My journey to Peru was long...37 hours...3 planes and 14 hours in layovers. I can´t really complain too much though as the transit time wasn´t that bad. I met a really lovely Peruvian lady on my first flight who is a teacher in Lima. She was meeting her uncle at the airport in Madrid (first layover) and they were flying to Lima together. They were both really lovely. I had sat down on the floor to eat my burger as our flight was delayed over an hour and I was starving. Her uncle came over and said ¨Emmie, we have seats over there come sit with us, don´t sit on the floor¨ put his hand out and got me off the floor and took me to where they were sitting. Beatriz (her name) invited me back to her house in Lima as when we landed there I had an 11 hour layover and she said going to her place would be more comfortable for me. Saweet! Already made a friend.
My 12.5 hour flight to Lima was not that bad. I ended up in the middle row with an empty seat beside me (same as the previous flight) and a couple beside me on my left. Everyone had boarded the plane and there were some empty seats available. The couple sitting next to me got up and went and sat at the two seats available by the door. Perfect!!! A row of 4 seats to myself!!! I slept for 8 hours...I woke up to eat but then went back to sleep - which definitely helped with jetlag. Beatriz came and sat with me at one point and apologized as she remembered she had to go to her fathers place and wouldn´t be able to have me over, I do however have her information and we are going to try to meet up at some point as she is in Arequipa every month for work.
The worst part of my travel time was my Layover in Lima. An 11hour layover for a 1 hour and 10 minute flight to Arequipa. I wandered the airport though it is small so there is not much to wander. I had to take money out so I went to the bank machine which gave me American money. I went to the money exchange and ended up with all these soles and a lot of confusion. I didn´t understand the conversion so wanting to buy some lunch where signs are telling me that some thing is 15 soles ($6) is so confusing and frustrating especially at 8 am in the morning - I actually didnt get the exact conversion till the other day, it took me 5 days lol. After a few hours of boredom I wandered more and found a Starbucks so I bought a chai tea and plunked my butt down on the floor for most of the day and used their free wifi.
I was really happy once I could finally board my plane to Arequipa, at this point I just wanted to get there. I ended up with a front seat, so lots of leg room, an empty seat beside me (again) and a very nice peruvian man in the aisle seat who told me all about Peru and what to eat and drink while I was here.
The director of my school picked me up from the airport and took me to the hostel. I wasn´t overly tired so we decided to grab something to eat. We went to the centre of town and had dinner up on a patio so we had a view of the central park with the lights and trees and the surrounding buildings which was beautiful...and the Peruvian food was so yum, plus I drank (5) Pisco sours - the drink the gentleman on the plane told me to have. Pedro (my director) and I talked for hours. I am moving in with him, the coordinator and another teacher into a 3 story house - for only $215 a month. He said they all get a long really well and do weekend trips together and cook family dinners and we are all around the same age so I am super stoked. Pedro is really cool and we get along really well, plus we are both Gemini´s lol. I felt heaps better and a little more relaxed - not just because of the Pisco sours - but just meeting someone I am going to be living with and talking a lot about work and what is expected and how things are done really just made me feel so much better. Plus, they handpicked me to move in with them. Other teachers want to move in with them but they all get a long so I guess they are a little picky so I am pretty lucky. ¨Great¨I said to Pedro ¨now I am going to be the new girl that everyone hates!¨ Ha ha.
You are probably wondering what a Pisco sour is. Pisco is an alcohol made from a young wine. You pour the pisco over ice in a shaker, add lime mix and egg whites (yup egg whites) shake them all on ice, pour it into a glass and add a little cinamon and voila you have an absolutely delicious cocktail that does not give you a hangover!
The next day at about 2pm Pedro met me at the hostel and took me over to the school. I am talking away and enjoying walking down the brick lined streets running through mediterranean slash mexican like buildings, some really colourful and others just grey, it´s really interesting. None of the buildings are new, they seem run down but yet when you go inside they have amazing domed like ceilings made out of brick, gated doors or big wooden ones and colourful walls of yellows, oranges, blues etc. As we were walking over the bridge Pedro says ¨Emmie look¨ so I looked. How could I have missed it...they are right there clear as day - however I was extremely distracted by the Alpaca in the park. Misti and Chachani two of the three volcanoe´s in Arequipa. What a sight they are...absolutely breathtaking. Chachani with it´s snow peaked top and Misti is the perfect volcano shape. Wow! is all I kept saying. ¨Is this seriously the view I will get to see everyday on my walk to school?¨ I definitely won´t be complaining there. Then we looked behind us where Pikchu Pikchu stood. Ahh what another great view...I could definitely live here...oh wait I am.
The school is small but I love it and I am super stoked to start working there. We went over my schedule and Pedro introduced me to some other teachers including Heidi who is the coordinator and one of the roommates. He showed me the text books that we work out of...they are a National Geographic book...I am so stoked...I get to teach English with topics that I love! I am super stoked to start! Im nervous as I have 15 lesssons to plan a week but Pedro said they are always there if I need help. I can´t wait!
