Carriers

 A common practice that caught my eye while visiting Peru, especially in the historic city of Cusco, is the amount of lower-income, mostly Indigenous, workers, that spend their day selling a variety of different souvenirs, trinkets, and other items by carrying an often-times gigantic sack on their back. In class, we learned that these people are called cargadores (or carriers) and have been a historic working population within the city of Cusco, as we read through the autobiography of one in class. 

To me, this work seems physically taxing, as I'm sure many of the cargadores often carry more than their own body weight just to be mostly ignored by wandering tourists. Most of the items they sell are not high in price and are just tourist keepsakes, so I cannot imagine many of these workers earning more than a few soles a day. Sometimes, I would see these workers late at night sleeping on the street, indicating they had nowhere else to go home, and I felt immense sympathy. At the end of the day, I sense that this population is probably more vulnerable and that there is some action that is needed to ensure workers are able to get better jobs in Cusco and throughout Peru. 

Dogs in Peru

 Before I came to Peru, the doctor had warned me about not getting close to any dogs, and to assume that they all had rabies. Not saying that they don’t have rabies, but I was actually really surprised by how much of a community responsibility these dogs seemed to be, and how relatively well taken care of they were. In other cities, I’ve seen any number of animals living on the streets and mildly feral, but the dogs in Peru stayed out of people’s way. I don't think I had a day during this trip (except for in Lima) where I didn't see at least 15 street dogs, all minding their own business or walking around. I saw restaurants at night setting out a plate or tossing out scraps, same thing with people leaving with to-go boxes, and the dogs were pretty gentle about approaching or taking the food from people. I found it really endearing that the whole community subconsciously came together to take care of these dogs, and that it was just a nice thing to do, without any reward. In all honesty, I think that is one of the things that warmed me up to Cusco the most, seeing that people seemed nice, and one of those nice things was their causal caring for the dogs that roamed the streets.

I don’t know much about dogs or if this would be possible, but it almost seems like a case of community domestication; the dogs throughout the entire city are a more mild and nice version of the street dog because they receive food. Then there’s the case of teriyaki, the dog that led us down Machu Picchu and met us on the other side of a river we were crazy enough to cross. I don’t know if he is a house dog, but seeing as he ran off with another dog once we reached the city, I am inclined to believe that he is a street dog. This dog from the street was more well behaved than my dog I have at home, and this is something that shocked me as I thought about it more, because you might think it impossible that a dog off of the street would be so well treated that they behave better than a pet dog. 

Attitudes towards sexuality

 One of the things that stuck out to me in Peru in general, but especially after we went to the exhibition about the erotic pottery, is the attitude towards sexuality that I have observed in what we have studied. Specifically, the not shying away from the human body or sexual topics that might need to be talked about that I feel happens all the time in the United States. This exhibition had any number of genitals and sexual acts depited on different vases and pieces of pottery, but they display itself was rather open, and the exhibition was laid out in a way that didn’t shy away from its contents, being a series of big, open rooms where you could see the entirety of the pieces from the doorway. If there were to be an archaeological discovery of erotic art in the United States that was made some 500 years ago, it would be an extrememly avantgarde, edgy, and most likely limited showing, with protests or some kind of reaction to this kind of art being displayed somewhere where an 18 year old could walk in. In Lima, this was treated with almost more maturity, this is a permanent exhibition, and viewers were calm, simply looking through the art before leaving. This is the same thing I think would happen if a movie like Madeinusa was released in the United States, and though there was criticism in Peru, the fact that the movie even made it off of the ground to be produced says something about the willingness to experiment and be open to conversations regarding sexuality, even that which is criticized and taboo in society. 

I’m not sure what the effects of this may be, perhaps it helps people be more open about the problems in society, maybe not. I know that this may be reading into things a bit too much, but there is definitely something to be said about the relative openness of Latin culture towards some ideas which are more taboo in the United States, though in other cases it is most certainty the other way around. 

