Week 13: I Survived the Amazon

That's right. I did it. I survived three days in the Amazon Rainforest. That's three days of no connection to the outside world, no (minimal) electricity, and no shortage of dull moments. I think I can officially chalk this up as the best trip I've taken so far in Peru, and I still can't believe it was real. I'll start with day one.

Day Zero

Okay I lied. I'll start with day zero because before we got to the Amazon, I had hurdle after hurdle to jump over. This is Wednesday: Day Zero.
The day began with me packing and getting mentally prepared for our trip. During this process, I had my first setback. I was minding my own business, doing my dishes from breakfast, when I turned around and accidentally stepped on my host family's dog. I think I scared him more than anything, but he didn't appreciate it and instantly attacked my left foot. I panicked and shook him off of me (he has a death grip with those jaws) and looked down to see my entire foot covered in blood. My host family was gone, so I called for my neighbor backups (Abby) to bring me first aid supplies and cleaned the blood from the kitchen, which now looked like a murder scene. I can honestly say it was one of the scariest moments of my life, and I'm extra careful around Peluchin now. 

After that, I hobbled my way to class, and we left for the airport from campus. Traffic that night was GOD AWFUL and it took us a little over 2 hours to get there. By the time we got to the airport, our flight was about to start boarding and we still hadn't checked in. Once a few of us checked in, we went to McDonald's to get food for everyone who hadn't eaten with about 10 minutes to spare before the boarding gates were set to close. I will never forget the image of Claire and I trying to make our flight; her sprinting through the airport with a bag of 6 cheeseburgers and my injured-self hobble-running behind her trying to keep up. We made it through security, only to find out our flight, in typical Peruvian fashion, was running behind. Of course.

By the time we made it to Iquitos, the town we were staying in that night, it was almost midnight. We showed up to our hostel and did a small reenactment of the Christmas story when the owner told us there was no more room at the inn (hostel). Fortunately, we didn't have to sleep in a stable and they found us a new hostel for the night although at that point, I wouldn't have even cared if I slept in a stable.

Day One

Day one began with us getting on a boat and heading out on the Amazon River with our tour guide, Yaku. Apparently Yaku is quite famous in these parts, and has been featured in shows about the Amazon on National Geographic, the Travel Channel, and soon-to-be the Discovery Channel. Along the way to our campsite, we stopped at a small conservatory where we got our first glimpse at the Amazonian wildlife. Hands down the coolest part were the endangered paiche fish our tour guide showed us. They looked like koi fish, only about 100x the size. I had never seen a fish that big and was told that if someone small enough fell in the water, the fish would eat them. Our tour guide's advice: don't drop your baby in the pond. Duly noted.

This photo speaks to me.

Paiche fish, can reach up to 10 ft. in length.

We then got back on the boat and arrived at our campsite for lunch. Our accommodations for the next two nights were small huts built around the kitchen and hammock building. I actually felt like I was back at 4-H camp. After lunch, we made our way to our first stop, Monkey Island. As our boat pulled to shore, a monkey instantly jumped onto the boat and I knew immediately this was my happy place. Once we were on land, monkeys surrounded us and demanded our attention. It was the coolest thing because they weren't shy at all, they jumped right on us and wanted to play. While on the island, I also got to hold an anaconda that our tour guide caught out of a waterhole, a toucan, sloth, and parrot. I was smitten.
Eventually our tour guide peeled us away from the island, and off we went again on the boat, this time to watch the pink dolphins. If you've been keeping up with my blog (thanks, guys) you know my love for dolphins. Getting to see these fresh water PINK dolphins was like a dream come true. More to come on that later. We ended the evening with a nighttime hike through the jungle, which was better than I could've expected. We saw multiple tree frogs, spiders, rats, butterflies, and plants that you really only can experience in the rainforest. By the time we got back, we only had an hour and a half to eat supper and shower before the 3 hours of electricity we got a day shut off at 9 PM. This made for early bedtimes, but I wasn't complaining. Exploring the jungle is exhausting work.

