If you’ve got a 3-day weekend to kill, Pittsburgh is probably not the first destination that comes to mind. To be honest, I always thought Pittsburgh was a city that surfed the wave of the steel industry, only to be thrown with arms & legs flailing by the decline of manufacturing in the United States. However, I heard rumors that Pittsburgh had recently scraped away the rust and urban decay to weld the roots of the growing green technology industry into its economy. Like a brother from another mother, I had a soft spot for Pittsburgh (perhaps, in my skull). But like Pittsburgh, my hometown of Detroit has had its time of glory and ghetto; unfortunately, more of the latter than the former. My underlying hope in visiting Pittsburgh was to see if an industrial city that went down in flames can really reinvent itself and rise up with dignity once again.

Peru is a kidney-shaped South American country, pinned against the Pacific Ocean by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. The formidable Andes Mountain Range divides the Peruvian Amazon to the east from the coastal cities and towns to the west. Peru was known as the center of the Incan empire and cradles one of the greatest wonders of the world: Machu Picchu. The history of Peru reveals an all-too-familiar story of destruction and Spanish colonization, as well as the enduring native Quechuan people who have overcome the harshest of humanity and environment. Regardless of the volumes one may read on the geography, history, and culture of Peru, Peru can only be understood through what one sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches, and the visceral emotions of one’s own experience.