Two Weeks!

I've been terrible about posting updates as of late, but I thought that I would post a quick update right now - because in two weeks I am beginning my adventure of moving to Mexico. I'm actually not moving to Mexico until March 14, but I am heading out to Stamford, CT to hang out with Jonny and meet his family prior to the move (I've never met his fam). Jonny leaves Peru on Feb 23, I arrive to CT on March 2 and will play and hang out until we fly (yes, fly - we are no longer driving) to Mexico on the 14th. I'll make sure to keep you all updated, as I have a feeling that our move is going to be fairly interesting as we are moving with 4 suitcases, 2 backpacks, 1 enormous dog cage, 1 dog, 1 guitar, 1 viola, etc. We fly into Mexico City and then somehow have to find a van that will load up all of our stuff and drive us the 6.5 hours south to Oaxaca. We would just fly straight to Oax, but since we are bringing Ollie the dog, they will only process dogs in customs through Mexico City, so we have to fly there. Bummer. Anyway....it should be an adventure and I'm incredibly excited for it.

In the meantime, let me update you with my favorite pics from my most recent trip to Peru.

We hiked up mountains, to overlook the beautiful Sacred Valley

We went to Moray

We went to a beautiful oasis in the desert

We road dune buggies around the desert and kind of felt like we were in Star Wars

And we watched the sun set, atop beautiful sand dunes, with nothing to see but sand for miles...

And we flew over the Nasca lines, can you see the "humming bird"?

Oh yeah and we also went zip lining.....it was an adventurous trip :-)

Traveling....

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I began writing this blog entry back in July while I was still in Peru....and I finally just finished it tonight, but wanted to post it all together as it didn't seem right to split it up. So the beginning is written while in Peru and the rest was written in the States....

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In the past seven months I have traveled to six different countries and worked in four. I’ve been lucky enough to have lived and worked in the United States, Mexico, Belize and Peru and have traveled for leisure to Cuba and Guatemala. I tell you this not to brag, but to explain my life and both the excitement and difficulties that come with moving around to a different country every month and a half. Currently, I am in the rare position to be able to work for an amazing company – ProWorld – which grants me the ability to have this lifestyle. But soon, this lifestyle of being a traveling nomad abroad is going to come to an end and I will be returning back to the States for the next five months or so. As the reality of this begins to sink in and I start to process what this means for my life, I continue to find myself in a state disarray – not quite ready to leave the mountains of Peru, but also somewhat excited for the sweet lakes of northern Minnesota. My heart doesn’t know where to rest as I feel like I am being pulled in two different directions. There is a part of me that feels so alive and content when I am living my life abroad – and it is a completely different life than the one I lead in the United States. I feel like my body reverberates with the energy and simple lifestyle that I get from living in countries like Belize, Mexico and Peru. However, then there is also this part of me that feels like I am missing out on family and friends back at home – and this is what leads me to my feelings of disarray. So today, when I was feeling especially confused – I started to look up quotes about traveling and I found that reading them helped to bring some clarity and explanation to my thoughts. So with that I am going to try to explain my experiences abroad the past six months with quotes, as I feel that they will help me to organize my thoughts and with that, here is the first quote:

“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux

Oh Paul Theroux – how right you are. This life that I currently lead of constantly traveling; never having stable home, community, relationship, and friends is a hard one. It brings to me fantastic life experiences and memories, but also feelings of disruption and being displaced. I feel like my friends who look in on my life feel like it is a glamorous one – and it is to some extent – but it is also really hard, because I fall in love with every place I go, and as soon as I begin to love it, it is time to leave. Currently I am in Peru and I want to stay here for a long time. Finally here I have relationships, I have community, I have a healthy work life, a fantastic environment to live in with mountains in my backyard, fresh veggies and fruits for every meal and contentment. It’s a good life these folks lead in Peru and I am not looking forward to leaving it. So yes, my life is glamorous, but it is also difficult. Falling in love with a place and then leaving it so quickly is never an easy thing and in the moment it can be really hard. But when I look back on it – in retrospect – it is glamorous and amazing and I am often so glad that I took the opportunities to travel, even it if meant me having to be uprooted month after month.

"Good company in a journey makes the way seems shorter." - Izaak Walston

I love this quote, because when I read it alls I can think of is that sweet Jonny Roman of mine. In the past eight months we have traveled through Belize, Guatemala, Peru and the States and each trip has been amazing. We’ve jumped off cliffs into waterfalls in the rainforests, roasted marshmallows over lava, climbed Machu Picchu, watched the sun set and moon rise over Lake Titicaca, and explored Chicago and the Midwest together. We have spent a lot of hours together on bumpy, sweaty buses, in dirty taxicabs, in rental cars, and airports and the time has always flown by. We travel well together. We support one another, watch out for each other, keep each other safe and healthy, and most of all – we have so much fun together. All of those long hours spent traveling seem so much shorter when Jonny and I are together. This past week he came and visited me in the States and traveled around with me going from school to school and state to state – and it was the best week of travels that I have had this fall. Jonny made renting cars fun. He made being lost in a city, while starving and freezing, fun. He calmed me down when I was stressed out, and made me laugh the entire week. And he found all of these little things to appreciate about every city that we were in, which made me more appreciative of them as well.

