Daft Peruvian Myths

[Lloyd007]

I was at my wife's parents house a few weeks back and a conversation started which somehow came round to me and my breakfast.

When the rest of the family were told that I ate my breakfast cereal with COLD mlk, they gasped in utter horror and were amazed that I'd survived the experience. Comments like, ''Que horror! Leche fria, en serio?!?! Y te enfermaste? Por que leche FRIA? Que horrrrrorrrrr!!'' (lot's of rolling the 'R's).
I mean, come on. Cold milk with cereal is the most natural think in the world.

Then, the conversation turned to gaseosas heladas and the family were saying how they never drink them as it would give them ''gripe'' or a cough or some other terrible, life threatening ailment that they wouldn't be able to shift for weeks and weeks - if they survived it in the first place.

What a complete and utter load of nonsense and tonterias.

Here's another one; it's the middle of summer right now and it has been very hot recently so I like to sleep with the windows open. At the slightest light breeze coming through that window, my wife complains how cold it is and has to wrap up warm in the duvet. Meanwhile, I'm sweating like a pig hoping a bit more breeze will come through the window.

Last one: going down the Malecon in Miraflores and seeing people in long jogging pants, JUMPERS and even wooly hats and wooly gloves.

Considering Lima doesn't have much variance in its weather at all, I told my wife we were going to England for Christmas so she could get a taste of real weather and ice and snow, and bitterly cold wind and hail and etc etc...

So, I was wondering what other people's experiences are with local Peruvian myths/lies/daft costumbres and things that really are ridiculous and make us, as foreigners, laugh about?

[lizzym]

I never felt the need to really complain about this topic, sort of an eyeroll and then on to the next thing, but since my baby was born it has REALLY gotten on my nerves.

It began in the hospital, when I tried to ask the nurse if my baby's breathing seemed normal or strained. Without answering, she told me "don't talk, it produces gasses" (I was recovering from the c-section) and then left the room. Later, I tried to open the window when everyone, including my newborn was sweating, and she yelled at me to close it because the baby would get cold and sick - in the middle of friggin summer, in the desert, in the absence of air conditioning or fan, it really defies logic.

Since we have made it home, my baby's Peruvian grandmother continues to ask if my baby is not cold from the open window, and then in the next breath will comment on the incredible heat while fanning herself.

And when my daughter sweats from the heat and lack of air circulation that she must suffer during Peruvian grandma's visits, she will comment on the baby's sweat and think it is because she's sick with a fever from being too cold. And I get the look of "how can you make your baby sick for your own comfort." Geeze

To make matters worse, I got sick recently - probably from a suppressed immune system from not sleeping or eating much - and naturally my baby got a little stuffy in her nose too. (Lots of people we know have gotten a cold recently, indicating that it is a bug or something going around.) And now they are convinced that we both got sick from the open windows, the fan, and the fact that I drink water from the fridge. Because somehow AIR makes more sense than a bug or virus.

When we went to register for her DNI at DIGEMIN, we saw other babies there (middle of the afternoon, in an outdoor area) covered in clothes - hat, feet pajamas, sweater, hands covered, and swaddled in thick blankets. And I heard one man snapping at his wife to "cover the baby or he'll get cold". Poor kid.

I also get random strangers in the street asking if the baby isn't cold because she's not dressed for the Russian winter. They have this half-laugh/smile thing when they say it, like I'm some poor young mother who doesn't have a clue what she's doing.

[Kelly]

My mother in law actually sat in our house and cried, convinced we were going to kill her grandchildren because we let them get things from the refrigerator themselves.

[viernes]

Some of my favorite phrases in Peru:

Me pasó aire.....when a window was left open or a fan is on
me sube la presión....during any occasion, i think translated this means, please pity me!
te vas a resfriar...when you drink anything cold
deja que se enfrie...when something is too hot...or, and this i do not understand, too cold

I also enjoy the aversion to being barefoot, even in your own home...

