Tuesday, June 21, 2011
My oh my, so much stuff has happened since I boarded the plane to Peru.
First of all, as soon as I sat down on the seat my left arm broke out in a nasty rash.
Who knows why, but it hasn´t gone away since Friday.
Then we were delayed for about an hour, no big deal for me, but the baby was getting a bit impatient.
Things got better though, the air hostesses found a seat for Luka so I wouldn´t have to carry him on my lap. That was very nice of them.
The flight was calm, a little turbulence happened but nothing major.
Eventually we got to Peru, everything seemed fine until after we collected our baggage. We had to pass through customs because it is customary I think. They opened each of my three pieces of luggage and then took my passport. They informed me that I needed to pay $70 as a fine for brining used clothing as gifts.
They ended up lowering it to $60 which I told them I wouldn´t pay. I really wanted to make a big deal about it and refuse to pay, but even though it is my country, I do not know the laws very well so it wouldn´t have been productive for me to do it.
I ended up telling them that I only had $40 to spare and they accepted.
Seems to me that Peruvian customs only wanted to get some money from me no matter how small. I feel infuriated by this but whatever, I will deal with this later.
Anyway, I was about the last person to finally get out of the area, and as soon as I saw my family they squealed. My mom came and swept Luka away. My sisters came towards me first. Then my brother-in-law and his friend greeted us. I was so frazzled by then, I just wanted to rest. We sat down and started to chat. Afterwards we agreed to come back to my house to sort out the luggage since they had mixed everything up and I didn´t have the energy to do it at the airport.
We got home, chatted some more, they took their luggage and I was finally alone with my mother.
I´m not sure what´s going on but apparently I cannot stay with here for now.
She left me at my grandmother´s house but still won´t tell me why. My sisters hinted that their dad doesn´t want me to stay over there. That´s fine by me, but I wish my mom had the balls to tell me this before I arrived so that I could make alternate arrangements.
Now we are both sleeping in the same room as my aunt. I mean I love my aunt, but I want privacy. I need my own space and most importantly, internet!!
There is no wireless internet connection at home and I am forced to come to a public internet cafe type of thing. I hate this, I don´t like people looking over my shoulder while I check facebook or while I am blogging. They look at me strange because I am typing in English. Anyway, I am trying to be calm for the sake of my mother and my sisters.
Thankfully Luka is having a great time. He has adjustes well and loves everyone. He spends most of his time with my mother and my youngest sister. I couldn´t be happier about that. The food is delicious too, things taste different.
Ok then, I think that´s about it for my Peru report. Hopefully I will have time to update you guys with more info and have pictures to upload.
I miss NY so much, but I am glad we made this trip. It was the best decision we made even though we hit a few snags.
First of all, as soon as I sat down on the seat my left arm broke out in a nasty rash.
Who knows why, but it hasn´t gone away since Friday.
Then we were delayed for about an hour, no big deal for me, but the baby was getting a bit impatient.
Things got better though, the air hostesses found a seat for Luka so I wouldn´t have to carry him on my lap. That was very nice of them.
The flight was calm, a little turbulence happened but nothing major.
Eventually we got to Peru, everything seemed fine until after we collected our baggage. We had to pass through customs because it is customary I think. They opened each of my three pieces of luggage and then took my passport. They informed me that I needed to pay $70 as a fine for brining used clothing as gifts.
They ended up lowering it to $60 which I told them I wouldn´t pay. I really wanted to make a big deal about it and refuse to pay, but even though it is my country, I do not know the laws very well so it wouldn´t have been productive for me to do it.
I ended up telling them that I only had $40 to spare and they accepted.
Seems to me that Peruvian customs only wanted to get some money from me no matter how small. I feel infuriated by this but whatever, I will deal with this later.
Anyway, I was about the last person to finally get out of the area, and as soon as I saw my family they squealed. My mom came and swept Luka away. My sisters came towards me first. Then my brother-in-law and his friend greeted us. I was so frazzled by then, I just wanted to rest. We sat down and started to chat. Afterwards we agreed to come back to my house to sort out the luggage since they had mixed everything up and I didn´t have the energy to do it at the airport.
We got home, chatted some more, they took their luggage and I was finally alone with my mother.
I´m not sure what´s going on but apparently I cannot stay with here for now.
She left me at my grandmother´s house but still won´t tell me why. My sisters hinted that their dad doesn´t want me to stay over there. That´s fine by me, but I wish my mom had the balls to tell me this before I arrived so that I could make alternate arrangements.
Now we are both sleeping in the same room as my aunt. I mean I love my aunt, but I want privacy. I need my own space and most importantly, internet!!
There is no wireless internet connection at home and I am forced to come to a public internet cafe type of thing. I hate this, I don´t like people looking over my shoulder while I check facebook or while I am blogging. They look at me strange because I am typing in English. Anyway, I am trying to be calm for the sake of my mother and my sisters.
Thankfully Luka is having a great time. He has adjustes well and loves everyone. He spends most of his time with my mother and my youngest sister. I couldn´t be happier about that. The food is delicious too, things taste different.
Ok then, I think that´s about it for my Peru report. Hopefully I will have time to update you guys with more info and have pictures to upload.
I miss NY so much, but I am glad we made this trip. It was the best decision we made even though we hit a few snags.
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2 comments:
Yeah my family and I, get that a lot in Ecuadorian customs, I think most tourists do. Corruption is a major problem in the Andean nations, and almost every official works on a bribe or extortion basis, usually they call it "algo para las colitas." Usually we just let them confiscate whatever old crap they are attempting to charge us for. But the grind of the trip is worth it, just to reconnect with the family and those old roots; which region of Peru are you visiting?
I am sorry your had to go through all that being that you were born in Peru. That is some bs! i need to find out about that myself because i would probably make a huge deal and be sent to jail for fighting my rights. Anyways i am glad that nothing bad is happening. I also try to have plan b and c for almost everything to be comfortable because if i am not then i don't travel. Keep having a good time. I might go to Peru my parents said one day while drinking alcohol lol they will buy my plane ticket.
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