Supervision of Children in Peru

 Throughout the entirety of the trip, I have been noticing that children are not as supervised in Peru than they are in the United States. This is not a moral judgement on the parents, just an observation of different cultural parenting styles. I noticed this most jarringly when we were in Aguas Calientes, and were walking around at night (maybe around 10 or 11pm) and there were toddlers running around in the street unsupervised. This was surprising to me because there are thousands of tourists bustling through, so you would think that maybe the town would be a bit dangerous (I have no idea how dangerous Aguas Clients actually is). We saw many boys playing soccer in the street in Pisac, and I continually saw children playing by themselves in the streets of Cusco, especially by the market. Perhaps there is more trust in the local community in Peru, or less fear of kidnapping? In the US there is an ever present fear that children will be kidnapped, and many children are kept under close supervision. In the US parents are obsessed with watching their children 24/7: they watch their kids on baby monitors at night, don’t let their children play alone in the streets. Which is better: hyper-vigilance or under-vigilance? I appreciated that parents in Peru gave their children space to play, I think that it fosters creativity to give children freedom. 

Homelessness

 When we were coming back from Chango one night I noticed that several of the street venders were sleeping by their stands in the street. I have often seen these vendors at night, but this was the first time that I saw them actually sleeping on the streets. It made me think: do they come from villages far away? Is there no affordable place for them to go at night? What concerned me as well was that many of the vendors I passed were elderly women, and even one was swaddling a baby. I think that the city of Cusco should step in and create a shelter for these street venders.

In comparison, in Lima we were approached by many people who directly asked us for money. This made me realize that in our time in Cusco we were never approached by any beggars because in Cusco the homeless people on the street were mostly street venders selling artisanal trinkets or they had snack carts. There were venders on the streets in Lima, but they were mostly fruit venders, and had much more elaborate carts than the venders in Cusco. Also upsettingly in Lima there were young boys selling lollypops on the street. Why were these boys not in school? 

In conclusion, there needs to be more protection of street venders in Cusco to prevent homelessness, and in Lima to prevent child labor. 

Soundscapes of Machu Picchu

 While taking in the view at Machu Picchu I was enjoying the serenity of the birds, the wind, being enveloped in the breathtaking view of the mountains, until I heard a bus honking, which pulled me out of the moment. I was surprised that while walking around the lower grounds of Machu Picchu that I would be able to hear a bus. This sound made me sad for several reasons: firstly, it made me sad because I knew it was a sound unfamiliar to the Incas. As a visitor to this beautiful, ancient city, I was trying to connect with and immerse myself in Inca culture. I was trying to imagine what life would have been like: I was seeing remnants of what they saw and was hearing some of the nature they would have heard, until the bus… Hearing the bus was upsetting not just because it jolted me out of this contemplative state, but also because it reminded me of how touristy Machu Picchu is. Making the site so accessible by building roads right next to the site takes away some of the magic of the site. I was reminded that it is no longer the hidden city untouched in the jungle: it has been found and touched. Lastly, the sound of the bus reminded me of how programmed and structured the experience of visiting Machu Picchu. I was reminded that in a few moments, I too, would be likely riding the bus down (which didn’t actually happen). I really did not enjoy the structure of the visit, particularly the fact that we could only move in one direction and that we were constantly encouraged to move along by the guards. Even the "hike" down from Machu Picchu had built in stairs. I made Machu Picchu my own experience by venturing off the path a bit and finding a quiet rock on a river to contemplate what I had just experienced.

Soccer is for the men

 At the end of our hike within Edita when we stopped by the sacred rock where the children were playing, I was surprised to see that only the boys were playing soccer. Some of the girls were coloring, others were playing clapping games, and even a few of them were cheering the boys on, but none of them were playing soccer. When we stepped up to where the older children were playing I noticed that all of the boys were standing in a circle throwing a ball around, while only one girl was standing, and the rest of the girls were sitting. When gender discrepancies in recess activities in young children are so obvious, one cannot help but wonder if the children are being conditioned or encouraged towards playing soccer or sitting on the sidelines. Young children especially have minimal agency, so if is likely that they are being influenced by something. Is it their parents? Teachers? The popular male soccer teams? 

Additionally, when we went to the bar to watch the champions league final, the only women in the bar were waitresses. The bar was packed with men. Why is soccer watching also an all-male phenomenon? 

I grew up playing soccer on a co-Ed team (ages 5-10), which was encouraged and set up by my parents. Perhaps soccer playing is more co-Ed in the USA.

