Day 8: Looking from the outside vs. inside

Before I receive I have to give. Central Lima

(Be sure to scroll all the way down...the video is the highlight!)

Regular Sunday in central Lima, major street parade, book convention, markets, security everywhere, people staring at me being the giant I am, and the regular comments; "hello honeey!", "yo loov yo!", "ooh gringaa!" simply comes with the territory.

So, I figured I would take my friend Seamus' advice and look into public theaters to get the real scoop on social issues in Lima. It didn't take long until I spotted a park some distance away from the touristic areas with an amphitheater and a crowd of Peruvians running over to listen. So I did too. As soon as I came close, the announcer spotted me and called me out.

"Helooooo!!!" "Gringa come over heeere!!"

he sceamed in spanish, waving with both hands in excitement. And since my friend back home had suggested I listen, I decided to learn by doing. When the announcer asked "Que pais es usted?" I answered, "Soy sueca!" ....and the rest is history!

I am not fluent in Spanish by any means, and understood about half of what was said. However, the jist of things are: Peruvians make fun of the fact that Machu Picchu is the only place people go and visit when in Peru. I think it upsets them, because even though it brings in revenue and importance they say; "It's a RUIN!!!". They laugh at the fact that people will buy anything they make. Painted stones, painted branches anything with paint people will buy. And then, offcourse, there are all the sexual jokes. Most tourists probably don't get to know who the people really are in Peru, instead tourists are so focused on the beauty of material things, anything they can bring home to show their family and friends.

There was a scenario in this public theater when a little kid ran into the center because he had lost his parents. The leader asked me: "Tiene hijos como este en Suecia?" I said; "No, solo los ninos rubios!" and he answered in spanish;

"So if we paint him will you take him home?"

Sometimes all we get when visiting a country is a quick snapshot of the place. In my opinion superficially participating in touristic events and commercial activities hardly counts as having been to the country at all.

Tourism is the soap opera version of real life and not a fair representation of the people. We have to interact with humans as humans to better understand the daily life and real struggles people face if we selflessly care about the place we are visiting.

For example, do you know who plays soccer on Saturdays? Who's place friends crash at after having partied until 8am? If they have health insurance? How do their kids get to school? When we are on vacation in a country we simply don't care about learning these things. We don't stop to listen to the people enough. Instead we are so busy focusing on getting that amazing picture to frame on the wall, only for others to admire how worldy we are. I hope we will step it up, and be humanistic travelers for the sake of evolving a generation of responsible global collaboration.

If we don't, where does that leave a country which is mainly supported by tourism?

Day 7: Who am I kidding trying to blend in!?

What's normal anyway?

Sometimes things are just not quite what we are used to, and it is that slight difference that really makes ALL the difference.

THE BED: I sleep on the kitchen floor. And really think it couldn't be better! I even have a headboard, a side table and not to mention a roof over my head. The fact that I'm just a little to tall for the length of three sofa cushions put together doesn't bother me at all.

COFFEE MAKING: Making morning coffee has been an evolving process of refinement....so I have some insight that I can share with you now: You have to use some gadgets to make it work!

ART: At the market, the artists are now going into Dali mode with the traditional Peruvian women art. On the picture to the left you can notice this difference in style, which in January was no where to be seen. This was an interesting observation!

NATURE: The large pebble formation on the picture was actually completely covered in green vegetation just a few decades ago. And even though the retaining wall I'm leaning against looks very nice, it's actually a sad picture. It shows how the water has disappeared from this land because of Global Warming.

6' BLONDE: I will have to celebrate the fact that I will not go unseen here. I am a blond gringa, two heads taller than most and stick out like a sore thumb.

Who am I kidding trying to blend in!?

So therefore I am now officially grouped in with the palm trees and street lights. It's a balance-act understanding what is, but yet being something different.

Day 6: I think very few would know what to do...

Developed vs. Developing Countries

What does that mean exactly? The UN describes it as a certain amout of income per capita. So a high GDP (gross domestic product) indicates a developed country. Furthermore industrialization is a criteria for which a country is defined. But, there is also a new addition to developed vs. developing countries and this term is called HDI (Human Development Index). It includes life expectancy and level of education as well as a few other things.

The term is intended for statistical convenience, not for judgement upon a country's stage of development.

With that said. Look a the map to the left indicating developing countries in yellow. Peru is one of them, and as a matter of fact a larger portion of the world is marked in yellow. Today I realized how little I know about developing countries. Economic growth, employment, politics, foreign trade, construction and so much more contrast the way people in developing countries live a day to day life compared to how developed countries perform these functions.

I think very few professionals in developed countries have received adequate training and knowledge on how to perform the same service in a developing country, and therefore many times, not intentially, make things worse when attempting to do good.

