A sip of Incan culture; Experiential course contrasts traditional and present-day Perú
By Rebecca Allen
Part 1
Inka
Cola: Perú's national soft drink is yellow in color
and echoes the flavor of cream soda or bubble gum. According to Rhodes,
Peruvians loyally consume so much Inka Cola that they shun other soft
drinks, like the international marketed Coca-Cola. Peruvians will tell
you that Coca-Cola even attempted to advertise that its corporate colors
match that of the red-and-white Peruvian flag, but Inka Cola is still
the national favorite.
A chilled Inka Cola soothed my parched mouth after four hours under Perú's hot equatorial sun. Trees and buildings in the developed parts of Lima provide relief in la sombra, the shade, but there were no trees and no real buildings, either, in Pamplona, a pueblo joven, or young town, on the outskirts of Lima. Instead, the residents there live in shacks constructed of woven reeds, tin or cardboard that lean into the sand. The capital city of Lima sprawls unchecked in a desert; pueblos jovenes appear literally overnight when a group of mountain people - desperate for work - build temporary homes faster than the government can tear them down. Eventually, the city may agree to extend electricity and water to the people of Pamplona. Until then, Pamplona's children play for hours each day under the harsh sun in sand littered with candy wrappers and dog feces.
Dean
arranged for our group to spend a morning in Pamplona, despite the protests
of our regal, upper-middle-class guide, Celia. Children there clamored
for our attention; we sang "Siyahamba" for them and they performed
an enthusiastic praise song complete with an energetic dance for Jesus.
Senior Jill Widmer (Washington, Iowa) said, "Seeing the joy in
a kid's face in a place where they basically had nothing is something
that I will never forget. I never want it to stop affecting me."
The harsh reality of a childhood in Pamplona became clearer to me after I left, when contrasted with the generous and good-natured host family in Lima where senior Jessica Schrock (Sterling, Kan.) and I lived for five days. After our class visit to Pamplona, we reunited with our urban Lima family in a cheerful, clean McDonald's, where our two young host brothers were celebrating the birthday of a friend. The party marked the third birthday of a timid little girl with curled pigtails and a crisp frock. Our host father bought us each an Inka Cola and our host brothers graciously offered us their piece of birthday cake. Before we ate, we had a few quiet moments in the bathroom to wash the dirt of Pamplona from our feet and into the shiny McDonald's sink.
