Temples, Caves, and Yogis

Oh hey there folks! Wanna see me do cool yoga poses on a rock? No? No one cares. Oh...okay.

Then let me tell you about this really cool hike instead. There's two main ruins along this hike. First is the Temple of the Condor (See above) and then the Temple of the Moon. Both are super cool and require an unnecessary amount of stairs to get to. Plus side is it's absolutely gorgeous after you climb all the stairs to get out of town. You can overlook the city and you're high enough you get to a point you can only see the mountains level. You also start to see a more realistic Peru that's got more families with mud packed houses and farms. Normally in the city, you see people dressed up in 'traditional garb' with llamas that are also dressed up. They charge you a sole to take a picture and that's their livelihood. Up out of the valley, which is still 11,000 feet, there were woman grazing their llamas or goats or sheep with their herd dogs. They were in normal clothing. 

After climbing a plethora or stairs carved into the side of a mountain, the land eventually flattened out and we came to the Temple of the Condor. Now on our way up these stairs, both sides are surrounded by beautiful purple Irises and these cute little yellow flowers I didn't recognize. Me, Amanda, and her friend from yoga are trekking up, panting away, and this old couple that was minimum seventy years old is hauling ass up. When we got to the temple, the woman starts explaining one carving in the rock that was a monkey, but when the Spanish came they chopped off the heads of all the carvings. It's really too bad the Spanish conquerors were such assholes cause they really ruined some cool stuff. Anyways, we did a bunch of yoga poses on the rocks with cool back drops and then climbed through one of huge caves and found the condor carving. It's huge and really hard to see in a photograph, but basically there's a big chunk coming out of this cave that is the head and the body of the condor, which is one of huge three main animal symbols that's significant in Incan culture. Over the body you can see what was two huge spread out wings. 

We then continued on to the Temple of the Moon, which I learned was actually formerly called the Temple of Pacha Mama (Mother Nature). It's essentially a large cave and it's got lots of cool carvings in it. Come to think of it, I'd never seen that before. So there's stairs carved in the stone to get down and at the entrance there are two carved snakes. A small one going in and a bigger one coming out above it. This is supposed to represent the energy you put into the world, whatever you put in you get back three fold. On the other side was a small carved puma that had also had it's head removed. Then there are two bench like seats carved into the side, where people came to resolve their conflicts with one another. After they talk it out they would go through a small entryway into the sacrifice room. Above the doorway, Prachu Mama was carved into the sealing. You can see the bottom view of her legs and her bottom and back. And the entryway is supposed to be what she is birthing out into the world. Once in this room, there was a type of bowl carved to hold water and another ledge for people to put their sacrifices on when praying to Prachu Mama. It had just a few Coca leaves scattered on it, but when looking up, there's a hole where light shines down exactly on the spot for sacrifices. Apparently when it's a full moon, the light shines directly through this hole and lights up the whole cave. On our way out of the sacrifice room, right under the Prachu Mama, there are two rocks laid in the entry way. Amanda's extremely informative yoga friend told us if you pick up the first rock there's a draft of air coming up from the ground which is said to be the same air Prachu Mama is breathing, or making or something. I'm not sure exactly, but we lifted up the rock and sure enough there's a draft of cooler air coming up from the ground.

At this point the older couple is in the cave with us and Amanda's friend explained the Pracha Mama air to them. The woman was extremely informative and offered to show us some carvings, we never would have noticed, on the top of the cave. We followed her out and up to the top, where you overlook some of the Inca trail as well as locals playing soccer, and some grazing horses. This woman ended up being from Oregon and lived in Peru 4-6 months a year just hiking and doing trails. I already mentioned how she whipped our ass hiking up to the caves, but when she started talking to us about 1-2 day hikes and parts of the Inca trail we could do she did some weird arm gesture and it became apparent exactly how jacked she was. The definition of wiry. I just pictured her fighting drunk other wiry Irish people. By the way, Happy St. Patrick's day everyone. Enough about her presumed fighting skills, she had a wealth of knowledge about trails and Inca history. She showed us carving after carving in the stone that we would have never found and then proceeded to give us walking directions to the next four towns just in case we were up to it. We never even got her name, but she was pretty rad I must say. 

After that we headed back into town, ate a bunch of vegetarian food, then laid in bed for the next three hours. Amanda coached me through some yoga poses which was really fun. I did some strange thing into a headstand and back down, which sounds weird but it's actually super impressive. Trust me. We ended the night with below average Thai food, but a valuable lesson was learned. It's looking like a busy week ahead, but don't you worry, I'll be in touch!

Look Ma, No Hands

This is our crazy cat...

This is my crazy life

This was my crazy view from 5000meters up in the air. 

I used to have a magnet that read,"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you've imagined." I could never have imagined a life as crazy as the one I'm living right now. I'm currently reading Augusten burrough's 'This is How' and he talks about confidence being about being in the present. With this life, why would I want to be anywhere else, but here and now at any given moment. 

When I went paragliding last week with some of the volunteers and a regular from work, one of the guys asked me where I'd been. After I told him, he asked me what other cool things I'd done. I rattled off climbing a fourteener, living on a ship for six months, and doing stand up comedy and eventually he responded, ' wow I haven't done anything cool.' This of course was untrue as he'd previously told me he'd been mountaineering glaciers in Chile, which is pretty fucking cool. He also climbed three fourteeners. He lives in Colorado on occasion. I told him he was young and he had time. He's twenty two. Yeah he has time, but I have time and look what I've done already.  Yes I had opportunity which I said yes to every time I could, but at the same time I'm also just really fucking awesome for my age and I really should start owning that a little more, rather than weirdly making up some bullshit reason as to why I'm not as cool as I seem. I am THAT cool. So much so, that I keep coming across people throughout my life that present me with some blind faith.

