I'm Here!

(From May 29, 2007) I am here! My flight left Atlanta on Monday at around 5:40 p.m. and arrived in Lima, Peru at 11:15 p.m. local time (one hour behind). It was a long flight and I tried to sleep, but I never was able to. Arthur Ivey met me at the airport and we took a taxi to the hotel. (A quick note: if you want some excitement and thrill, you don’t have to go to Six Flags or any other amusement park, just take a Lima taxi…at night…) Once again, I didn’t really sleep. I was too excited. I think by the time I actually drifted off, Arthur was knocking on my door to tell me it was time to get up (5:30 a.m.). We ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi to the bus station. The bus departed for Huancayo at approximately 7:30 a.m. Seeing Lima in the daytime was an entirely different experience than at night. It was foggy and very gloomy looking. Arthur said that it stays that way until almost December and that the sun will rarely, if ever, come out during these months. (He says that Lima depresses him and I agree. If I were there more than a day, it would probably do the same to me.) After traveling away from Lima, the sun began to come out and the weather was much more pleasant. The landscape surprised me because it was like a desert. The only reason it has any life is because they irrigate the land. Also, as we were exiting Lima I noticed that many houses looked like they were in shambles on the top level. They looked incomplete and I could even see the support rods (I guess that’s what you would call them.) sticking out on the highest level. I asked Arthur why they were like that and he said primarily it is for tax purposes. The taxes are not as high for a building that is unfinished, so…they never finish their construction. (Pretty smart idea, huh?) Another reason is they build a little at a time as they get the money to do so. As we entered into the Andes Mountain range, I was amazed. The views were amazing. I am going to post some pictures, but I feel that they just don’t capture the beauty and awesome nature of the landscape. I spent almost the entire 7 hours on the bus soaking in all the sights. For the first time, I fell asleep for about 45 minutes (when we were coming into Huancayo). When I woke up, we were at the bus station (2:30 pm. or so). We then took a short taxi ride to Arthur’s house where I greeted Mary Alice, Mary Beth, and Joshua. I didn’t last very long though. I went to lie down for a little while, and when I woke up it was 6:30 p.m. and already dark outside. I am still tired and will probably need a couple of days to adapt to the new climate. Right now, I have a slight headache, which is usual because of the high altitude. Mary Alice asked me if I wanted to go to the school with her tomorrow (at 7:30 a.m.), but I think I will not be able to get out of bed in the morning. (Maybe I will on Thursday.) I am soooo happy to be here and already can tell that the Spanish is absorbing into my system. Well, I need to try to get some more rest so I guess that’s all for tonight. I will post this tomorrow or tonight, whenever I get an Internet connection.