Sunday, December 10, 2006
8-9 December 2006 Peru - a country of intense poverty but incredible acceptance
Because I've been so slack my thoughts are running backwards and many of my ideas have already developed. I've had time to think about them before writing. I hope I don't confuse my faithful readers by mentioning things that don't have context yet.
I'm sitting in a cafe Andrew introduced me to on my second evening in Trujillo (we´re in central northern coastal Peru now). I have been coming here a bit - the food is good, the coffee great, service attentive and the people watching better than average. And they let me practise my Spanish ordering with patience...I am struck by contrasts.
Here I am in a cafe that would compete in Paris, Sydney, Cairns, Istanbul, or Damascus (and actually rock the socks off Cairo...) and two streets away is incredible poverty that forces people to rob and cheat to feed their children...
I walked past a shop selling treadle sewing machines on the way here. And why not...they are reliable and dont need electricity. And when your're poor you either dont have access to, or can't afford, electricity. I saw many shoe repairers in the mountain/country towns I visited plying their trade in the street markets. No electricity there either. Lots of people in the mountains wear sandles made of recycled car tyres. Cheap, hard wearing...
I believe US$1000 month is a good wage for a doctor, many people survive on less than 10 sols/day (US$3). It is legal to work from age 7 and many families rely on every child contributing to the family's income. Kids are supposed to go to school from 6yrs to 16yrs but most are lucky to stay til 11yrs, especially in the mountains and city slums. The education system is very poor and teachers are poorly paid too. Again I believe 800 sols a week (US$250) - now that could actually be a monthly wage when I think about it. School hours are 7.30am-1pm and so the kids are free in the afternoon to study or, as is normal, to work.
Fresh fruit and fruit juice is plentiful and cheap. A bag of fruit is normally 1 sol at the market. You can buy a big bag of deep fried banana stips of 1 sol. Prepackaged manufactured 'junk' food tends to be biscuits, cake and chips and is sold in portion control packs and is relatively expensive. A 40g chocolate bar or packet of chips is 1/2 sol. Biscuits are sold in single serve 8 biscuit packs for 1/2 sol.
The Peruvians love sweets. In fact I've noticed this a lot. Poor countries seem to OD on sugar based junk rather than fat based junk. They have lots of caramel sweets and 'lollies' rather than chocolates. Lots of cheap boiled lollies in big bags. Crystalised fruits, etc.
The poverty is all invading. And the % of the population with money very intensly concentrated. The further you go from the city the poorer the people, the higher in the mountains, the same. And the further into the outer satelite suburbs of big cities the poverty is just as grinding. But they know nothing else and seem very accepting. Government mismanagement of the economy over many years has made them self reliant for survival techniques. I am so much more accepting and understanding of crime in Peru. The majority of crime here is about survival. The majority of crime in the west is opportunistic (handout mentality) and/or drug fuelled.
Because I've been so slack my thoughts are running backwards and many of my ideas have already developed. I've had time to think about them before writing. I hope I don't confuse my faithful readers by mentioning things that don't have context yet.
I'm sitting in a cafe Andrew introduced me to on my second evening in Trujillo (we´re in central northern coastal Peru now). I have been coming here a bit - the food is good, the coffee great, service attentive and the people watching better than average. And they let me practise my Spanish ordering with patience...I am struck by contrasts.
Here I am in a cafe that would compete in Paris, Sydney, Cairns, Istanbul, or Damascus (and actually rock the socks off Cairo...) and two streets away is incredible poverty that forces people to rob and cheat to feed their children...
I walked past a shop selling treadle sewing machines on the way here. And why not...they are reliable and dont need electricity. And when your're poor you either dont have access to, or can't afford, electricity. I saw many shoe repairers in the mountain/country towns I visited plying their trade in the street markets. No electricity there either. Lots of people in the mountains wear sandles made of recycled car tyres. Cheap, hard wearing...
I believe US$1000 month is a good wage for a doctor, many people survive on less than 10 sols/day (US$3). It is legal to work from age 7 and many families rely on every child contributing to the family's income. Kids are supposed to go to school from 6yrs to 16yrs but most are lucky to stay til 11yrs, especially in the mountains and city slums. The education system is very poor and teachers are poorly paid too. Again I believe 800 sols a week (US$250) - now that could actually be a monthly wage when I think about it. School hours are 7.30am-1pm and so the kids are free in the afternoon to study or, as is normal, to work.
Fresh fruit and fruit juice is plentiful and cheap. A bag of fruit is normally 1 sol at the market. You can buy a big bag of deep fried banana stips of 1 sol. Prepackaged manufactured 'junk' food tends to be biscuits, cake and chips and is sold in portion control packs and is relatively expensive. A 40g chocolate bar or packet of chips is 1/2 sol. Biscuits are sold in single serve 8 biscuit packs for 1/2 sol.
The Peruvians love sweets. In fact I've noticed this a lot. Poor countries seem to OD on sugar based junk rather than fat based junk. They have lots of caramel sweets and 'lollies' rather than chocolates. Lots of cheap boiled lollies in big bags. Crystalised fruits, etc.
The poverty is all invading. And the % of the population with money very intensly concentrated. The further you go from the city the poorer the people, the higher in the mountains, the same. And the further into the outer satelite suburbs of big cities the poverty is just as grinding. But they know nothing else and seem very accepting. Government mismanagement of the economy over many years has made them self reliant for survival techniques. I am so much more accepting and understanding of crime in Peru. The majority of crime here is about survival. The majority of crime in the west is opportunistic (handout mentality) and/or drug fuelled.
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 6:16 PM 
