Packing. Ugh.

Okay Okay Okay OKAY!  Yes, it's time to pack. It's past time to pack. We fly out one week from tomorrow, and I haven't packed one. single. thing.  *Sigh*  How am I ever going to do this? 

How Did We Get Here? Part One

Just like that! We have a date!

July 6, 2016.

Eeeeeeek!

Some of you have requested that I capture the steps we are taking in order to prepare for this journey.  Of course, I am happy to oblige, and welcome anyone who may be planning to embark upon your own personal ‘expat’ experience to take pieces of what has worked for us so far and incorporate it into your own adventure.  Considering that for the last eight years I have worked for a company that researches and shares Best Practices and Benchmarking metrics, it is easy for me to get on board with this request.  So here it goes; the long and short of it…well…the first part anyway!   :-) 

Looking out from the Temple of the Condor at Machu Picchu

*****

Before I dive into the ‘whos’, the ‘hows’ and the ‘whats’ of our move, I should take a quick second to address the number one most often asked question we get.

“Why Lima?”

As mentioned above, we get asked this question a lot, and the answer can be summed up in two words:

Virgilio Martinez's Central, No. 4 on San Pellegrino's
Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World.
 Lima, Peru

The. Food.

Nestled amid the Andes Mountains and Amazon Rainforest, Lima has access to some of the most unique and freshest produce in the world, which creates an amazing food culture that locals are not only rightfully proud of, but ecstatic to be actively entrenched in.  To them, food is everything, and their ardor for showcasing Peru's beautiful country through their ingredients is endearingly apparent in nearly every conversation you have.  For LJ, the food hooked him right from the start.  However, for him to get me fully on board, he had to do a little more convincing. 

Step One: Convince your Wife. Fully Convince Her

Corvina Ceviche and Parihuela near the Mercado Surquillo

After we made the decision to set our sights on Peru we quickly jumped into action and began to develop a game plan.  And when I say 'we' I fully mean LJ jumped into action and began to develop a game plan.  I, on the other hand, scurried into my typical ‘denial mode’ method of operation: I completely ignored any and all attempts to talk about our decision.  It quickly became clear to LJ that he still had some convincing to do.  

Two years ago, we traveled to Peru on our Honeymoon.  Our initial goal, of course, was to visit Machu Picchu and the surrounding valleys.  (If you haven't been, this trip is a bucket list must!)  We rented a motorcycle and spent a little over 2 weeks exploring, eating, gallivanting, and generally soaking up the tiny rural villages speckled amongst the beautiful Peruvian countryside.  It was the most amazing, exquisitely picturesque honeymoon either of us ever could have hoped for.  It was the journey of a lifetime.

Machu Picchu

I’m fairly certain it was around this time that the thought of us one day moving to Peru initially nestled its seedling roots into the depths of LJ's ever-active brain.  Although I knew Peru would always be a magical place for us, I never imagined living there.  Let's face it, I am a Houston girl.  A sane person who has spent my entire life in a place that has always felt like home.   My family, my friends, my job, my life are all in Texas!

Ever the artist, LJ began to quickly incorporate little snippets into daily conversation in order to build the credibility of his whole little ‘moving to Lima’ idea.

Mijuna Wasi, our favorite restaurant in
Santa Teresa, Valle Sagrado, Peru

"Hey, did you know Lima is the 3rd largest city in the Americas?  Nearly twice the size of Houston, it’s not rural at all…its incredibly modern!”

“It says here that Peru currently has one of the fastest growing economies in the world!  Did you know that?"

"You've always loved living in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, right?  Well, there is a district in Lima called Barranco that is very similar: It’s a historic, artsy community, with a population focused on preserving the old culture and architecture of the city.  We should check it out. I think you’d love it!”

"You know what?  Lima has a huge surfing population, 
people come from all over the world to surf the Peruvian coast!  Wouldn't it be fun to do a surf-shack themed restaurant?"   

Trying to try Cuy (guinea pig) in Cusco.
Sorry guys. Can't get on board with this yet. Or ever.

Oh trust me.  There are plenty of these examples, but I think you get the idea.  Haha!

Try as he might, I still had a million questions for every fact he threw at me.

“Where would we live?  What kind of houses do they have there?”

“What about my family and friends?  How many of them do you think will actually come visit?”

“What about Winston?  What would we need to do to ensure he could go with us?”

“Would I feel safe?  What is the crime like there?”

