Well, I don't think I will be having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner here in Bolivia. I first realized this when Helen (my American housemate) and I went to the market to buy pumpkins for our pumpkin pie and came back with acorn squash. But don't pity me too much, my Mom is a gem and Thanksgiving part dos will take place when I get back to the States.
Traditionally, my family always goes around the table before we eat our Thanksgiving feast to say what we're thankful for. If I was going to be there tomorrow, I'd probably mention some of these things for which I have a thankful heart!
1) I'm not scared of bugs. I pick the ants out of the sugar jar without flinching every morning and actually have to remind myself that the spiders here might be dangerous so I should be a little afraid of them. Even the lizard in my bedroom barely raised my blood pressure.
2) I got to go on an amazing trip to Peru, see my dream of dreams, and experience a little more of South America. And I didn't get raped or robbed! Success.
3) My boyfriend emails me. Every. Single. Night. Sometimes, he writes a lot, sometimes a little but there's always an email. You rock, Joey Kelly!
4) I've gotten to hold so many BABIES. Almost every time I go out to el campo there's a little one to love.
5) Skype. I love Skype. And it's free. It's a free, good thing. I'm writing a thank you letter to whoever invented Skype when I get back to the States. (Anybody have his/her address?) :)
6) I am here during the peak of the mango season. I know I've mentioned my undying devotion to them before but my housemates told me that -no joke- I'm starting to smell like them. They are leaking out of my pores. I haven't turned orange yet but I'll keep you updated.
7) Montero is a pretty safe town to explore. I walk around by myself all the time without problems and this gives me a freedom that I'd go crazy without.
8) The fan in my bedroom. My room would be a hotter oven without it.
9) I've only gotten sick a handful of times and never for more than a day. I might owe my body a thank you letter when I get back too.
10) Mirna, our secretary is such a great friend. And her 2 year old son finally likes me! There may have been some bribery with cookies involved in that one, he's a timid little guy!
11) Disney movies in Spanish. So great!
12) The weather here is beautiful. I'm worried that I will freeze to death when I head back to Washington.
13) The street food here is so amazing! If you can get over the sketchy-ness of it, it's some of the tastiest food ever! Last night, some friends and I sat at a woman's cart, where she had raw chicken in gallon buckets that she was frying up with yucca (that weird potato thing) and veggies. A plate was less than the American dollar!
14) Jesus isn't just in America. Amen? Amen.
15) Tomorrow, I get to tour the prenatal care/birthing center at the hospital in Santa Cruz! I am so excited that this opportunity fell into my lap as I've always been passionate about maternal/child health. It's not how I'd usually spend Thanksgiving but one I'm sure that I won't forget :)
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
El Viaje (The Trip)
Yikes, it's been awhile since I've blogged. The excuses -ahem, reasons -are that research for the internship really picked up and then I went to Peru with my housemate. Yup, Peru. Anyway, said all that to say -sorry it's been awhile. Big, long, fat post to make up for it, ok? Ok.
So my "dream of dreams" (or "sueño de sueños") for quite sometime has been to visit Machu Picchu. It's something of a vendetta for me because I was almost able to go in high school...and then I wasn't. Ever since then, I thought it'd be the COOLEST to go and see that abandoned city. Plus, Peru has Inca Cola, which is the best soda on the planet. And while Bolivia isn't exactly close to Machu Picchu, it's closer than I might be for awhile, so I jumped at the chance to go!
For your reading pleasure, here are some of my memorable moments:
Bus or butcher shop?: We're on a eight hour bus ride and I awake from a short snooze to the sound of a woman butchering a sheep. She's literally on the floor of a bus with a sheep carcass, hacking at it with a machete, and selling the meat to nearby passengers. I don't know what weirded me out more, the fact that my bus was also a butcher shop or that I actually really wanted some of that meat, it smelled so good!
The Machu Picchu view: Most anticipated moment of the trip, for sure. I got up at 4am to hike up the mountain (and beat the crowds, as I did not want a bunch of poncho-sporting tourists in my pictures!!). I reached the crest of the mountain, holding my breath, waiting for that iconic postcard-worthy image, and as I rounded the bend....I saw....fog. Nothing but FOG. No ruins, no mountains. It was a whole lotta nada. However, not even five mins later, the fog cleared out and everything slowly emerged, revealing the prettiest view that I have ever seen. There are no words, folks! The fog just made things more dramatic.
