En Route to Lima

This is a post coming at you from the plane, just posted after we had access to wifi. This morning was a whirlwind! Catherine, Erin, and I began texting each other around 0230 regarding what time we would each be reaching the airport. Erin and I met up at the kiosk and were able to check in without a problem. When Erin went to check her bag in though, she found out it was 67 pounds so she ended up having to pay a hefty fine of $100 to check it all the way through to Lima! We met up with Catherine right past security and made it to our gate with some time to run to the bathroom and grab some water. After landing, we texted the others we would be meeting in Miami to touch base regarding their arrival times. Corrine had been sitting at the gate since 0500 after flying out of San Diego. Anna Nicole was in flight and we thought all was well until Grace texted me saying her flight from Indiana was delayed and that she might not make her connecting flight with us. She was eventually able to make it onto our flight to Lima with us and she didn’t seem frazzled at all!

            When we were waiting for our time to board, we ended up making friends with a three year old Peruvian girl and her mother. They spoke Spanish predominately so it was a great way to gauge how much Spanish we truly knew. The little girl was very friendly and excited. After speaking a few words to her in Spanish, I found myself speaking Malayalam (the Indian dialect I speak) to her without even thinking about it. It eventually turned into a mixture of English, Malayalam, and Spanish but I was able to sort it out after about twenty minutes. It was good to realize that I would be able to pick up Spanish again after nearly four years of not being formally educated in it. Since we aren’t sure when we’ll be getting to the hostel, Erin and I debated grabbing more food before boarding when Catherine reminded us that we get lunch on the flight. I turned to her and Erin and exclaimed that I absolutely love plane food. They looked at me like I was crazy but I explained that when you’re hungry, anything and everything can taste good. After about an hour into our flight, we were served Chinese food. Erin agreed then with my statement about plane food being amazing. She was starving. On my way to the bathroom, I saw Catherine conversing with a Peruvian in classic Catherine style. I’ve been really impressed with everyone’s Spanish speaking abilities thus far! We’re a little rusty when it comes to accents but we’re definitely getting there. It still hasn’t hit me that we’re flying to South America, but hey, it’s got to happen sometime right?

            Throughout the day, I received calls and texts wishing me good luck and safety while in Peru and it was a great way to get through the day. It felt weird turning off the cellular data on my phone and be mostly disconnected from people for a while but I’m more than ready to fully immerse myself into the Peruvian culture. We’re exploring Lima tomorrow during the day and catching a flight to Piura later in the evening. All that we have to do in between now and then is land, get to our hostel, figure out dinner, and get a good nights rest. Oh, and find away to let our parents know we’ve landed and are safe, but we’ll figure it out as we go!