Somehow, BNA doesn't seem so small anymore. I believe the Cusco airport is the smallest one I have ever encountered, and Jorge Chavez, Lima, isn't much bigger. Again, I find myself overwhelmed by how many things are just...DIFFERENT. I cannot stop myself from comparing Peru (still have a hard time believing I'm actually here!) with Korea, Germany, and the USA. So many things. Each time I encounter something else that I never thought about before - because it was the same in every place I've been previously.
For instance...
...most of the roads here are paved with rocks.
...I have to use bottled water to brush my teeth.
...water pressure determines temperature - hot is lower, cold is higher.
...there are no heated buildings.
...people walk slowly here. Everyone.
...the streets are mostly deserted by 1900. (At least on Sunday nights.)
...there are so many bars, gates, locks, and keys!
Those are the ones I've encountered in the first 22 hours.
The last 2 days have been full. And long. and tiring - I'd even be tired if I wasn't 3400 meters above sea level. I woke up at 0530 on Saturday to catch a flight in Nashville at 0800. Roughest flight of my entire life! But landed safely in Chicago around 1000. Some time later, after checking my second bag for free due to a crowded plane, we all set off for Miami. The flight started wonderfully with the little girl in front of my giggling uncontrollably with excitement when the plan took off. It went downhill from there. Scheduled to arrive at 1510 (EST), I was supposed to have 70 minutes to find my last gate and board for Lima. Not so fast! Literally. We landed in Miami at 1550, waited to dock, and I finally walked off the plane at 1513 - with 7 minutes til boarding time.
I'll admit, I was nervous. So nervous, I decided to attempt to talk to an airport employee, succeeded in getting ignored, impatiently "answered," and then told I could get in line. Hey, Lady! I don't have time for lines and it's not my fault either! So I just took off looking for my gate on my own and somehow managed to get there in 6 minutes, or something like that. I only ran on the stairs. I guess all that speed-walking people always tell me I do (do I really walk that fast??) came in handy.
Anyway, that flight was only 5 hours, so I arrived in Lima at 2130 (CST) where everything went smoothly - customs, baggage claim, currency exchange, and even immigration. I'd paid to have a taxi from my hostel pick me up, everyone was kind and understanding of both my tiredness and my Spanish. After paying, arranging for a taxi back to the airport at 0500, contacting who I could back home, cleaning up - some of my liquid items decided it would be fun to spill, but fortunately I'd wrapped them all carefully in multiple layers of plastic, and talking with my roommates (including 3 guys from France, a backpacker from the NE US, one Asian girl, and one girl from London who'd been hiking in the same pair of shoes and socks for over a month...at least her personality was pleasant.), I finally fell asleep around 0040. Or so I thought.
In actuality my phone had never reset from EST (it still hasn't) and I went to sleep at 1140, and woke up at 0330. UGH. It turned out to be ok in the end because I'd been thinking my flight to Cusco was at 0630 when it was really at 0610 so an 0500 taxi would've been too late. Again the hostel worker and taxi driver were kind and helpful and I hope to stay there again when I'm back in Lima. But again, Jorge Chavez is a small airport, so I got through easily and sat and waited to board for 40 minutes at my gate. I almost fell asleep and woke up to the last call for my flight, which also happened to be the first call as there were only about 25 people on the flight. For some reason 0610 on a Sunday morning isn't a popular time to fly to Cusco.
After arriving, I walked (again) past rows and rows of people stating/asking "Taxi, Miss?" And the endless string of "No, gracias" commenced. Fortunately my ride was there waiting so we got to my new home quickly and without any hassle.
My host Mom is kind and talkative and so far has been helping with my Spanish when I can't remember a word or a past tense ending, or really anything else I'm having trouble with. There are 2 others girls here for 2 weeks, both 14 - here with their Middle School class. Fortunately, when we got to the school I met a few other girls not in that group... Soph from Sydney, Jikke from Holland, Serene from Seattle, Sofia from London, and Nina from Germany. We're all travelling alone, all at a similar level in Spanish, and all similar ages. And we will all be here different lengths of time.
We walked and talked and found a cafe with internet where I tried carrot tea. Not bad.
And....that's been my weekend. Not too shabby, though a bit stressful at times and, again, very tiring.
The altitude things....well, let's just say that I am a semi-active person, I have normally run up a few flights of stairs with only slight effect on my lungs and heart. Not here! One trip up the stairs and I feel I'm about to start panting. Then just lying in bed, every once in a while I keep feeling my heart race a little. And my fingers are just going to be cold. A lot. During the day the weather is gorgeous, though most people found it a little cold. Mornings and night stay in the 30s, but as there is no heat in the houses, it means that it feels very cold. Yay for lots of blankets, fleece pajamas, undershirts, overshirts, socks, and slippers!
Also, YAY for 3 years of Spanish!!!
There are so many things I don't know. SO many words I can't remember. But after talking with someone for a few minutes, they always pick up on my level of knowledge and so far have all been kind enough to lower theirs to fit it. Normally, that just means speaking slowly and not using many "big words". As if they were talking to a 10-year-old. It's exciting. It's extremely nice that when things happen like almost getting lost on my walk home, I can just approach someone and say, "Hola, tengo una pregunta - ¿sabe donde está la calle xxxxxx?" What's even better is completely understanding their answer. Ordering food, finding places, asking directions, reading signs - I can do it all! Not perfectly, of course, but I understand them, and I can make myself understood for the most part. So it works!
