A big “HOLA” from Peru.
Yes, we made it!! Our two year goal has come to fruition.
It feels good to finally get a chance to write. It’s 8 weeks today since we left Australia but it feels like at least 6 months.
Sydney Australia Airport farewell from family
Alex’s mama
Lloyd’s mum
Besides saying farewell to family and close friends, we actually had an easy exit out of Sydney Airport. Our two fears were:
1) managing with our 4 x 23kg bags, plus carry ons each; and
2) Paying for our 4 excess bags (allowed 2 x 23kg each). We purchased tickets that used two airlines, which unknowingly to us, makes excess luggage more expensive.
Thankfully family helped us transport the luggage to and through the airport so no problems there.
4 bags each
Next to pay for the excess luggage. We headed to the Sales counter and were told to first check-in and come back. We asked how much it should be for the four extra bags and were told $800.00. That was great news as we were expecting to pay $1,200.00!! On checking in our luggage, the ticket that was issued, listed the 8 pieces but it didn't show a price. The Qantas lady assisting us looked puzzled and surprised but said: "Well, just go with it!" In other words, you haven’t been charged so you don’t have to pay anything. What a blessing!!
20 or so hours later and we are on the ground in Lima Perú
Much appreciated hospitality at Ken and Christine’s home
... and Hillary’s home,
... and at our Peru Bethel home
On arriving in Lima we spent a week running around with our lawyer (Ysabel, also a sister) to Perú Interpol, a Public Notary and to Perú Migrations. We engaged Ysabel to help us with our application for residency. She was well worth the money spent. With the language and finding our way around a big city, it would have been extremely difficult without her.
After a week of being interviewed, fingerprinted and completing documents, we flew to Cusco, our new home. Ysabel said not to expect to hear anything from the Migrations office for 4 or 5 months. Interesting, Immigration is experiencing a greatly increased work load due to the many desperate Venezuelan’s fleeing their country. The offices can’t handle the influx of people so they have extended their “offices” to include a processing area in an underground car park!
Miraflores Migrations office, literally a chilly underground car park
What a huge surprise when Lloyd got his residency approval after only 2 1/2 weeks! Ysabel had not experienced this before. In fact, she said that she has many applications from earlier months that she is still waiting on. What a blessing from Jehovah!
Thank you Ysabel
The approval meant a trip back to Lima to pick up Lloyd’s Carne de Extranjeria (Card of the Foreigner). It means Lloyd can reside in Peru indefinitely. On this same trip we started my application as a dependent of Lloyd’s. Ysabel said that this should take between 1 - 2 months. Once again, what a great surprise when one week later We heard that my application for residency was approved!! Another blessing!
Every finger and thumb inked at Interpol. . . Icky!
Flying to our new home high in the Andean mountains. Interestingly the first half of the flight is at a lower altitude than the destination. Cusco is 3,400 m or 11,150 feet altitude.
Just arrived, our dear friends Sandi and Duane who have helped us so much throughout the process
Our first 2 or 3 weeks in Cusco were busy getting things for our empty unit. In Peru, unfurnished really means unfurnished. No oven, fridge, washing machine, cupboards, drawers, curtains, mirrors etc. We were often out on foot and taxi for 9-12 hours per day searching the local shops, smugglers markets (infamous for their pickpockets) and western style supermarkets. We tried to buy as much locally, made furniture as possible and we are happy with the results.
Before
... and after
Our street
As was the case in July 2017, I had no reaction to the altitude (3,400 meters above sea level) and Lloyd has coped much better with it this time. He is still adjusting but feeling better every week. Altitude also affects cooking and I have had to make adjustments with ingredients, proportions, temperature and timing. The air pressure is lower, so foods take longer to cook. Water boils at a lower temperature, so foods prepared with water (such as pastas and soups) take longer. Altitude especially effects baking. Cakes and biscuits rise more easily, and lose moisture faster.
Canned vegetables are practically non-existent here. I particularly wanted a variety of beans. So I purchased dried beans instead. I didn’t realise how hard it is to hydrate them at high altitude. Even after soaking the Red Kidney beans for over 12 hours and cooking the Minestrone for 5 hours the beans didn’t cook properly and I got food poisoning. In my research, I discovered that kidney beans release a toxin, that can be fatal, if not cooked properly. No wonder I felt so sick. Surprisingly Lloyd was not affected so badly. I have tried to cook with them again, but still could not get them soft enough to risk eating. We will have to buy a pressure cooker.
A couple of weeks back was our first offical meeting with our Congregation Mirador. The Peru Service Department left it up to us to decided between two Congregations. So we spent a few weeks in both. Although they have similar needs, there were a number of factors that led to our decision. Primarily it came down to the fact that that there are a few native English speakers in Mirador that will make it easier as we learn the language, and particularly for Lloyd as an elder.
Our new congregation
Our new territory. Up and up and up!
We are looking forward to having an established routine. As they say here ‘poco a poco,’ ‘little by little’ we will get there. We are aiming for the start of the new service year. We are so happy that we got ahead with our Pioneer time so that we need to get 75 hours for the two remaining months. That means we can concentrate on establishing a work schedule in July and in August we are planning a vacation. Our first one in years. Yes, we came to Peru last July and had a few days ‘off’ but overall that was an investigation trip. We were on high alert. Could we live here? Could we live there? Is moving possible? What visa should we get? So not relaxing in the holiday sense. We didn’t even go to Machu Picchu!! Ha, ha.
Back to the work situation. We both stopped our Aussie jobs over 2 months ago. Lloyd has some online drafting work with a friends from Australia (all former Bethelites) and he is now busy catching up with deadlines. After buying a fridge, washing machine, oven, lounge etc, etc, it’s great he has work already. Soon I will look into teaching English online.
We are so thankful to Jehovah for caring for all our needs.
Our new life in a new land has begun
Take care
Alexnlloyd