Day Two

Day two began at 6 AM when we left in the boat to go fishing for piranhas. I love to fish, so I was particularly excited about this venture. Turns out I was one of only two people in our entire group who didn't catch a fish, and I was pretty disappointed. This semester it's become pretty apparent that Danielle and I are the two in the group with the worst luck, so naturally we were the only two who didn't catch a fish. It was all too fitting, but I still had a great time and thankfully the girls let me try the piranha they caught that day at breakfast, even though I obviously didn't earn it. Sorry about that.

After fishing, we went to a small village to eat breakfast and meet a few of the Amazon natives. On the way there, we (our tour guide) spotted a tarantula on a plant next to the boat and next thing I knew, the thing was on the boat and being passed around like a bottle of Crown (that's a song lyric, Mom). I have nothing against spiders per say, but the feeling of it crawling across my hands knowing that it was wild was a little spooky. As if that wasn't wild enough for one day, a little further down the river we spotted a huge snake in a tree and our boat driver Rene started climbing the tree in pursuit of him for us to hold! Like seriously, these people have no fears. No cares. Nothing. The snake was having none of that, though, and slithered (I seriously hate that word) away before he could be caught. I wasn't that sad, honestly. Snakes are completely unnecessary in my book. Anyway, we finally reached the village after quite an exciting stretch of jungle. When we pulled up, the children casually brought us their "pets" to hold, which just so happened to be a sloth and caiman (crocodile). Here's the thing about sloths: they're freakin' cute. When we held her, she would snuggle into us and seemed completely content with everything. Life goals. The caiman was a wild card and after my animal bite earlier in the week, I wasn't messing around too much with any animals with the ability to puncture my skin. Trust issues, ya know.

Caiman alligator

I tried.

Red-bellied piranha.

The rest of the day was spent going on another trip to Monkey Island (we were big fans) and then swimming in the Amazon River. While we were swimming, we saw another pink dolphin and I just couldn't get over the fact that I was swimming in the same vicinity as a dolphin. My life is so cool sometimes. 

Before bed we took a quick nighttime canoe ride through the jungle. During this trip, a cute little tree frog made our acquaintance and hung out with us throughout the whole ride. When I got back to our hut for the night, I hung up my poncho and lo and behold, there was the tree frog in our hut on my poncho! Just call me ~animal whisperer.~

So I got my first visitors in Peru! My cousins Max and Zach sent their friends "Flat Stanley(s)" to Peru
to go on an Amazonian adventure with me! Follow along to see how it went....

Monkey is immediately intrigued by new visitor on the island. Ran over to check things out.
Noticeably more aggressive than the parrot.

Feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. Not sure I can handle Flat Stanley and a monkey.
Babysitting skills have become rusty.

Monkey #1 told his friends I was weak. When in doubt, throw in Max's
Flat Stanley and hope for the best.

The monkeys have completely taken over the operation at this point. Flat Stanley #2
suffers a severed limb. Mission is aborted.
Monkeys: 1
Flat Stanley(s): 0

Day Three

Day three approached all too quickly, although at this point I was pretty much over getting eaten alive by mosquitos. We started our final day at 4:30 AM to go in the boat to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see the sun, so we basically just watched the sky lighten. It wasn't a completely wasted trip, though, because I loved how calm and peaceful nature was at this hour of the day. We then returned to camp and slept until breakfast, which was easy because it was pouring rain and I fell back asleep instantly. After breakfast, we trekked out into the rain and made our way to another Amazon village. Here we saw the Amazon people dressed in the costumes that is traditional of their tribe and watched them perform a few songs. The people grabbed us to dance with them during the songs, and it was such a cool and different experience than the others I've had in Peru. We then had the chance to use the blow dart that the tribe used for hunting small animals. I'm not trying to brag, but I had the most accurate shot of the group and hit the man on the totem pole square in the nose (even though my dart didn't stick). I deserved that win since I didn't get to catch a piranha the day before. After that, we made our way back to camp, packed our bags, said our goodbyes, and headed back to Iquitos for the evening before our 5 AM flight back to Lima.

