A Little About Lima

Since nothing too monumental has happened within the last few days, I figured I make a post generally about Lima and some of the differences here that I've noticed.  I apologize if I have already talked about some of these ( and I probably have, but this will be a more descriptive post )

Beginning with size:  Lima is extremely large.  Nearly 10 million people I believe.... and Lima is split into a whole bunch of districts, like the photo below:

That's actually the best photo I could find online... you can click on it to see it full size I think...  Anyways, I live in San Isidro, the yellow skinny one in the middle.  But I live at the top/right, only a few minutes away from San Borja (pink).  I live so close to San Borja, in fact, that I attend a school there, and I walk home every day, so its not terribly far.  Callao (reddish district, far left) is where the airport is.  I think it takes about 30 or 40 minutes by car to get from Callao to San Isidro, also depending on traffic (traffic can get really bad here).  I live in a pretty nice area, in the financial district, so when I look out my bedroom window I literally see several huge, bank skyscrapers.  Also, there's a lot of construction...so that's a downside.  But other than that, it is a pretty safe, nice neighborhood, with a little plaza/park area in front of my house, with a fountain and benches. 

This is a few blocks from my house.  It's a pretty nice area (and lots of banks)

Plaza in front of the house

Something different here is that when they take out the trash, they put the bags in a.... a thing that I cannot explain. Well, I couldn't find a picture online so I will have to attempt to explain it.  It is like a big, metal basket, with an open top, on a post.  Instead of big garbage cans on the side of the street, they have those metal basket-on-post things that you put the garbage bags in.  Then the garbage people come pick it up.   Wow, that was an awful explanation.  Oh, well.

There are also awesome, abundant food stands on basically every street.  They are great.

As you can see, there is candy, snacks, drinks, etc.  And this type of stuff is cheap here.  Candy bars are like, typically 1 sol to 1.50 soles, which is about 35/45 cents USD.  It's cool.

Houses/properties here are also drastically different.  Houses are smaller, often apartment style (hard to explain), just condensed in general (or at least from what I've seen).  Yards are not common (some have very small courtyards) but to have a backyard or actually own acres of land around your house is basically unheard of (well, it is a city, so that makes sense).  Security is BIG here.  Every house has some of the following:  Gates, fences, walls, everything locked, mechanized door to get your car out if you have a car, barbed wire, metal spikes and rods, even broken glass bottles cemented on top of the wall to dissuade climbers, etc. 

Above is a decent example.  It has the mechanized door for the car, and you can't see it, but there is a little thing to the right of the normal door where you can buzz for someone inside the house to come open the door if you don't have a key.  To the right, there is barbed wire on top of the cement wall.

Another difference in Lima is transportation/traffic.  Firstly, a significant amount of families here don't have their own cars.  They use the public transportation instead.  This is a big difference, because in the US, each family has at least one, sometimes two or three cars.  Also, even though my family has a car, we don't use it unless A: my host dad takes it to work I think, or B: we're all going out together, because gas is more expensive here.

Modes of transportation available: (well, the two most common)

Taxis:  Taxis are everywhere here, you can just flag them down off the street, or you can call a service and have one from a specific service come to your house (this is a safer option apparently).  People here tell me taking taxis can be kind of dangerous, especially for me because I am a gringa and I could get kidnapped.  So I'm not supposed to take them alone.   To take a taxi here, you wave it down from the side walk and then you talk to the driver through the window, telling him where you want to go.  Then (and this is something different than in the US) you determine the price before you even get in.  There is no meter that determines your price, so unless you want to get ripped off, you should have a good idea of how much it costs to go a certain distance.  So here's an example situation:  I will put it in english so you understand.

Me:  "Guardia Civil, International Clinic" (me saying where I want to go)
Him: "7 soles"
Me:  "It's only 4 blocks.  5 soles."

Now at this point, if he agrees to 5 soles, he'll say yes, and then I'll get in the car and he'll drive to where I want to go and I'll give him the money at the price we determined.  But he doesn't have to agree to the price I want.  If he doesn't think 5 soles is worth his time for the distance, he'll just drive away and I'll have to find a different taxi.

