First Steps in Peru

Allright. First of all it’s important to state that I arrived well in Lima, am in good health (as far as I know) and found my new temporary home without any trouble worth mentioning. Second, my apologies for only now writing this very important first blog from Peru. I have started writing about half a dozen times, but always ended up with a dry, chronological account of the 24 hours after my arrival. Unfortunately, I am not sure I will do better this time. Just see how far you get without yawning or skipping parts.

So, as expected by some, Peru is like a fairy tale. Of course I do not mean that there are parks with huge talking trees everywhere, unicorns jumping around or brave knights fighting for the princess’ hand in a jousting arena… those parts of fairy tale land must be located elsewhere. I found my way to the land of the dwarves. I feel like Goldilocks, except for the fact that the middle and big bear moved out of the house and only the bed of the small bear is left. Laying down in a feutus positions is no problem, but stretching out means that the lower third of my legs sticks out and my chest and above is without cover. Considering that Latin American constructors never thought of the possibility of heating or double glass, and the fact that I have not gotten used to the ‘winter’ here, this is not very pleasant.
Although it doesn’t happen in the story of the three bears, I have the same feelings for the local transportation system. We all know what mini-vans are, but it is only once you and 12 others are in the backpart of one, that you realise what the ‘mini’ stands for. I very much doubt that any car factory ever intended these vehicles to be passenger carriers for pothole filled roads. I bumped my head at least seven times in four trips, had to stand once for a couple of minutes meaning by back is bent into a 90 degree angle, and always need to put my legs in the little middle pathway that is left. Welcome to Peru.

Of course I just phrase this story in a way that, I think, entertains you more. It might seem that I really dislike this country, but the truth is of course different. All of the above is true, but I decide myself to what extend I let it get to me. So far I think I’ve done an excellent job at accepting it. I think that is the only way to survive any country that is not your own anyway: accept the differences. Sure, I could take a cab, but that is ten times the price and is more dangerous in terms of getting robbed. The transport system with a lot of small private companies competing for customers is actually very effective. Sure, the vans are old and not well maintained and are driven like crazy because every van needs to hit an important pick-up point before the competition does… but it works. From the other people here I have learned that accidents happen far less often than you would expect, and the prices are excellent. A half hour trip through the city, about 20km, costs you 30 eurocents at most.

Prices in general are very favourable. Yesterday a German girl, Johanna, bought a phone card for 10 Soles. That is about 2,50 euro. With that card, she said, she can call to Germany for an hour and a half. Brilliant, isn’t it? At night she took me to the commercial district, where the rich people live as well, Miraflores. There I bought a new cell and SIM with 20 Soles credit on it, for the amazing price of S./99,-. And at some places one could even get a cheaper one. Of course it is a very, very basic cell… which can be reached at +51 1 986556183….but I don’t need more, do I? Food is not as cheap though. Of course most things are still cheaper than in the Netherlands, but in comparison they are not as cheap as other things here. A 1.5 liter bottle of coke costs about one euro, Italian chorizo was about 1,50. I guess that if I learn to separate ‘import’ from local supermarket products, I will be able to spend less on these products.

So what else should I tell you? I could tell you about the student house I’m in, but that would need another blog. For now it suffices to say that I met almost everyone, except for two or three people on my own floor. The first floor has Francesca from Italy, who is also here for her ISHSS masters, Aurélie from France, Jeanne from France, and the Peruvian couple Aldo and Sandra. On my floor I only know the German-Peruvian couple of Johanna and Richard. Apparently there are two more Peruvians, Emily and Juan, but they are rarely in the house. There would be space for another 8 to 10 people, so who knows what happens during my stay. For now these are the people that live here though, their story and background is not something to discuss here and now.

Finally a little bit about Villa El Salvador. Yesterday I had a meeting with three members of DESCO, the NGO that will help me out. They liked most of my ideas and proposed a few ways to helping me, for example by writing a letter that associates me with them, which makes it easier to access public information. They are not sure to what extend the plan to incorporate all projects since 2003 is viable, because information of especially the first years may be very limited. It was interesting to see one of the districts that I will research in, though. Villa El Salvador’s lay-out is very organised in squares, but in most other ways it’s pretty much what you expect of a lower class neighbourhood in Latin America. Almost all roads are of very bad quality, housing is of stone but build in cumulative steps and without much thought about building codes or safety regulations. The desert-like area Lima is built in becomes more obvious in VES, because the lack of green space means sand has a lot of freedom to go and blow where it wishes. All of this makes the shock bigger once you hit one of the main traffic arteries of the district, that has gained some attention of the municipality. The very dark road with visible lines hint at recent asphaltation and the space between the two ‘directions’ is actually green. It makes a huge difference for the feeling you get, urban planners proved right.

I will try to make some photos of VES soon, even though it is not advisable to take a digital camera. I will need to take it sooner or later anyway, to make pictures of projects. I have the feeling I have not told you so many things yet, such as the breakfast at Ana Maria’s (landlord), the taxi from the airport and the issue of H1N1…but that would really be too much for today. I’m sorry if this was already too much, hope you still enjoyed at least some of it… and promise I will have a better organised and more readable blog next time!