In theory, you should care your passport with you wherever you go. I would recommend caring photocopies instead. It's unlikely that you will get stopped, but ID checks may happen on buses between cities. If you do get stopped and don't have ID, you have a few choices: speak to them in English, pretend you didn't know that you needed ID, or lie and say that your school, embassy, etc has it. However, realise that by law the police can take you to the police station and keep you there until they figure out who you are.

People who obviously look like foreigners may be stopped. I know of foreigners who have been stopped without ID and they've never needed to bribe the police. They simply explained the situation and the police move on to the next person.

Some people choose to register with their Consulate and Embassy and by doing this receive updates on situations, such as strikes or holidays. It's usually not required and is up to you whether you decide to register or not.

There is no Daylight Savings Time. Electricity is 220v and 50/60 cycles. Sockets are fitted to accept both flat and round plugs. The metric system is used except for gasoline, which is measured in gallons. Metric to English conversions

Every neighbourhood has a local park, but be aware of traipsing through the grass and it is usually just for looking at, rather than playing on.

Laundry can either be done by hand (most building have a place to wash clothes on the roof), at home with a washing machine, or sent out to be done. Local laundries are all over the place. There are coin laundries and those where you leave your clothes and they put them through the machines for you. The second usually charges by the kilo. Driers are also at laundries, but most homes do not have them, instead, they put their clothes outside to dry.

All furnishings that you need can be bought here. There is a cheap furnishing market in Villa El Salvador, but it's quite far from away. You could also try going to Plaza Hogar in Angamos in Surquillo. Both places have hand made furniture at good prices. You could always buy furniture at department stores such as Ripley's or Saga.

Maps

The library of the University of Austin Texas has a great online map collection. Guia Calles has street maps of Lima.

Culture Shock

Even if you speak Spanish, you'll find yourself going through culture shock. It starts with fascination with everything and seeing things through rose coloured glass and then goes to not being able to accept anything. Though people usually grow to accept things over time, even with years in Peru, small things might still frustrate you, but with time and effort, you can get over culture shock. Learning the language is probably one of the most important steps you can take.

Culture Shock can be difficult to deal with. The best thing to do is to be aware of culture shock and how to deal with it. Having pictures from home, talking to people in your native language, talking a walk in the park, or even sleeping can all help with culture shock. The following websites can give you more insight on culture shock and how to deal with it.

Peruvian People

Peru is very diverse, here you can find many people of Chinese and European descent. And contrary to facts, some Peruvians, especially those from the mountains, are blonde-haired and blue-eyed. In bigger cities, many people will have studied English, so they might be able to help you. However, you should still try to learn some Spanish so that you can get by. In the inner part of Peru, the mountains and the jungle, you can find people who speak Quechua and Aymara.

Many Peruvians are short compared to North American and European standards, however, they are much thinner than a typical American. Be aware that if you're tall you will probably stand out.

Peruvians are very open people who enjoy socializing. Family plays an important part in their lives. Some people still work 10 hours a day and may work half a day on Saturday, but this doesn't mean that they don't have time to relax. Personal space is much closer here, so don't move back if people stand close to you. When meeting, men will hug or shake hands with other men. Women will give an air kiss on the right cheek when meeting men or women. Time here is flexible. For example, if you meet a friend, they will show up 15-30 minutes late. And when going to parties, people will show up about 2 hours late. If you go out with friends that they saw "te invito", it means that they will pay for you. Don't try to split the bill, simply pay for them the next time you go out.

In general, Peruvians are more formal and will more often than not say "buenos días" if they enter a shop or a room with people. This means that shorts and halter tops aren't common here. You may see Peruvians wearing these types of clothes, but they will get looks, whistles and catcalls.

People here tend to get married young, and unfortunately some get pregnant first and then get married. So this means that many married couples have a few children after being married for a short time. If you're in your mid-twenties or above and single, you'll probably be asked when you plan on getting married. If you're married with no children, you'll be asked when you plan on having children.

History

Most people know that the Incas lived in Peru and left behind many cultural artifacts (such as Machu Picchu) and then the Spanish came and conquered them. Peruvians finally won independence because of San José de San Martín. Alan Garcia caused the economy to plummet in the 1980s and has just won re-election. Alberto Fujimori held control of the country for 10 years in the 1980s-1990s, making Peru a dictatorship. Recently they've had border problems with Chile and Ecuador.

Terrorism

Terrorist attacks on the USA and UK have shown use that in this day in age, terrorism can happen anywhere. Peru has a bad rapt because of some problems with The Shining Path or Sendero Luminoso and MRTA Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru which did terrorist attacks in the 80s and 90s. However, the leaders and most terrorists have been caught and in prison since 1992, so there is not much to worry about.

Transport /Getting here

The majority of international flights will arrive in Lima, Jorge Chavez International Airport, LIM, Then to get to where you want to go you can fly (if your destination is a big city) or take the bus. Airport taxes (TUAA) are 5USD for national flights and 28USD for international flights. You can pay in USD or soles.

If you're trying to get a low fare, try the following: book in advance. Stay over a Saturday night. Travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Ask about promotions and if you're flexible, give them a variety of dates when you can travel.

