"I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams"

Though this Christmas sadly lacked any trace of wintery weather, a Christmas tree, presents, and family, at least one thing remained a Christmas constant- I just about ate my weight in cookies in two days. I really have no self control when it comes to Christmas cookies. I missed being home with my family, especially when skyping with all of them and seeing my little baby cousins, but I ended up spending the past couple of days with my makeshift Peruvian family (almost as good as real family) eating comfort food, watching Christmas movies, learning about other people’s Christmas traditions, and trying to keep each other from feeling too homesick.  However, I think my favorite part of the weekend was the time right between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Throughout the evening of Christmas Eve, we heard an occasional celebratory firework coming from the streets. As the night wore on, people set off more and more until we could no longer hear our movie and I decided to go see what was going on.  I ran up to my roof and was immediately stunned because they were coming from EVERYWHERE. Never in my life have I seen more fireworks set off at one time. If this is Christmas Eve, I can’t even imagine what New Year’s Eve is like. See for yourself…

A friend who spent Christmas with a Peruvian family told me that they even count down to midnight at which point they call all of their friends and other family members to wish them Feliz Navidad. Seems to me they have their holidays a little mixed up, but I’m not complaining. Though I probably would be if I were a light sleeper since, supposedly, fireworks were going off well past 2am. 

I hope everyone at home had a Merry Christmas, un Feliz Navidad, un Joyeux Noel. And a Happy Hannukah for all of my Jewish friends that might be feeling left out. 

10,013 feet

Well, another week of school is finally done. And when I say finally, I really mean already. My weeks go by sooooooo fast here. That could be because I only have 3.5 days of classes, making weekends just as long as the rest of the week. I always moan and groan about going back to class on Mondays and then the next thing I know, it’s Thursday afternoon and I find myself wondering where the week went. This week was the same, though it was more difficult than usual to get back into the swing of things after an amazing vacation. It also probably didn’t help that I didn’t actually get home until 6 o’clock Monday morning. That 9 am class was a bit rough. So worth it though!

After exams last week, some friends and I decided we needed a vacation, so on Thursday night, we hopped on a bus that would take us to the mountains.

The beginning of our $20, 7 hour bus adventure. We even got a snack!

Friday morning, cramped, tired, and cold, we got off the bus in a town called Huaraz to a majestic view of snowcapped mountains. I was suddenly very awake and the ride to the hostal was filled with thoughts of what kind of adventures the weekend would bring.

As we checked in, the hostal owner informed us about the tours he would be leading throughout the weekend and against all former advice, we decided to go on the “easy” glacier hike later that morning. You see, Huaraz is located at an altitude of 10,013 ft, a height that anyone needs some time to acclimate to if their body isn’t used to the oxygen deficiency. We were originally planning on just hanging out in the town for the first day to get used to the altitude and then go on some mountain adventures the rest of the weekend. However, since we were told the glacier hike was going to be easy, we figured there was no need to miss out on something that sounded so cool. Getting winded after walking upstairs to our room on the third floor should have been a sign of what we were in for. After a delicious breakfast on the roof terrace with an absolutely breathtaking view, we all piled into the hostal van and set off.

Home sweet home.

Mmmm breakfast

Loving the terrace

View from the roof. This really doesn't do it justice.

We made a few stops along the 3 hour drive to the glacier, during which we saw some llama shaped bushes, watched people drink some strange looking water from a bubbling spring, and bought some coca leaves from the indigenous women, which are supposed to help with the altitude. That’s right, the plant that cocaine is made from. No snorting white powder involved with these though. Basically, you’re supposed to chew on the leaves a bit and then leave them in your lip until you suck all of the energy out of them (well, until you get tired of having them there). They’re kind of bitter and I prefer the tea version, but they aren’t too bad. I’m not sure if they actually helped, but lets just say they did because we all survived the altitude.

 

Hello there llama.

People were drinking this...

I'm not really sure what exactly these are, but they look pretty cool.

Chewing coca leaves!

When we finally got there, we were all ready to hike after sitting in the van for so long. We set out along the path and within a minute or two we were feeling the burn from the very slight incline. It was the weirdest feeling to be so out of breath when we were walking so slowly. The hike there was probably about a mile, but felt much longer. Everyone survived though. The glacier at the end was a pretty cool sight, but also a little sad. It was very clearly rapidly melting. Our guide told us that just 10 years ago, all of the land that we were standing on was covered by the glacier. No one could deny global warming after seeing that.

