Living the Latino life or still dreaming?
Did I ever have any affinity for the Latin American lands…no….whatever the Plan A or Plan B of my life…travelling or living in Latin America was never on my wishlist. …..I was never drawn to that world which I can now, after having lived there for three years of my life, say is neither the first, nor the second or the third.
Latin America is a truly fascinating continent. Because I love its culture, music, language, people and food, I may sound biased; however that is the privilege of every foreigner who has lived in these less lived foreign lands and also my good luck. It is one of the most pleasant places I have lived in. A few months of frustration is nothing compared to three years of constant exploration into the lands that are not known to many of the world I belong.
Ten days after Aveg and I got married we were off to the Peruvian capital city – Lima, to live there. On our various and unending honeymoons, we travelled to many cities within Peru– explored canyons, active volcanoes, the highest lakes, the desert that runs along the coastal line of the cold pacific ocean and have scaled heights reaching where we have had to eat and drink coca leaves every one hour (to make sure we go on breathing).
Born in the late seventies, and raised in the 80s and 90s of north of India, I am inspired by the Bollywood of those times – the landscapes of which were the tulip gardens of Holland and the green fields of Switzerland.
However, Latin America is nothing of that. The Amazon jungle, that I explored close to three times in my three years of stay is the wildest beauty I have seen and felt and even lived in. Is it possible to emote the feeling of sailing in the mighty Amazon waters in the pitch dark just to spot an Iguana? Now imagine after having spotted one, your all too courageous tour guide (who is adept with the wild of the Amazon) dares to grab the iguana and then is unable to handle it and gets bitten by it. The Iguana instead of falling back into the water falls into the boat that has 8 people in it…who are now ready to jump into the river as the Iguana is completely wild. Now imagine all this happening during the moonless darkest night!!!!
Outside Peru but within Latin America – we have travelled to the even lesser known worlds of Bolivia, Colombia, and Cuba. The only exception to this list is the all too Tango famous – Argentina. I will come back to these travels a bit later.
A year and a half back, I left Lima and Latin America to come back to Delhi. Every day of these 18 months, I have missed Lima now and then. When I get into the lift of my condo, I realize that I have to stop myself from saying ‘Buenos Dias’ to an absolute stranger. When I get to the food court for lunch, I wonder where the beers have gone. During lunch, when someone asks me the time – I get reminded of the Latin Americans’ love for long lunches. In the evening, I miss that copa of vino – which marked the most relaxed part of my day. There is much more I miss and you will come across a lot of it as I write this blog.
I know that there are many people who are fascinated by its mystery – many have asked me if it’s really exotic as they say. Yes, it is EXOTIC!!! I am flattered when people tell me how lucky I am to not only have travelled there, but also have lived the latin way of life. The only reason for writing this blog is that I want to share my experiences gained in Latin America. Through this blog I want to educate people on the Latin American life. I will talk about its peculiar, daring and fun loving culture, the Spanish language, the love for beer in latinos, their (especially Peruvians') love for the Indian Bollywood star – Shahrukh Khan, their love for being late for every occasion and much more.
So whether you are travelling there, are on an exchange program to one of the universities there, going for your honeymoon, going there as an expat or going to settle there – you are welcome to throw in your queries to me. I can be especially very helpful in guiding you through Peru and Bolivia. Also my travels to Buenos Aries, Bogota, Santacruz, La Paz and La Havana in Cuba can help you with travel suggestions on hotels, the must dos and the donts etc. And if you are generally curious on Latin America – am happy to raise your curiosity.
I also welcome all the Latin Americans to share their views on life in Latin America - of course you still know the best and the worst of it.
Today – in many clichéd ways – we say we live in a world that has no boundaries. Catch a flight and you are there – the world is a small place. I have found myself use these phrases many times but have never been able to say the same for Latin America. It is never a place you suddenly decide to visit or plan it over a cup of coffee with friends.
You see something related to Latin America – a Mexican poncho, the Argentinean tango, the salsa, the merengue, the voluptuous Latina woman and for a moment you may think to yourself –what does that land really look like? Will I ever travel to such a far off land????
Dont give this feeling a pass....EXPLORE!
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