Everyday living here in Lima is an adventure. Everyday my intercultural encounters make me laugh, angry, frustrated, hopeful, appreciative, and countless other adjetives. There are things that I just denote as being the "Peruvian way" or people here who resemble people I know back in the states the "Peruvian version". But one daily (well at least 5 times a week) encounter that constantly reminds me who I am (American woman) and where I am (Latin America), is when I'm running.
Running is not that big of a sport here, and even less among females. So it's natural for Peruvians to stare in bewilderment when they see this abnormally pale American woman, with jet black hair (it was a security precaution) sweating profusely, while trudging along Malecon drive (tourist boardwalk basically). During my adventures, I pass by couples, tourists, vendors, security guards and other pedestrians all eyeing the white fantom. But instead of feeling awkward or insecure from the constant stares, I feel powerful. I feel powerful because I'm an American woman.
I have thought about this a lot, why me being an American woman makes me feel powerful. And I've concluded that if America is the most powerful country then it's women must be the most powerful among their gender. Then I thought about all the powerful women in the world and how many are Americans - I estimate it's a good number but honestly I haven't conducted an investigative study on this topic this is just what I think about while running.
Anyway, all this powerful American woman thinking brought me to the conclusion that if we're really that powerful then we have a great responsibility to project an image mirroring that of greatness. Therefore, when I pass by other women and expecially young girls while running, I'm conscious to project an image of strength and power; as if I'm saying to them you are powerful and can do or be anything you want.
Yesterday my projected self was interpreted when I passed by this little girl who couldn't have been more then 5 years old. After a 1.5 hour run I was drenched in sweat, face red, and visibly exhausted. A little girl walked out of her house holding her father's hand, looked at me and stopped. Mouth agape, eyes wide, motionless and unresponsive to her father's petitions to move, she starred. She starred at me as if I were unhuman, as if I were a fairy princess and a superhero all in one. Her stare told me that she didn't have the words or perhaps words didn't exist to describe what she was seeing (me). As her father pulled her across the street to get in the car, her stare and facial features maintained, fixated as if she were catonic. Her face said everything. In her eyes I was powerful, strong, and a woman.
I don't know if the image of me will stay with her but her stare will forever be ingrained in my mind. Reminding me of the great responsibility we have as women to project the image we want younger generations to follow.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Nebraska football and Amazon people
Long time no write... I know, and I'm sorry but here's a little bit of what's going on.
There are some important things brewing down here in Peru. Currently there are protests and have been some killings over the Amazon people's fight for the land. There are some basic elements to this story. First the Amazon people's culture is the land, it's not simply a resource. When I first heard that I thought yes, yes we all know... land is sacred to indigenous people.
When I try to draw a comparision of something familiar to me that has the same significance and meaning, I come up with "what Nebraska football is to Nebraskans". I know that this example may seem like I'm belittling or maybe even disrespecting the importance of this topic (land to Amazon people) but that is not my intention. The aim here is to extract something of value, that makes up, or perhaps even defines part of where I come from, my culture. And as insignificant as Nebraska football may seem to others, it is truely an important element that defines Nebraska's "culture".
To expound; I tell people I'm from Nebraska, they respond with,"Nebraska! What's in Nebraska?! What do people do in Nebraska?!" And my response is always, "Well we have beef, corn and Nebraska football." It is a definition of where I come from, a part of who I am (my upbringing). To concecrate this fact I've always been able to say "I'm a Husker (the mascot)," but I have not always said "I'm a Catholic", eventhough baptized as such. Do I feel more connected to Nebraska football then religion, YES! I realize that this is probably sounding a bit eccentric but I'm trying to make a point. If you're not from Nebraska and weren't raised with the motto "I bleed Husker Red" this does sound absurd and a bit exaggerated. And if you're not from the Amazon, you really can never understand exactly how important the land is. So at some point you just have to accept without proof, that other people's culture carrys the same importance/significance as does your own.... EVENTHOUGH you can't see or feel the connection.
There is another side to the story of Peru. The country is developing and in order to develop the use of natural resources is essential. The Northern Amazon region of Peru is rich in oil and minerals. Are you seeing the relationship and the consequential dilemma? One of the main issues within this dilemma is that the government is using these natural resources, getting rich off them, and giving absolutely no money back to the areas from which they extract the resources. Leaving the people with less land (way of life), a whole gammit of polution problems, and no monetary compensation.
Environmentaly speaking Peru is on the top of the list for places with the highest risk of negative consequences in regards to global warming. To give you a little more background and perspective of how grave an environmental issue this is; there are only 32 ecosystems in the entire world and Peru has 28 within one country (point of reference - U.S. only has 6). So this means that within a country about the size of the west coast of the U.S. there are 28 different ecologic floors, giving way to over 300 types of flora and fauna, and Lord knows how many other unknowns exist. Peru also has a less than optimal demographic situation. 1/3 (9million) of the population of Peru (almost 29million total) live in Lima. Lima is situated on the coast in the desert. It's the second largest desert city in the world (2nd to Ciro). It's a well known and publizied fact that Lima will have severe water shortages come 2015. As of now, there is no plan on how to get water to 1/3 of the population when it runs out. Water in the coast comes from the glaciers (in the Andes mountains) which have receeded almost to the point of extinction (2015). So as you can see its a pretty big problem! Not to mention that within the city of Lima there are still a large portion of the population without running water within their homes. And water quality is one of the biggest causes of illnesses within the country.
