Peru vs. Venezuela

Going into this exploratory trip to Caracas, I knew I would have a huge temptation to compare what I was experiencing with my past experiences in Peru. And I did. I'm sure I sounded like a broken record referring back to how things were in Peru. How can one avoid making comparisons between two countries on the same continent, my only two times out of the country (Canada doesn't count, sorry).

I want to compare the two just to get it out of my system and hopefully illuminate some other characteristics about them. Also, I have to note that this comparison is more a comparison of trips and not countries. I only saw very small parts of each country and had very brief contact with their culture. Take it all with a grain of salt. Speaking of salt...

Food
Peru wins, hands down. Lots of food, and it is really really good. Culturally, in Peru you have to eat everything on your plate, and possibly the plate next to you. There was a standard staple of rice, potatoes and chicken but in multitudes of flavors and styles. The best chicken in my life I had in Peru. Also, with a large Chinese population, there is a lot of great cross over.

Venezuelan food, is actually very simple. There is no spice at all to it. The typical plate is black beans, rice, fried plantains (very good) and maybee an egg or too. Arepas are also the distinctive dish of the country. Essentially, they are 3-d corn tortillas (more ball shaped) and are fried and cut open to be stuffed with practically anything. I will say there is a lot of great fresh bread that is infinitely better than the bread I had in Peru. Also, quantities tend to be modest and I couldn't tell any specific cultural etiquette for eating (ie, leave food on plate, eat all of it, smear it on the face of the person to your right, etc.)

Culture
In Peru, greetings and salutations were very culturally defined. If you meet a guy, either for the first time or for the 10,000th, as a guy, you go up, shake hands and briefly hug. Same for leaving. For a guy greeting a girl, first time or 10,000th time, you walk up and do the kiss with the cheek. You part company in the same way. Girls kiss in a similar fashion as well. Whenever anyone walks in the room, everyone greets them. Whenever someone leaves, everyone says goodbye. Pretty structured and easy to follow.

In Venezuela, greetings and salutations are not tied with nearly as much structure. Since I was in the barrios, there were the cool hand shakes with the guys but I couldn't follow all of them. Also, with the girls, I soon found out that you shake hands on the first greeting and then, if appropriate, you can do the kiss greet on the second encounter and there after. It's ambiguous like American culture is ambiguous. That can lead to more mistakes, but I'm sure once I get more comfortable with the people and language, it can be a lot more insightful and humorously awkward.

Also, Peruvians are notoriously late. Like up to 3 hours . . . for a wedding. Even the President of Peru has demanded that the populous be more punctual. In Caracas, it seems that when people say meet at 4, they mean pretty close to four, perhaps 10-15 mins late at most. Plans change, in both countries, all the time, but as long as you let folks know, there are no problems. (I think everyday I was in Caracas, one plan changed, if not two).

Weather
I can't honestly comment since I haven't been in either place for a full year, but I will say this: Lima is a major desert, so much so that nothing grows on the hills. Caracas is close to the Caribbean and four degrees off the equator. All the hills are covered in green vegetation. I will say Caracas as a city is much more beautiful than Lima, but much more humid as well.

People
It is very easy to generalize people from far away, either in memories or emotions. When I look back at Peru, I have very good general impressions of the people there. Reflecting on the reasons has brought me to a few conclusions. First, half of our team was Peruvian. They were of college age and maturity. It was neat to have that bond across culture. Also, they were Christians. I know now that being brothers in Christ makes a huge difference. In fact, it seems that most of the people we spent significant time with in Peru were Christians. Before going there, it seemed everyone in the states had some uncle or cousin that was a missionary down there. Churches abounded on the streets and World Vision reached many kids where we stayed. I see that I was able to make such great connections with many of the people there precisely because they were my real brothers and sisters in Christ.

Venezuela is a different story. I made awesome friendships with the folks at InnerCHANGE. Deep and fun community was such a blessing to encounter. However, I didn't have much of a chance to make many good friends outside of InnerCHANGE. First, my spanish was in trouble. They speak much faster and more "ghetto" (if you'll pardon the term) than what I learned in Peru. Also, I met many people, but not any single person or family on a continual basis. So the relationship building through repetition was not accessible. Also, I wasn't living with a family which puts you in very close contact in what is possibly, in my mind, the true test of friendship: boredom. Any two or group of people who are comfortable enough to be bored (that is not feel the need to entertain or engage in any particular diversions) with each other and not quit each others presence, they have something special.

Now in spite of the technical difficulties of making deep friends on this trip, I think there was something else at play. I'm not sure that I could be great (on many mutual levels) friends with anyone who does not share the same foundation as myself, that is Christ. Note that love for people is not specifically linked to any measure of friendship. Jesus calls us to love our enemies, and he calls us to love one another. So although I may love someone who is not a Christian, I can't see myself having a perfect friendship with them unless we are pursuing the same goal.

At the same time, Jesus reminds me that He loves people just as they are, but He loves them enough to make them our brothers, so that true brotherhood, love, and friendship can flourish. Jesus also reminds me how I was out of fellowship from Him as well, but He didn't shirk away and instead pulled me into the family just the same. For myself, it seems like a selfish, but very good motivation for evangelism: I just want good friends. Even the angels party it up when a sinner repents; they know the future parties will just be that much better.