In Lima

Right now I am in Lima, the biggest city here in Peru and it is not my favorite city. Everything is damn expensive and everyone is business. haha. I was supposed to be on a bus right now coming to this city but last night, after finishing this amazingly beautiful hike that went all the way up to 4800 meters which was high for me. I could feel the altitude and me and the 2 people from canada I was hiking with all had to take it easy some of the way up.  Anyway, after finishing the hike, we got back and one of the people went to book another trek and he found out that his bus for the trek was leaving like 3 hours early because there were/are protests going on in Huaraz. Him and the gal he was with said they got stuck on a bus for like 14 extra hours because of protests in a different part of the country. This scared the shit out of me because I was going to make it to Lima pretty close to the time I need to be at the airport to catch my flight so I just went and changed my bus to last night, so I got here to lima at 5 oclock this morning and i planned on waiting in the bus station until it got light out. I saw another white girl and I asked if I could sit with her and we started chatting. im so glad Im talkative and friendly with people. Most of the people ive met, weve become friends because i go up to them and say hey where are you from? Anyway, this gal is from Israel and we decided to leave the bus station together because she wanted to get a bus ticket to cusco and we both wanted to get out of the bus station so we took a taxi together and had an adventure with that and then finally got to the bus station and asked directions and walked further downtown and ate breakfast and the breakfast was absolutely delicious and the best coffee ive had in all of peru. its funny, i was expecting there to be amazing coffee everywhere in peru but most of it is instant, powder kind. anyway, i ended up having to pay extra because i misunderstood that a juice was more expensive. haha. its funny how the customer service is different down here. theres things i prefer about the customer service down here and other things i prefer about the customer service in the u.s. anyway, then we kept on venturing and we took a combi (like a small bus) down to the more popular district and now were both using the internet. im going to try to take a combi to the airport because it will be so much more cheaper. i think about my friend stefanie telling me that money is just money and its better to spend money on things like travelling than be too uptight about saving it because sometimes i catch myself in a frenzy about money. i think everyone experiences that though, but i know everything will work out how it needs to. I am still waiting to hear back from a woman at the cna 2 grant program who i emailed a week ago. i applied to pcc and got in and i emailed my boss at the nursing home and she told me i can come back and work. so im starting to get some stuff in order. i know i will find a great place to live in portland. im sad to leave peru, but the only thing i didnt do was take a boat up the amazon and maybe thats a good thing because i didnt get all the jungle shots that they recommend like malaria and yellow fever. the jungle was my favorite place i went in all of peru! haha!!!! and i wasnt even originally planning on going. thats the way it works i guess. anyway, im excited to get my baby moto and see my friends and big b and cocoa!!!!!!!!!!! Now im just trying to book a craigslist rideshare down to portland or eugene from seattle. i get into seattle tomorrow morning. i started drinking a little booze and smoking a few cigarettes since ive been in peru. oh no!!! ive met so many damn cool people who love to travel and have great, hilarious stories to tell and who are super laid back and adventurous and spontaneous and silly. I love it!!!!! but i think it will be good to come home and be back in a different element and come back to myself in a different way and reflect and save money so i can travel again!!!!!! Ha!
Also!!!! Something I keep forgetting to mention. The song El condor pasa by simon and garfunkle, which is such a beautiful song. When i first arrived in peru, ive heard the melody on the radio, from bands in the streets, marching bands, all over the place, over different speakers, everywhere. Its totally from Peru. I think its some sort of native song. And the condor is a giant bird that lives in peru. I saw some and I have some pictures that I will put up when i am in eugene or portland. Something super cool.