I have nothing to back that statement up with, just a slap in the face feeling as I realized how very different education here is compared to both Sweden, where I am from, and the US where I live in transition. Take sustainable development for instance. How shall the developing countries approach this topic? When in reality, their daily life is not formed around that concept. Social vulnerability is higher due to this because there is a lack of education in measures to take to protect themselves long term, fed by the financial aspect of little funds and lack of livelihoods organization tying short term together with long term goals for regions.

The pictures show a country in constant development. The people are very skilled in patching up unfinished construction work, leaving openings for later additions and keeping building materials somewhat safely stored on roof-tops. I have yet to figure out what the waterbottles on the roof are used for, but I'm sure they are there for some ingenious reason.

People around the world become very skilled in the area which pose the biggest barrier to them on a daily basis. As capitalism is the basis for how finances and politics is run in the US, then people living there learn very well how to make barriers such as lawsuits, rules for rules and revenue focus work in their favor. If a country is socialized, like Sweden, then barriers such as high taxes and balancing equality become the focus of attention and people become aware of how to best utilize this framework.

In Lima, it seems as if the focus on national finance and politics have become so strong and prioritized that they left the international possibilities aside for other countries to manage.

In all reality, do countries identify themselves culturally and socially with whether they are developed or not? Because if so, has the UN's intention of not placing judgement on a country but rather conveniently differentiate between developed and developing gone array?

Day 6, 2am: It started with a no-show

From a no-show, to an improvised class by prof. Correa, to my presenting Berlins mass-transit, to urban bikes, to sustainable urbanism presentation, to negative reaction on bikes, to discussing educating about impact on nature with Eze, to contacting Tora Harris, to problem solving and brainstorming, to figuring out infrastructure for electricity mentioned by Toby Stevenson, to thinking to do this as my studio, to thoughts of collaborating with local youth, to incorporating UPC to.....

.....tomorrow I will start.

Day 5: The difference between water and water

Look further.

See the water tank on top of the hill? That's water from the glaciers in the Andes. That natural source gives water to 70% of the population in Lima. Where there is housing, water tanks are placed on top of the roofs and fall with gravity through each unit below. (Perhaps that is why my shower has super weak water pressure since I'm on the top, it's more like a spit in the face than a shower!) Nontheless, the water is provided to residential units all over Lima.

So, I pointed to the one million shantee towns in the background and asked if they too get water. "Yes, offcourse!" was the answer. "Dirty water".

Although two thirds of the human body by weight is composed of water, this water is needed for circulation and other bodily processes, including respiration and converting food to energy. If you are loosing more water than you are taking in, dehydration will occur. It has been shown that if you lose just 2.5% of your body weight from water loss, you will loose 25% of your efficiency. For a 175 pound (ca 80kg) man that is only about two quarts of water. As the person in the shantees dehydrates his blood becomes thicker and looses volume. This causes the heart to work harder and circulation of blood to be less efficient. In a survival situation, loosing a full one quarter of your physical and mental abilities due to dehydration could mean the end of your life. (source: www.survivaltopics.com)

If access to broadband can be a law in Finland, then clean drinking water should be brought to the level of being a human right.

Day 4: It starts with education

Day 4: Need to Introduce Migration Class in Urban Design

A day to remember.

Took a cab this morning, passed a ceremony for a murdered boy. The taxi driver explained he might have been killed by a Colombian as there is some heavy antagonism between the two countries.

Met Luis Longhi at the University. Humble architect with an amazing mind, illiterate, but brilliant. Also cold-called Julio Kuroiwa and will be meeting him during this trip. Kuroiwa is a United Nations advisor for strategies in disaster reduction, this will be an amazing meeting and I am very grateful for that opportunity. Thank you Fernando Correa for your assistance on that.

Later in the day I held a lecture in the Urban Seminar on Sustainable Urbanism. There's nothing better than being able to reach out and encourage young people to dream big. I will forever remember this day. A note was left on my desk from one of the students...I still don't know who.

But bottom line - Peruvians are awsome!

Also learned about the 60 year relationship the barriadas/ slums/ popular establishments has had with the city center of Lima. Understanding the migration process is key to responsible urban planning. In the 1940' the litoralzation ignited by the Pan Americana, radio transistors informing rural communities abouth metropolitan opportunities and lack of land control in the Andes all contributed to immigration rates in Lima rising by 3%. But the city could not absorb all these new establishments, therefore, the immigrants started to claim land which was not theirs. This was the beginning of shantee towns.

If the government would have better understood the migration process Lima would have been better prepared to absorb immigrants.

I might be ignorant, but why am I yet to see a mandatory migration class in architecture schools' urban design curriculum?

Did I miss something, or is it due time for architecture schools to provide students with the bigger picture?