Live where I live, here, there or in China, I
am, and will be always very proud and happy to be Peruvian.
On the other hand I don´t have another option !
I feel happy to find near this places when I am
in Europe another compatriots or brothers and
sisters from Latin-America, I can recognise far away a hispanic girl or boy,
not just for the exotic look but because they don´t smell badly, and they change their clothes
everyday not like some people.
You would be shocked at the repulsive smell of armpits in the metro which
compares with the smell of a dead animal or, when I saw a colleague at work (a
beautiful blonde czech with blue eyes) that went to work every single day with
the same clothes (did she change her pants?) anyway I know they are not same
everywhere but the majority wins so I can say most of the people here in Czech
don´t have a shower everyday and don´t use deodorant!
This reminds me when a couple of years ago a
Czech friend stayed at our home in Lima, Peru for a week. My Granny very kindly
prepared for her the guest room. In my home in Peru, we have three bathrooms,
one with a shower and another one with a bathtub both on the second floor and a
toilet with a sink in the first floor where her room was to be. Granny
therefore expected that everyday she woulded appear on the second floor to have
a shower.
My Granny is a typical Latin-American Granny
who loves gossiping and she was clearly compiling my friend´s foot steps or better said her „smell“ steps
for her the secret diary of Doňa Inda which could sound
as follows:
Day 1: „The Gringa“ arrived, without problem, she is very gentle,
and she doesn't speak Spanish, how I am going to talk to her? Anyway, seems to
be that the poor little Woman has spent a lot of time on the planes because she
has a smell that you can't imagine!
Day 2: The Gringa, woke up, drank coffee and
left quickly, do you know that I didn't see her going to the bathroom or having
a shower? She left home with the same blouse she was wearing yesterday, a
little piggy your friend eh?
Day 3: Two days, and I didn't see her having a
shower, maybe she doesn't have a soap or shampoo, so today I bought her a new
soap and a shampoo-conditioner and left them on her bed, maybe she will get the
message. We will see.
Day 4: Your Mum has told me to stop stalking
your friend and not to say anything, but I can’t resist so I have to show her. I gesticulate
with a soap and rubbing it like if I was
having a shower. Your Mother was just closing her eyes, completely ashamed!
Day 5: Alleluia! The Gringa has a shower! But
after all this days, she spend no more than 5 minutes, do this people in Europe
just wash themselves like cats? Maybe she is allergic to the water, can you ask
her?
Day 6: I went to the open market, and the Guy from
whom I always buy fruit. was asking me if just in case I know the tourist that
goes every day to buy mangoes, she is a very pretty but smelly, poor little
woman, so young! I told him that I have no idea who is she, what a shame!
Day 7: Your friend is leaving, 6 days here and
she only washed once, I understood that she is going to Cusco, imagine if she
didn't had a bath here in Lima, there is even less chance that she will have
one in Cusco because it is colder than
here! Is a pity she didn't understand me, I gave her a couple of soaps, maybe
finally she will understand the message.
Regarding the impression of my friend to my
Granny I need to say the funniest was my friend´s Thank you card:
Lis, thank you very much. Your family is so
sweet, especially your Granny, what a Lady, so kind she gave me some Peruvian
soaps, it was very funny, she was showing me that they are for having a bath,
probably she thought I may eat them! Of course I understood!