But...now it's 2040, I have a splitting headache and have to be up before 0700 tomorrow to take an assessment test. Sleep is sounding like the best thing in the world! (Remember that line, all of you who were following this blog in the Korea days?)
For instance...
...most of the roads here are paved with rocks.
...I have to use bottled water to brush my teeth.
...water pressure determines temperature - hot is lower, cold is higher.
...there are no heated buildings.
...people walk slowly here. Everyone.
...the streets are mostly deserted by 1900. (At least on Sunday nights.)
...there are so many bars, gates, locks, and keys!
Those are the ones I've encountered in the first 22 hours.
The last 2 days have been full. And long. and tiring - I'd even be tired if I wasn't 3400 meters above sea level. I woke up at 0530 on Saturday to catch a flight in Nashville at 0800. Roughest flight of my entire life! But landed safely in Chicago around 1000. Some time later, after checking my second bag for free due to a crowded plane, we all set off for Miami. The flight started wonderfully with the little girl in front of my giggling uncontrollably with excitement when the plan took off. It went downhill from there. Scheduled to arrive at 1510 (EST), I was supposed to have 70 minutes to find my last gate and board for Lima. Not so fast! Literally. We landed in Miami at 1550, waited to dock, and I finally walked off the plane at 1513 - with 7 minutes til boarding time.
I'll admit, I was nervous. So nervous, I decided to attempt to talk to an airport employee, succeeded in getting ignored, impatiently "answered," and then told I could get in line. Hey, Lady! I don't have time for lines and it's not my fault either! So I just took off looking for my gate on my own and somehow managed to get there in 6 minutes, or something like that. I only ran on the stairs. I guess all that speed-walking people always tell me I do (do I really walk that fast??) came in handy.
Anyway, that flight was only 5 hours, so I arrived in Lima at 2130 (CST) where everything went smoothly - customs, baggage claim, currency exchange, and even immigration. I'd paid to have a taxi from my hostel pick me up, everyone was kind and understanding of both my tiredness and my Spanish. After paying, arranging for a taxi back to the airport at 0500, contacting who I could back home, cleaning up - some of my liquid items decided it would be fun to spill, but fortunately I'd wrapped them all carefully in multiple layers of plastic, and talking with my roommates (including 3 guys from France, a backpacker from the NE US, one Asian girl, and one girl from London who'd been hiking in the same pair of shoes and socks for over a month...at least her personality was pleasant.), I finally fell asleep around 0040. Or so I thought.
In actuality my phone had never reset from EST (it still hasn't) and I went to sleep at 1140, and woke up at 0330. UGH. It turned out to be ok in the end because I'd been thinking my flight to Cusco was at 0630 when it was really at 0610 so an 0500 taxi would've been too late. Again the hostel worker and taxi driver were kind and helpful and I hope to stay there again when I'm back in Lima. But again, Jorge Chavez is a small airport, so I got through easily and sat and waited to board for 40 minutes at my gate. I almost fell asleep and woke up to the last call for my flight, which also happened to be the first call as there were only about 25 people on the flight. For some reason 0610 on a Sunday morning isn't a popular time to fly to Cusco.
After arriving, I walked (again) past rows and rows of people stating/asking "Taxi, Miss?" And the endless string of "No, gracias" commenced. Fortunately my ride was there waiting so we got to my new home quickly and without any hassle.
My host Mom is kind and talkative and so far has been helping with my Spanish when I can't remember a word or a past tense ending, or really anything else I'm having trouble with. There are 2 others girls here for 2 weeks, both 14 - here with their Middle School class. Fortunately, when we got to the school I met a few other girls not in that group... Soph from Sydney, Jikke from Holland, Serene from Seattle, Sofia from London, and Nina from Germany. We're all travelling alone, all at a similar level in Spanish, and all similar ages. And we will all be here different lengths of time.
We walked and talked and found a cafe with internet where I tried carrot tea. Not bad.
And....that's been my weekend. Not too shabby, though a bit stressful at times and, again, very tiring.
The altitude things....well, let's just say that I am a semi-active person, I have normally run up a few flights of stairs with only slight effect on my lungs and heart. Not here! One trip up the stairs and I feel I'm about to start panting. Then just lying in bed, every once in a while I keep feeling my heart race a little. And my fingers are just going to be cold. A lot. During the day the weather is gorgeous, though most people found it a little cold. Mornings and night stay in the 30s, but as there is no heat in the houses, it means that it feels very cold. Yay for lots of blankets, fleece pajamas, undershirts, overshirts, socks, and slippers!
Also, YAY for 3 years of Spanish!!!
There are so many things I don't know. SO many words I can't remember. But after talking with someone for a few minutes, they always pick up on my level of knowledge and so far have all been kind enough to lower theirs to fit it. Normally, that just means speaking slowly and not using many "big words". As if they were talking to a 10-year-old. It's exciting. It's extremely nice that when things happen like almost getting lost on my walk home, I can just approach someone and say, "Hola, tengo una pregunta - ¿sabe donde está la calle xxxxxx?" What's even better is completely understanding their answer. Ordering food, finding places, asking directions, reading signs - I can do it all! Not perfectly, of course, but I understand them, and I can make myself understood for the most part. So it works!
But...now it's 2040, I have a splitting headache and have to be up before 0700 tomorrow to take an assessment test. Sleep is sounding like the best thing in the world! (Remember that line, all of you who were following this blog in the Korea days?)
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