How Machu Picchu almost wasn't: We were "sold" Machu Picchu tickets by a man named Oscar, who insisted that if we didn't buy right then and there, we'd be unable to go. Unwilling to risk my dream of dreams, I "bought" the tickets from him against my better judgment. But he didn't actually give us the tickets. Instead, he said that his coworker, Maria, would give them to us when we got to Cusco. Yet when we arrive in Cusco, there are no tickets and even worse, no money. Maria is late to every meeting and incredibly unhelpful. She just keeps telling us "I have no money, can no buy tickets." Finally, I end up telling her that it's her responsibility, her business, and we need the tickets by that night. I also may have complained to other tourists in the hostel lobby. That finally got her moving and she borrowed the money from her son so she could buy us the tickets. To say that business practices down here are inefficient and frustrating is something like the understatement of the year. Learned my lesson though, I'm never dishing out money unless I get some tickets in my hands! And just in case you feel bad for Maria, Oscar eventually gave her the money (the day we went to Machu Picchu -just a little late).
White does not equal red, white, and blue: Before leaving from Peru, I had the assumption that all white people here in South America are from the States. Boy, was I wrong! I met some Brazilians, Australians, and a ton of Europeans during my travels. I think I met more Dutch people on the trip than I did Americans. Meeting people from other cultures was one of my favorite parts of the trip, for sure!
Best meal: It's a tie between the Alpaca steak in Puno and the trout from Lake Titicaca. I also really liked the street food in Cusco, super cheap stuffed peppers that I would eat everyday if I could. And Inca Cola, that stuff gets better every time I try it!
Art Criminal: Our first time out in the big city of Cusco, we were stopped in the main plaza to admire some painting that a young man was selling. Art is one of my favorite souvenirs to purchase, so I found a painting that I liked and prepared to pay for it. But just when I was about to hand the guy my money, the police come and without so much as a glance in my direction, they grab the art dealer by the arms and haul him off. I was stunned. Welcome to the big city of Cusco! I asked a shopkeeper about it later and she said it's illegal to sell things in the plaza so that's why the guy got canned.
Taxis are scary: My father, being the great dad that he is, scared some good sense into me before leaving on the trip. That coupled with some research on the most common ways of kidnapping, and I was convinced that every taxi driver was taking us to our deaths, or at least going to drain my bank account after torturing me for hours to get my debt card pin number. So I am freaking out already during our first taxi ride, when our driver veers off the main road and starts going down a dirt one. "Awesome, robbed during the first hour of our trip," I'm thinking. Turns out, he just wanted to show us a beautiful view of La Paz. Glad I'm not prone to heart attacks.
Las islas flotantes: Besides Machu Picchu, the floating islands were one of the coolest things that I saw. These people literally build the land using peat and reeds. And then they live on it. Seriously folks, go google this or something because it's nuts. I also got to ride on a reed boat during this adventure while the sun was setting and that was amazing!
Just part of the crowd: It was really refreshing to blend into the crowd for once down here. Since we hit a lot of tourist attractions, I was never the only gringa and the locals were used to blondes. That is very different than here in Montero, where everyone stares at me -all the time. It was nice to not be unique for once!
Savor the moment: After a long stressful day of travel, while still recovering from almost not getting tickets to the dream of dreams, we got to relax in the hot springs outside of Machu Picchu. The little town we stayed in (appropriately called Machu Picchu Pueblo) is nestled in the rain forest, with towering mountains on every side. My house in Montero is lovely but there's not a whole lot of vegetation there so it was very refreshing to be surrounded by so much green! After some much needed relaxation, we got absolutely dumped on by a cool jungle rain. It was a very special moment, one with a lot of gratitude. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity to travel and experience these beautiful countries and people -and to better myself, to stretch and grow, to find out what I am made of and what I can do. I don't take this trip for granted for a moment!
So my "dream of dreams" (or "sueño de sueños") for quite sometime has been to visit Machu Picchu. It's something of a vendetta for me because I was almost able to go in high school...and then I wasn't. Ever since then, I thought it'd be the COOLEST to go and see that abandoned city. Plus, Peru has Inca Cola, which is the best soda on the planet. And while Bolivia isn't exactly close to Machu Picchu, it's closer than I might be for awhile, so I jumped at the chance to go!
For your reading pleasure, here are some of my memorable moments:
Bus or butcher shop?: We're on a eight hour bus ride and I awake from a short snooze to the sound of a woman butchering a sheep. She's literally on the floor of a bus with a sheep carcass, hacking at it with a machete, and selling the meat to nearby passengers. I don't know what weirded me out more, the fact that my bus was also a butcher shop or that I actually really wanted some of that meat, it smelled so good!
