Peru has been an amazing experience. It hasn’t been difficult, simply because of the language. I am bilingual and it hasn’t been hard to communicate with people. I do find it difficult sometimes, because I noticed my vocabulary isn’t very wide. I need to learn more vocabulary in Spanish. I truly think that will help me a lot, as well as talking to people. That is how I have improved the most is by talking in Spanish with my Peruvian friends. I went out to eat with some of my Nebraska friends one day in Barranco. After we left the restaurant I heard music, and instantly I knew there were people dancing. As I got closer I saw the group of break-dancers practicing at the park. I immediately jumped of joy because I have been longing to practice dance with people. I stayed there for a little bit and got to know the guys. After that day, I have been to Barranco every weekend to practice. Some of the guys even invited me to a hip-hop studio en Chorrillos! That was an amazing experience. Every week I try to go to the practices as much as I can. These people are so full of life, and let music take over their body. That is what I look for in people, people who are full of life and real. The story behind the owner is amazing. She was a professional dancer and her father owned this piece of land. She decided to make a studio out of it and now helps these dancers achieve their dreams. She helps them make a profession out of it. That is the reason I continue to go every week. We practice and go out to eat afterwards. By far, the best experience so far with social life. It is a little difficult going everyday because Barranco is an hour away. It is about thirty-forty minutes in a taxi, but lets be realistic that gets pricey after a while. I decided to get a metro card and everyday take the collectivo to Barranco. It is so much cheaper! Last Sunday I went to a break dance competition. It was excited because I have been to several back in the United States but I never thought I would go to one here in Peru. It was amazing! My two friends that invited me ending up making it to the third final round! They were so close to winning! There were so many people, but what surprised me the most were the girls! There were more girls here competing that what I have seen back in the United States. I thought it was very inspiring to see. I cannot wait to see what else they invite me to and what else I will be learning. Chao for now!
Traveling to “go find yourself” seems to be a “thing” that a lot of youth want to do. However, what exactly is “finding yourself”? Is it personal growth? Is it admiring nature and it’s beauty? Traveling the world? Or is it simply spending time by yourself to discover who you really are as a person? Maybe, just maybe it can be found in the simplicity of your own home. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer. Traveling means something different to every individual. I think that when you travel you should be doing something out of your comfort zone as much as possible.
I came to Peru with not a lot of money in my savings lets just say. I’ve always been concerned with money and don’t like to spend a lot. I am on a pretty tight budget, however that doesn’t stop me from visiting the country itself. I am already here, so why not take advantage of it, right? My friends and I were on Spring Break at Mancora, Peru and we had heard that Ecuador was only four hours away. Four hours away is not far considering that it is 2,913 miles from the United States. I quickly gathered information so that we could get to the boarder of Ecuador. It was then settled, we will be going to Ecuador the following day. We woke up at 5:15 a.m. to start our Ecuadorian adventure. It was a fresh morning and we walked from our house to the main road to get a ride to the next town. There are transportation vehicles called moto-taxi. It is a motorcycle with a car seat attached to it. Strange, I know we then drove to the nearby town. As we got off I was searching for someone to yell “Tumbes!” which is the city next to Ecuador. As I heard a man call out for Tumbes, we quickly got on to the grey van and waited for the rest of the seats to fill. The sun had risen already and we can start to feel the heat and sweat from our bodies. Transportation in Peru does not leave unless all the seats are occupied. It wasn’t long until the van was full and we headed on our way to Tumbes. The ride was a total of two hours and I had to constantly look at my written out directions so I knew where to go next after we arrived. I was surprised at how vast earth is. As I look out the window and see the vast blue ocean and light blue sky, it reminded me of Mexico and the United States. Sometimes, I forget that we all share one planet. Once we arrived in Tumbes there were many people approaching us asking if we need a ride. This man “Juan” approached me and asked “Donde quieren ir”? “La frontera” I replied and he said he could take us. I was a little skeptical at first, but then noticed he was a taxi driver so I decided to say yes. As he drove us he asked which part of the two I wanted to enter. I had no idea there were two entries into Ecuador, however some of us didn’t have a visa so the Juan said that he could help us out. He told me exactly what I needed to do and explained that we need to be cautious when entering Ecuador and certain parts of Tumbes. We arrived at the boarder a flood of people started to appear. There were various tents with vendors selling their products. People with stands selling fresh food. Everything was crowded and busy. This was nothing like what I had in imagined. Of course, I didn’t know what to expect either. Juan said I am going to walk ahead of you. I want you guys to walk and try not to get noticed.” If they stop us they will ask for our papers and of course not all of us had them. How ironic is that, two American girls and one Hispanic girl dressed differently then the rest trying not to get noticed. Anyways, we did just that and as we started to walk across the boarder all I could think of was please don’t stop us. We tried to hide in between the crowd and “blend in”. We made it safely across the boarder and I was relieved and thrilled that they didn't stop us and I was in Ecuador! Juan started talking to his “friends” and called us over. He said “This is my friend he can take you guys anywhere you want in Ecuador, he will be your taxi driver”. We got on the car and drove off into Ecuador. Ecuador was green, with lots of trees, colorful and beautiful. We drove two hours into Ecuador and arrived in this town and the taxi driver told us we could go on a boat ride to an island (beach). We all agreed and got tickets! We went on a boat ride and to a beautiful beach. The sand was a metallic black color something I had never seen before. We tried these cookies that were actually not that great. We needed to be back before six so after spending time in the boat ride and the beach we needed to leave and return to the boarder. As we headed back I started talking to the taxi driver. It was a simple conversation at first about money. In Ecuador they use dollars, yes dollars. However, it does not have the same value as it does in the United States. There was something different about this man; one of his arms was shorter than the other. As he held the steering wheel I could see some clear marked scares just above his elbow. He then mentioned his car accident and how it changed his life. Before the accident this man used to drink a lot and didn’t always make the right choices. It wasn’t until after his accident that he realized he needed to do something with his life and follow God. He was in the hospital for a couple of years, and I couldn’t believe it. We talked about the meaning of life, God and how unexpected surprises life throws at you. We talked to whole way back to the boarder, approximately two hours. At the time, I was having a difficult time figuring out exactly what I want to do with my life. However, I realized that life is ongoing, it never stops and we must stop to enjoy it just like I enjoyed my conversation with my Ecuadorian friend. A reminder that God is in control of my life, and I must leave everything up to him. As we returned to the boarder de said our goodbyes and of course paid, a lot of money. I was very uneasy about having spent so much money on the trip. I had quickly forgotten what I enjoyed about the trip. I felt guilty about spending a lot and thought maybe I should have not came, I felt like I lost a lot of money and could have possibly used it for something else. I am on a tight budget anyway. On our ride back to Mancora I started thinking about what exactly I had learned. I had learned a lot from this small trip. A lot about life, my relationship with God and being allowing myself to love who I am as a person even more. As I contemplated over the trip I realized that I might have spent more money than I intended, but I did gain something different; a personal relationship with a stranger, a talk that allowed myself to become more open and confident. The talk with my Ecuadorian friend reminded me that life is something to be cherished and that doesn’t matter where you are in the world. That is why, when you loose something in life, you gain something much more meaningful. That is something money can’t buy. This weekend we went on a trip to Ica-Paracas. I was not sure what to expect but I was very opened minded about the trip. I had just gotten back from Juliaca and I’m now heading to this weekend trip. It took five hours to get there and we took a bus called Cruz del Sur. This is a bus company I’ve wanted to take for a while so it was nice to see the difference between their services compared to other companies.
