Little Things: Cultural Differences
SUMMARY: I describe another round of miscellaneous oddities to a gringo in Peru.
On the plane from Miami to Bogota, I sat next to a girl from Colombia who I talked to the whole flight. She said that, among the things I might miss in America were the general cleanliness, order, and things that work. Things that work. Every day at the office we lose the internet for a while. About twice a week we lose power. The water didn’t work in my apartment for about two hours this morning. I wouldn’t have remembered to include this in the little things, but the power went out for five minutes while I was writing this blog (thank God for auto-save). … Read more
Amigos and Bricheras
SUMMARY: I learn a new word: ‘brichera‘. I define it and describe meeting one.
My old boss, who has been all over South America and Mexico with Anheuser-Busch, told me that Latinos are very curious about America and Americans. He said he enjoyed “semi rock-star status” in a lot of places. I got this impression in Brazil and definitely here in Peru. It’s not just the women that dig me. It’s everybody. I drink with co-workers at the soccer games on Saturday afternoons. When walking to the bathroom or for more beer, I’ll sometimes pass a group of paisanos – people from the country. Not knowing me from Adam doesn’t stop them from calling to me, “Hallo… Hoe ard you?” I think they just want to practice their English. Yesterday, one guy kept saying “Whas thay probe-laim?” I don’t think he knew what that meant but I still replied there was no problem and I was having a good time. One guy at the games stopped me and gave me a full beer, then cheered me on while I slammed the whole thing… Read more
Initial Culture Shocks, Part 2
SUMMARY: Another round of initial culture shocks: Things I don’t like and things I do.
I am in full-blown honeymoon phase for my new life here. There are already things I don’t like, but those are greatly outweighed by how much I do like. So I will start with what I don’t like and finish with what I do to leave you with the correct impression that I absolutely love my honeymoon phase.
Things I Don’t Like
I don’t like the security precautions I have to take here… Read more
Initial Culture Shocks
SUMMARY: The first differences I notice about life in Peru vs. America.
Culture shock is a natural occurrence when living far away from home. At this point of my life, I felt the most culture shock when I moved to the greater Los Angeles area. It’s similar to getting a new phone. Learning all these new buttons and functions can be a bit of a nuisance. It’s not that you pull your hair out and have a panic attack, but having to learn new things is different – a shock.
Last weekend, I made good friends with two Argentine guys. One of them and I kept contrasting Peru with our home countries. We agreed that neither culture is better or worse, but different. In this post, I’ll try to avoid opinion and analysis in favor of merely reporting what I see. … Read more
Anticipation of Expatriation
SUMMARY: I write about why I am leaving America, why I am choosing Peru, and what I hope to become.
Why do I want to leave home? My home is St. Louis, MO. It is a medium-sized, mostly suburban city in the heart of the midwest. I have moved away before (within the States) but always seem to come back. However, I didn’t really want to come back last time so much as my circumstances dictated that I come back. It is no secret to anyone that knows me well that my distaste for St. Louis borders on hatred and that it is a foregone conclusion that I would leave as soon as I finished my MBA.
My life here feels so boring that I seem to have gotten back into the habit of getting in trouble. I know this sounds really corny and clichè, but I feel as if I’ll be dead or in jail if I don’t get out of here…. Read more
