A Stranger

With my time in Peru, thus far, I have come to realize just how much of an outsider I am. A tall, blonde American girl walking down a Peruvian street is quite a contrast to the shorter, darker population of Peru. There have been many times when I wished I could just blend in and not be the object of so many people's stares and comments, but it is in those times when I cannot help but think of my position on this earth. I am a stranger, not just in Peru, but in the world. My true home is in heaven, and I am only on this earth for a time. Just as I feel like a stranger in Peru, I ought to feel like a stranger on this earth. I ought stand out in a dark world, because I have the light of the world within me. Though being a practicing Christian in the world is not always easy, so being an American in a different culture is not always easy. The language is different, the customs are different, and the people look different. Yet, reflecting on all of these things, comes a good reminder to seek those things which are above rather than the things that are in the world. Heaven is where my true citizenship is, and my passport (or the way to enter heaven) is only through the precious blood of God's only begotten Son.

A Taste of Peru

As was already mentioned, Hermana Maria is a wonderful cook. She works so efficiently around the kitchen without having a refrigerator or an oven. It amazes me at how quickly a meal from scratch is put together. To a Peruvian, a meal is not a meal unless there is rice, therefore, with dinner at home, the rice is piled high with normally chicken on top and a vegetable sauce on the side. Besides rice, limones (limes) are a favorite. Limes are normally on the table or nearby to put in your soup, your drink, or over your rice. Some of my favorite things with lime are the fresh-squeezed limeade and raw red onions with lime and salt. During the week, the other ARRIBA students and I are responsible for making our own lunches, so each Monday, we get to go shopping in a three-story supermarket. Some of the things that I have enjoyed experiencing are drinkable yogurt (found in a half-gallon sized milk container), the seemingly endless supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the breads that are still hot when you stick it in your paper sack. After disinfecting the fruits, fresh fruit salad has been one of my favorite dishes. Of course, there are some things that are not my favorites, but are still good, like: drinkable oatmeal, large, strong black olives, and pica (a very hot pepper). I have been so thankful for God´s provision in helping me adjust to odd hours of mealtimes as well. During the week, supper is normally around 7:00-7:30 pm, but on the weekend, it is rare to eat before 10:00 pm. Eating at that time, though, makes you grateful for the amount of rice on your plate. After talking about all of this food, I hope your mouth isn´t watering too much :)

A Feel of Peru

Each morning as I roll out of my nice, warm bed, I thank God that the house has hot water, granted, I have to wake up an hour earlier to actually turn it on, but it is hot nonetheless. After going through my normal morning routine, the bus ride to the ARRIBA center quickly jostles me awake an gears my mind for another day. Let me put it this way, the members of the road crew do not fear their job security. The bus driver, with incredible skill, winds amongst the largest holes and hits all the ¨little¨ ones in between. My favorite section on my bus route is the road between tow of the districts of Lima separating Ate (where I live) and Santa Anita (another district). In this particular section, each governing part of each of the districts claims that it is the other´s responsibilityñ therefore, for a couple hundred feet, the bus bounces, bumps, and creaks along the rock-strewn ¨road.¨Along with the bumping of the buses comes the crowdedness fo the buses as well. The Peruvians have a philosophy of, ¨There´s always room for one more.¨ This philosophy, I´m sure had to originate on the bus routes. At times, there will be people jammed into a bus meant only for half the number of people actually on the bus. People are pressed so closely to each other, at times, that it is almost impossible to move, let alone to get off the bus at your desired location when you are in the back of the bus. Numerous times in getting off the bus, the pain in my head reminds me that I am not Peruvian. I think though, the greatest feeling is the saludar (a slight kiss on the cheek upon meeting someone) given to sisters in Christ. How wonderful it has been to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. What a great reminder of the omnipresence of God.

A Scent of Peru

The next scent on my list is the sense of smell. This one is going to be a bit more difficult, but I´ll try my best to recreate it for you. Peru definitely has it´s own smell, but it combines many familiar smells to make it Peru. First, the buses have a dusty, musty smell coupled with the scent of hard working people. The streets also have a mixture of scents all brought together. While out on the streets, the air is filled with the smell of exhaust, oil, and gasoline from all of the vehicles. The smell of this type of transportation is one that I have been enjoying quite a lot. Little street kitchens pop up as the sky quickly turns to black, and the smell of cooked meat and bread fills the air. After a long day of classes and school work, one particular kitchen is extra-inviting. Hermana Maria is an amazing cook who works rapidly around the kitchen producing the most mouth-watering smells that I have smelled in Peru. Whether the ever-present smell of rice and onions or other foods fills the air in the kitchen, the tasty smells quickly permeate throughout the entire house. One other of my favorite scents is the smell of clean laundry after being hung out ont he roof to dry. Along with the pleasant smells comes the not-so-pleasant scents of burning trash or the fish section in the market. Each smell,however, has its place in order to make the smell of Peru unique.