Thank you to my parents who have said the nicest things to me whilst this blog was being written. Nothing has made me feel happier and prouder of the things I do besides my own self nurturing.
I love you so much.
Love
Josie

In Huaraz

So, right now I am in a city called Huaraz and it is really beautiful. There are white capped mountains surrounding the city. I had the most wonderful time in the town Tingo Maria. It was so absolutely beautiful. I met a man from France and we went on a hike together and walked into the selva, which is what they call the jungle and we spent almost all day walking around and exploring. Then we stopped to have a drink at this really cool little bar right next to the river and we had a beer and then the owner of the bar offered us some liquor that he makes out of coca leaves. It was great. We talked to him for a while and it was so magical. He was talking about friends that he has from all over t he world and friends that he has from France. Then we talked about what we do and the man from France whos name is Julian told him that he is a cardiologist and then the man who worked at the bar told us about his son who has problems with circulation and he brought out doctors paperwork to have Julian look at it. And the funny thing is, Julian doesnt speak and spanish, so I was doing some interpreting, for him, but he understand everything, just not talk. So, then he looked at this paperwork about the mans son and understood right away what the problem is. It was so crazy, the whole conversation and encounter. The conversation got kind of serious for a little bit. Julian told him he would need an operation. It was all so crazy and random and magical and beautiful. So I had a great day that day. The next day Julian left to go up north and hopefully ride a boat on the Amazon river which I originally wanted to do but didnt have enough time hahaha. I went and visited a waterfall. I took a rickshaw out to the path and walked up there and it was so beautiful. Then I walked down this long road back to the main road and it was so wonderful. Just me, walking down this gravel road, seeing people in their houses and outside. I walked by a house and saw a macaw parrot and walked up and asked them if i could look at their bird and there was a family just hanging out outside with their bird and dog and chickens and babies. They were very friendly. I wandered off onto a trail and it was so beautiful. Green trees, plants, flowers, butterflies. And when I came back, crossing the stream, a dog ran up and barked at me realy loudly and I stood still so as not to invoke anything and a girl ran up and chased the dog off so I could cross. I experienced nothing but goodness. Except in the bathrooms at the hostel I stayed at which smelled like bile. haha. I took a collectivo back to the city Huanuco so I could make my way to Huaraz. I stayed overnight in Huanuco and went out and got pollo a la brasa and it was delicious. Then the next day I went out to look for a bus to a city called La Union which is in transit to Huaraz. I got the bus station and the bus was going to leave in 10 minutes, so I ran back to my hostal and grabbed my things and ran back to the bus station and while I was running, my doll, Paz fell out of my backpack and someone told me and it was a miracle. I made it to the bus on time and laughed with the bus driver. Its amazing how I can communicate with people and laugh with them and understand when I feel like I cant speak that much spanish. Then I got to La Union and I took a shower and washed my clothes in the sink. While I was taking a shower, i reached up to wash my hair and got shocked from the shower head because it is attached the water heater. It was pretty funny and ridiculous. it scared me a little, but it was ok. Then I went to buy my bus ticket and the only one I could find left at 3 in the morning, so I bought it and then went back to the hostel and called big b and found out that frieda had got stuck in the neighbors garage and big b worked so hard and went around everywhere to try to find her and it warmed my heart. Then I went out to eat with a man I had chatted