Live action shot.

As my time winds down in Peru (only 10 days! How is that possible?!) I'm amazed at how much I've learned and experienced in just four short months. It's a little surreal to think back to my first night arriving in the airport in Lima with my heart in my chest, so nervous I could barely speak. Now I'm hopping on planes and buses and taxis like it's no one's business every weekend to whatever place my heart desires. I've grown so much over the past few months, and I can't believe this experience is quickly coming to an end. This week I'll be traveling to Arequipa and Puno to explore Lake Titicaca and Colca Canyon and then, yes! I'm USA bound! Bittersweet doesn't even begin to describe my emotions, but I'm so excited for the next chapter in my life to begin. In the words of one of my all-time favorite bands, Jack's Mannequin: "I've got my things, I'm good to go // You met me at the terminal. Just one more plane ride and it's done."

Loungin' rainforest style

Week 12: List of 10's

A week from today, I will only have 10 days left in Peru. The fact that the last four months have gone by so fast amazes me. This week, going home has been on my mind a lot. Sometimes it is with excitement, and sometimes with sadness. Knowing I'm leaving soon is such a bittersweet feeling. One thing I'm always sure of, though, is food. So here's my list of foods I'll miss, as well as foods I'm excited for.

10 Peruvian Foods I'll Miss
1. Lomo saltado

2. Papa a la Huancaina

3. Tequeños

4. Chaufa de pollo

5. My host mom's guacamole

6. Aji de gallina

7. Fresh fish

8. Makis de mono sushi

9. My host mom's crepes

10. Empanadas

10 General Foods/Drinks I'm Excited For

1. Diet Dr. Pepper

2. Baked potato with sour cream

3. Walking taco

4. Pizza rolls

5. Broccoli salad

6. Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs

7. Monkey bread

8. Crab legs

9. Spaghetti with meat sauce

10. Steak

10 Restaurant Food/Drinks I'm Excited For

1. Runza ranch

2. French dip (add swiss) from The Lodge

3. Jewel II movie theater popcorn

4. Spinach and artichoke dip from Applebee's

5. Cherry limeade from Sonic

6. Brownie sundae from Frosty's

7. Quatro from Erbert and Gerbert's

8. Broccoli and cheddar soup from Panera

9. Side salad with bleu cheese from Peppermill

10. Mai tai's from Elephant's Eye

Week 10/11: Short, Sweet, and to the Point (Pt. 1 and 2)

Yet another week comes to a close here in Lima, which puts me one more week closer to being home. I still haven't decided if that's a good or a bad thing. This week's blog post will be fairly short because, quite frankly, I didn't do much.

The beginning of the week was spent in typical fashion going to class and occasional trips to our favorite sushi restaurant. One new experience I did have, though, was my first (and hopefully not last!) trip to Parque de las Aguas. It is basically a park in Central Lima full of lit up fountains. Every night, they offer three water shows with choreographed water exhibits on the main fountain set to music. The show was jaw-dropping and one of the coolest ideas I've seen. One of my favorite parts of the park was a lit up tunnel made from water that people could walk through. If you knew where to walk, you could stay dry. I didn't figure that out until halfway through the tunnel and by that point, I was already soaked anyway and decided to just embrace it. Just when we thought we had seen the whole park, we stumbled upon an underground tunnel that led us to a completely different side of the park across the street! This side was a little smaller, but equally as beautiful. This side offered a rainbow fountain, which was a big hit with all of us (photoshoot ensues).

By Thursday, I was a little stir crazy and decided to go to the beach Punta Hermosa for the weekend. Wanting to beat traffic, Claire, Danielle, and I left Lima at 7 A.M. to catch the bus there. Turns out traffic was actually fairly minimal so we were one of the first ones on the beach. Oh well, because we got the best spot on the beach! (That's what I told myself, anyway). By 4 PM, we had been in the sun for almost 7 hours, I was fried, dehydrated, and hungry. We decided to go eat and wait for our friend's with a beach house to get there so we could meet up with them. When they finally arrived, we discovered Angelo, Danielle's friend, wasn't with them yet so everyone was strangers to us. Thankfully they knew we were waiting and welcomed us into their group immediately. They spoke very little English, but soon we got into the hang of speaking Spanish with them and learning some new (mostly appropriate) words and phrases.