Making a present for my friends

 Two to three days before the end of this trip, I decided that I wanted to get everyone in the group a present, however, I had no idea what to get them. When thinking of what present to get them, I wanted it to be something that was memorable and thoughtful. Furthermore, I wanted the present to have an aspect of me, and after much thought and consideration, I decided I wanted to make a gift that dealt with music.

            Music for me has always been an easy way to express myself and I believe is an easy way to connect with people. An example of this is demonstrated with the Incan culture, playing various songs of their past so that they may continue traditions their ancestors have passed on. In a way, this idea demonstrates the ability of music connecting people from the past to the present. Do y’all think music is an effective way of communicating with individuals?

Is there a sense of community in Lima?

 During my little time in Lima, I noticed a pattern of the same people arriving and greeting each other in places like a restaurant or grocery stores. This pattern made me wonder and question, is there a community within a city? Cities are known for being large spaces where individuals don’t necessarily know each other, but I was seeing the opposite in Miraflores.

After noticing this trend, I went ahead and asked my professor since he grew up in this city and he told me that Miraflores is in fact a city with skyscrapers and very fast-paced in some respects, but in others, it's very much a slow life due to being close to the beach and home to many tourists. Additionally, he told me that depending on the restaurant, there are workers that still recognize him to this day, meaning that it very much has that sense of community.

However, to build this sense of community one needs to spend much time in Miraflores so that people can get know each other and this makes sense because people usually want to invest their time into people with who they can get closer and build a connection. Although the city of Miraflores is a city, a sense of community can be found with time and effort.  

Fashion in Peru

 The Fashion style in Lima, Peru is much different than what you see in the United States. To see this, however, one must leave the tourist part of town and move to where you can find the locals of Lima.

            Two to three days before I left Lima, I went to gather supplies and made a present for my friends, but in all honesty, gathering the supplies was a journey for me to see what normal life looks like for locals and specifically how they dress. I saw many people in suits and very nice clothing and I saw people in construction uniforms doing their job. A common trend that I witnessed from the locals in Peru was that they were all dressed in their work uniform, and this is probably because I went on a Wednesday at about mid-day, but even then, you could not find one single person in sweatpants. This confused me a bit because Miraflores is supposed to be a tourist place, yet I felt like I was seeing various locals.

            After I had a conversation with my professor about this and he told me that Miraflores is a place where companies fly out their workers so that they may have important meetings etc. This explanation makes sense since the workers were all dressed in suits as if they were going to meetings. As for the people who weren’t dressed that way, it’s still common to dress decently nice when going out. This ideology, however, isn’t found in the United States, and I find this very fascinating.

Fast Food Chains in Peru

 During my time in Peru, I have learned that franchise businesses there seem to be much larger than usual, specifically in the center of cities. I witnessed this idea while I was in Cusco and in Lima. Furthermore, I became curious, how come these fast-food franchises like Mcdonald's be two stories high? To answer this question, I went to a Mcdonald's in Cusco.

            While inside McDonald’s, the first thing I noticed was the price, and although it was a little cheaper when compared to the United States, it wasn’t that much cheaper. Furthermore, the Mcdonald's was packed with tourists specifically and I was shocked. Why are people coming to Mcdonald's when they can try other types of foods? At first, I didn’t understand this question but after some time in Peru, I came to understand.

            During my time in Peru, I had a lot of fun, spending time with amazing people and experiencing what makes Peru unique, however, I did start to feel a bit homesick at times and it was during these times that I found myself craving McDonald. From this experience I came to the consensus that, I only crave Mcdonald's during this time because it reminds me a bit of home, being a restaurant that’s also found in the United States. Now to answer the other question on why McDonald’s is two stories high is because Mcdonald's is decently expensive for locals and since rent is dependent on the local price, Mcdonald's is obtaining a lot of revenue. Although it may sound weird, the Mcdonald's in the center of a city is an expensive restaurant. Notice, how I say, “the McDonalds at the center of a city” and not “all McDonalds,” the reason for this is because I also went into McDonald's that was outside the center of the city and was shocked by the price difference. The price was less than half when compared to the one located in the city. Furthermore, this shows how restaurants and fast-food chains adapt to their environment and we can notice this in the menu as well, having different options depending on the country. Do y’all agree with my responses to both questions I had proposed?

