Adios a mis Estados Unidos

I would have never guessed that a business trip to London two years ago would circuitously lead to one of my best adventures ever. You see, I had a bit of time to burn during my first day in the city, and what better way to combat sleep deprivation (jet lag) than the excitement of sitting at a desk surrounded by accountants? So, I trudged to our London office and found an abandoned desk. As I waited for my computer to boot up (a 15-minute ordeal), I passed the time by (trying to) furtively survey my surroundings, but I immediately found myself in the midst of a conversation with my neighbor, Isabel:

Isabel: Oh, hello! How are you? And who are you?

Me: Oh, um, I'm Caton Walker. I'm here for some client meetings. I'm from the Houston office.

Isabel (by now inexplicably enthusiastic): That's great! Welcome! I'm Isabel!

Me: Well, it's nice to meet you, too. You know, judging by your accent, it sounds as if your native language is Spanish. Where are you from?

Isabel (now inexplicably alarmed): Oh no! Do I sound bad?

Me: No, no! I'm sorry. Your English is perfect. It's just that...

Isabel: ...because I don't want to have an accent!

Me (thinking Isabel should embrace her accent): I barely noticed. It's just that I studied Spanish in college and...

Isabel (wasting no time in returning to her prior state of enthusiasm): Really?! You studied Spanish?!

Me: Well, yes, but I'm afraid I've let it slide a bit since then. So, where are you...

Isabel: Oh! You should practice. You can practice with me whenever you like!

Me: Thanks! I very well may do that. But, where are you from again?

Isabel: Oh, sorry! I'm from Peru. Lima.

Me: Oh, wonderful. I hear that Peru is an amazing place to visit.

Isabel (seemingly shocked that I would say such a thing): Oh yes! That is true! I love it!

Me: Well then, I suppose I should go there sometime.

Isabel: Yes! You should! You will love it. Please, take one of my cards. If you have any questions about Peru, you can call me.

Me: Oh, thank you. And since we both work for Ernst & Young, would it be okay if I were to call you about work sometime, too?

Isabel (apparently not quite accustomed to my sense of humor): Oh, of course! That's okay too.

"Well," I thought to myself, "I like this Isabel person. If she's at all representative of Peruvians, then perhaps I should go there."

So, when I began my Round the World journey, I originally had no plans to visit South America, but, at the last minute, I realized that I had enough frequent flyer miles to make the trip to Lima, so that's exactly what I did. I booked the flight, arranged to join a group trekking trip of the famed Inca Trail in the Andes mountains (which also gave me the perfect excuse to make several trips to REI), and, after showing up at the airport at entirely the wrong time (approximately six hours early, which I suppose is still far better than six hours late), I was off to Peru.