HERE WE GO…GULP…

At 54 years old, I received a scholarship to the Academia Latinamericana in Cusco, Peru.  Can you believe it?  At my age…  Anyway, I must thank Vivian Harvey for it was HER scholarship that was given to me that will allow me this wonderful opportunity!

So I will spend 2 weeks with a family in Cusco, and study Andean Culture and Hispanic Literature in the Academia.  I am so excited.  The total immersion will be the best part and I hope my Spanish will improve 10-fold!

Anyway, I will be leaving on 4th of July to begin my journey, and I’m inviting you, my dear friends, to come along for the ride.  I figured a blog is easiest, but I don’t know what I’m doing, so it may not be easy at all…but I’m giving it the old college try!

OK, it’s getting close to departure time…tomorrow is the day.  I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s a lot harder to leave than I thought it would be.

First, there’s leaving the family.  But, as I told my son when he left for boot camp with the Marines, “the first step is the hardest”, so to make him proud, I will take that first step.  Oohrah!

Second, my dog.  Alice is a new addition to our home, we’ve only had her a few months.  We got her a few weeks after our dear “Lucy” left us.  Alice has nose cancer.  It’s quite rare in small dogs, and in young dogs it’s almost unheard of, but our poor girl has it, and it’s not good.  I worry that she won’t be here when I get home, and that makes it hard to leave.  I just try to be happy that we had the time we have had with her.

Finally, WHAT TO PACK…oh my GAWD, you would think that I wouldn’t have such issues with the packing…I’ve traveled a lot in my life and I always have trouble taking the right amount of clothes, the right clothes, the right shoes, etc., etc., etc.  This is no exception.  The weather in Peru will be opposite of here in NY.  So, we are in summer that means they are in winter.  However, their winter is 30-60 degrees farenheit.  That’s not terrible…but those clothes are heavy.  Turtle necks, jacket, jeans, etc.  If I could just take shorts and t-shirts, I’d stay beneath the 45 lb. threshold for the airlines (who am I kidding…it’s always a chore to stay beneath that weight allowance even when we go to Mexico!!!).  So, I have packed and repacked, and I still can’t get it right.  Pray for me!

I had a last minute change in families.  I was all set to stay with Family #1, mom, dad, 2 live-in teenage children, and one son who lives away with his 4-year-old daughter.  I bought little gifts and chachkeys for everyone (That’s spelled phonetically because I have no clue how to spell that really!)).  Now, I find out Friday night that I am going to be living with a family with the mom, dad, 2 daughters in their mid-to-late-20’s and a maid.  Now, that’s not so terrible, except the Chevy t-shirts I bought for the boys in the other family probably won’t spark so much enthusiasm with the young ladies in the new family.  Sheesh.

And, to top it all off, I cannot decide on what shoes to take.  I don’t have room in my suitcase for the ones I want (too heavy) so I have to reassess the situation…no hope here!  Again I say, PRAY FOR ME!!!

SO friends, read on if you so choose.  If not, no worries!  And, please be sure to post something in return so I can keep in touch with you.  I think this will be an adventure of a lifetime.  How lucky am I

So, the day and time will come soon enough.  I’ll be in Peru in no time.  Watch for my updates!  Let me know how this is working, too!  I’m new to the “blog” thing!

Jojo