Locals Attitude towards Foreigners speaking Spanish

Ever since our class arrived at Cusco, we have met many individuals from the town whether it be the waiters at the restaurant, our tour guides, or even just people on the street, and the first words that come out of people’s mouths are words in English. This is understandable because we don’t necessarily look like we are from around here, however, lots of times we then speak to the townspeople in Spanish so that they know we speak Spanish, and we are met with two answers: they either continue speaking in English or they ask us whether we speak Spanish.

            When the people from the town continue speaking English after we respond in Spanish, I could see them doing this for one of many reasons: they don’t necessarily believe we speak Spanish, they want us to feel more comfortable, and they want to practice their English, etc. However, I believe it’s more so the first option than anything since I would ask or simply speak Spanish if I were in their situation. What do y’all think about this? What is the main reason for them continuing to speak English after we have spoken in Spanish?

            As for the other option that I have said which is when people ask if we speak Spanish, this I find it good to do since it’s good to not assume these types of things. I also find that when people ask the individuals, they seem to be friendlier since they want to learn more about the individuals even if it’s as simple as knowing whether we know how to speak Spanish. What is y’all’s attitude when someone asks y’all if y’all speak Spanish?

Lights in the city of Cusco

During my time at the La Bom, which is in Cusco, Peru, I sat down to work on the little patio they have outside which overlooks a vast part of Cusco. While taking in the beauty of the city lights, I noticed how there would be fewer lights on the city's outskirts, which makes sense since those parts are not as populated, and thus there is less need for city lights. However, while looking at the city there would be areas that were completely dark but were surrounded by lights. This led me to question, why are there no lights in those areas? My initial thoughts were there might be some construction in these areas, and thus there might be some power outage. The amount of these “dark gaps,” however, did not add up with the construction theory. What do y’all think is the reason for these dark gaps?

            In addition to this, I noticed that the lights turned on relatively early for eastern time which makes sense because it’s on the border of the time zone. Furthermore, when they turned on, there were white lights rather than yellow lights on the outskirts of the city, and this reflects the time in which these lights were set up because Cusco is still an expanding city. This expansion makes me wonder, will they set up lights on the mountains themselves? Since the lights are slowly climbing the mountain.

Aguacaliente: Tourist Town

     Despite Machu Picchu being advertised as a city lost in the jungle, there is a very bustling town just at the base of the mountain. Aguacaliente, named after the hot springs located in the town, feels very manufactured. As one of the wonders of the world, Machu Picchu is a major tourist draw. This has lead to the town of Aguacaliente popping up so people can hang around before or after their journey to the city lost in time. 

    As a tourist town, there is a noticeable lack in quality of food (despite an increase in prices). The town can succeed due to proximity to Machu Picchu, without putting in the effort required of a larger, more established city, like Cusco or Lima. The town was very enjoyable for the one night, but any longer would have felt like too much. There is a fun night life scene with plenty of bars, as well as a soccer pitch with public access. The town is meant to be a draw for those who want somewhere to stay before their bus ride to Machu Picchu. Aguacaliente stands out as more of a tourist town due to the markets that are designed to look like they are traditional, but are mixed in the middle of a city that feels very modern.

Lima Beach

     While the beach in Lima may have been chilly, there was no shortage of surfers in the water. There also was no shortage of guys lined up on the sidewalk offering surfing lessons. It seems that a popular pastime in Miraflores is to go surfing, and many locals have taken advantage of the tourists looking to learn. When we walked down the beach, every two feet was a guy trying to sell us surfing lessons. They all seemed to have the same pitch too. The prices were similar, all of them offered equipment and similar length lessons, and all of them had an Instagram to show us.

    I did not end up going surfing, but I was wondering how they differentiate themselves enough to find customers. It seems as though the demand is high enough that they simply just need to wait for people to come and they will find customers. In the United States, there would be more distance between rival instructors, as well as some variability in what they could offer. Here they almost seem to feed off each other. The fact that it was a popular surfing beach likely means there are enough surfers looking to learn that they do not need to compete. By grouping together they attract the attention of those who want to find lessons, and it becomes easier to know where the surfing instructors are.

