I’m Past the Half-Way Point
It’s crazy to think that I’m over the half-way done with my exchange. At some points it seems like it was just yesterday I was home in good ol’ Indiana trying to decide what things to pack, yet at other times it seems like it all happened an eternity ago. I can’t remember what the meal menu was in my Indiana house anymore or how we survived without rice. It’s crazy for me now to try and think of it.
On a different note I wanted to… I don’t know… make a new years resolution… promise to be better… say sorry… apologize… all of those things for not being a very dedicated blogger. I don’t have an excuse either because I’m on holidays from December till March… I know. I know. It’s a hard life here in Peru. But to sort of go to bat with myself I have been doing a lot, have done a lot, and will be doing a lot in the upcoming mouths. Let’s start with the done just so I can keep my thoughts organized.
I survived the holidays both new years and Christmas. *pausing for applause* honestly I was expecting it to be harder than it was. Everyone warns you that the holidays are the hardest part of your exchange because you miss the traditions at home and you get really homesick but I only really experienced this feeling after it all happened and it wasn’t anything out of the normal for me. I’m just a very homesick girl and I accept that now. I’m just going to be homesick all the time, and I deal with it. Holidays being no exception, but because I was experiencing new traditions and new activates I didn’t remember to miss people until after it was all over and there was the calm after the storm. This allowed me to enjoy the time in the moment which I am grateful for. If anyone would like a more specific what we did during the holidays blog post, I would be happy to do that but for now I’m going to keep going about what was done. Comment if you want a more specific holiday post.
During and after the holidays I was able to go out on my own and hang out with friends using public transportation! I’m still beaming from these activates. It was fun having the ability to leave and experience things on my own and in the company of good friends. We fallowed tourists in the Plasa de Armas, had a bread and water picnic in the post office waiting for Christmas packages, bought baby alpaca tourist junk for our families back home, and figured out how to get to each other’s houses. Fun times full of laughter and good conversation. Also Justin’s (the future fireman from Florida) girlfriend came to visit all of us after Christmas. We were all so excited since we joke she is our step mom because Justin acts like our group dad. It was the first person we had visit from our native countries and she won’t be the last. Then to round everything up with a big ball of fun my sister Leshka, Luisa my friend from Germany, and I all took a 4 day 3 night trip to Cusco. Talk about a blast! We bought things, got lost, looked at local artwork, visited a beautiful church outside of Cusco, ate good food for every meal, and climbed a mountain just because we could. But most importantly we all grew closer. Especially after getting lost.
Now for the doing! Well… doing with in the last 4 days. So technically it’s done but it’s been a bit more recent for me. Right now I’m back in Lima like my first ten days here and I’m with a new family! I packed up my room in Arequipa without tears, said goodbye to my first family with many tears, and once again changed everything for another adventure. Lima is a boiling hot city full of people and humidity. With the constant beautiful weather in Arequipa I had forgotten what my hair does when it’s humid out. I flew in late so my family all piled in the car after I got here for a late dinner of pollo al la brasa, talked a bit, then I hit the sack after calling my family in Arequipa to say I had arrived safely. Next morning bright and early woke up hot and sweaty to go the Lima water plant to see how water here is treated… now I know why we can’t drink water straight from the sink. Then we had the Lima talent show with singing, dancing, and musical instruments. Then the next day we went to a boring 2 day camp outside/ inside of Lima and now we are to the present. It’s all been a whirl wind so I’m taking today to unpack and calm down before the wind kicks up again.
Here is what’s coming. On the 20th the exchange students’ em-barque on the 14 day trip to Ecuador! We will be visiting beaches and other historical land marks along the way as we head north. Then in the middle of February I have family coming to visit me! We plan on staying in Lima for three days and Arequipa for three days so we can see the sights of the cities I’ve lived in and get acquainted with my families. Then I will return to Lima and they will move on to the other wonderful sights Peru holds for adventurers. Then once I come back I have the three day trip to the jungle and almost immediately after wards I return to Arequipa to my other new family. Whew. Makes me want to sleep just thinking about it. I guess the good part is I’ll be tired from having fun so it won’t be all that bad.
Through all of this I will get to live and learn a new city, meet new people, and learn a different way of talking. (Here in Lima they say Bueno for everything, and I have no idea why… still haven’t caught on to that yet…) I’m excited for this grand adventure in the coming mouth and can’t wait to live more outside of my comfort zone than ever before. Remember friends, you can do anything through Christ. He is the one you gather your courage from after you say goodbye for the 2nd time. He is the one you look to when your lost in Cusco. He is the one to ask for strength from when you miss home. I’ll see you in the next blog! Chow.
