I’m spending my summer in Ayacucho, Peru. I just got here about a week ago, and I already love it. It’s funny; I think attitude makes all the difference. During my first month in Spain, when I was living with my mean host mom, I tended to focus on the negative things. Here, it’s really hard to do that. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely have days where I feel very homesick, but I feel like the culture here is so welcoming. It’s pretty chaotic, in fact I think chaos is the only rule on the road. I may have seen a couple of stoplights, but for the most part I’ve just heard a lot of honking. They have two kinds of taxis here, regular ones, and then these little ones called Moto taxis with one wheel in the front. The Moto taxis always seem like they are about to crash into other cars, but they never do and they have a very distinct honk that kind of sounds like a dying duck. They are a lot of fun! Anyway, pretty much right away I was thrown into my internship, working for a microfinance organization called FINCA Peru. Basically, FINCA has a bunch of village banks and a different group of women belongs to each one, and takes out a loan from that bank. The village banks aren’t really like banks at all, more just like small groups of women, and these women get to know each other and form a bond. It seems to me that it’s not just the small loans they take out, but also the small group and their discussions that play a huge role in their empowerment. Anyway, I keep trying to upload pictures, but it takes forever. So, expect to get a link to a picasa album some time in the very near future. Hasta pronto!
So, I’m not sure where I left off on this blog, but I’m definitely not in Barcelona anymore. However, I still have a lot of stuff to share about my travels in Europe. I’ll try to make a brief list of the highlights: Getting tapas with my family in Barcelona, Will taking me to dinner…on the Eiffel Tower (kind of a fancy place to take me out I suppose), exploring Roman ruins, venturing into Capri solo for a day without knowing any Italian, taking a low-budget cruise to Croatia and realizing why it was low budget (it was still breath-taking), visiting my family and seeing Mozart’s house in Vienna, and remembering why I love music so much, and finally making it to the one place I knew I had to go, the Alhambra, to stand in the same spot my Grandma stood when she visited many years ago. It’s hard to sum up the whole experience, but there are a few things I’ve learned. First of all, most of the food and coffee in Europe is just so good! Second of all, and on that same subject, you cannot confuse or deny the fact that the Euro and the dollar are very different. Finally, you never know how you are going to react to a situation until you’re thrown into it. It can be frustrating learning a new language, but that doesn’t mean you will fail. It can be uncomfortable at first, putting yourself into the hands of a new family, but that doesn’t mean you will stay closed off from them. Finally, you might encounter people or situations that scare you, but that doesn’t mean you won’t defend yourself. You never know until you’re there in that moment, dealing with it, how you will react. That’s when you realize how strong you truly are.
The past two weeks have been amazing. My family was here for a week and we stayed in the most awesome apartment. My boyfriend Will stayed with us too. It was great having them here; not just because I love and miss them when they are not around, but also because they were so amazed by the things I’ve grown used to. It was so nice to see their reactions to things like Park Guell and all the Gaudi architecture. One of the best parts of their visit was when my new host mom invited everyone over for paella. Since she doesn’t know English, I had to translate. It was a really good feeling to be able to do that. I never thought I’d get to that point. Even though it wasn’t technically a vacation for me, it was one of the best family vacations we’ve had. There were barely any fights, and everyone was so relaxed. Also, everyone fell in love with Will! How could they not? Mom, Dad, Hannah, Jake, Sarah, Eliza, Micah and Will, thanks for bringing so much positive energy to Barcelona. Thanks for getting so excited about tapas and sangria, and thanks for reminding me of all the things I should be excited about and grateful for! Love you all.
P.S. Thanks Will for taking these pictures!
I went to Madrid this past weekend to visit Melissa. It was so much fun, and seeing her was exactly what I needed. I didn’t realize exactly how much I miss my friends from home until I gave that girl a hug. We went to El Prado, which I think was the highlight of the trip for me. I had seen all these incredible pieces of artwork on power point slides in high school and college. I always thought Las Meninas was amazing, but being able to see it up close felt so incredible. It didn’t seem real, it was like entering a world I never had access to before. I know that sounds really lame, but it honestly gave me the chills.
Madrid was also my first experience traveling totally on my own. I felt very independent and strong for doing it, and it was pretty easy! I took a bus there. It was seven hours, which sounds awful, but the view of the mountains was so beautiful (I believe it was the sistema iberica mountains). Staying in a hostel in a private room wasn’t scary at all! Even though it rained the entire time, everything was beautiful. I ran in Retiro Park, which is incredible and free. Those pictures are from the internet to give you an idea of what it looks like when it’s sunny out. Melissa also took me to this place called the cave bar, which is basically what it sounds like, and we shared a huge drink among seven people. Each person had their own straw, it was a really cozy and fun atmosphere.
On Sunday I had to leave, and I knew I had a long bus ride ahead of me. As I looked out the window, after a couple hours on the road, I noticed these trees that looked like mini weeping cherry trees. I immediately thought of my Grandma, and at first I wasn’t exactly sure why. But then I remembered when I was younger, my brother Jake collected the shells of some Sacaida bugs that he found under the weeping cherry tree in our yard, put them in a bowl and brought them to the kitchen where my Grandma was. She was probably expecting the bowl that he was holding so innocently in the kitchen, to have some kind of food in it, like popcorn. I don’t remember her reaction completely, but I know she was very startled. Looking back on it, it’s pretty funny. I’m finding that wherever I go, there’s always some little thing that reminds me of her and gives me comfort. Not only comfort, but also strength.
Monsterrat! I went here a while ago, it’s this beautiful mountain with tons of cool sculptures and there’s an old monastery.
I know it has been a long time since I’ve written. To be honest, my time in Barcelona was rocky for a while. I didn’t realize until a couple weeks ago that my homestay was the problem. It was one of the hardest and most uncomfortable things I’ve had to do, but I knew I had to put myself first and get the hell of that place. Usually, I am good at preparing myself for the worst, and I find that the thing I’m battling is never as bad once I’m up against it. I couldn’t have prepared for the things my host mom said to me once she found out I was moving. It was much more uncomfortable than I anticipated. But I still managed to get out, to pack up and move all my stuff, to make as many trips as were necessary, to give her back the key and say goodbye. I am ready to start experiencing Barcelona the right way.
I went to Tarragona this weekend. It was amazing, but a little cold. I still had a great time though. One of the first things we did was go to the Torres Winery. In this picture I am on a bus tour of the underground part of that winery. When we went underground, everyone started getting kind of nervous. We had no idea where we were going, and it just looked like we were descending into a really dark cave. Then this film started to play on the walls of the “cave,” and there was this creepy music. It reminded me of that scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Willy Wonka takes everyone on that boat tour, and he plays that creepy music and they’re in a dark cave. Luckily, we weren’t in there for too long. They took us back to the winery, where we got to test both red and white wine. That made the whole experience worth it. It was good wine.
This is the beginning of Parque Guell by Antoni Gaudi. I can’t believe something like this actually exists!