The next day was Friday and I had an internship interview via Skype that afternoon, so I headed back to Lima by myself so that I had Internet and could do my interview. My interview time came and passed and no one dialed me in on Skype, so I opened my email to see if something had changed and realized I got the dates mixed up and my interview isn't until next Friday. What. So basically I made the hour and a half trip back to Lima that day for nothing and was so disappointed, especially after all the stress I went through preparing for it the first time. Anyway, I decided to head back to the beach Saturday morning and go out with the group Saturday night. The discoteca they took us to was probably the most fun one that I've been to since coming to Peru, so I'm so glad I made the trip back. We all headed back home Sunday morning exhausted, sunburnt, and full of memories and new friendships.
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I decided to add week eleven with my previous week because it was a fairly laid back week and I didn't have much to write about. By "fairly laid back" I mean really laid back. Unfortunately, my host mom's mother passed away last week, so I was home alone by myself for a majority of last week/weekend and the beginning of this week. While I enjoy my independence, it created a bit of a difficulty for me. When my family is gone, I can't leave my house without getting locked out. There is a thick wall surrounding our house and the door to it automatically locks, so I was more or less on house arrest for the majority of the week. I also had no food and could not leave to go get any (back to that dang lock), so by the time Monday rolled around and I had to leave my house for class, I thought I was going to wither away. After class on Monday night, I came home to an empty house and had to wait on my front step for my family to come home for about three hours. They eventually came home, and now the schedule is more or less back to normal. I feel absolutely terrible for my host mom's loss and would sit outside all day without food if need be.

Besides that, my week was spent catching up on homework, watching the NCAA basketball championship (one of the greatest games I've ever seen), and reading my book. All Marki approved activities and I was perfectly content. Besides the no food thing. The next seven days are going to be spent counting down the days until the Amazon Rainforest, which I've been looking forward to for a couple months now! Believe it or not, only two weeks left of school, a week of travel, and then I'm homebound. It's amazing how quickly time goes by, especially as it winds down. Love from Lima!

Week 9: A Little Lima Love

After taking a break from traveling outside of Lima the past couple weeks, I have had a chance to better explore this city and what is has to offer. One thing I'm sure of is that I'd take a small town over a city of 10 million people any day for one reason and one reason only: traffic. Growing up in Valentine, the only bad traffic I ever experienced was when people took their horse and buggies down Main Street (an actual event that happened one day when I was already running late to work) or there was a parade. Now, we have to plan our excursions around when traffic will be the worst and still end up sitting in a taxi for an hour to and hour and a half just to get to another district. In the meantime, taxi drivers are weaving in and out of lanes, honking at everyone, slamming on their brakes, and making their passengers sick (me). I see my life flash before my eyes at least once almost every taxi ride.

The bright side of living in such a big city is that you never run out of things to do. After last week, I can finally say I've been to my first international concert and it was everything I could've hoped for. It's no secret that I'm a self-proclaimed concert addict and, at all times, have at the very least one or two concerts lined up. Right now, that number is at five and continually growing. I have been going crazy not hearing live music or having a concert to look forward to since being here so when I saw that Skrillex was going to be in Lima, I jumped at the opportunity. We arrived at the concert around 9 P.M. but in typical Peruvian fashion, everything happens a little later than usual. By the time Skrillex finally came on, it was past 1 in the morning. That's a lot of time to pregame. Too much, really. At one point I thought I was resting my head on Abby's back, but it was actually a random man standing in front of me. Jaja. Thankfully I livened up as soon as his set started and it was amazing. By the time I got home that night, it was 5 A.M. and my feet hated me. You know it was a late night when the doorman of my neighborhood greets me with "good morning" instead of "good evening." The only negative was that I got my phone taken during this outing, so I'm now without a phone until May. Very unfortunate situation from both a personal and photography standpoint, but heaven forbid my life ever be easy.