The Machu Picchu view: Most anticipated moment of the trip, for sure. I got up at 4am to hike up the mountain (and beat the crowds, as I did not want a bunch of poncho-sporting tourists in my pictures!!). I reached the crest of the mountain, holding my breath, waiting for that iconic postcard-worthy image, and as I rounded the bend....I saw....fog. Nothing but FOG. No ruins, no mountains. It was a whole lotta nada. However, not even five mins later, the fog cleared out and everything slowly emerged, revealing the prettiest view that I have ever seen. There are no words, folks! The fog just made things more dramatic.
How Machu Picchu almost wasn't: We were "sold" Machu Picchu tickets by a man named Oscar, who insisted that if we didn't buy right then and there, we'd be unable to go. Unwilling to risk my dream of dreams, I "bought" the tickets from him against my better judgment. But he didn't actually give us the tickets. Instead, he said that his coworker, Maria, would give them to us when we got to Cusco. Yet when we arrive in Cusco, there are no tickets and even worse, no money. Maria is late to every meeting and incredibly unhelpful. She just keeps telling us "I have no money, can no buy tickets." Finally, I end up telling her that it's her responsibility, her business, and we need the tickets by that night. I also may have complained to other tourists in the hostel lobby. That finally got her moving and she borrowed the money from her son so she could buy us the tickets. To say that business practices down here are inefficient and frustrating is something like the understatement of the year. Learned my lesson though, I'm never dishing out money unless I get some tickets in my hands! And just in case you feel bad for Maria, Oscar eventually gave her the money (the day we went to Machu Picchu -just a little late).
White does not equal red, white, and blue: Before leaving from Peru, I had the assumption that all white people here in South America are from the States. Boy, was I wrong! I met some Brazilians, Australians, and a ton of Europeans during my travels. I think I met more Dutch people on the trip than I did Americans. Meeting people from other cultures was one of my favorite parts of the trip, for sure!
Best meal: It's a tie between the Alpaca steak in Puno and the trout from Lake Titicaca. I also really liked the street food in Cusco, super cheap stuffed peppers that I would eat everyday if I could. And Inca Cola, that stuff gets better every time I try it!
Art Criminal: Our first time out in the big city of Cusco, we were stopped in the main plaza to admire some painting that a young man was selling. Art is one of my favorite souvenirs to purchase, so I found a painting that I liked and prepared to pay for it. But just when I was about to hand the guy my money, the police come and without so much as a glance in my direction, they grab the art dealer by the arms and haul him off. I was stunned. Welcome to the big city of Cusco! I asked a shopkeeper about it later and she said it's illegal to sell things in the plaza so that's why the guy got canned.
Taxis are scary: My father, being the great dad that he is, scared some good sense into me before leaving on the trip. That coupled with some research on the most common ways of kidnapping, and I was convinced that every taxi driver was taking us to our deaths, or at least going to drain my bank account after torturing me for hours to get my debt card pin number. So I am freaking out already during our first taxi ride, when our driver veers off the main road and starts going down a dirt one. "Awesome, robbed during the first hour of our trip," I'm thinking. Turns out, he just wanted to show us a beautiful view of La Paz. Glad I'm not prone to heart attacks.
Las islas flotantes: Besides Machu Picchu, the floating islands were one of the coolest things that I saw. These people literally build the land using peat and reeds. And then they live on it. Seriously folks, go google this or something because it's nuts. I also got to ride on a reed boat during this adventure while the sun was setting and that was amazing!
Just part of the crowd: It was really refreshing to blend into the crowd for once down here. Since we hit a lot of tourist attractions, I was never the only gringa and the locals were used to blondes. That is very different than here in Montero, where everyone stares at me -all the time. It was nice to not be unique for once!
Savor the moment: After a long stressful day of travel, while still recovering from almost not getting tickets to the dream of dreams, we got to relax in the hot springs outside of Machu Picchu. The little town we stayed in (appropriately called Machu Picchu Pueblo) is nestled in the rain forest, with towering mountains on every side. My house in Montero is lovely but there's not a whole lot of vegetation there so it was very refreshing to be surrounded by so much green! After some much needed relaxation, we got absolutely dumped on by a cool jungle rain. It was a very special moment, one with a lot of gratitude. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity to travel and experience these beautiful countries and people -and to better myself, to stretch and grow, to find out what I am made of and what I can do. I don't take this trip for granted for a moment!
Pictures from the trip can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150351238347747.345008.562022746&type=1&l=18bfd49899
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