Culture Shock in Peru

In Peru, there are several differences that stuck out to me. The first one is catcalling in the streets. For the most part, (while it is gross) it is harmless. Many cars will beep at girls especially if you look foreign (naturally my blonde hair made me easily identifiable as foreign). We have also had kissy noises made at us while walking home. In Boston, I have only been catcalled once so having it happen almost every time I walked out of my house with friends it happened. Another difference is having to barter for cab prices rather than having a meter running. Taxi drivers jack up the prices for tourists, so as long as you know this you just have to get the price down 2-5 soles from their original price and they almost always accept. Finally, the poverty of Peru stuck out to me. I have seen homeless people in Boston and I know poverty definitely exists in the US. I have never seen shacks with canvas roofs, an entire neighborhood of people without shoes in Nazca, and people huddling on the side of the streets in Cusco. Another thing is that people on the streets sell tourist souvenirs and I feel bad not buying from them because this is how they make their living but I do not have enough money for all of the souvenirs. On top of that, they come into restaurants with their children and ask for money until someone kicks them out. That is a situation I have never encountered in the US but I have in Europe. It makes me sad but I cannot buy from every person that asks me. I was very happy to buy jewelry from a woman who made homemade jewelry from out of date Peruvian coins in the town of Ica. She was not trying to get us to come to her shop, we stopped because her jewelry was interesting. This woman also explained to us how she made the jewelry and we watched her make part of a bracelet. That was one of the best experiences I have had.
No matter how many times you travel, you will experience some form of culture shock. The stages of culture shock are the honeymoon phase, frustration, adjustment and acceptance, and finally reverse culture shock when you return home. The first week in Lima was the most homesick I have ever felt in my life; I left behind my friends from school and from home, my parents, and my boyfriend after only being home for two weeks and settling back into life at home. I have never wanted to leave home less. After a week, I settled into a routine of going to school and after school activities with the group. I began to appreciate the city of Lima more and more. It also helped that I got to know more people. On the last day, I was very sad to leave Lima and my host family, who invited me back to visit. Once we got to Cusco there was a whole new level of adjusting; adjusting to the altitude of 11,000 feet. I am excited to go home but I know I will miss Peru once I get home.