familiy
9.16.2017 / daca, dreams, familiy, here to stay, immigrants, immigration, peru, peruvian-american, undocumedia, warriors
Mis Guerreros!
¿ Imaynalla kachkanki?
Yes, I have been MIA from my beloved blog and readers but I have a pretty good excuse, I got a new job over the summer that has been taking up most of mental energy and well in terms of physical energy, I've become immersed in different activities that have kept me exhausted. I decided to try kickboxing and I ended up loving it more than I imagined, it's an amazing way to get in shape and let out all that stress! I've also decided to try Colombian salsa and Brazilian samba classes after contemplating it for a while and they're both dances that require very quick feet movement. These are all things that bring me immense happiness and I've lately just been doing things that bring value to my life. No one will care or push you through your internal fears more than YOURSELF so always remember, to TREAT YO' SELF!
On that note, my blog has always been in the back of my mind, and now more than ever with what's been going on in the past few weeks with DACA. You guys are going through a difficult time and I would like to share a quote to anyone going through difficult times:
Life in general, the life of an immigrant and being part of an immigrant family is one filled with many obstacles but think about all that we've gone through until this moment. Find strength in all the times you 've pushed yourself through the lows of your life and overcame them. You know what is something we all have grasped from these painful experiences? We. get. through. them. Fate puts these experiences in our lives to make us stronger and wiser...guerreros, warriors.
This may sound cliche but my parents are my heroes. When I'm in a situation where everything just seems dark and it's impossible to get out, I think of all that my parents have done to get to where they are now. Our parents didn't have the option to say "It's impossible" when they got here, there was no turning back. These experiences gave us the thick skin and perseverent mindsets that have made us unstoppable.
Achieving a dream never comes easy, and for those who do have DACA and for those that didn't qualify, the path is not as smooth and filled with bumps along the road, but never lose faith and get to the finish line. The plan you originally had may not work but change the plan, not the goal.
If you need anyone to talk to for some uplifting, I without a doubt am all ears and you can email me or send me a message through my instagram; kay_monge
Also, application fees are very expensive ($495) and by going to Undocumedia's page you can help sponsor a DACA beneficiary!
To donate, click here
And to see what other ways you can support the #HeretoStay efforts, click here
With much love and support,
Karen
Yes, I have been MIA from my beloved blog and readers but I have a pretty good excuse, I got a new job over the summer that has been taking up most of mental energy and well in terms of physical energy, I've become immersed in different activities that have kept me exhausted. I decided to try kickboxing and I ended up loving it more than I imagined, it's an amazing way to get in shape and let out all that stress! I've also decided to try Colombian salsa and Brazilian samba classes after contemplating it for a while and they're both dances that require very quick feet movement. These are all things that bring me immense happiness and I've lately just been doing things that bring value to my life. No one will care or push you through your internal fears more than YOURSELF so always remember, to TREAT YO' SELF!
On that note, my blog has always been in the back of my mind, and now more than ever with what's been going on in the past few weeks with DACA. You guys are going through a difficult time and I would like to share a quote to anyone going through difficult times:
Tough times don't last, tough people DO
- Robert H. Schuller
Life in general, the life of an immigrant and being part of an immigrant family is one filled with many obstacles but think about all that we've gone through until this moment. Find strength in all the times you 've pushed yourself through the lows of your life and overcame them. You know what is something we all have grasped from these painful experiences? We. get. through. them. Fate puts these experiences in our lives to make us stronger and wiser...guerreros, warriors.
This may sound cliche but my parents are my heroes. When I'm in a situation where everything just seems dark and it's impossible to get out, I think of all that my parents have done to get to where they are now. Our parents didn't have the option to say "It's impossible" when they got here, there was no turning back. These experiences gave us the thick skin and perseverent mindsets that have made us unstoppable.
Achieving a dream never comes easy, and for those who do have DACA and for those that didn't qualify, the path is not as smooth and filled with bumps along the road, but never lose faith and get to the finish line. The plan you originally had may not work but change the plan, not the goal.
If you need anyone to talk to for some uplifting, I without a doubt am all ears and you can email me or send me a message through my instagram; kay_monge
Also, application fees are very expensive ($495) and by going to Undocumedia's page you can help sponsor a DACA beneficiary!
