One of the themes of the trip for me has been how the truth can be hidden. Maybe it is better to say truths, because there is not one, encompassing truth.  Some examples include the following. One, on top of a hill, un cerro, in Lima, there is a cross. This hill was (or is) an apu, a sacred place for the pre-Spainiard Peruvians. Did they so quickly convert to Catholicism? Probably not. More likely, when the Spanish came, they had to adapt their images and adopt Catholic ones in order to continue their beliefs without persecution. In the Mueseum Larco, we saw an Incan artist's portrayal of an angel alongside pottery depicting men with the wings of an owl. This syncretism of culture and faith is abundant. Another example includes the merging of Jesus Christ and the Lord of Earthquakes in an important Catholic festival here celebrated around Easter. Two, there is a precedent of lies for politicians. For example, our lecture from Dr. Carlena Ilizarbe at UARM included details of politicians such as President Garcia who promised the people one thing, but when elected did another. The group experienced this deception firsthand  when we visited the office of the Mayor of Ate. Ate is one of the disadvantaged areas in Lima. One of their problems is the amount of trash that is not properly disposed of.
This problem is compounded by the quantity of homes there. There are many people living here because the city grew rapidly, and there is not enough room on safer lands to accommodate everyone. One of the leaders there claimed to jog every morning and pick up trash to set an example for the community. I don't buy it, but as one of our group members pointed out to me, maybe the lie is not as important as the fact the community needs an example. Even if he doesn't really jog and pick up trash every morning, if stories are told that he is doing this, maybe that is more important.
Another theme of this trip for me includes the preciousness of nature. This is apparent in Lima. We have seen plenty of trash on our stay here, both in the water and on the land. The problem is complex. Why all of this trash? One reason might be that the city grew very rapidly. Another might be that the people who came here have different customs. How do you convince someone of the importance of taking care of the environment? As the group is discussed, this is not as easy as it might seem. This problem of conserving nature will probably deepen after our trip in Cusco where issues also include mining. According to our lecture from Dr. Carlena Ilizarbe at UARM, the state forces extraction, and the culture resists this. This leads to conflicts. The pattern appears to be that conflicts are only discussed after violence. 50% of all conflicts involve mining. In Cusco, I expect we will learn more about this.