Decision 2016: Peru vs United States

While ya’ll were all wrapped up in the last ridiculous tweet Donald Trump probably sent out, I bet you didn’t know that Peru is in the midst of election season too. In fact, today is the day – Peruvians all over the county are off to fulfill their civic obligation as voting here is mandatory for any Peruvian citizen (unless you want to face a hefty fine of about 180 soles). With that being said, I thought you guys might want a distraction from Donald’s awful spray tan, feeling the “bern,” and Hillary’s cackling laugh so I put together a little chart showing a few of the differences between Decision 2016 in Peru and the United States.

* Former president Alejandro Toledo grew up in extreme poverty in a region of Peru called Ancash. When he was young, two Peace Corps volunteers looking for housing came knocking on his family’s door. (PC was housing placement was very  different back in the day). The two volunteers began to notice Toledo’s potential and began to encourage him to think outside of the world he lived in. Ultimately, they became his inspiration to apply to study on scholarship in the United States. The volunteers helped him to get into University of San Fran’s program for non-English speakers where he eventually received a BA in economics and business admin. Watch him tell how Peace Corps profoundly changed his life in his own words below – it makes me feel very tingly inside and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way too.

Happy Election Season, Ya’ll.