It feels like the international move process should be slow and laborious, that you should have to get on a boat or train and have the time to reflect on the past and think of the future. It seems abrupt to go to the airport, take a 7-hour flight, and then all of a sudden you live in a new country. But this is an oversimplification, and in reality the process was long and it was laborious.

We learned we were going to go to Lima in December of 2024, over two years ago and not even halfway through our tour in South Africa. It was so far off that we put the thoughts of it aside and enjoyed our time in Johannesburg. We spent a year in the US, learning Spanish and sharing time with our extended families - still not really thinking of Lima. We packed all our belongings up in late January and movers came, but Peru was still a long way off we told ourselves! We still had to criss-cross the US, trying to make the most of Laura’s home leave. Laura spent time maximizing for the 50lbs limit on all our suitcases a few days before we left, but still no stress since “everything had to go.” Finally, Saturday rolls around, and we suddenly have to say our final goodbyes to Aunt Steph and kids, Grammy and Martha. It was hard! How could we have known this day was going to come!

Laura arranged for a 16-passenger van to come pick us up and take the gang to the airport. Laura, Phil, Sonja, Inka, Jim, Janet and then the cats (Koko and Lopsi). We had 11(!) checked bags, plus 6 backpacks, two larger overhead bags, a double pram, car seat, and two cat carriers. If you ever wonder what those people at the airport are doing with 3 carts full of luggage stacked high… now you know. Laura and I stood at the check-in counter with Sonja bouncing about, Jim and Janet a distance away manning the cats and Inka. The process took forever and at one point we had to present the cats to confirm they were, indeed, cats; I heard someone in the queue behind us say “oh my God, they have cats too!”

Our booking went from BWI to ATL (1.5hrs) and then ATL to LIM (6.5hrs), departing at ~11am. To our delight, everything went smoothly and according to plan. Sonja made a new friend (Claire, headed to Machu Picchu) during our 2-hour layover + 2-hour delay in Atlanta. Getting Inka and Sonja out for plenty of walking and running around helped them sleep on the plane. We landed in Lima a little after 11pm, gathered our incredible amount of luggage, then walked through customs with all of our earthly possessions and two live animals without being flagged for audit. Immigration was easy and no fuss, the agent spoke English so Laura didn’t get to test her language skills just yet.

A 40-minute drive down the coastal highway, we got to our apartment around 1am. It’s warm and humid here, and the sigh of relief of finally making it was short-lived. Time to get two very tired babies into pajamas and off to bed, while cats meowed, wanting their freedom. It was past 3am by the time we got everything sorted.

The hustle didn’t end there, however! The next morning Laura was in an Uber at 8am, headed to the embassy to start some HR paperwork on diplomatic accreditation, which will get us IDs and longer visas. This process unblocks getting Phil’s work authorization in country as well through Peru + USA’s bilateral work agreement (BWA). Our new nanny, Sofia, came by in the afternoon for first introductions and started getting the girls familiarized. Sofia asked how to pronounce Sonja’s name (SOHN-yuh, /‘soʊn.jə/), and that it reminded her of the word sonqo (SON-koh, /ˈsuŋ.qu/) in her native Quechua, which means heart. The night of our first day in Lima, we attended the daycare’s open house/start of school year. We thought it was going to be a meet-and-greet with the teachers, but it was almost two hours of rules and process explanation, with plenty of homework! The next morning (Tuesday), we took the girls to their first day of school. We have one more day to get us all situated before I try to go into work on Thursday. Laura tells me we should be getting a break in approximately 10-15 years.

Outside of all the craziness, Lima is exciting, lively and very beautiful. Our apartment overlooks the malecón, a cliffside park that stretches about 3 miles end to end. Below the cliff is the highway (not visible from our apartment), and then the ocean (visible and filled with surfers). The park is very active with runners, bikers, dog walkers, paragliders and tourists all sharing the paths; Koko enjoys her new perch watching them day and night. As you head inland, the city’s enormity takes hold, with endless city blocks quickly mixing small retail shops, corner markets, residential and commercial. Infrastructure is relatively good, but not perfect. Sidewalks exist seemingly everywhere, but aren’t super smooth for the pram and often have closed sections due to construction. Traffic isn’t well regulated with lots of poorly marked intersections, crosswalks, etc, and traffic does not stop for anyone; you just have to dodge cars and go for it! In general, the city is a bit overwhelming so far, but we’re sure it will slow down as we become acclimated over the next two years.

Our apartment is one of two on the 7th floor. These two apartments are separated by the elevator, stairwell, and small elevator lobby, so we don’t have any shared-wall neighbors besides the above and below. The other apartment on our floor is also a US diplomat, one of Laura’s coworkers. We have four bedrooms, a small den area, a large dining room and common area, and then the kitchen plus nanny quarters. Every bedroom has its own bathroom, plus a common one and one in the nanny quarters, totalling 6, which seems excessive to me. The floorplan is such that the bedrooms are all separated from the main living area, making it very functional. All told, it is about 2200 sq ft, plus sizeable balcony and feels plenty big.

Many, many thanks to Laura for doing 95% of the work to get us here, and to Jim + Janet for assisting on the travel!!

We still await Inka’s first steps.

Photos