The Voice of Peru

In this post, I want to focus on some of the sounds of Peru. After turning of the constant beeping of my alarm clock, the roosters from the nearby houses can be heard welcoming the new day. As I go through my usual routine in the morning, the soft hum of the hot water heater can be heard, until the girls start getting ready for the day. There is much comotion in the house for about an hour, until the last child is off to catch her bus for school. Taking a deep breath, I enter the kitchen where Maria can be heard softly singing over the clangs of the metal pots and pans. Soon, it is off to the busy street to catch my bus. Horns can be heard, brakes screech, motors rumble, and old vehicles clank along. Castellano (the Spanish spoken in Peru) is everywhere as people try to catch the right bus. The cobrador on the bus yells out where his bus is going, and whistles to those who are on their way to get aboard. On the bus, music is turned up extra loud in order to be heard over the clanging of the bus and the squeals of the brakes. Normally, a conversation is impossible due to the extra noises from the street. Upon arriving at Fetzer Christian Academy, it is so quiet, that studying there is much easier than at home. After class finishes at 3:30, it is back to the craziness on the street. Another bus is taken on Monday to take us grocery shopping for our lunches during the week. The 3-story market is filled with people all trying to decide what all they want. With our purchases made and our minds filled with Castellano, my roommate, Tessha, and I head back to our house. Roaming dogs bark at passing birds and cats and loud music from a passing mototaxi welcomes our arrival. I think my favorite words in Castellano are spoken by Maria or Pastor Antenor when they say "Vamos a cenar" (We are going to eat dinner). :) The busy day ends by hearing the family read the Bible and pray together. Tessha and I have been so blessed to have such a great family who takes time each night to have us in their family devotions. Though Tessha and I still have such a long way to go in our Spanish study, the family has been so gracious in being so patient. With the final words of "Hasta mañana" the house is again quiet for a time. As I drift off to sleep, fireworks and pistol shots can be heard from the nearby streets from those who enjoy the loud noises that each makes. With a sigh, I close my eyes and await the annoying beeping of my alarm to start yet another noisy day in Peru.

A View from Peru

Since my time in Peru, there have been many different things that I have experienced. I thought that the best way to try to describe them all would be by dividing them up into the five senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings. The first one that I will try to describe is the sights. This is going to be quite difficult, because you just have to be here to understand it all.
From my waking up in the morning, people are all around. I live with a pastor with his wife and four girls above a church, so there are always people around. Just as prevalent as the people are the buses. It is hard to find a street that does not have a bus on it. Not only are their buses to transport the many people, but there are also a large amount of ticotaxis (a small, compact car) and mototaxis (a sort of three-wheeled covered motorcycle). The buses, ticotaxis and mototaxis each have their place on the road (and dogs at times), or so they think. They quickly zip in and out of crowded areas, avoiding the speed bumps as much as possible, meanwhile, the people in the vehicles are jostled around in their seats. Many times the buses are so full of people that many people end up standing in the aisles while haning on to the bars connected to the ceiling of the bus.
Besides the number of people and vehicles, there are geographical sights to see as well in Peru, and especially Lima, where I am now. Lima is amongst the Andes Mountains, so on a clear day, the tops can be seen. Now that I have made the comment of having a clear day, mostly, the tops of the mountains cannot be seen due to the amount of smog and low clouds hovering over the tops. The mountains that I see daily are very different from the mountains that I saw in West Virginia each day. The Andes, in this part of Peru, are monstrous mounds of loose rock and dirt. Later on in my travels, we will be seeing more of the Andes Mountains in a more up-close view.
Traveling around Lima, houses are lined up very near to each other with walls surrounding the owner´s property. Rarely are you able to see the entire house due to the high walls and foliage creeping up the entry gates. The doors to the property are very different. In a poorer part of the city, metal doors with no design take up a large part of the walls. In the more wealthy part of the city, beautiful wood doors can be seen with intricately carved designs on the front. What I have been fascinated by is the openness in houses. There are opening in the roofs of the houses with no covering, because Lima averages about 1 in. of rain a year. Windows rarely have screens and staircases are normally uncovered. There is dust everywhere, so people are constantly sweeping their houses. Those are just a few things that I have noticed in Peru so far. I hope that you have been able to visualize these few things to get a sense of what Peru is like.