The Backpacker Mentality

I'm starting to get into a "Lima" routine. Wake up, brush my teeth, get dressed, put on sunscreen, and head to Parque Kennedy for my morning coffee. Yesterday morning I was approached by a total of 11 school children, on 3 separate occasions in said park. They were set loose in Miraflores with a school project:  find a tourist and interview them in English. So, logically, they flocked to me. Their English wasn't all that great, so I started having fun by the 3rd group of kids. "What is your most important memory?" "Ah, yes. The day I found out I was a man." They just nodded and vigorously wrote in their notebooks while I had to sip my coffee in order to prevent myself from busting out laughing.
Once the kids left, a person nearby started laughing. "It's nice to hear some English, ay?" My friends, I introduce you to Chris, a 26 year old from London. We made small talk, and I gave him crap for having a giant bottle of sunscreen hanging out of his pocket. It's been a lot of fun to have someone to romp around town with and do touristy things. I'm thankful too, because I feel so safe traveling around with a male

Or, Me, Chris grabbing a bite to eat 

(feminists, interject with your rant here). If I were by myself, I sure wouldn't have spent last night drinking beer next to the ocean! It was so peaceful and beautiful. The sound of waves, especially when I know it comes from the Pacific Ocean, is so meaningful for me. Definitely the best night yet in Lima.

I wish I could bring my roommate from my hostel home with me! She is absolutely adorable and so much fun to spend time with. Or (Hebrew for sunshine, but pronounced like the 'ol' in coca-cola) is a 22 year old from Israel at the tail end of her 3 month post army holiday. For those of you who

Our room, located on the rooftop  at our hostel

aren't familiar with Israel's customs, they require their citizens to be in the military for 2 years after the equivalent to high school in the US. Most spend a bit of time traveling after the army and then start university when they get back home. At least this is how I understand it. She's headed back to Israel tonight, which I'm a little sad about.
We had a great heart to heart this morning about her feelings surrounding leaving South America, her travels, and excitement about returning home. How familiar does this sound: She broke up with her boyfriend when she left for her 3 month long trip to South America, but
they both understood that it was going to happen before they even started dating. She won't see him when she's goes home because she will be living in a different city than him due to the location of her university. I wish her all the best, and hope her 28 hours of travel home go smoothly!
We definitely have the coolest room in the hostel, which in and of itself is pretty sweet. It's just us in a 4 bed dorm, with our own bathroom that actually has hot water. We have an entire rooftop terrace to ourselves as well. It overlooks the streets of Lima and is a lovely place to hang out. I am most definitely going to be here for at least another night.

The view for the rooftop terrace and yesterday's sunset!

Or's departure brings up the discussion about the life of a backpacker. There is a very unique personality and mindset about backpackers that I also found in the hostels in Australia. Backpackers are the best at putting differences aside and truly living in the present. But there is also a toughness about them; a quality that you respect  rather than get intimidated by. I guess being a transient in the entire world can do that to you. Some people have been away from their friends and family for a really long time. Others are traveling for just a week and never come down from their 'traveler's high'.  I think the hardest part about being a backpacker is seeing so many people come and go. You meet people who you click really well with only to find that they are leaving the next day , or better yet, you just never see or hear from them again.

 Of course there are differences amongst backpackers: you have the partiers, the adventurers, the group of friends who travel together, etc. Most people are ages 18-26, I would guess. While this doesn't seem like a big spread, the maturity differences are astounding. But yes, ultimately things don't change:  The australians are always drunk, the french are always playing poker, and the canadians are always confused. While I'm not quite ready to summarized American stereotypes, I'm off have an afternoon beer with one of my Australian comrades...