The Large, Large World
What comes to mind when you think of Peru?
I now know that people more globally conscious than I am often associate Peru with Machu Picchu, one of the most recognized tourist sites in South America. I’m ashamed to admit that on my first trip over to Peru in 2008, the extent of my imagination was imageless Spanish-like sounds. Needless to say, I didn’t know anything else about Peru and was thoroughly surprised to learn about the wide variety of cultures, traditions, histories, peoples, faces, languages and climates that make up the country.
To express my current perspective of Peru’s overwhelming grandiosity, here is a brief multifaceted look at my adopted country:
- Peru has three geographically-diverse regions. If I were adventurous enough, I could leave the sunny beachside to go mountain climbing in the Andes and finish the day off visiting the mosquito-filled hut of an Amazonian shaman. The diverse climates beget high biodiversity and there are over 5,000 plants and animals unique to the country.
- Spanish is the official language, but many Native Americans speak various dialects of Quechua, Aymara and around ten other native tongues.
- Blond-haired Peruvians inhabit Oxapampa, a little town in the central rainforest. They descend from Austrian-Germans who were invited to colonize the area over 100 years ago.
- Afro-Peruvian music originated from Chincha in Northern Peru, where there is a large population of Peruvians with African roots.
- The first Asians to land in South America were the Chinese and Japanese who arrived in Peru’s port of Callao in the 1800s and established one of the West’s earliest Chinatowns in Lima. Nowadays, comida chifa (Peruvian-style Chinese food) is a mainstay in Peruvian cuisine.
- Two traditional Andean dances of Peru made the UNECSO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010: la huaconada — a masked dance of JunÃn where the dancers symbolically whip all naughty people during the first few days of the year — and la danza de las tijeras — an elaborate dance from the Southern Andes where dancers create a rhythm with pieces of metal used like oversized scissors.
- Not only are there Incan influences, but Pre-Incan cultures also continue to have a strong presence in today’s Peru, from Chimor’s Chan Chan to the Nazca lines. North of Lima is Caral, the oldest city in the Americas of the oldest known civilization in the Americas, the Norte Chico.
If the mere tip of the Peruvian iceberg can rouse such awe, what more when I consider the entire world and all of its history? The largeness of the world makes me feel small yet connected to humanity, humbled by its infinite knowledge, grounded to generations of wisdom and motivated to continue absorbing the little things.
What does the largeness of the world make you feel?
If you can excuse the Peruvian beer ad, the underlying message of the following video is one of unity. At the beginning, they sing: “From droplet to droplet, the sea is formed. Grain to grain, the sand, the beach. Leaf to leaf, the forest and the entire jungle.” Each person is just one droplet, one grain of sand or one leaf from the standpoint of the universe, but I believe that we are each an important contribution to humankind.
Tags: culture, history, humanity, overview of peru, world
writing4effect
You always do a fantastic job of making Peru come alive for me every time I read a new post of yours. I love the way you describe the country and its characteristics and characters. I can almost see the surroundings and visualize the people, and it makes for quite an enjoyable experience, indeed.
Samantha Bangayan
Wow! Thanks, Sherry! I've always admired writers who can create images with words, so I'm ecstatic that you can visualize through my writing. =)
T.S. Bazelli
Wow blond haired Peruvians? Living somewhere always offers so much better perspective than passing through as a tourist.
Samantha Bangayan
Yes! I'm an intense proponent for living in another country versus travelling. =) I'm still learning new things every day!
Keyuri Joshi (on the
What a lovely post. It gave me a mini mental vacation that I hope to turn into reality at some future time.
As to how the largeness of the world makes me feel…. I have always felt pleasantly insignificant as I visualize myself as a mere pinprick on the surface of the earth. The visual soothes me in times of stress and inspires me to make a differnce for the enviornment and people with whom I've been placed.
Samantha Bangayan
"Pleasantly insignificant" — this is exactly what I couldn't express, Keyuri! The idea of "insignificance" often holds a negative connotation, but just as you say that "pansies" are actually resilient, "insignificance" can actually be a benefit. Feeling insignificant reminds me that the world doesn't revolve around me and allows me to let the unimportant things go. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. =)
dennis salvatier
Loved this post. I knew a fair share about Peru, but not most of these facts. What a rich and lovely country. It's people like you that help people know more about the world and broaden their horizons.
