Observations Part 1

Driving
Traffic rules do not exist. Red lights? Optional. Stop signs? There are none. Speeding? Go ahead, as long as the micros don't cut you off. If there's one thing limenos do consistently when it comes to driving, it's honking their horns. At cars, at people, at NOTHING.... it doesn't matter. I've seen drivers conduct horn musicals just for the hell of it. Yes, nothing says "home" to a limeno than the sound of honking automobiles.

Eating
Peruvians are viciously proud of their food. In a recent study, when asked what Peruvians were most proud of about their country, the number one response was their cuisine. Number 2 was Machu Picchu. Compare this to, say, Canada's answer of health care and education, and once can see that Peruvians take their meals very seriously. And they should. In the month that I have been here, I've only encountered one dish that I haven't liked -- and I've had something different to eat pretty much everyday. Who knows why this is -- maybe it's the magical combination of having access to food from the ocean, rainforest, and mountains -- but all I know is it's DELICIOUS.

"Third-Worldness"
Many people I've talked to have this conception that Peru is entirely a third-world country -- and, in some respects, it is -- but that does not in any way mean that I do not have access to most, if not all, of the resources I have back home. Lima is a huge, bustling city with all of the amenities an American city has: department stores, restaurants, libraries, art markets, parks, and even a Starbucks and McDonalds here and there (although Walmart has not yet reached here). Thus, there's everything you could possibly need here, if you know where to look... although it IS quite hard to find pants and shoes for a person 6'0"...

Time
Unlike Americans, Peruvians are, for the most part, pretty lax when it comes to time. No one ever freaks out when someone is a couple of minutes late to something; they live by the phrase "better to be late than not be here at all." Even most of the professors at my university don't show up to class until 15 minutes after the class is scheduled to start. Likewise, if you schedule a fiesta for 21:00 (they use military time here), don't expect anyone to show up until at least 22:30, and expect to get weird looks if you show up at 21:00. Even their word for "now", ahora, translates as "to the hour"; thus, you have an hour window to show up "on time." This cultural difference can be a little hard to deal with at times, being conditioned in a society that lives and dies by the clock, but at the same time it is strangely liberating. It all contributes to the Peruvian psyche: everyone is much more relaxed, not having to worry so much about being late.

How Peruvians View Lima
If you ask a random Peruvian on the street what they think of their city, most likely they will respond "Nuestra ciudad...es fea, pero tratamos de mejorarla." Translated: "Our city is ugly, but we try to make it better." Indeed, there are many parts of Lima that could be considered "ugly" upon first glance: in the poorer sections especially there are some slums, beaten-up sidewalks, junked cars, and just overall grayness that matches the weather almost 300 days a year. But the real beauty in Lima, at least to me, lies in the hope of it's people. Flowers and palm trees are everywhere; most streets pass by 5-6 parks in any given direction; and all around, at almost every corner, you can see a Peruvian fixing a broken bench, or planting some flowers, or painting over graffiti. In a country where almost a third of the entire population lives in one place, it's astonishing just how colorful, vibrant, and happy the city can be once the sun shines. And when it does, you'd be shocked to see just how many Peruvians some out to enjoy the light and natural beauty they themselves placed there. Even in the slums, the "ugliest" parts of Lima, there are meticulously cared-for gardens in front of the broken-down buildings people call home. So is it ugly? It all depends on if you're on the gray or not. Because there's certainly things you can miss when all you're used to, when all you're able to see, is blandness.

Racism?
Surprisingly, I have found that here in Peru, there is no "racism" as defined in the US. This is because Latin Americans in general, and Peruvians in particular, are very proud of their "mestizo" heritage; they believe that having a mixed background allows for a stronger people because of the inherited experiences of all the cultures. However, this does not mean that the European ideal of white supremacy is completely eliminated here, or that every region in Peru has equal standing. Indeed, Peru has "racism" in the form of language. If you speak Quechua, for example, you are generally viewed as being lower-class because it is the most popular idiom of the Andes, where people are generally poor. In fact, most Peruvians who move to Lima to try and make better lives for themselves usually try to hide where they are from because they want to be viewed as equals to those who speak Castillian. Likewise, being able to speak English is a sign that you were wealthy enough to afford a good education, and thus are of a higher social status.