of town).







Then I went to a beautiful church.







Then I walked around town.









And found a couple nice photo ops:





Later in the afternoon I took a taxi back to Yanahuara (the suburb I live and work in) and went to Saga Falabella. It is the closest thing to a mall here in Arequipa. There is one large department store (similar to Macy`s), a foodcourt, a few smaller shops, and the only movie theatre in town. I must say, it was nice because for a moment I felt like I was back in the US.









On Sunday I went to lunch with Sandra and her aunt who is visiting from Lima. We all had a typical Arequipeñian dish called Rocoto Relleno, which is a bell pepper stuffed with spicy beef and cheese, and Papa Pastel, which is kind of like potatos au gratin.


Followed by dessert: Helado Queso, literally translated to Ice Cream Cheese due to its appearance. It tasted like shaved ice cubes made of condensed milk with cinnamon. Tasty.


After our late lunch, I went back to Saga Fabella and watched Noche en el Museo 2 (Night in the Museum 2) in Spanish. I really want to see the new Terminator movie, but it doesn`t come out here for another 3 weeks!

So that`s it for now and I`m looking forward to another week of work!

Typical Traffic Intersection in Arequipa

Day 3

Today was fantastic! In the morning I went with the Director of Marketing to meet with the CEO. We had a general discussion about the franchising project I am spearheading, and I am super excited about this project (especially because it involves many aspects of the company - like operations, marketing, and finance – so I won´t be bored focusing on one little area of the company).

Then the Director of Marketing introduced me to the Directors of different departments within the company and gave me a tour of the factory. I spent the last two days learning about the textile industry and how clothes are made from beginning to end (fibers from the shorn animals to yarn to fabric and finally to the finished product). It was nice to see the factory firsthand and to apply the knowledge I just learned. (Like “Oh yah, I read about this process”).

For the rest of the week, I am to become familiar with the company - especially the company´s retail clothing line I am working on. I am also doing a bit of research on franchising and starting to create a project plan and list of deliverable for the project while I am here for 10 more weeks. I just know this time is going to fly by (even with 10-hour work days)!

First Day of Work at Incalpaca

Today was my first day of work at Incalpaca. Although the company is walking distance (20 minute walk) from my apartment, I took a taxi to ensure I didn´t get lost. I think tomorrow I´ll be a bit more adventurous and walk to work.

The headquarters is a large piece of land just outside the city center in a suburb called Yanahuara. Instead of an office building, the headquarters is more of a small campus setting with several small colonial style buildings and gardens. Again, no need for heat or AC because the weather here is very pleasant (although it can get a bit chilly at night). As far as I can tell, all stages of production occur here at the headquarters (I´m getting a full tour tomorrow).

Campus entrance:


Just past the entrance:




The building I work in:






The Director of Marketing´s office is on one side of the courtyard (door on the right):


And the Marketing Team and I sit in a big room on the other side of the courtyard (the two groundfloor doors):


I started the day at 8am in Santiago´s office (Director of Marketing). Incalpaca is one of three divisions of the parent company Inca Grupo, and within Incalpaca is the company´s retail line called Kuna (http://www.kuna.com.pe). Although I have yet to receive the details of the project I will be working on, I believe it has something to do with expanding Kuna into the US via franchising.

Santiago gave me the background and history of the company. Then he introduced me to the rest of the marketing department (8 people in total consisting of advertising, analysis, graphic designers, window/store designers, etc.). I met everyone very quickly and I´m not exactly sure of what everyone does, but I´m sure I´ll learn soon enough.

I spent most of my day reviewing material about the Kuna brand and the textile industry, including how fabric is made from beginning to end. Tomorrow I will meet the CEO who I will be working with directly on my project.

For lunch, I went with the team to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate Denise´s birthday. Then later in the afternoon I went with another intern from France to two of the four stores in Arequipa to deliver fragrances (I´ll write more about Kuna and the stores in another blog entry).

At the end of the day (6pm), we all had cake for Denise. Tomorrow I will meet with the CEO to discuss my project in more detail. Since I will pretty much be the only one working on it, I think I´ll have a lot of freedom... just the way I like it!

Getting Settled Into My New Home (Arequipa, Peru)

Saturday afternoon I flew from Lima to Arequipa (1.5 hour flight). Here´s a picture of the plane after we landed in Arequipa:


I was greeted at the airport by a coworker, and she took me to the house I´ll be staying at for the next 11 weeks. I have a private entrance to my room on the second floor of a house that belongs to a very nice 51 year old woman named Sandra (who also has a little white dog namd Coco). The best thing about my room is that it faces one of the three volcanos surrounding the city - Pichu Pichu. It´s snow capped and absolutely beautiful.... a nice sight to wake up to every morning. Here are some pictures of the entrance to the house (courtyard) outside my window and my view (the pictures don´t do it justice).






The house is located in a quiet neighborhood just outside the city center called Yanahura. It is very close to the office, so I will be able to walk to and from work everyday.

The weather in Arequipa is fantastic! No need for AC or heater! It has been sunny with blue skies and in the low 70´s duing the day and low 60´s at night.

This morning (Sunday) I went to church with Sandra at the cemetary where her mother is buried. It´s huge and up on a hill with a lovely view of the city. It seems like every Sunday the families go there with flowers to pay respects to their deceased loved ones. (That´s the back of Sandra on the right).



Then I went to Plaza Vea - a store like Walmart - to buy a few things I needed for for my room, and then Sandra and I went to lunch with her friend. And now here I am at the internet cafe around the corner from the house.

I start work tomorrow morning at 8am and I am really excited! More to come later in the week.

De Ja Vu

Here I am... back in Peru. But this time I'm here for work and not vacation. I must say it was a bit strange arriving back in Peru. And familiar. And it hasn't quite hit me yet that I'll be living here for the next 11 weeks.

I am in Lima right now, about to leave on a flight to Arequipa where I will be living and working for the next 11 weeks. I'll be working at Incalpaca (a textile company) with Santiago (Tai's friend who I met last summer) doing a business development/marketing internship helping the company expand their retail line (Kuna). I am really excited about the experiense, and a little nervous to see where I'll be living for the next 3 months...

Update to come soon!