May 5- Lakewood, Colorado
Well the trip is over and I have been back in the states for almost a week now. It has been so weird being back. There was definite culture shock getting back and having American money again and also seeing things like a Starbucks on every corner. Its so weird to think back and look back on the trip. It already feels like it was years ago or that I dreamed the entire thing. It was so surreal to be there and now even more surreal to be back in the states. I feel like I learned so much (not necessarily school wise but about life) and that I have grown so much also. It was amazing to more or less live another life for 3 months and being able to see how I react and live being around new people, places and things. To say the trip was awesome would be the biggest understatement however there are no words to describe it. Living and being in Argentina was the best and greatest experience in my life and all I can do it hope to go back someday.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Estancia Trip
April 25- Casa Holden
Wow life has been busy so sorry that I haven't written on this forever. We are getting down to the final days and so I have been super busy studying for finals, getting the last few assignments done and just trying to enjoy my last few days here in BA. But an update of last weekend...
Every semester Pepperdine does a Spiritual Retreat and so this semester I decided to go. And it was a fantastic trip. I for sure wanted to go to an estancia ( a ranch) before I left and so this was the perfect time to go... especially because Pepperdine was paying for it. Anyways, we didn't have class on Friday because of the retreat and so we got up early and met at the Casa at 9. I had gone out the night before for the last day of dancing at this club that we go to and so I was super tired but we got there, got a tour, hung out for like an hour before lunch, ate a delicious lunch of milanesa and then had the rest of the afternoon to do nothing so I slept and it was great. Everyone was really tired and so pretty much everyone slept. but then later that night before dinner we had a little meeting and one of the girls talked for a little while and then the coordinaters broke us up into our small groups. We all got journals that had a word written at the top and so we were supposed to reflect and write about that word and how our thought or perceptions etc had changed. So we did that for the first 5 words, then ate dinner and then met with our groups to talk. We were going to play some games and just hangout as a group that night but everyone was still really tired so after ending the groups at like 1 people just went to bed.
Day 2- One of the reasons the trip was so nice was because we just had time to relax and hang out. We weren't doing anything until like 7 that night so we all slept in and relaxed till lunch. then after lunch a few of us went and kicked my soccer ball around for a while and had fun playing a pick up game. because it was hot, we all jumped into this freezing cold, gross pool after which probably wasnt the best idea but oh well. it was for sure fun. then kelsey, amy and i went horseback riding for 30 min just around the ranch. my horse was super short and fat and so it was really fun to ride around on it. then after horseback riding we had more time to relax so i read while we all watched Daniel jump up and down and freaking out about the Spurs game. but then there was a meeting, dinner, and then small group time. and my small group was definitely tight. we deviated from the book and just talked about anything and everything. all the other groups finished really early and went to play games but we decided to just keep talking the entire night. i think we all talked for about 6 hours.
Day 3- Another relaxing day, because we didnt go to bed until like 3 we all slept till like noon. We had nothing to do that day besides listen to a speaker for a little and then eat an asado lunch where zach, amy, kelsey and i played cards the entire time. i for sure got addicted to playing cards while i was here. but anyways, then we headed home and i dont remember exactly what i did but i think i did homework the rest of the night.
the past week has been the only week that i have felt that i have really gone to school too. i had papers, and assignments and orals in spanish and then had to begin to study for finals. on thurs, i had 3. ugh. but then last night i went out to a bar and hung out with my host brother Eric. but then i had a spanish final at 9 this morning but it was an easy final. it was 3 pages long and all multiple choice which was great. i then went home and slept for a little and now i am back at the casa hanging out and getting a few things done before we head out and get dinner and spend the last few days in BA. So sad. I cant believe it is already time to leave.
Wow life has been busy so sorry that I haven't written on this forever. We are getting down to the final days and so I have been super busy studying for finals, getting the last few assignments done and just trying to enjoy my last few days here in BA. But an update of last weekend...
Every semester Pepperdine does a Spiritual Retreat and so this semester I decided to go. And it was a fantastic trip. I for sure wanted to go to an estancia ( a ranch) before I left and so this was the perfect time to go... especially because Pepperdine was paying for it. Anyways, we didn't have class on Friday because of the retreat and so we got up early and met at the Casa at 9. I had gone out the night before for the last day of dancing at this club that we go to and so I was super tired but we got there, got a tour, hung out for like an hour before lunch, ate a delicious lunch of milanesa and then had the rest of the afternoon to do nothing so I slept and it was great. Everyone was really tired and so pretty much everyone slept. but then later that night before dinner we had a little meeting and one of the girls talked for a little while and then the coordinaters broke us up into our small groups. We all got journals that had a word written at the top and so we were supposed to reflect and write about that word and how our thought or perceptions etc had changed. So we did that for the first 5 words, then ate dinner and then met with our groups to talk. We were going to play some games and just hangout as a group that night but everyone was still really tired so after ending the groups at like 1 people just went to bed.
Day 2- One of the reasons the trip was so nice was because we just had time to relax and hang out. We weren't doing anything until like 7 that night so we all slept in and relaxed till lunch. then after lunch a few of us went and kicked my soccer ball around for a while and had fun playing a pick up game. because it was hot, we all jumped into this freezing cold, gross pool after which probably wasnt the best idea but oh well. it was for sure fun. then kelsey, amy and i went horseback riding for 30 min just around the ranch. my horse was super short and fat and so it was really fun to ride around on it. then after horseback riding we had more time to relax so i read while we all watched Daniel jump up and down and freaking out about the Spurs game. but then there was a meeting, dinner, and then small group time. and my small group was definitely tight. we deviated from the book and just talked about anything and everything. all the other groups finished really early and went to play games but we decided to just keep talking the entire night. i think we all talked for about 6 hours.
