Thursday, September 8, 2011

Day 1 in Peru

Hello everyone!

Well, here I am, safely arrived in Peru. After a 30 minute plane delay in Ottawa, and then a 1.5 hour plane delay in Toronto (we were waiting for a part that our plane had to take to a plane in Peru - in the meanwhile our A/C failed and the entertainment system wasn't working, but at least they gave us each a glass of water), we arrived safely in Lima, Peru. I actually lucked out on the flight - there was barely anyone on it, so I took up a row of three benches in the middle of the plane and managed to get a solid 4 hours of sleep last night. Solid.

We finally pulled into Lima around 2:30 am local time (aka 3:30 am in Ottawa/Waterloo) and we were greeted by Julio (the driver from WUSC), Isabella (a WUSC staff member) and another driver from the hotel where I am staying these first few nights. Checked-in at our hotel around 3:15 am and finally got to bed at 4.

My room in Lima (the middle bed is mine). I also have a private bathroom.

This morning we were picked up at the hotel at 10:30 am so we got to sleep in a little bit (although it was not the most restful sleep because we got to bed so late, and we were pretty excited to be here, too). We walked around Miraflores, the area of Lima that we are currently staying in (and one of the prettiest, supposedly). Got to check out a grocery store (it's called Wong's), took the city bus twice, visited the Miraflores city hall and Kennedy Square, and then went down to the ocean and saw the more touristy side of things.

Our guide from WUSC, Isabella, with Justina and Peter, two other INDEV Peru volunteers.
It's still quite chilly outside (between 15-20 degrees) and very humid, but there were some surfers braving the cold waters of the Pacific.

Justina and I in front of the Pacific Ocean.
Once we were done walking around, we took a taxi to meet up with Deua, another classmate who arrived this morning from Brazil. We went to Wong's to grab something to eat for lunch and then headed for the WUSC (World University Service of Canada) office in Miraflores (Lima) to eat. After an informative orientation session, we were driven back to our respective sleeping areas (Justina and Deua are each staying in separate family's homes in Lima, and Peter and I are staying at the same hotel until we leave to go to our field placements - I will travel to Huacho on Monday, and he will go to Huancayo on the 19th). We grabbed a quick bite to eat from Wong's (bread, ham, fresh ripe avocados, pineapple, and bananas) and enjoyed our food at the hotel.

Since then I have been trying to update things on my computer and make calls via the internet - I have a pretty good connection here at the hotel but it can still be trying at times. Oh well, just have to learn to be patient. It is now 11pm and I am pretty exhausted - a whole day of thinking and living in another language can do that to you. I survived pretty well today, but have to keep up the momentum for the next 8 months!

I hope you are all doing well, wherever in the world you might be right now. Talk again soon!
Sheila

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