Greetings from Peru!

Hello Friends!

I finally have access to the internet (at school) and I wanted to update you on all the happenings. Thanks for all of your emails thus far inquiring about how I've been doing. I'm still working on getting internet connection at my apartment, but for now this will have to do.

Well, where to start? I arrived in the Lima airport at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday January 22, and was met by the principal of the school and his wife. As I left baggage claim and entered into the huge mass of people waiting for passengers, I scanned the crowd for any sign I would recognize. And finally, there it was, big and yellow and beautiful: a sign with my name. Thank God! We packed up the car (they were impressed that I traveled with such little baggage; I on the other hand thought I had packed up a small store to bring with me) and drove to my apartment. All I can remember is falling into bed at 2:55 a.m. thinking, I can't believe I'm in Lima, Peru. I can't believe I'm in Lima, Peru. I can't beli.....zzzzzzzzzz.

I've been here for eleven days and I'm still in the whirlwind. My days have been filled with meeting other teachers, navigating maps, setting up the apartment, figuring out the banking system, taxi rides to ACE Hardware and what is the equivalent of Bed, Bath & Beyond, figuring out how to make phone calls home, learning what to eat here, and walking, walking, walking. Lima is a very cosmopolitan city, and it's summertime. Fashion abounds next to poor street urchins. Miraflores, where I live, is a more upscale district of Lima and the contrasts are astounding. There is so much to do and see and explore. The Pacific Ocean is just a few blocks away; the desert hills are in the distance. Not everything is unfamiliar though. Just the other day I saw a Williams College sticker, on the back windshield of a car. (Go Ephs!)

The city is noisy (at least where I live) so I've taken to sometimes wearing earplugs in the apartment, which helps. I was advised to not drink the water here, so I bought a filter. And it's very, very humid. All of these descriptions seem very disparate, but it mirrors how my life is at the moment. There is so much stimuli, so much to take in that everything seems fragmented. Not only am I learning Spanish, but I am re-learning the language of my life in this new place, and it's coming forth in fits and starts.

And that's just fine with me. This is what I had prayed for: to live and work overseas again. And I'm very excited. Adjustment is never easy, and the challenge to uproot one's existence and set up one's life on foreign soil is especially challenging. But I welcome it because it makes me realize how resilient one can be in such circumstances. It is a sharpening tool. I know that God will even use the tears and the frustrations, as those will inevitably come. Of course there are other ways to be sharpened, but living in new environments is the language that speaks most deeply to me; I understand the rhythms and love the flavors.

Take driving here, for example. All road signs and white lines are merely suggestions. Red lights have more authority, thank goodness. I heard the other day that about 80,000 people are injured or die each year from auto accidents. In this city of 8,200,000, driving here is an absolutely crazy endeavor. And Limenos will admit it. Or, maybe they would say that they just have a lot of guts. I thought that if you could drive in NYC, you could drive anywhere; no, if you can drive in Lima you deserve a medal of honor...and good auto insurance!

As for rhythms, the concept of time has been rearranged for me. Since I've traveled before, this is not entirely new, but always takes some getting used to. For instance, I've been waiting for the internet to be hooked up in my apartment and have gone through five customer service agents in the past eight days over the phone all promising me when they'll come. Oh well, someday, I think...And that's the attitude you must take or else you will drive yourself nuts. Yet life happens. It flows, somehow, in all different directions with purpose and passion and meaning. Makes you wonder what all the rush is about in the states. It all does eventually get done. I find that this rhythm agrees with me more, as I am no multi-tasker!

Until I get internet at home, I won't be on a daily (or close to daily) blogging schedule. But oh well, someday....

Peace...