The other day, my parents (who live in Vancouver) received a letter from the government that was an ideal example of the differences between living in Peru and Canada. Here’s how the letter went:
Expat Living
A Simple Life: The Fine Line Between Simplicity and Laziness
Living in Peru, especially in Huancayo, has always conjured up images of a simple life for me. The year I first moved to Huancayo, simplicity was what I had come to value and what I continue to define myself by. It is my effort to not be carried away by materialism and the associated negativity.
Hot Showers: A Luxury I Couldn’t Live Without
“I can live in an adobe house with dirt floors without electricity and get mite infections every few months, but I cannot live without hot showers,” I remember saying back in the day.
Living in Peru as a Chinese-Canadian
The Chinese have been living in Peru since they arrived on ships that traveled across the Pacific in the 1850s. They were the first Asians to make it to South America and came as coolies who worked in guano mines and sugar plantations.
Being a Kid Again with Children in Peru
San Pedro de Saño is a relatively rural town around half an hour outside of Huancayo. One of its poorest neighborhoods is filled with immigrants from Huancavelica, the poorest province in Peru. There, everyone knows each other, many are intricately related to each other, and children play freely in the streets.
Waterless Days
Our toilet usually makes an annoying, sporadic dripping or trickling sound. There have also been a few times, before the rooster on the fourth floor wakes up to crow, that the toilet will make an explosive racket, gurgling and spitting up convulsively. The first time we woke up to the auditory chaos, we thought the … Read more
Miaus and Guaus
Huancayo is surrounded by farmland, so I’ve encountered a myriad of animals ranging from livestock for livelihood to city pets in silly clothes. Some animals have a purpose: cows for fresh milk, donkeys for reliable transport and alpaca for soft wool. There are also animals raised solely for food: chickens and pigs. Other animals are … Read more
A Microcosm of Peruvian Life
The more I take combis (Peruvian public transportation) in Huancayo, the more I envision the combi as a microcosm of Peruvian life. Resourcefulness Today I rode a combi that had a little speaker hanging dangerously over the heads of some passengers. It was tied onto an inner metal support bar and wired to the front … Read more
Skills I’ve Learned
My professor from Canada came to visit for a whirlwind week and packed in… A 2-day conference on infant stimulation that we’ve been planning for months, A full day of hardcore bulk shopping in the Sunday fair that spans more than 30 city blocks of the main street through Huancayo (mostly jewellery for her and … Read more
First Taste
You will not believe where I am and what I am currently doing. I am sitting in what I like to call my dream suite. I am on the sixth floor of what used to be a glamorous hotel, now converted into a less glamorous hostel yet still classic and filled with character. I am … Read more