Day 3- Another relaxing day, because we didnt go to bed until like 3 we all slept till like noon. We had nothing to do that day besides listen to a speaker for a little and then eat an asado lunch where zach, amy, kelsey and i played cards the entire time. i for sure got addicted to playing cards while i was here. but anyways, then we headed home and i dont remember exactly what i did but i think i did homework the rest of the night.
the past week has been the only week that i have felt that i have really gone to school too. i had papers, and assignments and orals in spanish and then had to begin to study for finals. on thurs, i had 3. ugh. but then last night i went out to a bar and hung out with my host brother Eric. but then i had a spanish final at 9 this morning but it was an easy final. it was 3 pages long and all multiple choice which was great. i then went home and slept for a little and now i am back at the casa hanging out and getting a few things done before we head out and get dinner and spend the last few days in BA. So sad. I cant believe it is already time to leave.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Spring Break in PERU!!
April 15- Havanna Cafe
So I am sitting here watching the Emperors New Groove in honor of going to Peru and hanging out with llamas for a week. And I figured there is nothing better than writing about the trip while watching the movie.
Day 1- April 5
The trip began with meeting at the Casa at like 5:15 in the morning aka I had to leave my house a little before 5 aka I didn't sleep that night. I went out and hung out with some people for a while and then came home and showered and finished packing and then left. We went to the airport, checked in, all that jazz. Uneventful. From there we had a 4 or 5 hour flight to Lima, Peru. When we landed in Lima we had to pick up our bags and re-check them in to go to Cusco and go through security and everything again. A pain but there is Starbucks in the airport so it was all worth it to get a Starbucks. Haha. From there, we went to get lunch. However, we didnt have much time so we were just going to grab some pizzas and eat them really fast. However, we walked up to the Papa Johns counter and they told us that we had to sit down and get "served". So we sat and we told the guy that we didn't have a lot of time so we wanted them fast and we want to pay right away and everything. However, they didn't get the message and it took forever to get the food. This means that we had to more or less run through security and the airport tax with these drinks and pizza and stuff in our hands. I'm sure we looked quite comical to everyone but we didn't have to wait in lines or anything which was great. Haha. But then we landed in Cusco and Russ went off to his hotel and Kelsey, Amy and I to our hostel. We got a great hostel that was up on top of a hill and overlooking the city. We got to our room that we shared with a few other girls but it was fine and changed and relaxed at the hostel for a while before heading out to explore the city. We first had to pay the rest of our tour and buy our bus tickets from Cusco to Puno but after that we began to shop. And oh man there was a lot that we bought through out the trip. After walking around for a while, we went to a cafe and sat overlooking the main plaza (Plaza de Armas) and just relaxed for a while listening to a band that was playing in the square. Once we were bored of sitting we walked around all the shops more and looked at everything. From there we went looking to try to find a place to eat. All the restaurants put a person outside with a menu to haggle you to get you to come to their restaurant. They add free wine and reduce the prices etc etc to try to beat the other restaurants. But while Kelsey and Amy were trying to find dinner, I walked over to the Plaza to meet Russ so that he could eat with us. However , he had already ate so he just sat with us while we ate. But then we all went to this English pub. However, we didn't really have anything to talk about so I bought a deck of cards and we spent the rest of the night drinking and playing Hearts. We called it an early night and Russ went to his hotel and us our hostel.
Day 2- April 6
Today we slept in for a while at least which was good considering I had slept on planes only the day before. We had the day free to hang out around Cusco and just explore. Russ was out and about doing his own thing so we spent the day just hanging out shopping and taking pictures. It was cool to explore some of the city and just relax too. After walking around this huge building full of all the little shops that you see through out the city, we decided to get some lunch. We found this Pervian chinese place for lunch and I mean it was alright but nothing special. Maybe I have just been spoiled with the BA food, but I wasn't impressed with almost all of Peru's food. But we ate, walked the calories off and then went to a little cafe for dessert and just played some cards and hung out. Later that night we met Russ again for dinner. We ended up picking this place called Baghdad Cafe overlooking the Plaza. The food was whatever but almost the whole dinner and authentic Peruvian band played for us so it was tight to have both dinner and a show. We then left from there and went to this Irish pub/bar. One thing that I liked about Peru is that they had pineapple juice in almost every restaurant and bar and so this bar we went to had amazing pineapple daquiris. But anyways, we got bored so we ended up tearing a bunch of napkins into really tiny pieces and played Texas Holden with napkins. For sure epic. But then we had to go back to our hostel to pack enough stuff in day packs for a day and half while we were at Agua Calientes.
Day 3- April 7
This trip had a lot of days that we had to wake up early... so we woke up early once again and heading down to the train station to get to Agua Calientes which is the closest town to Machu Picchu and where you get on the bus that takes you up the mountain to Picchu. But the train ride was about 4ish hours and more or less uneventful. Our seats where in the front buy where they we selling food so we had the two guys selling food and the other guy that was in charge of the coach talking to us the entire time which was interesting. Haha. But then we got to Calientes and went to our hostel. We had a room to ourselves... actually I am pretty sure that we more or less had the whole place to ourselves. We didn't see anyone else staying there the entire time that we were there but oh well. Esta bien. The town is also a small nothing town where we walked around almost the whole town in about 5-10 min. But we had the afternoon to explore and do nothing so we went to the hot spring that they have there. It consisted of about 5 or 6 small like pools filled with nasty looking water that smelled like pee that was luke warm. Haha I have been to hot springs before but this was an adventure for sure. Oh well it was something to do and a new experience in life. Haha. But after that and showering and everything we had nothing else to do so we decided to walk along this path that followed the river because it said there was signs for an ecology hike there. However, I don't know if there really was ever that walk but as we were walking down the hill we happened to run into Russ and another friend Bryan sitting on the wall. So there went the "hike" but Bryan had to leave to catch his train so we all walked with him to his moldly gross smelling hostel and then once he left the rest of us had nothing to do so we bought Cokes and Milky Ways from a kiosko and went to Russ's hotel room overlooking the river. Las chicas took over his bed as our table to play cards for a while and then we decided to sit there and read on his bed while he played a computer game. haha but then we went to dinner and hung out for a little before calling it an early night so that we would be rested for Picchu the next day.
