A Day in Lima

So I got into Lima last night after spending far too long in San Salvador's airport where even the shop keepers sleep until the planes arrived. When I arrived there was a taxi waiting for me as a part of Peru's challenge. The driver was very nice, but I was immediately mentally kicking myself for not learning more Spanish in the summer as he knew very little English. So there I was combining French and Spanish to try to ask him if he grew up in Peru and there he was replying that he was taking me to Miraflores. Needless to say it was a quiet ride after that. Plus, I was fascinated with the buses and how they look like RVs. Apparently, they used to just stop whenever someone on the street waved their hand at them but the mayor (who is Lima's first female mayor) made it so that their needed to be bus stops and that people had to wait at the bus stop! Funny how something so normal to us is so different for them. They also pack the busses really full and at times hardly stop when letting people off.
   Traffic is really interesting as well. There is the constant noise of honking.. so much so that there are signs telling people to stop. I've also seen a number of cars stopped in the middle of the road because they have a flat and need to change the tire. I even saw one man walking with his car! I can only imagine what traffic would be like in India after seeing what it's like here!
   Today, I wandered around a bit with the two Aussies I'm rooming with. One is a teacher and the other is going into teaching next year. I think my favorite thing was seeing tights and at the top they had the butt cheeks cut out so that you could have a seamless lift! Christmas gag gift perhaps? I also met the other people in Peru's challenge during our Lima tour today. Everyone is so well travelled!! I think it will be a great group.
  As for Lima, I feel as though I only got a glimpse of it today from the tour and the wander. The tour showed some pre-Inca ruins, some of the squares and nice buildings, a quick glimpse of the favellas and it almost left us behind while trying to get water. We had wanted to go to this light show they have here but got back from the tour too late. Plus, I was starving so Jenny and I went and got Chinese food instead. I know.. not very adventurous.. Lima is very westernized that way..it has everything you can have back home. But I mention it because we did have Pisco sours! I like them. Its a bit like tequila in frothy drink form and is definitely the first of many;) Tomorrow we head to Cusco to meet Jane and hopefully some of the other volunteers as we only have 8 with us right now and we're supposed to have 12!