Lima Open Market shopping trip

Today we visited the Magdalena Market in Peru. This a typical Peruvian outdoor market where the locals go to get all of their goods. There are supermarkets in the wealthy areas but they are very expensive. In these markets it is important to know your source. You can see from all the meat and fish hanging and lying around in the open that this could present some problems. they eat all kinds of different things we wouldn't think of touching. Guinea pigs for one. We watched them kill one (slit its throat). They eat chicken feet cow stomach, intestines and heart to name a few others. There are some interesting veggies as well. They have about 30 varieties of potatoes, a HUGE squash (can't remember the name), many kinds of beans and grains and some of the largest kernels of corn I have ever seen. You can also find ground coca leaves and probably the leaves themselves in the market. I am not sure if it is legal to sell it or not. They put it in the yogurt for breakfast and they also have coca tea in most restaurants so I know that is legal. I think it is grown in the north near Columbia and also in the Cusco area. Notice the photo of me holding a large bag of ground Coca - just for some humor. I have tried the Coca tea and it just tastes like herbal tea to me. I don't notice any different after drinking it. I think I will stick with my coffee. It is supposed to help with altitude sickness so they say I should drink it for 2 days prior to leaving for Cusco and while I am there. Maybe its a blood thinner or something. Anyway, back to the market. It was certainly a feast for some of the senses - smells and sights for sure. The corridors are very narrow - you may be able to tell this from the video (its bit shaky due to the tightness of the area). The vendors specialize - chicken only, beef only, grains, sundries, fish, cooked food (like little fast food counters), rabbits and guinea pigs, fruits and vegetables. There are very few that have more than one specialty - no WalMarts here! It is a giant maze of stalls winding around at least one city block. Then outside the food market are the other shops. They bootleg videos and you can buy just about any video for $1. You should see the ladies lingerie - for a Catholic country they are sure selling a lot of racy undies! Shoes, clothes, drugstores, candy stores, dog food stores, etc. All specialties. Its a a real zoo. If I get to go again I will try to write down more notes. It all went by so fast I am sure I am forgetting to cover a lot.

Peruvian Dinner Theater

Last night we went to the Peruvian Dinner Theater. These are a few photos from the tradional dances of Peru. The one with the large head is like the lucky Buddha of Peru. The show had dances from many of the areas and cultures of Peru - Lima, Cusco (Inca), Puno, Ica and other coastal regions. The costumes were very colorful. My favorite dance was the scissors dance. These two men dance with the two components of a pair of scissors in their hands keeping a constant rhythm while they tumble and dance around. They were pretty amazing. I will post a video so that you can hear the music and write about the dances a bit later.

Social Worker Visit in Peru

Today our program director Edith took us with the social worker and a child from PPA (Juan) to look for his home for a surprise visit it was an unbelievable day. To get there we took a taxi from the children's home. The air quality in Lima is very bad. They do not have emissions control. They dump there trash all over the place in the shanty towns that surround the city. We drove around for about an hour or longer. On the way to Juan's house we saw a dead dog in heap of trash on the side of the road. Then as we walked over the hill we saw a woman dragging a dying dog to the middle of median - there really isn't a road, it is all dirt. We drove all over the place in Villa El Salvador - the shanty town - trying to find this place. Juan, who is six was trying to guide us through the maze of shanty houses to find his. We stopped for directions many times. When we finally go to this spot we found that we had to walk over the back of this huge sand dune and down the back side which is pretty much like a cliff. His house is basically hanging on the edge of a cliff. Very dangerous for a small child. His father abandoned his mother. There are 3 children. 2 at PPA and a 15 year old who lives at home with the mother. He had some sort of accident and can't walk so he sits in bed all day. I am not sure how he gets to the bathroom. It not really a bathroom per se. The dig a hole in the sand and bury their waste inside the home. There is a lot of cholera, dissentary and tuberculosis in the shantytowns. They have power which they have spliced from someone else. It is strung to the house with multiple extension cords. The shack does look out at the ocean so the air quality is better there than most of the rest of the ride. Peru is in the earthquake zone. If there is another bad earthquake many of the people in Villa El Salvador will be buried in the rubble of their homes. There is no building code enforcement. There is so much exhaust in the air everywhere it is just nasty. I have a hard time imagining that they live with this terrible air quality every day. It is so dangerous. But the environment is not something they think about when they have so many more pressing priorities with so many people living in abject poverty.

After we made our way back up the sand dune we drove around the area looking around. There are make shift houses and markets all over the place and stray dogs that look like they are staving wandering around or languishing on the side of the road. We went to an area where they sell furniture that is made in the area. They are famous for furniture in Villa El Salvador.

Then we made our way back to PPA and had lunch.