April 10th: Day One to Lima

The journey begins! After an early morning rendezvous at the church, the team departed for Pearson airport at about 5 a.m. on April 10th. All in all, things really came together well and we managed to keep our checked baggage to 50 lbs. each with only two bags being overweight. We took so much with us, thanks to the generous donations of many, many people. I discovered that vitamins weigh a tonne!

The flight from Toronto took us to Miami where we had a 5 hour stop over. Time was spent playing cards by some, chatting and snacking. For me, time was spent finishing off my preparations for teaching in Yurimaguas and also studying my spanish! My trusty spanish phrase book and dictionary became a close companion...I was never without it on this trip and it became somewhat of a joke to everyone! It wasn't uncommon to see me as I do in the photo below.

Study, study, study!

Me and my twin, Steve...same pants, same packs!

Passing time

Arriving in Lima felt wonderful in the sense that we were there and all of our many bags made it! I felt very, very tired, but also grateful for safe travel. A few memories and discoveries from the day:

• One benefit of humidity: the wrinkles in your clothes disappear really fast!!
• I ended up sitting beside a couple on the plane from Toronto to Miami who actually know the missionary that we were going to work with. Small, small world!
• our first Peruvian taxi driver helping me out with my spanish.
• the strong smell of diesel fuel in Lima...most cars run on diesel. Yuck.
• seeing the landscape of Lima shadowed from the plane at night.
• first Peruvian lesson: you don't flush your toilet paper down the toilet! Apparently, the sewer systems just can't handle it. So, you pop it in the little waste basket beside the toilet.
• humid, humid, humid (little did I realize this humidity would feel like a relief after living in the jungle humidity)
• beginning the routine of writing down new spanish words I learned in my journal every night.
  

The hotel we stayed at, Hotel Melodia, was very nice...small rooms with one hard bed! but by the time we got there late at night, I was just grateful for any type of a bed. The next morning we had scrambled eggs for breakfast and yummy bread. This was the beginning of a LOT of eggs on the trip! Eggs, chicken and rice...the theme foods of Peru!