Tarjeta Andina=important, apparently.

I'd like to start with a word of advice for anyone traveling to Peru (or South America in general, I dunno). At the airport you will receive a tiny piece of paper that you write your name and date of birth on, and then they stamp it. Treat this paper with reverence. All I remember about going through customs in Lima is that I was way more sweaty than anyone else in line. Through a random casual convo with someone I live with, I discovered that you are not allowed to leave the country without this incredibly insignificant piece of paper, and that you will be detained at the airport and miss your flight. That paper is long gone. I'm guessing I threw it out at some point, and it has already traveled through the digestive system of one of the garbage scavenger dogs. When I googled "what do I do if I lose my tarjeta andina?" the first thing that came up was, "whatever you do, don't lose your tarjeta andina". While the f-word was slowly being yelled in my head, I figured out that I have to go to the Migration Office and wade through the red tape sea. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if they improved their system (because this must happen every G.D. day) or hellish bureaucracy got diarrhea and stayed home, but all I had to do was fill out a form and pay ten bucks. I suspect I was just really lucky and got a sensible caseworker, because even Lonely Planet warns that this situation is like the DMV on 'roids.

Speaking of hellish bureaucracy, the Peruvian elections went down last weekend. I found it difficult to get a balanced viewpoint on both of the candidates, because as one person told me, "it's like choosing between cancer and AIDS". The guy who ended up winning is a pretty radical militaristic leftist (because that has worked so well in South America) and his opponent was Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of previous president Alberto Fujimori. Some background: Alberto is currently serving 25 years in jail for killings and kidnappings performed by what is actually called his Death Squad. He also did tons of other shady stuff, like taking millions dollars donated to the poor and putting it in his secret Japanese bank account. While his daughter may not be the same person, there is extreme hatred associated with the name Fujimori. I am guessing this is why she didn't win, along with the fact that poorer people tended to go with Ollanta, and everyone is required to vote. Apparently there is a huge fee for skipping your patriotic duties. At any rate, I am glad the elections are over. The Peruvian style of campaigning is basically to annoy the living shit out of everyone until they finally submit to whoever annoyed them the most. I guess it also doesn't hurt to have an Incan warrior endorse you from a giant truck with your face on it