To donate, click here
And to see what other ways you can support the #HeretoStay efforts, click here
With much love and support,
Karen
-The Chic Engiruvian
10.23.2016 / familiy, gratitude, peru
Heart of a Fighter - The Sacrifices of Volunteer Firefighters in Peru
Good morning, good evening, or good afternoon,
This year I was blessed to spend my New Years in Lima, Peru for the first time with my huge family and warm next door neighbors which you can watch part of that experience in my Peru vlog to get a glimpse of it. Well, a tradition that is typically done to bring in the new year is something that's known as La Quema de los Munecos, dolls that are made up of old clothes and burned. This is done in representation of letting go of negative energy and bad luck. As you can imagine, this is dangerous because of how flammable clothes is and how easily the flames can get out of control.
Sadly, this very nightmare occurred that night a block from me when some kids had placed fireworks in their muneco (smh) and the sparks got into the school nearby .Luckily we had a firefighter among our neighbors. While the fire truck was coming, he first screamed out to see if anyone was in there and luckily there wasn't and then he stormed into his house and asked the neighbors to get buckets of water to help ease the fire. Without any hesitation, he climbed over the gates of the school and did all he can to end the fire. The firefighters soon came afterwords and in the end there were very minimal burns to the school which could've been a whole other story if it wasn't for the quick actions of our neighbor the firefighter who btw was definitely not even in his 20's.
This situation quickly replayed in my head as I watched the news earlier this week in shock over the disappearance of three firefighters who had gone in to try to rescue a man trapped in the inferno of a fire that occurred in La Agustino where there was a shoe factory and a health government building (which was going to be checked for corruption reasons). I was even more devastated when they were found dead.
In the United Stated, firefighters are paid well, have all the latest material and gear, and are given several benefits; deserving for risking their lives everyday to save ours, the utmost sacrifice. In Peru, that's not the case. Becoming a firefighter there is like being initiated in a beautiful brotherhood where they VOLUNTARILY sacrifice their life everyday, and they wouldn't even want to be a firefighter anymore if it meant that they had to get paid. It's still incredulous to me that these men go through so many ordeals, but to them it's still a complete honor to be able to serve others. This has been going on since 1860 and many times you see entire families that have been involved in this brotherhood for generations, their own legacy.
These men, who are asked of so much...are given so little. You would think...hey, if you're not getting paid for protecting and saving the lives of those in danger, might as well allocate money in order to provide them with the necessary equipment. Also, wouldn't you think that these heroes AT LEAST deserve a proper pension after retiring or health insurance benefits when they're injured from putting their life on the line? Unfortunately, nope. Peru is a country where politicians that spend their time in Congress playing PokemonGO and sleeping are paid WAY too much money, money that can be used to benefit the lives of many, even their own.
On average per week, there are 190 fires and 1,050 car accidents (how surprising) that goes on in Lima and in the whole country, there are only 12,000 firefighters that carry this heavy weight. They are only given one bunker gear, an oxygen tank that lasts only between ~ 30-40 minutes, and one pair of boots. The boots are typically worn out quickly so they then have to resort on using old ones from others which can many times not even adequately fit them. The firetrucks are very outdated, for the past 80 years, some of their equipment and gear has been renovated only 3 times so eveyone does their part in taking really good care of everything. They don't have an adequate health insurance, many times injured firefighters have been dismissed and turned down from hospitals for this very reason. They aren't given a pension after they're 70 years old, money is only given if they DIE and in that case, their families can be given at most...only 68,000 soles, about 22,250 dollars, that's if they die.
So many sacrifices on their behalf and it's so disheartening to me that the government and the people themselves don't take the action of doing something to help these heroes out, they need our help. I've seen first hand the passion these men and women have in this job where they are willing to give what's most sacred to us, our life. They have kids and loved ones waiting for them at home with great pride in what they do, even if it means not seeing them ever again. They don't ask for any monetary pay, only for money to go into getting the material they need to save as many lives as possible and also a proper health care and pension which they are SO DESERVING OF!
I've realized that true happiness is not found in seeking things of monetary value, those things don't come in the tomb with you. True happiness is found when you can make an impact in someone's life, leaving memories that no one can ever take away from you. This is exactly the reward for these heroes, los Bomberos Voluntarios del Peru.
