Paperwork

Paperwork never ends for our family, or at least it seems that way.  We are in process of registering Doriana as a Peruvian citizen and also registering our civil marriage that occurred in the US.  After two months of trying to get the right documents in order (the list and requirements for things on the list kept changing) and also waiting for the registrar to return from a 2 week vacation, Albino finally handed everything in.  Hopefully all checks out and by Thursday we will do the final signing. Then, we'll go to get Doriana's Peruvian passport, which she must have to leave the country.  We'll finish all that, and then start on Baby's US and Peruvian paperwork, after which will be my residence visa.

February Update:
After more days in the office to sign for the birth certificates, we had them in hand.  We brought those in to apply for both kids' Peruvian national IDs, waiting over an hour to pay the fee in the bank, and then waiting in line to actually hand in the paperwork.  Doriana did enjoy getting her fingerprints and thought it was funny to give Toby's footprint.  This week we'll hand in their applications for Peruvian passports; we should receive these in a couple weeks at most.  We had to wait for Albino's updated ID that shows he is married. The kids need these passports to leave the country.  Then, three of the four will be able to travel to the US.  Toby still needs me to get his paperwork ready in order to apply for his US birth certificate and passport; we should receive everything in six weeks if there are no questions.

Our House

The rental house that we found actually found us.  After looking at numerous houses and apartments in all parts of town, we hadn’t found THE place where we felt comfortable.  Apartments were on the 3rd or 4th floors without elevators--imagine that with two little ones and groceries; houses were too expensive or not in the ideal location.  We had wanted to look at this house several times but were told that it was already rented.  One Sunday evening the owner called US to say that it was available.  We made an appt. for early next morning and by that afternoon we called to confirm our desire to rent.  The house is close to the main road, buses are right out the door, it’s in a safe area, near friends, and a comfortable price.  An added benefit is a covered patio for Doriana to play in and also heats the house well when the sun is shining.

Doriana

After some initial timidness and not letting go of our hands or being carried, our daughter is having fun!  She loves all the kids that she is meeting.  She shared her pencils and paper with kids at the mattress store.  She talks about her cousins all the time.  They explore outside, ride 'bikes', play in the dirt, load rocks into dump trucks, have tea parties with leaves and whatever else they find in the woods.  One night we told her that she would visit her friend Emily the next day; she cried and cried and ran out the door to go visit her that moment.  Thanksgiving Day she refused to eat dinner with the adults; she insisted on sitting outside at the kids table.

Cultural Differences

It's definitely been a shock for us after two years being away, maybe even more for Albino.  He's seeing Cusco through new eyes.  For Sandy, it's more of a reminder of what she went through 5 years ago (add on a two year old, but similar). Here's some snippets.  I guess right now some of our view is a bit negative, to be honest.  At least we know there is an upswing on the way according to the typical cultural transition patterns.

-Personal space (the bubble) is definitely less here.  Public transportation is always full, hip to hip on the bus.  Or, standing in line at the hospital clinic, one lady wanted to make sure no on got through between us. She leaned into me hard enough that I (Sandy) had to brace myself.  People also greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. This closeness is a bit much for Doriana, especially when it comes from adults.
-Lines don't exist-not at least in an orderly way.  You must push your way to the front, whoever gets to the desk first gets served first.
-Life just takes longer here--meals are from scratch, people just don't show up at the scheduled time, no such thing as one stop shopping
-The whole city is under construction.  Major roads are being paved. Houses and apartment buildings are going up everywhere.
-Littering is common.
-Dogs are everywhere.  Doriana loves to talk about the dogs who run and bark. She also tells them to be quiet (Shh! Shh!), even from inside the house when she's trying to go to sleep.