[chi chi]

When I lived in Magdalena, I saw every morning 3 gringos passing by my home on their bicycles with a surfing board under their arm and dressed in short, T shirt and sandals. Whilst the people at the busstop where all standing with boots, jumpers, coats, scarfs and gora.

Last week, friends invited us to a restaurant at the malecon in Villa El Salvador. So, I thought beachtime, so I wear short, t shirt and shanclas.
My gf told me to put on my suit and tie as we were going to a pituka restaurant. I was dressed up like all the Peruvians in there but the only gringo in suit and tie.

[fanning]

Some months ago, I sadly had to go to a funeral of a 4 year old child that had died of pneumonia. She was of a rich family, and the moment she started coughing they immediately took her to the clinica ( on a friday) where they treated her with antibiotic and something for the fever. Then in the weekend it didn't improve, and they took her again on Monday where they detected the pneumonia. She died the same night.
For some reason it is necessary to take good precautions for small illnesses in Lima, as they can very quickly turn into pneumonia.
The child was a normal healthy child before this happened, and in 4 days she died ( with treatment ). Very sad.

[tomsax]

That is very sad.

I also have the same complaint of people not being able to cope with drafts. Drives me up the wall.

I heard an even more odd one is from my mother in law when we went to Huaraz. We stayed in my parents in laws house there that is rarely used and is half abandoned. We had had a children's party the day (and then night) before for my sons birthday. Their house there was a complete mess after the party. You can imagine the sort of mess young excited children make when there is food, drink, gift bags, confetti etc.

The next day we were leaving and the house was going to be left for weeks. I was all ready to start sweeping but was told my mother in law had decided that we shouldn't tidy the house as it would be bad luck! My wife went along with this beside being usually obsessionally clean.

I finally convinced them to change their minds only be talking about rats taking over the building.

There is also a cure to almost all illnesses that you hear in Huaraz. You rub an egg over their body and then bury the egg in the middle of the night in the middle of a cross roads. AND NOBDOY MUST SEE YOU!!

[alan]

Okay.. and how about heating ANYTHING in a microwave (causes cancer, you know).. And let´s not mention preserving food by freezing it. That´s dangerous too...

Other than that, (and of course the warnings about drafts), I do enjoy my mother-in-law´s company.

[chi chi]

I heard an even more odd one is from my mother in law when we went to Huaraz. We stayed in my parents in laws house there that is rarely used and is half abandoned. We had had a children's party the day (and then night) before for my sons birthday. Their house there was a complete mess after the party. You can imagine the sort of mess young excited children make when there is food, drink, gift bags, confetti etc.

The next day we were leaving and the house was going to be left for weeks. I was all ready to start sweeping but was told my mother in law had decided that we shouldn't tidy the house as it would be bad luck! My wife went along with this beside being usually obsessionally clean.

I finally convinced them to change their minds only be talking about rats taking over the building.

There is always a chance that rats will get in when you leave the house for a few weeks.

If you don't clean the house then the rats with four legs will get in.

If you clean the house then the rats with 2 legs will get in but if you don't clean the house then the 2 legged rats won't come in because they think that other 2 legged rats have ransacked the house before them so all valuables will already be stolen.

[chi chi]

There is also a cure to almost all illnesses that you hear in Huaraz. You rub an egg over their body and then bury the egg in the middle of the night in the middle of a cross roads. AND NOBDOY MUST SEE YOU!!

Thanks for the information Tomsax. When I drive through Huaraz with my motorbike, I will avoid driving in the middle of cross roads thus to avoid getting splashed by a shallowy buried egg.

[windsportinperu]

I agree that some peruvians tend to exaggerate a lot when taking precautions against getting a cold.

Even though peruvians mostly tend to believe that you can get a cold wherever you are in contact with a cold climate (cold air through the window, drinking a cold inca-cola during the winter time, etc ); This is not a complete nonsense, in fact some hidden true is behind this.

Old studies says that common cold is only caused by a microbe and the cold climate doesn't affect the result of getting a cold, but recent studies have supported the idea that the probabilities of getting a cold tend to be more possible if you don't wrap up well during the winter.