with on the bus and we had Chifa, which is like chinese food. Then I went back to the hostel and was just about to go to bed when the owner of the hostel offered me some drink for my gripe (cough). It was anis liquor. So I had a cup and he was teaching me some names of things in spanish and we were chatting and laughing and I drank a little bit too much, because the next thing I remember is stumbling to the bus stop and getting on the bus. haha, the situation was fine and I know that there is a magical protective force with me because I got black out drunk and caught a bus at 3 in the morninig, thanks to the owner of the hostel. The only sad thing is that I left my doll Paz at the hostel and that I peed in the bed, so I felt a little bad about who had to clean that up. I hadnt gotten so drunk in probably like almost 2 years haha. but I had a good time. The next day was really rough because i felt so worried because I dont remember the whole night. thats such a hard feeling, not knowing what happened. I comforted myself and realized that whatever happened, I wasnt raped or robbed so that was a miracle. But I remember how terrible I have felt in the past when I have blacked out. But im ok now. Also, I left a pair my pants at the hostal and had a different pair with me haha. It was a good reminder to be very cautious about drinking. im glad and blessed  that I have more power to handle my alcohol now than I used to when I was younger. But its amazing that I still caught my bus. And I didnt lose any of my necessary documents. I am still sad about Paz but I remember seeing young kids in the hostel, the grandkids of t he owners so Im sure Paz will have a good time with them. Anyhoo, now I am staying in a really nice hotel for only 15 soles per night which is like 6 dollars. Anyhow, yesterday I walked around and had diarheea I think from drinking so much. I met a man from Ireland and chatted with him and got a good hike recommendation and then met a guy from London and walked around with him and chatted and then I ate some Chifa after trying to find a ceviche restaurant and realizing that they are only open during lunchtime. Then I went back to my hostal and sat up on top of the hostal and took so many pictures of the city because it is so beautiful, in a different way than Tingo Maria jungle town. Then I put on my pajamas and organized and cleaned all my stuff and my bags and read my book called the mermaid chair. its pretty cool but I liked the other books I read more. Then I heard fireworks and I ran upstairs to the top of the hostal and saw a couple beautiful fireworks!!!!!!!! Then I ended up chatting with the coolest couple of people, one guy from Belgium and a lady from Argentina and they were travelling together and I got to hear some great stories and tell some of my stories. this trip has been so wonderful for me and reminding me that I am awesome and I dont need to worry or change things about myself and I can be so happy and laid back and have all sorts of adventures the way I want to and I dont need to feel bad about myself for any reason. Today, I am going to mail a postcard and buy some gifts and relax and book a wonderful hike for tomorrow. Oh and buy my bus ticket for wednesday!!!!! Im excited for my next trip. i want to go to turkey, europe or india. My friend from france told me I have to go to India. anyway, thanks to everyone for reading myblog. This blog was a great idea and I have enjoyed writing it and Its a new way of journaling and I love writing. Anyone can travel. I am still afraid to sleep without a nightlight. I brought a nightlight with me and ive slept with it everywhere. Im still afraid of swimming with fish. I went swimming in Tingo Maria and  wouldnt get in until I saw other people get in and even then it was hard. I want everyone whos read this and women especially to know that travelling is not as scary as people tell you. I heard some of the most ridiculous and uninformed things about travelling before I went on this trip and only the things from the 2 ladies who have actually been to south america turned out to be true and they both said it was wonderful.

