2016- Still We Rise

           

       With the year coming to an end, I always find myself looking back over and remembering the past twelve months. 2016 was a challenging year for me on a personal level, for my country, and really for the world. I essentially cheated death down in South America this summer- I’ve heard from multiple people that they thought I was going to die. It took two weeks of being tied to a hospital bed, and literally months of regular doctor visits, strong medication, and “taking it easy” to recover. There are repercussions of that health mess that I actually still notice to this day- the bad case of shingles I had caused neuropathy in my feet that I still feel daily. Not to mention my left arm is still weaker than it was before those surgeries in Colombia. But this summer still gave me my first experience of living in the third world, and it was certainly eye opening. Those precious few weeks taught me to appreciate all that we have here in the states, and not take anything for granted. As I said in my last blog post, we don’t get to choose where we’re born. The people I encountered this summer didn’t ask to be from the third world- I didn’t ask to be from the first world. I just got lucky I guess, and that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Even the simplest things we have here, like clean drinking water, isn’t guaranteed in other parts of the world.

            But 2016 was a challenging year on a much bigger scale as well. The world lost a lot of great people. My country feels more divided than it ever has, at least in my lifetime. And the political tension isn’t just here in the US, but all over the world- my friends on the other side of the pond whose minds are still blown by the Brexit vote, I’m looking at you. By the way, those invitations to come stay with you for the next four years are still in force, right?

            It hasn’t all been bad, though. The past week or so has been full of nostalgia, not only for events of this year, but the past several years of my life. One of the main topics of my blog is travel- it’s what I love, it’s what makes me feel alive more than just about anything else, it’s something I never want to stop doing. Summer 2014 was life changing for me because it was my first experience traveling solo, and my first time being away from my friends and family for an extended period of time. In the time since I left home to spend that summer working in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, I’ve learned and changed a lot. I’ve done things that I never thought I’d be brave enough to do. I’ve gone to the edge of that cliff and taken the plunge off into the freezing cold Gros Ventre River. I’ve had an Andean bear pluck grapes out of my bare (no pun intended) hands. I’ve had baboons and spider monkeys climb all over me, knowing they could rip my face off if they wanted to. I’ve sat on a riverbank and watched a beautiful bull elephant cross that river, close enough that I could hear the water splashing at his feet. I’ve climbed along the precarious cliffs of Hermanus to find Devil’s Cave, and nearly got swept out of it at high tide. I’ve watched massive great white sharks swim inches from my face. I’ve put my trust, and in some cases, my life, in the hands of strangers. I’ve paid five bolivianos (less than one US dollar) for a ride along one of the world’s most dangerous roads, hoping that the driver knew which turns were the sharpest, knowing how easy it would be to lose control for an instant and plummet off the edge of the mountain, as hundreds of people do every year. The past few years have been an insane adventure, and I wouldn’t change them for the world.

            New Year’s is, of course, also a time to look ahead at what the next year will bring. In February I’ll be heading back to South Africa, my favorite place in the world, to swim with great white sharks again. I absolutely cannot wait to be back in Cape Town, hearing the strong South African accent, feeling the ocean breeze on my face, seeing the stunning natural beauty that country has. 2016, you were tough in many ways, but, as every year is, you’re a stepping-stone to what’s next. There’s a lot of uncertainty here in the world as this year comes to a close, but life will continue. Maybe not in that same way that it has been, but 2016 isn’t the end of the world- that was 2012, remember?

            This post’s food for thought: “You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise.”- Maya Angelou

What I Learned Living in the Third World

         Well, after my South American adventure was cut short by a parasite (check that off the bucket list!) that put me in a hospital in Bolivia for a week, then a hospital in Colombia for another week, I’m now safely back in the world of drinkable tap water, vanilla lattes, and people complaining about their iphone screwing up. I still am a firm believer in the statement that a month of traveling can teach you more than a year of sitting in a classroom- which is part of the reason why I never want to stop traveling. Because of that, I always feel like I’ve changed so much as a person whenever I come home from being out in the world exploring. That change is made even more apparent by the fact that it always seems like home hasn’t changed a bit. The same regular guests are still coming in and ordering the same drinks, people are still talking about the same shows and same crazy politicians saying the same stupid things, everyone is still going to the same places to eat, drink, and hang out, etc. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad (or good) thing- it’s just something I notice when I come home.

