2023

I successfully completed my penultimate semester last December in Peru. It has been a lifelong dream to live in both of my parents’ countries for at least a year. During the pandemic, and after many years of doing other things, I decided it was time. I was hoping to stay in Peru another year, but just got rejected from a postgraduate traveling fellowship I applied to and put my heart into, so, hopefully, I can find a way to stay here before the semester is out. Otherwise, the plan is to do a master’s in Colombia afterwards at some point.

I had been away from both countries for almost 20 years.

After a lost U.S. passport last semester, and a slow and multi-stepped process to get my student resident visa in Peru for the year, I decided to go all in to getting my Peruvian citizenship via my father instead, which, while also prolonged and rough, eventually bore fruit. I left the country mid-semester to go visit Colombia after 22 years, saw my uncle and his family for a few days, then returned with my new Peruvian ID. I can now stay here as long as I want.

We’ll see what the future brings. It’s been an emotional, challenging trip, but one I needed to do for a long time.

I think of all of you often, and distance and time does not diminish my consideration of all of you as my brothers. Cuídanse mucho, y espero verlos pronto. Tinkunakama.