 A volunteer recently asked me if I could do anything and money was no object what I'd do. I said cook and he asked if I'd consider being a housewife. I told that to a new older friend of mine and she responded with a scoffing response that I wouldn't be happy doing that and that I'm going to be some "powerhouse business woman who can go off to France for a month and fuck a twenty five year old when she's forty if she wants." Those aren't my heartfelt aspirations, but I think it was a compliment and I do appreciate the blind faith to be something greater. 

Ok, enough about how awesome me and surrounding parties think I am. Paragliding. I think I mentioned being bored in my last post, if not it was the previous one I was writing that got deleted. Point is, I was getting really bored in Cusco doing just the volunteering and not a whole lot else. This was causing me to be quite unhappy in the situation. However, in this particular situation I was in complete control of my unhappiness. It's not like I was so overworked and underpaid I couldn't do anything but slave over my 9-5 then go home and bitch about it. I could literally do whatever I wanted within a budget. South America is huge on adventure tourism and although I'm not a huge fan of hiking or standing for that matter, I do like a lot of adventure type things; Like bungee jumping, rafting, occasional motorcycle conquests. Although I've never had a desire to skydive, when I saw adds for paragliding a light went on. I like jumping off things and I don't like falling on my face. I shall paraglide. Conveniently enough, the next day two of the volunteers told me they were going to check out prices the following day. I went with them and we ended up booking a trip. We drove up to 3800meters and hung out waiting for the winds to cooperate. I went first and with a small Peruvian strapped to my back telling me to run, I watched as my feet still moved underneath me while distance grew between me and the ground. With that we sailed off the edge of a cliff into the sky. I could see the Andes stretching out in every direction with glaciers topping a few of huge mountains. We could overlook Utamaba and a big lake with a hillside covered in Lilacs on the other side. After about twenty minutes of flight time we landed in a field with a bunch of very panicked sheep. We received a few dirty looks from nearby cows, llbut no one was hurt and the farmers seems unphased. Me and the pilot chatted in what was probably the worst Spanglish he'd ever heard and eventually a car picked us up and drove us to meet the others who were waiting for their ride on top of the mountain. I spent the rest of the day getting sunburnt (despite applying sunscreen) and watching a few sketchy take offs and some very cool flights. 

When we got back, we stopped for a beer before heading to a Brazilian steakhouse to binge an ungodly amount on meat. It was delicious, but rarely have I felt more disgusted with myself than I did the next morning. However, Amanda and I are taking part in a thirty day plank challenge which is going rather swimmingly I must say. We are aiming to stay and work in Vina del Mar, a beach town in northern Chile so a beach conditioned body would be nice. As part of this and a few failed promises, I finally attended Amanda's yoga class. It worked out that it was also her first time teaching the class. She didn't exactly take it easy and they used all the yoga names for everything so as usual, I did a lot of guessing. After about thirty minutes another more intense woman took over. I was shocked and impressed that I could do most things she presented to the class. Balancing on one foot and one hand and 'opening my heart to the sky' wasn't one of those things. We also had all the lights off and only four or five candles around the room. One happened to be right behind me, so if I lost balance I easily could have lit my hair on fire. Anyways, I felt great afterwards, and the next day my whole arm was in pain. I can't say this was in any way, shape, or form, relaxing, but it was a good class for sure. 

Today Amanda graduates from the course and we will have a few free days before we head to Machu Picchu where she will do the hike up to it and I will do Huanupichu. I'm looking forward to the train ride which is supposed to be gorgeous and the actual hike, which is also known as the 'Stairs of Death'. Bring it on. My friend who was visiting last week did the Inca Trail and Huanupichu and said they were both so amazing. My friend who did is is actually a raft guide from Colorado, who I met in the Fort Collins post office after coming back from SAS. Tonight we will have a light dinner to celebrate and attend a salsa class of one of Amanda's classmates. Tomorrow we'll be hiking in the morning in some caves and sometime in the next few days Amanda's boyfriend will arrive from California to stay for a week. Hasta lluego!

PS: My Spanish is awful...still. 

Hands Out Not Up

I've  been  avoiding writing this blog post because I've been plagued by both extreme laziness and a mild case of E. Coli. Where to begin...probably where I left off then. The second day in Cusco I went into a hostel that I knew was looking for a bartender. There was a bit of a misstep in our planning, because most places around here do exchanges work for housing. We already have a house so I don't need another one. What I need is free food...and money. They offer a large discount on food and drinks which is helpful, but I also really need something to do for the next three weeks. Anyways, they offered me the job right then and told me to think about it and email them. Unfortunately, I found out today they never got my email, so hopefully they haven't filled the position yet. It's odd to think you have to compete to work for free. However, there's tons of hostels around here and if not I'll go back to teaching. 

I want to give you a bit of info about our living situation. First, if you don't know what airbnb is then you need to go find out. I found our house using it and it's looking pretty good so far. Isn't it crazy I've only been away for two weeks. It feels like forever ago. Ok, so our host is a psychologist who lived in NY  for twenty years and there's another woman staying here whose getting her TESOL certification. We spent our second day chatting together for nearly three hours over breakfast. Now, I know naturally I'm pretty impressive, particularly in heels, but there's a very rewarding feeling of talking to a perfect stranger about your goals and ambitions and having them turn and tell you how impressed they are by you. Both our host and the other guest voiced this about Amanda and I. At one point claiming 'it's very impressive meeting such young girls with such focus, it's rare'. But believe it or not this blog post isn't about how cool I am, there was actually a much more interesting topic brought up at the table.

