a window into my life.

it's 8:32 am, the morning sun is shining down, already heating the asphalt and baking my back as i'm making my daily trek to the micro that takes me to school each day. same as everyday, i walk in a brisk fashion, attempting to avoid all male eye contact, particularly the usual street vendors and tienda owners who just love to tell me how extraordinarily beautiful i look that day, even though it must not be too extraordinary since they tell me this same line everyday. i've crossed the busy road of arenales, where zooming taxis, cars, and buses stop for no one, and i'm about to get to arequipa when i walk by a gentlemen who says, "hello, america", with a big grin on his face. without even thinking, i react by throwing up hand in a, "what the heck?" kind of pose, bewildered at why any person would ever walk by another and say, "hello, america."

but this is not unusual here in peru. no, in fact, here in peru i am bombarded by the strangest greetings, as well as the most incredible attention-getters and noises. i have come to the conclusion that lima is a city of noise, and this noise never ceases. at 4 in the morning i have been awoken by a man playing a saxophone below my window, with another singing loudly with a bottle of something swaying in his hand. a different night, around 2 am, i was awoken by a man screaming in the street, with another yelling words in spanish. from my observations, it appeared the one man had drunkenly fallen down and severely injured a body part, and the other man was screaming at him to shut up, get up and walk, and that it wasn't as bad as the other man was making it sound. it sounded pretty bad to me... after all, it was a man crying in the middle of the street.

so you see? this city is never quiet. and people just love to get each others attention in the loudest ways possible. helado sellers wandering the street enjoy blowing duck like horns. apparently, duck like noises encourage children and adults to come running for ice cream, nevermind the fact that they have probably heard that same horn 26 times already in that day. women at markets love to call you the equivalent of "sweetie" in spanish, hoping the compliments will encourage you to buy their items. and nevermind the flocks of men who exclaim at your beauty, such as the man selling popcorn in miraflores who said, "ah muy linda. muy bonita! si, necestas mi comida!" to which my friends and i often walk off and mutter a reply in english of, "wow! you know, that's the first time anyone on the street has ever complimented me! of course i now want to purchase your popcorn. thank you so much. you are so very sincere."

there are the people who hop on to micros and again, inform you of your beauty, then whip out a piece of candy, expecting you to purchase it for 50 centimos, or whatever the bidding rate may be. but that's not the only sound you will hear on the micros. these things are full of noise and attention-getters. for one thing, the combradors (these are the people who stand at the doors and let people on and off the buses as well as takes your change) tend to shout out their destinations at the top of their lunges, constantly urging you to get onto their micro, even if you stand there shaking your head no. then there is the music, which can be a range of anything from typical peruvian music, creolle, american hits, reggatone, but whatever it is, it's loud. and then there is the sound of the traffic in general... which is about as loud as anyone can handle.
the micros aren't the only ones encouraging people to jump on, even when they don't want to. taxis just love to toot their horns, expecting you to jump in their car. this one boggles me the most. if i'm walking on a sidewalk with my head straight forward, not attempting to the get the attention of ANYONE, wouldn't one assume i DON'T want a taxi? i mean, i'm pretty sure i'm capable of standing at a corner, waving a taxi down when i need one. therefore, stop honking your horn at me when i'm minding my own business, taking a nice stroll to the park! not only do they like to honk their horns, but occasionally they enjoy leaning out the window, yelling some absurd comment in spanish. those, i tend to ignore.

in any case, peru, or at least lima, is a very noisy place full of greetings and attention-getters, never ceasing even at the early hours of dawn. and as much as i love this city, i wouldn't mind walking down a street without an absurd greeting from a man, or a horn being blown in my face, or a taxi driver encouraging me to use his service. for once, i really would like some peace.