For the last 14 months in Peru, the value of the U.S. dollar has been tanking. That trend really hurts when you’re an expat, like me, who still keeps a bank account in the U.S. When El Fotógrafo and I arrived in Lima in July 2007, the dollar was trading at 3.3 Peruvian soles. We [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Looking Back at the United States'
Dollar Staggers out of Ditch for Brief Day in the Sun
October 2nd, 2008 · 1 Comment · Daily Life in Lima, Looking Back at the United States, Money, Economics, Politics
Tags: credit·money·US financial collapse
Escaping the American Credit Nightmare
September 30th, 2008 · 12 Comments · Crossing Cultures, Looking Back at the United States, Money, Economics, Politics
Note to readers: My opinion piece “Escaping the American Credit Nightmare” appears in the Sunday (Oct. 12, 2008) edition of the Miami Herald, in the “My View” column of the business section. Here’s my original piece below — Barbara Drake: One of the pleasures of moving to Peru last July (2007) was escaping the flurry of [...]
Tags: credit·money·US financial collapse
Another Thing I Miss about the United States
July 18th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Crossing Cultures, Looking Back at the United States
Maple syrup. You can’t buy it in Peru. If you want syrup for your pancakes, you have to go with the corn syrup blends they sell in the supermercado. It’s not the same. Just looking at the picture on the right makes me salivate. A cousin from Massachusetts sent me a jar of maple syrup two [...]
Tags: things I miss about United States
Red, White and No More Blue
July 13th, 2008 · Comments Off · Crossing Cultures, Festivals, Sacred Rituals, Religion, Looking Back at the United States
This is an unusual July for me. Until this year, the most significant date on the calendar typically was July 4th – firecrackers, red white and blue, muy Americano. This year in Lima, July 4th was just another Friday. I didn’t even remember it was a holiday until a friend from Florida sent an email [...]
Tags: Fourth of July
Some Things I Miss about the United States
June 4th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Crossing Cultures, Looking Back at the United States
Joann wants to know what I miss about the United States. Off the top of my head: (1) Thomas’ English muffins; (2) Being able to speak English whenever I feel like it; (3) Friends who get me; (4) Great big American drugstores full of every kind of product (shampoo, vitamins, makeup, BandAids) you can think of, [...]
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