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Note from Peru

It’s Sunday morning and I just got back from watching a noisy military parade which took place at the Plaza de Armas, across the street from my hotel in the small northern city where I'm staying. Apparently the event was for graduation from the local military school. Lots of goose-stepping kids in uniform and off-key marching bands, but was fun to watch.

While watching the parade I was reminded why the march is called the “goose step”; it has nothing to do with the bird, but everything to do with what occurs when the ranks get a little too close to the row of marchers in front. I had to laugh at the endless groups of civilians dressed in business suits, apparently local dignitaries…they too were happily goose stepping along oblivious at how comical they appeared…to me anyway.

After being in Peru for a week I remember why I like the country...it is distinctly Latin American and I am quick to realize I am no longer in Kansas, or Chile. After living in Chile for over two-years, it’s easy to forget what the REAL South America is like; chaotic traffic in Lima, the capital, 4-hour bone jarring, teeth-loosening roads in the outback, the constant “radar” being on for pickpockets and other thieves, and the poverty. Chile spoils, Peru reminds.

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Luego