Peruvian way of Life

Upon my arrival in Lima, I immediately took a taxi to the bus station in order to continue my journey to Ica, because I wanted to avoid the impacts of such a huge city. Being extremely exhausted from the 24 hours journey from Düsseldorf to Lima, including a six hour stopover in Miami, I found myself sitting in an uncomfortable bus. Next to me, a business men was talking almost continuously for 5 hours on the phone, in Spanish! I tried to get some rest. However, it seemed that as soon as I have fallen asleep, the bus stopped, my eyes opening, taking a look out of the window, hearing my neighbour's conversation, and falling asleep again. Perceiving this rather strange state of mind for ages, I suddenly found myself again at a crowded bus station, surrounded by Spanish speaking Peruvian people. Obviously, their outward appearance is not similar to any of the Europeans' one, and particularly not to the Spanish people. Looking around and trying to realize what was going on, I found it very awkward to hear the Spanish language all over. According to my life experience, this language is only to be found in Spain. Well, the beginning of my first journey to South America proofed me otherwise!

After two days rest in Ica, I got curious to see Cusco, my home for the coming 27 weeks. Despite my plans to visit Nasca and some other cities, I purchased a direct bus ticket to Cusco; 17 hours of journey in addition. I was wondering about my future place of stay, the working environment and the people I was going to interact with. On Sunday at 12 o'clock the CruzDelSur company bus reached its final destination, Cusco. My first impression of this place could be described with words such as amazing, magnificent and outstanding. The city is surrounded by dark green mountains, that are covered with trees. The deep blue sky is decorated by clouds ranging in colours from snow white until dark grey. What a diversity in colours! Despite the beauty I had great difficulties to keep my eyes open because of the extreme brightness of the sun, and the intense ultraviolet radiation; I might as well had arrived in heaven. While waiting for my company supervisor, Violeta, to pick me up I tried to sense the atmosphere. Some passing people curiously looked into my eyes, whereas others did not pay any attention at all. Cars were rushing by and a symphony of horns could be heard. Suddenly out of nowhere, I heard my name: “Arthur. Is it you?”. Violeta kindly greeted me and we took off to her house, which is located in Jeranimo, twenty minutes away by car from the centre of Cusco. Although being a little nervous, I felt very comfortable around her. Once arrived at the house, I got to meet Tony, the husband of Violeta. Being terribly tired from the bus drive I managed to speak only a few words in Spanish. Apparently, talking English was not any easier. Due to the high altitude of 3400 meters, I had not enough air to properly finish a normal sentence. Nevertheless, I was treated with great hospitality. Shorty after my arrival, the three of us ate a delicious meal. The next thing I could manage that day was going straight to bed.

The next morning I awoke from a long sleep. The only person at home was Ingrid, the second daughter of Violeta. She is studying law at Andina university. That day she did not have classes in the morning and accompanied me for breakfast, bred with marmalade and tee. Ingrid is able to speak English and therefore I could talk to her. She is very friendly and patient and I quickly started to enjoy her company. Afterwards she showed me around the house and I slowly got used to the new place. Around noon, the rest of the family gathered for lunch. Tony, who is teaching Geology at the state university of Cusco, speaks about as much English as I do Spanish. The youngest daughter, Adriana, is about to finish high school. Although she is on vacation, she is barely at home. In the morning she visits an academy to improve her English and in the afternoon she takes classes to prepare for university. The family employs a housekeeper, called Ines. She is a fabulous cook. Sitting at the table I tried to follow the conversation. Without the others talking in English to me, I would have been very lost because the first few days I hardly understood anything. Roberto, the cousin of Ingrid and Adriana joined for lunch, too. I was overwhelmed by meeting so many new people, who all asked questions in Spanish. Later that day another cousin, named Christian, arrived. Everyone behaved in a very polite manner, and treated me with a lot of respect. When I was introduced to Christian's mother, Violeta said that I was part of the family and had now two more sisters, and two more cousins. I extremely appreciated the openness of my new family, that I had just got to know. Obviously, I was in the centre of attention and enjoyed the interest of so many new family members. It was a pity, that my Spanish was so poor because I had the desire to tell everything about myself. Fortunately, communication happens with more than just words. Later that afternoon Adriana, Christian, Roberto and me took a bus to the city centre. I was a tourists, who got a private sightseeing tour to experience Cusco's beauty! What an extraordinary adventure! Not only is the city's location remarkable, it is incredible in itself. Narrow streets encircled by many colourful art and cloth shops, restaurants and cafés. Ancient building such as the Sun Temple, the famous Inca wall and various cathedrals contribute to a cultural richness that is beyond words.

Hours passed by and the sun disappeared. At once the temperature dropped and it was time to go home, where the dinner was already waiting...

ccs assignment for NHTV