We were discussing expats and tourists/ tourism around the world and in Peru. We eventually ended up talking about the idea of America(ns) living in a perpetual state of fear. This probably stemmed from so many people telling us not to go to Colombia or Venezuela, despite America being a fairly unsafe place. Remember USA is #3 for homocide and #1 for most incarcerated citizens. Country of prisoners, we might as well be Australia. Just kidding...kind of. Ok, so we talking about fear in the US and how US citizens never go anywhere 'cause they only get two weeks vacation a year and our host who studies theology says, 'it's people like you who need to stay in those places because open minds and warm hearts are the only way to fix that. When Jesus saw people meditating in the church, he told them they must go out of the church and share with others as concealing themselves in the church didn't help anyone. People use to pray and put their hands up to God and ask for help, but they have to reach out for one other. Repair and relief is a collaborative effort.'  

For a moment I just stared at her. Possibly one of the most profound things I've ever heard. 

Though a little hard to come back from, we continued chatting for maybe another hour before Amanda and I hit the streets to explore more. On the way back, I saw an indigenous woman sitting on the ground next to a cart of grilled corn, or skewered beef hearts or something. We made eye contact and she looked at me with the most bewildered terrifying look I've ever seen on any living thing. It was horrifying. I'm not sure if I'll ever forget her face. A crooked nose, dark skin, pressed lips, and pupils that took up nearly her whole eyes. I could die happy if no one ever looked at me like that again.

If you were distracted by the beef hearts in that story, then I can go on a tangent to talk about food. Beef heart skewers are street food, but more sought after is Guinea pig and on Saturday they sell them, alive and well, out of giant bags on the side of the highway.  

A few days later we went to Pisaq, which is an absolutely beautiful town in the valley of the Andes. On Sundays they have a huge market. Amanda bought a bunch of jewelry, I bought my one necessary art piece and a baby shower gift. We will be back, probably as soon as we rationalize spending all the money we don't have. Pisaq is only thirty minutes away and it costs less than three dollars to get there. There's so many little things I want to buy people, but 1) I have no money 2) no ones buying me gifts from their hometown for no reason.  

We had lunch on a terrace there which gave us beautiful 360 views.

And then we left by late afternoon as our host warned us the drivers usually start drinking around 1 and it becomes difficult to find a sober ride back to Cusco.  

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow there is a strike in Cusco. The roads were nearly empty as people make blockades out of rocks and set tires on fire in the middle of the street. The smell is awful. Apparently the government promised to increase workers salaries and didn't do it, so today if your business was open when protesters walked by, rocks were thrown at it. That said, I do think Cusco is relatively safe. I assume there's petty theft, there's lots of hawkers , and the average amount of homeless on the street. Our host told us that Cusco is a very strong voice and vote, which is why it draws more attention when they strike. However, people looked generally happy today as I passed by group after group of adults and kids playing ball in the middle of the street. However, we all know how quickly that can turn... With that, my heart goes out to Thailand. Stay safe. 

 

Quito to Cusco: A Very Long Ride

View from the top of Quito

It sounds mean but I wish people would have more intelligent conversations. Not like every conversation I have is on the verge of enlightenment but people talk about the most useless shit. Talk about the crisis of humanity or better yet a solution. Why isn't anyone talking about solutions to the shit show that is the American education system. Why are we sitting around talking about gluten free bread instead? That said I'm not trying to sound like a complete asshole. Amanda and I also talk about a lot of dumb shit that really doesn't matter. Usually our boobs, but it varies. 

As Amanda and I sit on our 26 hour bus ride through the country side of Ecuador and Peru, she asks me if I think capitalism is on the way out since it's becoming more apparent that we need a different system. We discuss the objectification of artists by media representatives through interviews. Like Russell Brandt's interview and Katie Couric's interview with Lil Wayne. I won't preach to have the upmost respect for celebrities, but I don't agree with being blatantly disrespectful and treating them like circus animals either. They may very we'll be intellectuals if given the time of day.  

We drove for about an hour of straight banana fields and Amanda talked bout the importance of sustainable crops and eating locally. South America is largely responsible for the fruit exports of the world and looking at the banana trees, wondering if that bunch could end up on our kitchen table in a few weeks is a strange thought. We compared the bus rides to the ones in Thailand where between cities you have virtually nothing but scattered houses and fields for miles. We discussed the possible perspective of people living in the country side seeing these tourist buses come through. 

Our last bus which travelled from 10pm to about 5:30am started with Taken 2 in the TV which was quickly switched out to the movie Six Bullets, another movie about child sex trafficking. I found this really weird for a night bus ride with children on it. The prologue which was in English said,"I once saw a child sold for six bullets and I did nothing". I watched the whole movie in Spanish with no subtitles, but I'm pretty sure that never happened. 

The bus to Peru played Clash of the Titans then some horror film at 11pm right before we all went to sleep. Clearly Cruz del Sur the bus company is operating under a zerofucksgiven policy. I had a constant fear of the entire thing tipping every time we turned. 

