My last blog post focused on being “rich” in The
Conchucos Valley of the North-central Andes. However Perú’s coastal capital is
an ENTIRELY different universe! Our duties
on contract with the Ministry of Education and SIL International from 1987 to
2002 required us to spend weeks if not months per year away from those wonderful
highland communities. Many of our professional ex-pat colleagues detested this
city: The smell, congestion, pollution, and well, smell. So did we until,
forced to live there our last two years, we grew to appreciate, respect, and
even enjoy it and its inhabitants. Nonetheless certain social economic skills
were very necessary for this to happen. These are skills which apparently every
urban Latin-American knows oh so well. So we had to play “catch-up.”
Anyone watch Seinfeld? George’s wallet is a typical gringo wallet, bulging out of the right side of his rump, giving him a clear 3-4 inches of height when he sits down (George is a short, dumpy guy, normally). Never try this in Lima: You won’t last 5 minutes. A small wallet only with the essentials is necessary, and tucked next to your heart with a windbreaker/sweater zipped up over it (of course women have more convenient methods up there!). Care for personal items while in the “big latin city” is news, not just for ex-pats or gringos! I have heard many a story of Quechuas coming down from the mountains, arriving in downtown Lima, only to be ripped off within minutes of climbing down from the bus or semi-farm truck! In Lima you need eyes and ears ALERT—that’s pratical social economics!
Beggars. From 2000 to 2002 we spent in residence in Magdalena del Mar, Lima and we loved it. Everything there is within either walking distance or a short bus or cab ride away. But walking on the streets in Lima’s neighbourhoods, one quickly learns to deal with… beggars. There are all kinds and a compassionate heart quickly breaks with charity, or hardens into blanket refusal to give ANYTHING.

Transformation. The temptation is strong to follow the ex-pat edict: “suspect EVERYBODY!” Frankly I find this contradictory to the purpose for which I came, so I needed some counter-evidence” to the dictum. Case in point: Centro Victoria. This is a drug and alcohol rehab program in Lima, which came about from the importation of the Teen Challenge program in Texas. Many of these ex-druggies wearing the red tee-shirts with the ‘heart logo’ were at the stoplights all over Lima during our 15-year stay in Perú. The taxi drivers in Lima always provided interesting commentary on the social problems in their country. But generally I heard nothing but praise from many a taxi driver when questioned about Centro Victoria. “They helped my sister who ran into problems with drugs from her stupid boyfriend. They’re great!” (for example). So after we as a family personally visited their rehab location in a barrio joven (slum area in the outskirts of the city, we gladly began to provide what change we had when Centro Victoria individuals knocked on our car window or approached us on the corner.
Living WISELY with an OPEN HEART. It has been good to see such bright spots of open-hearted humanity amid this very crowded city. Let me add that the neighbourhoods as well have a special cohesiveness which we learned about only when we ourselves became a part of one. Ours was a middle-income group of streets and families, ungated and with a single guard who only had a stick and a whistle. But the community watched out for one another and always expressed concern and empathy when problems arose. They would also celebrate with ‘gusto’ during holidays (see future blog!). Lima’s culture is international and mestizo (mixed Spaniard and Peruvian heritage), but always respectful and cordial. In Lima, to live as an island to oneself, blocking out others, simply invites suspicion and a cold shoulder. And maybe that’s universal.
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