DAY 1: Patch Blogger Heads to Peru

Touchdown! I arrived at Peru at around 3 p.m., after nearly 8 hours of flight. The tail end of the flight followed a layover in Costa Rica, which connected LAX to the Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez. The airport was surprisingly aesthetic; it housed a medley of bright, cordial colors as well as clean, tidy facilities. A banner on one of the walls compared and contrasted the changes made to the airport over the past 10 years, highlighting the larger accommodations and upgrades. Aside from the new paint and automatic toilets, the changes evoked a tangible sense of excitement and optimism.

I was eager to see some of the outer surrounding and step forth in Lima, so I rushed outside, only to be welcomed by a healthy dose of pollution and traffic, something all too familiar to what I experienced in L.A. I assumed it was a sign of Peru’s recent economic expansion, but my drive through Lima (Peru’s capital city) showed that Peru’s economic prosperity is still a work in progress.

Brick houses outlined the main road, several of which had an unsatisfactory upkeep, and graffiti literally flooded the walls. There was a lot of propaganda in these parts, especially those supporting Felix Moreno, the president of the Regional Government of Callao. Whether it was in the form of graffiti, posters, billboard, etc, the propaganda was ubiquitous. Construction was also a common sight, and many of the roads were in poor condition, lacking level ground and smoothness. Locals informed me that the land we passed by was just recently opened for domestic housing, having been previously reserved for strictly business operations. In hindsight, this was a reason to celebrate, as most of the domestic housing was along the mountains/hills of the region, quiet susceptible to damage in the case of natural disasters. Opening up housing to the more level areas of land was the first step to improving the overall safety of the local citizenry.

Numerous businesses were also lined up across the strip, among them dentist offices, gyms, and restaurants. Street vendors crowded the streets, selling drinks and snacks – some young kids also offered to give us a car wash in the middle of the road. Quite ironically, there was a casino in the middle of town, ostensibly the most financially privileged building in the area. A very large bouncer shielded most of the entrance, but the interior of the casino was packed with a lot of gamblers.

The architecture was also a sight to behold, as the majority of constructions had dome-roofs and [triangular] pediments. However, the most remarkable aspect of Peru had to be the traffic. Imagine a dirt road that lacks traffic lanes and about 3,000 cars, taxis, and bicycles, driving at roughly 100 km/ph on it. Oh, did I forget to mention that no one uses turn signals? It was a literal movie scene, with our bus squeezing into the tiniest of spots, horns blaring in the distance, and drivers cussing in all forms of rhetoric. I’m not going to lie; pretty cool.

Our destination for the mission site was about forty minutes from the airport. It was an area of private land in the middle of the low class community, complete with a playground and boarding room. The pastor in charge was a missionary heading 3 separate churches in Peru, reaching both the Peruvian and Korean population. They served us a classic dish of French fries and pollo, a “muy rico” dinner that kept me full for the entire night. We had a basic orientation of the area, including where the facilities were, the names of the staff, and what type of weather to expect. Tomorrow marks the start of our mission program here, and I’m more than excited for what will ensue. I’ll have to end the blog here to catch up on some sleep, even though it’s only a two hour difference from Pacific Standard Time. Ciao!