Seven hours in we've crossed the Peruvian border. The bus has reclining seats, food, a bathroom and wifi...kind of not really.  I've been living off small packages of Oreos for maybe a day and a half. We're estimated to be in Lima for all of 12 hours before we head to Cusco. They ran out of water and are only serving Inca Kola which tastes like a melted down Jolly Ranchers.  After two Advil Pms I'm in a much better mood. The coast of Peru is gorgeous. A strange desert for miles with nothing around which then breaks into cliffs with the ocean on the other side. If you've ever seen the movie Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus, which you probably haven't since I know one other person on earth whose seen it, then that's what the coast looks like. Or in short like this...

Peruvian Coastline

We spend maybe 8 hours total in Lima. 5 sleeping the rest packing, repacking, eating pizza and taking showers. Our flight to cusco is easy and they give us chocolate muffins on the plane. We arrive at our house in Cusco and it's very cozy. For the first time since leaving Thailand I can actually unpack. It's glorious. We haven't gotten one night of solid sleep since leaving Medellín and we immediately nap. Then we venture out for lunch around the Plaza. We were told it was a tourist city, but you wouldn't notice til you get to the square. There's double decker buses and hawkers everywhere. We eat and then explore. I eat some wrap with alpaca, cause it seems fitting. In Ecuador they eat guinea pig. Tomorrow I will look for work. At this moment I don't want to do anything with my life but sleep in this bed with an alpaca blanket til the day I die. However I know that with Amanda in her course for 3 weeks straight all day, every day, that I will be very bored if I don't find something to do. And a dwindling  bank account is not the way to have a good time. 

Plaza de Armas

Eating Our Way Through Mountains

Today we finally got our tickets to Lima after a subnormal amount if anxiety. If Amanda wasn't so stunningly energetic you'd think we were sedated by our lack of reaction to plans constantly falling apart. Today we decided to go to the hot spring/ thermal pools up in the mountains. The taxi ride was $40, but the entrance to the pools was less than $8. The drive itself was worth it. We passed Cotopaxi, moles upon miles of rolling green hills, and then this massive volcano that peaks at 19,000 feet. It was amazing. We met an incredibly friendly family in the pools, who gave us advice and directions all about how to get to Lima and where to go in Chile. When we tell locals were going to Cuzco for five weeks, we've gotten all positive reactions which is a good sign. Ecuadorian people, according to me are extremely friendly and helpful so far. They speak much slower than Colombians as well which is very helpful. It does seem that their help can sometimes be misguided as we've been told many different things about our bus to Lima and we've been unable to follow any of the receptionists directions. We will be in Lima for only a night before flying to Cuzco where we will finally make a home. 

                                     Mount Antesana the volcano 

                    View behind the pools

After coming back from the spa we ventured back to a random place we saw on yesterday's walk for lunch. Probably had the best meal of my trip so far. We've made kind of a point to have one nice meal in each country, but today proves it just really isn't necessary. Last week in Colombia we had an awesome meal of grilled fish accompanied by a slew of fried appetizers and dessert. In Ecuador we went to a place a friend recommended that had live music. However, our hunger overcame rational thought and we left for dinner at seven when most people don't consider dinner til 8:30-9. We had some cocktail that was recommended. To me it tasted like some heated fireball, but regardless it was delicious. We also had chocolate cake, which has become kind of a habit.  I digress, the best meal so far was today. Shrimp and rice with avocado and fried plantains. So good it hurt. And it was $5. Anyways it will be nice to be able to cook for ourselves. At least food here is extremely cheap. Yesterday we bought two bananas, three apples, a handful of raspberries and strawberries for $1.90. 

Best thing I ever ate? I think so.

                                  

                                                Ceviche with fish and shrimp

Because our bus to Lima doesn't leave until Wednesday we are getting another day in Quito, which is great cause we really like it here. That said I think we are still both looking forward to nesting once we get to Peru. 

Fried Cheese vs. Colors and Cathedrals

Fried chicken trucks outside the house in Medellín 

...never sold chicken and never moved...

I've left Colombia. Not with regret, but more missing pieces. We spent about four days in Medellín. We certainly ventured out around the city, took the metro to the park and overlooked the city, as well as a few other parks plus the neighborhood we were in and one section of downtown, where we ate like 'vegetarian savages' if that's possible. Which it totally isn't. Medellín has a good feel to it. People are friendly, it's easy to get around, and there's what I would consider an abundance of fried cheese. Though we were initially planning to work our way down, likely through Bogota and Cali our change of plans left us having to rush out. So I write this from our plane to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. If it's anything like the pictures we should be in luck. It looks smaller than Medellín with the buildings and homes decked out in vibrant colors nestled in a gorgeous valley surrounded by the greenest mountains. So far the landscape here is just unreal. Unbelievably lush. 

We may only be here a night before we go onto Lima, due to a seemingly intangible bus schedule, but hopefully we get at least a few days in. We have until Thursday to get to Lima. We're planning to take a bus from Quito to Lima. Partially because the price for a flight doubled when we went out for lunch, but also because we really want to SEE the country side, particularly where we won't get to spend a lot of time in it. We're really excited about having a home to stay at in Cuzco with a kitchen we can use. Our host speaks English, Spanish, and French so it may be helpful to have her only speak to us in Spanish for the first few weeks.  I hope she can teach me some awesome Peruvian dishes. Peruvian wine is supposed to be fantastic, but Amanda can't drink during her yoga training so it might just be me drinking with our host's cat.