How will you impact someone's life today?
Karen Monge
-The Chic Engiruvian
This year I was blessed to spend my New Years in Lima, Peru for the first time with my huge family and warm next door neighbors which you can watch part of that experience in my Peru vlog to get a glimpse of it. Well, a tradition that is typically done to bring in the new year is something that's known as La Quema de los Munecos, dolls that are made up of old clothes and burned. This is done in representation of letting go of negative energy and bad luck. As you can imagine, this is dangerous because of how flammable clothes is and how easily the flames can get out of control.
Sadly, this very nightmare occurred that night a block from me when some kids had placed fireworks in their muneco (smh) and the sparks got into the school nearby .Luckily we had a firefighter among our neighbors. While the fire truck was coming, he first screamed out to see if anyone was in there and luckily there wasn't and then he stormed into his house and asked the neighbors to get buckets of water to help ease the fire. Without any hesitation, he climbed over the gates of the school and did all he can to end the fire. The firefighters soon came afterwords and in the end there were very minimal burns to the school which could've been a whole other story if it wasn't for the quick actions of our neighbor the firefighter who btw was definitely not even in his 20's.
This situation quickly replayed in my head as I watched the news earlier this week in shock over the disappearance of three firefighters who had gone in to try to rescue a man trapped in the inferno of a fire that occurred in La Agustino where there was a shoe factory and a health government building (which was going to be checked for corruption reasons). I was even more devastated when they were found dead.
In the United Stated, firefighters are paid well, have all the latest material and gear, and are given several benefits; deserving for risking their lives everyday to save ours, the utmost sacrifice. In Peru, that's not the case. Becoming a firefighter there is like being initiated in a beautiful brotherhood where they VOLUNTARILY sacrifice their life everyday, and they wouldn't even want to be a firefighter anymore if it meant that they had to get paid. It's still incredulous to me that these men go through so many ordeals, but to them it's still a complete honor to be able to serve others. This has been going on since 1860 and many times you see entire families that have been involved in this brotherhood for generations, their own legacy.
These men, who are asked of so much...are given so little. You would think...hey, if you're not getting paid for protecting and saving the lives of those in danger, might as well allocate money in order to provide them with the necessary equipment. Also, wouldn't you think that these heroes AT LEAST deserve a proper pension after retiring or health insurance benefits when they're injured from putting their life on the line? Unfortunately, nope. Peru is a country where politicians that spend their time in Congress playing PokemonGO and sleeping are paid WAY too much money, money that can be used to benefit the lives of many, even their own.
On average per week, there are 190 fires and 1,050 car accidents (how surprising) that goes on in Lima and in the whole country, there are only 12,000 firefighters that carry this heavy weight. They are only given one bunker gear, an oxygen tank that lasts only between ~ 30-40 minutes, and one pair of boots. The boots are typically worn out quickly so they then have to resort on using old ones from others which can many times not even adequately fit them. The firetrucks are very outdated, for the past 80 years, some of their equipment and gear has been renovated only 3 times so eveyone does their part in taking really good care of everything. They don't have an adequate health insurance, many times injured firefighters have been dismissed and turned down from hospitals for this very reason. They aren't given a pension after they're 70 years old, money is only given if they DIE and in that case, their families can be given at most...only 68,000 soles, about 22,250 dollars, that's if they die.
So many sacrifices on their behalf and it's so disheartening to me that the government and the people themselves don't take the action of doing something to help these heroes out, they need our help. I've seen first hand the passion these men and women have in this job where they are willing to give what's most sacred to us, our life. They have kids and loved ones waiting for them at home with great pride in what they do, even if it means not seeing them ever again. They don't ask for any monetary pay, only for money to go into getting the material they need to save as many lives as possible and also a proper health care and pension which they are SO DESERVING OF!
I've realized that true happiness is not found in seeking things of monetary value, those things don't come in the tomb with you. True happiness is found when you can make an impact in someone's life, leaving memories that no one can ever take away from you. This is exactly the reward for these heroes, los Bomberos Voluntarios del Peru.
How will you impact someone's life today?
Karen Monge
-The Chic Engiruvian
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