Once we got to our hotel I was astonished. The hotel was beautiful and we were told it was five star. Not that it matters, however it was nice having that kind of hotel to stay at. We waited two hours before checking in and had three people per room. The first day I decided to take advantage of the pool and swim for a while. We then later in the day all decided to go sand boarding. We had to climb this hill that took forever to climb! I’m usually used to climbing hills and not getting very tired, however this hill was hard to climb! It could have been because of the sand but I could literally touch the ground by reaching my hand in front of me. Thank goodness they had a string to help you climb up. There were some handmade stairs but they were falling apart. We all waited in line for our turn and saw each of our classmates go down the hill one by one. I was very excited but a bit nervous. Some people went down standing up like snowboarding or skiing. However, I had never done any of those so, the rest of us went down the hill sitting on the board. From down the hill looking up it doesn’t look too steep, but you can tell it was steep. However, as I was sitting there listening to the guide’s instructions it looked very steep! I was actually nervous! I felt as if I was going on a roller-coaster or skydiving. Maybe not that extreme but it was a bit scary. However, I had to go down the hill. Going down the hill was fun! I was going very fast and afraid of falling I tried stopping and sand got all over my mouth and myself! As I reached the bottom I was relieved that I didn’t roll down the hill. It was fun and scary but I wanted to do it again! Later that night we wanted to go dance however every discoteca was closed. A lady in a coffee shop was kind enough to let us play music and have our own little dance party. The next day we had a tour lined up for us and we went on a boat ride to see some sea lions and lots of different birds on an island! It was a beautiful sight! That was my first time seeing sea lions for the first time! We headed back and had the rest of the day free! I enjoyed my time at the hotel by spending time at the pool and going down the slide! The rest of the weekend was just spent relaxing and getting ready to leave. Overall, this trip was short, very short however it was fun! A great way to relax and enjoy my time here while I still can because when I head back to the U.S. I will return to my busy life. Here I can relax, travel a lot even within Peru and do what I enjoy to do. When I was in Juliaca that week I decided I wanted to go to Bolivia. Actually, that was one of my goals when arriving there. It was only four hours away from their hometown that I did not want to miss the opportunity. We left early in the morning and took a van to Puno. Puno was great! It a lot poorer than what I expected. In literature class we are talking about how there is racism here in Peru. There is racism among Peruvians. The people in the city discriminate people that were born in the urban areas. In the past they were viewed as uneducated people. My host mom and people in the Puno area speak a language called Quechua. This is their native language. People in Puno speak Quechua and Spanish is a second language. People in the city speak Spanish. Normally, Peruvians that live in the city are middle to higher class. The Peruvians that are low class are the ones that come from the urban areas to make a better living (people from Puno). You can defiantly see the difference from Lima and Puno. Lima is a city that is modern and up to date on technology. Puno is a city but has a lot of the poorer buildings. When we went to eat at our friends cookout at the country later that night we went to dance. Afterwards our friend Carlos complained about his throat. We had to take him to the emergency room and he was there over night. In the emergency room I was surprised by how much better our hospitals are than Puno. Lima’s hospitals are of course more advanced but in general, we are blessed to have the technology and advanced care that we do in the U.S. Back to my trip, we arrived in Bolivia and my host family showed me around. They go to Bolivia often for business and she took me everywhere! We went to the Paz and went to the central of Bolivia. One thing I can say is that in the poor parts of Bolivia it is poorer than Peru. Of course, there are richer parts of Bolivia and it is beautiful! The buildings are different and Bolivia has more color to the country than Peru. Bolivia is so cheap! I got myself two hats and dance shoes! We stayed in a hotel and the next day did some more shopping. We tried a food called empanada but it is nothing like what we make in Mexico. This was so delicious! It looked like an empanada but it was huge and with cheese inside. They told me they only sell them in Bolivia. We took this transportation where you get on a fairy and you get to see all of Bolivia from the sky! They told me that it is only a year old so they had just constructed it. We went to take pictures where the government building was located and there were military soldiers! The building was beautiful and was lit with different colors. We walked around the city and there were so many people selling on the streets. Overall, Bolivia was a great experience and I’m glad I went. To return to Lima, we took a bus to Arequipa in the morning and took the latest bus to Lima ( 10:30 p.m.) Arequipa was beautiful! We got there and there were police officers playing in a band! I tried queso helado and it was delicious! I saw four people getting married that day. They say it is good luck! We walked around a lot and took a lot of pictures. We went to see a lot of the touristic areas. We met up with a friend there and he took us out to eat and a drink. I wish we could have stayed longer but I am planning on heading back. We rushed to the bus station because we were running behind but arrived on time. Honestly, I have not had internet for almost three straight weeks. There were times when I could access internet shops but traveling around Peru so much limited my use of internet. However, I would not have it any other way. It amazes me that I have explored more of Peru than I have my own country (Mexico). I have explored a bit of the Untied States but agree that there is more to see. Overall, traveling has defiantly been a great experience for me (good and bad) I expect to continue doing this for as much as I can. If I have a goal in mind, I will achieve it.
