For those of who don´t know, or know for that matter..... my job before coming to Peru was at a pretty classy lingerie shop in Portland, really Victoria´s got nothing on this shop. So when Shawn told me he had seen a lingerie shop here in Cajamarca, and I was thinking i could relate, they could use me......or not.
To give you an idea of the shoppin life here, you walk down the street, all the buildings are connected so its hard to distinguish where one ends and one begins, except theres lots of doors. i have decided just recently the doors are kinda like a game show, because you never know whats going to be behind any of them! some doors open early, close for the afternoon, and back open for the evening. some have resterants behind them, signs may or may not distinguish what you will find, there are windows every now and then, that doesnt mean what they display is what they sell. A lot of doors open into not much more than a closet space with anything you can imaigne hanging on the walls and a table. some "shops" dont even have doors, they´re just people seeling their goods on the sidewalk, someitmes they find a really good part of sidewalk and they can hang their items from the poles or walls around them, i think thats lucky.
Either way any where you go there are doors, a lot we have never seen behind, some open into huge court yards or big rooms that are a dozen different shops, its always fun to figure out whats behind these doors.
Now back to the Bras.... most any door that opens, opens into a shop, whether big or small, it is most often stuffed with items for sale, as are the lingerie shops here. I have actually been able to find a few of them, all have seemed similar with bras displayed on mannequins or... boob hangers, (i dont know what else to call them) but as you can see from the picture the variety is with color and style, not size or quality. such is life, daily I see women in need of better support and they just arent getting it from the lingerie available here. The people here are very small, i figure average height doesnt exceed 5´.... but the women here are blessed.
And the clothing or "fashion" industry down here is far from booming, i mean i know i have a butt, and i figured i´d be able to find a pair of pants, or atleast a pair of shoes, but since the people down here are pretty close to half me its been a little difficult, we found some great things in Lima, but Cajamarca is much smaller. They have just built a mall here, it has one escalator going up. all the stores are yet to be filled. but it is beautiful and had a cinema that is pretty high tech. a little outta place in a old town like this, but they are advancing.
I didnt expect fashion when i came here, in fact, i left my make-up at home a long with most of my dressier clothes. I have seen some gorgeous people here, and its nice to be in a place where hair and make up and models are not so heavily worshipped. i would love to be able to provide the women down here with a chance to be more comfortable and more supported, but even though life is hard here and people are happy. i am finding joy in the simple things in life and learning to be happy with what i have. I kinda feel like a spoiled little girl here. I am truly blessed to be here, learning to let go of what the world thinks is beautiful and trendy and really see who people are. I found that a lot in my job back home. We were responsible for making women feel beautiful for who they are and not for what someone else thinks they should be.
too many deep thoughts for one entry. enjoy the mannequins!!
with love,
stina
