Living in Peru : your everyday companion

The best way to appreciate your home, so they say, is to leave it.
 
That I have done for the past two weeks while I am visiting family in Europe. As I have been travelling around, I have started thinking about what makes life in Peru different from here. Of course, after two weeks I can hardly be an expert on life in Europe, but that is not going to stop me from making lots of superficial inferences. At the same time these observations might shed a little light on life in Peru. So here goes.

NO COMBIS-- Those pesky little buses cramed to the gills darting dangerously to grab one more passenger, do not seem to be on any of PEDESTRAINS  the streets I have observed.
 
MANY FEWER TAXIS-- It is not easy to locate an empty taxi cruising around. Generally you have to go to a stand to find one that is available.
 
NO "WATCHMEN" FOR YOUR CARS-- There are no men on the street offering to watch your car for one or two soles. Nor is anyone available to help you back out of your parking place into traffic.
 
NO PARKING OF ANY TYPE--- We have a rental car and find that it is impossible to find a parking spot here.
 
LINES ARE ORDERLY--As a tourist we have to line up a lot. People from all over the world line up quietly. No one has jumped the line as we so often observe in Peru.
 
FEWER INTERNET CABINAS-- In Lima there seem to be several internet cabinas on every block. Not so here in
Europe where I have had to search extensively and then pay dearly for internet access.
 
NO STREET PERFOMERS--- I have yet to see any street performers doing their act while we wait for the light to change. Of course in Lima we see this all the time.
 
IT RAINS IN EUROPE---In Europe it is a good idea to have an umbrella and a rain coat. With our mist in Lima I don't feel the need for either.
 
STREETS ARE NARROW-- It is amazing to see how a car and a person can fit in one of the typical streets. Perhaps that is why I see so few overweight people in Europe.
 
COFFEE IS TERRIBLE HERE--Fortunately I brought a supply of my favorite Peruvian brew. Unfortunately, I ran out and have suffered ever since.
 
Well those are my profound observations.
 
Next week I'll be home  and back to enjoying my regular life. Ah, that is just what travel makes you appreciate.
 
 

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I am far from Lima, but Lima is a 'mal necesario" like we say in Peru, I miss so much the food that is awesome, the fruits are sooo sweet, the weather, the happines of the people, no matter if they have un sol in the wallet, they are happy.
We just have to watch out for robbers or kidnappers in Lima, but we just have to be careful,
Good Luck and blessings.

I don`t really understand what the message behind this article is. Is it trying to make you miss peru or to make you aware of some of the annoying things that exist there?
How can somebody miss a combi??? "Those pesky little buses cramed to the gills darting dangerously to grab one more passenger, do not seem to be on any of PEDESTRAINS  the streets I have observed."
Or what about public order -respect for others- actually the fact that LINES ARE ORDERLY-"As a tourist we have to line up a lot. People from all over the world line up quietly. No one has jumped the line as we so often observe in Peru".well is it not wonderful to have an orderly society?Actually this is one of the major problems of the peruvian society- no respect for private property, no respect for life when it comes to traffic laws and others. The orderly society that we have here in europe-actually in northern europe-is the result of a well educated society that aims to teach their inhabitants from babyhood on the values of respect for others.
It would be great to go to Peru and be able to experience a change in this regard don´t you think?

 
 

I normally appreciate the LIVINGINPERU' articles but from time to time I really would like that you try to be more exhaustive to get a good article. 
Cities are a combination of espace and society. There are many things that developped country can give you, of course, either in the the material aspects and in some civic actions ...but apart of that and if you could make a more profound research you will find that this same people has made in the name of  'developpement' that life brings regression.

Isabel, i think the message is BOTH... Culture and education are the differences. Europe has the richest Banks and enterprises worldwide.
 
The Chinese are closing the gap to Europe's predominance...i believe, the chinese will NOT stop their way of street living/transportation,public lines,etc. once they own every bank in the US and/or Europe.

It is called "overcrowding", which it is not seen in Europe...(poverty, lack of economical resources, crime and government ran 'beyond their means').

Nevertheless, there is nothing like PERU !! (Love it !)

Hi Larry:
This part of Europe, Spain, has something terrible: Tobacco. Everywhere. And cannot find a place without smoke. Restaurants, bars, pubs, disco, etc. And after been there for a while, you get this "aura".   In Perú there are few of them. I miss Perú.
Oscar
Spain.