Being in Lima

My first visit while in Lima was to the US embassy. A huge wall surrounds the property and even as a US citizen there was no way to get inside. Fortunately I was able to take care of my business at the delivery gate but I wonder what would happen if I were in an emergency and needed admittance. I always imagine something happening like in the movie The Saint when Elisabeth Shue is running from the Russian mafia toward the US embassy yelling “I am an American” as they open the gates just in time for her to get inside before being captured. If I had to run into the embassy in Lima I would first need to learn Spanish because no one working at the front gate spoke English. Before I figured out how to say in Spanish “I am an American, let me inside” it would be too late.

Oh well, no need to worry about that anymore. Lima is a beautiful place that seemed to be very safe. After the embassy visit I went to a market where I met an artist who spoke English and we discussed his paintings, his travels and his life. A very nice man and a decent artist, I now own one of his paintings.

From the market I wandered the streets until I came to a busy park with a beautiful church sitting on one corner. I also stopped to eat at a nice restaurant and had ceviche for the first time not really knowing what it was. After I had finished my meal the restaurant hostess came up to me after she noticed the waitress take away my plate with a substantial amount of food remaining. She asked me how I liked it and I said that it was great, somewhat untruthfully, which she called me on by saying that I didn’t eat very much. I said I didn’t really like raw fish and I didn’t know what ceviche was but that I had heard that it was a Peruvian dish I had to try. The hostess said that it was her favorite dish and I readily agreed that it was very good. She gave me a nice smile.

I wandered up and down the coast for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. A security guard stopped me and asked what I was doing. I replied that I was just walking around. He asked me where I was from and we started talking. We had a conversation for about an hour during which time he asked me to help him find a job in the US. We discussed the living conditions in Peru and the desire everyone has to earn more money. I thought about my present income and financial standing and though I am not a wealthy person nor do I make a lot of money I would say that being able to pleasantly sustain oneself and family makes one rich especially when compared to the majority of the people in the world.

Later I met a man in his early twenties who didn’t speak English very well but who relentlessly tried to get me to come to a techno dance club later that night. He said that everyone was going to be wearing Speedos and that it would be a lot of fun with great techno music (please picture him while he is saying this pumping his fist in the air while thrusting his pelvis around and making techno sounds like dun, dun, dun, dun … the system is down, the system is down… dun, dun, dun). This man was not joking either he really was going to a dance club and wanted me to come. I sadly had to decline telling him that I had left my Speedo in my other suitcase and that I would feel uncomfortable borrowing one from someone I didn’t know. I have no doubt it would have been great dancing and he had me curious enough to go until he mentioned the Speedos.

The ocean is calm with little ripples which shimmer from the sun.

Once the sun had set I walked back to the park where I had had lunch earlier in the afternoon. To my surprise there were more people out and about than there were during the day. There was a multitude of children playing on the playground equipment, new street vendors had come out to sell their goods, people were standing in long lines waiting to buy what looked like delicious food and everyone else was sitting, standing or lying around talking. There were so many people enjoying the evening and just being part of a community. At first I thought there must be some type of celebration going on for so many people to come outside, but no, they were enjoying the great weather and their surroundings.

I loved the sense of community that I felt, of belonging to a greater entity with nothing other than just being which made me mutually part of the whole. I don’t feel that very often, mainly only around my family and a few friends. “But isn’t that the way that it is suppose to be” some may say, “to feel like you belong with only a few rather than the many.” I would disagree. Belonging is something that one should feel all the time and in all places. It would seem that it would be the healthy way to live. I find it strange that I felt it so strong while I was in a different country where a different language and culture are experienced, as if the communal expectations weren’t staring me in the face, but I was free to feel what I wanted. Sometimes I feel like a foreigner in my own community and amongst people with whom I am familiar. The words “have you ever been alone in a crowded room” come to my mind quite often and have for many years. I understand that belonging is a two way road with exchanges being mutually given and received. It would seem that one’s givings need to be in par with the level of belonging desired. One can not expect to receive more than he is giving.

Last but not least is this giant statue of a couple kissing. It over looks the ocean and is a memorial to lovers young and old. With this kind of art being in the city who would think that Lima isn’t a great place to be.