Things that are way more popular HERE
(as opposed to in the United States):
~Popcorn
Salted popcorn here is eaten all the time, of everything you can buy at school to eat the bags of popcorn are the most popular I would have to say. Here it is eaten like no big deal, where as back home it's very much like- you are eating popcorn...where's the movie?
~clapping
At our Rotary meetings we clap for the flag of Peru and Rotary... mild but interesting difference
~taking pictures
Every official moment or action moment---PICTURE!
~slippers
Don't even think about walking around in bare feet in your house... I don't know if I'll see my feet for a year... everyone thinks you will get sick, but also your feet would get dirty...
~rice
Every single lunch, with out fail, even if there are potatoes. They don't let THAT faze them, they eat them both!
~Seasoning (on food-pretty heavy)
~Dancing / Music
To dance here, casually or at a party or anything, is to salsa and do other related steps. When people ask if I know how to salsa or merengue and I say no (though I have learned enough so far to look more or less normal and have fun) they all look really confused and ask me what we do to dance in the US... And I try and explain, but I'm starting to ask the same thing! Hahaa
~TRAFFIC
There is alot of traffic in this huge city! It's a terribly annoying thing! I am proud to say that now when someone tells me where they live, in what district of Lima, I am picture it on a visual map--the physical distance. So I'm going along orienting myself well! But along with that comes the realization that when someone says that they live in Miraflores, I see an hour long trip via combi and/or taxi. It's kinda crazy! And about traffic as well is that it is made up of a completly different mix! the majority is loads of Combis, which are public buses. I doon't even know how many different types, sizes and colors there are! Some are literally vans that seats got shoved into, those are harder to get in and out of because of my height (hahaa)... And there are loads of taxis! Though there is some concern surrounding taxis, since everyone is concerned with their personal well being and with an increases in crimes of abductions and murders, women inparticular are much more catious to take taxis by themselves since about 98% of the time the drivers are men... So my family is much more comfortable with me taking the combi then getting into a taxi by myself!
~Billboards
HOLLY MOLLY. I have never been more exposed to more adds here in one week of traveling about the city (I mean my school is an hour away so five days a week I have atleast two hours of commute each day) than in like four months in Portland!
~sub topic: Political Billboards
YEAH. ALL OVER THE PLACE! Elections are October Third and there are extra billboards all over the place for each canidate! Normal signs that are put up on sticks everywhere! I'll get some pictures before the election time, though something tells me they won't come down that fast anyway...
~French Fries
They eat alot of french fries. Alot. Wiiiith chicken, meats and fast foods.
Things that are way more popular in the USA:
~Drinking
Now, this should be taken with a brick of salt. People drink here alot, but the manner that they do so is very different. Here the majority of people only drink when there is a cause for celebration, at reunions, parties, or formal gatherings. But to drink beer or a glass of wine at home would be strange here, super strange. What's more is that the glasses and bottles are completly different-- Beer comes in really large bottles, and at family parties they way that people drink beer is that one person has the bottle, and everyone has a glass--actually the majority of the times I have seen there have never been enough cups, so people just share once they finish, because one person has the big bottle and they pour in about a fourth of the way full and let the person drink that and then fill it up again or pass to someone else (usually pass). And these cups are small. The peruvian glass is a midget. Everything is taken out of small cups-cut our normal glass in two and then make it more narrow, that's what we drink everything out of. So in this way the drinking of beer becomes very communual and is super super different.
Now wine comes in the same normal wine bottle, but it is alot alot stronger here. Now. I don't drink. But you don't have to drink to notice that, you just have to have a nose. You can smell one glass from the other side of the table. All wine is served in a smaller cup than the normal, and is usually served to everyone at formal gatherings where toasts are made.
~Cream Cheese
~Bagels- I have seen NOTHING resembling this tasty breakfast/snack/Americanlunch!
~Chocolate
People eat alot of snacky/junkfood/desserts like cookies and other stuff, but to eat just a bar of chocolate is not that common. Ice cream is expensive and to have just chocolate is tasty here (highly praised) but for some reason even though people like eating just chocolate, it's not a 'shopping list' iteam if you will. Though I will go in depth on shopping for food one day!
~Jelly
~Fortune Cookies
There are ATON ALOT ALOT ALOT ALOT of chinese restaurants here, and they are obviously different than back home because they have a differnt influence, but they are very tasty (though Peruvians think they are Peruvian, not Chinese.. which is just odd...) But there is not a whisper of a fortune!
~Chocolate chip cookies--no one knows what CHOCOLATE CHIPS ARE!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Roteract
Hello All!