Day 4- April 8
Machu Picchu day!! Yay! And it was for sure as great as everyone says it is. We woke up early and checked out of our hostel (luckly we could leave our bags there for the day) but then we walked down to the Plaza to meet our guide to go to Picchu. By the time that everyone got on the buses and got tickets and everything it was like 630 when we first saw Picchu. The moutains however were filled with fog in the beginning of the trip so even though we started up top where we could have over looked all the ruins we could barely see anything. However, it was fine because it cleared up later in the day and we were able to go back to the top and see everything later on in the day. We had a tour hour tour planned however there were a lot of older people in the tour that kept wanting to wait to see if they sun would peek through the clouds and everything. This was fine for a little while but soon we couldn't handle it so the three of us ditched the tour and went straight through the ruins to one side to hike Wynapicchu. Wynapicchu is this big mountain that you can see in the back of all the classical pictures of Machu Picchu. They only let 400 people up a day so we wanted to make sure that we didn't miss out. There are also more ruins on top of the mountain along with a spectaular view. But so anyways, we begin to hike this mountain. The beginning was fine but then from about the middle on there was a "trail" but the trail consisted of a bunch of rocks that you walk up. It was definitely a climb meant only for the physically fit as the sign warned us. But the climb up was worth it for the view that we got to see. I didn't know/think Picchu was as big as it was until we climbed up there and could see everything. Once we got to the top, we sat down and busted out some peanut butter and crackers and just relaxed and read for a while. While we were sitting there up comes Russ. But so he went off to explore the ruins of Wynapicchu for a little and then we all walked down together. From there we spent the rest of the morning/afternoon exploring all the ruins and trying to get a feel for/see the entire city. Our train was leaving Calientes around 5 so we had to leave Picchu at like 4 but we decided to leave at like 3 instead and went back to town, bought a drink, picked up our bags and then caught our train. On the way home Kelsey and I were sitting across from this German couple that had decided to put this huge bag on the floor meaning that none of us could stretch our legs out/really move the entire ride. It was a very uncomfortable ride. But then we got back to Cusco, checked back in the the same hostel for another night, grabbed some dinner and crashed for another early morning.
Day 5- April 9
We got up early again this day to head down to the bus station to get on the bus that would take us from Cusco to Puno where Lake Titicaca is. The bus ride was like 9 hours long and not from distance but just because we had like 7 stops through out the ride. We saw cathedrals, Incan ruins of churches and cathedrals, a mueso, the andes and a couple of other stops for lunch and just pictures. The bus we took was one of the big luxury buses but it wasn't even halfway full which was nice because we all got to have our own rows to ourselves. But eventually we got to Puno and got a cab to our really nice lake view hotel. Then we spent that night just hanging out in our hotel room. I took a shower and then we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant which had the best Peruvian food I have had yet. Then we just went back to our room and watched TV and read for the rest of the night.
Day 6- April 10
This was one of the few days that we didn't actually have to wake up early which was nice. We slept in and then got ready and just sat outside in Peruvian sunshine for a while. Once we got hungry enough, we went into the town of Puno (which although it is fairly big there really isn't anything to do) and ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Puno Plaza de Armas. Then we walked around to find a travel agency to try to take a lake tour the next day. We found one easy enough and then Kelsey wanted a lago titicaca t-shirt so we went off in search of that. Once that quest was complete we had nothing left to do so we walked down to the port where they had paddle boating. And from lack of anything else to do and the fact that it only cost a dollar we paddle around in a swan 30 minutes. Quite the adventure. Haha. From there it was getting dark and kindof cold so we bought some dinner (aka chips and candy) and went back to the hotel. Once there, while watching Pirates on TV, we decided we were hungry enough to order room service. So we spent the rest of the night watching TV, reading and relaxing.
