Meat. Have you ever felt like a piece of it?

Everyone has their good days and bad days. I’m discovering that certain things that can really get me frustrated/annoyed here in Peru can cause a good day to turn bad. Specifically, the cat-calls. It is very common here for men to be very vocal and forward with beautiful women. In fact it’s pretty opposite to what I experienced in the States. There, boys are often too worried about rejection to risk showing interest in a pretty girl. Not here. Whistles, cat-calls, kissing noises, and expressions of love are the norm. You do get used to it after a while, but it still makes me uncomfortable. Especially when walking around alone. Most of the men are harmless and don’t do more than call.
Today I was especially frustrated because it felt like I was the only woman on the street as I walked to my Spanish lessons. Because I’m a foreigner with light hair and green eyes, I attract more attention than I would like, therefore attracting more calls. I do the only thing that I can which is to not make eye-contact and to ignore the people calling at me. But today, I felt like running all the way to my lessons just so that people would leave me alone. It’s interesting to me the differences in cultural norms that exist between my culture and the Latin American culture. While I love the history and culture of Peru, there are a few things that I’m not going to miss when I come home, the cat-calls being one of them. Goodbye, I don’t want them.