Hasta luego Perú (Thank you Letter)

***This post was copied from my travel blog (NezTravels) in 2017***

When I made the announcement about moving to Peru In February 2015, I got overwhelmed with the question. WHY PERU?!

Well I can tell anybody today WHY NOT PERU?! Or any other country for a matter of fact.  It wasn’t the easiest experience but the best. Growth outside your comfort zone is inevitable.  I took a spontaneous plunge mixed with a little bit of nervousness and came to Peru ready to take over the world thinking it was going to be so simple. At least so I thought. But God had much bigger plans for me. What I experienced in the last 2 years I cannot even put into word my gratitude for this place. Here’s my Thank letter to Peru.

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Dear Peru,

Thank you for the open arms that welcomed me when I arrived in Arequipa and later in Lima.

Thank you that I didn’t miss much about the US.

Thank you for the children who pointed and laughed at me while others admired because they had never seen someone who looked like me before (Morena).

Thank you for the amazing mangoes and the other fruits and organic food.

Thank you for the restaurants and menus (3 course meal for $2-$3)  I ate so vigorously for a whole 10 months before having any stomach issues (Its part of being in Peru).

Thank you for your nature and breathtaking scenery which I shared through my pictures (featured on Travelnoire numerous times. Yay! lol)

Thank you for allowing me to have spiritual growth. Thank you for the days that I cried when things got so hard and realizing that I am a lot tougher than I thought. Thank you for making me a stronger person emotional. Thank you for all the lessons (There’s no failure, they are lessons: Oprah). Thank you for giving me self-confidence personally and professionally.

Thank you for the 100s of people I laid my hands on and allowed me to make a difference in their life. Thank you for the ones who cried in my arms which encouraged me to be more compassionate, loving and caring. And thank you for allowing them to touch my life.

Thank you for your culture and dancing in the streets during passe calle.

Thank you for allowing me to live through my experience and not for what I have. Thank you for wonderful American holidays that were celebrated with me so I wouldn’t feel homesick. Thank you for one of the best birthday celebrations.

Thank you for the nights I danced away at FORUM.

Thank you for eating CUY aka Guinea pig that tasted so delicious.

Thank you for teaching me a new language- Spanish.  

Thank you for all the wonderful travelers that I’ve met from all over the world. 

Thank you for making me realize that black/Caribbean people are not so bad with time (Peruvians take the cake BY FAR). 

Thank you for making me understand mañana  does not mean tomorrow or in the morning so never put things off for the next day.

 Thank you for bettering my negotiation skills dealing with your taxi drivers. 

Thank you for the sunny days that made me so energized yet was so brutal for my skin. 

Thank you for waking up to views of your mountains.

Thank you for my first experience of water rafting, ziplining, sand boarding and rock climbing.

Thank you accepting my multiple hairstyle changes and loving me the same. 

Thank you for giving me the courage to JUST GO and see the world on my own. 

Thank you for teaching me how to live and travel on a budget. 

Thank you for making me feel free and to be myself. 

Thank you for helping me deal with fears and overcoming my self-doubt.  

Thank you for the children’s life we touched through LoveInActionLLC.

Thank you for keeping me safe my whole time here.

Thank you for the friends and those who became like family.

Thank you for welcoming my friends who visited.

Thank you for allowing me to witness love.

And Thank you for introducing me to the Love of my Life!!!

Thank you for accepting me as your very own.

I love you and you’ll be forever in my heart.

Until we meet again. This isn’t goodbye.

Love,

Doctorcita Rennes