Day 7- April 11
This day was the lake tour day so once again we had to be up early but it was alright. After eating breakfast, we walked out the back door of the hotel to wait for the boat to come and get us. Because our hotel was right on the water, we didn't have to go into town to catch the boat, it came to us which was pretty funny. We had a fun group of people on the boat too. But we got on and the first stop was the floating islands of Uros. This consists of about 40 different man made islands that groups of about 30 people live on. These islands are made and consist entirely of reeds. The floor is reeds, the houses are reeds, the boats are made of reeds, they even eat the reeds. I tried reed and it was flavorless but hey it was all about the experience. But so we got into the islands and went to one so that we could get the feel for all the islands. Once we got there we were shown how the people live their lives as each island being a tiny socialist community. The women spent their days weaving and making things for tourists to buy. They also gather fish and these birds where one person goes into town and trades for potatoes and other things of daily life that they need to survive but can't make on their own. They don't deal with cash or credit cards or anything. All of it is based on trading. They also showed us how the islands are made. They cut a huge piece of the roots of the reeds and once they have enough pieces they tie them together to make the base of the island. Then they cover it with 3 or 4 layers of reeds and bam you have a floating island. They then use rocks to anchor themselves so that their island doesn't move. Kindof crazy if you think about it. But after listening to our guide talk for a little we had about 20 minutes to walk around the island and look in the houses and all. Then if we wanted to we could get in the reed boat that that island community owned where they rowed us to another bigger island where there is a hotel that tourists can stay at and where there is restaurants etc. We walked there for a minute or two and then got back on the other boat where we had about a 2 hour ride to an island called Taquila. Once we got there we walked for about 50 min up hills and stairs to Plaza de Armas. From there we took a look around the Plaza for a little until the rest of the group got there and then we all walked as a boat to get lunch at a place overlooking the lake. We had trout for lunch (ugh) but Kelsey, Amy and I were sitting across from this family from Spain and they were hilarious to talk to. It was great to be speaking Spanish too. But it was hilarious to hear them tell us that we weird because we didn't order beer for lunch and how impressed they were that we could actually speak Spanish. Great times. But then after lunch we had to walk down steep (and a lot!) of stairs to get back to the boat. We then had a two to two and half hour ride back to Puno where once we landed we got dinner and just headed back to the hotel. Puno didn't exactly have a great night life and the main town area looked semi shady to us so we didn't go out ever there. But it was totally fine.
Day 8- April 12
The last day of the trip and it was an all travel day. Ugh. I woke up at 4 to get ready and leave the hotel at 5 to take an hour taxi to the airport in the next town over. We planned on getting to the airport and hour and half before our flight leaves (and we did) but we thought that we were going to be pushing it for time because our hotel told us that was barely enough time when we asked them. However, we got there and we were the only ones there and then we had to wait almost half hour before we could even check in. So much for barely making it for our flight. Thanks Sonesta Posadas del Inca. Haha. But then we flew from there to Cusco, sat on the plane for about 30 min and then went into Lima. Once we got to Lima we had about a 4 hour layover so we looked around in the shops (mom I found you a cool Machu Picchu book), ate some lunch, played some cards and then went and got Starbucks. While we were sitting in Starbucks we found out that the freaking airport tax for international flights was 30 bucks compared to the 6 that we were thinking for domestic flights. So we had to scrounge for money but came up with enough. Then we went through customs etc where they made us throw out Starbucks. Freaking Peru. But things got a little better when we got on the plane and had our own individual TV for the flight. I watched Kite Runner which was a really good movie and did a really good job of following the book. I was impressed. But then we landed, got a taxi to the Casa, hung out there for like 5-10 min and then I went home and hung out with my host brothers for the rest of the night.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. Peru was wonderful to see and going to Machu Picchu and the whole trip in general was a once in a life time experience that I am very glad I got to experience.
The past few days has just been filled with school and homework. I actually have work to do this week and next week because it is the last two weeks of the semester. Ugh. I'm still not ready to come back to the states.
So I am sitting here watching the Emperors New Groove in honor of going to Peru and hanging out with llamas for a week. And I figured there is nothing better than writing about the trip while watching the movie.
Day 1- April 5
The trip began with meeting at the Casa at like 5:15 in the morning aka I had to leave my house a little before 5 aka I didn't sleep that night. I went out and hung out with some people for a while and then came home and showered and finished packing and then left. We went to the airport, checked in, all that jazz. Uneventful. From there we had a 4 or 5 hour flight to Lima, Peru. When we landed in Lima we had to pick up our bags and re-check them in to go to Cusco and go through security and everything again. A pain but there is Starbucks in the airport so it was all worth it to get a Starbucks. Haha. From there, we went to get lunch. However, we didnt have much time so we were just going to grab some pizzas and eat them really fast. However, we walked up to the Papa Johns counter and they told us that we had to sit down and get "served". So we sat and we told the guy that we didn't have a lot of time so we wanted them fast and we want to pay right away and everything. However, they didn't get the message and it took forever to get the food. This means that we had to more or less run through security and the airport tax with these drinks and pizza and stuff in our hands. I'm sure we looked quite comical to everyone but we didn't have to wait in lines or anything which was great. Haha. But then we landed in Cusco and Russ went off to his hotel and Kelsey, Amy and I to our hostel. We got a great hostel that was up on top of a hill and overlooking the city. We got to our room that we shared with a few other girls but it was fine and changed and relaxed at the hostel for a while before heading out to explore the city. We first had to pay the rest of our tour and buy our bus tickets from Cusco to Puno but after that we began to shop. And oh man there was a lot that we bought through out the trip. After walking around for a while, we went to a cafe and sat overlooking the main plaza (Plaza de Armas) and just relaxed for a while listening to a band that was playing in the square. Once we were bored of sitting we walked around all the shops more and looked at everything. From there we went looking to try to find a place to eat. All the restaurants put a person outside with a menu to haggle you to get you to come to their restaurant. They add free wine and reduce the prices etc etc to try to beat the other restaurants. But while Kelsey and Amy were trying to find dinner, I walked over to the Plaza to meet Russ so that he could eat with us. However , he had already ate so he just sat with us while we ate. But then we all went to this English pub. However, we didn't really have anything to talk about so I bought a deck of cards and we spent the rest of the night drinking and playing Hearts. We called it an early night and Russ went to his hotel and us our hostel.
