As some of you know, I have been selected for a three-week English teaching contract working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lima, Peru. This assignment comes from a branch of the English Language Programs office that sent me to Georgia lo these many 12 years ago. These “specialist” assignments are pretty demanding and pretty cushy in equal measure, and today I get to share a little of the “cush.” But, as is often the case, first we climb onto a plane…

My first flight left Berlin at 6:00 am, so there I was with 2000 of my new best friends checking in at 4:00 am yesterday morning. (I had no idea that beer bars could be open and frequented at that hour, but they are at BER.) I just hopped on board and zzzzzed my way to Amsterdam, where it’s always a challenge to navigate one’s way through the always under construction Schiphol (“Shi-pil”) Airport. Fortunately, amusing venues like this chain of tulip stores (!!) kept things interesting as I struggled to find my way to my next gate:

I don’t get to make my travel arrangements in these government-sponsored programs and normally one has to fly on only US flag carriers and only in economy class. But, because I’m going from Berlin to Lima, I got to fly KLM (Delta codeshare) AND I begged for and was granted an *upgradeable* ticket. Since the main leg of the journey was just over 12 hours and I’m no longer the flexible indestructible traveler I used to be, I blew the big bucks and bought myself a little piece of heaven, aka a seat in KLM World Business Class.

OMG. What made Biz Class so amazing was literally that seat. The damn thing reclined to completely flat and was well and comfortably padded with an ottoman. The food was good, not great (fresh orange juice, though, yum), the screen worked perfectly, and the flight attendants were as charming and personable as humanly possible. A very pleasant experience all around. Here’s the appetizer before the main course, salmon with a bit too much hollandaise, and you’ll see a bit of my tan-shod food on the ottoman which kept my legs blissfully elevated throughout the flight:

Like the travel arrangements, the government chooses the amount of time I can be in the country of assignment and makes no allowances for any additional travel. So, even though Cuzco and Manchu Picchu have been on my bucket list for decades, I won’t have a chance to see them this time. I’m consoling myself with at least these charming fellows as my touch of the Andes:

Once on the ground in Lima, the hotel had arranged a pickup for me, and Señor Willie, complete with my first bottled water, took me to my hotel. Again, I had little choice in the matter of the hotel, since the Embassy had to balance safety and transport concerns against my desire to be in some cool and groovy local neighborhood. So here’s a shot of my crib for the next three weeks or so:

Just your garden-variety shiny spiffy expat heaven. Happily for me, the room is cozy, the bed amazing, and the staff very accommodating. Just feels a little…odd.

This morning I enjoyed the lavish breakfast buffet, with everything one’s little heart could desire. I figured “When in Lima,” so I dug into a delicious chicken tamale and fried sweet potato plate, complete with papayas and a chocolate croissant chaser…

You’ll notice I haven’t showed you much of Lima. That’s because I haven’t SEEN much of Lima, aside from Señor Willie’s ride (where he cruised me along the Pacific coast, very nice indeed). So far, most of what I’ve seen is from my window, where the southern view looks like this (please excuse the ghostly image of me in the background, like something out of Wim Wenders movie):

So, as there’s more (hopefully there will be), I’ll share more. Aside from that, tomorrow at 7:00 am I start a training class with 25 (I think) members of the MFA who want to improve their English. How that all takes shape remains to be seen – but I’m looking very much forward to the challenge and I remain extraordinarily grateful for this amazing opportunity. As always, stay tuned!