Samantha Bangayan
Thank you, Dennis. =) Just being here has broadened my horizons and I love the idea of sharing the same feeling with others.
Sherryl Perry
I thoroughly enjoyed your post Samantha. I especially enjoyed the video you've included. I'm "geographically challenged myself. So, thank you for sharing this with us.
Samantha Bangayan
Thanks, Sherryl! I felt the video was the perfect representation of the variety in Peru. =)
Faraz
South America is a part of the world of which I have little practical experience — something I hope to change over the next few years. Peru will be towards the top of my list of countries to visit when I do. Thanks for the gentle reminder!
Samantha Bangayan
South America must be a part of the Shibli adventures! =) I imagine you would especially love the trekking in the Central Andes! Do let me know whenever you get a chance to make it over! =)
Faraz
I'm sure I would! I've subscribed to your feed so I'll hopefully have enough to whet my appetite for South America over the coming weeks and months…
Samantha Bangayan
Thanks so much for subscribing, Faraz! Glad to be in touch with another adventurer. =)
Camden Luxford
Cool post Samantha! Blows my mind as well the incredible wealth of surprises here – quite a few of your facts were new to me, thanks for sharing.
Samantha Bangayan
Giving myself a pat on the back for being able to share new tidbits with a veteran expat in Peru. =) Thanks so much for commenting and tweeting!
Ollin
Thank you so much for all the wonderful information about Peru! I love Latin America and I always wanted to go to Peru. Now I have so many reasons to go there, especially going to go see the oldest city in the Americas! Thanks for sharing.
Samantha Bangayan
Ollin, I am so honored to have you visit my blog and find value in my words! We definitely share the same love for Latin America and I'm really glad to be in touch. Can't wait until your book is out. =)
Harriette Halepis
Interesting! When I think of Peru, I think of Alpacas. 🙂
Samantha Bangayan
That's a really good one. =) Funnily enough, I have yet to see a single alpaca and I live in the Central Andes! =P Plenty of llamas and alpaca wool, but no alpacas in sight.
Thanks so much for visiting! I love the voice of your blog and have subscribed! =) Glad to connect!
Catarina Alexon
Like your article Samantha. Are you enjoying life in Peru? Have only worked with their government but never actually visited. Would be interesting to do, not least because of their ancient civilization.
Samantha Bangayan
Thanks for asking, Catarina! I'm definitely enjoying the quiet life I've made for myself here. In fact, the thought of leaving for Chile tomorrow is already making me feel a little homesick. =P
The country and culture are fascinating! I hope you do get the chance to travel here one day!
Rob Berman
I have spoken on the phone with people in Peru but never visited. Interesting perspective. After you trip to Chile let's see how the two compare.
Rob
Samantha Bangayan
Rob, thank you so much for dropping by! It's funny that you bring up a comparison between Peru and Chile. I'm not sure if you knew, but they are rival countries! =) Interestingly enough, I live in the Peruvian Central Andes and where I'm going in Chile is also an Andean town. We'll see what I observe! =)
J. P. Cabit
Ha ha! Blond-haired Peruvians!!! 😀 That's pretty awesome. Afro-Peruvians and Chinese-Peruvians as well? How diverse! 🙂 What fun.
Samantha Bangayan
I know! I couldn't believe it when I arrived and heard their perfect Spanish! We can never judge a book by its cover. =P
Susan Oakes
Peru is one country that I would like to visit and your post and the video explained the country so well. It also made me remember a friend who thought she was feeling a little sick because of the altitude. Instead when she got home found she was pregnant and actually had been suffering from morning sickness.
Samantha Bangayan
Wow! I've known some people who had it go the other way around. A pregnancy scare turned out to be altitude sickness or just stomach troubles with nausea. =P
I hope you do get the chance to visit Peru one day and I hope I'm still here when you do!
Courteney
Wow, that is so neat to learn!! What is Peruvian Chinese food like?
Samantha Bangayan
Corlah! So good to see you!
Fried rice is a favorite that people make even in family restaurants that don't sell solely Chinese food. Other popular dishes include "tau si" and "chi jau kay" – do they sound like Cantonese names of actual Chinese dishes to you? =P