Day 2- April 6
Today we slept in for a while at least which was good considering I had slept on planes only the day before. We had the day free to hang out around Cusco and just explore. Russ was out and about doing his own thing so we spent the day just hanging out shopping and taking pictures. It was cool to explore some of the city and just relax too. After walking around this huge building full of all the little shops that you see through out the city, we decided to get some lunch. We found this Pervian chinese place for lunch and I mean it was alright but nothing special. Maybe I have just been spoiled with the BA food, but I wasn't impressed with almost all of Peru's food. But we ate, walked the calories off and then went to a little cafe for dessert and just played some cards and hung out. Later that night we met Russ again for dinner. We ended up picking this place called Baghdad Cafe overlooking the Plaza. The food was whatever but almost the whole dinner and authentic Peruvian band played for us so it was tight to have both dinner and a show. We then left from there and went to this Irish pub/bar. One thing that I liked about Peru is that they had pineapple juice in almost every restaurant and bar and so this bar we went to had amazing pineapple daquiris. But anyways, we got bored so we ended up tearing a bunch of napkins into really tiny pieces and played Texas Holden with napkins. For sure epic. But then we had to go back to our hostel to pack enough stuff in day packs for a day and half while we were at Agua Calientes.
Day 3- April 7
This trip had a lot of days that we had to wake up early... so we woke up early once again and heading down to the train station to get to Agua Calientes which is the closest town to Machu Picchu and where you get on the bus that takes you up the mountain to Picchu. But the train ride was about 4ish hours and more or less uneventful. Our seats where in the front buy where they we selling food so we had the two guys selling food and the other guy that was in charge of the coach talking to us the entire time which was interesting. Haha. But then we got to Calientes and went to our hostel. We had a room to ourselves... actually I am pretty sure that we more or less had the whole place to ourselves. We didn't see anyone else staying there the entire time that we were there but oh well. Esta bien. The town is also a small nothing town where we walked around almost the whole town in about 5-10 min. But we had the afternoon to explore and do nothing so we went to the hot spring that they have there. It consisted of about 5 or 6 small like pools filled with nasty looking water that smelled like pee that was luke warm. Haha I have been to hot springs before but this was an adventure for sure. Oh well it was something to do and a new experience in life. Haha. But after that and showering and everything we had nothing else to do so we decided to walk along this path that followed the river because it said there was signs for an ecology hike there. However, I don't know if there really was ever that walk but as we were walking down the hill we happened to run into Russ and another friend Bryan sitting on the wall. So there went the "hike" but Bryan had to leave to catch his train so we all walked with him to his moldly gross smelling hostel and then once he left the rest of us had nothing to do so we bought Cokes and Milky Ways from a kiosko and went to Russ's hotel room overlooking the river. Las chicas took over his bed as our table to play cards for a while and then we decided to sit there and read on his bed while he played a computer game. haha but then we went to dinner and hung out for a little before calling it an early night so that we would be rested for Picchu the next day.
Day 4- April 8
Machu Picchu day!! Yay! And it was for sure as great as everyone says it is. We woke up early and checked out of our hostel (luckly we could leave our bags there for the day) but then we walked down to the Plaza to meet our guide to go to Picchu. By the time that everyone got on the buses and got tickets and everything it was like 630 when we first saw Picchu. The moutains however were filled with fog in the beginning of the trip so even though we started up top where we could have over looked all the ruins we could barely see anything. However, it was fine because it cleared up later in the day and we were able to go back to the top and see everything later on in the day. We had a tour hour tour planned however there were a lot of older people in the tour that kept wanting to wait to see if they sun would peek through the clouds and everything. This was fine for a little while but soon we couldn't handle it so the three of us ditched the tour and went straight through the ruins to one side to hike Wynapicchu. Wynapicchu is this big mountain that you can see in the back of all the classical pictures of Machu Picchu. They only let 400 people up a day so we wanted to make sure that we didn't miss out. There are also more ruins on top of the mountain along with a spectaular view. But so anyways, we begin to hike this mountain. The beginning was fine but then from about the middle on there was a "trail" but the trail consisted of a bunch of rocks that you walk up. It was definitely a climb meant only for the physically fit as the sign warned us. But the climb up was worth it for the view that we got to see. I didn't know/think Picchu was as big as it was until we climbed up there and could see everything. Once we got to the top, we sat down and busted out some peanut butter and crackers and just relaxed and read for a while. While we were sitting there up comes Russ. But so he went off to explore the ruins of Wynapicchu for a little and then we all walked down together. From there we spent the rest of the morning/afternoon exploring all the ruins and trying to get a feel for/see the entire city. Our train was leaving Calientes around 5 so we had to leave Picchu at like 4 but we decided to leave at like 3 instead and went back to town, bought a drink, picked up our bags and then caught our train. On the way home Kelsey and I were sitting across from this German couple that had decided to put this huge bag on the floor meaning that none of us could stretch our legs out/really move the entire ride. It was a very uncomfortable ride. But then we got back to Cusco, checked back in the the same hostel for another night, grabbed some dinner and crashed for another early morning.
Day 5- April 9
We got up early again this day to head down to the bus station to get on the bus that would take us from Cusco to Puno where Lake Titicaca is. The bus ride was like 9 hours long and not from distance but just because we had like 7 stops through out the ride. We saw cathedrals, Incan ruins of churches and cathedrals, a mueso, the andes and a couple of other stops for lunch and just pictures. The bus we took was one of the big luxury buses but it wasn't even halfway full which was nice because we all got to have our own rows to ourselves. But eventually we got to Puno and got a cab to our really nice lake view hotel. Then we spent that night just hanging out in our hotel room. I took a shower and then we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant which had the best Peruvian food I have had yet. Then we just went back to our room and watched TV and read for the rest of the night.
