For most of my life I have lived outside of the city limits. I loved coming home late at night, stepping out of my car, gazing up at the starts illuminating the dark night sky, and listening to the sounds of the breeze as it ruffled the leaves and the frogs croaking in the background. There were nights I would stand there, close my eyes, and just listen. To the silence. Taking it all in. It was peaceful. It was a place I could think. A place without distractions. And I loved that.
Here in Arequipa, Peru, I would venture to say that silence does not exist. There is almost always noise. You can wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a barking dog or a car horn. Sitting in my room working on my homework, sometimes I simply have to laugh at what I’m hearing because it is still not something I am used to. I sit there imagining what is happening on the other side of the tall white volcanic stone wall that separates me from the busy street outside. And that makes me laugh, too.
Then there are the sounds that sometimes just annoy me. I want them to stop. Even if just for half an hour so I can hear myself think. This most commonly happens with the car horns. I live on a one-way street that is very narrow. There are two lanes, which you wouldn’t know other than there being a dashed white line running down the middle, as everyone drives as if there was only one. It is also the road where all the buses come by. This is very convenient when I need to hop on one, but they are SO LOUD. When a bus stops too long or there’s a traffic jam or a taxi is dropping someone off or the traffic just not moving fast enough or for no reason at all, someone honks their horn. Sometimes just once. Sometimes for ten seconds. Sometimes for 30 seconds. Sometimes it’s 10 horns going off at once, echoing off the stone walls of the narrow street. It seems somedays that if one-person honks, everyone follows their lead. And if you’re lucky enough to be standing outside when that happens, you better be ready to cover your ears because it is ear-piercingly loud.
Here are some of the other city sounds:
- The garbage truck. This is probably one of my favorite sounds, which may seem like a strange thing to say, but I say so with good reason. It passes by four times a day playing a song you very well may know - Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid. Yup. That’s right. A Disney song. I often wonder if Disney knows this is happening every day! Check out the video above and be sure to turn the volume up.
- Other than the honking, there are lots of other bus sounds. The cobradores, the people who take your money when you get off the bus, are also calling out the routes as the bus passes by. Their voices are so loud and they are talking so fast. I can hear them sitting in my room! Sometimes my host family can’t even make out what they are saying they’re talking so fast. They are also calling out “Sube, sube, sube” and “Baja, baja” telling people to either get on or get off. As fast as possible. They are always in a hurry! They also call out, “¡Avance! ¡Avance!” when the traffic isn’t moving letting everyone know they need to keep going.
- The car alarms. They aren’t your average alarm. They are loud and slightly obnoxious. And they don’t just have one sound. Oh no. They run through about six different sounds before repeating the cycle. And they are super sensitive, going off, at times, for no reason at all.
- Both the tourism police and the traffic police use whistles. The tourism police use them mostly to stop people from doing things they shouldn’t be doing – walking where it says not to step on the grass, people trying to sell things where it’s not allowed. The traffic police have whistles that are super loud, loud enough that people can hear them inside of their cars. They are at positioned at busy intersections, areas with heavy traffic, and around areas of construction directing traffic. They have a tough job. I definitely wouldn’t want to be the one standing in the middle of a busy intersection!
- Music. Almost every day I can hear it. Coming from the hostels close to my house. People practicing the guitar or the piano. People playing saxophone or the bag pipes on a street corner. Others singing. There is almost always someone to listen to as you’re are walking through the city! Oh, and the music blaring from people’s cars. I hear the song Despacito multiple times a week. It truly is the most played song in the world!
- Walking through La Plaza de Armas, the main city square two blocks from my house, there is normally someone trying to sell you something. From tours to nearby Colca Canyon and treks up the volcanos, to food at rooftop restaurants. The sound of women calling out “Queso helaaaadoo” (traditional Arequipan ice cream) as you walk by, or “Empanaaadaaas” which are always hard to pass up. Let’s just say it would be hard to go hungry here as there’s so much delicious food!
- Sirens. I didn’t hear them often living outside the city limits in Iowa and they aren’t often heard here either, as there aren’t many ambulances or firetrucks or police cars. But when they do pass by, it echoes off the stone buildings making it sound much louder than it actually is.
- Barking dogs have become a sound that I’m almost immune to. It is so common. Dogs barking at passing cars, people walking by, at each other, fighting, after earthquakes. If there’s a reason, they are barking. They are also very cute and Ellie and I are always wanting to bring them home with us.
- I will often be talking on the phone with my mom or my grandma and they will ask, “What is that sound?!”. The answer is always, “Brakes”. The screeching brakes of passing buses or cars on the street. Another sound I don’t often notice anymore.
- Rain and wind. It doesn’t rain often here in the desert, but when it does the pitter-patter of the cold rain drops hitting the metal roofs is a welcomed and relaxing sound. Even if it only lasts for a couple of minutes. And the wind. Standing on our roof, watching as the setting sun splashes the sky with beautiful shades of pink, purple, and orange, you are almost blown away by the wind. Literally. It is strong, loud, and cold, but with a view like the one over a gorgeous city with a backdrop of a setting sun, standing there with the wind beating against your face is tolerable.
- There is a river flowing through the city, coming down from the volcanos, that I see on my walk to school every day. It too is a welcoming sound. Its rapids and rushing water drown out the sound of the traffic passing underneath the bridge as I cross over. And with beautiful views of the volcanos, it truly is a breath-taking sight!
- For the first two and a half months I was here, my walk to school consisted of walking through a road construction site and past a new apartment building construction. I walked passed men using jackhammers and saws, others chiseling at the side of the building to redo electrical work, rock and gravel being shoveled into wheel barrels, cement being mixed on the street, and more. I never knew what I would hear each day.
- Fireworks. If there is any excuse to shoot off fireworks or fire crackers here, they take it! On catholic holidays, national holidays, city celebrations, absolutely any reason, they can be heard all over the city, at all hours of the day!
- And finally, it is so common for us to be walking down the street and for someone to say something to us, often in English. I walk past a hospital on my way to the language school every day and there is a man who works there directing those who want to park in empty parking spaces along the street. One day, as I was walking by, he said, “Buenos días, good morning, ah perdon buenas tardes”, as it was one o’clock. He asked me how to say buenas tardes in English and, after repeating good afternoon several times and after several attempts on his part to pronounce it in English, he decided it was better if he just continued to say buenas tardes. Whenever I walk by in the morning now, he will say “Good morning” (in English) with a smile and I reply back in Spanish. Always a great start to the day!
The constant noise that accompanies living in the city, especially in one of the busiest places in the city, has been quite the adjustment. It was hard at first, especially trying to fall asleep. I finally had to resort to using a white noise app to help drown out some of the sounds. But it has gradually improved. There are some noises that I don’t even notice any more, and I have learned to laugh at many that I do hear. I am looking forward to moving back to the jungle, to a house on a quiet corner, and being able to sit outside, listening to the sound of the nearby river and the birds.
But for now, noise has become a part of my life. Some days it’s hard. I wish I could be somewhere where I can hear myself think. Or at least be able to think without those thoughts being interrupted by a car horn or screeching brakes. It has been an adjustment process, but I truly do love every second of living in this city. It is beautiful in every way and is a blessing is so many ways. I have learned more than I ever thought possible and am looking forward to the coming months and all the sounds that will accompany it!