Oh, it is and isn't. These are some pictures I have collected of Peru from various sites. Some are Lima: San Isidro facades, Fabu Old World Architecture, Camino Real, Street Lamp, Entering San Isidro, The Olivar pond at Sundown, The Juan de Arona Fountain, The Golf Lake. You can almost see my apartment in The Golf photo. I have also included a map of San Isidro and Miraflores for orientation. But these two districts, along with La Molina and some parts of Barranco are the only beautiful places.

Everywhere else it's just brown and gray, poor and cruel. The distance between haves and have-nots is unbearable. I don't like it, I don't like walking into a room and feeling the prejudice, the anger, the hatred. But I understand it. It's so strange after coming from islands. I mean, sure, there are always going to be haves and have-nots, but in the Pacific, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what they have, who they are, what they want, or where they're from.

I went to the in-beach Asia a few weekends ago and there was this guy walking around dressed business casual, so I made fun of him. My cousin became annoyed, "you shouldn't joke about him. He has a really hard job." I was like, "um, is he the lifeguard? 'Cause the ocean's that way." Nope, not the lifeguard, more important. The man was a depurador. I didn't know what that was either. Per my cousin and her friends, a depurador:

Removes people from the beach who contaminate the ambiance with inappropriate behavior before they thoroughly embarrass themselves.
Removes strange people who are unaccompanied by someone from polite society. Unless they are very famous or very beautiful.
Removes people who are "too dark" or "too yellow".

"Don't worry, Anaiis," she told me, "you have green eyes. You can hardly tell you're Japanese. Plus you're with us, so it's OK."
"Dear God, I'm in an Edith Wharton novel!"
"Who?"
"I'm Countess Olenska!"
"You are so weird, dear cousin. Please excuse her, she's--" in a whisper, "been in the EEUU. Oh!" giggles, "there goes Erica. Do not eat her foie gras, she buys it at Wong, alucina."

OMGWTFBBQ.

Yesterday there was a huayco (mudslide) in the sierra aspects of Lima. Some villages up there are completely blocked off from everyone due to the rocks and mud. People are dying, starving, their crops are gone. And what's on the radio? "It wouldn't surprise me if he won because he promised to make Asia a public beach." "Everyone promises that, it's such a cliche. It never happens." "Thank god, darling, because I just bought a house there."

I dig being shallow and stuff. But, dude. Not for real. Not like this! I want back to the civilized world.