My Skrillex girls!

The next day, we had an afternoon luncheon at Brisas del Titicaca in Central Lima. The luncheon was an afternoon show where a band and Peruvian dancers perform while you eat. The show was almost four hours long, but it was fantastic. I wish I had photos of the afternoon (no phone problems) because the costumes that the dancers wore blew my mind. The band performed throughout the whole show and was a mixture of choreographed numbers with the men and women dancers and songs where the audience could come onto the stage and dance. These two adorable older women took an interest in our table of white girls and dragged us out onto the dance floor to salsa with them every song. I was reluctant to go at first, but they made the experience so much more fun and memorable. My salsa skills are still horrible, though. But improving! The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from my late night the evening before and coming to the sad realization that I just can't stay out like I used to. Man, 22 is hard. :(

Our professor took us to this park and we then found out later it was empty because
there was a shooting there that week. Always finding the best spots in Lima to hang out. 👍🏼

Okay, I made it through that so now I can get to my favorite part. Last Wednesday, our group from UNK had the opportunity to go to a Shipibo school in Lima. Shipibo schools are schools for children whose indigenous parents or grandparents migrated from the Amazon Rainforest into Lima. In some cases, these children were the first generation in their families to learn Castellano (Peruvian Spanish) as their first language instead of Shipibo. Driving into their community, it was blatantly obvious the poverty that these people lived in. Once we got into the school, though, the children welcomed us with open arms and completely melted my heart. My group taught a group of girls how to play BINGO using math facts and then I got to experience my first recess in about 10 years. Kiara, Alcemy, and Lucerma #1 and 2 (a popular name, apparently) were so sweet and begged me to let them keep the BINGO boards I made. Before I left, Kiara grabbed my hand and led me back into the classroom and showed me that she had hung her board up on her desk and was so proud of it. I'm tearing up thinking about how grateful these children were for the smallest things, even just attention. I wish I hadn't been so apprehensive before going because it was truly the best experience I could have asked for. Kids are awesome.

Kiara and I. Completely melted my heart (and my face because it clearly was so hot that day).
Our Spanish Professor, Rob: You girls all got sunburnt!
Us: No Rob, white people's skin turns red when we get hot.
(Cultural learning goes both ways)

The next day was St. Patrick's Day, so naturally we had class at an Irish Pub in Miraflores, complete with green beer and everything. Before that, though, we watched the changing of the guards in Central Lima and Barrio Chino (Chinatown). The best part of the whole day, honestly, was probably the taxi driver giving us his auxiliary cord and letting us blast American rap music the whole way to Miraflores. Music has never sounded so good. The next day, I dedicated almost the entire day trying to figure out how I could watch March Madness from Peru. I FINALLY figured it out after about four hours, more than a few dollars, and my Aunt Kim's DISH password (thank you!!!). I don't think anyone understands how much I've missed being able to watch any form of sports for the past few months besides soccer. From that point on, I was pretty much glued to my computer screen the rest of the weekend, but I have no regrets. As my time here winds down, I'm realizing how much I still want to do and see, and look forward to a busy next few weeks. Sending love from Peru and Happy Easter to everyone!

Week 8: Significantly Insignificant

Fact: After seeing one of the wonders of the world, you tend to be a little speechless. I'm blaming my inability to write about it on that, anyway. I've never had writer's block before, but after a weekend in one of the most breathtaking places on the planet, it has taken a toll. Typically the title of my blog is the last thing I write. Half the time I have no clue where my writing is going to take me and when I'm finished, I base my title on where it does. In this case, though, it hit me immediately at Machu Picchu what I wanted to title my blog for this week and what I wanted to say; the trouble has been finding the words to say it. After four days, though, the awe is finally wearing off and so, alas, my blog for the week begins.

