Off on Another Adventure...

Friday, April 17, 2009 11ish AM
Bus to Oasis de Huacachina

We are starting out on our excursion to Ica, Paracas, the Nazca lines, and Las Islas Ballestas! We are going to be doing a lot of cool stuff, so I’m pretty stoked! Last night (Thursday) was tons of fun. I went with Lindsey, James, Henry, Lauren, and Lauren’s host mom to the New York Casino, where my host mom Austry works in Public Relations. One of the perks of this is getting VIP seats for the really famous Bolivian folk group, the Jarqas. I was surprised to hear so many people singing along to their songs, but I guess they are really well-known. After the concert, we hailed a cab to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. We met up with the rest of the Multisas and several students we had met at an Intercambio. Sargiento Pimiento is a rock bar and we had a fun time chilling and dancing to some of the American songs that came on until we headed to another random empty discoteca near the Parque Municipal.

I’ve been in Peru for about 3 weeks now, and here are some of my observations:

While Buenos Aires had much more of a big city vibe, Lima feels more residential, without all the high rises and super crowded sidewalks. This is probably because they generally don’t build over six stories (earthquakes), but it is interesting that a city of 8 million can be so spread out.

I can definitely see a strong American pop culture influence in Lima. Most of the fashions that I see here are exactly what I would see in the US, brand names and all. Plus, American fast food chain restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Chilis, etc, seem to be everywhere (just like in the US!).

Security seems to be a big concern here, at least in the barrios that I’ve visited. A large percentage of houses and businesses that I walk by have a huge gate (often complemented with barbed tops or electric fences) or a security guard (sometimes just a person hired to sit in a chair outside the house all night). Though I hardly ever saw a police officer in Buenos Aires, they are out in full force here, patrolling the streets in cars, bikes, or standing at strategic corners and buildings. Sometimes it seems a bit superfluous, but I guess they would know better than me. I wonder if they are a legacy of the 1990s, when there was an atmosphere of fear from the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and Tupac Amaru guerilla movements.

Well, excited for our latest excursion! Coli