also, money is just money. Im so excited to read my sark book that I ordered here so it would be waiting for me! She reminds me not to worry and to listen to yourself all the time and not get down on yourself and that dreams are ppossible in whatever shape they take.

love
Josie

Hello!  Right now I am listening to Britney Spears! I haven´t listened to pop music in such a long time and it is such a big part of summer for me. I am in a smaller city of about 50,000 people called Tingo Maria and it is very green!!! This morning I woke up in the city of Huanuco and I ate my leftover Chifa food, which is like Peruvian mixed with Chinese. They have a lot of restaurantes all over the cities I´ve visited that serve Chifa food and I was excited to try it! I took an auto here. I asked a few different people how to get here, a french couple that was staying in the hostal I stayed at, and a lady who started talking to me while I was walking around the main square of Huanuco and she asked me if I was from Alemania, which is Germany. I´m always flattered when people ask me if I´m from Europe, haha. But once they hear me talk they know I´m American. It was great, the ride here. A small toyota with 4 other people. They don´t have buses that come here, solamente small autos. I´ve met so many people that tell me about where things are. I took an overnight bus to get to Huanuco and we arrived at 5 in the morning and it was still dark. I was planning on waiting at the bus station until it got light and then going to look for a hostal, but the man I sat next to on the bus, who is a doctor told me that it is safer to go straight to my hostal and he helped me take a rickshaw to the taxi I wanted to go to. Magic!! The magic of life! Anyway, the ride here was great, it was so cool seeing the climate and landscape slowly change from dry and brown to humid and green. Today, I found a hostal from my lonely planet book and got a room. That book has been so helpful. Its helped me to find inexpensive hostals, restaurants and it usually has a map of every city. It´s great! So, this afternoon, I took a mototaxi out to this place called Cueva de las lesuchas, I think it´s called. It´s a beautiful cave!!! Oh my god it was so cool. A giant cave with stalagmites and tites and all these birds that you can´t really see but you can hear them so loudly. It was so beautiful. I walked around there for a while and it was all so beautiful. I took so many pictures. Sometimes I forget to take pictures and then I worry about remembering everything and I have to breath deeply and remember that I can enjoy everything and it will be fine. Oh my gosh it is so beautiful. I can´t believe that I didn´t think I would want to visit the forests here. if I had more time, I would take a boat down or up the Amazon river. I met a guy from France who is staying at the hostal I´m staying at and tomorrow we are going to go to some other great places around here. I came back on the autotaxi as the sun was going down  and it was so beautiful, the hills covered in jungle plants and the city in the valley with wisps of fog above it. Yeah!!!  I read some really cool travel quotes on my way here in the car; I had printed them out before I began my trip but I hadn´t read them yet. yesterday  when I was at my hostal in Huanuco, I went out into the backyard because I wanted to sit and read my book and I noticed there was a bigger cage and that there was a toucan inside. I looked at him for a while and looked into his eyes and went to ask the man at the front if he gets to come out or fly and he told me that he doesn´t have wings and he´s from the jungle and I walked back down the hall and couldn´t help but start sobbing and I thought about cutting open the cage surrepticiously so that maybe they wouldn´t notice at first but then i decided I probably shouldn´t do that but I sobbed for a long time and it makes me so sad to think about it. Later, when I came back out of my room to the front of the hostal, the owner told me the name of the bird and I didn´t know what to say. I was very nice to him. The whole time i was thinking about how I don´t know how animals feel just by looking at them, but god. I don´t know. I know that I want to work with animals in my life. Anyway, now I´´m listening to Madonna and it has really good base and it reminds me of riding my motorcycle which I´m so damn excited for! The bird will be ok. Haha, I remember this past Christmas, before I left to go visit Big B and his family, I was getting really sad about not being able to bring Cocoa and I called Robin to talk to her and to get some comfort and after I told her what I was feeling and the kookiness I was experiencing, she laughed and said "Oh honey, you shouldn´t be allowed around dogs when you´re stoned." It was so funny and cute and sweet. She just meant because I get so emotional with dogs. It makes me laugh so much now. Anyway, its so good to be in green land with lots of green plants! It reminds me of how great it is that I lived and will live in western Oregon!!!!!! Yeah! Thanks for reading!
Love
Josie

Este fin de Semana!

so, this weekend I went to a little place called La Merced, which is on the edge of the rainforest with a girl that I met here in Huancayo. Her name is Kylie and she is from Nueve Zealandia! (Spanish version of the country) We had a great time and it was lovely to have some girl time and do a trip with a friend, also because I was kind of weary about going to the jungle. It ended up not really being the jungle, but moreso the rainforest. It was still so beautiful. We took a bus and got there around 430 in the afternoon. We ended up meeting some other gringos, one of the them was a mexican and they had been in the city for a couple weeks and they took us on a hike along a small river. It was so awesome!!!! The scenery was beautiful and I was reminded of how much I love rainforest and greenness and rain and lushness. Im so grateful I live on the west coast!!! I love the landscape of western oregon!!! Anyhoo, we had a great time and met 2 young people, one from Mexico and one from Boise, ID. They had met in Lima. Its so cool how you can meet people to travel with when youre traveling alone and so open to meeting people. I have met 4 different ladies whom I would love to see again at another time in life and they are all from different countries- New Zealand, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland!! Pretty cool. Now I am sitting at the volunteer house typing a blog and waiting to eat supper before I take a bus to a city up north called Huanuco. I am glad that I got to be a part of this volunteer program because I got to teach kids in a rural school in Peru! But I am also glad to keep on traveling por que yo tengo solamente una semana entonces I will fly back to the United States!

