Janet and I manage a small consulting business and our company is undergoing unprecedented growth, doubling every year. As contentious managers, we know that customer relations are important, and we have found ourselves traveling the globe to meet our new clients. We have even worked in India, a country that is the home of computer “outsourcing”!
The irony is that even though we have a high hourly rate, yet our experienced experts provide the cheapest solution, even for developing countries on a limited budget!
It all started when we completed a major overseas project for a tiny fraction of the original estimate. The client told their friends, and Janet and I are now traveling the world arranging systems development projects.
In Peru, Linux and Oracle are catching-on fast, and its fun to be in on the ground-floor for a nascent yet burgeoning IT industry:
Peruvian Open Source Conference 2007
For more details on our adventures in Lima, see our travelogue on Lima Peru.
Lima Peru is a sprawling city which is about 30% Native American, 25% Spanish, with a 40% majority called “Mestizos” (Peruvians with a mixed Spanish and Indian heritage). The Mestizos are very proud of there heritage, although I did see this strange t-shirt commemorating the 1531 arrival of the Conquistadors. I’m not sure what it means, but it must have some unobtrusive meaning:
The national drink of Peru is “Piso” (a strong brandy, which is usually served with line and egg-white as a “Piso Sour”) and the ubiquitous Inca Cola, a yellow concoction the color of Mountain Dew, which has a nice bubble-gum flavor very much the special Junkanoo soda of the Bahamas, which is only made for the Christmas season:
Native Peruvian foods includes hearty meats, especially roasted Cavy (Guinea Pig), which is skinned, gutted and charcoal roasted on a spit, and sold for only about fifty cents each. They are just a snack really, and you should get at least 3-4 for a full meal. You eat Guinea Pig just the same a squirrel, starting with the hams, and working your way forward, making sure to scrape all the meat off of the ribs.
Before: Cute and furry
After: Juicy and delicous
Peru is a country where a programmer’s weekly income is about what I charge by the hour, and it was huge surprise that many developing nations are now requesting our computer consulting services.
People all over the globe are now beginning to recognize that an experienced programmer can build computer systems over a hundred times faster than a neophyte.
Hey, experience counts. . .
