Observations... Todo, We´re Not in Kansas Anymore

There is something about flying someplace that makes you unaware of the distance that has actually been traveled. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz I was picked up by a tornado in Chicago and dropped down again in Peru in a relatively short amount of time. Still I´m reminded, nearly every moment, that I have now entered the Land of Oz. Following are just a few observations from my new life in Peru.

1.) Dogs and children are everywhere. When I first arrived I was told that the average family has five children. Victor himself comes from a family of twelve. Then to make things just a little more crowded and unruly, I am also positive that for every child born the family adopts five dogs.

2.) Despite all my efforts to color my hair dark I am considered a blonde here. While men on the street yell to me ¨¡Rubia!¨[Blonde!] I considered the call to be just another name for people from the north like ¨gringo.¨ This is what I thought until Iris told me my hair was a beautiful color (btw, I´ve also been told that my eyes are the color of a peacock... I love this country!). Victor chimed in and said,
¨Yes, it´s the color of gold.¨
Gold!?! ¨You think I´m a blonde, not a red head or brunette?¨
¨Nope, you´re blonde.¨
Hmm... very confusing and I look forward to seeing how they react when Amy Fisher, a real blonde, comes to visit.

3.) Like Chicago, Huancayo is a city with many pedestrians but here cars always have the right-of-way. Stop sigs, while extremely rare, are merely a suggestion and a horn must be honked at every intersection. Needless to say, walking or driving must be done ¨con cuidado.¨

4.) Whoa is me. Please prepare yourself for a little bit of whining... Every morning, weekday or weekend, I wake up at 5am. I stumble to the bathroom, turn on the water heater to give the water some time to reach a temperature above freezing and then go back to bed until 6am. When my alarm goes off for the second time I return to the bathroom and turn on the shower only to get a small trickle of luke warm water that doesn´t even have enough pressure to rinse the suds off my hands. Ten minutes into my shower I´m usually shaking it´s so cold. I jump out and dry off with one of my long sleeved t-shirts (there is only one communal towel in the bathroom and it´s usually wet, stinks, and hasn´t been washed since my arrival). This process makes me long for a hot shower back home and I wonder what those of lesser means have to go through if this is what it is like for my upper-middle class family.

5.) Jesus and topless blondes are regarded with nearly equal fervor and passion. In fact, pictures of both, usually one right next to the other, can be found in almost every public place.

6.) It´s nearly impossible for me to describe where Chicago is.
¨¿Is it by Mexico?¨
¨No.¨
¨¿Is it by Texas then?¨
¨No, it´s north... kind of by Canada.¨
¨¿Oh... Chicago is in California, right?¨
¨No, Illinois.¨
¨Never heard of it.¨

7.) Shopping presents its own set of challenges... one type of food can be bought here, another type there. Notebooks and pens are only available at the store down the street. I have yet to find hairspray and foolishly spent $9 USD on a tube of mascara.

8.) I have been asked many times if Chicago looks like Huancayo. This is a difficult question to answer half due to my inability to speak Spanish well and half due to the limited exposure to life outside of Huancayo that the questioner usually has. The only place I´ve seen in the US that can somewhat be related to Huancayo are portions of Appalacia although that is not even an accurate description. I have never seen such a juxtaposition of the wealthy and poor as I´ve seen in Huancayo. Modern architecture, a house that would seemingly cost millions in the US, sits next to a one room home whose mud walls have collapsed. So how do I describe the glass and steel skyscrapers that block out the sun, the lack of grass and trees (at least in my part of Chicago) and the relative cleanliness of my city compared to Huancayo?

9.) I live in a house with two other women and one man and yet the toilet seat is always left up. Perhaps this is just a small indication of the male dominated society in which I now reside.

10.) Everything that I am in the US (at least appearance-wise) is exagerated in Huancayo. I am tall at home... I am Andre the Giant here. ¨¿How tall are you in meters?¨¨¿How big are your feet?¨¨At such and such celebration no boys will dance with you because you are so tall.¨ Please excuse me as my 6th grade insecurities come rushing back. In the US I´m considered fair skinned. Here I´m gostly and have been told many times that my skin in the color of milk. I am aware of this fact but after spending a day with Peruanos whose indigenous blood runs much thicker than that of any European ancestory, when I look in the mirrow I even startle myself at times.

So these are my observations from my little corner of the world in Peru. Please remember that I have only been here two weeks and I hope my observations are not too naive at the moment. I am sure they will continue to evolve with time.