10/23/14 Quechua

What a nice day. After a morning in the clinic, we were treated to a lunch with my nursing supervisor and two other volunteers at a local restaurant near my house that was fantastic. They had a couple options and I decided to go with the ones that I had no idea what they were which was fun and very delicious. After, I took the afternoon to go hang out at a local coffee shop near the plaza, put on some familiar tunes and practice some spanish. Time slipped away from me as I spent a solid part of the afternoon there. I sat on the second floor balcony and at one point there was quiet the storm that passed through. It was so relaxing to sit with my hot coffee and just watch. It was gorgeous and the plaza cleared out so it was awesome to see it without so many people around... Quiet and tranquil. It was a nice independent session that I needed with myself. After I met up with some friends to go to a cultural play that was solely in the peruvian language of Quechua. It started out with some traditional dancing that was awesome, the singing took some getting used to but I barely noticed because I was so engrossed in the dance and incredible costumes/attire the people had on. The play was a sort of version of Romeo and Juliet, a little frightening but overall very entertaining and fun to be apart of. The friends that I went with knew someone in the play so that made it a little more special. After, I got to meet him and we shared some food and drinks at a tiny place of their choice. A great day..

10/20/14 Trek Day 4: The grand finale

We wake up at about 4:00am and head to the entrance at the base of Machu Picchu. We get up early so that we can try and catch the sunrise at the top, and at that time there are less people. It was actually really nice because it was so cool and the air was crisp. The hike starts and everyone kind of separates to go at their own pace. I don't know if I got on a sort of runners high or was just super excited to get to the top but I cruised up there and was there in about 45 minutes which is good time. I was really proud of myself because the hike is steep and mostly steps. Again, the pictures don't do anything justice. It was a bit cloudy so we didn't get to actually see the sunrise but I was still awesome. The place is huge and completely gorgeous, even more so with minimal people. About 2,000 people on average go see it every day, so capturing some pics with minimal people is awesome. We have about a two hour guided tour through the ruins and get a lot of history and education. After we were free to explore, it started getting really busy, so we ate lunch and hiked up another 45 minutes to the Sun gate to see an over view of the grounds. It was obviously beautiful. After some rest and contemplation there we started making our way down, which was actually harder than the way up because my knees started giving out and hurting. We made it back to Aguas just in time for a pretty strong storm. We hung out and rested for a while and after the rain slowed we walked about 15 minutes to the Aguas hot springs which are definitely not as cool as the other one but we had time to use. We took the train (my first train ride) for about two hours back toward Cusco. A very strange experience, the staff did a little fashion show for clothes to purchase and there were creature-like costumes they dressed up in for entertainment. We then got off the train and took a bus into Cusco. We got into cusco about 11 and I ate and totally crashed. I had to be up for work at 8 at the clinic which did not sound at all appealing at the time but I survived. After work, my head hit the pillow and I was out of commission for the rest of the day. GOOD NIGHTTT!!!!

10/19/14 Trek Day 3: Adrenaline rush

The morning started out early once again... with no power and no sun, getting ready and packing was difficult. We started the day with ziplining along and over the river between mountains. Was very fun and very high and very fast. There were five different stations that you graduated through and you could try different positions like upside down or superman, etc. Each got faster and more fun as we went along. At the end there was a suspension bridge, similar to like a ropes course for those of you who know what I'm talking about. It was very fun and people were crazy and risky, it was hilarious and a blast. Since I have experienced that kind of thing before, I was all in for the jumping/swinging/twisting/etc of the line to make it more fun, however, the girl in front of my was terrified and pretty much cried the entire way over the bridge. I had to talk to through most of it and adjusted/changed her cables at each checkpoint. Poor girl.
After lunch we started the hike to Aguas Calientes which is the small little village at the base of Machu Picchu. A fairly simple hike, a little uphill, and most along the train tracks, it was very pretty. The town of Aguas is very cute and dainty and pretty touristy of course so things are pretty expensive. We got there and the power had been out for a day or two because they had gotten so much rain. Once it got dark it was like the stars had fallen because there were candles literally everywhere. It was fun to walk through the markets and see everything lit up by candle light. They had hot water at our hostel so that shower was phenomenal. An early night for an early morning... like 4:00am early.

