they stormed the city!

Hey...

I am still in Lima... thankfully! Still loving it here and with each minute that passes by I want to pour myself into its culture.

Today was an early morning start for us. We headed out for a little desayunos(breakfast) in the heart of downtown. Once we had had our cafe con leche we went walking again and got to the main square where the presidental palace is. As we looked around we could tell something was going to happen. There was riot police everywhere and there was a slight edge in the air. We waited around and were rewarded with a military band playing some really good tunes. It was big band meets salsa. It had such a nice kick to it, it caused people to dance in the street in front of swat police in full riot gear. It was really impressive and fun!

Our day continued with walking and a little bit of shopping for souvenirs. However due to a big conference going on and the arrival of the Chinese delegation the city was blocked off in a lot of areas and we were not able to move around as freely as we would have liked. However this allowed us to catch multiple regimens of the armed forces march and parade around the square. It felt like the entire army was there and we just kept snapping away(pictures are to come, but since I did not bring my laptop, you will have to wait to see!) When the parades stopped we finally were able to make our way back to Miraflores (look at the flowers!)

Once arrived we met up with Jorge, our most excellent of hosts, and went out for some sushi. It was sooooooooo good. It was a Japanese-Peruvian fusion and it knocked my socks off! From there we just walked around a little more, because our feet weren't totally chewed up yet, and headed down to the water to have a nice coffee and watch rich people pay too much money for things that they didn't really need. Aren't I a cynical bastard?

Now we are back home and I am blogging... One thing has stuck in my mind from today though. There were a couple of people begging today. I am sure there were more, but I did see about six or seven that really hit me and have caused me to think. It was always mother's with young children and it hurt so bad to see a child not have the same advantages that I have and that my 6 month old has. There is a sadness in their eyes that I cannot begin to explain. However, I turn away. I dont want to look at the reality of things dead on. I want to believe that the mother is not really that hard up and she is bringing her kids, or anybodies kids, with her to make me feel sorry for her... and I harden my heart, ignore her situation, distract myself with just about anything else. I am a cruel for having a granola bar and not giving it to her. I am a liar for pretending that she is not doing so poorly. I am a selfish prick to hold on to my change to get something for those who already have (mainly me). I am a hypocrite for writing a blog about how much I care for those who need it and not making any significant change in my life.

I still love this city even though it can show me for who I truly am.