Amanda's friend, Emma, was our host in Medellín and I didn't really get a chance to know her until today, our last day. That said she is really fantastic. She's applying to Oxford for her masters in some kind of refugee studies. She told us a wealth of information about the crime in Colombia and the displaced people she's worked with as a result. It was so interesting to learn about and I'm sad that I was unaware of her wealth of knowledge and that I didn't pick her brain earlier in the week. As her, Amanda and I sat around the table, Amanda brought up how great she thought it was that we were all going back to school. I think sometimes living abroad or traveling, people get the impression that we're running away from something or immature or just these lost girls. In actuality, I think doing what we do allows us to find ourselves much more than those who chose to stay in the same place. There's a quote in my journal from Thailand that says something along the lines of  "travel not only stirs the blood, but it (synonym for nourishes) the spirit." My point is we are not lost, nor are we running. We're onto something much bigger...and you should be jealous. 

UPDATE: 

Daylight in Quito unveiled a gorgeous colorful city. The bus to Lima is full until Tuesday and we can't buy our ticket for that until Monday, so we need to be first in line Monday morning. Our hostel has an amazing view. We came into this last night and woke up to this. 

One strange thing is the abundance of American music. Example A: the hostel is currently playing "Hit the Road Jack" and our driver played "Eye of the Tiger" on our way to the bus station. Another strange thing is they use American dollars. Only. So everyone whose stayed in hostels knows you always run into some characters. We were under the impression we were staying in the girls room since when we arrived it was only girls. At 3:15am a figure nearly breaks down the door and tries to crawl into the bed above me, falls to the floor, gets up, strips at which point I realize it's not some drunken girl, but a drunken man. He gets into bed, rustles around, then gets out again, nearly falling to the floor, goes to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, his friend comes in and wakes him up for the key, which he then struggles with until he wakes every one in the room. A few minutes later we hear the ever steady flow of vomit coming from someone in the bathroom which is right next door. Needless to say, the man is still asleep in the top bunk of our room. 

After realizing we couldn't get our bus tickets until Monday, we took it upon ourselves to explore the old town of Quito. We started with a walk to the market our taxi driver had suggested. I love markets. I think one of my favorite things is being surrounded by the food and the process of eating and selling and buying food in unfamiliar places.  There was fruit and vegetables in the front, meat and beans in the back, flowers on huge side, and a million stands lining the bottom floor of Ecuadorian grandmas making full meals for less than $2. We ended up with a full plate of rice with peas, carrots and chorizo mixed in, topped with a fried egg and a delicious fruit juice on the side. $1 each. It reminded me of the markets I'd sometimes go to in Thailand, but less sweaty. When we left we bought some fruit for the afternoon stroll. We walked to a massive cathedral and sat in the grass in the front park for awhile before going in and climbing a thousand stairs to the top of one of the towers. We're at about 10,000 feet and the air up here is amazingly fresh and the views were amazing, but stairs are everywhere and they are not our friend.  I love how green it is here and everyone just seems so sincere. AND they speak a lot slower which is helpful to both Amanda and I. I'm glad we are getting to spend some time here cause I think skipping over it, would have been a mistake. However, we better catch that bus to Lima otherwise we're going to be in a bit of trouble. 

Out one Valley, in Another.

So a few months ago I bought a one way ticket to Colombia. I know what you're thinking "wow, what a total badass." I know right? 'Cept they actually make you buy a return ticket at the airport cause South American immigration isn't really down with that kind of thing. Apparently, they have enough bad asses. The flight and everything went fine, but Spirit Airlines tacks on tons of fees and occasionally hires nazis for flight attendants. She literally would let no one use the restroom. 

We got in and got a taxi pretty easily. Amanda is CARRYING me with her Spanish. I know nothing of any use and I feel like a tool constantly. Also, she knows Mexican Spanish which is a lot different so we're trying to make note of differences here and follow along. The drive to Medellín was gorgeous and it made me realize that despite just living in a small mountain town I'm still not interested in going back to big cities. I just wanna live in a valley that's not covered in snow, but I still want street food...so there will need to be some compromises. Since learning Spanish is one of our goals, being in rural areas would probably be our quickest route to fluency. We came to Medellín because we had a house to stay at, Amanda's friend from college, and to get our act together before making a plan. We made a plan then changed it around entirely. Right off the bat we can tell flexibility is going to be important. However, we did come to South America with every intention to work. We spent the first day wondering around the neighborhood, found a bakery (obviously) and a fruit market. We met the neighborhood 'representative' whose name is Ruben. He's just a friendly helpful man who speaks English. He told us what was good at the corner store and offered us his two rooms for rent if we were interested in staying longer. Everyone is the house knows him and trusts him, so mom stop freaking out.

The next day we decided to get out of the city and start exploring so we took the metro which eventually attaches to a cable car that leads to a park. You can see the whole view of Medellín from there and the city is massive. It was interesting going up the mountains because you can see the class change as you go up over the hills out of the valley. The valley itself is sky scrapers and businesses then you see the houses built up into the hill with children running around. Higher up you see a large shanty town with houses of tin roofs and eventually you back up enough to see the whole sprawling city's Medellín.

After our little city tour we agreed to go on a bike ride with our host. We were at the park waiting for our rental bikes when we started realizing we had no desire to do a two hour bike ride. Then we found out it was fourteen miles and we started eyeing the restaurant next to us. Long story short we ended up eating the most delicious pizza I've ever had at a place where our waitress was dressed as a German beer girl despite the place only serving pizza. I can't compare here to Thailand because literally nothing is the same, but one thing that makes the language barrier more difficult here is that everyone assumes if you're here you speak Spanish, whereas in Thailand they look at you and try to speak to you in English. This is playing a part in our strange diet. The first day we ate a carrot salad, rice, beans, and eggs. The second day we each got something from the bakery, ate some strawberries at the park, ate fried chicken, got fruit from the market ( amazing mangos), then had pizza and beer. Classy. 

