South America

So, I'm back home in Sweden, I'm sad to say. But there are all those sweet memories to hang on to! These are a few of the weird but lovely things that just makes travelling so sweet...!!

//Susanna

Colourful lady in Cusco

You know you are in South America when...

* ...when you realize that about 50% of the male locals are wearing the same haircut as Maradona did in the late 80's.

* ...when you spend 8 months in countries producing the major part of the World's consumption of coffee - but hardly ever get served anything else than nasty instant coffee.

* ...when you find yourself surrounded by five men with rifles outside the supermarket, "in order to make you feel secure"...

* ...when you are constantly chased by twelve year old shoe shine boys - even though you've been wearing nothing but flipflops for the last couple of months.

Another South American character - "Up for siesta, anyone?"

* ...when "sin carne" doesn't mean "without meat", but rather "just a little bit of meat" or maybe "it's not meat, it's just ham!".

* ...when a strict and correct business woman in a bank terminates a likewise strict business conversation with an informal "Chao, gorda!" (Buy, fatso!)

* ...when it's considered self-evident that all kind of activity is shut down for siesta for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, even in areas with a subarctic climate.

* ...when a five year old kid comes up to you in the park and asks for a cigarette - for his mum.

* ...when people seem to spend more time in an armchair outside their home, out in the street, than any other place (including their bed, their kitchen or a possible workplace)

* ...when time tables is something that just exist in theory. And where else in the world do you get told that the bank opens 8 o'clock mas o menos (more or less)...?

* ...when busses, banks and internet cafés keep a temperature of roughly 12 degrees Celius, because "now that we have air condition we want it to show!!!"...

Soccer - it's like religion. Bocca Junior playing (and winning) in Buenos Aires

* ...when you have to ask certain questions (such as where, what time, where to, and how much does it cost?) to at least 7 people, before you can make out some sort of average answer, that might be somewhere near the truth.

* ...when the national sport always is soccer - it doesn't matter that the country in question haven't been anywhere close to the World Cup for the last 30 years or so.

PS. I added some pictures too, pics that really makes me feel "South America". Extremely important now that I'm at home and just have the memories...