From Tourist to Tourist Attraction

Not surprisingly, almost everyone in Peru thinks that I'm a tourist. In the streets of Lima, taxis honk thinking I'll need a ride to a hotel or tourist attraction. Waiters and waitresses call to us to come and eat in their restaurants. People try to speak to us in English because they assume we don't know any Spanish. Here in Lunahuana the people who work in the rafting business constantly advertise "canotaje" (rafting) as we walk by. A mototaxista tried to overcharge us today thinking we wouldn't know what a normal rate is for a ride into town. And I expected that. And most days I'm not too annoyed by it, although I hope the people of Lunahuana eventually realize that I'm living here.

However, in the past three days a new phenomenon has developed. Something that I wasn't expecting. Something that makes me laugh and ponder and feel a little uncomfortable.

The first time it happened, Katie and I were minding our own business at the nispero festival here in town on Saturday, watching the Miss Nispero pageant. Anthony wasn't with us because he was asked to be a judge of the pageant--another story for another time. Anyway, at one point this group of people from Lima started talking to us, and about one minute into the conversation, they asked if they could take a picture with us. Interesting. Katie and I stood next to each other, and one of the Limenians stood next to us, but quickly decided that she should stand in the middle. Ok. As soon as the camera flashed, a second person replaced the first, and we took another picture. And another. And another. At least after they took the pictures, they continued to talk to us for another hour or so and seemed like really nice people. They were excited for the work we would be doing in Peru and happy to meet us. After we parted ways, I looked at Katie and asked, "So, did you feel a little like Machu Picchu tonight?" Maybe we weren't quite as magnificent as Machu Picchu, but we definitely felt like we were a tourist attraction.

Then tonight, Anthony, Katie, and I went out to eat at a hotel restaurant near our house (much closer than walking all the way into town). There was a junior high school having a retreat at the hotel, so there were a good 20-30 kids there with about 10 chaperones. We were enjoying supper by ourselves in the restaurant until this group poured in. When a group of boys walked by, they yelled, "Gringos! Una foto, una foto!" We then heard them talking about getting their cameras so they could take a picture of us. We decided to shovel our food in and get out as fast as we could. We were about halfway down the sidewalk to the road when a girl came running out and asked if she could take a picture with us. Her mom came down to take it, and then about 4 more girls lined up to take pictures with us, one at a time.

I don't quite understand why we "gringos" were photo-worthy. Was it that they associated gringos with Hollywood or sports stars or McDonald's? Maybe they don't see many foreigners in their country? Maybe they would want pictures with Europeans or Asians, too. Who knows. But I can't imagine running up to a Peruvian or Asian or German or fill-in-your-own-nationality-an in the U.S. and wanting a picture with them just because of where they're from. It's interesting to me to think about what that might say about the influence the U.S. has in the world and the stereotype Americans have. And maybe I'm reading too much into it. I do like to analyze.

Whatever the reason, I still felt like a tourist attraction. And maybe I should enjoy it. It's the closest I'll ever be to famous.