10/18/14 trek day 2: Deet... Love you like a brother

Thank Baby Jesus for deet, otherwise, I'm sure I would have woken up in that hostel with loads more bugs bite than I had. Some people in the group definitely got it much worse than others. We started the morning with an uphill trek, but for some reason today doesn't seem as bad, however we started in the morning so it was much cooler and we were a bit more fresh for the hike. We get near the top of the mountain and rest on the cliff of sorts with the most breathtaking views of the river and surrounding mountains. It's a beautiful morning, warm, and relaxing. We stay here for a while and our guide gives us some education on the incas to lead up to the grand finale of Machu Picchu. Our guide told us of the three theories they have for the Inca people... since they were not literate, left no writing or pictures, it is difficult to say what is true and what isn't. Apparently only about 50% of what they know is actually true. We continued downhill to the river and then mostly on "flat" lands for the rest of the day. Once we were along the river, the land moved with the river, so we were walking on gigantic rocks mostly... almost rolled my ankle a couple times but overall was good. Kept thinking, this rock business better not lead to another incidence like my dads.... ;) We hiked from about 8-5ish but took many breaks and was a pretty easy day. We finally got to the Santa Theresa hot springs. A little more touristy that I anticipate, but they were very relaxing. We met some girls who were doing their own guided trek (holy bold), they had just gotten done working on the set of Survivor... they were the people who tested out the challenges before the actual contestants. Sounded like a pretty cool gig. We stayed until dark and then we were taken to our hostel for the night. No power made for an interesting night and an even more interesting morning, but at least the windows closed in this place!

10/17/14 Trek Day 1: To sign the waiver or to not sign the waiver

Well, it was a pretty easy question to answer because there was no waiver to sign. We started the journey with a sort of debrief of the safety precautions and the importance of following the rules or paying severe consequences. With the sort of extreme circumstances that we were about to face, I kept thinking that they should really have some sort of waiver for participants to not only know the risks of the trek but for them to not be liable for injuries, because apparently they aren't uncommon and aren't minor. Regardless, I would have signed because what we were about to do was going to be epic.
We started the trek with about a two hour bus ride. It was extremely early in the morning so most of us just slept. We drove to the top of a mountain and the first segment of the journey was biking downhill.... extremely fast... through winding country/mountain roads... with 180 degree turns... with oncoming traffic... crazy, honking oncoming traffic (traffic in Peru is already totally bonkers)... with breaks that sound broken and a clicking sound that doesn't sound comforting. After the initial shock and extreme precautions being taken, everyone started relaxing and started to enjoy the ride. We rode over 13 of Peru's rivers that just happen to flow over the road, so it was a wet ride but really enjoyable. Toward the end of the ride, my gears decided to not function... so I was stuck on the easiest gear on flat land. So here I am, peddling my little heart out and not moving anywhere. lol I fell to the end of the train and the van following us had to stop and fix my bike. At this point, I'm very behind the group and am working really hard to catch up so why wouldn't it start down-pouring? Soaked and totally exhausted, I caught up and we hung out while the bikes are put away and we drove another 30 minutes to our lunch spot. Here we are, wet, in the jungle and definitely underestimated the attack of mosquitos. We had the option to go rafting at this point, however, only one other person was doing it and it was raining... so I opted out. Oh yeah, and two people died last week doing it... so that didn't encourage the risk.
After lunch, we start the hike to our first hostel for the trip. Note to self: PACK LESS!! In the jungle, with very moist air, and incredibly steep... like hang on to the tree because my feet can't grip the dirt uphill. The hike was fairly short, approximately 1 hour, but when you feel like you can't breathe with the moist air, are getting eating by mosquitos, are carrying a couple kilos on my back, and haven't worked out in 4 months... I pretty much thought I was going to die and then thinking the entire trip was going to be like that, I was about to cry. I sucked it up and got to the top to this totally amazing view and true feel of being in the jungle with a cutest hostel that is nothing like a stereotypical hostel. It's a little jungle home with a couple extra rooms... with open windows so the tropical bugs of the jungle have a free range dinner while we sleep. After dinner we all took the coldest shower of our lives, so cold it took your breathe away but so refreshing because it's SO hot and we were drenched from the trek so it was well worth it. We went to bed with the paranoia of getting eating alive by bugs and we definitely woke up to have been eaten alive. Wishing I would have packed melatonin, icy hot, and bug spray and nothing else.....

