A World Without Smiles
The simple things are often what you miss most.
For six months I called Lima, Peru home.
Arriving with my two dogs during the latter half of the COVID pandemic, locals welcomed me with kindness. A stranger I’d never met stayed with me for six hours at the airport to collect my dogs. My cab driver, who had been promised nothing, did the same, driving me to my apartment in the dead of night, despite a mandatory curfew in place.
They were there to help. Their kindness always present, despite not always being able to show it on their faces.
As a developing country, Peru did not have the medical infrastructure to handle massive outbreaks. It needed to do everything in its power to prevent the spread of the virus. Social distancing and customer limits were similar to that in the U.S. But masks were required everywhere.
Not just inside but outside as well. I walked my dogs through neighborhood parks, and masks had to be worn. When I walked to the store, a mask had to be on.
A wonderful person, who helped arrange the taxi driver and even paid a deposit for me, despite never having met me, agreed to meet for dinner a few days after my arrival. She stepped out of her cab, mask covered. Her eyes were friendly, as was her expressive body language, but I…
