Oh Crap, I Actually Did It

So I think I know the question that everyone has on their minds: what direction does the water flow while draining in the southern hemisphere. Don't worry, that was the first thing I checked once I got into my hotel room. Instead of leaving you all hanging I'll just drop the bomb. It's clockwise. That was very satisfying to find out.

Getting to Lima was surprisingly straightforward and hassle-free. My flight from San Francisco to Houston was on-time as was my flight was Houston to Lima. Legroom was not as ample as Southwest, but I made it work. On the Lima flight, the flight attendants repeated every English message in Spanish. That's when the reality of this situation really started to hit me - those messages were really, really fast. Crap.

Quick aside. I was not entirely clear on the process for getting a visa while in Peru. I contacted the Peruvian consulate in the US but received a very ambiguous answer leading me to believe I did not need one. Then I read an American travel website that said I just ask for one during immigration. Well, I went with the latter approach. I told the immigrations officer that I needed a visa. He asked for how long. I said "the max," and gave him a firm wink. He said "183 days," not returning my wink. I said "sure," and tried the wink again. He then writes 183 on the lower half of the immigration paper I filled out on the plane, tears it off, and hands me my official Peruvian visa. It's that easy (just don't forget sufficient winking).

Things got better when I met the driver from Grupo GEA. Pedro was friendly and happy to help me with my Spanish, and he talked a lot slower than the flight attendants. There were several moments when he found something hysterical and I just sorta smiled, but overall I think I'll be able to communicate ok. Fending for myself is another matter. Pedro decided to take the scenic route to the Lima Sheraton (thank you, consulting travel) and we saw some...colorful...neighborhoods. I don't think I will be frequenting these areas much while I'm here, but maybe it's just driving around at 11pm at night that makes it seem unsafe. The Sheraton, on the other hand, feels just like an American hotel. Well, minus the offer for a souvenir ceremonial Inca knife upon check-in. Actually, no, this feels exactly like an American hotel. I declined the knife offer but gladly accepted the breakfast coupon. That's about it for my first day in Lima. Tomorrow I am meeting a person from Grupo GEA to go look for apartments. I don't know how things work down here, but I am really hoping for a same day move in.

Thanks for reading!