Culture Shock. The words that I have to use for my first couple days in Lima. I have quickly noticed that there are several things right off the bat that are barriers. For me I don’t seem to have so much of a language barrier issue, but it’s still largely there, but there have been a lot of cultural barriers. For me I grew up in two very different environments and in most any new situation I have been able to adapt very quickly. For me one of the strangest things is the kissing. Its customary here to kiss women on the cheek when you meet a women and shake the men’s hands. So on the first day here I have never kissed so many women on the cheek. Another thing that is harder to realize is that where I am they don’t see a lot of white American people. Normally in the U.S., I am not the type of person that gets a lot of stares, so coming here I, well the whole group is really a spectacle. The girls in our group get cat called a lot so I feel bad when I don’t get too confrontational.
Another thing that is different here is the poverty and the traffic. The traffic here is so hectic, I pride myself on being an excellent driver and here the rules of the road are not important. Like stop signs are suggestions, blinkers are never used, lines are blurred, and finally people always have this insatiable need to blare their horn. The other thing that struck me a little hard was the poverty of the city. We as a group went to the center of Lima and to be honest it was beautiful but so very dirty. There were slums that reminded me on of the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro. There was also trash piled so high that it would engulf me. But as for now I love Lima.
Another thing that is different here is the poverty and the traffic. The traffic here is so hectic, I pride myself on being an excellent driver and here the rules of the road are not important. Like stop signs are suggestions, blinkers are never used, lines are blurred, and finally people always have this insatiable need to blare their horn. The other thing that struck me a little hard was the poverty of the city. We as a group went to the center of Lima and to be honest it was beautiful but so very dirty. There were slums that reminded me on of the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro. There was also trash piled so high that it would engulf me. But as for now I love Lima.