Last week was basically spent counting down the days until we flew to Cusco, but one new experience I had in the meantime was my first movie in theaters in Peru. Our professor gave us coupons so we went to "How to be Single" (as if I need any lessons on the subject) for only about $1.50 in theaters, which goes without saying is a bargain. After the movie, I then proceeded to fall down the stairs outside of Shelby's apartment and almost put a potted plant through the glass of a second story window, so yeah. That's how to be single. (haha lol but really)

On Friday morning we flew from Lima to Cusco to begin our weekend. The first day was spent traveling and then touring ruins right outside the city, the historic center plaza, and the Cusco Cathedral. The church was jaw-dropping but unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside. I considered sneaking some photos, but it just felt wrong seeing as I was in a church and all but don't worry! I pulled some images from Google because it's worth seeing. I also stumbled upon "Paddy's Irish Pub" in the center of Cusco, which made my day. Anyone who watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" will understand. Shoutout to all those people.

Note: I did NOT take these pictures! I followed the rules!

Saturday was the day because we got to go to Machu Picchu, which I've been looking forward to since before the semester even started. The day began at 6 A.M. with a two-hour bus ride to the train station, then a beautifully scenic two-hour train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes. It reminded me a lot of Estes Park in Colorado, and I immediately fell in love. From there, we took yet another bus to the top of the mountain to Machu Picchu. From there, it was a short hike to the actual site. As you can see, this trip had many different legs. The suspense was killing me.

Finally finally FiNaLlY we came over a hill and there it was: Machu Picchu. I honestly was speechless. This wonder that I've heard so much about was actually in front of me. I was there. It was one of the coolest feelings and in that moment, I felt significantly insignificant. Here I was, in the midst of one of the more significant events in my life, and all I could think is how insignificant I felt. And I mean that in the best way possible. I was looking down upon these breathtaking ruins and realized the amount of history I was seeing. Billions of people have walked this planet, and I am only one of them. The issues in my life that I considered so massive suddenly seemed infinitesimal. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that the world revolves around me, but I realized how preposterous that idea really is. It's a wakeup call I think everyone needs from time to time, and one I won't soon forget.

We spent the afternoon exploring Machu Picchu, and I was amazed at the intricacy of the ruins. There were handmade sundials, wind rooms, built-in shelves, the list goes on and on. The ruins were built on what can best be described as a raised island without the water. Every time I got to an edge of the site, I found myself looking down a cliff. For my fellow Game of Thrones nerds, it reminded me a lot of the Eyrie, with its main protection being that it was raised on all sides and difficult to reach. The backside even reminded me of the sky cells where Tyrion was imprisoned by Lysa, and I made sure not to get too close to the edge just in case. Okay sorry, I'll stop because I've probably lost most of my audience. Don't get me started on GoT. :) Anyway, we only had about three hours in the ruins, and I easily could've spent an entire day there.

"Runnin' outta pages in your passport."--Drake

Eerily similar to how I picture the entrance to sky cells (*backs away*).

We spent most of the day Sunday exploring more ruins outside of Cusco, buying souvenirs at the markets for all my day ones back home, and eating lunch and dinner at two of the most lovely restaurants I've dined at since being in Peru. As we returned to Lima on Monday, I came to realize my wanderlust meter, which was already extremely high, got turned all the way up to ten (ten being the highest). I feel such a desire to keep traveling, and I'm panicking at the thought of returning home and this adventure coming to an end. So here's the thing. Mom and Dad: I know you're reading this. Please consider this, with my other readers as witness, my open plea to let me backpack Europe as my graduation gift in December. You're more than welcome to join. Let me know. You know where I live. :)

Thank you to everyone for reading and keeping up with me. Less than 50 days until I call America home again! Doesn't even seem real. Much love from Lima!

After lunch, I sat on a bench overlooking this river and couldn't help but feel like I was back at home overlooking the Niobrara. It made me a little homesick, but so happy.

View from dinner overlooking Plaza de Armas after the day at Machu Picchu.

