Well, maybe I AM going through those "stages" of adjusting to living/being in a new country. But I think they are all mixed up together. I love certain things, and get aggravated by some of the same things. Life here involves riding the bus a lot. Especially small buses. The smaller the bus, the more entertaining it will be. The small buses have loud salsa and Spanish pop and at various times also provide the following entertainment from people who want your money:
drum playing
magic/comedy show
playing guitar/singing/playing the harmonica simultaneously
selling everything imaginable (frequently accompanied by begging and pictures of their children or their actual children)
(I held myself back from buying a travel toothbrush accompanied by an extremely tiny toothpaste tube that could be refilled from a regular tube.)
other things to buy, from people on the bus or when traffic is at a standstill, through a window from people next to the bus:
fresh fruit and vegetables
Q-tips
earrings, watches
chips and candy
large, furry rubber rats
herbal elixers
ice cream
every book, CD or DVD you could imagine
Lilo and Stitch windshield visors
Barney stickets, paintbrushes, a barbeque set

They have a lot of traffic guards here, and they are usually really hot women in form-fitting uniforms. No one knows why. Traffic here could not be described as respectful, but it listens to these guards. My thesis is that the traffic reflects the national psyche of Peru. People are passionate, creative, individualistic. They follow their own convictions and do whatever they think is best, stopping short of really hurting anyone.
Peru is truly a melting pot. You have people here who look white, black, korean, native american, european, you name it. But they are all Peruvian. And they call attention to each other's differences, giving people politically incorrect nicknames corresponding to their skin color or eye shape. People will also not hesitate to tell someone that they are fat or to make fun of them for just about anything.
That is almost enough over-generalizing and stereotyping for now. Some people move to a new country and become more culturally sensitive and generalize less but that doesn't appear to be happening to me.

There are supposed to be different phases of living in a new country. The blog "www.thisperthlife.com" calls the first one "The Tourist Phase- when you feel excitied, stimulated and euphoric as you explore your new surroundings whilst noting the differences from your accustomed way of life." I think I am still in that stage. The next stage is "The Disenchantment Phase- when the newness wears off and you become weary of the constant need to change your customary patterns to fit into the new way of doing things." I will let you know when I am in that stage. Maybe I won't experience these stages in a typical way because I'm not having to fend for myself all the time. Having friends as soon as you get somewhere makes a difference. And I'm so warm that I can't be really upset about anything. The first time I've been cold since I got here was at the movies yesterday. Watchmen. I won't say anything about this movie, except that the friend I took to see this owes me bigtime. But my entire body was freezing cold by the end.

Last night I went to what I'm told is a ¨real¨ salsa club. They had this awesome band with so many guys in it, dressed in purple shirts. We were there at this girl's birthday and she must have more friends than anyone in the world. I am learning to dance salsa. I hate learning new things. But I like to know the things after I learn them. We didn't get there until almost 12:30. Some of you will realize this is shockingly late for me to be out at all, let alone to go out at this time. Clubs here don't close until like 6 or 7am. Philly friends, I will never again complain about going out until 2am. Well . . . that's probably not true. But it is also so warm here, it somehow makes up for the later hour.
When I'm out with Jorge's friends or family, usually at least one person knows english and wants to speak to me. Several others usually know english but aren't confident enough to speak much. But most of the conversation around me is obviously in Spanish. Sometimes I'll speak to someone in english and they'll answer me but get a little flustered and have to ask someone for help. Everyone's so nice but sometimes it seems not worth the effort so we just smile at each other instead. I was thinking last night that I can't believe I could have ever felt awkward in situations where I knew people spoke English, where even a lame attempt at conversation would have guaranteed comprehension and response. Which is a good point. But things can be awkward even if people understand each other. Sometimes especially when people understand each other. A smile and knowing someone is making an effort to communicate can feel more comfortable than effortless smalltalk. I've felt more uncomfortable in some English-only situations then I have so far here. But I guess I will learn Spanish anyway- I do like to understand what's going on. Eating meals with Jorge's family is funny because I have no idea what they are talking about. They are really close with each other. They yell at each other and joke around and I can't understand it but it is really adorable and makes me miss my family. I was telling my mom that everybody is involved in everybody else's business here. Personal space, emotional or physical, doesn't really happen here. It makes me question my carefully-guarded personal space. If you have people around you who love you, why not just relax and enjoy them? I take myself too seriously sometimes.

So Peru is really awesome and I love it. It's warm every day, I kind of can't help it. I am still staying with Greg's brother Peter's friend Angela's friend Jorge and his family. They are super sweet and keeping me from getting homesick. They live in a district called la Molina. I am seeing a lot of Lima. I will talk about all the cool stuff I've done and put up pictures later. I just thought I'd start this blog before it gets too late. Here is some information on Peru for you, in no particular order.
bands that are coming to Peru:
Marc Anthony
Iron Maiden
Peter Gabriel
the B-52's
The Village People (!)
Oasis
The Jonas Brothers
Kiss

Peru, like any guidebook will tell you and Jorge keeps reminding me, is "a city of contrasts." Gorgeous old cathedrals and mansions next to barefoot children selling flowers in the street. Thick, blanketing pollution next to swaths of grass and so many different kinds of trees. Even in cities, there is green everywhere. Palm trees, huge trees, cacti, evergreens, so many different kinds of trees next to each other.
People make out everywhere. Especially in parks, but also on buses, on sidewalks waiting for buses, sitting down, standing up. Not just kids, either. Adults.
Traffic is really interesting here. Just because there three lanes painted on the road doesn't mean some huge bus won't decide that there really should be 4 and create his own lane. People drive fast, fast, fast and thisclosetoeachother. I've only seen a few accidents so far, though. There are taxis, little buses and big buses. And private cars, of course. People keep piling in even after all the seats are filled. Even on the little buses, where if you don't have a seat, you can't stand up all the way but have to grab onto a rail hunched over.
Ketchup, mayonaise, mustard and milk are sold in bags.
People really like to wear uniforms here. Not just cops, but sanitation workers, grocery store security guards, secretaries, and guards outside museums, libraries, universities.
I am getting tan. I'm going to take Spanish classes at a university that start at the beginning of April. They are two hours a day. I took a placement test and was placed in the second level class! I don't know exactly what that means, only that they were obviously impressed with my vast knowledge of Spanish. Tonight we are going to the beach for a barbeque with Jorge and his sister Georgina at their cousin's house. I just got skpe. My name is josebob2.