So long story short – all of these travels that I have had the past year, wouldn’t have been nearly as great if I had to do them all on my own. But because of my friends and having people to share them with – the experience was so much greater. I have traveled a significant amount with people who are not good traveling companions, people who you want to leave at the rest stop in the middle of your journey, and people who complain the entire time, or who bring the excitement of your adventures down. And so therefore I have found that it’s important to find the right traveling companions – ones who help make the journey seem shorter. And I just so happen to be pretty lucky in the fact that my best friend and guy that I love madly also happens to be my favorite traveling companion. We have a lot more traveling to do in our future, and I can’t wait to see whats in store….

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

As much as I love traveling and exploring new areas, there is no better feeling than arriving home and sleeping in a familiar bed, with a familiar pillow. I love nothing more than arriving home from a long trip, going to bed and sleeping so hard in my own bed that I wake up and wonder where I am, only to be pleasantly surprised to realize that I am home.

I have traveled so much this past year, that I feel like George Clooney from the movie Up in the Air. I miss home. I miss having constant community. I miss feeling settled. I miss my family and my friends. I miss not being able to see Jonny day in and day out. And I miss not being able to sleep in the same bed night after night.

So yes, there is something beautiful and exciting about traveling and through this traveling I have experienced amazing things. Though, I think that I am ready to stay in one place for a while. Sleep in a familiar bed with a comfortable pillow. Use my own bathroom and get rid of my travel-size shampoo. I’m ready for all of this. And I think that I’ve found a way to combine the beautifulness of travel with a constant feeling of being settled….Stay Tuned.

Machu Picchu!

I'm a little behind on my blogging....but that is because I'M STILL IN PERU! I extended my plane ticket and will be here until August 1....yes :-) Anyway, to catch you all up...the other weekend Jonny and I took a trip to Machu Picchu and it was absolutely amazing.

In order to get to Machu Picchu you either have to take a 2-4 day trek, or you can take an hour and a half train ride - we definitely took the train. We arrived at the base of MP on Saturday night and then woke up at 5am the next day so that we could get there and watch the sun rise over the ruins. The minute that we walked into Machu Picchu, I was struck into silence by beauty, complexness and amazing energy that surrounds the ruins. I feel like I have been to a lot of different ruins before, but Machu Picchu is unlike any other. Not only are the ruins amazing, but the mountains that surround MP are absolutely breath taking and add so much to the entire experience.....

Jonny and I at about 6:30 am at the Machu Picchu....

The llamas.....

Sunrise....

Oh hey!

We hiked to the top of Waynu Picchu and I felt like we were at the top of the world....

Then we hiked down to this Incan cave...and the hike had some pretty intense ladders...

We got to the cave which was full of ruins and was amazing....

Then we hiked back up to the top of Machu Picchu and took what Jonny calls "The money shot picture"

After the full day of hiking and climbing and adventuring, we were totally exhausted. We got back on our train and completely passed out until we arrived back in Urubamba. Being here was absolutely amazing and is probably up there with one of the top 5 days of my life thus far. For any of you who haven't made it here before, you should definitely put it on your bucket list...it's worth it.

Thoughts on returning home...

So every time that I go abroad, I always get in country and then never want to leave. I've become really good at extending my plane tickets, and this time in Peru is no different. I love it and want to stay. I am having so much fun here. Now that I am out of Lima and living in Urubamba, I am loving it. I love that there is no TV or Internet at the house, I love that I wake up in the mornings and walk outside to beautiful mountains in the backyard, I love the dirt roads and how tranquilo this part of Peru is. It fits with me, this small town, relaxed feel. And up until two days ago, I was completely set on coming home to the United States on July 11 - which is when my plane ticket is. But now that the 11th is just around the corner, I am getting nervous because I don't feel like I have enough time left. I have all of these amazing towns and ruins in the Sacred Valley to experience. I need more time with Jonny. And I'm loving my job here - going out on projects, working with the Peruvian/American staff, having group dinners, making friends with staff, etc. I want more of that and I am not quite ready to leave. But then the thing is, I love summer in Minnesota and I haven't been home in a really long time. I know that my parents really want me to come home, and that my cousins and friends are excited to see me. And there is a part of me that feels like I need to be there, to be centered, to be with my family, to just be home. Currently I am feeling pulled in both directions and I don't know which one I will chose. I haven't even spoken to Jonny about this yet, as he has been in San Francisco all week for work (gross right? The Jefes (bosses) sent him to San Fran in the middle of our lovecation! What??!!) Anyway, it's been fine and I have actually enjoyed having some quite time to myself. I've played guitar, made new friends, had quiet breakfasts and snuggled lots with Ollie, that sweet dog of his. However, I can't wait for him to come back to me tomorrow, as we head to Machu Picchu tomorrow night so that we can get up early and watch the sunrise over the ruins....yup....should be amazing :-) I'll post pictures....

Anyway, at this point I have no idea when I'll be home. My thought is that almost everyone who is reading this in MN is pulling for July 11th, and there is a good chance that I'll still be home then....but there is also this other part of me that just wants to extend that ticket one more time....Vamos a ver... Here are some pics...

Me and Jonny in Lima.

We went to this super cool bar, that had these awesome bottles....

Back in Urubamba. The red door is the entrance to our office. Look at those mountains! Can you see why I am in love with working here? Hello!

Out on a project with some of our volunteers. Every year we have an annual river clean-up day, and this year we ended up picking up 40 bags of trash - most of which were plastic bags. Don't use plastic bags folks - they are killing our environment! Get reusable bags!!