Part 8.b: Finding a New Path

I left San Andrés still unsure of what direction I was heading with my life. I knew I hadn't figured it out yet but I was having more moments of self confidence and faith that I would. Every time Chelsea and I had spoken during the previous month she was distraught and I was glad that I was going to be able to be there with her for support. Being with her always gave me a break from going too deep into my own emotions for too long because after all

I am the Mama!

After Cartagena and San Andrés, Lima Peru was COLD for me! I stayed bundled in my sweats from about 5 pm until about 11 am until we left Lima about a week after I arrived in Peru. The food in Lima was great. The food in all of Peru was great. Everything I ate, I loved! I was super happy to see Chelsea smile and hear her laugh. Except for the cold, Peru started out feeling pretty good for me.

And then the first major event happened. We went to a bustling marketplace. It was far too crowded for our liking so we got ourselves to a quieter street just outside of the crowd and called an Uber. While waiting we looked at our phones like typical Americans and before we knew it our phones were gone, in the hands of fast running men. We had no chance, though I ran screaming behind them! A young woman closed and locked a gate in front of me while looking me dead in the eyes from the other side. Chelsea begged everyone to help us in Spanish but they all just looked away. I never felt afraid of the men who took our phones. After all they didn't hurt us. I did feel extremely vulnerable without a map of the world and the ability to call an Uber! I didn't even know where our Airbnb was without a pin. Luckily, Chelsea knew where to tell a taxi driver to go. I still didn't even have the confidence to say much to a Spanish speaking taxi driver! I had to swallow my pride with my husband because luckily our phones were insured and he was the one who could replace them. I was really grateful that he didn't make me feel worse about it than I already did. The next day we bought cheap phones so that we would have maps, Uber and communication until our replacements came.

We left Lima on a bus to Ica. Riding a bus along the desert coast was interesting and our quiet gated community arbnb (the first ever) with free running dogs who always seemed to be on a mission and didn't have time to chat was nice but the highlight of that week was Huacachina! Huacachina is a tiny oasis in a huge sand desert. And I mean tiny. The little lake is surrounded by a few restaurants and many tour guides who are prepared to take you out for a

unique experience! We signed up with one and walked around for a while until departure time. Our dune buggy seated 9 and our driver made the ride exciting! Of course when he asked who wanted to sit up front Chelsea and I volunteered immediately. We laughed a lot during our little thrill ride! Then we stopped at the top of a hill and readied ourselves to "surf" down. Some of

us are more comfortable surfing on our bellies-yeah that was me with no regrets! It was so much fun and the best part is once we were down the hill we got in the dune buggy and went to the next one! After several runs we hung out for the sunset before we loaded back in for our return ride. I spent much of my childhood in the desert of Tucson, Arizona but I had never been in a full on sand desert before. The vast emptiness is beautiful in its stillness. If inspiration is going to fill you, this seemed like the perfect place for it!

Maybe that had something to do with the idea I got in Nasca, our next stop down the coast. Nasca was dusty and full of road work but we could walk to some pretty cool ancient ruins called Los Paredones. More sand, more openness, more time to think.

In my searching for how I could begin to support myself I found out that without a degree, there are places in some countries that would hire a native English speaker to teach English. I had homeschooled my kids, taught preschool and Sunday School, taught painting to adults and so far this was the most comfortable I was with an idea to move forward. The best path would be to obtain a TEFL certification and there were many online courses. I paid, registered and began taking an at your own pace course that I was hopeful I could complete in 6 weeks. It had been many years since I was a student and I never liked studying but I dove right in and reviewed English grammar which I completely take for granted and learned how to convey my language to people who speak a different one.

It is time for us to depart from Peru now but I leave you with 2 poor quality videos of Huacachina because it brought me so much joy but was filmed on the burner phone. It reminds me that some pretty bad things have happened in my life but there is still joy all around me!