Beginning our hike

We made it!

The next day, Saturday, we decided to take it easy in town in preparation for the long hike on Sunday. We did some shopping at the artisan markets in which, like always, I want pretty much everything and can’t decide what I like the most so end up buying nothing. We also decided to check out some hot springs that were in the next town. To get there, we had to walk about 45 minutes through the beautiful countryside and then we got to swim in the middle of a gorgeous mountain landscape. It felt pretty surreal. Later that afternoon, we discovered a huge market in Huaraz. Seriously, GIGANTIC. They sold literally everything there, from kitchen staples like rice and beans to delicious baked goods to creepy dead animals to clothes to toys to luggage to… Well, you get the point. It was fun just to wander the aisles and see what would pop up next. This turned out to be a really relaxing day, but we decided to go to bed early so we would be ready to leave by 6 am for our hiking adventure the next day.

The plaza

My new best friend.

Traditional pottery and...winnie the pooh

Where's Waldo?

Adorable children that got mad at us when we didn't give them money.

The water was surprisingly warm

Rando rooster chillin by the pool

Need some eggs?

We love breakfast

Maybe they only get reception in that exact spot?

We stopped at a lake on the way

It would've been REALLY cold to fall in

I'm on a boat!

The hike started out flat enough in a valley looking up at the Cordillera Blanca (literally means white mountain range), including a fantastic view of Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru, measuring in at about 22,000 ft. Before long though, we found ourselves looking up at the path winding up the mountain in front of us. Within several minutes, we were huffing and puffing. Luckily, we had a very motivating guide who kept us walking with his frequent “muy bieeen gringitas” words of encouragement. When we finally reached flat ground again, we mistakenly thought the worst was behind us. Soon we were climbing another mountain even steeper than the first. Just when I was about ready to lay down on the path and take a cat nap, the path evened out and suddenly, there was Lago 69 right in front of us. It was a most welcome sight and completely worth the 5 mile uphill hike. The shockingly blue, completely clear water was even safe to drink! Though the cold glacier water was the perfect thirst quencher, it was a tad cold for swimming. That didn’t stop a group of guys from taking the plunge though.

Happy cows are from Peru?

The whomping willow

And...Hagrid's hut

Huascaran-tallest peak in  Peru

Don't fall in!

Triumphant

None of us had the energy to stand up for a picture

Locos!

After a much needed rest by the lake, we headed back to the van, feeling very proud of ourselves. When we finally got back to town, we were all starving and decided to check out another of the cheap little local restaurants. Less than $2 for soup, meal, and tea? Yes please. The one thing is that the soup is the “soup of the house” and you get what they have. Which means if they have chicken foot soup, you get chicken foot soup. And, of course, I was the one that ended up with a GIGANTIC chicken foot in my soup. Seriously, like half the size of my hand. As that was the only meat in the soup and the rest looked really good, I went about removing the foot and stashing it under my bowl. Though the soup was then delicious, it took all of my willpower to NOT think about what had just been in my bowl.

By our 10:30 pm bus back to Lima, we were all ready to pass out, but this time the bus conditions were less than ideal for sleeping. I fell asleep right away, but kept waking up needing to shed my layers as the bus seemed to just get progressively hotter and hotter. Feeling like you’re drowning in your own sweat is not the greatest feeling when you’re trying to sleep. The weirdest thing was that I could barely bear being in a tshirt and I saw people around me curled up in blankets. I didn’t want my vacation to be over, but Lima sure was a welcome sight in the morning just to get off the sauna of a bus.

This trip (by far my favorite so far) made me realize how much I just want to TRAVEL and not just for weekends. A guy I met in our hostal was planning on staying in Huaraz for the next month or so and then moving on to see somewhere else. I was so jealous. Three days was not nearly enough for me. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the endless possibilities for my upcoming 3 month break from school. It cannot come fast enough.

Adios Huaraz. Hope to see you again someday.

Click here to see more pictures!