It's safer to take registered taxis (taxis that have their registration numbers on the side and back of their cars) as opposed to cars that just put a little taxi sign on top of the hood and could be dangerous.

Combis/Micros:  Combis and Micros are both buses, the only difference that I know of is that Combis are smaller and a bit more ghetto and Micros are bigger and more official.  But I think the prices are the same... anyways, Combis and Micros are typically a better option than taking a taxi because they are a lot cheaper.  While a ride in a taxi could cost you 10 soles, you could go the same distance in a combi or a micro for 1 sol.  I'm pretty sure that no matter where you're going, a combi or a micro will cost you either 50 centimos (20 cents USD) or a sol (36 cents USD), and if it's a longer distance, maybe 1.20 soles.  So obviously that's a better option price wise.  However, there are some downsides to taking the buses.

A:  You have to know which ones to take (different ones go to different places and its confusing) to get to where you want to go.  This is a major problem for me.
B:  You have to know where to get off
C: They can get INSANELY crowded (like, people smashed against the door) and its a lucky day when there is an open seat.  If not, you gotta stand, and due to the driving habits here, that can be nerve-wracking.
D: It's easy to get robbed on these buses.  Hold your bag on your lap and be alert.  One exchange student got a cell phone from his family, and after a week, it was stolen while he was on a bus.  I haven't seen this, but apparently thieves have some pretty elaborate schemes in order to steal.  An example:  someone will spill something on you, then while you try to clean it up (and you're distracted) someone else will sneak up and steal your phone/ipod/whatever.  I have not yet been robbed :)

To get on one of these buses, you can get on at a designated bus stop, or sometimes you can flag it down from the street, depending on whether or not they want to stop to pick you up ;)  There are typically two people working on the bus:  The driver is one, obviously.  The other is the dude that goes down the aisle and takes the money.  After you pay, he hands you a paper ticket to prove you paid.  Simple. Sometimes the same person acts as the driver and the money-taker, so he'll be swerving around on the road, one hand on the wheel, while counting your change.

Above is a combi.  As you may be able to see, there are words on the side of the bus.  That's how you know where the bus goes (also I think they're numbered)

Driving here is a bit different.  People drive kind of loco=crazy.  I'm pretty sure Lima has the highest amount of traffic accidents in the world.  Pedestrians do not have the right of way, so crossing the street can be a dangerous challenge.  Traffic can be terrible, specifically around 5-9 because people are coming home from work and what-not.  And everyone honks.  A lot.

Something else about Lima.... it is very dirty.  Yes, there are nice, groomed parts, but a lot of Lima is really dirty.  There is a lot of trash, pollution, graffiti, rubble, and the farther out of Lima you go, the worse it gets.  There's also an unbelievable amount of stray dogs.  You wouldn't believe it.  Again, the farther out you go, the more you see. 

There's also a lot of advertisements.  There's the typical billboards and signage, but something new that will probably surprise you:  advertisements made by hedges/shrubbery to spell out words, typically on the slope of a hill by a busy road.  I couldn't find a picture online, but I'll try to take a picture next time I'm out.

And lastly, the weather.  Currently, Lima is in winter.  But it's not at all like winter in wisconsin.  Winter here means temperatures typically around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  But it can feel really cold because the sun very rarely shines here in the winter.  Also, while it rarely actually rains, there is often a very fine, cold mist/thick humidity (which I don't understand because Lima is in a desert....?) that makes everything damp and gross.... including my clothes in my room.  For real, I'll feel clothes in my dresser and be like '....why do these feel damp?'.  Ick.  so, during the day, if the sun is out, you'll be fine in jeans and a light jacket.  But if there's no sun, and its misty out, you'll need a sweatshirt, jacket, and scarf or you'll be chilly!  But of course, there's no snow in Lima.  So for me, this is a pleasant winter.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, and this has been quite a long post, so I'll end this one with a couple pictures:

School Olympics for my school's anniversary:  Above is Tami (from Canada) who is another exchange student at my school, and our friend Chachi from school.

Also for the school's anniversary, each grade did a dance.