My observations of Peruvian culture (and non-culture)

Here’s a run-down on some of my observations and generalizations I’ve made about Peruvians thus far. (Or to be more specific, Limeñans, since I’ve spent all of my time in Lima.)

Food: Almuerzo (lunch) is the most important meal of the day. Desayuno (breakfast) is usually pretty small. Here at my house I have a giant mug of hot milk with cocoa or a little bit of instant coffee along with a package of maybe 10 soda crackers or, on occasion, some bread. But that’s it. Lunch, however, is a big to-do and is when all of the good stuff comes out. For example, the set lunch menu at a typical restaurant will include soup, a small Peruvian-type salad (lots of avocadoes), a main dish usually comsisting of some variety of chicken and potatoes (roasted chicken and fries, arroz con pollo with a side of boiled potatoes, a chicken sandwich with yuccas...you get the point), rice (naturally), and a drink. Here at my house, my favorite items thus far have been:

• Aji de gallina: This is a dish with shredded chicken and sliced potatoes in a light orange sauce (I have no idea what’s in the sauce, but it’s dang good) with maybe a hard-boiled egg on top
• Crema de verduras: This is a soup made of liquefied vegetables, though I believe the base is pumpkin (zapallos). This is especially good right now since it’s so cold.
  Puree de papas: This is basically like mashed potatoes, except the potatoes are liquefied (oh they get a lot of use out of their blender!) so it’s a little closer to the consistency of baby food. Sometimes they add spinach, and it is quite splendiferous.
• Aji: This is actually a condiment. But it’s not just any condiment, it is THE condiment. It’s liquefied peppers…some other vegetables that I forget, with some milk added. The picante level varies from day to day, but two days ago they made a spicy batch that was juuuuuuuust right. Eaten with rice and boiled potatoes…oh yeah, I was a happy child, though I'm told that the spicy aji was the instigator of my hiccups later that day.
• Manzanilla te: Manzanilla is actually chamomile, and for some reason it tastes so much better here. It may have something to do with the copious amounts of sugar that are added, and I'll have you know that the sugar level has nothing to do with yours truly. They made some chamomile tea out of fresh chamomile plants the other day...it was incredible. I am so spoiled!

Did I mention that I'm gaining weight here? We’ll just go ahead and leave my dulces out of this. Anyway, la cena (dinner) is fairly small. I have another large mug of warm milk (I am loving this warm milk habit and have every intention of bringing it home with me) or tea with soup or a small sandwich. I end up snacking a lot throughout the day and have developed a personal stash of cookies and cereal bars in my room. Sound like a familiar drawer I once had at work??? Or the cupboards in my old kitchen? I have divested myself of many parts of my Mormon upbringing, but it seems that food storage isn’t one of them. : )

Love (partner-style): All of the young couples I see all throughout Lima are very close. I mean, in proximity. Couples are wrapped into each other so tightly, trying to get as much contact as possible. (Which could be in part due to the weather, but my guess is that weather has very little to do with this phenomenon.) It’s a rare occasion that couples are just holding hands. And these young couples are big fans of PDAs. There’s this one park that is called the Parque del Amor, and oh boy is it filled with amor. Couples making out all over the place, it’s a little unnerving! And right in the center of the park, there’s a giant sculpture of a man and woman kissing. I guess they were just trying to set the tone, right? Yeah, I think it worked. I also discovered another park today up on the cliff above the beach and managed to snag a great seat at a viewpoint overlooking two different beaches. I was enjoying the scenery, when I discovered that the place I was sitting was also very popular with the couples. No, I didn’t actually see any couples there, but there was plenty of evidence in the dark crevice in the corner. I couldn’t help but laugh, sitting there all by myself. But hey, at least they’re using protection, right?

My perceptions thus far of the Peruvian men are varied, I suppose. Passionate is certainly an applicable word. I met a boy of 16 who moved to a small little village just to be with his enamorada. I have two friends whose non-boyfriends bought separate cell phones specifically to talk to them. (Mind you, they’re dating as a status, but they’re not officially “together”.) They write loves notes, love songs, love text messages and poems…these boys are dedicated. This can also be viewed as obsessive, possessive, and clingy. It’s a fine line. The women on the other hand…well, I can only speak to my friends and my observations. My friends (like me with my Peruvian) are more stand-offish and thoughtful about the whole situation. They’re not ready to just jump right into a relationship and be co-dependent—they like their space. This could have a lot to do with timing or it may just speak to the type of people I surround myself with. However, I have observed many, many couples walking down the street together. The men almost always have their arm around the woman, semi-possessively, as if trying to communicate something in between, “Look at me, I have someone!” and “She’s mine, back off!” Their female counterparts are oh-so-often walking a half-step ahead. Maybe this is a good indicator of the overall relationship. Or maybe it’s just one silly observation by a tourist.