Semester One: Halfway Done

All around the world, midterms are the bane of a college student's existence. Nothing is worse (well, besides finals) than those exams in the middle of the semester that make you realize you should've payed more attention in class, wonder why you didn't start the reading a whole lot earlier, and even question your whole decision to be a student, which is what got you into the stressful situation in the first place.  Thank god for Peruvian Starbucks. Their tea, coffee, desserts, and comfortable chairs got me through the many hours of reading I had to do in the past week, which is the only way I could figure out how to study.  I really had no idea what to expect on my exams because study guides don't really exist here. Anything goes. However, I survived midterm week, which is why I now have the time to tell you about all of my latest exciting adventures, while I relax in my room and enjoy some Peruvian fake nutella.

A few weekends ago, some friends and I decided to go hiking for the day in a series of really green hills about an hour from Lima.  We kind of knew how to get there, but we weren't positive of which combi (bus) we needed to take, so we started asking all the combis that went by if they were going to the street that we needed. For some reason, none of them seemed to know what we were saying. Sometimes I can't figure out if people really don't understand what we say, or if they are just pretending because they know we are foreigners. I know we have American accents, but they aren't THAT bad, are they?? Anyways, we finally just got on a jam packed combi that we thought would go where we needed. Thankfully, it did.  After another bus and short taxi ride, we were at the Lomas (Hills) de Lucumo. Despite being located in the middle of the desert, they were sooooo green! Amazing!    

On the way to the Lomas.

View of the town below.

Happy hikers.

Loma yoga.

Cool rocks.

It's a guinea pig! See it?

It was so refreshing to see something so green and lush after spending any amount of time in the big city.     We also noticed that, for how close it is to Lima, there weren't a whole lot of people there. Any site like this close to a big city in the U.S. would be packed to the brim. Maybe Peruvians just aren't big hikers. Well, we spent the day enjoying the view, the sun, and the fresh air. It also felt really good to do something active. Funnily enough, we didn't realize when we decided to go here that it was the exact same place that a couple of us were going to the very next day for a field trip for our ecotourism class. When we told people from our class that we had just gone to the lomas the day before, they just looked at us like we were crazy. Oh well, they were cool enough to do two days in a row. Especially when the alternative probably would've been just watching a movie in my room...

I wasn't planning on doing anything fun this past weekend due to my need to study for midterms this week, however when my friend invited me to learn to surf through the friend of a friend for really cheap, I couldn't pass it up. So, Saturday morning, I went down to the Pacific Ocean, shimmied into a wet suit, and LEARNED HOW TO SURF (well, I tried). It was one of the most tiring things ever, but sooo much fun.  I need to go back and actually pull off standing up now. It was also surprisingly not cold at all, but I bet the guy that decided he was too cool for a wetsuit would beg to differ. Unfortunately, I think I have now set a new standard for study breaks that is going to be hard to always live up to.  We'll see what I can come up with for finals week.

The wetsuit shimmy.

Imaginary surfboards.

The only standing up surfing I was successful at.

Ready to surf! 

Well, as a celebration for being done with exams and half of the semester, I'm going to go see mountains this weekend! I have two 7 hour bus rides, altitude sickness, and being really cold to look forward to in the next few days. I'm actually really excited though. How could you not be when your weekends consist of going off to climb Peruvian mountains??

Well, gotta get ready. Chao for now!


Things you should know about Lima:
1) PDA is everywhere. It is no longer surprising to see kissing in the grocery store, canoodling at the bus stop, or couples making out on each and every park bench.
2) The sidewalks are slippery! They truly were not designed to get wet.  When they are covered in any amount of dampness, it is like trying to walk across a solid sheet of ice. Wisconsin winters have somewhat prepared me for this situation, but it is still extremely annoying. Thankfully, it has stopped misting at night and I haven't had to deal with this for awhile.
3) Everyone walks extremely slow.  This wouldn't be quite as annoying if they didn't walk slow in large groups that are impossible to get around. Also, if you are walking towards a group of people that is walking the opposite way, no one will move to let you through. Apparently you are expected to step off of the sidewalk to get around them.
4) Many buildings have miniature doors. I'm not sure why, but I like to think that they are for miniature Peruvians.
5) Many signs have a mixture of English and Spanish words on them. I wonder if people know that they're looking at a lot of English words.  One of my favorite signs that I saw from the window of my combi one day said "Cat Tours" and had a picture of a cat sitting on top of a plane. Tours for cats? Tours planned by cats? Tours to see cats? I may never know.

I wonder what people notice as strange when they come to America...