A Hoosier in Peru: Traveling to Peru!

Sunday July 23, 2017

I woke up at 4 am to get ready for my flight. I actually got out of bed at 4:17 when I decided that I really had to get up. After I got up, I quickly got around. It was strange, I knew that I wouldn’t be returning to my bed for my while (Mason don’t mess up my bed). After that, I shoved a few last things in my toiletries, and headed out the door.

The car ride to the airport was pretty calm. I talked with my parents a bit, until we arrived at the Fort Wayne airport. Once there, I weighed both my bags (one around 30 pounds the other around 40) and I got my tickets. I said a final goodbye to my parents, took some pictures, and walked through security. A giant perk of having your first flight being out of Fort Wayne is that security is very relaxed, which sets the tone for your whole day of travel. After walking through security, I went to the bathroom, filled my water bottle, and headed toward my gate. I waited around 20-40 minutes (this whole day has been a blur) before boarding. The plane was small so I had to stow my carry on suitcase underneath the plane. I had a window seat on the plane, so I was able to take some photos of Indiana from air. One of the flight attendants was very impressed with my Rotary jacket and asked me questions about where it was from. After taking off I did what I do best, and took a snooze (lucky me had an empty seat next to me). I don’t really know if I ever fell asleep but I did doze. The plane ride went by very quickly (yay), and I soon landed in Charlotte.

My last Indiana sunrise for a while :)

One last view of Indiana's fields

After I got my bag from underneath the plane, I followed the signs to my gate. I made a bathroom stop and dropped one of my more important pins (it is one of the Disney castle that was horribly overpriced). I grabbed the pin but didn’t see the back of it. Sometimes you gotta take a loss, and I wasn’t searching the bathroom for the back of a pin (I stole one from a less important pin on my jacket). Then I made my way to the gate, which was clearly full.

I stood around for a while looking for a seat, and I ended up asking a couple who was staring at all of the pins on my jacket if the seat next to them was free. It was, and the couple and I struck up a conversation about me being a Rotary exchange student, Lima, Miami (they were headed to Miami for their honeymoon cruise), clogging, and life in small towns. The man’s church had good connections with Peru and his church had done lots of mission work/build churches in Peru so it was a good topic. A Rotary jacket is needless to say, a good conversation starter.

Our flight from Charlotte to Miami was actually delayed (not too badly) because the plane we were taking was coming from Miami to Charlotte, and it had been delayed. I felt bad for the people that got off the plane before us and started sprinting for other gates. Made me a little thankful that it wasn’t me and I had a decent layover.

The flight from Charlotte to Miami was a little less enjoyable just because I had someone sitting next to me and had less space. It wasn’t really a big deal though (perks of being a small person). The man next to me was really nice but he didn’t speak much or any English, so it was more difficult to have a conversation (I think he was speaking Swahili, not really sure though). This however, gave me time to finish my Calvin blog post. The flight was smooth and everything was good.

I got off the plane and went to the screens that have the gates and flight numbers because my ticket and boarding pass didn’t have a gate for me to go to. To my surprise and delight, my gate was right next to where I had just got off (convenient, right?). I sat down and rearranged myself. I went online and updated people on my flights. I talked with Maggie Blackwell and her Peruvian friends that live in Lima (that have offered to help me if I ever need it) and answered a question incorrectly in Spanish (it’s only the beginning). After I had talked with everyone, I got a baguette for lunch at a Cuban place (When in Miami go Cuban) and sat down at my gate to eat lunch and do whatever else. I scored a seat near the charging station and recharged my laptop (wasn’t really dead but I figured take the chance when you have it). I just surfed the web, updated my blog, and listened to all the conversations around me in Spanish. I look forward to being able to understand what is going on. After a while, as boarding got closer, they changed our gate and everyone had to move. I felt proud of myself when I understood the joke between family members in Spanish (it was simple but I am going to take what I can).

After waiting a bit longer at that gate, we all began to board. The flight to Lima was obviously my longest (but it is still not too long) flight. I once again struck up a conversation with the woman next to me (she is Argentinian and very nice). I feel bad for her because she is in the middle (my seat isn’t ideal but at least it is the aisle). I got to eat a delicious meal of pasta, 3 pieces of lettuce, fake cheese on bread, and a dense roll..yum. Not complaining, I was still pretty full from lunch. I watched a movie in Spanish about a brother and his new baby brother. I didn’t really understand much of the dialogue but that was to be expected. I didn’t really realize the movie was in English until later on but that’s okay. The flight attendants all spoke to me in Spanish (I’m going to pretend it’s because they think I look hispanic and not because everyone was hispanic on my flight). I listened to the Spanish radio station available on the plane, I didn't recognize any songs which means they aren’t necessarily current (but everything sounds more beautiful in Spanish so…). I am also watching old episodes of This Is Us (sadly not available in Spanish, I might have known what was going on).