             On that note, since I’ve been back home from this most recent trip, and especially since I’ve been back at work, I’ve been noticing “first world problems” so much more. I’m just about ready to propose a law that all Americans should spend at least a couple of weeks living in the third world. After living in a place that didn’t have clean drinking water, and a lot of home comforts like air conditioning were basically unheard of, it’s much easier for me to appreciate how much we have here in the states, and harder for me to complain about things like lack of wifi. All of that being said, here are a few of the things I learned living in the third world:

1.    Americans have WAY more stuff than we need

            I remember the first few days that I was home, looking around at the bookshelves full of books I hardly ever read and movies I almost never watch, closets and drawers full of clothes I rarely wear, and cabinets full of different items that don’t do much other than sit in those cabinets. It made me remember my first day in Bolivia, when I took a taxi from the La Paz airport to the home of a friend of Vicky’s (the head of the sanctuary), to wait for Vicky to pick me up. This woman seemed to live above some kind of clinic, with her husband and two teenage children. I could tell their home was very small, and was really surprised to learn that all of them lived there. When the home got too warm, they opened the windows. To pass the time, they talked to each other. The home had hardly any of the comforts that we consider common here in the states, but the family seemed to get by just fine with what they had because they were used to it. Sure, if I wound up stuck living there for a long time I’d notice the lack of things like television and air conditioning, but only because as an American I’m used to having those things. It really puts things in perspective.

2.    We did nothing to deserve all we have

            You can’t choose where you’re born. You can’t choose who your parents are, or where they are. That family that lived in La Paz didn’t ask to live in the third world- I didn’t ask to live in the first world. Simply being American is not an accomplishment in and of itself. It’s just kind of about luck. Related to that, it means the majority of Americans aren’t at all thankful to have what we have. They think it’s a basic right to have drinkable tap water, good health care, and a comfortable, spacious home. It’s not. This is why I think everyone should at least visit the third world, so that when they come back home, they can appreciate what they have. Even if you don’t have the newest iphone, or the best car, we as Americans have a hell of a lot more than a big chunk of the world, so don’t take it for granted.

3.    Being nice doesn’t cost anything

            Another thing I clearly remember about my first day in Bolivia is meeting the daughter and son of the woman that housed me for a couple of hours that morning. I met the son first, and, being the stupid American that I am, I reached out my hand to shake his. Instead, he pulled me in and greeted this complete stranger with a hug and kiss on the cheek. No, that boy wasn’t any more affectionate than the average Bolivian- that’s just how they do things there. When I met the daughter a few minutes later, I was more prepared for the greeting that seemed so alien to me but so normal to them.

            At that woman’s home (I know I’m talking a lot about my first morning in Bolivia, but it’s a story I haven’t told yet in the blog and really wanted to because I remember it so well), she immediately invited me in and offered me a cup of tea. Despite her limited English and my limited Spanish, we were able to understand each other fairly well. It was amazing to me that this woman completely opened up her home for me, a total stranger, and treated me like some kind of honored guest. I heard once that the poorer a country is, the nicer the people are, and after only a few days in Bolivia, I started to believe that. The people there may not have nearly as much as we do here in the US, but they more than made up for it in personality.

            There are plenty of other things that I could say I learned while living in the third world, but I think this blog post is long enough. I definitely think that everyone could learn something by spending some time in the third world. This summer was my first experience there, but it certainly won’t be my last. This post’s food for thought: “It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.”- Eric Roth

Be The Change

​June 14: I’ve been here at Senda Verde for two weeks now, and what an eventful, amazing two weeks it’s been! I could write a book about everything that’s happened since I last updated my blog a week ago, but to keep this post from being super long, I’ll just focus mostly on today. Today was one of the best days I’ve had since coming to Bolivia, mainly due to my amazing session with Ajayu the bear at lunchtime today! I’ve been working with Ajayu every day since June sixth, when I was first given the job of helping out with him. I feel like so much progress has already been made in this first week or so- there’s a level of trust between us that definitely wasn’t there when we first met! 