Now I am reading a book called the Mermaid Chair.

Love
Josie

In Huancayo!

So, right now I am sitting downstairs in the house I am staying at here in the city of Huancayo. This house houses the husband and wife and their little girl who run the volunteer project called Carisma Peru. It also houses a few other girls who are part of the project as well. I arrived here to Huancayo by bus Saturday night and the family picked me up at the bus station. I wasnt sure whether I was going to get picked up or have to try to take a taxi to a hostal at night, but they were there and they brought me back to their house in a taxi. Their house was full of young American people when I got back and more kept showing up. Everyone was so friendly and greeted me and I was kind of taken aback. I had not been expecting that and I was kind of groggy from the bus ride. All the young people were drinking vodka and beer and talking about going out dancing. At first I wasnt into the idea, but then I was like, I probably wont go out dancing any other time, so Ill go. I chatted with one girl in particular for a while, who is from New Zealand. We hit it off and seemed to have some things in common which was nice. After drinking the tiniest amount of vodka and beer, everyone finally headed out in groups of taxis. The taxi was piled full of drunk girls and on the way to wherever we were going, some of the girls got pissed because they thought that the driver wasnt going to take us to where we were. It was a funny experience, it felt like being in high school or a sorority for a little while. Then we got to this super packed club where we waited outside for a while trying to stick together. Finally we got in and it was packed and there were people smoking inside and club music. We danced for a while and it was fun. It was fun to dance with a bunch of other people. But then it got late and I really wanted to go home. I told some girls, whenever they want to leave, let me know. But we stayed for probably like 3 hours until finally some of the girls were so drunk and 2 of them had stepped on broken glass from beer bottles that they were ready to go home. Thankfully, I had a good attitude the whole time which almost suprised me because I was so tired. We got home and I made myself a sandwich with avocado, onion, tomato and cheese and some tea and I read my book The five people you meet in Heaven and went to sleep and that was good. Haha, it was a night I never would have expected. I later learned all these girls are Pre-med students who found this volunteer program through their college in Arizona. Anyway, now I am glad because I am sharing a room with my friend who I met who is from New Zealand. On Sunday, I walked around Huancayo. I started off walking with the group of kids who was going on, but I went off on my own. I didnt like walking with such a large group and with a large group of young, loud Americans. Some of them were really nice, but I still didnt enjoy it. Once I branched off, I tried to find the market and met some people and greeted lots of people with Buenas Dias until I realized it was no longer morning. When I was with the group, I also felt like everyone was looking at us like we were obnoxious Americans haha. Thats ok, but sometimes then it puts up a wall for connecting with native people. Anyway, that day, I walked all over the downtown through their craft market and I tried to find the food market and that was fun, getting lots of directions and I bought a little pot of flowers and some mandarin oranges. I met a really cool guy from Peru who I had walked past a couple times and then he introduced himself to me. We chatted for a while. Its so cool when I realize that I can communicate with people with my spanish and that you can communicate with someone even you are not fluent in that language. A lot of it is me connecting words or ideas with other ones that I do know the words or names for. We talked about travel and school and music and he showed me where the supermarket was and which milk is the best to make hot chocolate with. When we were in the supermarket, Hey Jude came on and it almost made me cry. Also, because the whole time I was talking to this person, I was trying not to cry because I had seen a starving dog trying to get food out of the garbage can and I had gone to the butcher right there and bought a sausage and then tried to find the dog. When I did find him, I took off running holding the sausage, the pot of flowers and my oranges. I didnt even know if the person I had been talking with would find me again, but I so wanted to find that poor dog. I gave him the sausage and he ate it and then I wished that I had bought more meat. The dog started off walking again and I thought that it would take a while and I might not even find him if I went all the way back to the butcher. I dont know what I was thinking. But it was really hard for me