I could go on for days with all the, ‘what abouts’, ‘what ifs’ and ‘what woulds’.  They traipsed about in my mind as if they were little ballerina fairies in a performance of Peter-Pan, drunk on the pixie dust of responsibility and worry.  Eventually, it became apparent that we would need to make another trip.  This time we would stay in Lima, and truly explore the livability of this historic city in order to determine whether this move was something we could feasibly do without ruining our marriage. 

Roads? Where we're going we don't need... roads. ;)

Step Two:  Trek back to Lima a Second Time

I can't stress enough how pivotal this second trip was to us.  Be it opportune luck, well thought-out prowess, shared passions or synchronous serendipity, the connections we made were nothing short of miraculous.  A dear friend of mine once told me to pay attention to the small, repeated signs and coincidences around you, as this is God trying to communicate directly with you.  I wish I could lay out for you the many fortuitous happenstances that came to pass during this second trip. However, doing so would turn this blog into a book, and that's a task for a later date. ;)  For now, it will have to suffice for me to say that the events which started as quick introductions led to suggestions which in turn led to friendships which led to connections and climatically led to a path so clearly and undeniably laid out that we knew this trip was divinely set in motion eons before we could even mutter the words "buen viaje".  By the time we boarded the plane back to Houston I knew it was only a matter of time before Peru would be our new home. 

The Hot Springs in Santa Teresa, Peru

Once we were back in the States, it was time to dig into the details so that our dream could really begin to take shape.  How much capital would we need?  What kind of food should we serve?  Should we open another food truck, or should it be a brick and mortar restaurant?  Are we absolutely certain we’ve fully explored all the areas of Lima that may be feasible?  What about work Visas, how do they work?  Should we ship all of our kitchenware over or buy everything once we get there?  As the questions kept climbing on top of one another, creating a mountain of trepidation higher than the mighty Machu Picchu itself, we packed our bags once again. 

Step Three:  trek back to lima… Third Time’s a Charm

Our Machu Picchu Tour Guide

Yes, you read that right.  I know it must seem like a third trip was a bit excessive.  In fact, at one point we had decided against it, figuring that we should save the expense of yet another trip; just get to Peru and let everything work itself out.  I mean, it had worked out for us so far, right?  Well, if we were just moving to a foreign country, that would be one thing, but we were moving to a foreign country and investing our lives savings (and then some) into a business…in a foreign country.   A country with a notoriously byzantine bureaucratic system of foreign rules, regulations and policies.   Thankfully we were advised to go ahead and make the third trip, and quickly realized not doing so would have been a vast and costly mistake indeed.  We found out some things this time regarding getting the business open that could have been fairly steep stumbling blocks had we just jumped in head first.  This third trip was really essential to our success in Peru.

Looking back, if we were to call the first trip 'Honeymoon Heaven', and the second trip 'Crystal Clear Kismet', the third one would be dubbed 'Restaurant R&D'.

Through targeted discussions with multiple people, both inside and outside the restaurant business, we received priceless advice on what to look for, what communities would work best for our concept, and what to incorporate that would help make our restaurant appealing both to locals and to fellow expats.  We finalized our company name and concept, explored local markets, and deepened previously made friendships.  We also hired Sergio Vargas, an immigration attorney who was referred to us on the "Living in Lima Expat Support" Facebook group.  Hiring Sergio was one of the best decisions we have made yet and brought with it the realization of this trip’s importance in the overall scheme. 

Wrangling your way through the ins and outs of starting a business from scratch can be quite overwhelming, even in your native country.  I have no doubt it would have been nearly impossible without Sergio's advice, insight, and experience.  Thanks to him, we will have our Carnet Extranjerias (Green Cards) ready when we get to Lima in July.  We already have our company set up and registered, bank accounts opened and we can immediately sign contracts upon arrival.  These are things that take a couple of months, minimum, and had we not gotten a jump start, we would have been spinning our wheels, caught up in bureaucratic red tape.  There are countless intricacies that we would not have known of or thought about on our own. 

Even with all that we have done, I realize this is only the beginning.  From here, it is full-speed ahead, and the countdown is on.  Still to come: purging, packing, shipping, purchasing, renting, opening, marketing... oh yes... this story has truly only just begun.  I'll do my best to capture it all and share pivotal lessons learned succinctly as possible.  So make sure and check back in.  It's sure to be an adventure. :)