​To start at the beginning of the day, today was my second day on the birds’ rotation, the same rotation I was on when I first arrived here. By now I feel like I definitely have the rhythm down here, and the shifts have been going very smoothly. I’m happy that this sanctuary has given me the opportunity to work with macaws and similar bird species, which was a type of animal that I was previous not at all comfortable with. I know, it’s weird. The girl who’s completely comfortable handling snakes, spiders, frogs, and rats, who loves crocodiles, who’s been SWIMMING WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS… is afraid of birds. The huge beaks and talons on macaws have just always freaked me out a little bit, but it’s been so nice to get the chance to work up close with these gorgeous birds over the past couple of weeks and get more comfortable with them. 

​After the morning shift was over, it was time to go over to spend a bit of time with the puma that lives here at Senda Verde. A few days ago, Vicky, the owner of this place, gave me yet another super cool extra job that most volunteers don’t get to do- she asked me if I’d be willing to help feed and train the young puma that’s here. I’m the only female volunteer that gets to work with her, and the only volunteer that’s working with both her and Ajayu. My wildlife experience has been serving me very well here in Bolivia! I’ve been trying to keep the fact that I’m working with her on the down low here- I could tell that some of the volunteers were already jealous that I get to work with Ajayu. No need to make them even more jealous. 

​Like with Ajayu, I first have to develop a certain level of trust with “Pumita”, as she’s called, before I can start to train her. So, I’ve been going up to her enclosure every day with Rob and Charles, the other volunteers that work with her, so she gets used to me being around. She’s still quite young- less than a year old for sure. She’s definitely not full grown, and still has some cub markings around her face. She’s an absolutely gorgeous animal! The first time I came around her enclosure a few evenings ago, she only stayed in her little house, mostly out of view. When I went up this morning, though, she came out for a while to climb around the logs that are in her enclosure- progress! 

​After my session with the puma and a bit of down time, I headed back to the main area of the sanctuary at noon to feed Ajayu lunch. Candy, the vet, was busy with some monkeys in the clinic, so I grabbed the food and keys, and headed up the riverbank solo. My time with Ajayu is usually the highlight of my days here- I already love that bear so much! 

​I walked into his enclosure, calling out his name so as not to surprise the blind bear, as usual. The first time I fed Ajayu, I could tell he was very nervous. He seems so much more relaxed around me now that he’s used to me, and as such, I’m more comfortable around him. I sat down an arm’s reach away from him, and began to feed him watermelon right out of my hand. After a few minutes, he flopped over onto his back, paws up in the air, as I continued to feed him. He’d never been in that position with me around before. That’s a very vulnerable position for an animal, and it made me really happy that he felt comfortable enough tolay like that next to me- it showed a strong level of trust. He almost reminded me of a dog as he ate grapes and watermelon slices out of my hand. That being said, every time he lifted his paws and revealed those impressive claws, I was reminded that Ajayu isn’t a dog, or a cat, or any other house pet. He’s a bear, and he could do a lot of damage if he wanted to. I never let myself forget that when working with him. 

​I sat in Ajayu’s enclosure feeding him for nearly an hour, just me and that bear, before I left to head off to my own lunch. After lunch, and a bit more down time, I fed the birds of Senda Verde their afternoon meal, cuddling with a couple of capuchin monkeys along the way, then headed up the river again with Rob and Charles to feed the puma. With both of these extra jobs, my time here in Bolivia is getting very busy, but I absolutely love the work I’m doing, so I don’t mind that a bit! Like with the projects I worked with in Africa last summer, I feel like what I’m doing here at Senda Verde is really meaningful for the animals I’m working with. When I look at Ajayu’s face, injured by the cruelty of my species, I see the trust he’s put in me, and I like to think that I’m making the smallest difference in the world. 

