More Random Observations

Since I have some down time and my tooth is still bothering me, I figured I would write about a few more observations here in South America.

 

The Election

We're currently sitting in the hostel's rooftop bar watching CNN and waiting for the election returns to start coming in.  It's curious to see how many other non-Americans are equally interested and spending a day of their travels to sit in front of a TV and watch Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour babble about nothing.  One of the most common questions over the past three weeks has been, "How are you going to vote?!".  Apparently, the US is unique in having early voting and absentee voting options, whereas, in most countries, you have to physically be there and show up at the polls in order to vote.  As mentioned before, Sean and I both cast our ballots before we left San Diego. 

 

Fellow Travelers

In the three weeks we've been traveling, I've met more Irish and English people than I've ever met in my life, and I work in an industry that's dominated by Europeans coming to the US for their graduate and postgraduate studies.  Peru, especially, seemed to be an Irish Mecca.  They were, by far, the most common nationality in both Lima and Cusco, with English being a close runner up.  La Paz seems to be a little more mixed.  English seems to be the dominant nationality, but I've also met a few Germans and at least three other Americans.  Travelers seem to talk about the same things in conversations: how long have you been traveling, where have you been so far, what direction are you heading, etc.  But in conversation last night at the bar, I discussed with a few of the Europeans the relatively few Americans that travel (what's the percentage of Americans with passports?) and the even fewer number of Black Americans that travel.  Some of them were interested in how I, as a Black American, am perceived in the various countries I've visited and it was a very good opportunity for me to reflect on my experiences. 

 

As I've said before, one of the things I find most interesting is that when I am traveling in Europe, I feel as though I am most often viewed simply as an American, rather than as a Black man.  Most of the Blacks in Europe are recent African immigrants and experience the same types of discrimination and treatment that Mexicans experience in the US.  But when I travel in Europe, I seem to be treated completely different from the Africans there.  It's strange coming from a country where I am still a minority and treated as such and then traveling to a country where I'm treated in a way completely irrespective of my color.  Don't get me wrong, I think I still get a hell of lot more stares and general curiousity being black than my fellow white travelers get, but again, I think it has to do with the relative rarity of Black American's traveling outside of the US, especially to somewhere like South America.  I actually had a guy in Cusco approach me and after exchaning a few words in Spanish, he asked if I was Peruvian!!  I think the bottom line is, we need to get out more, especially Black Americans. 

 

Public Restrooms

Public (pay) restrooms are one of the regular business found all around La Paz and also in Peru.  There are a number of small storefronts scattered around the city that simply offer the use of a restroom.  I think it only costs a couple bolivianos, but seems like it would be a great way to make a living. Everyone has to go at some point so it's a great service to offer. It still amazes me that you can't find public restrooms in the downtown or major shopping areas of most US cities so you are forced to go into a store and make a purchase in order to use their bathroom.  If our tax dollars aren't going to provide these types of services, as they do in San Francisco, then I think it would be a great business for someone to go into.  I don't mind paying a dollar even to use a bathroom if it's clean and has toilet paper and paper towel.  Like all other businesses, the restrooms still have operating hours, as I realized last night when we were walking down the street to the bar around 1:30 in the morning.  We passed by a woman squatting down pissing on the sidewalk, right on the main street.  We litterally had to step over her stream as it made its way across our path to the curb.  She didn't seem embarrased at all about six people walking by as she relieved herself.  Now I know why so many of the streets here smell like piss.

 

Dogs

Like many countries in the world, Peru and Bolivia have a large number of stray dogs.  Being the animal lover I am, it is often depressing to see so many mangy dogs with matted hair, many of them crippled and carrying who knows what kind of easily treated diseases.  While we were in Peru, we would see a number of the same dogs every day, never straying far away from their home spot, scrounging for scraps of food and trying to avoid people and cars.  The hardest part is to see how broken their spirits are.  Domesticated dogs at home are confident and territorial and will bark at anything that moves.  They are curious and sniff out anything and anyone they come in contact with.  The dogs here shy away from people, walk with their heads down, and very rarely will you hear one bark, and if they do bark, it's usually at another dog.  The amazing thing is the way they navigate the crazy traffic in these cities.  I was standing outside my hostel in La Paz and saw two dogs crossing the street together.  This is a very busy street with three lanes in each direction and an island in the middle.  The dogs looked each way, waited for a break in traffic and crossed to the island.  Then they stopped, waited for another break, and safely crossed the other side of the street together.  I've never seen dogs so aware of the dangers of crossing a street and actually looking and waiting for the cars to pass.  It is amazing how they have adjusted to city life. 

 

Postcards

I've already sent a few postcards. Let me know if you receive one and when you get it; I'm curious to know how long it takes to send something from South America to the States and Europe.