The Sacred Valley

¨Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent in the ideas of living." - Mariam Beard

I have never seen a quote more fitting for travel, and adventures I have come upon so far....

After the first week of classes I felt a bit flustered. It turns out that TEFL is a totally new way of thinking for me. When teaching a new language you have to fight all instincts that most teachers innately have. No explaining, just eliciting responses from the students by a number of mind bending exercises. Because of that the first week has been a lot of observation and absorbing of the practices we are expected to walk away with. I know it is possible, but it is evident that it will take a lot of work to master the art of ESL teaching. Luckily the students are supportive and for the most part eager to learn. They appreciate us making fools of ourselves for their sake. In order to fully absorb all the new facts, some of my classmates and I decided it was crucial to get out of the city, and fully enjoy where we are.


Before we headed out of the Cusco I was fortunate enough to meet up with the Pressl family. My mother teaches their son and she has been telling me about them for ages. We were lucky enough to be in Cusco at the same time to enjoy dinner together. They are a beautiful family with a great sense of adventure. They are living abroad for a year splitting that between Ecuador and Argentina. It was by far the best dinner I have had yet with fantastic food and even better conversation. It is always nice to find a piece of home in random corners of the world.


As for the rest of the adventures, initially some of my classmates and I just started on the outskirts of Cusco. We headed to the giant white Jesus statue (Cristo Blanco) resembling the one in Rio.It is the only big sight around Cusco city center that I was interested in seeing. So we found a way to hike up, weaving through the outer banks of Cusco, up a lot of stairs. When we got there it we were serenaded by the happiest Cuscaño I have ever seen. I started out chatting with him and practicing the Quechwa we learned in class that week and then he took out his baby guitar and proceeded to break out in song about the pretty North American ladies. It was great and his joy was contagious. Overlooking the city of Cusco was pretty neat. It was interesting trying to figure out where we live and seeing how condensed the population really is.

The next morning another group from our class headed to the Sacred Valley to explore the Inca ruins. What we found was amazing beauty and the experience of a life time! Our first stop was Pisaq which leads to and Incan Temple. We took the way up that was designated to avid hikers, we didn´t really know what we were getting into. It seems that hiking through Incan ruins requires a lot of stairs. So much that A.B. blurt out before bed that whenever she closed her eyes all she could see was stairs (mind you still is still saying that 4 days later.) Needless to say the stairs made the journey much more difficult than expected, but totally worth every step! The further we climbed the better the view got. It was completely breath taking in every meaning of the word. We topped of the exhilarating hike with  "Ceremonial Mango," the most refreshing treat to a completely fulfilling adventure.

As for the Incan ruins, I have established that the Incan Empire must have been crazy. The number of rocks and how perfectly they place them to construct these amazing places is almost unfathomable. The beauty in every construction just needs to be seen in order to fully take it in.

After Pisaq we hopped a bus to stay in Urubama for the night. After the big day what we had, we ended up crashing early to continue our sight seeing. We left early to head to the Muray and Chinchera. Two more Incan ruins that, again, were amazing to see. The best part about these two places was the landscape surrounding them I have yet to see such lush grass and friendly mountains as I did in these areas. Not the mention all of the locals working the day away, and seemingly enjoying every minute of it. I really felt at peace in the Sacred Valley. Yes, people were trying to get business out of us, but it wasn´t the hustle and bussle of Cusco. It was a great break from reality and an even better adventure... with more to come!

The people I have met  here are amazing. Those of us in the program have really clicked, and it is great that somewhere so far from home is already starting to feel like another home. Hopefully learning all the English grammar won´t put me completely over the edge and scare all my new friends away. Well.... it is easy to see that we are all going down on the insanity level together, so we will beat that path as one.

Tour de Cusco

Buenas from Peru!!

Peru is a dynamic country. It is evident that it is very poor and is learning to thrive on its natural wonders. But what has struck me most about the country is the beauty of the Peruvian people. Every local I have met here has been more than willing to help with any questions or issues we might have. A prime example is when we went out dancing one night, one of my housemate, Meg, set her jacket down on a stool, because it was getting rather hot inside. After dancing for a while and meeting a Peruvian we decided to move on. We looked and looked and looked for her jacket, but couldn't find it anywhere. I mentioned this to my new Peruvian dance buddy and he grabbed my hand and brought me down the stairs to a coat check. He had seen Meg set down her coat and felt uneasy about leaving it there so he checked it for us.

On top of their kindness they all have a natural beauty. I have really found that within the indigenous, and their eyes specifically. Their eyes have so much character to them. Looking into them you can tell that they have worked hard all their lives and still have amazing optimism about what each day holds. They also have this little sparkle when they find something enjoyable, it reminds me of my Dad's special sparkle.

So far we have just been busy exploring the city and getting our bearings. I'm too cheap to invest in any of the city tours, let alone paying for a Taxi daily, so we do a lot of walking. Depending where you  are that can be a bit overwhelming because everyone is trying to sell trips to Machu Picchu or Puno. Soon enough I'll need that, but for now it is fun seeing all the different types of markets, parks, and hangouts.

