Random Thoughts about my trip to Peru

This is my last installment about my Peru trip (I know you all may be thinking, "Will it ever end?").  I still need to get pictures up on my blog for non-facebook readers, but my techy husband hasn't finished assisting me with that yet. I decided to just do a quick synopsis of some of my remaining thoughts and observations or random facts I learned: 

About transportation
1. Lima drivers bring the term, "Defensive Driving" to a whole new level.  Drivers don't "pick a lane", as much as they just lay claim to a piece of bare concrete, no matter where it may be on the road.  There are surprisingly few accidents, despite the creative driving, though.
2. My affection for using my horn seems minor compared to the amount of horn blowing that occurs in Lima.  Though I think I would never want to drive on the streets of Lima, I feel somewhat at home with the driver's love of their horns!
3. You have never really ridden a roller coaster until you have ridden on a bus going 50-60 miles an hour down an Andes Mountain with no guard rails and with buses coming up the hill at the same time...For extra excitement, just use the bathroom on said bus during your descent!
4. Pedestrians in Lima are some of the bravest people on earth!
5. If the bus wheels can still roll from the weight of people riding it, then there is still room for a few more!
6. Car seats? They don't need no stinking car seats!
7. You can buy almost anything from a street vendor and they seem completely unaffected by cars and buses barely skimming past them.
8. I will no longer complain about having to get my car inspected to meet emissions requirements.

On food
1. The food in Peru is nothing like I expected it to taste.  The spices they use are so much different than anything I have had and the food is always packed with flavor!
2. My absolute favorite new food that I tried there was Lucama, which is a fruit and is really good mixed with chocolate.
3. Chinese food in Peru, called Chifa, is much better than in America.  The won ton soup I had there puts any I have had in America to shame!
4. I don't know why, but chocolates tasted better there too.
5. I detest diet coke in America, but diet coke in Peru is pretty good.  I learned this because every time I asked for a coke, I was often given a diet.  I don't know if the waiters were just used to most American woman wanting diet cokes, opposed to regular, or if I looked like I needed the diet!  I didn't ask to find out.
6. Inca cola is the drink of choice in Peru.  It is a soda that has a bubble gum taste.  Coke came in but couldn't beat 'em, so it joined them by buying out 51% of the company.
7. I got to eat so many interesting things there that I would never have gotten to eat here, either because it is unavailable or too expensive.  I feel like I earned my Food Network badge last week! lol

On the Compassion programs we visited 

1. The title given to sponsors in Peru would translate to our word for "god father" or "god mother".  I feel that is an appropriate description of our relationship.
2. The children were as curious about us as we were about them.  They would peek around corners to watch us and then hide and giggle when we would catch them looking at us.
3. There were a couple of the kids who brought pictures of their sponsors and asked if we knew them. How I wished I had known them, for their sakes!
4. Seeing the Compassion workers with the kids is really heartwarming.  You can tell that they really love them and they are doing everything they can to help the children.
5. The churches that house Compassion programs really are a light in their communities.
6. I saw children being fed, educated, encouraged, and loved.  Everything I had been told, I watched unfold with my own eyes.
7. The people who work from the Peru country office and the translators who spent their days with us are some of the most genuine, fun, loving, and hard-working people I have ever met.

In general
1. Many of the billboards in Peru had American-looking woman on them.  When I asked a translator why, she said it is because men in Peru are intrigued by American woman.  They feel they are more interesting because they are different.  I told her that the same holds true for American men and their feelings toward Latino women - and that the air-brushed models on billboards really don't reflect the average American woman.  Isn't it funny how even culture-wide, we feel the grass is always greener on the other side?
2. We received some of the best customer service and hospitality.
3. There were distinct differences between the people from each church and community we visited.  Just like in America, region has a lot to do with people's behavior and attitudes.  It is unfortunate when we lump people together and say "People in America are this way" or "People in Peru are like that".
4. The paintings of "The Last Supper" depict Jesus and his disciples eating guinea pig, which is a traditional Peruvian dish. 
5. You never feel more foreign than when you are looking for a potty and you ask, "What is a bathroom?", instead of "Where is the bathroom?".  I am sure you can guess how I know this!
6. I now have greater empathy for the wonderful servers at my favorite Mexican restaurant who spend most of their work days around people who don't speak their language.
7. My allergist told me that the best way I could treat my allergies would be to move to the desert.  He was right.  I have never felt as free from allergy symptoms as I did there. - Unfortunately, as soon as I arrived home, my allergies have decided to seek vengeance on me for leaving them behind!
8. I have now used the bathroom on a bus, on a train, on a plane, and many other nondescript locations, sometimes all in one day and sometimes paying to go.  I no longer understand why I got so bent out of shape about using public bathrooms here!