Travelling was the first hurdle. Though A and I have always been close and communicate easily, traveling together seems to bring out the worst in us for some reason and long-haul flights with transfers wasn't something we were looking forward to. We managed to get a day to ourselves before traveling which gave us plenty of time to reconnect after a week of clashing schedules and to put into place our contingency plans for dealing with the inevitable tensions that would come up during the long journey ahead. Thankfully, we made it to Peru without incident: our flights were on time, our baggage was easy to re-check and we were able to locate our way around the large international airports with little difficulty.
As we entered arrivals, A's father came up to meet us and, I admit, I actually felt pretty nervous at that moment. Based on what I had been told about A's father, a conservative, traditional man, I had pictured...well, I'm not sure what I had pictured but it came as a pleasant surprise when he came right up to me and embraced me with a hearty sincerity. And so I came to know Peru. A slightly conservative country still, with a big heart. Everybody I was introduced to that day had a warm hug and kiss for me.
After breakfast, we started in on unpacking the suitcases in the room that was to be ours for the month. A explained that she used to share it with her younger sister and regaled me with stories from their mischievous teen years as we worked. It was a pleasant morning and after a while, some of the family came to keep us company. Her younger brother, who I had already met back when he was living in Spain, came in to tell us that he was getting married the following Saturday afternoon.
So the first week we were there was a flurry of organising for the wedding and A and I did very little exploring. There wasn't much need to stray far in the first few days anyway, with the market just around the corner and fresh cooked food available on almost every street corner. The food in Peru is a rich and satisfying cuisine with native dishes originating from the Incas as well as others influenced by Spain, Italy, China and Africa. A's mother is a great cook and continued to amaze us with traditional Peruvian dishes. She made papa a la huancaina several times during our visit, once she knew it was a particular favourite of mine. The day after we arrived, A's father went to visit his mother in the sierra for a week and on his return, proudly presented us with two fresh cuy (guinea pigs) which A's mother cooked and served to much fanfare (suffice it to say, it does not taste like chicken) There were some short excursions that week. We took in a couple of harbour boat tours and saw lima by night with a local tour bus company.
The wedding ceremony and reception were held in the restaurant next door to A's parents' house (which is space A's parents are renting out to the business) and lasted till after sunrise. A few days after the wedding, the new couple announced they were expecting. I got my period that evening, We had a low period at this point and this was probably a large influence on what happened next.
Whilst we were there, we had been looking at different areas of Lima with regards to moving to Peru in the future. Its a vibrant city and we found lots of positive points for each of the areas we considered; Miraflores, for example, has a large ex-pat population and would be a great place to set up a little English style cafe (quite easy to do with how informal things are there) although it´s also the ´tourist´ area of the city and so the most expensive. Barranco is probably our favourite area; the architecture and parks are beautiful. Not to mention that it´s a stone´s throw from the beach. A few days after the wedding, just before Christmas, A's father took us to view the land he's building a house on. It's right by the sea with beautiful views of the surrounding hills and an expressway just a few streets away. A and I enquired how much it was for a plot on the other side of the industrial park and well...we bought a plot.
Because everything is so informal there, we had to pay cash for the land, notary, etc and A's parents helped us with a cash loan. The plot we chose is in the middle of a street and almost the highest row on the side of a tall hill. We are in love with the location. Behind us, there's a road, a row more of houses and then it gives way to trees and the higher slopes. We can't wait to start building. The area is more advanced than where her father's plot is located - water is already available and we hope to have access to electricity within the first year - and the best part is we are also lucky enough to have A's father around to help, both with labour and contacts, as he is a builder by trade.
So this year, we'll be saving hard to pay A's parents back and to start building work when we move. To this end, A and I have been taking a serious look at our finances. We've both applied for jobs where we stand to increase our income and I'm investigating piece work in the area. It's all go this year and the effort will be worth it; not only does it give us something else to focus on but it also gives me a way out from the job that seems to generate it's own stress and back luck on a daily basis, which can't be good for TTC. This is part one of our Resolutions for 2014.
Part two is diet. Whilst ours aren't especially bad, there is still room for improvement. A and I have made separate specific resolutions in this area. Mine are to give up chocolate and reduce the number of times a week I skip meals. Both are fertility necessities that I've struggled to keep to before. I brushed up on Low Gi foods after the PCO diagnosis and stopped keeping guilty treats in my locker at work but due to the demands of shift work, I have found it difficult to stop and eat a regular meal whilst I am at work. The treats have started sneaking back into my diet. A normal evening shift for me usually involves biscuits snatched from a pack I keep on the desk as I fly past, in lieu of breaks. The salt intake alone is wreaking havoc on my attempts to maintain a decent weight. In the last couple of weeks though, I've implemented a do-not-disturb policy on my break times, managing to get in a good twenty minutes to eat before something pressing comes up. And whilst I haven't had a chocolate free week yet, due to the products already in our cupboards when we got home, the intake has been reduced to bare minimum and once it's finished (which will be soon) I will be going without *sigh*
And there it is. The Grand Venture 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment