Back in America but With a Peruvian Eye

I was driving with my mom on the highway when I noticed a large flatbed truck to our left carrying three huge pieces of cement. My legitimate first thought was "the Incas really could have used that." I sort of laughed under my breath after I realized that I would never have had that thought before the trip. Just a month ago I hadn't been thinking about the Incas, let alone how they transported the massive stones they used to build some of the architectural wonders we saw. It still absolutely amazes me that they were able to engineer such lasting buildings and terraces with such simple tools and I wonder what things they would have been capable of with the resources we have today.

The truck carrying the large blocks of concrete

The next day I walked into the grocery store with my brother to get some milk and oreos. In Peru I tried to stay away from drinking straight milk because of my history of lactose issues so I was excited to hopefully appease my stomach and get some good lactose free milk at home. Naturally my brother wanted to tag along to get some Oreos to go with the milk. Being summertime, there was a massive bin full of corn right when we walked into the store. I was immediately struck by how small the kernels were until I remembered that I had been thinking of choclo for a month and had forgotten how small the corn we are used to is in comparison. I am sure I will be in for another surprise the first time I take a bite of this corn, not quite anticipating the sweet flavor that I haven't had for over a month.

Our super small corn

I can say without a doubt that this trip has changed the way I think about things back home. Everything from our lack of freshly squeezed orange juice to seeing my dogs run around at home reminds me of the amazing experiences I had and the even more interesting things I learned. Until next time Peru!