It seem to be that it is a mother's old adage, in several parts of the Globe, that you should wrap up well. Take a look to what science have to say about it:

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/11/14/cold.chill/index.html

[RICHARDandNORA]

It was said that there are more cold infections in the winter because people are in more closed quarters and can pass it from person to person easier. From my recent studies in microbiology, I read that is highly unlikely and that the actual reason is because people receive less sunlight and consequently less vitamin D3 is produced leading to a compromised immune system. I believe that this theory was supported by several double blind studies........richard

[curlyguy18]

Never walk around barefoot or you'll get sick. Do not go out when it's foggy. Do not touch baby boys' bums too much or they might become gay.

[windsportinperu]

Someone only heard that a place in dangerous (not first hand experience). Later, this wrong information is passed to another person and so on -> "ten cuidado que ese sitio/lugar es peligroso".

This kind of "psicosis" of dangerous places in endemic to Peru and belongs to all kind of social classes, from the poorest to the richest.

At the end, everyplace you don't know or don't belong to your social class is dangerous.

[tomsax]

Someone only heard that a place in dangerous (not first hand experience). Later, this wrong information is passed to another person and so on -> "ten cuidado que ese sitio/lugar es peligroso".

This kind of "psicosis" of dangerous places in endemic to Peru and belongs to all kind of social classes, from the poorest to the richest.

At the end, everyplace you don't know or don't belong to your social class is dangerous.

So true..

I once journeyed from Huaraz to Huanuco when there was terrorism in Peru. Whenever I got to a place they would tell me their town was very safe, the next was so so, then the next after that was really dangerous, BE VERY CAREFULL. Luckily as I travelled the really dangerous places kept receding such that I could never reach them.

[curlyguy18]

@lizzym, you must be having a hard time. My cousin won't let her 4-year old son go outside if it's just a little bit foggy and if he does he's wrapped up from head to toes. Also, if he's got a cold, he can't have a shower or else that will exacerbate his cold.

My aunt's just come up with a new supersition. The toilet seat is supposed to be down at all times in order to save money.

[captsirl]

My aunt's just come up with a new supersition. The toilet seat is supposed to be down at all times in order to save money. [/quote]

That's like the ones that turn the car of at every tragic light. to save gas or money.
lets see, the alternator drags against the motor until the battery is recharged. the engine re primes . And not to say about how many starters we have to rebuild on their cars because of all the extra use

[NexLevel]

I've also seen them shift an automatic car into neutral at every red light and then back into drive when the light turns green. It doesn't save any gas, but adds a lot of extra wear and tear to the transmission.

[goingnowherefast]

Maybe it's just the crazy women I find, but they all seem to have seen/had contact with some sort of aliens. Apparently it isn't uncommon for aliens to do air shows in Lima.

Ghosts too, they all see ghosts and have been in contact. A few years ago I was with this Peruvian girl and we were laying in bed one night talking, and I was like 'get the hell out of here, there are no ghosts living in this building, estas loca' and she said that if I took it seriously she'd be able to summon them. I had to tell her if she wants to summon ghosts then she can do that in the street and not the bedroom.

[goingnowherefast]

Oh yeah, for what it's worth, I was recently in the States and had to go to the dentist, the dentist told me that cold beverages are generally not good. She said they aren't going to kill me but it can be bad if your body suddenly changes temperatures a lot and it's also not good for the teeth. I also recently had a cold and when I drank cold water it did make it worse, so maybe there's something to it...

[lizzym]

@lizzym, you must be having a hard time. My cousin won't let her 4-year old son go outside if it's just a little bit foggy and if he does he's wrapped up from head to toes. Also, if he's got a cold, he can't have a shower or else that will exacerbate his cold.

My aunt's just come up with a new supersition. The toilet seat is supposed to be down at all times in order to save money.