Week 7: It All Started With a Sunset

I'm not sure when it happened, exactly, but over the past two months I've done some serious soul-searching. It all started with a sunset. Since I've been in Peru, I've sat down and watched the sun set more times than I can keep track of. Before I came to Peru? Not even once. The first night I watched the sunset, in fact, I told the girls how cool it was for me because I'd never watched one before. I've seen hundreds of sunsets in my life, of course, but they were always just background to whatever else was happening in my life at that moment. It never was the moment. I'm only 22 years old, but I realized I've already just been going through the motions in my everyday life, not actually living it. Somewhere in the midst of school, work, and extracurriculars, I lost sight of what's really important. People keep asking me if I even go to class while I'm here and while I'll admit I only have class once a day, four days a week, I've still learned more in two months in Peru than the past few years combined. I'm not going to come back to the United States knowing everything there is to know about Spanish, but I'm starting to understand that was never the point. I've learned more about myself, my life, and what I truly want than I even thought possible and in the end, that's all that really matters. The things I learn in the classroom, money I earn at work, people I see on the weekends; none of it matters if I don’t discover who I am as a person and what I'm capable of. If I don't find that along the way, then how will I know where I'm going or if I'm taking the right roads to get there? Maybe a sunset is just a sunset, the end of another day; but maybe it's so much more than that. Maybe it's about living for the first time in my life, not just existing. Inevitably days come and go, but it's up to me what I make of them. I was given one chance at this life, and I don't intend to waste it. I don't know yet what God's plan is for my life but I do know this: I'm not going to watch it as it happens. I'm going to live it.

Máncora, Perú 2016

Week 6: I Saw Dolphins and Felt Emotions

Emotions are a strange concept, and I think I felt just about all of them over the past week. If you've ever listened to an entire Taylor Swift album in one sitting, you have an idea of what I'm talking about. My life has been such a whirlwind the past two months that I haven't had time to do much more than just try to live in the moment and experience everything possible. I'm not sure if things have slowed down any or I'm just getting used to the fast-paced life I'm living, but everything hit me at once this week. I actually felt like I was in the movie "Inside Out" with all of my emotions going haywire. So without further ado, here's a sampling of what I've felt this week.

Festive

Tuesday was my host mom's birthday, so I got to experience my first Peruvian birthday party. We had a movie at school that day, so I was not able to attend the luncheon, but I made it for the evening festivities and brought Abby along. When I got home from campus, we found the celebration had already started. We drank homemade sangria (heaven), ate the best cake I've had in a while, and talked/listened to a lot of Spanish. The whole dining room was full of my host mom's friends and family and everyone was interacting with each other and genuinely interested in learning about Abby and I and our Peruvian experience so far. It was so nice being surrounded by such wonderful people whose faces weren't buried in their phones and feeling like part of the family. My heart is smiling so hard just thinking about it. By the time I went to my room for the night, my brain had been in Spanish mode for almost 12 straight hours and I think I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow. Then Thursday was Shelby's birthday, so I got to celebrate two birthdays in one week! We went to one of our favorite restaurants in Peru, The Burrito Bar, and had tacos and margaritas. Then we went to "our" bar in Barranco for birthday drinks and more celebrating (but not too much, because we had to be on a bus to Paracas at 7 AM). Birthdays are great, I'm a huge fan.

My host mom's birthday cake and flowers she received. The ones in
the middle are from me and I totally got shown up by the dog bouquet on the right.

Homesickness

For the first time in my life, I understand what the term "homesick" really means. There's been times I've missed my family, of course, but never to the extent that I felt this week. I got the chance to FaceTime my Dad, Mom, Grandma, and my main girl (dog) Keleigh for the first time since being here, and it was such a bittersweet feeling. I don't think I even realized how much I missed them until I saw their faces. The next day I FaceTimed my best friends back home, so there was another wave of homesickness and by the end of the day, I wasn't sure if I trusted myself enough to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy without completely losing it. As with most sickness, though, it passed and now I'm in the mode where I'm panicking because I'm already almost halfway through my study abroad experience and I don't ever want to leave. I know; I don't get it, either.

