Unexpected Taste of the US of A

Last night was my first Saturday back in Lima, and I was lost when thinking about what to do. Because I had been traveling for the better part of the last three weeks, I wasn't accustomed to having to think about my plans for the night. I either already planned stuff or I had the option to explore the city/Incan ruins/island in/near/on which I was staying. Sure, I could always just go exploring in Lima, but the city is rather large to just wander aimlessly. Fortunately, a friend of my friend Ashley Shrader (aka: Smashley, Shredder, VIF, and Ash-lady) invited us to go to "Collectivo Circo Band" concert at the La Noche. Mika is her name and studying tuberculosis in jungle monkeys is her proverbial game. She also invited us to her friend's birthday party in San Isidro, the lux neighborhood north of Miraflores (also a lux neighborhood north of Barranco). I immediately (and hopefully not too desperately) agreed to both events, and the next thing I know it's 8:45 and I'm in a taxi with a six-pack of MGD going to "Dan's" birthday soiree. In this taxi are also Amaya (a friend of Mika's, studying HIV on a fellowship), Renee (on the same fellowship as Amaya, but not studying HIV), and Dan (not the birthday Dan and studying to get his MD but primarily at UCLA and one of three Dans I encountered at the party). I was taken aback by the collective academic experience of the group. After about 7 seconds in the taxi, I was also taken aback by an overwhelming sense of being back in the US. Or "US of A" so we have continuity with the title.

Careful readers may explain this feeling by pointing to the fact that I was in a taxi with 4 other Americans. Why shouldn't I have felt like I was in the US? However, I have spent time with Americans several times before in Lima, and I never felt this way before. I know what brought on the feeling, though. The first topic that the group began to discuss was their respective yoga classes. Sure, there are quite a few yoga studios in Lima which are no doubt frequented by more Peruvians than foreigners, but it was the way they were talking about the classes that struck me. I have yet to hear a Peruvian critique a yoga instructor for "giving the class like she had memorized the routine. I didn't feel she was teaching as much as she was reciting the positions." Now don't take this the wrong way, I have no beef with discriminating fitness enthusiasts. Having an opinion and preference makes the world a much more interesting place. That's just not a phrase I have ever heard from any Peruvian. The second topic (after discussing the merits of other yoga studios) was a 30 minute interview with Jon Stewart on the NPR website. Hey, I like Jon Stewart and in the US I listen to NPR (and can name a disproportionate number of the correspondents and anchors) - this topic was right up my alley. But as Renee (it might have been Amaya, I was in the front seat and couldn't see faces and didn't know whose voice belonged to whom) explained how she was laughing out loud (LOL) to Stewart's commentary streaming off the NPR website on her Macbook while having her morning coffee, I couldn't help but think that the image of her doing that was completely at odds with my experience in Peru. Of course Peru has all that technology, but who listens to extended interviews off of public radio websites in the morning? The kicker? When Amaya (it might have been Renee, I was in the front seat and couldn't see faces and didn't know whose voice belonged to whom) asked the group if anyone knew of some good Spanish podcasts. Then I absolutely couldn't help but feel that I was sitting in Intelligentia coffee in Silver Lake or Blue Bottle Coffee in Brooklyn or Stumptown Roasters in Portland with a group of young intellectuals about to debate the ethics of the US partnering with an arguably corrupt Karzai government in Afghanistan.

I bet that an identical intellectual/salon crowd exists in Lima and discusses the latest Slate article just like folks back in the US, but I don't feel that I have been running with that set. My Peruvian friends here would be characterized first and foremost by their passion for whatever they do. I'm sure the Americans in the taxi have passion for life/work/fun/people, but the Limans I've met just care so much. They are also intelligent, tech-savvy, and politically active, but instead of finding them listening to a podcast in the morning or yoga shopping in Miraflores, you will find them traveling to the rain forest, mountain biking in the Pachacamac foothills, or spending an entire Sunday with their family just being a family.

I don't mean to pass judgment on the youth of the US or the youth of Lima. I mostly wanted to talk about this experience because it was a moment when I felt intimately aware of a subtle, yet absolutely personal and relevant, cultural difference. I also felt out of place in that taxi (probably because I hang out much more with Limans than I do Americans, and that taxi was more American than hunting wolves from a helicopter), and that struck me as extremely odd. Why should I feel out of my place with people from my own country, people who, though certainly more involved in academia, are reasonably close to my own profile? Maybe it was just that particular mix of folks that made me feel this way, but it certainly got me thinking about my return to the US. I don't have concerns about reverse culture shock. I know that I will be happy to see friends and family. I just wonder how I am going to view things differently, and how my values will change (if they change at all).

As we were leaving the taxi to go to Dan's (number 2 I believe) apartment, Dan (number 1) said that he would be extremely distraught if he lost his iPod. It was definitely just an offhand, casual comment, but I know that in the US or in Peru I wouldn't really care that much if I lost a music player. I mean really...it's not like it's a great chestnut brown wig.

Also, there are new photos in the Flickr account. I started with 1200 photos from the trip to the south and cut it down to a more manageable 27. If you want to see them all, we'll be having a 7 hour slideshow back in Orinda in December. I'll bring the Lil' Smokies if you bring the Diet Dr. Pepper!