10 days before arriving in the UK again

Travelling to the UK has never been easy for me. I must admit that I am jealous of those that just need to take a 2-3 hours flight; for sure not my case. First, there is no direct flight Lima-London so basically I have to take between 2 flights of 7 hours if I go via the United States or a 12 hours flight and then 1 hour 30 or 2 hours flight, If I travel via a European country. I have done both and I quite enjoy flighting by plane, going to some VIP Lounges in the airport and simply visiting new countries/places.

This September, I travelled and stayed 10 days in the United States, in Washington DC with my family as my home country Peru, is still on the red-list. It was not a bad experience, I enjoyed the time with my family there and going shopping, visiting museums or just walking around the city! Life in the US is not so different from the UK; probably the main difference is that you will find a lot of Latinos in the United States. You will hear Spanish everywhere and many shops and Latin American music. I went to a Latin American festival there and I quite enjoyed dancing and listening to good music! If there is something that Latinos do good is partying: we dance, sing and make the best of every celebration. I miss this a lot now and cannot deny that I start dancing as it should be when I heard a Latin American song (usually you will hear 2-3 when you go clubbing, there should be more for sure).

During my time in the US, I experienced being an old sister for a bit. I am an only child. I have never had to share something. I always had 2 rooms just for myself: a bedroom and a room for my toys (later my private library). I always had a big table at home to study and I could watch my favourite programs on the main television. I love being an only child and if I was born again, I will choose it! I think that my family of 3 is “perfect” in our way. For sure we fight, we discuss, we disagree on many points but we are there to support each other and in the main moments we fit great together!

That is why being an older sister was new for me. I have 2 cousins: one of 8 and the other of 5, and they are so lovely! I played with them, talked with them and I realised how important is family, how they support each other in the US because when you live abroad and you have almost nothing, you need help and family is always there to help.I never experienced something like this in Peru. I used to not like the family meetings or get bored easily but after those 10 days, I see these moments with a different perspective. I appreciate it now because you do not have always people to support you; sometimes you are alone, living in the other middle of the world.

I learnt a great lesson and it made me more grateful about everything I have and motivated me to give more than my best, more than my 200% in this new academic year because I want my family to be proud of me, I want them to celebrate my achievements in the “first world”! I want them to know I appreciate all they have done for me!Sometimes travelling or just random moments in life make you learn, make you grow!

I am sure I will keep this lesson always with me!