 

When we returned to the house we changed all our travel plans around.  Initially, we were going to do a beach trip with our host and then go to Chile first and work our way back up for Amanda's yoga class, which started in April. Upon realizing that plan would only give us three weeks in Chile we quickly decided to try and get Amanda in the yoga session that started at the end of this month. Giving us only ten days to get to Peru, we're going to be hauling ass to get down there in time. This involves one 34-hour bus ride and likely two flights.  Into Ecuador by the end of the week, flying to Lima, Peru for a few days then on to Cuzco. Although there's still a lot up in the air we've found a place to stay for our time in Peru and splitting the cost it will be reasonable. We'll be living in a house where we can use the kitchen with a woman who was born in Peru but lived in New York for twenty years. I wonder if I'll ever live in a place for twenty years. Seems weird. 

So anyways, the internet situation right now is fantastic but I don't expect this to be consistent so you shouldn't either. Until next time...

Shredding Gnar on Hunting Bucks with Dirty White Russians

I'm baaaaack... It's been a good long while and I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. I never got a chance to wrap up Bangkok but long story short it was more than I ever could have asked for. Jam-packed with stuff. Work wrapped up, I started seeing a very charming young British man, who bless his soul, relieved me of all my kitchen equipment and then some,  AND I had an awesome goodbye shindig.

 I was sad to leave and it came at a time where a lot of things seemed to be falling into place.. However, the Thai government seemed to be falling out of place so my departure didn't have the worst timing.  That said my departure was bitter sweet as there was a level of uncertainty as to when I'd see some great friends next. I do realize now that it doesn't matter whether I see them in this life or the next I'll always hold a place for them. It was such a year of learning and although I'm sure most of them aren't reading this there's quite a few thank you's I want to throw out. Nuchi, thanks me for teaching me how to dress, A-ya and Jai, for teaching me how to be a lady ;) Sam and Ben how to be a Hot Mess ( as opposed to a Luke warm one). To the whole family that I was so lucky to be apart of and to the family that took care of me when I needed it most it couldn't have been a better year nor could it have ended any other way. So khap khun mak ka to all of you.

Back in America I had a lot of business to attend to. Medical attention was first on the list. After months of awaiting clarity on news of ulcers and ovaries I got nothing, except a Russian doctor. And that did not go well. Laying on a metal table in the process of my third ultrasound that day, the technician asked where I was and what happened then continued on about how she'd never seen my kind of scar for the surgery I had. When I asked her if everything was still intact, she responded "Oh I'm not allowed to discuss your results with you."  "Is that a joke?" Two weeks and another appointment later, I found out my organs hadn't been harvested and in fact they didn't leave anything behind, the doctors just did a shitty job closing the deal and by deal I mean they slapped my muscles together like a sloppy joe and then stitched it up like a raggedy Ann doll. 

Fast forward a week and a half through holiday times with the family and seeing the Bangkok girls Amanda and Hilary in SanFran and resume in Colorado. A friend in Bangkok had suggested I could work at her aunt and uncle's in the mountain town I was going to, so I called them up when I arrived and a week later I was working there as a barista and bartender. It was fucking awesome. Such a great place with super awesome people to work with. The nice thing about working in the mountains rather than the city is for some reason assholes are deterred from the mountains.  I lived there for two months with my friend from college and her three roommates and awesome dog. I got to snowboard whenever...fo free! Rode a snowmobile, went to hockey games, drank Fireball, and made my first Christmas dinner.

 Such a cultural immersion, let me tell you. But seriously, it was such a fun two months and I'm glad I decided to stay there for two months and work rather than just two weeks  because I met so many wonderful people out of that short experience. However, I know that all good things must come to an end...but only so I can start more good things somewhere else. Which is why in less than twenty four hours I'll be on a plane to Colombia...

Tyra Banks Aint Got Shit on Bali

Last week I watched an episode of America's Next Top Model that was set in Bali. In it, Tyra Banks told the models, "You don't choose Bali, Bali chooses you." Well Tyra Banks is an idiot because trust me you fucking choose Bali.

 Bali is/ my trip was unbelievably awesome.  I cannot wait to go back because I am certainly not finished there. I wish I could put into words how beautiful that island is. The people are so friendly, that upon arrival I convinced myself I was about to be trafficked. But here's why and it might even sound fairly reasonable for a lone Western female to think this. I got off the plane and had arranged for my homestay to come pick me up. When I get through the arrival hall there's a bunch of dudes along the edge. All of them have signs, which are face down on the ground where they're sitting. I went up and asked someone if they'd seen a sign for my place and a few of them chatted and said no. About five minutes later this man comes up to me and asks where I'm staying. He says he looked up the number of his phone and called them and that the driver is on his way. Ok, so that does sound kind of sketchy right? He shows me the number he has called, but not long enough for me to be able to see it. I then get the number from him and call it, but it doesn't work. This is wear opening moments of Taken start playing through my head. He tells me to wait by this column where  realize I can't see any of the men holding signs, so if the driver shows up I won't be able to see him. Meanwhile, I'm running all this through my head, but not actually doing anything. What would I do, run away? A few minutes pass and I see a man walk past with my name on it and other information I'd only given the homestay. So everything was fine, a waste of panic, and I'd like to say better safe than sorry but really I didn't do anything that made me any safer.

