Trials and Tribulations of Rrrrrrenee

So, I have been Lima for about a month now, mas o menos 1 or 2 days. Things have been pretty great, though I've run into a few trials and tribulations, though none that are serious.

For example, walking can be frustrating for me. As it is, my ethnicity and my gender are made all the more apparent to by sleazy men that frequent your everyday public spaces. It's universal, cat calling and ethnic-specific comments; it happens to me in Canada, in Asia, anywhere. However, it doesn't make it any less frustrating and the frequency that it occurs in Lima has been frustrating. Not a day goes by where I do not get some sort of sexually charged remark from men. While some might find it flattering, I for one find it degrading and disrespectful. I know that men probably do not mean any harm by it, and that maybe they really do think that they are paying you a compliment. For me however, I find it degrading; having worked so hard in my life to get to where I am only to be reduced to something pretty to look at is infuriating. But, I digress. There is not much I can do about it than ignore the cat calls and the remarks of "China" or "Chinita" and every so often, fragments of Mandarin, but more often, Japanese.

On a lighter note; my state of being lost seems to have followed me from Canada to Lima. This past weekend alone, I got lost trying to find a) Larcomar, the mall by the coast where I read there is a bookstore with a good selection of English novels and b) Museo de Nacional Antropologia. Both times that I got lost, I stumbled upon artist and Indian markets and there I put to test my very bad bartering skills. For me, knocking off 2-3 sols in achievement worth celebrating! Though I haven't been getting so lost that I have no idea where North is or where the street I need to catch the bus on is, so at least I'm getting better. Speaking of the bus system, I think I have the hang of it! Of course a few weeks ago I ended up in a rather sketchy neighourhood at the street that I needed, but waaaaay the hell East of where I live (as luck would have it, I was 1 centimo short of 1 sol so I could not take the bus; I took a cab instead). The other weekend I got off way too early and stumbled upon the Canadian Embassy, but if you asked me to find it again I couldn't tell you. I did however take a photo of it though (like that would help you)

From Lima

Notice how the Canadian flag is so similar to the Peruvian flag?!

Last weekend I ventured to Lima Centro where 2 big things happened (big depending on your definition of big): a) I discovered the most delicious Peruvian dessert known to mankind - picarones and b) this creepy man hit on me. There I was enjoying the Carnaval parade and this man, who came up to my ear insists on talking to me, frequently touching my arm and that we should take a walk, asking for my address so that he can bring me food one day, telling me I'm beautiful, etc etc. I awkwardly stood there for about 10 minutes talking to him, trying not to be rude and also trying to keep watching the parade as really, how often does one get a chance to see that? When the parade ended and he insisted on walking and I insisted on walking alone, he followed me until I had to firmly tell him that no, I would really rather be alone. I wasn't sure how to take the situation; I wasn't sure if he was just being friendly or had more sinister intentions, either from robbing me blind or worse. As it is, being a single female alone in a city that I am unfamiliar with, I have been taking every precaution to avoid certain situations.

But the day was made better when I bought my delicious, honey soaked plate of picarones that I bought in this little quaint market-like area whose quaintness still does not quite balance out the wretched state of the River Rimac, which runs brown and quite polluted.



vs.

From Lima

From Lima

From Lima

This is when trouble struck. Approximately 2-3 bees decided that it would be really great idea to follow me and my plate of picarones around. Every time I thought that I had evaded the damn things, I would freak out by their little buzzing and their little stings by my ear. And if anybody has ever seen me in the presence of buzzing insects in my ear, you know that when I freak out, I really freak out. So there I was alone in this public square, devouring a plate of fatty dessert and beating my free arm around my head and walking one way, and then sharply walking the other way. Needless to say, I drew a bit of attention and there were several people who gave me some quizzical looks, and others who flat out laughed. Luckily, I am not one who easily gets embarrassed so I continued what I was doing while simultaneously gobbling down my oozy, sticky and drippy dessert. That's $6 US by the way! Being a girl, with hormones, and cravings that accompany these hormones, it has been frustrating.

Now...when it comes to paying, it's no problem. I speak well enough Spanish to tell them that no, I don't have a Vivanda card or to understand then when they tell me the total and whether or not I have XX of centimos. It's bagging where the problem begins. As it custom for me, I bring my reusable cloth bag to put my groceries in; in the supermarket that I go to, the employee bags your groceries for you. Every time I will tell them that I have a bag, but then they will start putting my stuff in plastic bags anyway. Then I have to insist that they use the cloth bag, which always gets me quizzical looks. All is good, they take the cloth bag and I turn back to see the total. Then I turn back around and realize that they have bagged everything in plastic bags, and then put the plastic bags in my cloth bags!! Aaah! Of course, taking everything out of the plastic bags and into the cloth bag and returning the plastic bags back to them gets me looks like I am a whack-job but I do it anyway. As I leave, the cashier and bag-boy are probably laughing behind my back about what a nutcase I am. Haha...oh well.

Yet another tribulation of mine is walking after dark. Not that I am scared of walking after dark, on the contrary in some parts of the city I really love it because they only really come alive after dark. But where I live, it's quiet residential area filled with...you guessed it...cockroaches. Not just any cockroaches. Cockroaches that have suffered from the Amazon effect and as a result are the size of your entire palm and they fly no less! During the day it's fine, but after dark these little buggers come out and wreak havoc on the path of the ordinary pedestrian. Seeing them scurry about sends me in a frenzy as I am worried they'll claw up my pant leg, or worse, sometimes my bare leg! Stepping on them is even worse as you just can't get over the feeling that you just stepped on some Captain Crunch cereal...but with more mess and revulsion. Of course I am not so crazy as to let this prevent me from walking after dark...but I definitely am apprehensive and walk with my toes curled until I get into a safely zone of light that drives the roaches away.

*shudder*


Anyway...that is that for now. I am too lazy to write down the cookie story so I will provide this video instead:

http://picasaweb.google.es/makrenee/Lima?authkey=AVTnyM3jJ3U#5292790514423591250


It's shower time for this here sticky gal!! Te hablo pronto!

Besos,
Renee