Day 6- April 10
This was one of the few days that we didn't actually have to wake up early which was nice. We slept in and then got ready and just sat outside in Peruvian sunshine for a while. Once we got hungry enough, we went into the town of Puno (which although it is fairly big there really isn't anything to do) and ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Puno Plaza de Armas. Then we walked around to find a travel agency to try to take a lake tour the next day. We found one easy enough and then Kelsey wanted a lago titicaca t-shirt so we went off in search of that. Once that quest was complete we had nothing left to do so we walked down to the port where they had paddle boating. And from lack of anything else to do and the fact that it only cost a dollar we paddle around in a swan 30 minutes. Quite the adventure. Haha. From there it was getting dark and kindof cold so we bought some dinner (aka chips and candy) and went back to the hotel. Once there, while watching Pirates on TV, we decided we were hungry enough to order room service. So we spent the rest of the night watching TV, reading and relaxing.
Day 7- April 11
This day was the lake tour day so once again we had to be up early but it was alright. After eating breakfast, we walked out the back door of the hotel to wait for the boat to come and get us. Because our hotel was right on the water, we didn't have to go into town to catch the boat, it came to us which was pretty funny. We had a fun group of people on the boat too. But we got on and the first stop was the floating islands of Uros. This consists of about 40 different man made islands that groups of about 30 people live on. These islands are made and consist entirely of reeds. The floor is reeds, the houses are reeds, the boats are made of reeds, they even eat the reeds. I tried reed and it was flavorless but hey it was all about the experience. But so we got into the islands and went to one so that we could get the feel for all the islands. Once we got there we were shown how the people live their lives as each island being a tiny socialist community. The women spent their days weaving and making things for tourists to buy. They also gather fish and these birds where one person goes into town and trades for potatoes and other things of daily life that they need to survive but can't make on their own. They don't deal with cash or credit cards or anything. All of it is based on trading. They also showed us how the islands are made. They cut a huge piece of the roots of the reeds and once they have enough pieces they tie them together to make the base of the island. Then they cover it with 3 or 4 layers of reeds and bam you have a floating island. They then use rocks to anchor themselves so that their island doesn't move. Kindof crazy if you think about it. But after listening to our guide talk for a little we had about 20 minutes to walk around the island and look in the houses and all. Then if we wanted to we could get in the reed boat that that island community owned where they rowed us to another bigger island where there is a hotel that tourists can stay at and where there is restaurants etc. We walked there for a minute or two and then got back on the other boat where we had about a 2 hour ride to an island called Taquila. Once we got there we walked for about 50 min up hills and stairs to Plaza de Armas. From there we took a look around the Plaza for a little until the rest of the group got there and then we all walked as a boat to get lunch at a place overlooking the lake. We had trout for lunch (ugh) but Kelsey, Amy and I were sitting across from this family from Spain and they were hilarious to talk to. It was great to be speaking Spanish too. But it was hilarious to hear them tell us that we weird because we didn't order beer for lunch and how impressed they were that we could actually speak Spanish. Great times. But then after lunch we had to walk down steep (and a lot!) of stairs to get back to the boat. We then had a two to two and half hour ride back to Puno where once we landed we got dinner and just headed back to the hotel. Puno didn't exactly have a great night life and the main town area looked semi shady to us so we didn't go out ever there. But it was totally fine.
Day 8- April 12
The last day of the trip and it was an all travel day. Ugh. I woke up at 4 to get ready and leave the hotel at 5 to take an hour taxi to the airport in the next town over. We planned on getting to the airport and hour and half before our flight leaves (and we did) but we thought that we were going to be pushing it for time because our hotel told us that was barely enough time when we asked them. However, we got there and we were the only ones there and then we had to wait almost half hour before we could even check in. So much for barely making it for our flight. Thanks Sonesta Posadas del Inca. Haha. But then we flew from there to Cusco, sat on the plane for about 30 min and then went into Lima. Once we got to Lima we had about a 4 hour layover so we looked around in the shops (mom I found you a cool Machu Picchu book), ate some lunch, played some cards and then went and got Starbucks. While we were sitting in Starbucks we found out that the freaking airport tax for international flights was 30 bucks compared to the 6 that we were thinking for domestic flights. So we had to scrounge for money but came up with enough. Then we went through customs etc where they made us throw out Starbucks. Freaking Peru. But things got a little better when we got on the plane and had our own individual TV for the flight. I watched Kite Runner which was a really good movie and did a really good job of following the book. I was impressed. But then we landed, got a taxi to the Casa, hung out there for like 5-10 min and then I went home and hung out with my host brothers for the rest of the night.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. Peru was wonderful to see and going to Machu Picchu and the whole trip in general was a once in a life time experience that I am very glad I got to experience.
The past few days has just been filled with school and homework. I actually have work to do this week and next week because it is the last two weeks of the semester. Ugh. I'm still not ready to come back to the states.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Hospital de Los Ninos
April 4- Quesada 1842
So tonight I went to this hospital for really sick kids. The kids need 24/7 care and attention and so the parents and families live there in the hospital with the kids. But anyways every Thursday night, Pepperdine goes to a church and makes sandwiches and juice and then we go to the hospital and pass out the sandwiches to feed the families of the kids. Its crazy to see these hospitals with so much despair and to compare them to the hospitals in the states with the shiny floors and fancy everything and patients with a room to themselves where there could be upwards of 7 kids in one room with their families there day and night with them. Its not like the families just come for a night and then leave. They live there with their kids as long as their kids are sick. They don't have money to leave and come back etc. Just weird to see. And equally as weird to think that one day I will be working in a place like if not a place that is 20 times worse. However, there were 5 of us Pepperdine kids and so the son of the house keepers drove us there and we all just squeezed into the car and then the guy from the church came with us to the hospital so we got a taxi and then had the other guy. however on the way back to the casa, the girl in charge decided that we could all just fit in one car so the 5 of us pep kids got into the backseat and the other guy sat up front till we dropped him off at the church. the drivers face was priceless when we told him our idea!