​I guess this post is long enough. I love life so much right now! This post’s food for thought: “The reason I dedicate myself to helping animals so much is because there are already so many people dedicated to hurting them.”- Unknown

Monkeys, Tortoises, and Bears (oh my?)

​June seventh: Today was my first day on the bears and tortoises rotation, which is a really easy section. To make a long story short, yesterday two volunteers were chosen out of the twenty or so here to work with Ajayu (pronounced Ahayu), the blind spectacled bear that lives here. I’ll be here for a good chunk of time, so I was one of the two volunteers that were picked. Basically that means that I’ll be going over to his enclosure multiple times a day to feed and spend some time with him.  Since today was also my first full day working with Ajuya, it was a day full of bear action. Candy, the vet here at Senda Verde, decided that it would be best if Robyn (the other volunteer working with Ajayu) and I took turns feeding him, since two new people there at the same time might scare him too much. Robyn and I decided that today I would feed him breakfast and dinner, then tomorrow we’d switch. So after eating my own breakfast, I met Candy at the prep room at 8:30 and we headed to Ajayu’s enclosure. “Today I’m going to have you give him the food.” She told me as we walked. “Talk to him as you come up to him, and while you’re feeding him, so you don’t scare him and so that he starts to recognize your voice. Right now, you’re still very new to him. As he hears your voice more and more while you feed him, he’ll begin to trust you. The first few times, he’ll probably still be nervous, so it may take him longer to eat.”

​When we got to his enclosure, Candy peaked in to see that he wasn’t in the same place where he’d been the previous evening. “That little nest where he was yesterday is his favorite spot.” She said. After we called out his name a few times, Ajayu poked his head out from behind a little structure up on the hill of his enclosure. Once we knew where he was, Candy unlocked the gate and we stepped inside. “Bread first, because it has the antibiotics.” She said as she handed me two small pieces of bread, with some sappy looking substance between them. “Make sure you talk as you approach him, so you don’t scare him.” With a nod and a deep breath, I began to climb up the hill toward this blind, traumatized bear that could rip me to shreds. Did I mention I was holding his food in my hands? 

​“Ajayu…” I called hesitantly as I came closer. “You hungry, boy?” He lifted his head in my direction and stuck his nose right at me. I continued to talk as I brought the bread- and therefore, my hand- closer to his face. I watched in amazement as he took the bread right out of my hand with a level of tenderness I never would’ve expected from a bear. “What a beautiful boy you are.”

​After eating about half of one piece of bread, he stopped, rested his head on his paws, and began to make a moaning sound. “He’s nervous.” Called Candy from down the hill. He wasn’t the only one. “He’s just not used to you yet. Just keep gently talking to him. He has to eat all of the bread before we move on.”

​Listening to that moaning sound, I remembered what Vicky (the owner of this sanctuary) had told me about him being the first spectacled bear she’d heard vocalize. This definitely wasn’t the kind of sound I’d expect a bear to make, and it was sad to see how my new presence made him so nervous because of how people had treated him in the past. After a few minutes of me speaking gently to him as he moaned, he picked his head back up and finished the bread. Candy climbed up the hill to me and handed me a metal bowl with four pieces of some kind of white cheese. “Give them to him one at a time.” 

​With another deep breath, I grabbed a piece of the cheese and reached down toward Ajayu’s head. Every evolutionary instinct in my brain was shouting at me to run away, telling me what an idiot I was for putting my hand so close to a bear’s mouth. But I made those instincts shut up and, yet again, Ajayu took the food out of my hand very gently. 

​I spent about half an hour inside Ajayu’s enclosure, feeding him his breakfast right out of my hand, and last time I checked, I still have all my fingers. “He was really nervous when we first came in, but he got more relaxed as time passed.” Candy told me as we were walking back. “He’s just barely beginning to trust you. You have to work slowly with him. But that was progress.”

​When we got back to the main area, I met up with the other volunteers in my rotation, who were just heading to the tortoise area. “How was it?” asked Robyn, who’d be working with him at lunchtime. Robyn didn’t have a lot of experience with animals, and I knew she was really nervous about working with Ajayu. 