that day and night because I couldnt stop thinking about that dog. Something about dogs. I feel more emotional than with people even sometimes. But most of the dogs I have seen here look absolutely fine. And that dog is ok wherever he is. Anyway, yesterday was my first day of volunteering at the school. It was kind of crazy. Thankfully, I got to go with a girl who has been here for a month. She leaves tonight for Cusco. We walked a ways down to a street to catch a collectivo, which is like a taxi that picks up as many people as it can going a certain way. We finally saw one going to the place where the school is and we ran across the street to get in. We got to the school and went into the 6th grade classroom. Her and I led the lesson by ourselves, which she says she did starting on her second day. She said usually the teacher sits in the back of the classroom, but today the teacher left because her mother was very sick. So, we started by writing verbs we knew in spanish and english on the board and going through with the kids to help them pronounce them. Then we went on to play a game with matching words in spanish to the words in english. Then we had a recess, which I very much enjoyed haha. I petted some of the dogs that hang out around the school and in some of the classrooms. It was stressful working with the kids haha. They are loud and talk all the time and get up and punch each other haha. But it was a great learning experience and Im sure it will continue to be. It was also really fun, helping the kids. Then we caught a collectivo back and walked home and all the volunteers were over at this house. There are a couple different houses that they stay at. We ate the most delicious lunch, prepared by the family. During the week, they prepare all your meals. And you pay $100 per week for 5 days of all meals and 7 days of lodging. Its a pretty good deal. Yesterday, my friend from New Zealand, Kylie, and I made hot chocolate out of real chocoalte and milk and sugar and it was sooooo good. We also started planning our trip to the jungle!!!!!!!! We are going to do that this weekend. I really really want to go to the jungle. An intuitive, psychic lady told me not to go to the jungle alone, before I came on this trip, but god how I want to go. And I wont be alone. So, I have had a plethora of experiences on this trip so far! Oh yes, and my trip to Lake Titikaka. I went there kind of on a whim. I asked someone in the hostal I was at in Arequipa if they had gone and they told me how to do it. So, I caught a taxi to the bus station in Arequipa and bought a bus ticket and went on to have a rough experience on the bus. I drank a bunch of water because I was so hot and then I couldnt pee on the bus for the life of me. I tried everything to help myself pee, but I couldnt do it. Finally, after 2 hours of sitting in the stairwell, reading my book, I peed and it was like the glory of god. Haha, on my bus back from Lake Titikaka, there was no toilet on the bus so the driver let everyone off so we could pee on the side of the road. It was great for me because I have some sort of complex with peeing in some of the bathrooms on buses of trains. I dont know why, but it was great haha. The bus from Lima to Huancayo was the fanciest bus ever. I had no idea. There were movies and they brought us food and we even played bingo and I won a free bus ticket! Anyway, now Im going to eat some bread for breakfast and then go back to work at the school. I love bread.
Love
Josie

quick post more later!

So, right now I am eating some bread and drinking some tea. In a few minutes I am going to get picked up to go volunteer at a school with young kids! I am staying at this wonderful communal house run by a husband, and wife and their little girl. The program is called Carisma Peru and it seems really cool so far. There are quite a few other people here right now also doing the volunteer program. A lot of young American people. Haha yesterday it kind of felt like I was in a sorority. I am in the city of Huancayo. I have a lot to tell you. I went to Lake Titikaka and that was wonderful. Thanks Dad for your wonderful email. I finished both my books I brought with me a few days ago and thankfully there was a book exchange at the hostal I stayed at in Arequipa. So I exchanged it for a book called The Five People You Meet in Heaven, which I really like so far. A lot. After reading the book The Art of Racing in the Rain which ended with the dog dying, I am liking to read more books about death because that book tore me to pieces. Haha, I had to put it away when I was on the bus back to Arequipa because I was crying so much. And Big B, I wanted to tell you that when I called you, I seemed more emotional about Cocoa because I had just read that book that day and I had so many thoughts. I dont miss Cocoa any more than I miss you. Anyways, haha, Ive got a lot more to talk about later.