Dogs: People and their dogs…seriously, I thought this was a Seattle thing but Peruvians are also completely obsessed with their dogs. I thought that people in the states that dressed up their dogs were funny, but here there are so many dogs wearing doggy clothes. Mostly fleece, but still. I mean, it’s cold here, but it’s not that cold. My family has a big rottweiler named Jack and he is so incredibly spoiled. He knows how to sit (in Español, English, and German) and shake (just in Español), but that’s it. Pericles, Vanessa’s brother, is his “dad” and is currently giving him supplements so he’ll get bigger (because Jack’s novia, or girlfriend, is bigger than Jack—that is absolutely unacceptable!). Jack is hungry all the time and he doesn’t actually like to eat his own food, so he sits by the table all during almuerzo and la cena and begs for food. If you don’t give it to him, he starts barking up a storm. The family actually gives him his own portion of food at almuerzo. He'll sit by the table while everyone eats, begging for food, then they yell at him for begging. Then they give him food off of their plates. Hmm, let's think about that one... However, I will say that I have noticed that the dog is a good conversation piece, especially when nobody can think of anything to say. He’ll start whining or acting up, and then the silence is broken and everybody can focus their attention on the dog instead of an uncomfortable silence. (What do you say to the person who can’t speak your language very well? Well, this way you don’t have to.) I’m personally not uncomfortable with silence, but I can appreciate that the dog brings another element to family life and conversation. I'm still in my non-pet frame of mind, though.

Commercialism and marketing: There is so much advertising that goes on in Lima, it’s amazing. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell something. Along the sides of the freeway, there are “lawns” with company names and logos landscaped into them. At traffic lights, there are these little platforms that the transit police stand on to keep watch, and these all sing the praises of Inca Kola. Oh, and on the public transportation? Oh so much advertising! On a lot of the buses you will find advertisements plastered on the back of every single seat. While you're on the bus, food vendors will actually board the buses to try to sell you their snacks. One time, there was a woman decked out in “Ritz” gear trying to sell her cheese-filled crackers at a very special promotional price--lucky us! There are other people who get on the bus selling everything from pens and pencils to traveling toothbrushes and wallets. They give a big spiel about their product then (though they speak so quickly and the traffic is so noisy that I haven’t been able to understand much) then go to every single row, checking in with each individual rider about whether they'd like to buy their product. Other people get on the buses (sometimes with candy, other times without) and tell their stories to try to get money—one time it was a man trying to collect money for children in a hospital, another time it was a man with AIDS and his family had AIDS and they had to pay hospital bills. He even brought a piece of paper that I presume was a hospital bill. I can’t understand much, and I can’t pretend to know whether they’re telling the truth or just telling a story, but it’s certainly the most interesting fundraising I’ve ever witnessed. Musicians will also board the buses singing, drumming on the "oh sheize" handles, playing the guitar, screeching out in a manner that they must consider to be singing...then they also go up to each rider in the bus looking for payment. There are also people on the street, selling little candies for money. There’s one particular guy who always stands about a block away from my house who is blind and sells chicles (gum). He also seems to enjoy using his stick to molest people as they walk by (I’m pretty sure he can see a little bit, because I’ve seen him get so many people with that stick as they’re trying to walk by—and I’ve never seen him miss!) Which leads me to my next observation…

Convenience: There are grocery stores all over, and even a higher number of smaller convenience stores. And then there are littler kiosks all over the streets selling snacks, beverages, cigarettes, pantyhose, and batteries...you name it. It’s like a mini 7-11 on every corner, and it’s pretty amazing. There are also sweets stands all over the place selling churros, popcorn, sweet potato chips…it’s all right at your finger tips. Even when you’re driving, there are people who will come over to your car and sell food, drinks, comic books, and toys. At first, I wondered, “Who actually buys these things?” but as time has gone by, I have seen many a person use these services (and have become one of these people myself). Let’s face it, when you’re feeling snacky, it is pretty darn convenient. But it still astounds me that you can buy wallets and toothbrushes on the bus.

