Stories to Tell the Kids

We're reaching the home stretch of this study abroad and there are some mixed feelings about it ending. While I'm excited to go home and see my friends and family again, I'm also not ready to leave.

When I first arrived in the airport I was pretty anxious. I didn't really know the people going on the trip with me and I was worried about getting along. As we sat waiting for the plane, my fears started to drain as I listened to everyone talk. During the plane ride I sat next to Amanda, my future roommate for this trip, and, as we both cried over Les Mis, a friend. After sharing a room for three weeks we've become really close friends, even if I may have annoyed her by singing the same songs over in the mornings.

Our stay in Lima really brought our group together as we explored the town and chilled in the hostel lounge. Lima holds some great memories from this trip. I will be able to tell my children about the time that I chose to go with the guys to Cerro San Cristobal instead of with the girls to Miraflores. That was a decision I wouldn't take back for several reasons. The first being that I got to know the guys better than what I would have if I hadn't gone with them. Second being the view from the top. You could see the majority of Lima, but it was so large there were some parts that couldn't be seen. Other stories to tell from Lima would be the time I got over my fear of the ocean for an afternoon to get surfing lessons or when the group of us went to a water fountain park and got soaked.

We didn't spend as much time in Cuzco as we did in Lima, but it was still fun. It was a cute town that reminded me of ski villages up north that I've visited. I enjoyed exploring the ruins of Saqsayhuaman and the history of the Qorikancha caught my attention. While most of my free time was spent doing work or sleeping, I enjoyed the times that Amanda and I just chilled out and the night that Joey taught us a new card game that we played for several hours.

Ollantaytambo was another cute small town with more cool ruins to climb through. Spending the short amount of time as we did there gave me a new appreciation for how available hot water is back home after not being able to have hot water for a few days. I feel the places we stayed in Ollantaytambo and Aquas Calientes were good choices for the trip. They weren't perfect. The water didn't get hot, the towels were damp, we had to share toilet paper, but they were livable. Sometimes it's good to stay in places that don't meet our standards because then we appreciate the conditions we're used to more afterwards.

The trip to Aquas Calientes is definitely a story to tell the kids. If they ever complain about walking somewhere I'll just whip it out and say "That's nothing compared to the time when I was in Peru and had to take a five hour bus ride on the edge of mountains, hike 7km at night with my luggage on train tracks and almost got hit by a train just to get to my hostel for the night." That'll be a trump card. While I probably wasn't thinking this at the time, looking back it's an experience I wouldn't trade in for a train ride. It is one of those life experiences that can't be planned and end up being one of the fun plot twists in my life's story.

That trip was definitely worth it to see the sun rise on the solstice at Machu Picchu. It was an awesome sight to see the sun light up the ruins and I hope someday my kids will have the chance to see it. While my legs were jello after all the steps of the site, I enjoyed being able to explore it. Climbing Wayna Picchu was another highlight of this trip. While climbing it left be dying from lack of oxygen, the view at the top was amazing. I took some pictures, but like Dr. Brown said, they couldn't capture the awe inspiring view of the mountains.

In just a few days this trip will come to an end and I'm both excited and hesitant. The things I've experienced during this trip will stay with me through my life and it's the people on this trip that has made the experience worthwhile. These people started out practically strangers to me and after three weeks together have become some good friends. While this trip may be coming to an end, I hope these friendships that we have made don't when we get back to the USA. If anyone would ask me if I would do this trip all over again, I'd say yes in a heartbeat.