Annoyances of Latin America: Part II

Many of you may remember that when I first arrived in Arequipa, I wrote a Part I of this post and promised that it wouldn’t be the end…well here is the second part.  After 7 months in Arequipa, I think that you can imagine that I have been able to easily pick out things that annoy me on a daily basis.  Again, this is not meant to be a critique of Latin America…this is meant to be a description of what I have noticed and what I could do without.  There are things that are just cultural to specific places and these are things that I am forced to take notice of and deal with on a regular basis.  Here is my rant on a few of them:

Cellphones.  Now, I know you read that title and you wonder, what on earth could possibly bug her about cellphone usage in Arequipa?  Well let me quickly explain what that is.  I have also noticed this in Lima and on airplanes (yes airplanes), but I will just talk about Arequipa since this is where I currently live.  The ‘this’ that I speak of is the apparent hatred of putting one’s cellphone on vibrate.  Now I am not one of those people that expects for people to walk around with their phones on vibrate or with their ringers on low like I do, but I do kind of expect it if you are in a business meeting, have just been told to turn the phone OFF by the flight attendant, are on a TV show as an invited guest, are in the middle of a ceremony, etc.  Now all of the things that I just mentioned have actually happened.  Let me give you two examples:  The first example has to do with a business meeting that I ended.  I wasn’t a true participant in the meeting, I was just there to observe and learn.  Anyway, so they are knee-deep discussing details about some project going on in the community when this woman’s cellphone began to ring.  Now as a someone that has spent countless hours in corporate meetings, I know the feeling of panic that happens when you realize that you didnt turn your phone off and it  has just blasted in a meeting….well that feeling doesnt happen here. She proceeded to let the phone ring until the call went to voicemail.  There was no rush to silence the ringer mid-ring…it was just something that we had to endure until it stopped…no biggie right?  Well it gets better.  The phone then rang again (one thing I have noticed is that people here don’t interpret your not picking up the phone as a sign of you actually be busy or unavailable…it just means that you missed their call so they need to call you back….and by back I mean RIGHT back…at least 2 more times….no joke) and again we went through the pain and suffering of trying to pretend like her phone wasn’t ringing at the highest factory setting known to man.  So the meeting continues…and the phone begins to ring AGAIN….but here is the kicker….she picked the phone up…MID-MEETING….and proceeds to have a conversation…at the conference table!!  She didn’t excuse herself to take the call…she sat their and talked on her phone…and NO she was not the one conducting the meeting.  She was a low level participant…but it didn’t matter.  This was not the first nor the last time I have witnessed something like this….and as you can see it is still problematic to my life.

Another example was when I was watching a news program one morning.  They had a guy on to speak about some intriguing topic I’m sure and when it was his turn to speak….his phone began to ring.  Now rather than silence the ringer on this live national broadcast….he instructed someone from BACKSTAGE to come get the phone from him.  So as we wait for the person to run and get the phone…we are forced to listen to him speak over the ringer while pretending that we dont see the human being run into the frame and grab the phone from him.  Now I understand that we are all very important people and that it would be a crime for people not to have access to us for an hour or so at a time…but COME ON!!! Can we please utilize the settings on our phones and turn our ringers off while we are in meetings or on television shows?  To me it seems like common sense, but maybe common sense ain’t so common as they say. lol

Nose Pickers.  Now this is pretty self-explanatory, but I tell you that it is much more common than you think.  I understand that this may be cultural and it may be very American for me be uncomfortable when I see someone dig up their nose, make eye contact with me….and continue digging as if they are scratching their arm…but it is…VERY UNCOMFORTABLE & DISGUSTING!  I am not talking about children either….though they also do it too. I am talking about grown adult men and women walking down the street picking their nose and then rubbing it around on their fingers or their pants.  This my friends is why I am very hesitant about handshaking since I have no idea if you have picked your nose at what point today your fingers have been all in your nose.  This is also very problematic for my life and I have not gotten used to it yet….lol but I guess I will eventually.  Needless to say I don’t give handshakes these days.

