culture shock big time! so im in lima. tflights went okay... thought id lost my luggage but apparently all the connecting flight bags were in a whole other box- they came off like half hour after everyone elses!! nightmare. but luckily id made a friend on the flight whod connected from kelowna- coincidentally close tô where leris farm used to be! weather in toronto was nice, stuck in the airport for 4 hrs aint fun tho. altho i probs spent about an hr figuing out how to make a phone call..... some things dont change! and about half an hr being grilled by someone in customs. how rude. like i want to move to stoopid toronto!! she wanted to see all my tickets and know what i was doing afterwards. so i very politely informed her of my masters course in kings college london in intelligence- suggesting by my tone there might be more important things awaiting me than maple syrup... lucky to have got into lima- halfway down the captain announces we might hve to be diverted to some random place because of the fog-smog. but promptly he decides he wants breakfast i guess cos he just lands regardless... cue whoops and cheers from the passengers. well im glad anyway. and her luggage was ages arriving too so it wasnt so bad. very lucky id made friends with danni actually, she was en route to somewhere in the mountains 10 hrs away to help out at a development agency funded by catholic canadians {cooler than it sounds actually... she was meeting the canadian ambassador to peru tomorrow to ask for help for the local farmers] but before i get all political, can i just say these people were so lovely to me. guardian angels maybe!! they took me and my bag in a taxi to my hotel so i didnt have to make my way alone and then refused any money off me too... reminds you the world isnt all bad after all. parts of lima must be tho! so much poverty its crazy. but lucily our hotel is a block away from the main pedestrian shopping street. after some rest, a very good shower [better than at home] ive ventured out to go on the intranet. bought a pink watch en route too. tho i fear i may be a while til i can get to grips with haggling. and some dude from new york offered to tattoo me..... er... maybe not. so basically, for those that might be concerned for me im safely ensconced in a very nice hotel. no pool but a live band for some inexplicable reason at 9 this morning. and the ongoing bass music of a generous workman upstairs. no its not that bad. theres a good restaurant. 24 hr reception and a lift that works. life is good so far. tho im trying to be wary as theres a lot of crime around here. after this il probs head back to the hotel for the evening, and await the arrival of a probably jet lagged mother... hopefully her flights go as well as mine. love to all... beunos tardes sianyxxx