This week instead of heading back to Lima with the rest of the group I decided to go to Juliaca. This is the hometown of my host family. That same day I had to go to the bus station through a taxi and find a bus that went to Juliaca. Thankfully I did, I had to wait about an hour before the next bus left. However, during that time I started talking to this family next to me. They are involved in the company Herbalife. I thought this was interesting because before I left I got involved in a company called Amway. I have heard of Herbalife and we started talking about their business and life. We talked the whole hour, and they even gave me their phone number. Once I got on the bus I was ready to see and meet the life that my host family grew up in. It was a six-hour bus drive and when we arrived at the town my first thoughts were, this town is poor. Coming into the town there was no pavement just dirt roads. The houses and building looked old. I am one of those people that like to experience the culture through the locals. Not so much the touristic places although those are fun. The bus stopped at the bus station and my host mom dressed in the Peruvian outfit was waiting for me at the door. I had never seen her like that and asked why she was dressed that way. She said she was dancing in the Carnivals. How excited, they took me to their house where I placed my stuff and then took me to the party. This week this town celebrates their carnivals. Keyla had told me it is one of the best carnivals in Peru. The party was amazing! I sat down and started talking to people, since it was early there were only adults there. The younger adults like my age were at another town but would arrive later in the day. Young kids would spray some sort of foam at each other and so would the adults! There was music, beer, food and laughter. What caught my attention the most was how much youthful spirits the adults had. They were not afraid to have fun spray each other with foam, run around and dance. This was a different culture of Peru that I had not met yet. Later that night everyone started dancing and they invited me to dance. They showed me the steps and I was having fun! It was a little difficult at first but I got the hang of it. The younger adults and my roommates came later that night and we had a great time. The next day was the parade. They asked me if I wanted to dance in the parade and I said yes. That morning everyone was rushing to get ready and the mom had to get a dress for me. I did the girls makeup and we got the costume on and thankfully it fit! We practiced the steps for five minutes and left the house. We didn’t have to leave until 2 p.m. so we waited at their aunt’s house and watched some of the dances from the door. Then we had to be at the door, and Keyla talked to the President in charge of the Parade. She wanted to make sure we danced in front of them. We waited about an hour before it started and let me tell you, it was cold! I was actually freezing, however once the parade started I warmed up. I can honestly; say this was the best experience ever! I felt so famous! People kept asking to take pictures and while you are dancing they give you drinks! We danced for two hours straight. There was so much music, laughter, cheering, pictures and videos. All I could think of was smiling and performing. I thought of everything I’ve learned as a performer and applied it to the performance. I was able to do well because of my experience with choreography and dancing. We took pictures and sang along! When we arrived at her aunts block they gave us whiskey, it is a tradition to give the dancers you know an alcoholic drink. After two hours we had five more blocks to go, however I was way to tired to continue and if you would have worn the boots you would have understood. I actually left five blocks before we were done. I think my roommates continued because they were tipsy. I went to the house to change and eat and my roommates had another dance! However, I was too tired to dance so they changed and left. We then went to go watch them but it was late and by the time they arrived at the block were we awaited them they were drunk. So the family didn’t give them any whiskey. But the rest of the night we tried to convince them to come home and eventually they did. When we got home they went straight to bed. That night we were suppose to go to the disco because of Keyla’s birthday but in a sense I am glad she slept because I was tired! The next day Keyla was disappointed because she wanted to go to the discotheque. That day we celebrated Keyla’s birthday. It was so much fun! We ate and the young adults (us) were in the living room. We all talked drank and played games. Keyla got drunk again, but it was so much fun! We didn’t go to sleep until 3 a.m. On Wednesday Keyla had to return to Lima and I stayed. Gabby and I went to a cookout with some friends and hung out there all day. These people lived out in the country but it was beautiful. There were mountains and had a huge house! We then went to the bar afterwards, talked and danced. To truly experience a culture in a country you need to spend time with the locals, travel like the locals, and think like the locals. I truly feel that I have done that through my traveling around Peru.
