Well friends, this is my final blog post of my Peruvian adventures since I return to the U.S. on Tuesday. I will give you a brief overview of the past two weeks and then wrap everything up for the semester. (Make sure you read the last few paragraphs at least)
Two weeks ago I studied for finals, did well on all of my finals, and went to visit a school of high school and middle school students. Going to the school was one of the more intimidating things I've done here. We didn't know what to expect, but when we got there all of the students in the school lined up in the courtyard and waited for us to come speak to them. They sang their national anthem for us and then we got put on the spot and sang ours for them as well. It was so awkward standing on the stage in front of all of them that I laughed for a lot of the song (I have serious problems with laughing during inappropriate times. Same as Zach). We then lined up and introduced ourselves in Spanish and then let Stephen our UNK professor speak for a few minutes. Afterwards the students swarmed us, taking selfies with us and asking for our autographs. We visited a few classrooms and answered questions about ourselves and Nebraska and then finished off the visit with some food and music. It was such a crazy experience, and one that I will never forget.
I also went to another of Gio's basketball games. I met his dad at their house and rode with him to the game. It took about 25 minutes to get there and he spoke in Spanish/English while I spoke in Spanish the whole way. I am proud to say that I can carry on a 25 minute conversation in Spanish now, which would have terrified me before coming to Peru.
Wednesday night all of us girls and our UNK and UPC professors met at the Gringo Bar in Barranco to have a farewell celebration. The teachers said a few words, we danced, and drank a lot of chilcanos. It was a wonderful way to end the semester here, and I am happy we all got to be together one last time. Thursday evening we met up with one of our professors to eat sushi at our favorite restaurant one last time before saying goodbye for good.
Over the weekend I went out with Gio and his friends one evening and drank my first IPA beer (my family should be so proud). We were celebrating a friend's birthday so it was fun even though I could barely hear any of the Spanish being flung my way. I also skyped a few people back home and hung out with Gios niece and nephew, who are adorable. The next night Gio and I went on a date to a cute little Italian restaurant and I ate the best lasagna I've ever had. He drove Marki and I to the airport at 4 the next morning and we met Danielle there, who had slept through her alarm!! Luckily we all made it on our flight and the adrenaline of Danielle being late woke me right up.
The first day in Arequipa we walked around, shopped, and took a tour of the city on a bus for a few hours. We were all exhausted all day since we slept less than 4 hours the night before, but we enjoyed our relaxing first day. Our hostel was pretty nice except we had to share our room with a 50 year old man. He slept in the bunk underneath me. Needless to say hostels are interesting. We went to bed at 9 and passed out with the lights on since our roomie was working on his laptop.
The next morning we got up and went to walk around and shop some more. We went to Cruz Del Sur to ride for 5 hours to Puno, which is where Lake Titicaca (the tallest lake in the world) is located. We got to our new hostel and froze to death all night. I did not bring warm enough clothes on this trip. We got up the next morning and went out on a boat tour for the day. We got to visit floating islands which the families had made by combining roots from the water rod plants, covering the roots with the rods, and then building their houses on top over the time period of about a year and a half. The islands are staked down to the bottom of the lake. Why someone would want to spend the time making a floating island is beyond me, let alone live with the same 12 people for your entire life. Sounds horrible. But it was really neat to see. We got to try the rods, which tasted like celery and ride on a cute boat that they had made. We then rode to a big island and hiked up to the top where we got a gorgeous view of the lake. We ate a spectacular meal there and then hiked back down to return home. Us girls laid on the top of the boat for a while to soak up the sun until we got cold.
To sum up the rest of the trip, we went back to Arequipa and went to Colca Canyon, which is the second deepest canyon in the world. We had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to get on the bus so we were tired as usual. We watched condors (huge Peruvian birds) flying in the canyon and got to try some fruit that is only grown in that area. It was a really great tour and was an awesome way to end our time in Peru.
Now comes the fun part of wrapping up my entire experience in Peru. I came up with my own little quote while contemplating life on one of the bus rides this week (original, I know). It goes:
The paradox of traveling is that you leave a little piece of your heart with the people and the places you come to love. But you find that they fill your heart a little more than the pieces you leave behind to make your heart fuller and more beautiful than when you began.
This is something that I have learned to be true in the past 4 months. Relationships have formed and strengthened, I have fallen in love with places all over Peru, and I feel as though I am leaving a part of myself behind with all of these people and places. But as I reflect upon my return to the U.S., I realize that my heart is so much fuller than when I left. I have learned so much about myself, another culture, other people, and life in general. I am happy every moment of every day because I see how incredible the world is and how much I have left to see and do in my life. I have been rejuvenated and given so much energy and passion. My only concern is that I won't be able to do all of the things my heart is now set on.
This trip has changed me in so many ways and given me many skills that will be useful in the future. I have a million memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Even though this journey is coming to an end, I am excited to see what the future holds. I'm already planning exciting things when I graduate next May :). I will hold on to the excitement and challenges of this journey and continue to pursue more adventure no matter where I am.
I have so many people to thank for making this trip the greatest experience of my life. Thank you to my family back home who supported me and let me move away from them for so long, it was hard on all of us. Thank you to the teachers who gladly put up with us for 4 months and taught me more Spanish than I have learned in the past 4 years combined. Thank you to Barb and Stephen (aka Starbara) for being amazing chaperones and fill-in parents. Thank you to the Nebraska girls who made the trip so memorable and became some of my closest friends. I know you girls will continue to be a part of my life, and I can't wait till we have our Perunions. Thank you to my host family who provided me with more than I needed and helped me feel comfortable in a foreign country. Thank you to my Peruvian friends who showed me what life is really like in Peru. And a special thanks to Giovanni who willingly spent the past few months with a crazy American girl and forced me to act more Peruvian and learn how to navigate the city. You are amazing, and I know our relationship will last. You will be missed so much, but I am counting on you to make me continue practicing my Spanish when I am home (please Skype me and make me speak Spanish).
Thank you to those I love in Peru for opening your arms to this Nebraska girl. Don't forget about me, I'll be back before you know it.
Chau mis amigos, se extrañaré muchisimo. Hasta luego, besos.
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