Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Larry J. Pittman

The other day I was sitting enjoying my lunch with friends and family in a chifa  (a Peruvian-Chinese restaurant). We were having a very good conversation about this and that. At the end of the lunch, as I was walking from the restaurant, I pondered on the difference between my lunches in Peru as compared to the U.S.

Aprendizaje, he articulated slowly. "Sorry?" I queried, looking up from fervently scribbling notes. "We say aprendizaje," he repeated, correcting my Spanish pronunciation. "Wow, thanks Victor, correcting me really helps me improve," I responded surprised by his confidence. With his round glasses and wizened grin, he did not at all seem 12 years old.  "No problem, it is through our mistakes that we learn to be better."

By Larry J. Pittman

Before we came to Peru, some well meaning people warned us about leaving the U.S. health care system.  They said:  “what happens if you get sick? Are you sure that you can get good medical care in Peru?” They were worried that the health care here might not be as good as we were accustomed to. In fact, one said that moving to Peru might be a danger to our health.

By Larry J. Pittman

There is a standard conversation with Peruvians that I experience in various locations but which I call “Taxi Talk”. I use this name because it is the same conversation I have had over the past three years with the taxi drivers I have ridden with. However, a similar conversation can also take place at parties, family gatherings, and so on. Here is how it goes:

By Diana P. Olano

In Peru, women have had the right to vote for about five decades. This Andean country was second to last in Latin America--Paraguay being the final one--in allowing woman the right to cast a vote in presidential elections. Incredibly recent, yes. So much so that many of our female elders here can likely easily recollect this time in Peruvian history; when the feminist revolution, that had reached other parts of the world decades before, had finally reached their shores. However long it took, Peruvian women should be proud and grateful that the day finally came in 1955. That was the first in a number of women's rights advancements Peru has seen. The fight, however, began long before...

By Phil Pittman

Since 2006, a unique initiative between children from Australia and Peru has taken place. The project “Our World through Children’s Eyes,” is a cross-cultural and conservation art project linking children from small villages in Peru with children from outback bush schools in Australia. The program focuses on educating children about the environment through the medium of art. It commenced in 2001 with a traveling exhibition of international children’s artwork at rural schools in Australia and has now developed into a more personalized program with children getting to know stories about the artists and their communities in both countries.

By Diana P. Olano

I don’t know about our readers, but I have my limits on public displays of affection (PDAs), whether I'm witnessing them or partaking in them. In the suburban county of Westchester, New York where I grew up, the most affectionate act a couple would ever do is kiss. And usually, the kiss was pretty lame; a chicken peck, at best. The most common PDA I'm used to seeing is a couple holding hands. Actually, it was the most common PDA I was used to seeing.

By Elise van der Heijden

Many visitors to the Cusco and Sacred Valley areas have been struck by the lack of basic services that many of the smaller communities suffer; lack of sanitation, a diet that lacks balance, little or no education, and most of all the feeling of having few opportunities to progress in the future. Many of these visitors have come back with good intentions and set up NGO’s, each with their own vision and method, to try and make life better for some of the wonderful people of the Andes.

By Stuart Starrs
Additional reporting by Diana P. Olano

I still haven't gotten used to the fact that in Peru the poor are the ones who live in the oldest, most historic and most culturally valuable buildings in the country, and in some cases most of South America.

(by Dennis and Blanca Mackler)

Yesterday I sent my son, Justin 21, and my daughter, Lauren 23, the article and comments on Helping Kids with Cancer at ALDIMI.org (-link-) that was posted on the LivinginPeru website and mentioned in their e-newsletter.

Knowing how spoiled my kids are, I figured I would call them and not wait for them to call me. Usually they only call when they need something. I called Justin first. You would figured he might congratulate and compliment me and say how proud he was of me for helping others.

The first thing he said was, "Why help those kids in Peru and not here in the USA". I paused for a split second. The answer was simple, except as usual he was to busy with his friends to listen. He said he would call back. I am presuming he doesn't need anything since I haven't heard back from him.