Why I Love Peru

Today is my last day in Lima, Peru, and it's likely to be some time before I return because of the new law regarding passports. You see, the geniuses in Washington, D.C., passed a law requiring travelers to and from Canada and Mexico to have passports to enter/reenter the U.S. recently. The law went into effect earlier this year, and apparently it didn't make any provisions for handling the massive amounts of passport applications that came pouring in because of all the traveling that Americans do to Mexico and Canada and back. My passport expires a week from Saturday and I understand that even if I ask them to expedite my renewal, it'll take about 12 weeks for me to get it. That means I might get it at the end of December. Woo-hoo. So, when I return here again, it won't be until next year.

Anyway, I've been here since last Thursday and have completed the business I needed to get done and have had time to socialize with my friends here. In 2003, a number of Peruvian programmers and I worked on a gate automation/web development project together and in the course of stressful times and long weeks in New Orleans, I became friends with them. When I'm in Lima, I usually try to get together with them at least once or twice.

On this trip, two of my Peruvian friends asked me at different times why I love Peru (and Lima) so much. I have found that it's really hard to explain why because my love for Peru is emotional and emotions are hard to explain. When I first traveled here in May 2003, it was for business. The development team for the project and the development manager for the project had said that they liked the work I was doing for the online help for the web application and they wanted me to visit and get to know the whole team. I was excited about this development because I come from a family that has wanderlust flowing through our veins; we are all great travelers and have been since my mother first took my sister Lindsay and me to England when I was almost three and she was almost one. I had some trepidation, too, because my Spanish is rudimentary at best and I get frustrated when I can't understand other people and vice-versa. Well, by the time I had had my first breakfast in the lovely little hotel that's now my home away from home when I come here, I had lost all nervousness. As I looked around and saw the beautiful, lush plants and flowers that grow even in this desert-like climate, there was a tug on my heart strings. By the time I had tried cebiche, pisco cours, and Inca Cola and traveled to Cusco and Macchu Piccu, I realized I had fallen in love with this country--the views, the food, and above all the people.

Two years later, in 2005, I was the project manager for the second phase of our project. That meant I got to travel here 4 times that year. The first trip was at the end of March and the beginning of April, which is a beautiful time of the year here. By that time, I had worked with the developers closely on numerous things and had gotten know many of them either in New Orleans or by MSN Messenger and that made the trip more special. (I also decided that Lima was a good luck charm for me, because while I was here that year, UNC won the NCAA Championship in Men's Basketball). I think that having so many friends here also deepened my love for the place, especially since I returned three more times that year and another three times in 2006--that truly cemented the friendships. I also brought my mother, Mary, and Anna on separate trips. Here's a picture of the 2005 development team at lunch with me (from left to right: Marco, Juan Carlos T, Nestor, me, Luis, Rale, Victor, Juan Carlos C., Felton Yaddif, and Edwin).

Some of my good friends are not in that photo because they started their own company in 2004, so here's a picture of them in 2006 with my mother (from left to right, Mom, Juan Carlos V., Julio and me):

(It's possible that you are now seeing a pattern here--I'm surrounded by lots of nice-looking men and am often the only female in the group. So, sue me, I'm human--this is part of the reason I like it here so much. I mean, c'mon, what self-respecting woman could possibly resist having attention lavished on her by so many attractive men?)

Anyway, handsome men aside, I also know that I love the spirit of the people I meet here, from the clerks in the "hypermarket" to the wonderful people who run this hotel to my friends from the project who are now spread far and wide--some to Australia and others to Spain. I know that there are problems here with violence, stealing, and the Shining Path still has a presence, but the individuals here are kind and thoughtful. They haven't lost their manners like Americans have and they are also not as intent on destroying their uniqueness with McMansions, Wal-Marts, and Barnes & Nobles as we are. They don't look at you like you're crazy if you smile at them on the street and they have the kind of courtesy that reminds me of when I was a young girl growing up in North Carolina, when politeness was still the norm instead of an aberration.

I admire Peruvians for their work ethic and their ability to find joy in lives that aren't always perfect and my heart ached for them when the earthquake wreaked havoc on the southern part of the country. But unlike the U.S. during Katrina, the Peruvians here have pulled together to help the unfortunate people in Ica and surrounding places. You don't hear any Peruvinas saying, "Well, if you choose to live in an earthquake-prone error, you have to pay the consequences when there's an earthquake." But most of all, I admire their sense of humor because it is so much like the sense of humor in my family. I might not speak the same language as my Peruvian friends, but we laugh the same laughter.

Peru is also a beautiful country and Lima is an impressive city. Lots of it are poor and crowded, but there are oases of loveliness and prosperity throughout the city. You can find almost anything you need in Lima and you can even get a flu vaccine at the local supermarket on a Sunday. To me, that's amazing. I also know that, despite living in North Carolina in small cities, I am an urban girl at heart and I just love big cities--and Lima is huge. I like the skyscrapers and the sounds of the cars on the streets and the good restaurants and pretty parks and squares that are in the city. There are some people I know that think I'm crazy to love big cities, but I think my daughters, mother, and sisters understand this love. Here are some of my favorite shots of places in Lima. The first one is of a lovely park not far from my hotel that has olive trees in it:

And this picture was taken at the site of a Pre-Incan pyramid that's right in the middle of the city--you can get an idea of the architecture of the city.

And here's a picture of the pre-Incan pyramid, which is truly well within the city limits of Lima. Think how cool it would be if an American city had a ruin like this in the middle of it. On the other hand, if we had such a wonder, some developer might view it as a sandy eyesore, immediately buy the property, and put a Best Buy or Wal-Green's on it, because apparently there just aren't enough of those in the U.S. yet.

Another great thing about Lima is that it's right on the ocean and you can get some spectacular views of the ocean with houses high on the cliffs above it. On the east coast of the U.S., we don't have ocean views like you see in the picture below, which was taken at Larcomar, a shopping and restaurant center in a tony part of Lima.

As I said, I love Lima, but there are other parts of Peru, that are beautiful. In 2006, my friends Julio and Juan Carlos took my mother and me to Lunahuana, which has a nature preserve on it; it's about two hours from Lima and the views that you see as you drive there are superb. This photo is actually the wallpaper for my computer:

So, when you combine beautiful scenery, excellent food, and lovely and kind people, what's not to love about Peru?

It's interesting though--in some ways Peru is entirely different from home, but in other ways, it's not that different, especially in North Carolina. North Carolina is blessed with beautiful mountains and a gorgeous seashore and rolling hills in between. We don't have a huge city, that's true, but Charlotte's pretty big. And, despite my complaints, most native North Carolinians are lovely people. So, it's possible that the main reason I love Peru is because it touches me in the same way my home state (that I love so much) does--there is a chord of similarity between the two that plays to my heart.