How much does Peru pay for corruption?

Peru has lost 3 to 4 percent of GDP annually because of graft and corrupt — since 1820 — according to a recent book. Does it have to be this way? Columnist Leon Trahtemberg weighs in..

http://www.livinginperu.com/blogs/features/1415

Dophins in Peru: A biologist sees tourism as the way to conservation

While killing dolphins for their meat was made illegal in Peru in 1996, you can still find dolphin meat for as cheap as four soles per kilo in the black market. “Now, fishermen don’t touch the bottlenose dolphin, they hunt the darker dolphins instead,” says the German biologist Stefan Austermühle. “Once offshore, they cut out the meat in the ship’s hold and throw the bodies back in the sea to get rid of the evidence.” Austermühle has identified more than 1,500 dolphins off Peru's coast between Chorrillos and Paracas. (He also takes the amazing photos, shown above.) With an NGO formed with his Peruvian wife, they hope to start dolphin watching as a option for tourists and a strategy for dolphin conservation.

http://www.livinginperu.com/features-1382-environment-dophins-peru-local-ngo-sees-tourism-as-way-conservation

Motivating Teenagers

Many teenagers will have had several years of contact with learning English before they start high school. These experiences may not always have been successful or enjoyable. Consequently, students may bring to the classroom preconceived ideas about whether learning English is fun or not, and whether they are "good" at languages or not. If their experience of learning English has not been positive, their level of interest and motivation may be low.


On the other hand, their previous experience of learning English may have been a positive one, in which case their level of motivation when they join the class may be quite high.

In either case, it is essential that their new English course contains topics which are interesting to them, and exercises which are intellectually challenging and which have "real-world" value in their eyes.

When you design your classes, include topics and tasks which interest, challenge and motivate students.

Here are some other ideas:

Use authentic photographs, magazine articles, website articles and emails

Try to bring in stories with characters students can identify themselves with

Focus on situations, topics and emotional issues which students will recognize and respond to

Present authentic functional language and everyday expressions which young British and American people use in conversations

Include topics which expand students' knowledge of the world

Contributed by Fuscoe, Kilbey, Freebairn, Bygrave & Copage, coauthors of the series for teenagers Upbeat

Getting health care in Peru

You may have moved to Peru and life is great. But what happened to your health care plan? This week Rodney Dodig, pictured here, tells us about his experience getting a yearly health plan at Clinica Good Hope for $285. Since then, Rodney has visited the clinic and has been impressed with the service — in English — and the up-to-date equipment. Read more about this health care option in Lima. (Note: This is not an endorsement for Clinica Good Hope, but rather one person's experience.)


Are you trying to quit smoking? Back in February Carsten Korch's father was visiting Lima and decided to give laser therapy a try. Freedom Terapias Láser is a U.S. franchise with a branch in Lima. After four sessions of treatment, Mr. Korch Sr. is back in Denmark and still abstaining from smoking (although still suffering from withdrawal). Read more about this new procedure to quit smoking.

http://www.livinginperu.com/blogs/features/1318

Trying to find a job in Peru, finding long hours and secret salaries

This week Victoria Lugovskaya writes about her job search difficulties as a new expat in Peru. It's quite different from the ways things are done back in Moscow. Lugovskaya writes about curious CV submission conventions, little transparency for salary offers and even some confusion by managers about the numbers of hour in a work week. “Listen, the official work time is 48 hours a week,” explained the director. “Maximum?” “Minimum. It’s according to Peruvian law.” Readers, both Peruvians and foreigners, will surely empathize with some of what Victoria says. But she also leaves on a positive note about the Peruvian work ethic: “What I like about Peruvians’ attitude to work is their sense of commitment and global understanding that work is important – to earn a living and to help each other.”

http://www.livinginperu.com/features-1308-art-culture-lifestyle-long-hours-secret-salaries-peru-jobs-from-an-expat-perspective

Wanted: Who stole my laptop at Starbucks yesterday morning?

Yesterday, in the span of 45 seconds, a thief swiped my laptop in a Lima Starbucks. After some investigative work, I have a video here (please watch it) identifying a potential witness to the robbery. Most unfortunately, the establishment itself does not have a surveillance camera inside or outside to record these thieves in action, but it is my hope that Starbucks will consider to install these cameras to prevent others from loosing valuable effects while enjoying a cup of coffee in a nice environment among friends and family. Be aware that robberies like this one happen every day, and not only in Lima, so take good care of your personal belongings and do not trust anyone to look after your things. There are distractions every minute, and some which are planned specifically to rob you.

http://www.livinginperu.com/blogs/features/1245

A foreign face: Looking different in Peru

Victoria Lugovskaya came to Peru three months ago. She is Russian, blond and tall, and she doesn't live in the touristy districts of Lima. She, as you can imagined, is noticed. "Whenever I go out, all eyes are on me," Lugovskaya writes. But, she's not just complaining. "And once you get accustomed to the intense interest people show in your unusual looks, you may want to enjoy the benefits of being a foreigner in this country," she writes. "You’ll be welcome here. I learned it from a lot of little experiences when being very nice to me was of no benefit for the people who did it."

http://www.livinginperu.com/features-1203-society-foreign-face-looking-different-peru