This is a complicated issue (the problems of Peru). It's complicated for all involved and any solutions are a give and take. So while the politics are played out and the country tries to continue on it's path to industrialization there are things that we as consumers can do. Fair trade Peruvian products - fair trade is a label denoting fair wages paid to the cultivators of a specific product. This will ensure that your money goes to the growers and not coorporations. Also there needs to be a place in the world market for Peruvian products like coca tea. The coca leaf could also be compared to NE football in regards to it's cultural importance... but the point is there are many coca farmers that would like to earn a living off of the non illegal uses of coca. I have had coca tea many times, I have chewed on coca leaves and there is nothing bad or illegal about it. It is a natural remedy for altitude sickness and it tastes good as a tea. But we in the U.S. and other Western countries have deemed everything associated with the coca leaf to be a narcotic. If we can open our eyes and not just consume all the crap the government feeds us about Latin America and especially South America, we may see that there is more here than drug cartels and coffee.
Sorry for all the misspellings - I have found that my English deteriorates as my Spanish improves.
There are some important things brewing down here in Peru. Currently there are protests and have been some killings over the Amazon people's fight for the land. There are some basic elements to this story. First the Amazon people's culture is the land, it's not simply a resource. When I first heard that I thought yes, yes we all know... land is sacred to indigenous people.
When I try to draw a comparision of something familiar to me that has the same significance and meaning, I come up with "what Nebraska football is to Nebraskans". I know that this example may seem like I'm belittling or maybe even disrespecting the importance of this topic (land to Amazon people) but that is not my intention. The aim here is to extract something of value, that makes up, or perhaps even defines part of where I come from, my culture. And as insignificant as Nebraska football may seem to others, it is truely an important element that defines Nebraska's "culture".
To expound; I tell people I'm from Nebraska, they respond with,"Nebraska! What's in Nebraska?! What do people do in Nebraska?!" And my response is always, "Well we have beef, corn and Nebraska football." It is a definition of where I come from, a part of who I am (my upbringing). To concecrate this fact I've always been able to say "I'm a Husker (the mascot)," but I have not always said "I'm a Catholic", eventhough baptized as such. Do I feel more connected to Nebraska football then religion, YES! I realize that this is probably sounding a bit eccentric but I'm trying to make a point. If you're not from Nebraska and weren't raised with the motto "I bleed Husker Red" this does sound absurd and a bit exaggerated. And if you're not from the Amazon, you really can never understand exactly how important the land is. So at some point you just have to accept without proof, that other people's culture carrys the same importance/significance as does your own.... EVENTHOUGH you can't see or feel the connection.
There is another side to the story of Peru. The country is developing and in order to develop the use of natural resources is essential. The Northern Amazon region of Peru is rich in oil and minerals. Are you seeing the relationship and the consequential dilemma? One of the main issues within this dilemma is that the government is using these natural resources, getting rich off them, and giving absolutely no money back to the areas from which they extract the resources. Leaving the people with less land (way of life), a whole gammit of polution problems, and no monetary compensation.
Environmentaly speaking Peru is on the top of the list for places with the highest risk of negative consequences in regards to global warming. To give you a little more background and perspective of how grave an environmental issue this is; there are only 32 ecosystems in the entire world and Peru has 28 within one country (point of reference - U.S. only has 6). So this means that within a country about the size of the west coast of the U.S. there are 28 different ecologic floors, giving way to over 300 types of flora and fauna, and Lord knows how many other unknowns exist. Peru also has a less than optimal demographic situation. 1/3 (9million) of the population of Peru (almost 29million total) live in Lima. Lima is situated on the coast in the desert. It's the second largest desert city in the world (2nd to Ciro). It's a well known and publizied fact that Lima will have severe water shortages come 2015. As of now, there is no plan on how to get water to 1/3 of the population when it runs out. Water in the coast comes from the glaciers (in the Andes mountains) which have receeded almost to the point of extinction (2015). So as you can see its a pretty big problem! Not to mention that within the city of Lima there are still a large portion of the population without running water within their homes. And water quality is one of the biggest causes of illnesses within the country.
This is a complicated issue (the problems of Peru). It's complicated for all involved and any solutions are a give and take. So while the politics are played out and the country tries to continue on it's path to industrialization there are things that we as consumers can do. Fair trade Peruvian products - fair trade is a label denoting fair wages paid to the cultivators of a specific product. This will ensure that your money goes to the growers and not coorporations. Also there needs to be a place in the world market for Peruvian products like coca tea. The coca leaf could also be compared to NE football in regards to it's cultural importance... but the point is there are many coca farmers that would like to earn a living off of the non illegal uses of coca. I have had coca tea many times, I have chewed on coca leaves and there is nothing bad or illegal about it. It is a natural remedy for altitude sickness and it tastes good as a tea. But we in the U.S. and other Western countries have deemed everything associated with the coca leaf to be a narcotic. If we can open our eyes and not just consume all the crap the government feeds us about Latin America and especially South America, we may see that there is more here than drug cartels and coffee.
Sorry for all the misspellings - I have found that my English deteriorates as my Spanish improves.
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