Los Primeros Dos Dias

Hola todos,

So I've spent a couple of days here now, and have enjoyed it.

The first day I walked around the district of Barranco mostly by myself, and the second around Miraflores with a contact I had in Lima - the sister of a friend from Seattle named Rosanna.

Both Barranco and Miraflores are seaside districts in Lima, and are among the more well-off districts within the city. I definitely prefer Barranco as it has a more cozy bohemian feel to it, rather than Miraflores which is very commercial. Barranco has more markets and Miraflores has more malls.

Walking around Barranco, the first thing you notice is that the buildings are all very colorful - and are different colors. I'll try to put some more pictures up when I get the chance. The next thing you notice is that when you get to a street, horns are blaring, and people are swerving across lanes to avoid each other, and people are running across them like Frogger would whenever they get the chance. I've gotten used to doing the same. Just walking around, I like the feeling of being in a place that's completely different from anything I'm used to. And also, everyone that I asked for help or directions was more than friendly about doing so, even though sometimes I couldn't understand what they were saying at all. I've also learned that if you make eye contact with street vendors, they'll think you're interested. I was sitting in a fast food resteraunt last night and happened to glance out at the street when a guy was walking by with some crutches. He came into the resteraunt and started trying to sell them to me. The two guys behind the counter started laughing and said something like "he thinks you're a cripple!" in Spanish. I told the gentlemen that I didn't need them, and then laughed with them.

I took a bus to Miraflores, and had a thought - someone from America like myself might be tempted to think that Peruvians were very bad drivers, but it would be false. They're actually very good drivers to drive the way they do and not get into accidents with other cars or hit pedestrians. In Miraflores I picked up a phone for making local calls and a watch (for telling the time . . .). I then met with Rosanna, and we stopped somewhere to talk, and then walked around for a bit. We had a fair amount of trouble communicating, since my Spanish is rather poor (leaving the US I described it as "decent") as is her English. But it was nice to walk around having company, and it made the streets seem friendlier than they would have otherwise been had I been walking around at night by myself. On Sunday, I'm looking forward to visiting Rossana's family. Outside of just meeting people in Hostels (who mostly speak English), I like the idea of being able to spend time with more actual Peruvians.

Today, I think I'll take a taxi to downtown Lima - unfortunately I slept in a bit too long to see the changing of the guards ceremony which is supposed to be interesting. But there will still be things to see. I'll keep you posted!

Adios,
Esteban