 We get in the car, the driver is super friendly and we're chatting about Bali and Indonesia and passing by the window are temples and art museums and craft shops and warehouses where people carve out beautiful teak wood furniture and stone sculptures of Hindu gods. I knew right then that my trip was already going to be too short and some day (hopefully sooner than later) I'd be back in Bali. They even have Dunkin Donuts...fyi.

After an hour drive, I arrived in Ubud which is the cultural hub of Bali. I did a homestay which was more like a bed and breakfast, but the family was super friendly and helpful and there were a few other guests staying as well. Home made Balinese breakfast of crepes stuffed with banana and topped with toasted coconut in the morning was just what I needed. The home was in a gated compound and most of the gates look like temples themselves so it's easy (for me at least) to wonder into someone's house thinking it's a temple...Yes that happened. I spent only two days there, most of which was spent wondering in and out of actual temples along the street and nomming out on Balinese food, which is absolutely delicious. Bali is about as cheap as Thailand with a few differing exceptions. Food is cheaper and cheese is readily available, spa treatments are about the same, clothing is more expensive in Bali and so it transportation. But food and spa take priority so I could totally live there.

View from the First Cafe I went to

With my skin feeling like absolute butter by the second day, I took off for Amed which is the east part of the island. I knew I wanted to spend some time on the water, but also wanted to avoid all the bad touristy things I'd hear about Kuta. After some research and finding an awesome bed and breakfast, I decided Amed was going to be my beach destination. The same driver who took me from the Airport to Ubud offered to take me to Amed so we set off on our two hour drive.

I've always thought that one of the best ways to get a good feel of a place is to drive it. That way you can't avoid some of the things the tourism industry tries to keep hidden. However, Bali is a place that's clearly preserved it's culture and it's resources. I'm always hesitant when people say they want a cultural experience when they go somewhere, because it seems very 'let me stand back and observe your people' which is weird. For example, if you come to Bangkok looking for that, you can stay at a five star resort and see a traditional Thai dance show by fairly non-traditional hotel staff who've lived in the city all their life.  I think that's just the result when people go to a place with the mentality of show me your culture but I want hot water and a Western breakfast. Regardless, I didn't get that sense in Bali and driving up the coast I saw people living in similar compounds to the one I'd stayed in and just going about daily life. Most of them doing some kind of physical labor or craft.

Having just finished First They Killed My Father, I've been thinking a lot about how close families are in Eastern culture. In these compounds whole families fill them and each take care of each other, and in the book even though the family was divided over and over again family was such a priority and it made me wish I had something more similar to that. If any member of my family ( including myself) said family was their number one priority they'd be lying. But out here, they support each other so much and have such a vested interest in one another's well being and it's really, I don't know, nice.

Rice Patties on the Eastern Coast of Bali

For two hours we drove past coastline, where the ocean looked like the color of one of my favorite crayola crayons as a child. We passed rice fields that looks like some kind of labyrinth and black sand beaches. The driver asked me if I liked music and expecting him to put on some Balinese music I said yes. After about a minute of static, some kind of Taylor Swift dubstep mix came blaring through the speakers. I, in no way, saw this coming and I couldn't help but laugh. The music never lightened up and I smiled the whole rest of the way wondering if he actually made this mix or where on earth he got it from.

 We drove up and down what seemed like cliffs hanging over the water's edge to find the place I was staying, and when I arrived I knew it was worth it to make the trip up from Ubud. A gorgeous pool that overlooked the water, a restaurant outside with tuna steak and wasabi on the menu, and $1 snorkel rental gear. There were only three rooms in the place and when the man opened up the door to my room, I was so happy I could have screamed. It actually took everything in me, not to scream. A balcony with a table to eat and a sofa all that overlooked the ocean. The entire wall facing the balcony was a window and sliding doors, so the water would be the first thing I saw in the morning. Even the bathtub had a view of the water. It was fantastic.

Even though Bali is one of the most popular honeymoon destinations (and I understand why), I'm really glad I went there by myself. Sometimes it's hard to tell if you really liked a place or whether you liked your experience there because of the people you were with.  For example: I loved HongKong when I went, but I'm not sure if I'd like it if I was there without the same people doing the same thing I did the last time. Anyways, it was the perfect place to think and reflect on this past year and it made me think about how I used to really hate being alone, like I'd never do anything by myself, but now I actually really enjoy it. Especially that trip because there was no pressure to get up and do activity 1 through 4 before 6pm or something I could just do whatever I wanted. A while back I watched this clip of Louis CK talking about how nobody knows how to just be by themselves anymore and it's true. It's so hard for people to just sit and not check their phone or be playing candy crush. No one wants to stop and think about what they're doing, why they're doing it or where they're going. And it's funny because all over Southeast Asia I see people just sitting on curbs or stoops and I wondered what they were waiting for. Now I get that they don't have to be waiting.

It was the perfect place to clear my mind before returning to my beloved city of squalor that is Bangkok. I feel like I say this every post recently or at least I think about saying it and then forget, but I've learned so much this past year and I think developmentally this has probably been the best year of my life. Bangkok taught me how to grow the fuck up, the accountant taught me how to dress, and a collection of receptionist taught me how to be a lady ;)  Overall, I'd have to just say WINNING

View from my Balcony in Amed

News from the Islands

So I'm back from Koh Lanta and yes it was beautiful...

