Another light note before getting on to the serious stuff again. I wanted to share with everyone some cultural differences that I have found to be quite amusing. A friend and I were discussing some of these so it has been a cooperative effort to put a couple of examples together.

The first is that the majority of Peruvians believe that if you drink a cold beverage you will get sick with a cold. This explains why all beverages here are warm. It is very difficult to find a beverage that has been refrigerated. Maybe their logic is that if something cold goes inside your body that your body is bound to get cold and then sick. However, in some villages (like that of some of my co-workers but none of the ones that I personally have stayed in for a significant period of time) they eat ice-cream all the time which would clearly oppose this reasoning. So the mystery remains on why Peruvians think this way. So when one is in the mountains of Peru you can just plan on always drinking lukewarm or hot beverages.

One that shocked me initially but eventually became my favorites is how being called “fat” is not offensive. It’s like calling someone tall or short. It’s a fact about someone. But, being an American, it makes for an awkward moment when someone calls someone else fat who is standing right there. It’s only natural for one to want respond by saying “No you’re not fat” even though, let’s face it, this person probably is overweight and they are most likely not offended whatsoever. However, we know from our own experience that in the states words such as this can get a person slapped across the face. Another example of how this is not offensive is that some Peruvians may refer to a female family member, such as their mother or sister, as “Gordita”. This translates into English as “fatty” or “chubs”. But for them it is kind of like a term of endearment or a way to show affection to someone with which they are close.

I am lovin' Peru. More to come soon.