​“It was really nice.” I said. “I was the one to feed him this time. You’ll probably get to do that at lunch.” Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Don’t worry about it.” I said with a smile. “Just be slow, and remember to talk to him.”

​After we’d spread the tortoises’ food on their tray, I sat down on the stone wall of their pin, to relax and watch the many tortoises enjoy their colorful salad. Almost as soon as I did, one of the spider monkeys climbed out of the tree above me and came to sit right on my lap and wrap her arms around my chest. I was instantly reminded of South Africa, feeling the little baboons in the nursery do the exact same thing. Just like in South Africa, I began to groom and gently talk to this friendly spider monkey. After about ten minutes on my lap, she decided that there were more interesting things around, and walked off. 

​The next adventure came at noon, when it was time to give the bears their snack. The food for the animals is often carried in baskets from the prep room to the enclosures. The baskets have a lid that can be latched shut, but the monkeys in the area have learned that they have food in them. There were several spider monkeys around when we left, including Tinto, the most aggressive monkey here at Senda Verde. He’s bitten several people enough to draw blood in just the week since I’ve been here- two of the volunteers currently have bandages on their faces, courtesy of Tinto. Sabastian, a new volunteer from London, was given the job of carrying the basket, since the monkeys are less likely to bother guys (damn sexist primates). As we were walking, two spider monkeys began to follow us and jumped on top of the basket of food. Another one jumped on top of me and began to climb around. “That’s Tinto.” Said Cat, the most experienced volunteer in the group. Great, I thought. But, even as Tinto began to climb around and grab my face, I was surprised at how calm I felt. I really don’t think he’s a mean monkey. He’s just really excitable. Don’t laugh, don’t show teeth, don’t move too fast, I told myself. I stood there, allowing my body to serve as Tinto’s tree, until Cat got one of the staff members to come and get the monkeys to leave. 

​After lunch, I came back to my room to begin writing this post and hang out until the next bear shift, which wasn’t until five. Since I knew that I had another session with Ajayu at six, I figured I’d go ahead and bring my flashlight with me when I went to the next shift. Senda Verde is located in a valley, so the sun sets pretty early here, and walking back to my room after dark without a light isn’t a good idea, especially with the uneven terrain and the possibility of walking past Beethoven, the psychopathic dog that lives here (he charged me the other day, but that’s another story). 

​After a really easy half hour of feeding Aruma, the other male spectacled bear that lives here, and cleaning his exhibit, I headed back to the prep room to meet Candy for the evening session with Ajayu. Once again, it was my job to give him the food. I already felt much more confident and comfortable than the previous evening, but I constantly reminded myself that he’s a wild, very powerful animal. I called his name a few times as I climbed up the hill with the bowl of porridge, and he also seemed more relaxed as he began to lap from the bowl like a dog. It was funny to watch him use his paws to hold the bowl in front of him, and when it was almost empty he buried his entire snout in it to get the last bits. When it was empty, I placed a new bowl with some fruit in front of him while carefully pulling the empty bowl away. I had to reach right between his huge paws to get the bowl, and as I was pulling it away my hand lightly brushed his fur, but he didn’t seem to notice. I let out the breath that I didn’t even notice I’d been holding, and Candy and I left Ajayu to his fruit and headed back to the prep room. 

​There’s plenty more news from the previous few days here at the sanctuary, but I figured this blog post is already super long, so I’ll leave it at that for now! This post’s food for thought: “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”- Muhammad Ali​

Greetings from Senda Verde!

​Written on June second- Today has been my first full day living and working here in SendaVerde, the official title for the Bolivia Wildlife Sanctuary. The volunteers are placed in groups of which animals to work with, that rotates every three days. Today was the second day on the bird rotation for my group. After meeting up for breakfast at 7:30, we took off at about eight to the aviaries. The volunteers are definitely busiest around meal times for the animals- my first couple of hours this morning were spent sweeping out the aviaries, cleaning out and refilling food and water bowls, and meeting the many birds that live at Senda Verde. There are several species of South American parrots, some very beautiful macaws, and two very friendly toucans living here. There were five volunteers scheduled with birds, so we got done cleaning and feeding everything before ten. After some down time, we met up again at noon to give the toucans their snack, which was a lot of fun. We tossed some sliced up pieces of banana and papaya and watched them expertly catch it in their huge beaks. 

