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...