Staring.  Did any of your mothers tell you that staring was rude?  Well mine did and I believe her! Apparently here in Arequipa (and I have also experienced this in other Latin American countries) staring is quite normal and not rude at all.  And if it is rude….many of these folks clearly just don’t care because I get stared down on a daily basis.  And it’s not ‘what you wanna do?!’ aggressive type of stare that starts fights, though depending on my day it very well could start a fight, it is truly a stare of confusion, concern, interest and misunderstanding.  Many of these people just don’t know what to make of me.  It’s like they catch sight of me and are stopped dead in their tracks and I can almost see the thoughts running through their heads…’wait…she’s black…what is she doing here?…where is she from…why is she so tall?’ lol this is what I imagine is going through their minds and on most days it doesn’t bother me.  But we all have those days where we kind of just want to blend in and not be noticed….yea well those days are impossible for me.  And when I am walking around Arequipa with a girlfriend of mine who just so happens to also be black…we are a complete spectacle.  It is aggravating….but still easier to deal with when you are with another person.  The thing that is super aggravating about the staring is that people don’t stop the stare when they are caught.  Where I come from, when you look up and catch someone staring at you, typically they break the stare as if it never happened…because they don’t want to be rude.  Here, when I catch someone staring at me, they don’t break it…they stare harder.  This means that we get into a staring match because at that point I feel challenged. lol yes…I have issues.

Camel Toes.  In an effort to not make this into an x-rated blog, I will say that if you don’t know what they are do a google search and you will quickly figure it out.  They are rampant here! There are so many that they need their own country!  How women are able to still have them in jeans is beyond me, but still it happens.  No texture of pants is off limits here…all are camel toe worthy  All I need to say about this particular category of annoyances is that these are uncomfortable for all involved….PLEASE BUY PANTS THAT FIT!!!!!

That is all for now…but I am certain there will be more before my time here is done.  Do you live abroad? Do you have any annoyances?

Matasquita?? Don’t Mind If I do!

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a solid appetite and love to eat good food.  I don’t really have a favorite cuisine, but I will say that Peruvian food has not impressed me even a little bit.  I do enjoy a good Lomo Saltado or a good Causa, but other than that…I have been left underwhelmed in terms of food.  About two weeks ago, I found a little hole in the wall restaurant that seems to have a pretty tasty, cheap lunch.  I try to stop by there at least once a week now just to see what they have and to dispel the idea I have about Peruvian food just being average.  Anyway, on one of these visits they had something called Matasquita.  It looked hearty and yummy, but I’ve been fooled by looks before so when the lady serving the food asked if I wanted to try some I jumped at the opportunity (No you dont get it…I literally jumped with excitement).  So she gave me a spoonful and OMG was it GREAT!  I didn’t order it for my lunch, but I did promptly walk back up there in the evening and ordered some for my dinner.

The best way I think I can describe it is very well seasoned beef stew.  The meat was tender, spices in order and it came with rice so it felt like a little piece of home.  A nice hearty dinner that made me sleepy…that was definitely a great day!  Apparently this dish is specific to Arequipan cuisine and a favorite among Arequipeños.  I am committed to continue finding Peruvian food that leaves my mouth watering for more.  Stay tuned…as I hope to be able to report back on more yummy food encounters from this little neighborhood eatery.

Bajo La Luna

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to escape to Lima and while I was there I was on a mission to find as many Afro-Peruvian related items as I could.  I actually wanted to go to Ica, which is a state that has a very large number of Afro-Peruvians as well as houses lots of information on the culture, but that didn’t work out for me.  I still have plans to make it to that area though so stay tuned on that.  I did, however, find three amazing books on Afro-Peruvian culture.  One is about slavery, one is about music and the other is about the culture in general. I am very excited to read and learn while I am in Perú because if I have any questions…I am close enough to Chincha to just go ask someone and get real answers from those that have lived it…and that is awesome!  Also, while I was in Lima, I was able to attend an Afro-Peruvian show.  This show was called ‘Bajo La Luna’ which means ‘Under the Moon’ and it was a show that was based heavily in dance, live singing and poetry.  The actors of this show told a story through their movements and through songs…it was a really great show.  We saw scenes of the ship ride to Perù from Africa, scenes of their lives as slaves, scenes of them escaping from slavery and scenes of their lives after it ended.  For me it was all very interesting and has motivated me to dive into these books wholeheartedly (or at least that is what I hope I take away from it).

Above you will see a link that I found on youtube promoting the show, which will give you an idea of what I saw.  The show had a ‘no camera’ rule so I was really unable to take pictures of the beautiful costumes, but I think this video clip does the show justice.  Hope you enjoy!!