Eventually (our flight went around the airport and then came back), we landed in Peru. I didn't really know what I was doing once I got off the plane but I just read the signs and followed the rest of my plane. I first had to go through customs, which was very easy, but the line took forever. However, as soon as I got to the front, I simply handed the lady the letter Henry had wrote for me, said "Si" to everything the lady said, got my stamp and moved on. I next had to go to the baggage claim. However, customs had taken so long for me to go through that my flight's luggage was no longer on the thing. So it resulted in me walking around with a cart for a bit trying to figure out what was going on. After a while of walking, I spotted my luggage by a counter of sorts. I began to load it onto my cart, and a nice Peruvian airport employee did the rest for me. Then I walked around confused and dazed to what I thought I had to do next (them scanning my luggage). I walked over and stared with a confused expression for a bit, until a Peruvian employee started asking me questions in Spanish (none of which I understood). Finally he just looked at me and said "Miami?, meaning had I just come from Miami. I said "Si" and he had a different airport employee load my bags into the scanner. After that, everything went smoothly. The airport employee loaded my luggage back onto the cart, I said "Gracias" and I walked through an airport shop hoping I would find my host family. Luckily, I did. It was not hard to spot my family, as they had balloons, flowers, and huge smiles for me. I gave Angye a big hug, and then followed suit with the rest of my new family. My mama was not with everyone at first because she had gone to buy me a orange Fanta and a snack. But she got to us quickly and I was able to greet her with a huge smile and hug (because let's be real my Spanish is lacking).

L to R: My luggage, Nati, Me, and Angye :)

Tia (Aunt) y Mama

We then all rushed outside and I got my first look at my new home. I would describe it as beautifully chaotic. Everyone was bustling around and talking in Spanish I couldn't understand. We walked in confusion with Angye on her phone to try and communicate with our driver. Eventually he got to us, and we all rushed to the car because it was a crazy scene with cars honking everywhere. After getting into the car, my family began asking me questions that I couldn't answer very well, and poor Angle and Natalie had to translate as best they could. I couldn't stop looking out the window at my city however, because there was so much to take in. One of those things is the crazy drivers in Lima. There is no way I would be getting behind the wheel in this city. There are so many people that cross the street when they shouldn't (as Angye says they have no respect). The traffic is exciting, new, crazy, chaotic, and slightly terrifying. As we continued to drive home, my family pointed out important landmarks around Lima (Angye also pointed out a prostitute on the street). Lima is an endlesss city, I don't think anyone could every see it all. Eventually, we got to my new home. We unloaded everything and I walked inside.

Once entering, you go straight into the living room. First I saw the couches but next I saw my Mamita (my grandmother who doesn't like the name Abuela). She got very emotional upon seeing me and started to cry a little bit. I didn't really know what to say to her so I just gave her multiple hugs (Angye later explained to me that my family is very close and Mamita was very excited to have another member in their happy family. After meeting Mamita, I met my family's helper. His name is Luis and Angye explained that he cooks for the family. Once I dropped my things in my room and returned to the kitchen, my family had pulled out a cake for me. They lit a candle, I blew it out, and we all sat down for our first dinner. Mamita couldn't have any cake because she is a diabetic. I cut the cake for everyone, and then I took my first bite. The cake was chocolate, but the frosting was made of lucuma. The frosting was very light and fluffy, lucuma is a fruit that is special in Peru.

My beautiful and delicious cake!

After we ate the cake, I went to my bedroom and unpacked some of my clothes. I ended up trying to take a shower but its didn't go so great. In the shower there are two knobs for water, one is hot and one is cold. My host sister Nati explained to me which was hot and cold, but she got her left and rights mixed up, which resulted in me messing with the water, and never actually getting it hot. So my first night I got a cold shower. Not only did I get a cold shower, but I made a mess on the floor from messing with the water. When I got out of the shower, I was horrified to see the entire bathroom floor was a giant puddle, and the water was now flowing into the hallway. I quickly dried off and got dressed so I could go find Nati. Not knowing how to explain what had happened, I simply said "ayúdame" and she quickly followed me with concern. Upon seeing my giant mess, she began to help me and explained that it was important we dried it up so that Mamita didn't slip and all. Eventually, we got it cleaned up. That night, I ended up staying up late with my sisters talking (or attempting to talk).