10/11/14

Today Spanish lessons consisted of a field trip. My professor and I walked around "El Baratillo" which is a type of flea market of sorts... It was quite the place. HUGE... we could have walked around forever and gotten sooo lost. It was very interesting, apparently some of the products sold are donations (new items) and others (most other things) are second-hand. They sell literally anything and everything from toilets to tools to clothes to empty medication vials. It was quite strange, but very fun to walk through. Frank, my instructor, said that he has bought new Doc Martens there for approximately $12 and another one of his friends found a brand new RL purse for super cheap. The place was packed and it was very difficult to get around but the people watching there was fantastic. I loved the atmosphere of being in the crowds and the hustle and bustle of it all, however, it was a place that everyone, including locals, need to be aware of pickpocketing. One man was selling iphones (which are very difficult to use in Peru even if you have the right equipment) so we stopped to look at it, and Frank and I almost burst into laughter as it wasn't even close to being a real iphone! At the end of the market, there is an "animal market" if you will... it felt like being at a petting zoo or a farm or something. They had sooo many cute puppies that I obviously snuggled for a while, kittens, chickens, and guinea pigs that are HUGE. They literally look like large rabbits. But guinea pigs are very important here as the best peruvian dish here is Cuy (guinea pig). I have not tried it yet, but definitely intend to.
Following my spanish lesson, I was supposed to meet up with my Swedish friend but with lack of phone use and internet access we couldn't find each other. On my way to an Internet cafe, I ran into a couple volunteers I met in Urubamba! Very unexpected but a very nice surprise. They introduced me to the other volunteers they were with.. all from Urubamba unfortunately, so I still have yet to meet any volunteers in Cusco. We ended up walking through a natural market called "San Pedro." Everything is fresh, organic, and delicious. As they were on their way out of town, I received a message from another volunteer in my clinic and we decided to go ahead and make some reservations for a Machu Picchu trek! So next weekend... mountain hiking here I come! To my surprise, MP is actually lower than the city of Cusco! So hopefully the altitude shouldn't be too much of a problem. It felt very good to finally get in touch with a volunteer from Cusco. After a lot of praying and a lot of effort of putting myself out there, little by little, things are starting to get easier.... Off to Pisac tomorrow to meet up with the volunteers from Urubamba to do some shopping, so until next time.

megan

10/10/14 A little background for my explorations...

This morning I woke up with nothing to do. So, I dug through my backpack to look through some of the flyers that I had been given while walking in the streets. People are always advertising their tourist services and almost forcing you to take their flyers. I received one from a nice guy that had mistaken me for Australian, we had a nice conversation and he was advertising a "free walking tour of cusco with food included" so naturally I'm immediately skeptical but I decide to head down to the plaza to check it out. I get there early so I can hang out at a coffee shop and complete my homework for that day, however the plaza is hoppin' so I had difficulty separating people watching from focusing on my studies... imagine that. I get to the start place and strike up a conversation with a couple from England who were hysterical and dressed equally as hysterical, so that made being alone much more fun. The tour starts and I'm pleasantly surprised by the knowledge and entertainment factor in the tour. Our guide is a little peruvian man who is ecstatic about the country and particularly about Cusco. The tour lasted almost three hours, had samples of different kinds of food included and our tour guide gave us quite a few good tips as well as recommendations for places to eat. I met a girl from Sweden along the way and we are tentatively planning some activities for next week, so I'm super jacked about finally meeting some new friends.
More spanish lessons this afternoon...

