better late than never?

So it's probably a little over eight months coming, but I finally got around to starting a blog! Hoorah! Is it weird that I did it at 4 in the A.M. about a week before I'm LEAVING Peru? Oh well, hopefully there will be more adventures coming.

Yes, it's true. I'm leaving Peru in T - 5 days and like most things in my life, I don't think that I've fully wrapped my head around it. For the amount of time it took me and Peru to become friends, it's weird to think that I'm going to miss it. We had quite a lot of disagreements: homelessness, sketchy landlord, no water, no electricity, trying not to get typhoid while living with Typhoid Autumn, not being able to eat the CHEESE (obviously, my favorite food), the stalker, constantly being harassed, etc. etc. Peru and I, we had our differences. But now, as I'm getting ready to leave, I have to admit, I think I might miss it. Just a tad.

We had our moments - there was Mancora, Christmas in the plaza, Machu Picchu, the sunshine in Urubamba, the hilarious British/Peruvian "chef," crazy times at Mama Africa, the lunch time siestas, the delicious mid morning snacks, good old Lake Titicaca, trips to the Amazon, attempting to cross the Bolivian border, the Brazilian invasion in January, meeting Typhoid Autumn, the fresh mango...mmm....mango. All good things.

And as much as I hated my apartment, my sketchy landlord, my stupid shower that NEVER worked, the endless line of men who were constantly peeing outside my window, the fact that the roof wasn't completely closed off causing a draft every night...as much as I hated Joaquin, the stupid dog that NEVER stopped yapping next door...I still think of that apartment as home.

I'm not prepared at all to go. My stuff is EVERYWHERE. God only knows what I'm going to do with all the apartment stuff I now own in Peru - an amazing dinette set for 6, a fantastic nonstick frying pan (harder to find than one might think), sheets, candle sticks, a dart gun. Wait, no, the dart gun is definitely coming back with me. Mary and I have some trixies to shoot.

Anyhoozle, there's that. My mission this week is trying to fit my entire life back into 2 suitcases and bidding Peru a fond farewell. Oh, and if I have time, there's a Grupo Cinco concert on Thursday. That's my other mission. Very importante stuff. Wish me luck!

Till next time...