Let the Sun Shine!

Looking back on what I have written so far, I have written very little about the city where I actually spend most of my time.

My first impressions of Lima were that it is a gloomy, industrial, and chaotic city. To some extent, these impressions have proved truthful, but in the past three weeks I have come to appreciate Lima as a genuine city with unique characteristics. Nothing is sugar-coated here--what you see is what you get. So, in a way, the grafiitied walls, dirty streets, horn-honking, and girl-whistling is so honest that it is, in a sense, comforting.

Lima's gloomy appearance is due primarily to its climate. To start, Lima is almost always cloudy. When the hot equatorial sun rays beam down on the cold water current that runs from Chile to Lima, excessive evaporation occurs. This evaporation mist turns into low clouds that get stuck between the coast and the Andes and hover over Lima in a permanent, gloomy layer of gray. This is something that is generally accepted here, and it has become such the "norm" that I often forget to tell people at home about it. However, when the sun does come out, it is blissful. Yesterday the sun came out for the second time since I've been here, and it was amazing!

It is also instantly apparent that Lima is dirty-- there seems to be a layer of (sometimes smelly) filth covering all buildings and streets. This, again, is caused by the climactic restrictions. While it often mists in Lima, it hardly ever rains, which means that Lima lacks the "natural rinse" mechanism that most other cities have.

While my opinions that Lima is gloomy have not changed since I've gotten here, many of my other first impressions have. When I first got here, I thought that there were absolutely no rules or regulations for driving. On top of that, it seemed that the Public Transportation systems were system-less. Now, however, I am beginning to learn that there is a relatively uniform and efficient method behind their perceived madness. That said, I think I would have to spend about five more years in Lima before I dare to drive here!