As usual the journey there was interesting to say the least. I met Ben and Sam at the airport in Krabi, with Ben's friend, who was visiting from England, Georgia. We got on a van then transferred to another that would take us to Koh Lanta through two ferries. It ended up taking 4 hours instead of 2 and there was "one of those guys" in our van, who kept telling this woman how terrible it was to live in China and how all the houses leak and it's over crowded  and awful, but his job is wonderful because he works in luxury ( a restaurant review website). All the while he's ranting about China, his Chinese wife is sitting right next to him. I couldn't help but think to myself, how on Earth does she love you, how does anyone.

Before this hater started talking I had been reading First They Killed My Father, which I think I mentioned last time, as I'm trying to become better informed. By the way, becoming better informed is exhausting. Every time I learn something, I just learn of more gaps in my knowledge that I need to fill. Anyways, if you haven't heard of the book it's about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It's really really depressing, but that day this particularly line really struck me as a haunting image.

 "When the bodies are finally buried, they are nothing but large nests of maggots."

I'm not going to get into exactly whose bodies she's talking about but I'll tell you if you ever go to Cambodia, you realize quickly that there are entire generations missing from the population. ^^That's why.

After our trek in the van we finally arrive at our hotel resort, which Georgia had found.  It was absolutely beautiful to have a view of the ocean at breakfast and the pool from our room. In case, any of you are thinking that's not travelling staying at places like this, my response is No shit, I was on vacation. Now why was I on yet another vacation. Well, obviously because I don't work that.

We arrived late, so we spent most of the following morning at the pool getting the essential first day sunburn. That afternoon we went into town looking for lunch and some activities for the following day. We settled on a 4 Island snorkeling tour and found a place on the water to get seafood. After going back to the hotel, we were all so 'burnt out' from sunbathing we just enjoyed a few beers on our balcony before falling asleep. But not without plenty of pillowtalk ; )

The next morning we left our place at 8am to drive almost the whole length of the island to get into our longtail boat for the day. On the boat with us were a bunch of other people, almost all couples except three. Our hotel was also filled with couples then later those same couples ten years down the road with annoying children also showed up. Anyways, the boat had a lot of characters. Two German couples, one of which the husband nearly tipped the boat every time he got into the water. An adorable Belgium couple, a Thai family, a Spanish guy, and a crazy British woman who kept trying to get us to come and walk the dogs at the animal welfare center she volunteered at. We took the boat to the first island where they anchored in and told us to get off and snorkel. First, let me just say EVERYONE hates a mouth breather so we all try not to do that. However, when snorkeling that's all you are supposed to do and it can be an awkward transition. Needless to say the first time, I got a bit panicky when my mask puffed off my face and disgusting seawater came flushing into my mouth. Eventually, it evened out and I was able to relax a bit more and see a lot of cool coral and fish and whatnot. Due to surprise changes with previously nonfunctional organs, (yay for baby-making abilities: boo for attracting sharks) I didn't stay in the water long after the first shark siting, despite the fact it was only a foot long. We went to another spot for snorkeling and saw a bunch of hanging bats on some cave walls on the way. The water was gorgeous and blue and warm and we got in again for about a half hour. After climbing back on-board we went to another island for lunch, where we got to just hang out and be on the beach. We'd been off land for four hours at that point so it was nice to touch down on solid ground. The beach there was beautiful as well.

After lunch, we went to this cave we were meant to go inside of. The water got really choppy and a bunch of people looked like they were on the verge of getting sick. It was to the point I wondered if I'd get sick despite having some established sea-legs. Instead, I put my head back and hummed the words to "Wagon Wheel" the whole time. When we arrived at the cave entrance the water had gotten so high there was only about 6 inches that were still above water, they told us it was to high for us to go in and get out safely and looking at it, it was pretty easy to pass up, though I had been looking forward to it. Instead they took us to another place to snorkel which ended up being the best. We saw all kinds of colorful fish including Parrot fish, which I enjoy staring at. One of the crew guys from our boat managed to pick up a sea urchin which was cool and two people cut their feet on the coral. We headed back to our resort for a short break before headed back into town to find dinner. We ended up going into this restaurant where a random select few dressed like pirates and there was a taco buffet for their 3 year anniversary. Made no sense, but the food was great. By the time we left their was monsoon rain so we did what any person would do and got chocolate and banana and Nutella roti/pancakes. It was delicious. We found a ride back and spent the rest of the evening curled up in a king size bed watching Goldmember and sipping Singha.

For reasons unknown, we all ate breakfast the next morning as if it was our last meal. The kitchen made eggs, pancakes, and french toast to order and to say we dabbled would be an understatement. After that Sam and I put all our stuff in Ben and Georgia's room and checked out. We then spent our remaining hours at the pool and the private beach, before our strange trip back, which included cutting a massive line of traffic after some random woman on the street gave our driver a piece of orange clothe and 500 baht.

This trip was planned to be our last hurrah as the three of us are coming to our end of contract and are figuring out our separate ways.  It definitely makes me sad to think about parting from the boys as they have been a constant reason for laughing. A midst many topics of pillow talk, I discussed how I've been truly happy with my life this past year. I'm choosing to leave now because I know my happiness here has an impending expiration date and I want to leave before it soils. That said, this past year I feel I've really thrived and I think it's because this is the first time in my life I actually feel successful. This doesn't mean like I felt like a failure up until now and I had success in things like school and whatnot before, but I'd never considered myself successful. This year I did everything for myself because for the first time, I could. I got my own place, could pay all my own bills, made my own friends, had a good job and learned SO much. The more I learn, the more I know I need to learn. The more awesome people I meet, the more I realize I can get rid of the assholes in my life. I'm really glad I didn't leave when my body failed...twice, but now I know I'm ready for the next chapter and whatever that may bring.