It’s crazy to think that I’m over the half-way done with my exchange. At some points it seems like it was just yesterday I was home in good ol’ Indiana trying to decide what things to pack, yet at other times it seems like it all happened an eternity ago. I can’t remember what the meal menu was in my Indiana house anymore or how we survived without rice. It’s crazy for me now to try and think of it.
On a different note I wanted to… I don’t know… make a new years resolution… promise to be better… say sorry… apologize… all of those things for not being a very dedicated blogger. I don’t have an excuse either because I’m on holidays from December till March… I know. I know. It’s a hard life here in Peru. But to sort of go to bat with myself I have been doing a lot, have done a lot, and will be doing a lot in the upcoming mouths. Let’s start with the done just so I can keep my thoughts organized.
I survived the holidays both new years and Christmas. *pausing for applause* honestly I was expecting it to be harder than it was. Everyone warns you that the holidays are the hardest part of your exchange because you miss the traditions at home and you get really homesick but I only really experienced this feeling after it all happened and it wasn’t anything out of the normal for me. I’m just a very homesick girl and I accept that now. I’m just going to be homesick all the time, and I deal with it. Holidays being no exception, but because I was experiencing new traditions and new activates I didn’t remember to miss people until after it was all over and there was the calm after the storm. This allowed me to enjoy the time in the moment which I am grateful for. If anyone would like a more specific what we did during the holidays blog post, I would be happy to do that but for now I’m going to keep going about what was done. Comment if you want a more specific holiday post.
During and after the holidays I was able to go out on my own and hang out with friends using public transportation! I’m still beaming from these activates. It was fun having the ability to leave and experience things on my own and in the company of good friends. We fallowed tourists in the Plasa de Armas, had a bread and water picnic in the post office waiting for Christmas packages, bought baby alpaca tourist junk for our families back home, and figured out how to get to each other’s houses. Fun times full of laughter and good conversation. Also Justin’s (the future fireman from Florida) girlfriend came to visit all of us after Christmas. We were all so excited since we joke she is our step mom because Justin acts like our group dad. It was the first person we had visit from our native countries and she won’t be the last. Then to round everything up with a big ball of fun my sister Leshka, Luisa my friend from Germany, and I all took a 4 day 3 night trip to Cusco. Talk about a blast! We bought things, got lost, looked at local artwork, visited a beautiful church outside of Cusco, ate good food for every meal, and climbed a mountain just because we could. But most importantly we all grew closer. Especially after getting lost.
Now for the doing! Well… doing with in the last 4 days. So technically it’s done but it’s been a bit more recent for me. Right now I’m back in Lima like my first ten days here and I’m with a new family! I packed up my room in Arequipa without tears, said goodbye to my first family with many tears, and once again changed everything for another adventure. Lima is a boiling hot city full of people and humidity. With the constant beautiful weather in Arequipa I had forgotten what my hair does when it’s humid out. I flew in late so my family all piled in the car after I got here for a late dinner of pollo al la brasa, talked a bit, then I hit the sack after calling my family in Arequipa to say I had arrived safely. Next morning bright and early woke up hot and sweaty to go the Lima water plant to see how water here is treated… now I know why we can’t drink water straight from the sink. Then we had the Lima talent show with singing, dancing, and musical instruments. Then the next day we went to a boring 2 day camp outside/ inside of Lima and now we are to the present. It’s all been a whirl wind so I’m taking today to unpack and calm down before the wind kicks up again.
Here is what’s coming. On the 20th the exchange students’ em-barque on the 14 day trip to Ecuador! We will be visiting beaches and other historical land marks along the way as we head north. Then in the middle of February I have family coming to visit me! We plan on staying in Lima for three days and Arequipa for three days so we can see the sights of the cities I’ve lived in and get acquainted with my families. Then I will return to Lima and they will move on to the other wonderful sights Peru holds for adventurers. Then once I come back I have the three day trip to the jungle and almost immediately after wards I return to Arequipa to my other new family. Whew. Makes me want to sleep just thinking about it. I guess the good part is I’ll be tired from having fun so it won’t be all that bad.
Through all of this I will get to live and learn a new city, meet new people, and learn a different way of talking. (Here in Lima they say Bueno for everything, and I have no idea why… still haven’t caught on to that yet…) I’m excited for this grand adventure in the coming mouth and can’t wait to live more outside of my comfort zone than ever before. Remember friends, you can do anything through Christ. He is the one you gather your courage from after you say goodbye for the 2nd time. He is the one you look to when your lost in Cusco. He is the one to ask for strength from when you miss home. I’ll see you in the next blog! Chow.