Cuy

When I was younger, my older sister had a pet guinea pig named Mr. Bubbles. Mr. Bubbles was everything a pet is supposed to be: adorable, furry, and easy to take care of for a teenage girl. Little did I know, before coming to Peru, that the beloved furry, big-cheeked pets that we in North America have learned to come and love as domestic pets are, in fact, raised more like livestock in South American countries such as Peru and Ecuador. In these countries, guinea pigs are referred to as cuy and they are often grilled, fried, and roasted for cuisine purposes. 

Cuy is majorly important to the culture of Peru, as I saw multiple times throughout my trip. In the main cathedral in the Cusco Plaza de Armas, one can find a painting painted by Marcos Zapata entitled La Ultima cena in which Jesus and his 12 disciples are sitted around a dinner table eating, you guessed it, a sacrificed cuy. In the cooking practice of pachamanca, a method that utilized earthen ovens, cuy is often prepared and sold as a delicacy. 

When I tried cuy myself, I compared it to bird meat, such as turkey or chicken. It is often compared to rabbit meat, as well, even though I haven't ever eaten rabbit. I'm glad I got to try it and it was actually quite tasty! My mom sent me pictures of Mr. Bubbles, later, after I told her I ate one. She's trying to guilt trip me...

Evolution of Stray Dogs

Visiting India when I was only 8 years old, I was heartbroken by how many stray dogs there were. My sad little wannabe veterinarian heart just wanted to adopt them all. I even told my family that when I was an adult, I would come back and help vaccinate them all and give them good homes. Coming to Cusco, I had a similar first impression. All around Cusco, there are dogs. Some are just running around, others are taking naps under benches, on the sidewalk, or even in the middle of the street. At first I felt sympathy, concerned for them being out all night in the cold. But as I looked a bit closer, I noticed many of them had collars or sweaters, and realized many of them had owners. Instead of being simple stray dogs, these dogs had integrated themselves into their society.

When I returned to India 5 years after that first time, I still saw so many stray dogs. However, like Cusco, I saw that some of them now had owners. Even my family in India, who had scoffed at the idea of owning dogs 5 years before, now owned a dog. Now it was quite a different relationship than how we have dogs in the U.S.. The dog may have lived in the house, but it did not receive the sort of affection we regularly give our dogs in the U.S.. But it still did live in their house, and was cared for by my cousins. If I had to guess, I would think Cusco is following the same progression as India. If I visited Cusco 10 years ago, I bet the dogs wouldn’t be owned at that time, but just roaming and living on the streets. Along that same line of thought, if I visit the city in the future, I hope and think that dogs will continue to earn their place in society. I hope the dogs live even more in their houses than on the street, and that they are all clean, vaccinated, and taken care of by a vet (there are currently very few vets in Cusco as they are not used often). The integration of dogs into the civilian home to me seems like a sign of modernity; as places like Cusco and India get more modern, dogs become more like pets than pests. In the future, I would love to visit these places, along with others, to see if my theory is true.

Passion Fruit in Peru

Coming to Peru, I really had no idea what to expect. What would it look like? What would the people be like? Friendly like the Midwesterners I was so familiar with? So many things were a complete surprise. However, one of the things I was most surprised by was the popularity of passionfruit. Since the U.S. barely has any passionfruit at all, much less any authentic passionfruit, I had never tried it. But at every single restaurant we went to in those three weeks, there was some sort of passionfruit offered. Juice, soda, ice cream, dessert, there was passionfruit everywhere I turned. On my first day in Peru, only hours after arriving in Cusco, I tried a sip of passion fruit juice from a friend and immediately fell in love with it. I spent the next few weeks trying all the passionfruit I could find, but it made me wonder, why doesn’t the U.S. have passionfruit? After all, even the fake passion fruit tea at Starbucks is incredibly popular. Wouldn’t real passionfruit sell so well here? Apparently, passion fruit is difficult to import to the U.S. and because of that it is extremely expensive and harder to find, making it much less popular. On the other hand, Peru is the world's leading exporter of passion fruit, making it both inexpensive, readily available, and popular. Leaving Peru, I know I will sorely miss passion fruit. Even on my last night, I made sure to have a nice passion fruit juice, knowing it was unlikely I could find one in the U.S.. I hope one day passion fruit catches on here so I can enjoy a nice glass of passion fruit juice in my kitchen each morning.