Clothes and shopping: The clothes here are pretty varied, though not very unlike the clothes in the states. They’re perhaps a few years behind, though you see plenty of trendy girls in their leggings and reincarnated 80’s clothing. Jeans are everywhere, just like in the states, and lots of fairly trendy sweatshirts. Business people dress pretty much the same, though there are more uniforms in the workplaces here.

There are two big department stores, Saga Falabella and Ripley, that feel like shopping at the mall back home. But shopping with Vanessa and the girls is like being back home shopping with the Trans—bargain shopping! There’s one store that’s like an amassed outlet store, not unlike Ross, and it sells the clothes from factories that have imperfections or don't end up getting sold in the stores. I bought a long-sleeved Old Navy t-shirt from this store for less than $2. There are also plenty of smaller stores selling generic this and that. However, the most interesting shopping I have done is in the center of Lima. The first place is in the neighborhood of La Victoria (which is a sketchy part of town—when the Peruvian found out I'd gone there, he told me to never go there again, and I have since gone at least three more times). We start out in these giant warehouses where there is row upon row of booths with people selling their goods. It kind of reminds me of going to the fair where there are the huge barns with row upon row of animals...it's the same kind of space but with clothes, filled to the brim. I have been told that these are the same products that are made here in Peru then exported to other countries. But they’re cheaper to buy here since they’re actually made here. Yay! And yet a little sad at the same time since I’m pretty much on a shopping diet right now. Outside of the warehouses, there are street vendors, walking up and down the streets selling giant bags made out of tarpauline in all designs and colors, batteries, whiteboards, phone cards, inflatable toys, and, of course, the inevitable dulce hawkers. But here, they also sell pineapple, strawberries, arroz con leche, sweet coconut delectables, and since it’s so close to China town you can also get egg rolls, little shish-kabob’d meatballs, dumplings, empanadas…oh the goodness! Anyway, back to shopping. There’s another area, called Gamarra, and the best way I can describe it is as a hybrid between shopping in NY and Khao San Road in Bangkok. The streets are incredibly crowded with shoppers, vendors, pets (there was a lady selling animals, and she had a turtle in her hand and proceeded to stick it in people's faces as they walked by), wide buildings, tall buildings, department stores, kiosks, street vendors and all kinds of goods to be bought and sold in between. This is definitely a place that is not listed in the travel guides, and I can easily say that it is a rare tourist that penetrates the area. I bought a belt there for less than $2, and that was my one and only purchase. But before I return to go home, you better believe I am having a big ol’ shopping spree! The funny thing is that most of the products are exactly the same. You can go from one shoe store to another and see the exact same pair of shoes, and this goes for both La Victoria and Gamarra. It’s possible that they have a different brand name on the inside of the shoe, but not necessarily. Oh, and by the way, Payless Shoesource here? It’s the same price as back home, which equals expensive here. Weird. But why go shopping there when you can buy knock-offs for a third of the price at the other marketplaces? : ) Exactly.

Okay, I’d say that’s a pretty sufficient amount of observations made thus far. As far as my soon-to-be regular entries:

Dulces:

First, let me start off with this--one of my friends here was reading me my horoscope this morning. It was incredibly accurate, saying that I was living in a new place, having an adventure, making friends from another culture...basically it was describing my trip. Then it went on to say that I was going to find the love of my life. Well, I think I've figured it out. Sugar. Mind you, I'm writing this amidst mouthfuls of strawberry sandwich cookies and a nut and honey bar while I plot my trip down to the kitchen to get a French vanilla yogurt drink. (The yogurt has my mom's name on it "Gloria." I mean, it's basically calling to me.) Anyway, I'm going to start out with a little bit of a repeat:

• Alfajores. I know I've written about these already, but it gets better--I know how to make them now. Or rather, I helped Vanessa make some and I have every intention of getting the recipe before leaving. I was perfectly happy to just eat them, but I find it even more delightful to say that I will be making them when I get home! I mean look at these:

Those are a thing of beauty. We have more filling left over in the fridge, which means we're just going to have to make more. Dang it, I hate when that happens! So be it, I'll take one for the team.

