Dear Mom and Dad,
As you know, you have sent me to Peru ahead of time to see if it is a good place to live for a year. I have returned with the following information.
The climate will be a hard thing to deal with because Peru lies entirely in the tropics and is very hot. But the Peru Current (Cold Ocean) makes the land by the sea cooler than it is inland. The average temperature in November through April is 73 degrees Fahrenheit and from May through October it is 61 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Peru is about the size of Alaska and is the third largest country in South America. Earthquakes occur frequently there. Once an earthquake in 1970 killed more than 60,000 people! There is a beautiful lake in Peru called Lake Titicaca. It is the largest in Peru.Health in Peru is not the best. The average life span for Peruvians is only 60 years! Before we leave we will have to get a shot called chloroquire which takes care of malaria, a very common illness in Peru. Hospital are often short of food and even medicine! For every 9,000 babies, 99 dies at birth.
The food there is good but scarce so we should probably bring food or something to grow that we could eat. We should speak Spanish or Quecha; I know that will be hard for Mom considering she took French. So I bought her a dictionary for both languages.
Almost half of Peru’s adults can’t read or write, so there is no hope of Gabe getting a good public education. I think Gabe must go to private school. Money is very scarce and worth less than our money in the America. Two new "soles" is equal to our one dollar. Most of the people who live in cities wear cowboy clothes and farmers wear traditional farm clothing.
I think that the following sentence will be most enjoyable to Gabe: The most popular sport in Peru is soccer; the rest of their sports are pretty much like ours in America. Also, Peruvians have the freedom of religion and are not strict about what customs to follow.
I have picked
for us to live in the capital of Peru, Lima. The city has a good airport called Jorge
Chavez International, a large and safe airport to land and take-off from. We can bring our
pet dog Spunky, but I would not recommend it. Spunky hates cars, and our move will mean a
lot of time spent inside a car as Peru has a lot plains to drive over. Also, the climate
is not great for him because it gets too hot at times.
Public transportation exists in Peru but it is not as modern and efficient as it is in America. However, Peru’s courtrooms are beautiful so Dad should love it. The streets are dirtier than in New York, but we can handle them.
I hope we decide to come to Peru.
You’re loving daughter,
Sarah