Consistency is something I've always enjoyed. It goes hand-in-hand with efficiency and I enjoy knowing what to expect. When I travel, I tend to find that expectations either make the reality disappointing or are just so irrelevant that expecting anything is a waste of energy. I let most things happen to me, meaning I eat strange plates of meat parts, including feet, or stay in shared houses with a whole bunch of working expats, surprising them when I leave after two days. Going with the flow is the motto, and if you aren't, I like to believe you aren't traveling right.
South America is a continent where it is especially impractical to have expectations. Buses will not arrive on time, though in countries like Argentina they do at least leave on time. I meet people and change travel plans on an hourly basis, and at any moment the street food I love to enjoy might just come back to haunt me.
There are exceptions. There are set meal times and set types of food you eat for certain meals. Do not expect to find ice cream that comes close to the caliber of ice cream in the USA. In Peru, you will likely enjoy another of the best sauces of your life with whatever the meal may be. And more than anything, when you board a bus, of any price range or any company (as you get up into less-southern regions; Argentina had some great surprise blockbusters on board), you WILL be watching Adam Sandler or Vin Diesel in all their glory. Don't worry about which film, just know all Adam's humor will be lost by the double whammy of dubbing AND subtitles in Spanish and Vin will kill a lot of people or drive really fast.
And that's just the kind of consistency one sometimes needs after six weeks on the road.
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