What better place to explore the world’s culture than my heritage, Peru? Peru is located in South America and their primary language is Spanish. However, Spanish was brought from overseas with the Spaniards. A tribe of people known as the Incans used to live in Peru before the Spaniards and spoke a language known as Quechua. They were known as the tribe of gold as the kingdom had many riches, primarily gold, which they made many artifacts from. The artifacts were made in honor of their Gods such as the Sun God, Inti. They worshipped their Gods through various ceremonies and wearing the colorful outfits, which is still seen today in more rural areas. However, much of the Incan empire and its innovations have decayed. Cuzco, which used to be the capital of the Incan empire, has now become a tourist attraction where people try to show what remains of the Incan empire.
One major landmark that still remains is Macchu Picchu. While it not known what Macchu Picchu was exactly, some ideas are a royal retreat, a nunnery, or the last Incan city. After all, Macchu Picchu was where the Incans held their final stand against the Spaniards. This is also where a large amount of their gold reserves was held at the fall of the Incan Empire. What made Macchu Picchu such a prime area was that it was located on the mountain so they had the high ground to protect themselves with. Furthermore, they had a healthy supply of food with livestock and terraced farming. However, the magic of Peru is not lost. In Cuzco, people still fly the Incan flag (which was a LGBTQ flag with Inti located in the center) and celebrate their traditions. Band will play in the streets while shops set up the market to barter (if you do not look Peruvian, be careful in the market as the store owners will increase the prices because they will believe you do not know any better). They also have many different fruits and ingredients that can only be found in Peru such as the Lucama and the granadilla. In fact, Peruvian cooking is very popular as Peru is known for its chicken and other dishes. My family in particular would have giant meals every dinner with the whole family (this is about 15 people and that is considered small!) and we would eat new unique dishes in Peru. One of the best things about Peru though is the community. Of all the places I have traveled, I have never seen a place that is more welcoming than Peru. Peru is not as developed as America, so there is poverty. However, this does not deter Peruvians. Rather, I would see constant generosity to one another so they could all prosper. Overall, Peru has many different cultures in its borders whether it is making dye from plants in the mountains to singing in the streets with a mariachi band, Peru is a place everyone should visit at some point. One disclaimer is that people will call Peru economically unstable, but as with many other places, it is still a beautiful place to visit and after you will never be the same.
This was very interesting for me to read because I am traveling to Peru for Spring break this year. I take a class from 5-8pm on Sunday evenings that target the importance of understanding cultures across the globe. Cultural intelligence is a major topic covered in this class, so reading your blog I can relate to some of the topics you cover.
It is also enlightening to read more about your knowledge of Peru. Reading your interest in Peru’s environment made me excited to visit in just a few weeks.
I have heard great things about Peru (especially how good the food is). Most people visit the areas of Macchu Picchu and Cusco, but I will be flying into Lima, and then going to Puerto Maldonado. I will be staying in the rainforest for four days, and then flying back to Lima to stay at the University and work with professors on my service learning project that we will perform while staying in the rainforest. I think this will be a great experience, clearly you appreciate the culture of Peru, and I am excited to get to know more about it, and experience it for myself.