One Long Journey!

First of all, I stand corrected… I had 5 flights, not 4, in over 40 hours to get here… next time I will look at my ticket more closely! Fortunately I only had to lug around the 240 lbs. of baggage and carry-ons during 2 of the 4 stops. It was an exhausting journey, but during my 12 hour layover in Lima I had a chance to get some sleep so I was pretty pumped and energetic by the time I got to Trujillo. It was interesting to see the vibe of the people change over that time… each flight had less and less familiarities (language and otherwise) in the people around me. I already have a few friends in this new place including a cab driver in Lima who informed me “that I will marry a Peruvian before the year is over.” Ha.

I got to practice my Spanish on my last few flights, and also during my 8 hour layover in Mexico City, which improved my confidence. I had a window seat flying into Trujillo and it was awesome to emerge from the clouds and see this brown, barren-looking but very beautiful landscape of mountains and cliffs on the seaside. I’ve never seen anything distinctly like it. After collecting the bags once more, I was promptly greeted by this adorable, energetic nun and her brother, Luis. Everything moved quickly from there- we were shuttled into a tiny car and I learned my first “Cosita Importante” about my new life:

Peruana Cosita Importante Numero 1: Always hold tightly onto something in a moving vehicle, even if you are buckled, or you will get a giant bump on your head. Ouch.

When we arrived at my new casa, it was already dark and we literally threw all the bags at mach-10 pace through the door before congregating inside for introductions. (Apparently not good to stand outside at night in my neighborhood.) My host family consists of mi padre, Antolino, madre Maria and bebe Isabel. However, mom and baby were on vacation so it was me and Antolino to start. He is a traveling salesman from Trujillo. He is also hilarious and talks really fast. I was amazed at how much Spanish I could understand from the nuns at the beginning. However, with my new padre there was a lot of nodding and “Si’s” to who knows what those first few days! He is very talkative and sweet and I’ve already seen every photo in the casa, his extensive collection of antique Peruvian coins and bills, and his DVD collection of Peruvian music/dancing. He gets up before dawn is on the streets all day selling his goods, and sometimes travels to other regions for sales too. He is a hard worker- says he is barely scraping by, which seems evident from his simple lifestyle and sole pair of shoes which are literally falling apart into pieces. He has a huge heart and I’ve already learned a lot about the culture from him.