Can I take a picture with you please?

This past weekend I traveled to Chancay, Perú, a coastal city about 2 hours north of Lima, with my host sisters for a church convention. So far in my time here, this experience definitely ranks as the most striking chance that I've had to really take a look into a distict slice of Peruvian culture. The convention consisted of three days of worship and activities, and around 100 to 150 youth and young adults attended. This event was not only much smaller than the large Mennonite conventions I attended growing up, but the traditions were also much different, as this church is rooted in Evangelical tradition, much different than my Mennonite background. I could easily write at length about the religious aspects of the weekend, and my thoughts on the experience from that perspective. However, I came away from the weekend thinking a lot more about one question that I heard many times throughout the weekend, "Can I take a picture with you?"

As I start my fourth week here in Perú, I've become increasingly aware of the obvious fact that I am a white American living in this diverse Latin country. And, after this past weekend, I've been thinking more and more about what exactly that means. At the church convention, I found people from various church groups asking to take a picture with me, or with the two other white American males from my SST group who were also there. Yet, we had not actually met these people who asked for pictures, or talked much with them, if at all; they just wanted to take a picture with the Americans. At first it was a little funny, but after about a dozen times, it began to feel a very awkward. Why should they be wanting a picture with me simply because of the color of my skin and where I come from? I'm not famous, what makes me that special? And, what kind of responsibility does that kind of attention put on me?

I thought about this more on Sunday, the last day of our trip to Chancay. After the church event, I visited the Castle of Chancay, with my host sisters and their youth group. While there, myself and a fellow SSTer, Phil, were asked, by a completely random stranger, if we would pose for a picture with her daughter. We obliged, though the interesting fact was that the daughter didn't particularly seem to want to. In fact, she was pretty shy and turned away as she approached us, it was her mother her pushed her into position for the picture. I can't explain how I felt about that experience. It was a little bit awkwardness, a little bit confusion about my role in this culture, and a little bit frustration that Americans are looked up to in this way.

After our visit to the castle, I talked with one of my sisters, Consuelo, a little bit about the meaning of the word gringo, or white person in Spanish. She asked me what my interpretation of that word was, and I explained that for me, it kind of felt like an insult. Growing up in Goshen, some fellow Hispanic students used to call white classmates gringos, and the term usually didn't carry with it a positive connotation. Consuelo explained that some of the SST students she had met in the past expressed the same feeling about the term. However, for her, and other Peruvians, gringo is not necessarily an insult. In fact, it is a compliment, as a gringo is someone to look up to, someone successful from America.

I really don't know what to think about this looking up to Americans in Perú. But having people ask to take a picture with me has shown me first hand that America really is a powerful cultural influence here in Perú, as in many other countries across the world. What does that mean for me? Well I've definitely had to remind myself on this trip that, as an American, I might represent much of a person's view about what Americans are like. So, I've been trying to act responsibly, treat people with respect, and keep an open mind. And as for pictures, I have to remember that I can do more than just pose and smile. I can shake that other person's hand, introduce myself in Spanish, and hopefully show them that I appreciate their way of life as much as they look up to American culture.