Well, with the health of my baby I'm pretty good at sticking to my guns. I'm not about to let her sweat her way into dehydration. This morning we went to the pediatrician for some saline drops for her stuffy nose, and the doc verified to my bf that neither a fan nor cold drinks make people sick. (As it turns out, it's not the open window that is the culprit, but the moisture in the air which still exists with a closed window or no fan. So the doc recommended a dehumidifier.) The bf is fully on board now, after hearing the Peruvian doc say it, now if only he could tell his mother ...

[renodante]

..

[renodante]

and yeah, the fear of cold things never ceases to crack me up. i laugh when they warn me and add extra ice while they're lecturing.

for a long time when they would ask "helada?" when i ordered a soda i would just be thinking "who on earth would order a warm soda?"

The Germ Theory of Disease, learn it, know it, live it.

Okay.. and how about heating ANYTHING in a microwave (causes cancer, you know).. And let´s not mention preserving food by freezing it. That´s dangerous too...

Other than that, (and of course the warnings about drafts), I do enjoy my mother-in-law´s company.

I joked with peruvian friends a while back "in the United States we eat frozen food, so have time to RULE THE WORLD, while you're busy preparing your food from scratch."

[renodante]

but recent studies have supported the idea that the probabilities of getting a cold tend to be more possible if you don't wrap up well during the winter.

of course. but the key word there being winter when your body is already struggling to maintain a warm temperature.

[renodante]

Someone only heard that a place in dangerous (not first hand experience). Later, this wrong information is passed to another person and so on -> "ten cuidado que ese sitio/lugar es peligroso".

This kind of "psicosis" of dangerous places in endemic to Peru and belongs to all kind of social classes, from the poorest to the richest.

At the end, everyplace you don't know or don't belong to your social class is dangerous.

i think this is a human thing, it's the same in the U.S

That's like the ones that turn the car of at every tragic light. to save gas or money.
lets see, the alternator drags against the motor until the battery is recharges. the engine re primes . And not to say about how many starters we have to rebuild on their cars because of all the extra use

hahaha. i remember reading a travel blog about i think Taiwan, where there's a custom of driving without headlights at night b/c they believed it saved gas.

Ghosts too, they all see ghosts and have been in contact.

Holy crap. TOTALLY my experience as well. have yet to meet a girl who did not claim to have seen/interacted with a ghost here.

[susita83]

There is also a cure to almost all illnesses that you hear in Huaraz. You rub an egg over their body and then bury the egg in the middle of the night in the middle of a cross roads. AND NOBDOY MUST SEE YOU!!

YES! pasarle huevo... my mother-in-law does this! It's bizarre, but kinda cute. Imagine, a 4ft tall Peruvian Lady rubbing an egg on you.

[susita83]

and yeah, the fear of cold things never ceases to crack me up. i laugh when they warn me and add extra ice while they're lecturing.

for a long time when they would ask "helada?" when i ordered a soda i would just be thinking "who on earth would order a warm soda?"

I drive my in-laws crazy with my iced coffee

[susita83]

When the rest of the family were told that I ate my breakfast cereal with COLD mlk, they gasped in utter horror and were amazed that I'd survived the experience. Comments like, ''Que horror! Leche fria, en serio?!?! Y te enfermaste? Por que leche FRIA? Que horrrrrorrrrr!!'' (lot's of rolling the 'R's).
I mean, come on. Cold milk with cereal is the most natural think in the world.

I just smile and tell them I'm a crazy American.

My boys are 7 and they're still alive, the cheerios and milk hasn't killed them yet. Plus we live in NY so if the milk hasn't gotten to them, the cold weather sure will eventually.

[rama0929]

My mother in law actually sat in our house and cried, convinced we were going to kill her grandchildren because we let them get things from the refrigerator themselves.

[rama0929]

me sube la presión....during any occasion, i think translated this means, please pity me!

Sort of, it's kinda like the Fred Sanford "heart attack" bit

[KenBE]

My novia never wants to sleep with the fan on because the air "makes her bones hurt"

Also, another strange Peruvian idea is chucaque (not sure how to spell it): getting sick after being embarrassed. This seems to be as common as getting the flu here in Peru.