So tonight I went to this hospital for really sick kids. The kids need 24/7 care and attention and so the parents and families live there in the hospital with the kids. But anyways every Thursday night, Pepperdine goes to a church and makes sandwiches and juice and then we go to the hospital and pass out the sandwiches to feed the families of the kids. Its crazy to see these hospitals with so much despair and to compare them to the hospitals in the states with the shiny floors and fancy everything and patients with a room to themselves where there could be upwards of 7 kids in one room with their families there day and night with them. Its not like the families just come for a night and then leave. They live there with their kids as long as their kids are sick. They don't have money to leave and come back etc. Just weird to see. And equally as weird to think that one day I will be working in a place like if not a place that is 20 times worse. However, there were 5 of us Pepperdine kids and so the son of the house keepers drove us there and we all just squeezed into the car and then the guy from the church came with us to the hospital so we got a taxi and then had the other guy. however on the way back to the casa, the girl in charge decided that we could all just fit in one car so the 5 of us pep kids got into the backseat and the other guy sat up front till we dropped him off at the church. the drivers face was priceless when we told him our idea!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Epic Things
April 3- Quesada 1842
So I think it is a new record for me (at least recently) to be posting two times so close to each other. Also, I know I said that I would only post if some epic things happened between now and my trip to Peru but some epic things have happened so here we go...
Convo dinner: Every Tuesday night after convo (aka chapel-ish thing) we go out to dinner as a group. Pepperdine pays and takes us to different restaurants around the city. We'll we went to this Greek place right near the Casa this week. Not only was the food great but the night was accompained with Greek dancing including us being allowed to smash plates on the floor and some of the students dancing with the Greek people in the street. aka the Greek people were dancing and the student were more or less just jumping up and down in the sidewalks of Argentina. Epic.
Adalam: Today (Wed) was a national Argentine holiday so we didn't have classes so I spent the day volunteering along with about 10 other students. We went to this place called Adalam which is a Christian based community where there are houses and places to live for people that literally have nothing. No food, no water, no house, no money etc. There are about double the amount of kids than there are adults some of the kids being orphans. Anyways, we went there to spend the day working and helping them with things that they needed to get done. The day consisted of the girls gardening and shifting dirt etc. (where I got a nice little cut on my hand from glass in the dirt), the guys moving objects and rearranging a shed (where one of the guys got the most crazy blood blister I have ever seen from a brick hitting his hand), a soccer game of Americans vs. portenos and the Americans winning, and none of us wanting to leave at the end of the day. It is crazy to see how happy people can be with nothing when so many Americans and just other people in general have everything and still all they want is more....
Rent: Tonight after Adalam was an event I planned to go see the American musical Rent but in Spanish. Because I haven't ever seen the play in English, I wasn't able to follow the story at all but the actors, singing and over all stage performance was amazing. You don't see acting like that in the states and it was great. Plus everyone had a great time and really enjoyed themselves so I am very happy that the event went over really well. Some of us went to a bar and grabbed a drink after the play and just talked and it was fantastic. Now I am home writing this and about to go to bed so that I can be semi-alive for classes tomorrow.
So I mostly likely won't be posting again so if I don't I hope everyone has a great week next week!
So I think it is a new record for me (at least recently) to be posting two times so close to each other. Also, I know I said that I would only post if some epic things happened between now and my trip to Peru but some epic things have happened so here we go...
Convo dinner: Every Tuesday night after convo (aka chapel-ish thing) we go out to dinner as a group. Pepperdine pays and takes us to different restaurants around the city. We'll we went to this Greek place right near the Casa this week. Not only was the food great but the night was accompained with Greek dancing including us being allowed to smash plates on the floor and some of the students dancing with the Greek people in the street. aka the Greek people were dancing and the student were more or less just jumping up and down in the sidewalks of Argentina. Epic.
Adalam: Today (Wed) was a national Argentine holiday so we didn't have classes so I spent the day volunteering along with about 10 other students. We went to this place called Adalam which is a Christian based community where there are houses and places to live for people that literally have nothing. No food, no water, no house, no money etc. There are about double the amount of kids than there are adults some of the kids being orphans. Anyways, we went there to spend the day working and helping them with things that they needed to get done. The day consisted of the girls gardening and shifting dirt etc. (where I got a nice little cut on my hand from glass in the dirt), the guys moving objects and rearranging a shed (where one of the guys got the most crazy blood blister I have ever seen from a brick hitting his hand), a soccer game of Americans vs. portenos and the Americans winning, and none of us wanting to leave at the end of the day. It is crazy to see how happy people can be with nothing when so many Americans and just other people in general have everything and still all they want is more....
Rent: Tonight after Adalam was an event I planned to go see the American musical Rent but in Spanish. Because I haven't ever seen the play in English, I wasn't able to follow the story at all but the actors, singing and over all stage performance was amazing. You don't see acting like that in the states and it was great. Plus everyone had a great time and really enjoyed themselves so I am very happy that the event went over really well. Some of us went to a bar and grabbed a drink after the play and just talked and it was fantastic. Now I am home writing this and about to go to bed so that I can be semi-alive for classes tomorrow.
So I mostly likely won't be posting again so if I don't I hope everyone has a great week next week!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
This Week
April 1- Casa Holden
Let me just start out this post by saying Happy April Fools Day. but anyways i figured i would give a little update on the weekend and past events.
