¡Hola a todos! I am officially in Peru!! Sorry that I have been a bit MIA lately but this is the first time I have unzipped my laptop since arriving. I figured I would give a bit of a rundown of the first day for this post and then write about my first weekend for another post.

Basically, I woke up at 4:30 Friday morning, got dressed, did my final packing of chargers, books, Fitbits, and phones, downed a Dunkin Donuts iced mocha with almond milk and made it to the airport. I was there 3 hours before my flight(recommended) however, passed through baggage checking and security in about 20 minutes so I had ample time to fill my water bottle, buy some plane snacks and magazines, and use the bathroom.

Upon boarding the flight, I made my way to my window seat (that didn’t have a window) and waited patiently for the girl in front of me to open hers (she didn’t). I spent the 5-hour flight to Panama with on and off naps, watching friends, reading one page of my book and playing Sudoku on my phone, you know… the typical traveling things.

Upon arriving in Panama, I had to walk the entire length of the airport to find my connecting terminal (which is fine since I’ll be doing the same on my flight back with an8-hourr layover). The Panama airport was nothing like I had expected. It was oozing in glitz and glam. The walkways adorned with Pandora, Rolex, and Louis Vuitton shops and the shoppers matching the ritzy ways of the entire airport.

I took a seat at my terminal, while I awaited the arrival of Marissa, the girl I had spoken to on Facebook. I had only ever seen her in a full face of makeup (profile photos) so there was a girl who resembled her in the airport but I didn’t approach her just in case I would have made a fool of myself.

My window seat on this flight did have a window (which made me a very happy gal) so I was able to see Panama and Peru in all of their glory during my flight. We finally arrived in Peru at about 730pm, to which we made it through a very simple cutstoms process and made our way to baggage claim. After getting all of our bags, seeing quite a few dogs, and exchanging $20 we found our driver and we headed to San Miguel.

Our driver was a very sweet man who spoke little to no Engliah and really likes Salsa music. Speaking decent Spanish myself, I was able to communicate with him pretty seamlessly.

I immediately fell in love with Peru. The cool breeze (which I can now say is not always there), the Palm trees, the colorful houses, and so much more made me really feel like Peru was definitely the place for me. The insane driving, however, I can live without.

Marissa and I arrived at our volunteer house, unloaded our baggage, and were immediately welcomed by Martina, an Italian girl who had already been volunteering in Peru for 3 months, and has three more months to go. She knows the house, rules, bus stops, everything really, inside and out and she was very informative and helpful for any qualm we may have. She gave us a tour of the house, gave us a rundown of all of the rules, and showed us to our rooms. After somewhat settling in..AKA shoving all of my belongings into the small closet and drawer i was alotted, I made my way back downstairs to get acquainted with the space, girls, and wait up to meet 2 more new people.

I tried to stay up with the other girls, but all of us newbies were so exhausted, that I went right up to bed. My bed, doesn’t have a ladder so I basically have to do some aerobics to get up there. It’s not too bad, especially since I am one of the tallest people here, I have definitely gotten used to it. the first 2 days were actually hell though, especially trying to get down.

Once I finally made my way into my bed, I got really nervous. The girls who had already been here were best friends. They talk about everything and they do it with such ease. I sort of felt as if I were intruding on their friendships. I really thought I was making a huge mistake coming to Peru. Trying to put those negative thoughts behind me, I shut off my phone, pulled up my covers, and went right to sleep.

Alicia

Also, If you want to follow my journey more frequently, follow my Instagram: @aliciaheninger