Disappointment

I consider myself so lucky because since I've been here, I've had nothing but amazing experiences. It was only a matter of time, though, before I had a negative experience, and apparently this was the week for it. First, we had a tour of the United States Embassy on Thursday which I was super excited for because I've always been curious what went on in that building. Well unfortunately, Abby and I went through the wrong entrance and got ourselves completely lost and stressed out and almost missed the entire tour. I'm sorry, United States Embassy. I'll do better next time. Which brings me to my next topic.

I Can't Decide If I Should Laugh or Cry

Even as I write this, I still can't decide how to feel about the next two situations. I was walking back to campus Thursday evening to go out and celebrate Shelby's birthday when something hit the back of my leg and almost knocked me to the ground. My first thought was that I had gotten shot, which probably would've inspired me to write an entire book and done wonders for my street cred, but then I realized my skirt was soaking wet. Um. Turns out a car of boys that drove by threw a water balloon at me and hit me. Like....what? As a former shortstop, I can respect the accuracy of the throw but seriously? I WAS DRESSED UP. I thought this might be the end of those type of situations for the week but nope, sure wasn't. The first night at our resort we were hot tubbing when me and my fellow blonde friend Danielle realized the water was turning our blonde hair green. Now, I have no one to blame but myself because sadly this has happened to me before. The first time, it ended with me getting my entire head coated in ketchup and pert near ruining it as a condiment for me forever, so I really did know better. Anyway, we didn't have any ketchup on hand at our resort this weekend and quite honestly I'd rather have green hair than do that again, so it remains a tinted shade until I buy some clarifying shampoo. What a mess.

Excitement

I kept this part until last because it's my favorite and I'm all for ending things on a positive note. As far as field trips go, I didn't think I'd ever be able to top the sixth grade field trip around Nebraska (I mean come on, we got to sleep in the aquarium at the Henry Doorly Zoo) but this takes the cake. Going into this trip, none of us really knew what to expect other than we were staying at a resort and it was paid for. Sounds promising, right? Right. When we arrived at our resort in Paracas, I was completely blown away. Turns out UPC doesn't mess around and booked us a five-star resort with a huge pool, ocean views, private beach, and AIR CONDITIONING (can't stress the air conditioning enough). I was in heaven. It also had a volleyball court, ping-pong table, and trampoline (I can still do a backflip) that I took advantage of, along with tons of other amenities. On top of that, I got to paddle board for the first time, which was amazing. But that's not even the best part!

Another thing I get to check off the bucket list.

Wonderment

Saturday we had a boat tour of the Islas Ballestas, which turned out to be one of the coolest experiences I've had. It started with us getting on a boat and traveling out into the Pacific Ocean to the island. I didn't do any prior research, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but even if I had it wouldn't have done it justice. On the way out, we passed a pod of dolphins and I could cry just thinking about it. I was that weird girl who did an entire presentation in fourth grade about dolphins for literally no reason, but Mrs. Brown let me present it to the class anyway. They're my favorite animal so to see them in their natural habitat for the first time in my life was just incredible. I pulled myself together for the rest of the tour where we saw hundreds of sea lions, a few penguins (!!!!), crabs, a starfish, and probably other things that I'm forgetting right now because I'm still thinking about dolphins. Anyways, it was unbelievably fascinating and I wish I could've done it five more times. I've never once claimed to be a photographer, but I'm pretty proud of some of the photos I took during this escapade. You can find a few of them at the end.

THESE ARE DOLPHINS. FOUR OF THEM. THERE WERE MORE.

Thankfulness

Above all the emotions I felt this week, I think thankfulness is the one that was the most prominent. Even during my most difficult week since being in Peru, I still felt so blessed. Not only am I having once in a lifetime opportunities every single week, I have family and friends back home who I don't even come close to deserving, and a God who never fails me. Life is amazing and I'm so dang thankful I don't even know where to begin. Thank you to everyone for your encouragement and for reading all the posts I throw at you. Your support is overwhelming and very much appreciated. Sending all my love!

"When my faith is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2