School System

There are public and private schools in Peru and the majority of the private ones are religious. As expected, private schooling is more expensive and can range from 200 to 800USD a month, depending on the school. Most of the English speaking ones are in Lima, but you can also find some in the provinces. Schools are broken into Primary (grades 1-6) and Secondary School (grades 1-5). There is also "Nido" which is Nursery school and usually starts around age 2. Since school is only 11 years, university is five years.

Lima Schools: Roosevelt, Markham, Colegio Peruano Britanico, San Silvestre, Newton College
International Christian School of Lima, Monterrico Christian School, Hiram Bingham.

Provinces: Fleming in Trujillo, Prescott in Arequipa, Davy College in Cajamarca.

University

Peru has one of the oldest universities in the Americas, San Marcos. It's very difficult to get in, about 60,000 apply but only a couple thousand are actually admitted. University is considerably harder than in many English-speaking countries. The reason for this is that most grades are based on the midterm and final exams. Some professors expect students to buy their books, memorise them and write their exact words on the exams. They may even take off points if they paraphrase, which is why many students think nothing of copying and pasting and then not giving any credit in the form of a bibliography.

Household Help

Many families have maids or nannies. If you are considering hiring one, please ask for references. Salary depends on the workload, minimun salary is 500 soles. Also, if you expect your nanny or maid to live with you, you will have to provide them with all their meals, uniform, towels and bedding and their salary will be a bit higher. Live in maids get 24 hours off per week. Public holidays are given as well. If you need them to help you during public holidays, then you can give either extra pay or days off. Annual Compensation (CTS) is two weeks pay per year of service when they finish their service with you. Vacation is two weeks per year. Termination bonus can be paid if you wish to let them go without two weeks notice. You must also pay state health insurance and pension. Health insurance is 9 percent of their monthly salary.

The majority of nannies are not certified as they would be in other countries. They are simply women who have experience with children or young, single women who are willing to work with children. Many times they are natives from provinces. Please remember that work in hard to find in Peru and salaries are low, so be fair to your household help. Employees should be given a uniform. Maids usually use a white one. White cardigan in the summer and blue in the winter.

You must register your hired help with SUNAT You need the name of the employer, their ID and utlitiy bill. This will get you a RUC, which is a tax payer's number. Then you need the name of the employee, DNI. Also their spouse (if they are not already covered by insurance), copy of their DNI and marriage cert. If they have a common law marriage, then they need a sworn statement to this effect. Names and birth certificates of their children. When you leave, you must take them off your health insurance and let SUNAT know within 30 days. Monthly payment of the health insurance and pension is made with Form 1076 and you can pay it at most banks. When your employee needs medical treatment they must show a copy of the registration and a copy of the most recent paid form 1076.

English Church Services in Lima

Church of the Good Shepherd Av. Santa Cruz 491, Miraflores. Phone: 422-3936.
Anglican-Episcopal services in English every Sunday: 7:30 a.m., 8:00am, 9:30 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. Children's Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. in English. There is a women's group that meets every two weeks and there is a group that meets for Bible study every Wednesday evening in the home of one of the church members.

Camino de Vida Calle El Buen Retiro 100, Monterrico-Surco, near the American Embassy. Phone 312-6048. It has several thousand people and is very contemporary. The worship and music is in Spanish but they have translation services for the 10am service every Sunday. Both senior pastors are from San Diego, and there's lots of expats there. It's a great non-denominational Christian church.

Santa Maria Chapel. Ovalo Gutiérrez, Miraflores. Catholic Mass in English every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Santa Maria Chapel is a bit hard to find, go in the side entrance, turn right and then turn right again. It is a small chapel located behind the big football shaped church.

Union Church of Lima Av. Angamos Oeste 1155, Miraflores. Phone 441-1472, Inter-denominational English language services every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Office hours 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday school for adults and children at 9:30 a.m.; nursery provided.

Flamingo Road Church Cineplanet Alcazar, Ovalo Gutierrez, Av. Santa Cruz 814, Miraflores. Phone: 441-1837. Casual, contemporary Christian services in English every Sunday at 10:30 A.M. Live music. Pre-school and Children's Ministries also provided. Mid-week Bible studies in English. Free parking.

Jehovah Witness. AV. El Cortijo 329

Church of the Latter Day Saints Av. Javier Prado Este 6420, La Molina, Lima 12, Peru. Phone: (51) 1-612-7200

Pets

If you're looking to get a pet, there are tons of pet shops around Lima, but adopting a pet might be better. ASPPA, Amigos de los Animales, ALDEA, Animazul all have animals for adoption.

Sharon de Hinojosa (naturegirl321) has lived and worked (mainly teaching English) in the US, Scotland, Spain, the Czech Republic, China, Korea, and Peru. As well as teaching short-term in Venezuela and Taiwan.

She has created The LA Job List http://www.thelajoblist.blogspot.com which lists schools, institutes and universities in 19 Latin American countries which offer English teaching positions.

Since living in Peru since August 2006, she wrote The Ultimate Peru List http://www.theultimateperulist.blogspot.com With 60 pages it's a comprehensive guide for those living in or moving to Peru.