[sbaustin]

I always enjoy the "Peruvian food is the best in the world" myth especially coming from someone that has never bothered to try any other kind of food. Of course this is more an opinion than a myth.

[curlyguy18]

As a Peruvian that has lived abroad, I have to say that Peruvian food is very good but I wouldn't say it's the best in the world. But yeah, I just smile when I hear my friends say our food's the best when they haven't tried much else.

[falconagain]

Or the Peruvian popular cure for hangover, a spicy ceviche the next morning.

[chi chi]

Or the Peruvian popular cure for hangover, a spicy ceviche the next morning.

Now I understand why Cebicherias are so busy on sunday's.

[susita83]

My novia never wants to sleep with the fan on because the air "makes her bones hurt"

Oh geez, sounds like my husband. He got over that one real quick, because if it's hot out, I don't sleep without a fan on.

I always enjoy the "Peruvian food is the best in the world" myth especially coming from someone that has never bothered to try any other kind of food. Of course this is more an opinion than a myth.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Peruvian food, but I agree with you. There's so many great cuisines out there.

Or the Peruvian popular cure for hangover, a spicy ceviche the next morning.

skip the ceviche, my husband says the leche de tigre is the cure

[sbaustin]

I've encountered all of these however after a few years my fiance now drinks her milk cold, can handle a fan (except the noise but that's totally different), drinks gaseosas and coffee with ice, however she won't admit that these beliefs are rubbish! haha I'll take the actions over the words!

When the rest of the family were told that I ate my breakfast cereal with COLD mlk,

Then, the conversation turned to gaseosas heladas and the family were saying how they never drink them as it would give them ''gripe'' or a cough or some other terrible, life threatening ailment that they wouldn't be able to shift for weeks and weeks - if they survived it in the first place.

Here's another one; it's the middle of summer right now and it has been very hot recently so I like to sleep with the windows open. At the slightest light breeze coming through that window, my wife complains how cold it is and has to wrap up warm in the duvet. Meanwhile, I'm sweating like a pig hoping a bit more breeze will come through the window.

Last one: going down the Malecon in Miraflores and seeing people in long jogging pants, JUMPERS and even wooly hats and wooly gloves.

Considering Lima doesn't have much variance in its weather at all, I told my wife we were going to England for Christmas so she could get a taste of real weather and ice and snow, and bitterly cold wind and hail and etc etc...

So, I was wondering what other people's experiences are with local Peruvian myths/lies/daft costumbres and things that really are ridiculous and make us, as foreigners, laugh about?

[Arroz con Pollo]

Everyone here seems to have alta or baja presión. Or have an aunt or uncle with alta presión who was the reason for them being late or now showing up at all to an appointment.

[Lloyd007]

I've encountered all of these however after a few years my fiance now drinks her milk cold, can handle a fan (except the noise but that's totally different), drinks gaseosas and coffee with ice, however she won't admit that these beliefs are rubbish! haha I'll take the actions over the words!

That's amazing! How long did it take for to make the change?

[susita83]

I've encountered all of these however after a few years my fiance now drinks her milk cold, can handle a fan (except the noise but that's totally different), drinks gaseosas and coffee with ice, however she won't admit that these beliefs are rubbish! haha I'll take the actions over the words!

That's amazing! How long did it take for to make the change?

It took my husband about a year after moving to gringolandia to turn gringo. He does the same things as sbaustin's wife now.

[sbaustin]

That's amazing! How long did it take for to make the change?

Yearssssss..... I eat a lot of leftovers straight from the fridge (cold) so that's my next project

[Lloyd007]

What about the myth of being poor?

How many times have I heard the following:

''...oh, but everything is so expensive, we're poor, we don't have anything, life's a struggle and everyday we fight for survival...'' and the next sentence is ''...but my kids study in the US and we're going on vacation for 6 weeks to visit them...''

So many times I have heard something similar to this about family members in the US/Canada/Europe, studying or even working in a nice job, but ''..we're poor, we don't have anything...'' blah blah blah.

