While traveling to a different country, there is a lot of wait time; layovers, long plane rides, Customs processing, etcetera. However once all of the waiting is over, reality sinks in quickly. My first reality check in Peru happened when I did not have anyone waiting to pick me up at the airport. All 16 members of our little UNK family emerged from the Customs area, anxiously anticipating meeting our families for the first time, and no one was waiting there for me. Panic struck as I realized that I was in a foreign country, with very limited language skills, and no apparent ride home. Luckily Anita Lorentzen, the UNK professor traveling with our group, was being taken to a host home not far from my own, and her driver was more than happy to give me a ride as well. That fiasco was more than enough adventure for my first weekend in Peru!
The morning after arriving in Peru, I was woken up by my host mom to come enjoy a breakfast of freshly blended papaya juice, freshly baked bread, and bagged milk. It was much different than my typical breakfast of coffee and cereal at home, but throughout these first two weeks I have become fond of the time I spend with my family during breakfast, and I look forward to trying each different combination of fruit juices that my host mom makes in the mornings.
At first, it was very difficult for me to adjust to the daily life here, and I understand that I am still adjusting even as I write this blog. Latin American life is much more relaxed than the life I am used to leading in the States. Sometimes I have more free time than I know what to do with. However the longer I am here, the more am appreciating this life style. There is not a constant need to rush from one activity to the next because we will simply get there when we get there. We will have enough hours in a day to do what we need to do, or we will continue working the next day. I have already endured a lot of culture shock on this trip, but that only makes me even more excited to immerse myself deeper into the culture. Pura vida; life is good in Peru.
The morning after arriving in Peru, I was woken up by my host mom to come enjoy a breakfast of freshly blended papaya juice, freshly baked bread, and bagged milk. It was much different than my typical breakfast of coffee and cereal at home, but throughout these first two weeks I have become fond of the time I spend with my family during breakfast, and I look forward to trying each different combination of fruit juices that my host mom makes in the mornings.
At first, it was very difficult for me to adjust to the daily life here, and I understand that I am still adjusting even as I write this blog. Latin American life is much more relaxed than the life I am used to leading in the States. Sometimes I have more free time than I know what to do with. However the longer I am here, the more am appreciating this life style. There is not a constant need to rush from one activity to the next because we will simply get there when we get there. We will have enough hours in a day to do what we need to do, or we will continue working the next day. I have already endured a lot of culture shock on this trip, but that only makes me even more excited to immerse myself deeper into the culture. Pura vida; life is good in Peru.