Signs

For whatever reason, I am slightly obsessed with signs here.

I have a fixation with the various versions of the “reserved seat” signs on buses/combis etc. They are all different. Of the four images (pregnant woman, mother holding child, elderly person, handicapped/injured person), the pregnant woman and the injured person tend to have their heads bowed. Are they ashamed? Are they tired? Whatever they are, they need a seat… but they’ll have to speak up to get one, since it’s not very frequently that people move voluntarily out of reserved seats on full buses. 

Portly person crosswalk!

In the mountains of Huancayo, about 8 hours from Lima, their crosswalk signs seem to be a little out of proportion, or then again, perhaps they have extraterrestrials. 

Children in Argentina apparently like to go to school; instead of sprinting across the street like Peruvian children are supposed to do, they skip.

Their moms wait with them at the bus stop. 

Their dads walk them to school. (This is the first time I’ve seen a sign like this that is clearly a man, not a woman or person-of-indeterminate-sex, walking the child to school.) 

Barranco’s signs announcing parks seem so happy and joyful (even if covered with black soot). 

Miraflores’ sign for playgrounds makes me snicker: while this essentially says, “kids’ playground”, my brain immediately translates this as, “place for infantile activities”. I can think of some other places that need that sign. 

I just like the sign that announces an official mototaxi stop. I don't know this for sure, but my guess is that Miraflores and San Isidro, two of the most affluent districts in Lima, have banned mototaxis. They are almost everywhere else in the city, and a super cheap ride when you need one. Miraflores & San Isidro's loss!

I love the signs for “pick up after your dog and put the poop in this receptacle”. I am not sure that anyone else has ever noticed them, though; we are on the constant lookout for dog poop on the sidewalks and on the grass. Simon is pretty good about finding it and pointing it out to us… and then getting really close to it to show us that he is not, indeed, touching it.

This is obviously a cattle crossing sign, which we’ve seen while traversing the Peruvian countryside… and here it is, in the heart of Miraflores, where there is zero chance of seeing a cow cross the street. It was put up one day out of the blue, which I noticed on my walk to Spanish class last September, and it’s been there for months now. I suppose it’s a joke, since it’s in front of a grilled steak restaurant. 

This one is a little annoying – it’s for a new ice cream treat from D’Onofrio, the Nestle division here. It shows two flavors for this cone: the strawberry one, “for her”; the chocolate one, “for him”. Give me a break; sexist ice cream flavors? Yet another knock against Nestle! 

Painted across the crosswalk at this busy intersection is a sign that says,  “4 out of 5 deaths that occur in traffic are pedestrians.” I actually stopped to read it while crossing the street, which was stupid move #1. But as horrifying as that statistic is, it’s not surprising, given how crazily limeños drive and how little regard is given to pedestrians.

I think this is supposed to be a woman pushing a stroller… but doesn’t it look like a vacuum cleaner? Who knew that vacuum cleaners got reserved parking spaces at McDonald’s? They should market that: “Take a break from cleaning and get a free Inca Kola!”

Construction zone

Lima is in the middle of a construction boom, and in the blocks near our home, the construction sites are mostly apartment buildings in various states of completion. Due to the frequent earthquakes, Lima has a regulation that buildings cannot be taller than 30 floors. Still, this provides for some tall buildings to watch as they are built, floor by floor.

I get scared just seeing them build; look at them, balanced on a board, putting in rebar! 

This is a closer view in case the earlier photo was not spine-tingling enough.

Simon has really developed a love of construction equipment while here, including making up his own signs for certain things like buckets (they are always two, on a pulley system, and so his sign is using both hands, one high, the other low, and then switching their places) and bulldozers (he pushes out one hand like the bulldozer pushes out its shovel).

Buckets, take 1

Buckets, take 2

A backhoe was parked near our apartment while the driver took a nap inside the cab... Simon seized the opportunity to try out the loader. 

My parents gave Simon a little excavator, which has been a huge hit (as you may have guessed from earlier posts), especially on artisan visits or at mealtimes at restaurants when we linger longer than we would at home. There are so many things to put in the loader and move around, like lots of coins or rocks. 