I love the people I live with, we all come from totally different places (South Africa, New York, Brazil, Kazikstan) so we all feed of of each other to learn more about the world. Right now I am learning a new Africaan word a day. My favorite so far is KOK which is an expression like poopy or shitty. The diversity is great, it is just hard because our only common language in English so sometimes I get confused as to how I should respond. It does get me good practice at the markets communicating for them!

The meals in home-stay have been fantastic so far. Peru is the home of the potato so every meal includas a bit of potato. For the most part they are served differently: mashed, stuffed, or baked. Our house Mom, Patricia and her helper Toti are great cooks are really know how to mix it up. They are both very sweet and inviting in and out of the kitchen. Toti is probably my favorite Peruvian so far. She stands about 4'6'' and speaks the native language of Peru, Quechua, as well as broken Spanish with a lot of hand gestures. She gets super excited about the best things, I just love coming home to her smile!

Despite my content with my housing set up I may be looking to relocated to somewhere where I can easily walk to class without it taking an hour or the chance of wandering off path. It is a big pain having to pay for a Taxi everyday, I much prefer the fresh air anyways.

As for the reason I´m here: Class started today and I really feel that I will like it. It is going to prove to be intensive, but I think my class will make it worth it. I have already found some classmates, in the few short hours we spent together, that want to go on hiking and biking adventures. Get out of the city and see the beautiful countryside of Peru for what it is worth!

Arizona, where the sun is shining. ..

Sun, sun, Mr. Golden sun!

It is amazing how much vitamin D can enhance a day! It has been a beautiful visit to Arizona. With plenty of down time, but enough adventure to get s me thrill out of the trip.

When we got in we didn't have much planned. Really what I want was some good Mexican, a nice, hike, and time with friends. All of the above were quite successful.

Day one we went on a scavenger hunt for those things I couldn't get at home. Epic fail, but it was fun anyways. We topped of the day with a "hike", in other words not a hike at all. We get to the trail and not only is it overpopulated, but there are stairs up the first half mile of the trail, followed by a safety bar that you find on stairs in arenas. New to me, but we survived. But the adventure wasn't over, after we made it past the manmade help we hit a boulder field. Lauren said that at many points throughout the hike I looked like an extreme monkey because my leg was as high as or higher than my head. Quite the hike to end with a city view summit! Afterwards Angie’s commentary on the hike was hilarious, being from the city originally she didn't know what she was in for (not that we did either.) The same night we went out to the Big Bang... a dueling piano bar that had non-stop entertainment through the night. It was a good mix of music, comedy, and relaxation... I would totally go again in a heartbeat.



The next day was Lauren's last day off from the hellish med school schedule. We decided to top it off with a mini escapade to watch the sunset over Phoenix. Nothing like a smoggy sunset to make you really appreciate where you come from, but also your company. It was a friendly reminder that I have maintained some pretty great things the throughout the years and that I need to treasure them. Once the dark set in we headed to the Zoolights display. It was by the far the most intricate light tour I have seen, but what was even better than that was Angie's excitement. Every animal or neat display she was stoked beyond belief! It made it that much better.

Over the rest of the trip we all racked up some good relaxation time, poolside reading, as well as a good game of soccer. It was great to see familiar faces. Not just Angie and Lauren, but also Trevor and Spencer from Grand Canyon University that took good care of us this summer on the road. Not to forget my favorite Mexican, Alex, who just moved back to Arizona and gave us a full tour of his hood as well as a taste of quality comida.

After all that fun, I am rejuvenated and ready to test my comfort zone and be thrown into whirlwind of fun new exciting things!

Salute to HOME

Now comes the time where it is only appropriate to issue a salute to home...

After moving back home for the past few months I have really found its beauty in every way. At first it was harder being home than anticipated. I had a big summer and I didn't feel that home had changed as much as I had. But that has turned out to be a good thing in the end. I went out and created my own community that is making it harder and harder by the day to leave.

The friends I have kept, maintained, became closer to, and made have enhanced my journey home in so many ways. These are the people I have and will constantly surround myself with to show the nifty quirks of life. I have come to appreciate the little things more and more; A cup of coffee or a beer with friends. A afternoon hike. A random (yet not so random) encounter with future mentors and friends at work. The importance of a community in Christ. Camping out for an early morning sunset. The friend you made by jumping into a ill-equipped vehicle. Dress up (as fire "hydrants"). Childlike amusement. Consistency. Pie club. The excitement of a dog after a long day home. A good and exhilarating workout. The steady love of family. Generosity. How what the future holds is totally doable. The art of waffles. The belly ache of laughing too hard at board games. The creativity of decorating. Support. The nerdiest of nerd conversations. Reading. The protection of lifelong friends. Motivating and flattering texts messages. Finding a fellow orphan to be adopted by an amazing family for weekend dinners. Intellectual pod casts. The lack of coincidence. Tradition. Love and engagements. People who care. Flying. Opportunity. Really the list could go on and on, but all these things have "romanced my heart" as one of my friends would say and proven to me how life works out in mysterious and un-thought of ways.

I am excited to see what this next chapter holds. It keeps me calm knowing that what I have is great, and what I can find is even BETTER.

Salute to you home, thank you for pulling out an amazing community for me yet again.