Thanks Peru

 

I know this is a day late, but this post is mostly in the spirit of Thanksgiving and focusing on the positive.  

One of my students asked me the other day how long I have been in Lima, why I came to Lima, and if I like Lima.  The first two questions were pretty simple-I arrived in March and I´m here because of a Peruvian and becuase the opportunity presented itself and I took advantage.  The third question was a little harder.  I definitley stumbled on it because I have been thinking this myself lately.  Do I like Lima?  What do I like about it?  Would I stay here?  No, I would not stay here for years and years.  But I suprised myself by saying that, yes, I like Lima.  So, in the spirit of positives and giving thanks to what we have and what surrounds us, I made a list of things I like about Lima.

In no particular order-

• The crazy wild bus system. And in particular my bus. It goes everywhere I want to go in a normal day. The bus is a cheap way to get around, even if it is a lot slower compared to driving, but when are buses ever faster?  Even though they are rather aged buses, they are kept pretty clean.  I rarely see someone´s greasy head print on the window or graffiti anywhere.  You just have to be prepared to be a sardine and hold one for dear life.  I also like watching how the ´cobrador´ who opens the door and charges fares and the driver work together by shouting at eachother when to stop, when to merge, when to go, when to close the door.
• The food.  It´s pretty varied and quite tasty.  Peruvians use spice and a variety of herbs to cook.  The food always has great colors from purple chicha to bright yellow aji de gallina.  I love the abundance of fresh, tropical fruit pretty much year around.
• Living near the ocean.  Its nice to walk along to coast and feel the sea breeze and watch the waves.
• Shopping at the markets where you can buy anything under the sun.  There are food markets and clothes markets and knock off markets and produce markets.  I love seeing the fruits and veggies piles up and the meat all laid out for you and the bags of beans and hanging herbs.You could probably never set food into a supermarket if you didn´t want to.
• When the sun comes out and the skies all turn blue and the flowers are suddenly more colorful.
• The tropical flowers that bloom year around.  They add color to the dusty apartment buildings and streets.  There is a sunflower that is growing in the crack of the sidewalk around the corner from my house.  The flowers provide little bursts of sunshine even if the sky is grey.
• The old colonial architecture that is still conserved in some places and it makes me sad that more and more often these houses are being torn down for apartment complexes.
• Ppeople are more active, especially where I live.  You don´t get strange stares for running up an down the streets.  The nieghborhoods are trying to get people active with free communal fitness classes and there are always 5ks or races.
• Going to random food festivals where I get to see all types of people in one place enjoying themselves. And I get to see and taste amazing food.
• Living where Carlos grew up and learning about his family and his hometown and hearing stories of what Lima was and how it has changed.
• The 5 min walk to the market or to get the bus and getting to people watch and marvel at the fact that I live in freaking Lima, Peru.

I´m very thankful that I have this opportunity to live in Lima and be with Carlos and learn more about him and this crazy city of his and get to know his family.  I´m thankful that I found the job that I was looking for and that I make enough money to not worry tooooo much, even if I do live pay check to pay check.  Of course there are things I don´t like about Lima, but thats not for this post.  Lima has grown on me over the past 9 months and my student´s question really made me step back and examine the positives of living here.  There will be no lying and saying that after making my list, I have a whole new outlook on life here, but it has served as a good lesson in choosing my attitude and appreciating the smaller, everyday things in life.  Now if asked, I can say with less hesitation that, yes, I like Lima.