The excavator (and juice) buying us time to enjoy a coffee

The excavator buying us time at an artisan's workshop

They also brought Simon a cool book about 100 different trucks which is helping me to increase my vocabulary so I don't keep stammering, "look at that, uh, truck" or "the thing that moves dirt". It's been fun to see how Simon now notices a whole new class of trucks as a result, like tow trucks and impact hammers.

A regular activity with Simon is to go on a walk to check out various construction sites. Watching excavators fill trucks with dirt and rocks, or workers filling wheelbarrows with cement, then wheeling them to the elevators running the backbone of the building's skeleton, or cement trucks piping in the next wall or floor layer: there is always something fascinating going on. 

Relaxing on the sidewalk, watching the construction show

Once, while we were traveling through the Sacred Valley and enjoying seeing intricate ruins and gorgeous landscapes, I was recounting the day’s adventures with Simon as we were winding down for his nap. He bolted upright and mimicked an excavator’s scooping and dumping, reminding me that not only had we seen an excavator working, but that it had been working in the middle of a river. How could you forget that, Mom? That was the highlight of the day!

While Simon likes to check out what equipment is in use at each one, I like to inspect the signs. 

I pretend that these signs mean that the construction workers take frequent breaks to do aerobics, or at least that it is a caution to be aware that construction workers may break out with a dance move while shoveling dirt. 

I suppose it's just the orientation on this one... but they almost never have it oriented so that the worker is leaning over; he's always busting a dance move with the shovel!

This is another favorite. Doesn’t it look like they are reminding people of a rule to wear underwear? Or perhaps underwear with suspenders?

If there were no accompanying text, I could convince myself that it were true, instead of being about a safety harness.


I also like these. Some joker with a stencil flower put flowers in and around the various signs at this site.

I can think of a certain husband who might benefit from the one below as a street sign, to aid in avoiding tripping over curbs.

I just like this sign, what with the drama of the slipping person.

The construction boom is far more dependent on manual labor than in the States. An example: to move a pile of bricks, there is a chain set up of perhaps 15 men. One picks up a brick from the pile and tosses it to the next man, who tosses it to the next, and so on. The bricks move slowly from outside on the street to inside the construction area. They make it look effortless, as if they were tossing pillows around. These men are strong. And yes, it’s always men. I have yet to see a woman as a worker on a construction site. 

Another example of manual labor: note that there is a ramp of boards set up against the dumpster. This dumpster was slowly filled, wheelbarrow load by wheelbarrow load.

I'm not sure what the safety standards are... this worker is standing on a board, which is balanced on two ladders, drilling holes into a concrete wall. 

I'm secretly hoping that one of these days someone will invite us in and let us sit in the cab of the excavator while it moves around and does exciting things. Did I say Simon was fascinated by the construction sites? I suppose it is rubbing off on me, too... I want to operate the excavator!

The best crosswalk ever

By now I realize my obsession with Peruvian street signs in general, and the running figure in particular. It was one of my first posts, how incredulous I was at the school crosswalk sign, later I thought it was funny to see the running figure run away from a tsunami. Then I started seeing the running figure everywhere.

Run towards the exit!

Running away from the emergency exit window on the bus!

This looks more like jogging.... still, pedestrians should jog away from the construction work taking place down this street!

Run up the stairs to the exit! Now!

The signs I find humorous. But what took the cake was a crosswalk light in Magdalena del Mar, a couple of districts north of Miraflores. Not only do they have a figure that actually runs to demonstrate when it is ok to cross, it speeds up to a sprint when the light is a couple of seconds away from changing. See for yourself!

