Lima, Peru

My first comment on Lima is that they speak Spanish here. I don’t speak Spanish, but I used to. Since arriving in Lima, I have been reading books, magazines, and newspapers in Spanish. I have been listening to Spanish music. I force myself speak in Spanish as much as possible. I even write my journal in Spanish. And I think it is finally paying off. Practice makes perfect? Not yet, in my experiences, that is for sure. However, practice has, at least, produced some effect. My Spanish after my fourth full day has improved significantly. This is not to say that I am anywhere near fully conversing with locals. But, in the middle of an English conversation, I found myself spurt something out in Spanish. I was thinking in Spanish again. It was a relief to sense some kind of progress. Despite the progress, overcoming my hearing impairment is one obstacle I’ve yet to figure out. It is difficult to understand people when you can’t hear everything they say. And it doesn’t help that it appears to me that Peruvians do this type of mumble/slur as they speak making my life much more difficult.  Eventually, I will catch on and in the meantime, it’s all about practice.

Lima is one large city. In the four days I have been here, I have seen a lot. I have seen palaces, churches, museums, beaches, sat in on my first fashion design class, and pushed my way, ‘lineman-style,’ onto trains. But, after all that I have only seen 4 small districts of a city of probably 20-30 districts. Granted some of these other districts are advisable not to visit. The food is wonderful and I have only experienced a small bit of that as well. If you like ceviche, Lima is a must!

On the flight down, I met a girl from Portland, Karina, and we decided to split the taxi (we still got ripped off). The next day we had our first experience with locals as we met 3 guys from Lima while eating lunch. They then skipped work and led us throughout Lima, showing us the sights (one of the benefits of traveling with a girl). The main macho was constantly courting Karina. He would walk so close that she would veer off trying to get away. When she was scraping her shoulders on the wall to the one side, she would stop, scoot to his other side, and then they would continue on veering to the other side. I watched, laughing, as they walked down the street, zigzagging back and forth along the walkways. On the second day, we went surfing with them. But, they wanted us to pay for their surfboards. And I am not one for handouts. Plus, the surf sucked. So, I just sat on the beach and watched. One of the guys is completely addicted to huffing aerosols. He carried plastic bags of spray paint with him everywhere he went. The most peculiar of all places was the surf. He granted me the sight of watching him surf with an inflated plastic bag in his hand. Not to stereotype, but their machismo nature soon prevailed and they their creepiness became overwhelming. I soon decided I was done hanging out with them.

I am staying with a couch-surfer, Genaro, (found on a website for travelers looking to meet other likeminded people and a free place to crash). He is a pretty established individual in the fashion design world. I sat in on introduction to fashion design class he teaches. It was quite interesting and totally out of my realm of experience (I shop almost exclusively at Goodwill’s and Vinny’s). Again, not trying to stereotype, but he lives up to his as well: superbly unorganized, constantly late, unceasingly on the phone gossiping, has only girl friends, and is uninterested in those girls sexually. His tardy and disorganized ways make coordinating difficult, but it is all part of the fun. All in all, he is a great host for my first couch surfing experience. I will be in Lima until Saturday because Genaro wants me to go out with him on for the weekend. After a week and a few nights out in Lima, I will be fully over this big city.