Afro-Peruvians….Hear Their Story!

For those of you that actually follow my blog, you have heard me talk lots about trying to learn more about the Afro-Peruvian community here in Perú and if I’m honest, it has not been the easiest goal to accomplish.  I have been in multiple bookstores asking for books about this group and so far there are zero available to me.  It is very frustrating.  This is why when I see work done on the topic to educate others, it makes me smile.  My friend, Dash, who I have featured a few times on my site, was able to get an interview with an Afro-Peruvian father and daughter for her docu-series entitled Negro.  This interview, for me, was very enlightening and gave me a bit of what I have been searching for here in Perú.  Take a look and hear their story…it is very interesting.

The Generosity of Arequipeños

As I spend more and more time in Arequipa, one thing that I am struck by is the generosity of Arequipeños (which is a person from Arequipa).  I would attribute it to the entire country of Perú, but since I have slacked on my job to explore the country, I am not sure if this is a country-wide occurrence.  When I speak of the generosity of these people, I am referring mainly to their desire and ability to always reach into their pocket and help the poor and/or those in need.  Now, I have seen various other levels of generosity, but this is the one that always grabs my attention.  It grabs my attention because I am person that comes from the land of wealth (allegedly).  A place where even the poorest person, will never see or live the type of poverty that can be found around the world.  Regardless of this, I am not one that goes into their pocket to put money into someone’s cup or that rolls their window down to help the wounded vet holding the ‘Hopeless & Helpless’ sign at the highway intersection.  Part of this is because I don’t trust them with what they will do with the money and another part is that I am scared of what they will do when I reach into my purse to get money.  This does not mean that I do not give on a more organized basis (i.e. online giving to UNICEF, donating to causes that friends promote, etc), I am just weary of the street beggar.

Here in Arequipa however, there are two types of beggars.  There are the young hippies that stand at busy intersections and perform mime shows, juggling acts, dance moves, etc at every red light and then walk between the cars to collect change for their talent and in contrast to those, there are the passive beggars that sit or stand in the same spot and hold out their hat or their hand for money as you walk by.  On almost every occasion that I see one of either of these individuals, I also see someone giving them money..more importantly, a Peruvian giving them money.  But, I, of privilege and means, have not reached into my pocket once in Arequipa…so that leaves me to ask the question, am I stingy ? Or just of the opinion that rather than standing at the intersection all day or sitting in your same spot, maybe they could find a more lucrative hustle?  Now this argument is certainly true in the US of many of those we see on the corner, but I’m not sure if the same logic applies in Perú.  I honestly don’t know enough about the economic environment here to be so judgmental so I think I just need to get a grip and dig into my pocket every once in a while and be a productive visitor.

Now before this post makes me sound like the grinch who stole the Peruvian’s hope, just know that because I haven’t done it in Arequipa, does not mean it has not happened in Perú.  For example, when I first arrived in Lima (literally my first day in Perú), I had an overnight layover and a chance to walk around the city.  A deaf woman approached me and motioned that she needed a ‘donation’ and all I had were large bills in my pocket and no coins since I had just exchanged dollars for Nuevo Soles.  I reached into my pocket and gave this woman a 20 soles bill (about $7 USD) and I swear I thought she was going to pass out.  That is when I realized that I gave her much more than anyone usually did.  I now know that people typically give no more than 3 soles….lol.  So I kind of feel like I put in my bid for at least a couple of months!! I went above and beyond the call of duty..lol.  So in my defense, I did give on the street once and I also recently gave to a fund that claims to help children on one of my flights to Lima…so I am not completely devoid of emotion, but I will admit that while in Arequipa I need to get with the program and help a Peruvian out.

Do you give while you are abroad? Should I? Or does it even matter?

Eva Ayllón: Saca Las Manos

This is a song by Eva Ayllón, whom is the same person that I saw in concert here in Arequipa.  That concert really got me motivated to make sure that I get to Chincha very soon.  Chincha is the part of Peru that holds the Afro-Peruvian culture and the largest black population in the country.  As I work through trying to get a flight on a Peruvian airline (which is proving to be more difficult than it should be), this song keeps me motivated and excited about a possible trip to Chincha at the end of June.  Stay tuned!! Hopefully I will make some headway with this process…