Jack & Rose

Last Tuesday I was riding home on the bus and had a moment in which I very clearly understood that I am living in a country other than my native home. Most of the time, I don't think about my exact location in the world. I don't often think, "I am in Peru" just as I never really thought, "I am in the United States." This is where I live, this is where I have decided to build my life and that's normal for me. But the other day, I had a rare moment when I understood the vastness of the statement, "I live in Peru". 


I was sitting inside an old, rusty miniature tour bus pressed up against the makeshift wood paneling that adorned the sides. The bus was calmly driving along and I felt very much a part of Peru. I admired the scenery around me and fully appreciated what makes this Peru and not the United States or Germany or Chile. Suddenly a phone rang next to me and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was sounding throughout the rusty bus. I let out a slight chuckle and thought, Am I still Lima? What year is this? I felt as if I had been transported back to 1997 when I was in elementary school and was so utterly uncool because I was the only kid not allowed to see that year's blockbuster. I thought about my fourth grade school year and how it will forever be marked by that humiliation. Then I remembered the next summer when my grandmother, unbeknownst to my mother, let us watch Titanic. I remembered felling like I was the biggest, baddest rebel around. To this day, it's still one of the most rebellious thing I've ever done. 


I was lost in the mind of my eleven year old self and then was interrupted by the raucous calls of the bus conductor. He was summoning passengers from all corners of the intersection and the driver started to rev the engine. One last woman climbed in the bus and barely made it inside before we darted across five lanes of traffic. Then I thought, "Yes, I am still in Peru."