​After I finished giving the snack to the toucans, which took about half an hour, I met up with Nadine by the food prep room, another volunteer here from the Netherlands. She was about to go give the spectacled bears their snack and, since they were pretty much the only animal I haven’t seen yet and I had some free time before lunch, I tagged along. They have pretty big enclosures that give them some space to climb up into the mountainous area of the sanctuary, as well as a creek running through them. Nadine told me that the female often hung out up on the side of the mountain, so we didn’t see her. The male was very visible, though, and as we were tossing his snack into his enclosure, he came right up to the fence to explore this new person. I put my hand just slightly into the enclosure, which he sniffed and licked in a greeting. The spectacled bears were a species that I’ve been particularly excited about working with, and that was a pretty cool way to meet this bear. 

​After lunch was served at one, I walked back to my room, since birds didn’t have another job until 3:30, when we would clean and refill all the food trays again. I began to write this post and explored the forest area right around the bungalow before walking back up to the main area of SendaVerde to do the birds’ last shift of the day. On my last shift, as I was picking up some of the older food in an enclosure, a bee decided to greet my thumb by digging its stinger nice in deep into it (my thumb is still pretty swollen and a bit sore). With the help of Sabastian, a fellow volunteer from Argentina, we got the stinger out and went back to work. 

​Some of the other volunteers went out to Corioco, the nearby town, to hang out after dinner, but I opted to stay in tonight to finish this post and shower. Tomorrow I have another day of working with the birds, before moving on to another group- I’m not sure yet what that group will be. I can assure everyone that I am writing down just about everything that happens to me here- I’ve written stuff down every day. However, to avoid my blog posts being ten pages long, everything I actually post will probably focus on one specific day. I’m writing this on June second, but I’m not sure when I’ll be able to publish it- hopefully within the next couple of days. 

​That’s all for now! This post’s food for thought: “A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.”-Roman Payne

Hello Peru!!

            I’ve been in Peru for less than 24 hours, and it’s already been quite an adventure! To recap the last day or so: after a very rainy drive to Houston yesterday morning, I made it to the Houston airport in plenty of time. Getting through security was a breeze, and at about four yesterday afternoon I boarded the six hour flight to Lima. The plane had seven seats per row (2-3-2), and I was originally supposed to be in the middle section. However, when I found my seat, the man next to me asked if I would switch with his son so they could sit together. Trade my middle seat for his son’s window seat? Sounded good to me! Even better, shortly after takeoff, the man sitting next to me asked to be moved to another seat since his screen wasn’t working, so I ended up getting two seats to myself. A combination of reading, watching The Martian, and taking pictures out the plane window made the six hours pass pretty painlessly. When we landed, the real fun began!

            Last summer, when I landed in Cape Town at night, it looked like a blanket with thousands of sparkling diamonds spread across it. There were LOTS of city lights! Lima wasn’t like that at all. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that it was cloudy, but my view out the window was pitch black until we were REALLY close to the ground.

            Finding my way through the Lima airport and getting through customs was pretty easy, despite the fact that all the signs were in Spanish. I waited at baggage claim longer than I’d ever had to wait at one before- it seemed like my bag was one of the last ones they took off the plane! It was close to midnight by the time I finally had all my bags and headed out of the airport to meet the taxi service I’d set up through the hostel. I was told that the driver would be waiting in the front of the airport with my name written on a sign. There were plenty of people holding signs with names on them, but I walked around for about twenty minutes and couldn’t find mine. By that point I was pretty exhausted and just wanted to get to a bed, so I found one of the many taxi drivers and, after making sure it was an “official” taxi, I showed him the address to my hostel, and we were off. Despite his limited English and my limited Spanish, we were able to work out where I was going, how much it would cost, and have some conversation for the half-hour taxi ride from the airport to my hostel. During that ride, I saw first-hand what I’d already been told plenty of times- drivers in Peru are CRAZY! Even at midnight, there were plenty of cars on the road, especially near the airport. Apparently staying within the lanes on the street was mostly just a suggestion, since there were at least three cars driving side by side on what looked like a two lane street. It seemed like drivers in Peru liked to use their horns a lot more than US drivers- it was almost like the drivers were trying to create a song with their horns! Finally, after a long day of travel, I made it to my hostel, paid my taxi, checked in, was shown my bed, and passed out.

