nothing crazy happened today, like getting lost in a gigantic city, or watching an accident (whom after, they just drove away without even wincing) or anything of the such. so, i will take some time to talk about peru o la republican de perú. it is a country of about 31.2 million people and about 84.1% of the population speaks spanish as their first language, followed by quechua, and aymara; all official languages of peru. lima, where i am living, is the biggest city and also its capital with an approximate population of about 9 million inhabitants. lima, is in the middle of the desert. it is, however, mild because of its close vicinity to the pacific ocean. the andes separate the costal region from the highlands and the rainforest zones. the andes have a huge impact on the climates of peru. i do not know much about peru, but there is a lot still to learn; i will update you all later when i am more informed.

a little about the customs, now. peru, is how do i say. . . different. they are a culture of old fashioned persons. one of the most different is they do not have a personal bubble. in the united states, most people like their personal space and do not like it to be popped; no such thing here. the closer the better. people will hug or just stand close to you, even if they have never met you. another difference is, you do not smile or say hi to people on the street. that is not normal. natives will give you the scariest looks and they will immediately know you are a gringo or foreign. another obvious is the greetings. no matter how many people there are in the room, when you enter, you give all the women a air kiss on the cheek and the men a hug or strong hand shake, even if you do not even know their name. and you do the same if you leave. if you and all your friends go to someones house, you do it all again, for everyone. the driving, is, as i have previous mentioned, chaotic. like schools of fish or flocks of birds; always moving wherever they want but (almost) never running into each other. another funny (more scary than funny) thing, the stoplights are more of a suggestion than a law or ordinance or norm. that is just a little about peru as a whole, i will write more when i know more, and also the norms and habits of the natives will change when i go to places like ica or cuzco or iquitos.

now about my day. i woke up, ate, and my mom drove me to class (i don't think she will ever let me go anywhere alone because of my. . . mishap of getting lost yesterday. oops). class was extremely long, but i could understand well. after class, i came home, ate and took a nap. these siestas are going to get to me, or not. i love naps too much. miguel, my isa brother, wanted to see a movie. so, dan, cesar, miguel and i went to "la plazareal"to see "mad max" but we missed it so we walked around the mall, which by the way is extremely fancy and new. so, we walked back, ate dinner, and now its time for homework.

thank you for reading, i hope i keep you interested. if you want more of my photography and adventures, follow me on instagram @robin_stark1114 - thank you!

- robin