Cultural Shock in Peru!

Since we have been involved in overseeing the Mision Rescate team which consists of 5 Peruvian young people and 2 from Ireland we have enjoyed different experiences with them both individually and as a team. Recently I had the joy of taking seeing the team respond in a number of different situations. I guess the reactions of those involved pointed towards culture shock. Surprisingly on both occasions it was our Peruvian team members who experienced it. It just goes to show that you don't have to be too far away from home to experience cultural shock.

Incident number 1: Half day visit to Arica, Chile
At the beginning of December both Simon and Roberta had to leave Peru in order to renew their Visas. We decided on a half day trip to Arica which is about 45 minutes away from Tacna. Two of the Peruvian team members decided they would like to join us for this journey. As we approached the border we could sense the excitement increasing to a level that was clearly almost incontrollable.

The day proved to be quite relaxing and we were able to enjoy a number of treats in Arica as well as the luxury of walking around and just people watching. As we walked around and crossed roads our two Peruvian members were amazed that cars actually stopped at zebra crossings to allow pedestrians to cross. at one point as a car pulled up to the crossing and stopped they were unwilling to cross the road until the car had passed. It was only after hand signals from the driver that they realised their lives were not in danger. Later on as they got to grip with things and crossed at a zebra crossing while a police car waited for us to cross someone commented "wow this is amazing, even the police obey the zebra crossing!" The shock of this was compounded by the fact that other motorists didn't toot their horns violently one mili second before the traffic lights changed. Personally being in Arica made me realise that I would have to adjust some of my "Peruvian driving techniques"!

Incident Number 2: Thunder Storms in Puno

Last week I was able to join the team as they made a trip to the mountains to help distribute presents to Sunday School kids. The trip proved to be interesting for a number of reasons, none moreso than watching the effect of the 5200 metre altitude on some of the team members. Fortunately everyone enjoyed the experience and although there was great joy in watching the children recieve their presents I imagine that the smile on the Peruvian team members faces when they saw the rain and hail that accompanied the thunderstorm was equal to the smile of joy from the children! On our first night in Puno we sat in a small cafe finishing off our dinner as we began to hear the pounding on the roof. In any regard the storm was impressive but as Simon, Roberta and I watched the first drops of rain we had seen for many months the rest of the team rain onto the street and danced with joy at having being able to watch their first real thunderstorm and to top it all off it wasn't just rain, it was hail! Coming from Northern Ireland I guess there are some things you just take for granted!