Getting to know PaP

 I’m the one who thinks living in a place is the only way to really get to know the core of it. Passing by as a tourist gives you just a first impression, but sometimes is far from reality.  Today I went to do some grocery shopping; first let me tell you that it’s more expensive than what I usually pay for my weekly visit to Carrefour in Paris, I paid nearly the double. At the super market I only saw either foreigners or some upper-middle class people, there was a great variety of rice, cheese, meet, bread, etc., however only reachable for very tiny percentage of the population. On the way from my house to Petion Ville, where the super market is, I took a moto taxi. Though a bit dangerous, it’s a practical, cheap and fast mean of transportation, of course I was praying on the way to the supermarket because we were passing by so close to the cars and going through so many obstacles. We passed by some local markets, where there was so much activity and people passing with chickens, mangos, bread, etc. People from the other motos were looking at me with a surprised faced, perhaps I’m the few “whites” who ride a moto taxi. On the way back I took a normal taxi and it was a bit shocking seeing so many contrasts in just a couple of meters. We passed by the area where the Canadian red cross is, huge houses and clean streets, 5 minutes later we were crossing lots of camps were people was living just next to the garbage. Also it was possible to see all those houses up the hill as if you were looking at Ciudad Bolivar in Bogota. I must admit that makes me think of how far and distant we are from what the reality is for most of the population in developing countries. Now I’m at my place, far away from PAP real life (see the picture, that’s the view from the terrace of my place).