This week was our trip to Cuzco. I just got back from Mancora the week before, so I am excited to see how different the culture from Northern Peru is in comparison to Southern Peru. Cuzco was cold, but a very urban culture. When people think of Peru I would assume Cuzco is the place they have in mind. There you can see many people dress more like the culture. This is something that you do not see in the city. We arrived in our hotel and got accommodated well. The first day I went to walk around the town and get to know the new place. I came across a vegetarian restaurant and talked to the manager for a while. That was a great experience, later that day we went on a field trip to around the town. I really enjoyed the structure of the town, it was old but beautiful at the same time. The next day was a full day tour; we visited places that resembled Machu Picchu. It was all very beautiful; we visited so many places in one day. Our tour guide Nacho did a great job at showing us around and explaining the history behind every site we visited. There was a lot of Cathedrals that were beautiful. There is one church that was beyond beautiful! I wish I could have taken pictures but it was prohibited. I was personally amazed at how much history my religion has. Personally, it was something to be proud of and something I respect a lot. Lunch was provided that day, which was great, and more pictures with lamas were taken. The next day we had to wake up at 5 a.m. to head to Machu Picchu. It was about a two-hour bus drive to the train station. I had never road on a train before so this was very exciting for me. What was more astonishing was the view. Peru has so much beautiful scenery. You can se the Andes Mountains so clearly. A river flowed down the mountains and with the mountains there was a mixture of what seemed like a forest. It took another hour to get to the city of Machu Picchu. We took a bus to get to the very top of the mountain (where the actual Machu Picchu is located). In order to be able to explore all of Manchu Picchu it takes all day. We hiked and went through all of Machu Picchu and it was a beautiful experience. The most amusing part for me where the lamas. There were lamas just walking around. We got to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I was so impressed by how the Incas were able to create such a beautiful structure with no technology. Imagine how long that would have taken. There are rumors that there is another site like Machu Picchu and even more beautiful. However, it is difficult to locate. This trip was very different from Mancora. They both have one similarly, tourism. In Mancora the tourism consists of tours like swimming with turtles, boat rides, visiting crocodiles, zip lining etc. In Cuzco the tourism consist of taking picture with the lady’s in their cultural clothes, pictures with lamas, Peruvian folk music, traditional food, Machu Picchu and much more. In comparison to the United States it is very different. When you visit different cities, town in the United States you will find different customs. It is the same here in Peru. Every part that you visit has different customs, for example Lima is a city. In Lima you will be surrounded by the city life, of course with a touch of Peruvian style.
February 15, 15
This last week has been amazing! A couple of friends and I went to Mancora, Peru. It is where the northern beaches are. They are beautiful! I highly recommend it for people who are visiting Peru. We stayed in a bungalow and had a perfect view of the beach. The bungalow was small but perfect for us. There was a hammock outside which has great! Every morning I went out for a run along the beach. Afterwards I made breakfast and lay on the hammock reading a book and my bible. Then I would just lie there for an hour or so and fall asleep. This mini vacation was amazing and so relaxing! The first day we got there we went grocery shopping and I made pasta for the girls. The next day (Sunday) was a relaxation day to just enjoy the resort. We watched a movie later that night. On Monday we decided to take a tour bus and they took us to Tumbes, Peru. We went to a beautiful beach (Punta Sal) where I enjoyed the large waves. Then we went to a mud bath and then to a warm beach! We then went to the Manglares, where we saw trees that grow in water. The water was a mixture of the river and the ocean! Lastly, we saw crocodiles. The next day was a relaxing day and we went out to eat at night. That’s when I met Oscar, he is a great guy and tried selling us some tours but we decided not to go. The girls got their hair done that day. Wednesday some of us went to Ecuador and it was such a fun adventure! The borderline was filled with little shops! We went to a town two hours from the boarder line got on a boat that took us to a beautiful beach. The sand was different at this beach! We headed back to the boarder and hung around there for a bit before heading back to Peru. Once we arrived at Mancora we ate sushi! The best sushi I’ve had! I wanted to get my hair braided but the guy was not there. On Thursday we went to buy groceries again and then went out to eat at a different restaurant. I don’t remember what restaurants we ate those particular days, but all I can say is they were all amazing! This day was the day I got my hair braided! We became good friends with Christian (the guy to braided our hair) he is from Colombia. He invited us to go swimming with the turtles for free; well kind of we just paid for gas. Anna and I took the offer. Later that night we went out to eat and then had desert at a live jazz performance. It was a girl signing and a guy playing the guitar. It was great! Friday we went to swim with turtles!! It was great! Later that night we hung out with the guy who did our braids and his friends. We then went to a discotheque! The next day we packed and headed home. Mancora was an adventure, and I was not ready to head back. It is hard to describe every little detail and activities that we did. However the memories will always be held in my heart. I was never bored there. We always did something and the mornings were very relaxing, soothing and incredible. I also feel like the group that went was a great group. We all worked well together, trusted each other. At first I thought spending a whole week at the beach house would get boring. However, you don’t get bored it is almost like a medicine. Ways to get away from the world and enjoy your company, no Internet, no people nothing. At least that is what my mornings consisted of. The evenings were filled with enjoyment and a lot of fun! I will never forget this experience; I met a lot of new friends. I was saw some living conditions of a few friends, for example some lived in tents. That is how some people traveled. Overall, one of the best experiences so far being here in Peru. |
AuthorLife is a beautiful structure of art. An art that God has created. Travel as much as you can. Be active, and eat healthy. Archives
April 2015
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