Chifa

The first night we arrived in Cusco, I noticed a Chifa restaurant. Chifa is a fusion of Chinese and Peruvian elements. Throughout our time in Cusco, I noticed more and more Chifa restaurants on the streets. I wondered why there were so many in Peru. It seemed like out of all the foreign food restaurants, Chifa restaurants were the most common in Peru. I decided to look into the history of Peru’s immigration.

The Chinese immigrants were called coolies. Between 1849 and 1874, more than 100,000 coolies arrived in Peru as indentured servants. This was around the same time of the emancipation of slaves in Peru in 1854 and the need for more laborers.

In the 1800s, there was a lack of racial identification of the coolies. There was lots of mixing in between different races and the coolies since the coolies that migrated were mostly male. Unfortunately, no racial identity was created for people who mixed with the coolies. Many historians believed this meant there was a lack of place in society for those of Chinese descent. However, when I was filling out health forms in Peru for my covid test, I noticed there was a checkbox for Asiatico Descendiente. 

It is estimated that around 5% of the Peruvian population today is of Chinese descent. However, only around 14,000 Peruivans self-report themselves as tusán (of Chinese descent). This may be due in part to the fact that the Peruvian government did not create a racial identity for those who were a mix of coolian. 

Walking in the Non-Touristy Part of Cusco

On the day after our classes had ended, a group of us decided we wanted to go play basketball. We had one problem: we did not have a basketball. We looked up the nearest sports tienda and started walking. 

The closer we got to our destination, the more city-like the streets became. The massage ladies appeared less frequently until there were no more on the streets. The tourist shops turned into services and businesses. There were less hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions. It became a regular hustling city. I watched children coming back from school, people running errands, people working. It was so cool to see non-touristy Cusco. There were a few things that stood out to me.

All of the shops and services were organized in an unusual manner. All of the same shops and services were in buildings next to each other. For example, when walking down one street, I saw 5 different bakeries right next to each other. I thought that was a little strange. Then we kept walking, and I saw eyeglass store after eyeglass store. Then we arrived at a place that was all clothing. All the shoe stores were right next to each other, separate from the other clothes. The shops and the services were organized in a convenient way: all of the same types in the same place.

Another interesting thing was how all of the street vendors disappeared. They were only found in the touristy parts of Cusco because they are only meant for tourists. Walking through the streets without being constantly approached and yelled at was refreshing. This reminds me of New York. One will only find the street vendors in the touristy parts of New York like Times Square.

I enjoyed seeing a different side of Cusco. I enjoyed getting to see real people going about their daily lives in Cusco.

Religious Syncretism

 

Perhaps the most prominent reoccurring theme throughout our trip through Peru was the presence of religious syncretism in every day, daily life. From the Cusco Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas to the paintings it contains from the Cusco School (such as the Ultima Cena painting, which totally depicts Jesus and his twelve disciples consuming Cuy), the country is packed with elements that blend together the Spanish, Catholic traditions with that of Indigenous Andean cultures. 

Nowhere stronger was this seen, in my opinion, than in the city of Pisac. In Pisac, our group attended a Catholic mass in Quechua, the Indigenous language of the Inca Empire. Being Catholic myself, I followed along reasonably well, proving the universality that Catholicism attempts to create. Along with the Indigenous language, many of the churchgoers, particularly those who were part of the, much to our surprise, wedding service that was going on that Sunday, was dressed in the vibrant colors of traditional Indigenous clothing. 

Another mode of religious syncretism that our group experienced in Pisac was through a religious procession throughout the town that occurred later that night. A group of churchgoers moved an icon of a saint from one church to another, banging drums and playing other instruments typical to Indigenous Peruvians throughout the town. At the second church, the group stopped and danced for quite a long time, sharing drinks and food and an overall vibe of exuberance and camaraderie. Overall, experiencing this religious syncretism was a highlight of the trip!