So part of being a Rotary Exchange student is being active in the Rotary community. Here I am apart of San Borja Sur roteract club. For those who do not know Roteract is an organization associated with Rotary for youth between about 16 and 25 to come together with the same sort of principals as rotary- we go out and do service projects for the community together. There is also interact clubs which is the same idea but for younger age group, so I'm under the impression that means the work varies some.
So I thought I would tell some about what we have been doing. It has become a very present part of my life, and usually turns into quite alot of fun. We have meetings in the evenings every other Saturday (which can last for hours, but afterwords we all usually go out to get something to eat). And recently (today actually) we have been helping out at medical campaigns, big where the less fortunate (the poor/needy of Lima or other specific places where we are) come to get free medical help, tooth brushes, hair cuts, ect for them and their kids) in some manner. Last week we were present and had a booth for kids. So they came and their parents could go off and get what they needed while they colored images that we brought, and got their face painted. You are reading the original words of the head face painter of our work, thankyouverymuch! hahaa, it's alot of fun, lots of butterflies, spiders (Spiderman is super popular with the boys here!), hearts, flags, ect. And so the kids got to color and get candy when they finished their drawings, which we pinned up all over the walls, which at the end of the day looked really cool... and took a while to take all down! haha, there was alot of beautiful drawings! : )
Though we are also involved in the medical aspect in some ways, this week we had a ton of glasses and frames for those who need them. So we became part of the system in this way too, facilitating the organization and dispersion of the glasses. We also had the same drawing and face painting going on along with braclets.
All of the exchange students are members of this roteract club, or another, but are always invited to our outings like these. So we all get to hang out and help out. Haha, we also have sweat shirts with the Roteract symbol on the front and our names on the back, so people can ask us for help... though my name is kinda tough here, but that's a different issue all together...
Today we also packed up and the majority of us, and all the exchange students who had come, went over to an orphanage, which apperantly we vsit with frequency, so I'm looking forward to getting to return! And there we just played with the kids, I made bracelts with them, we had face painting, drawing, a volley ball game goin' on. There were also little trinket gifts handed out and before we left we gave the orphanage several cartons of produce (boy did the strawberries look good!) and said ciao!
Roteract is really good for the community and it gives us something to do that benefits everyone involved! So I figured a summary would be important because it has become a prominent part of my live in Peru as a rotary exchange student!
So part of being a Rotary Exchange student is being active in the Rotary community. Here I am apart of San Borja Sur roteract club. For those who do not know Roteract is an organization associated with Rotary for youth between about 16 and 25 to come together with the same sort of principals as rotary- we go out and do service projects for the community together. There is also interact clubs which is the same idea but for younger age group, so I'm under the impression that means the work varies some.
So I thought I would tell some about what we have been doing. It has become a very present part of my life, and usually turns into quite alot of fun. We have meetings in the evenings every other Saturday (which can last for hours, but afterwords we all usually go out to get something to eat). And recently (today actually) we have been helping out at medical campaigns, big where the less fortunate (the poor/needy of Lima or other specific places where we are) come to get free medical help, tooth brushes, hair cuts, ect for them and their kids) in some manner. Last week we were present and had a booth for kids. So they came and their parents could go off and get what they needed while they colored images that we brought, and got their face painted. You are reading the original words of the head face painter of our work, thankyouverymuch! hahaa, it's alot of fun, lots of butterflies, spiders (Spiderman is super popular with the boys here!), hearts, flags, ect. And so the kids got to color and get candy when they finished their drawings, which we pinned up all over the walls, which at the end of the day looked really cool... and took a while to take all down! haha, there was alot of beautiful drawings! : )
Though we are also involved in the medical aspect in some ways, this week we had a ton of glasses and frames for those who need them. So we became part of the system in this way too, facilitating the organization and dispersion of the glasses. We also had the same drawing and face painting going on along with braclets.
All of the exchange students are members of this roteract club, or another, but are always invited to our outings like these. So we all get to hang out and help out. Haha, we also have sweat shirts with the Roteract symbol on the front and our names on the back, so people can ask us for help... though my name is kinda tough here, but that's a different issue all together...
Today we also packed up and the majority of us, and all the exchange students who had come, went over to an orphanage, which apperantly we vsit with frequency, so I'm looking forward to getting to return! And there we just played with the kids, I made bracelts with them, we had face painting, drawing, a volley ball game goin' on. There were also little trinket gifts handed out and before we left we gave the orphanage several cartons of produce (boy did the strawberries look good!) and said ciao!
Roteract is really good for the community and it gives us something to do that benefits everyone involved! So I figured a summary would be important because it has become a prominent part of my live in Peru as a rotary exchange student!
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