So during all last week i dont really think anything that exciting happened. there was school and a lot of work during the week. friday, i had worked almost the entire time in between classes trying to run around and get everything for the weekend event that i planned done aka we were going to this argentine show in spanish about the history of argentina. but so friday night i had to go down to get the tickets for the show the next night. the show was down in Boca and a shady part of Boca too so Russ and Zach escorted me down there on Rafa's orders. haha but we had a great time. we got the tickets and then went out to dinner and ate some really good pizza down in recoletta. but then i went home and just chilled out for a little while before i left again to go meet some people at a bar. we went to this semi-american bar that we go to a lot and i randomly happened to see my host brother there which was great. i spend the rest of the night hanging out with him because all the pepperdine kids were going to a club and i didnt really want to go to a club. then we got home at like 4 but i slept in on sat for a while so it was definitely fine. i studied for a little while after waking up and then i had to get ready and go to the casa to go to the show. it was fun because we had our own bus take us there and back to the show because there were about 40 of us that went. the show was definitely interesting. it was impossible to understand because it was all in spanish but they were singing songs and everything so almost no one really understood all of it. but the costumes were cool and it was definitely a cool experience to go to once. however we got back really late and i felt bad that we got back so late but oh well i think everyone had a good time. but then on sunday i woke up early and went to tigre with some friends that are in a different program. we took a boat tour type thing of the river and ate lunch at one of the restaurants located near the river. we then just relaxed on the lawn by there and hung out for a while. then we got back on the boat and went back into the town part of tigre. there is this huge market thing called punto de frutas which we thought that was going to be a fruit market thing but in reality it turned out to be this huge market thing with anything and everything besides fruit. haha. after that i went back to my house and ate dinner with my fam and then studied the rest of the night. i had a hum test on monday and i thought that it wasnt going to take me that long to study for it but in reality i was up way too late on sunday but i think i did alright on the test. last night i went to a movie and just hung out after classes and today i have class, break, class, convo, convo dinner and then i am not sure what after that. we dont have school tomorrow because of some national argentina holiday so i am sure that i will be going out tonight. tomorrow i am going to go do help out at this place (specific i know but i dont remember what it is called or what kind of place it is) but then i planned an event to go see the musical Rent in spanish so we are doing that tomorrow night. thurs and fri will most likely just be classes. i have to give a 7 min presentation in spanish in spanish class so i need to get ready for that. and then on sat morning we leave for Peru and spring break! i am so excited for that. i am sure we are going to have a great time. but i most likely wont write on this again until after spring break unless something epic happens between now and then... so i hope everyone has a great rest of this week and a good week next week and ill for sure let you know how peru was when i get back!
ps. i will get bariloche pics up soon. i have mine online but i was going to send some of my friend pics to so i am just waiting for those :)
Let me just start out this post by saying Happy April Fools Day. but anyways i figured i would give a little update on the weekend and past events.
So during all last week i dont really think anything that exciting happened. there was school and a lot of work during the week. friday, i had worked almost the entire time in between classes trying to run around and get everything for the weekend event that i planned done aka we were going to this argentine show in spanish about the history of argentina. but so friday night i had to go down to get the tickets for the show the next night. the show was down in Boca and a shady part of Boca too so Russ and Zach escorted me down there on Rafa's orders. haha but we had a great time. we got the tickets and then went out to dinner and ate some really good pizza down in recoletta. but then i went home and just chilled out for a little while before i left again to go meet some people at a bar. we went to this semi-american bar that we go to a lot and i randomly happened to see my host brother there which was great. i spend the rest of the night hanging out with him because all the pepperdine kids were going to a club and i didnt really want to go to a club. then we got home at like 4 but i slept in on sat for a while so it was definitely fine. i studied for a little while after waking up and then i had to get ready and go to the casa to go to the show. it was fun because we had our own bus take us there and back to the show because there were about 40 of us that went. the show was definitely interesting. it was impossible to understand because it was all in spanish but they were singing songs and everything so almost no one really understood all of it. but the costumes were cool and it was definitely a cool experience to go to once. however we got back really late and i felt bad that we got back so late but oh well i think everyone had a good time. but then on sunday i woke up early and went to tigre with some friends that are in a different program. we took a boat tour type thing of the river and ate lunch at one of the restaurants located near the river. we then just relaxed on the lawn by there and hung out for a while. then we got back on the boat and went back into the town part of tigre. there is this huge market thing called punto de frutas which we thought that was going to be a fruit market thing but in reality it turned out to be this huge market thing with anything and everything besides fruit. haha. after that i went back to my house and ate dinner with my fam and then studied the rest of the night. i had a hum test on monday and i thought that it wasnt going to take me that long to study for it but in reality i was up way too late on sunday but i think i did alright on the test. last night i went to a movie and just hung out after classes and today i have class, break, class, convo, convo dinner and then i am not sure what after that. we dont have school tomorrow because of some national argentina holiday so i am sure that i will be going out tonight. tomorrow i am going to go do help out at this place (specific i know but i dont remember what it is called or what kind of place it is) but then i planned an event to go see the musical Rent in spanish so we are doing that tomorrow night. thurs and fri will most likely just be classes. i have to give a 7 min presentation in spanish in spanish class so i need to get ready for that. and then on sat morning we leave for Peru and spring break! i am so excited for that. i am sure we are going to have a great time. but i most likely wont write on this again until after spring break unless something epic happens between now and then... so i hope everyone has a great rest of this week and a good week next week and ill for sure let you know how peru was when i get back!
ps. i will get bariloche pics up soon. i have mine online but i was going to send some of my friend pics to so i am just waiting for those :)
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