Did I Really Just Quit My Job and Move to South America?

9/13. My last night in the US was surprisingly calm… until OCD got the best of me.

12:07 am. I pull up the web page for Peru´s entry requirements just to make sure I am not forgetting any obvious documentation. Passport – check. No immunizations necessary – sounds good. Evidence of return or onward travel – what the?! I am going to Chile but I don´t have any ¨evidence¨ and, according to the Peruvian government website, in order to enter the country travelers must show proof of continued travel (ie. a plane ticket,  ie.  something I do not have). Considering my flight leaves in less than 8 hours this could potentially be a problem. I scour travel forum after travel forum, Googling ¨peru entrance requirements¨ and such, reading peoples´experiences with this dilemma and I learn…

-If customs doesn´t allow you to enter the country it is the airline´s responsibility to fly you back to your country of residence

-Customs won´t necessarily give you a problem but the airline might deny you a boarding pass unless you purchase a return/onward travel ticket -  to ¨cover their ass¨

-Some people purchase tickets on the spot and then refund them later

Too tired to think of a good solution I close my eyes and sleep for a few hours.

8 am. At the airport Continental offers to bump me for $300. I pass. I get my ticket to Houston, no problems. Phew, I breath a little easier. Arrive in Houston and board a plane for Lima, Peru. Alright, another hurdle down. Land in Lima and walk up to the immigration counter. An elderly Peruvian man glances at my paperwork and says just one word – ¨Tourist?¨ to which I respond with an exasperated ¨Si!¨. He pounds my passport with a stamp.  I am in South America. A weight is lifted. I  stop stressing about entrance requirements and am hit with a completely new feeling…

I just landed in South America and don´t have a ticket home.

I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the movie The Beach:

From mine it’s a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven’t tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It’s probably worth it.

Bursting with excitement, slightly nervous, completely liberated, I step out of the airport and into Lima…