Clean and ready to explore

Ahhhhh my first shower. How cold but how beautiful. Quick and a little painful but for cleanliness purposes, absolutely necessary. After feeling so overwhelmed yesterday with Spanish, it was a nice way to get refreshed and back to moving forward.
I had an interesting conversation with my host sisters during breakfast this morning that reminded me of a concept that I learned while in South Africa. Myra, my younger host sister was poking fun at the fact that I drink my coffee black but my other host sister found that a bit irritating and went on to inform her younger sister that it wasn't bad or stupid but it was just different than she was used to. Such a quick conversation that has resonated with me... How difficult a concept that was to grasp and get used to in South Africa and how easy it is to forget. I have had to remind myself on multiple occasions (which is impressive since I have only been here 3 days) not to compare things or customs or norms here to the United States norms because they don't even remotely apply. Such a simple concept that is extremely important to practice. Thus practicing cultural sensitivity...
So, after a nice leisurely morning, I completed my homework and took off for the city of Urubamba. In order to get there you need to take a taxi to the bus station and then bus 1.5hr to the city. I met up with a projects abroad rep and only one other volunteer. Usually the events are very popular but some of the other volunteer were sick and others were involved in some holiday festivities. Today was the holiday to remember the war between Peru and chili called Batalla de Angamos. So the three of us traveled on another bus to a very small village for a pottery class... We get off the bus and walk another mile to get there and to our surprise, the women hosting the event is not there. On the bright side, it was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the scenery. Urubamba is surrounded by mountains and is very colorful, I really enjoyed being there. Our rep brought us to a little cafe that was gorgeous, we sat outside and enjoy some beverages. On the bus back, we were driving into what looked like a severe storm, it was very dark and I watched as the lightening struck down on the farm land. I'm thinking... Wow, that is totally amazing but Great, it's nighttime and storming... How am I going to get from the bus station home and will it be safe and I wish I was watching this storm from the comfort of my home! Lol I get off the bus and thankfully it hasn't started raining yet but I stand and work on flagging a taxi down that's a reasonable price and after 15minutes of arguing, I get in a cab and am actually able to direct him to my house. Hey, after only three days, I'm a pro!! But in all reality, I'm super proud of myself for being able to communicate and have the confidence to not let the local take advantage of my inexperience. So go me! ;)

Tomorrow is more spanish, so wish me luck!

Long underwear and wool socks

Day three:
Boy am I happy that I packed long under, wool socks, hat, mittens, and layering clothes. At night here it gets very cold, like 30-40's cold. I know you're thinking, I'm from Minnesota and this shouldn't be an issue, but when windows don't seal and there is no heat, it becomes difficult. Again, long underwear and wool socks... I could snuggle you forever. I have also quickly learned that there will be no walking around the home without shoes on as when I walked out of my room to the bathroom this morning, I took a nice big step in Winnie's (my host families pup) pee. That was one way to wake up. Although I could really get used to waking up with inviting animals that are so pleased to see you. It's a give and take relationship haha one of the kitty's has also taken a particular liking to me and wants to snuggle at every chance possible. So that's a nice little loving figure and on another positive note, gandalf (the kitty) keeps me warm. :)
This morning I took a little adventure by myself through the plaza de Armas, which is the main square/plaza of cusco. It was super busy with many tourists, and on more than one occasion, people asked me if I was Australian because apparently Americans aren't as blonde or as white as me ha! It was a very nice day, warm and kinda cloudy, good light for taking pictures (pictures already uploaded to Facebook). The plaza has many historic buildings and museums that are gorgeous and very detailed. I took my first taxi alone which was a little nerve racking but went smoothly and he didn't rip me off which was nice, however, I did get lost because I didn't know where he dropped me off so my 10 year old host sister had to come find me haha she may or may not have laughed most the way home.
This afternoon was my first spanish lesson. We started from the basics because apparently I can speak ok but very little is grammatically correct, which I already knew. My lessons are three hours but it definitely flew by. Although the work is a little tedious, it is necessary and I like that I know I'm getting better at correcting myself. However. I can hardly think or speak English now because my brain is so tired.
Speaking of mindless... Apparently, zombies are all the rave here. Tonight is the walking dead. So naturally, I'm distracting myself with writing here so I don't get nightmares (no laughing tanner or steph). Well, hope all is well in the states, hope is getting cold for you people ;)

Buenos noches!