I find it especially funny given that Peruvians are not prone to speed, except when it comes to traffic. Someone tells you they will give something to you right now, ahorita, which means that you should either expect it later that week or come back for it next month. But put a Peruvian behind the wheel of a bus or car and life speeds up. This reminds me of a joke that Sam’s Spanish teacher told him:


A priest dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter welcomes him and assigns him his quarters, a nice enough space off to the right. As he settles in, a Peruvian bus driver shows up. St. Peter shows him to his quarters, a huge, extravagant palace with every luxury imaginable. The priest, puzzled, says to St. Peter, “What's going on? I was a priest. I dedicated my entire life to God. Who is this bus driver to get such an opulent place instead of me?” 


St. Peter says, “Well, when you told people to pray, sometimes they did, sometimes they didn’t. But when people get on the bus, they always pray!”


Amen.

Evacuation route

The other day we walked down to the beach. Literally. As I've mentioned before, the park near our apartment overlooks the beach, but a cliff separates us from the oceanfront. We could see parts of the beach but hadn’t been there yet, save riding in a taxi along the highway which runs parallel to the water.

As this park runs south through Miraflores, there are several sets of steps cut into the hillside. On the weekends, it’s not unusual to see surfers climbing back up to the mainland, surfboard in tow, weaving in and out of groups of kids and dogs, out to play too.

We walked down several hundred steps to check out the beach and watch the surfers. 

We crossed the highway and walked along the dirt/sand/trash until we were close enough to watch a small group of surfers who must be immune to all the sewage and other contaminants in the water. This beach is definitely not for swimming!

 

As we turned to go, I noticed this sign. Tsunamis hadn’t even crossed my mind yet as a danger, even though earthquakes are apparently a frequent enough occurrence here. 

But check it out – there is the figure running again!

We were in downtown Lima over the weekend and at one giant crosswalk, there was an animated figure attached to the traffic light. When the light was red, the figure stood still. When the light turned to green, the figure sprinted into motion.

I think it is hilarious that the figures on the signs are always running. Granted, one would run in the face of a tsunami. But it’s crazy that running is the default mode for crosswalks. There is a crosswalk steps from our door, and what I love about it is that when I push the button for the light to change, it changes immediately. I kid you not; the light changes from green to red that instant. What I do not love about it is that many drivers choose to ignore their newly red light and zoom through the intersection anyway. It's not like they couldn't stop; they'd just rather not do so. Therefore, a green invitation to walk across the street must be accompanied by several moments of glaring at all the drivers who would sooner run me over than stop for the red light. Ah well.

Well, I should sign off; gotta run!

Traffic in Lima, aka Tengo Miedo

As I mentioned earlier, our walk to school is about 20-25 minutes. On our first day, one of our housemates walked us to school so we’d know the way. I was surprised at how big the streets were, how crazy the traffic was, and how hard it was just to cross the street. This, especially, since our Peru guidebook specifically mentions how the streets in our neighborhood are "pedestrian-friendly." Ha!

In the States, generally, the pedestrian is king. Cars may be annoyed with you if you step out in their path, but they’ll stop. They don’t grant you that courtesy here. If you’re out in the path of the cars/trucks/buses and you don’t scramble to get out of their way, well, good luck getting to the hospital.

Lanes and traffic lights seem to be mere suggestions for how to behave rather than a law to be followed. In the middle of heavy traffic, I’ve seen any number of right hand turns from the left lane, left turns from the right lane, and left turns – across multiple lanes of traffic – on red. Cars pull out in front of trucks that are barreling down on them. Motorcycles have narrowly missed hitting me on the sidewalk as they buzz around us pedestrians to jump ahead of cars and buses at lights. And last night a car drove on the sidewalk to skirt some of the heavy traffic! Somehow this works; we’ve only seen the aftermath of one accident so far. You could not pay me to drive in this traffic! (And for some odd reason there are lots of people who feel comfortable riding bicycles or even skateboarding in this chaos!)

The image that perfectly encapsulates this for me right now is a crosswalk sign. Picture the traffic sign for a crosswalk in the States. It’s a quasi-stick figure adult and child, walking across the street, right? Here’s the crosswalk sign in Lima.

Note that the stick figures are sprinting. Someone brilliant has also stuck a sticker on the bottom that says, “Tengo miedo”, which means “I’m scared.” Me too!