One Month Complete- The Many Nuances of Life in Peru

Well, it is official. It has been just over a month since I landed in Peru and in that time I have learned to love...and then hate...potatoes. I've discovered the joy of pollo a la brasa, learned to grab on quick on the bus so I don't fall out, and succeeded in keeping my host brother out of my bags. It has been a month jam packed Spanglish misunderstandings, cultural stereotypes (on all sides), 30 cent ice cream cones and pack after pack of galletas (cookies)! Yes it's true, slowly but surely I am encountering the many nuances of Peruvian life.

Nuance #1: No cold drinks.

Ice is nowhere to be found here in Peru which is lucky because, as Mom so kindly reminded me (Liz, I am a nurse!), I can’t drink the water here! But the ice shortage is more than a water issue. A few mornings ago I poured myself a bowl of cereal and topped it off with some cold milk from a box.

“You eat it like that?” my host mom asked mortified. “Won’t you get sick?”

No, I explained, in a lifetime of drinking cold beverages I have never gotten sick because of them. While it may not be true throughout the country, at least some Peruvians really do think cold drinks make you sick.

Nuance #2: The Formality of Solicitudes

It seems nothing gets done here in Peru unless you put it in writing! A solicitud it’s called- a formal letter requesting anything from space in the local community center to thirty minutes of a teacher’s time during the school day.

As part of training here, the youth development volunteers are running a mini-youth group mostly because it’s great practice. For our youth group, we needed to ask our neighborhood leader if we could use the community center or “local.” So I wrote up an old-fashioned solicitud filled with formalities and I prepared to meet with the neighborhood leader to plead my case.

My host mom came with me to hand over my solicitud and what I thought would be a sit down meeting with this man became a battle with 7 to 10 sccarey watchdogs outside his house.

“Angel!” my host mom yelled. “Angel!

When Senor Angel finally came out in his pajamas he took my solicitud, barely read it, and quickly passed over the keys to the local for me to copy. And just like that we were welcomed into the local where we happily found a whiteboard, desks, school supplies, and more.

Nuance #3: (And this may be exclusive not to life in Peru but to life with a 9 year old brother) Mario’s obsession with my love life.

Let's begin in the shower. Yes, the shower. So my entire host family is convinced that "a mi me gusta" (I like...) a neighboring male volunteer who shall remain nameless...okay, it's Rob. We're not actually in love so no need for discretion. Either way, my little brother Mario asks me 5 times a day who I like in our neighborhood and despite my protests he inevitably answers his own question- "Roberto!!!"- with a devilish smile.

Now the other evening, I was in the bathroom bathing myself with ice cold water from a bucket and what do I hear but Mario banging on the bathroom door.

"Liz! Liz!"

"Mario, I'm taking a bath," I said.

"Oh, you're taking a bath?" There was a pause. And then, "And Roberto? Where's he?"

Needless to say it's been a very interesting four weeks here in Peru and for the most part I am loving every bit of it. Hope you are all enjoying my facebook pics. I'll try to keep posting more! And calling when I can but I love you all! Thanks for the emails!