Step 2: get to cusco

(Technically) day 2:
0200 Well I am in Peru and unfortunately my body still hates me and I am probably more tense than I was before so that's fun. I get to baggage claim and the place is hopping and filled with people even though it's 0100. Oh yeah and no one speaks a lick of English. So when the lady at the money exchange rattles off her recited interaction (in Spanish obviously) and I respond with "umm mas despacio, por favor?" She laughs and speaks even faster with her teller friend and proceeds to give me my money and tell me to move along. So again, that was fun. But, on a positive note, my checked luggage is in the country of Peru!! How exciting and a huge relief.
I'm not sure why but the airline had us line up at the expected time to board our flight, however, we stood in line with nothing happening for quite some time while a staff member came through and made sure we were all in the right line. Seemed weird to me, but I didn't ask questions. While I was in line, I met a group of teachers coming back to cusco, one of which was so excited to practice his English yet I was wanting to practice my Spanish so I'm sure it was a funny conversation to any outsider. They proceeded to ask me if they could take a picture with me, again I thought it was strange, but maybe one last moment to capture on the plane for them? Who knows.
On the plane I was seated next to two young Peruvian girls who were very friendly. It was their first plane ride and they were video-ing and taking pictures of everything. When I offered to take a picture of the two of them, they were so flattered and they struck up conversation which was nice to finally talk to some younger people. Moments later, they were asking for me to be included in their pictures.  I'm wondering if these people are just interested in my blonde hair/blue eyed combo or if everyone just loves to capture the moment with people they meet/come across. As the plane ride went on, one of the girls ended up getting proposed to, it was very cute and unexpected. I, of course, was the photographer to capture the moment.
The moment of truth. Would I be able to find the project's abroad member to take me to my home stay? Well, turned out to be extremely easy and my rep was very nice and had loads of information which was helpful. We took a quick tour around the plaza and main square area and then headed to Maria's (my host mama's house). It is better than I expected! I have my own room with a bed and dresser and whatnot, but the luxury here is that they have WIFI!! I think my parents are taking a sigh of relief right now. But there is running water here as well so showering shouldn't be too tricky but very cold. The family has two cats and a dog, so I'm very happy that I brought my allergy medication and am able to keep my room off limits to them.
As my host mama leaves for work, I decide to give the deck of Minnesotan playing cards to the girls (one 10 and one 17) early so that we can play. They teach me a game that is very similar to phase 10 with some additions, interestingly enough I was extremely good at the game and ended up winning (steph and tanner are shocked right now as I was never a good sport when I was losing to them at phase 10). The family plays the game with the entire family every Sunday, so I had to start practicing!
I can't figure out how to post my pictures on here, so I will attempt at posting on Facebook!

Megan

Step 1: get to peru

Day 1:

1200 The journey hasn't gotten off to the best start as the first two hours at the terminal I watched as my flight got delayed further and further and my anxiety for not making my connecting flights grew stronger and stronger. I'm currently sitting on the three hour mark and it's never good when I have too much time to think. Females... always overthinking what never needs to be overthought. Who didn't I get to say goodbye too? Did I say all that I wanted to say to those I did get to see? What did I forget to pack? What if my host family doesn't like me (yeah right ;))? Even though I will only be gone for three months, goodbyes are always hard to wrap my emotions around. So I'm trying to stay busy and what little I have but can't seem to calm my body enough to enjoy anything. Send good vibes my way so that I can try and focus long enough to finish this post and maybe get a little spanish studying in the books. I think once I'm actually in the country of Peru, my body will calm... hopefully, since my back is taking a beating with all this tension! Cross you fingers it doesn't decide to rebel and cause more problems than necessary. I haven't made any fun travel friends yet... granted I haven't been in one place long enough to initiate anything, plus if I open my mouth (TMI) I might throw up before any words come out. I feel like traveling used to be so much easier... woof.
1645 hop off my first flight and thank baby Jesus my next flight is In the same terminal. I shuffle myself down there just in time to board my 7 hour flight to Lima. On the positive side, no Impatiently waiting at the terminal for a flight that May or may not come.

Until later, 

Megan