Well folks. One week down, 103 to go. As with any new place I arrive in, there’s always a few things I love, a few things I hate and a few things that just make me scratch my head in bewilderment. Without further ado, here’s my list of The Good, the Bad and the Bizzarre of Lima.
The Good
- Grocery stores that look like Whole Foods with the added bonus of meat in forms that I know how to cook with. (ie: No more whole raw chickens or fish that need deboning)
- 60-75 degree temps that never make you sweat.
- The potato originated in Peru (and happens to be my favorite food). It is rumored that the Peruvians have come up with over 300 ways to serve a potato! I intend to try as many variations as is humanly possible in my two years here.
The Bad
- Road rage like I’ve never seen before – can’t believe I actually have to join the madness in 3 short months when our car arrives. Pray for me.
- Daily communication failures that make me want to pound my head on the wall.
- No more celebrity status. Peruvians are not wowed by my American citizenship like the Filipinos were.
The Bizarre
- I had to get fingerprinted in order to get a $10 SIM card for my mobile phone.
- Mobile Car Washers! There are people who independently work in parking lots and wash your car (in its spot, mind you) while you shop in the mall. I will definitely get you a picture of this so you can see it for yourself.
- The absurd number of keys per house (ours has 24).
I walk around MN now and wonder where the mobile car washers are. Also…the keys! We had too many keys for our house. At one point we thought we lost a very important set of keys and were a bit scared of the consequences. They were eventually located – yay!
But here is the most important question: Do they have tater tots? I may have mentioned your tater tot casserole making abilities to another Minnesotan at Embassy Lima…
I’m sure I too will miss them. Funny how that happens over time!
They do Erin!! The commissary stocks all the necessary ingredients for T Tot Hotdish. I think I may have a big ole party and introduce everyone to it!
I think the worst thing about Lima for me was the traffic circles. If you didn’t have a horn to blast every two seconds you were scared to death. Lost horn power one day and thought it was the end of me. You’ll get it down soon and then it becomes fun and you’ll want to do it in MN where you will get arrested, ha ha. Love ya.
I can’t believe you did this – I’m VERY nervous!