Crossing Cultures: Peruvian American

One of the most difficult things about being a missionary is a very basic fact. We are American. We were born there, grew up there, understand how to function there, and will always have significant connections there. We will never stop being American in some aspect, no matter how much time we spend elsewhere or how hard we try to open our minds to new perspectives. 

A Peruvian Christmas

Last year, we had only been in Peru for a few months when the holiday season rolled around.  We were able to get our homes decorated and a few American-style treats made, but we were still very early in the learning curve to knowing what we could and could not do here.  We also had very little exposure to a typical Peruvian family’s Christmas celebration.  However, this year, we know quite a bit more about the culture and have been able to learn from our friends as we go.

The Spinny Rainbow Wheel

When I’m pushing my Mac’s processor, a little rainbow hued circle appears, spinning where my cursor should be. It lets me know that the computer is working, but it’s going to be a moment before I can do much else. Sometimes I have the feeling that little icon is hovering around my head. We have a couple of things in the works here that are just waiting for the processor to catch up. 

Let Me Explain

If you had asked me one year ago what I thought my life would look like today, I would have said something like “I’ll be speaking Spanish, but otherwise, I have no clue!” I’ve wanted to do mission work for a long time, but there are always facets of culture and personal skill that define which part will be handled by whom. So we came with some ideas, but generally willing to be influenced by what would be best here. Between the fact that Peruvians expect male leadership, that I knew almost no Spanish when we arrived, and that when Shaye was born, I signed up to be the stay-at-home mom, much of my “job” has fallen in the realm of making friends and becoming an expert on “translating” what we have known as home life into a Peruvian version that we can embrace. 

14 Peruvian Cultural Quirks

I thought it would be fun to share some “Peruvian Quirks” that I feel we have gotten used to in the past six months. If you are planning to visit, these are some things that will get on your last nerve or that you will find to be blatantly different from the U.S. I know that I have left so many things out, but here is a list I have tried to compile over the month... 

Holy Spirit Park

January has been a month of new experiences. Two such experiences stand out most clearly in my mind. In our last newsletter Greg shared with you about our new office location in a part of the city called Alto Selva Alegre, but as of that newsletter we had not actually obtained the office. Shortly after the new year, we signed the lease and began work on our office space. Painting, sanding, and cleaning are not special things, but being a part of a community, that is special. That’s the first new experience we had in 2009.