DAY #3, Entry #2 - Dumb American tourists :)

Well, holy crud. I'm back in my hotel lobby, happy to be here. Let me tell you about my latest adventure.......

It started off simple and innocent enough. I had lunch at McDonalds, which tasted a lot like home. Oddly enough, the "medium" size drink here is about the same size as an American kid's size. Go figure.

I did a little shopping, cruised through the same shopping area looking at shoes and clothes. Prices here are decent, either really cheap or really expensive. I've bought a couple of things, nothing too wild. I'm not sure how to get everything back and I'm not sure what to get everyone.
At the end of the shopping blocks, I decided to keep walking some. I wanted to get a better picture of the slums on the hills. The road crossed over the river that runs through the city, and they must have a saying here that equates to "the wrong side of the tracks". The minute I crossed the river, the city changed. The first 10 blocks or so I walked were about the same, the street was relativly clean and the people were very nice. At the end of the "good" blocks was a church, which I stopped to photograph. Just before I made it to this point, an older gentleman polishing shoes along the road yelled at me. Given the obvious language barrier (and the fact that I am totally incompentant in Spanish), I had no idea what he was saying. It was clear, though, that he was telling me to go no further.

About this time, two young boys who had just gotten out of school heard the gentleman yelling at me. They didn't speak English either, but they turned around and made it clear that I needed to stop and not go any further. On the other side of the street, the city turned into something I would find hard to describe in words. It went from filthy to significant filth, something I've only seen in the movies and in pictures. The houses were falling down, there was garbage on the streets, and the smell was not pleasant. The people still seemed very nice, but a bit surprised to see me there.

I should clarify and say that at this point, I could not have looked anything more like a tourist. I had my camera out, my backpack on and was doing my best to stand out as much as possible. My camera and my well-being were about the only things of value I had on me.

Now, call me stupid (don't be concerned, I'm obviously writing this), but I wanted to continue on. Looking back, I should have taken a picture, but I wanted to see more. I was literally speachless and actionless. I honestly made it about two more steps and I was stopped by some sort of police staff. It appeared to be a male officer and a female "social worker". The female asked me something along the lines of "what the hell are you doing here" in Spanish, and I replied that I only spoke English. The male officer said I needed to leave. I replied that I was happy to do so, and he said "no, leave now. You must turn around now, return to city.". He was polite in letting me know that I could not go any further.

I have no doubt that reading this story will not have the same effect as being there. It was clearly a different world, and one that I was not welcome in. I'm not sure why they stopped me, whether it was for my own well-being or if there were things they did not want me to see. It might have been both, and part of the reason I came here was to see those parts of the world that didn't "want" me. I turned around feeling sad that I had not gotten to see more, but interested that a man and two children who didn't know me from Adam would stop me from going further. I left not being sure if I wanted to thank them or curse them for not letting me go further.

Many of you know that I love politics, I love business and I love ecomonics. I'm not well educated on all the different types of these that the world has "tried", but I'm interested. In the US, I can't help myself from feeling that the less fortunate on the street and in life have chosen that life because America is the land of choices. Surely, no one could be homeless or poor by anything other than choice. There are too many opportunities for that to happen. But, I walk here thinking something completely different. Its as if many of these people have never been given a choice. There are not many opportunities here, especially in a city of 8 million people. Have I been wrong in my thinking at home? How are the people who are poor and unhealthy in the US any different than those here? I have no doubt that a Peruvian from the slums that I experienced here would NEVER walk into a bad neighborhood in Spokane and feel at home. Their slums are a million times worse than anything like that. But what "slums" do we have that equate, where people are living in conditions far worse than they should be?

I think it's time to go rest my aching body now. I have probably covered 10 or 12 miles by foot in the last two days, just walking and looking. My REI socks are awesome (to those of you who said "you paid how much for socks!").

My flight out of here tomorrow is at 12:10 pm local time, and I'll be on my way to Cusco. I know there is so much more to experience here in Lima, but I am looking forward to less bustle and more old city. Adios for now :)