            I woke up this morning feeling somewhat refreshed, though also in great need of free breakfast, a shower, and water that didn’t have dangerous amounts of mercury in it. Within an hour of waking up, I’d gotten all three of those things! I sat in the breakfast room of the hostel with three girls from Ireland that were traveling together, drinking coffee and talking about our previous and onward travels. When I mentioned where I was from, one of them asked me the inevitable question: “Why don’t you sound like you’re from Texas?” Not even 24 hours in this country, and I’m already getting that question!

            After breakfast I walked down a few blocks to a little convenience store that the Irish girls had told me about and bought a chocolate bar and bottle of water. It was only a few blocks, but walking around I noticed that, like I’d felt walking around in Africa last year, I felt remarkably safe. Sure, I stayed alert, but, being a 23-year-old American girl traveling alone in this unfamiliar place, I almost expected to feel unsafe, but I didn’t.

            After some much-needed rehydrating and an equally-much-needed shower, I was told that I needed to check out of my room by eleven, but was welcome to hang out in the main rooms of the hostel for the rest of the day. I’m currently sitting on a couch in the front room here at Backpacker’s Family Club hostel writing this. The man working at the front desk here also helped me set up another taxi to pick me up this evening and take me back to the airport to catch my flight to Bolivia.

            I’ll probably go out later and get lunch, but overall I’ve decided to take it easy today since yesterday was really busy, and I’m sure the next few days will be too. I also know that this won’t be my only time in Lima, so I don’t feel the need to see everything today.

            This has been one of the longest blog posts that I’ve written lately, so I’m going to end it here. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to update again as soon as I get to Bolivia, or if it will be a few days, so we’ll just have to wait and see. This post’s food for thought is one of my favorites, and really appropriate right now: “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.”- Freya Stark.

Ground Control to Major Tom

            Today is my last full day in the US for almost four months. This is the first time in my life that I can say that. My backpack is completely packed up, I’ve said goodbye to my friends and most of my family, I’ve printed out the information about the hostel I’ve booked, and soon I’ll be printing out my boarding pass for the flight from Houston to Lima that I’ll be on in 24 hours. The excitement about this trip has been building for months, and now it’s right about at its peak. At the beginning of May, I wrote a countdown of the days until this trip would start on the calendar that hangs beside my bed. Looking over at that calendar now, it’s almost surreal to see the number 1 on today’s date. Knowing that I’ve gotten everything taken care of certainly helps keep the pre-departure nerves at bay. I’ve gotten my yellow fever vaccine, I’ve got my Bolivia visa application, I’ve exchanged US dollars for some Peruvian and Chilean money (since I’ll be spending time in those countries as well), I’ve let my debit/credit card companies know that I’ll be using the cards abroad… I think I’m getting pretty good at this whole travel preparation thing.

            Once I get to the Bolivia Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday, I won’t have a wifi connection. As I may have mentioned in a previous blog post, there’s a town about twenty minutes away from the sanctuary that volunteers can take taxis to and use the internet cafes. I won’t be doing that every day, of course, but my goal is to be able to post updates at least once a week. I’ll also try to post another update before I get to the sanctuary, but tomorrow will be a day full of travel, and the next day I want to have some time to go out and explore the area of Lima around my hostel, so no promises on that one.

            I guess this will be one of the shorter blog posts as of late, since there’s really not a lot of news to give. I just wanted to give one more update from home. This post’s food for thought:       “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.”- Charles Dudley Warner