• Fruitcake cookies. The name for fruitcake in Spanish is "paneton" and on my first day of Spanish classes, we had to go to the grocery store and find a list of words our teacher had given us. Paneton was on the list, but there wasn't any at the store. I thought that would be the end of my encounters with paneton, but it seems to come up again and again. Last night I was at my friend Dora's house and her aunt gave me some of these cookies (these people read me like a book, though I suppose I'm not so subtle about my sugar-lovin' since I was making yet another disastrous batch of chocolate chip cookies at the time). Anyway, the cookies were interesting. I wouldn't buy them myself, but I can now say I've eaten fruitcake cookies. I've never even eaten fruitcake itself!
• Flan. Flan here is less like flan and more like jello. Vanessa has made flan twice, and it's seriously like this yellow, opaque vanilla jello. It's very, very slightly custardy, but it is far closer to gelatin.
• Crema volteada: This is a dessert that’s actually closer to flan than the gelatinous creature they call flan here, though the texture is still somewhat close to jello. It’s made of milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and I’m sure some other ingredients that I’m unaware of.

Things I've done/seen:

• Real Felipe. Last Thursday Vanessa took me to Real Felipe, which is a palace/fortress that was built, I think, in the 1600's or 1700's. The fortress is in the shape of a pentagon with little diamonds at each point. The tour guide accurately pointed out that it looks like a tortuga (turtle). I don't actually know much more because the whole tour was in Spanish and I only caught a word here or there. I thought it was incredibly sweet when the tour guide asked if Vanessa and I were from Lima. It pays to hang out with locals! There were all kinds of guns, cannons and swords from wars over the last few centuries, but I'm not a huge fan of weapons. I was most assured when one of Vanessa's friends told me they were all water guns. Of course, I should have thought of that! Because guarding a king and queen with water is quite effective :) We also got to go into one of the dungeons where prisoners were kept. It was a tiny passageway about 3 feet wide, if that. Prisoners were fed bread and water twice a week, and they ate, slept and went to the bathroom in this space. When a person died, the other prisoners would turn cannibalistic. Happy, happy tour! Though I did manage to find a moment to worship the sun with an Incan warrior.

• A repeat-offender: I was walking along the malecon in Miraflores (it's the cliff above the beach, and consequently my favorite place to go walking here) and at the end of my walk, I took a seat at a bench to watch the paragliders. This old man walked by and commented to the man sitting next to me how lovely his dog was, and then how lovely his girlfriend was (meaning me). The man assured him that I was a perfect stranger, then I proceeded to talk to the stranger sitting next to me as the old man walked away. Yay, my first longer conversation in Spanish with a perfect stranger! Then, sure enough, the old man walked past us again and again had to comment on how pretty I am, fully aware that I was not a fan. The funny thing about this story? I walked into school the next day and who do you think I saw? Old man. We made eye contact, and I'm fairly certain that he knows exactly who I am, but he hasn't commented again. I like to think that he's a little ashamed of his behavior. Take that, karma.
• A little boy relieving himself in the street. I know this isn't the strangest of strange things, but what made this instance of public urination unique was that the boy kept on moving his hand through the little yellow arch like it was a sprinkler or something. Oy, it made me wish I had a bottle of antibacterial to pass along. :)

Items I have a new appreciation for:

• Heaters. None of the houses have heaters here since the weather is so mild. This is why the cold here seems to be so much worse to me—because I don’t have heating in the house and because there isn't heating in any of the buildings here. Normally, when I get to work it's heated and when I get home I can turn the heater up as much as I want. Here, though, you don't find that heating anywhere, so it's always, always cold. Oh heaters, how wonderful you are.
• My huge supply of blankets at home. I am constantly wanting to sit in the middle of a pile of blankets while watching movies in bed and not moving an inch. Please read the above listed appreciation for heaters.
• Face scrub: I made sure to buy some good face soap before I left home, but it's not a scrub, and I have been missing my face scrub. So I gave in and bought my favorite St. Ives apricot face scrub at the store earlier this week. How coincidental is it that they had my exact face scrub? I think I was meant to buy it, so I did. And I don't regret it one bit!

Alright friends, that's enough for this week.