Pounding the Pavement

It will be a miracle if I can get through a year in this place without getting run over by a car. Carlos had told me way back in Indy that I should think of it like going to New York City. Man, he was not joking. There are cars everywhere and the drivers are crazy. I can see why now most people I knew from Lima told me to never plan on driving.

Friday will make it a week. And already there is oh so much to tell. I can tell you right now about the many adventures I'm going to write, I would not have gotten as far as I have if not for the fact that Peruvians absolutely LOVE foreigners. I don't know if it's the fact I'm trying to learn Spanish and they are so pleased about that, or they just like different people. Anytime I have been in a bind, I simply pull the clueless american story and they are so happy and willing to help.

Let's start out with Monday. Let's see, tried to go to the US embassy and it turns out they let NOBODY in. Even other Americans. Jerks! It took me awhile to get there. On my way home I stopped by one of the major English Language Institutes that's right around the corner, ICPNA. They offer a Spanish course for foreigners that I hope to take in October. They would have hired me on the spot if I had expressed interest in working there, but I told them I wasn't sure yet.

See a problem they have here in Peru is they put a cap on how many foreigners you can hire. It can only be 20% of your workforce. Even once you've paid for the foreign employee to have a work permit, apparently the company still has to pay more in Taxes (I know this all from Mari). Technically in Peru you are allowed to stay up to six months on a tourist visa. What a lot of language institutes do, even though it is illegal, is hire native English speakers on a tourist visa and then pay them cash. It's bad enough to the point that Mari says some companies will pay your traveling costs to leave the country every six months so they won't have to have you as a valid employee.

Ideally I would prefer not to do that, but it might be the best route to go if it would buy me some time.

Tuesday I went to inquire at a clinic (basically a hospital) up the street. I told the receptionist I was interested in a position there. She walked me over to the Human Resources office and spoke with a gentleman at the gate and told me to come back that afternoon at 3 pm. Apparently they have open interviews then.

So I went back totally not expecting a job position to be offered. The woman asked if I had my documents. I said I had them from the United States. I showed her the copies of my diploma I brought. She then sat down and basically told me I needed a Peruvian nursing license before I could apply for any nursing position in Peru. I asked her how to do that and she said I needed to go to "El Colegio de Los Enfermeros del Peru." I have no idea what the equivalent of that would be in the United States.

I stopped by that office today and from what the woman said it sounds like the process would be simple. She said that all I would need to do is take a copy of my transcript to another government building and they would verify if I had received adequate education to be a nurse, and if so they would recommend to the Colegio, and that's it. I looked at her and was like, "I don't have to take a test?" In the United States you have to take an English Proficiency Test and the NCLEX, the National Nursing Board Exam if you want to work as a Foreign Nurse. It sounds simple, but I doubt it will be.

Course as I'm talking to this woman she said, "Why don't you just get the hospital to sponsor you and you can have a temporary license?" To which I looked at her and said, "Isn't it more expensive for hospitals to hire a foreign nurse?" To which she gave me a look of understanding and didn't ask any further questions.

See, the area where I live, Miraflores, is one of the wealthiest regions in Lima. Hence there's a lot of what is called "Private" hospitals where a lot of foreigners go to get healthcare. It's more efficient and supposedly better care. I figure the one thing I could offer in these type of settings is the fact I speak English. Not sure if I'm on the right tract in thinking this, but it's worth a shot.

Still, I'll admit, I have in some ways even surprised myself this week. I finally got a cell phone. I actually bought one on Monday only to find out I get absolutely no reception in my apartment. So I took it to another phone company today and got it switched over to the other.

I then figured out the bus system to go to the Colegio de Los Enfermeros. Granted a lot of this was done by simply asking the bus assistants who stand at the bus stops which one I should take (like I say, Peruvians are super helpful).

All these conversations with HR, El Colegio, etc, have all been in Spanish. I'm even surprising myself as far as how much I'm able to communicate.

That doesn't mean though I hit a bit of a wall these past two days. Pounding the pavement is not fun and in some ways I'm asking already why I did this to myself. Why am I not at home in the United States where I know I speak the language and probably could have easily have gotten a job? A job that pays well for that matter? Why am I not home in a comfortable set up knowing what my day to day life would be like?

Mom asked me that to and there is one answer I know for sure. If I had not come, I never would have forgiven myself. I would have spent days wallowing in the world of "What if......."

One of my instructors from my language training course said once don't really determine whether or not you like a place till you have been there for 3-4 months. He's right. I mean, I think one reason I'm not as down as I could be is I have had to adjust to places before (like Indiana) and it took some time. I think back to my time in Hungary and the many language frustrations I had there. (And believe me, if I can learn Hungarian I can definitely learn Spanish.)

Carly and I were talking just this past night though that sometimes when people travel places they paint it as a rosy picture. It's not. Adjusting to life in a new country takes ALOT of work. Along with that you need tolerance and flexibility.

I wish sometimes I had come through a program with the Dept of State. Like working for an embassy or something like that. Then I realize if I did that, I probably wouldn't learn as much Spanish. I want to be out with the people living as they live and seeing what they see.

The other thing I tell myself also is give it time. I've only been to church for one Sunday, so there hasn't been too much of an opportunity to make friends with others. Besides, they all think I don't know any Spanish.

Well there is one thing for sure. I'm learning more Spanish everyday whether I want to or not.