People I know in very low paid jobs have got their kids or their brother or another close family member somewhere, overseas studying or working. I find it fascinating, the ''being poor'' myth.

I'm friendly with my local bodega, and he took off 3 months last year to visit family in provincias. 3 months! I asked what the mark-up on products typically is (being curious as to what he earns) and he said between 5-20 centimos. So, selling a bottle of water, he'd be lucky to make 10 cents.

How do they do it? Where does the other money come from? It's almost like it falls from the heavens when needed. Any thoughts? I think that most of Peru is not even half as poor as they make out, but there's a lot of dosh stuffed under matresses and hidden away.

[sbaustin]

I don't think this is a Peruvian thing.. I know plenty of people in the USA that claim to be poor but always have plenty of money (or credit) to buy things like food in restaurants, booze, cigarettes, iPhones, iPads, etc.

Also, if you are saving up a lot of money for a trip you may not want to spend it.. Either way, there is poor because you don't want to spend the money and there is poor because you don't have it.

What about the myth of being poor?

[Lloyd007]

I've got another one about the... wait for it.... ''uuuuuuf, que frio!'' nonsense.

I was ironing in the kitchen the other day and the wife comes in and says ''move over there a bit'' which I thought was odd as the kitchen is quite large. So I asked why and she said that she was going to open the fridge door to take something out. So I said that I wasn't in the way and she can go ahead and open the door to which her response was, ''what about the cold air that will come out? You'll get sick!''

Goodness me.

[captsirl]

Just where does she stand when she opens the door?

[captsirl]

[quote="sbaustin"]I don't think this is a Peruvian thing.. I know plenty of people in the USA that claim to be poor but always have plenty of money (or credit) to buy things like food in restaurants, booze, cigarettes, iPhones, iPads, etc.

Also, if you are saving up a lot of money for a trip you may not want to spend it.. Either way, there is poor because you don't want to spend the money and there is poor because you don't have it.

Poor is a state of mind. There will always be people that can not manage their expenses or time or anything else for that matter.

[renodante]

I've got another one about the... wait for it.... ''uuuuuuf, que frio!'' nonsense.

I was ironing in the kitchen the other day and the wife comes in and says ''move over there a bit'' which I thought was odd as the kitchen is quite large. So I asked why and she said that she was going to open the fridge door to take something out. So I said that I wasn't in the way and she can go ahead and open the door to which her response was, ''what about the cold air that will come out? You'll get sick!''
Goodness me.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!, FRIDGE OPENING HERE FRIDGE OPENING HERE CLEAR OUT!"

[curlyguy18]

I'm with captainsirl. And yes, the refrigerator thing is funny. The one that drives me up a wall is when people want to rub an egg all over you if you're not feeling well, then they crack the egg to see if the egg has absorbed the problem. To me that's just sheer ignorance.

[Roger in the US]

Lloyd007

Your comment reminds about when I was in Chaclacayo in March. The girl I was visiting and I went to a hotel to get some privacy. After finishing "the deed" I reached over to turn on the fan. She say "do not turn on fan, it will make you very sick". I looked at her with "disbelief"..

I did have a day of "illness" there but I believe it was from drinking some tap water.

[mtwilson]

OK, my wife is from la selva and it seems that many think that folks from the jungle have special knowledge about these things. Besides the egg rubbing thing (I get that a lot) she says that going out in the rain is an almost certain death sentence (how people from the rainforrest can believe this is beyond me, unless it just a convenient excuse to avoid work ).

She will also grab an unexpected bubble that forms on the top of a bottle of beer or gasseosa and quickly place it in her cleavage and declare that she will come into money soon.

If she catches me scratching the palm of my hand she says I have money coming my way.

A particularly annoying one is her belief that black people convey luck to a person if they touch them! She freaks me out in public when she will quickly touch a black person (men, women and especially children) and whisper "el suerte es mio" or "que suerte".

Her mother is even more superstitious and I swear I make her apoplectic with nearly everything I do "... pobre gringo, no sabe nada"