The Old and The New

One of the lasting impressions that I had of Peru was during the trip to Ica. After leaving Lima, the majority of the cities that we passed were smaller, less developed cities. For the most part, these cities were filled with some of the same architecture and landscape as the cities we saw around Cuzco- small buildings made of clay and stone, many of which that were crumbling. After miles and miles of this type of architecture, I saw what appeared to be a very modern mall. Instead of crumbling walls and ruins, the mall had electricity, escalators, and bright electronic advertisements. In addition, I was able to see the westernized clothing that was being sold in the stores of the mall. For me, this image of the mall amongst the ruble of the surrounding city, exemplified my image of Peru after arriving in Cuzco. Many places in the country had a mix of the old and the new. In the end, I think that this is what surprised me the most about my visit to Peru- not that there were some areas that were less developed and others that were very modern. Instead I was most surprised to see how the two mixed and coexisted. Although mostly rustic and old-fashioned architecture, for example, Cuzco had some characteristics of westernized civilizations, such as wifi in most of the hotels and restaurants. This ability to incorporate new characteristics into richly traditional and conservative areas shows Peru’s potential to integrate into a Progressive world.