Comments on: Peru vs Canada: Differences in Daily Life

By: Nora

Nora — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 10:05:19 +0000

In reply to David. Hi David, Thank you for this comment, and you make a fair point!

By: David

David — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:51:39 +0000

I was looking for something on Google and this post came up. For anyone else that comes across this …. as someone who has been to many places in North and South America I think this is not a fair comparison. comparing Toronto one of North America’s largest cities to rural Peru. It’s not the right comparison at all and to the author it’s unfortunate that you were not able to visit rural Canada which has some more similarities to rural Peru than you would imagine. Toronto to Lima would have been the right comparison. Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles and Mexico City those are fair comparisons being the largest cities in North America to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima and Bogota in South America.

By: Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 19:32:18 +0000

In reply to Amit.

Hi Amit,
Indeed, I remember many of these similarities from my (short-ish) time in Asia. And I hear you on the visa and medical angles…although admittedly, I’ve found medical care in other countries around the world to be very effective, and often a fraction of the cost of Canada (given that I don’t qualify for Canadian healthcare any longer)…
https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/the-best-and-cheapest-doctor-i-ever-visited-was-in-the-usa/

By: Amit

Amit — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 05:42:41 +0000

Oh how I can relate! Expat life in this part of Asia sounds very similar: Toilet paper in the bin.. non-potable water… cash withdrawals or watching currency fluctuations to optimally time a money-exchange. Never mind the visa quagmire and medical checkup quandaries (Thailand, Singapore or… Canada?). Thanks so much for sharing your experiences; it makes me appreciate the Canadian kinship factor even more, during my lengthy stay(s) in Bali, so far from ‘home’…

By: Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:49:39 +0000

In reply to Jorge Osuna.

Hey Jorge,
Ha ha ha – mummified her hand with TP!!! Yes, some people do actually do that. 😉
I always thought I had an iron stomach (like you), but alas, I’ve had a few rough bouts with parasites such that I’m much more careful about water (and even street food) than I once was. Which is a shame because I Loooooooove street food….

By: Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:47:27 +0000

In reply to Sarah.

Hi Sarah,
It’s always interesting revisiting your hometown after being away for a while….in my experience, there are always changes in the landscape that take me by surprise.

By: Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:46:19 +0000

In reply to Marie-France (a.k.a. BigTravelNut).

Hey Marie – Glad I’m not the only odd ball…on both the store card and toilet paper issues! 😉

By: Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:45:23 +0000

In reply to Nancie.

Hey Nancie,
I actually don’t mind putting TP in the bin. I believe countries that do allow TP in the toilet could stand to save a lot of money and resources on waste treatment if we all stopped throwing it in the toilet.
Then again, I haven’t seen bathrooms in Peru that have toilet paper strewn on the floor such that there’s a heightened risk of walking it out with it attached to your shoe. Ha ha! I might have a different take on the situation if that were a common risk. 😉

By: Jorge Osuna

Jorge Osuna — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 13:17:57 +0000

I keep reading about the struggles of first-world-ers and water, and I’m always amused. Not in a mean way, but in a my-stomach-must-be-full-of-bugs way. I’ve traveled, and not once water gave me problems. Drank from tap, bottles, fountains… Nothing.

Even more: Last week the tap water and treatment plant water accidentally mixed, so the dishes we use to eat at the office’s diner were literally washed with poop water.
Over 300 persons at the office were sick for several days. Me? Nothing.

Mexican unhealthy food + traveling shielded my insides.

TP on the bin always bothered me. Modern TP almost disappears when in contact with water, and I have a real hard time thinking the sewer system can’t handle it.
Before, people used crumpled newspaper, so I understand the need to dump it in the bin back then. But modern TP shouldn’t be an issue, even on old sewer infrastructure.

Yet, a niece once managed to block the drain on an apartment. How she did it, it’s beyond me. I think she probably mummified her hand with TP to wipe, or dumped a whole roll down the drain.

Happy to hear from you again Nora!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 06:43:05 +0000

I have been living in Australia for 3.5 years and on my trip back to the
UK I had to use my steripen (to avoid slight stomach aches from the foreign UK water!) and everything seemed so different. The trees were taller, there were more coffee shops, my hometown seemed quite foreign. They skies were always grey and I couldn’t wait to leave.