The next day (Thursday) I had signed up for a free walking tour. It is a new tour and they are testing it out to see how much they could sell it for, if they could sell it, what was great, what needs to be improved. The whole thing needs to be improved lol. OMGdess what a long day...also considering that I drank at the hostel bar and then when it closed the staff takes us to this little tiny club called Circus. I got into bed at 230 and was up at 530 so the bus ride out there I slept well all four of us did - there were four of us from the hostel. We stopped for breakfast and then drove some more, altogether it was about 3 hours that we drove out. When we finally stopped they said we were there and to put our river shoes on. River shoes? Why do we need river shoes? Why else would you need river shoes...to cross a river...a cold one. We then walked and walked across hills of sand surrounded by more hills of sand, saw cactus, an old abandoned bodega where ceramic from the old wine casks were strewn so I stole a few pieces. Crossed a river again except we had to go through bamboo like trees to get there but the guide couldn´t find the opening so it took 20 minutes for him to find the right spot. Ellen and I were holding on too eachoter as the current was pretty strong and we did t want to fall. John was completely against getting wet so he had his shorts styled in a diaper like fashion to keep them dry. Then we did more walking. We didn´t even know where we were or what we were going to see. We were told it was a vineyard tour and we would be drinking and sampling wine all day and so far none of the above had taken place. We got to see some hyrogliphics from the Inca´s which was really cool. This place has become a sanctuary. You can draw your own hopes and dreams on the rocks. They believe if you draw them on the rocks it will come true.
After that it was time to head back to the bus...over an hour of walking for 20 minutes of Inca history...it was interesting but too long. We saw dug graves where grave robbers steal the clothing from the dead and sell it on the black market...kind of creepy. We had to cross the river two more times. Thank goddess we decided to keep our shoes on after taking them off the first time because it just would've been too much. Jon decided he didn't want to get wet again and had the not so bright idea he could walk around the river and took off. After about ten minutes we realized it probably wasn't the smartest idea to let him go on his own but it was too late, so we crossed our fingers hoping he would meet us at the bus.
As we were crossing the river for our fourth and final time I happened to look over to my left. I started laughing hysterically. There is Jon scaling the rock wall doing everything to not to get wet. Everyone in the group stopped mid river and watched and of course laugh. At one point it looked like he had given up and was waist deep in water, leaning with his hand on the rock wall. Our Spanish speaking guide points and says "oh look pee pee", but intact he was trying to hold his shorts up because he had his camera and two phone in his pocket. "shit," said Emily "he's got my phone, I'm more worried about that than him." He tried scaling the wall again by grabbing on to a tiny branch "I wouldn't do that if I were you" I yelled as our as I could. He eventually made it across "just thought I would make things a little more interesting" he said when he caught up to us. The rest of the day was pretty boring and way too long. Our promise of free alcohol was small samples of Pisco and Pisco sours. The bodegas were alright. Two of them had real human skulls in them...they had the same stories...when they were excavating the land they found them buried and now they keep them as protectors of the bodega...so creepy.
We got back to the hostel at 7pm...13 hours the tour lasted. We were exhausted. I was asleep by 930.
The next morning I was up around 7. I had some breakfast and then basked on the sun poolside. At about 2 I got a drink from the pool bar and that's when it ended...or should I say started. Ellen came and joined me and we must've tried every cocktail on the menu, then we enjoyed cola beers (she is German), Freddie the bartender was so disgusted he tried to charge us extra lol. From there we went to the night bar at the hostel where it was a theme party. Everyone dressed up, beer pong was involved and more drinks. Ellen and I stumbled up to bed before 1am.
Man, did I have a horrible headache the next day I could barely function. I didn't know how Ellen caught her bus on time. I could barely function. I went down to the lobby to use the computer and write this blog. In one hour all I wrote was...my trip to Peru was long...37 hours. After I got that written I stared at the screen. It was horrible. I wasn't even hungover I just had a headache from the sugar in the cocktails. I ended up meeting Iain at the computers. He was hangover as well but he seemed in better shape than me. We started talking about the pool and how we would go swimming in it if they put more water in it. "we should find some big buckets and a hose. Fill the buckets up with water and pour it into the pool." "wow" I replied to what seemed like the greatest idea ever "I'm so up to doing that if you are" "ya" he replied " its definitely a good plan" We kept talking away and staring blankly at our computer screens. "You know something Iain," I said about five minutes later "wouldn't it just be easier and more logical if we just found a hose and put it in the pool?" We just looked at each other and started laughing. That's when hair of the dog started. We figured the best way to get rid of our hangovers was to drink some hair of the dog, this took us into us watching the soccer game on the big screen at the hostel bar. My head was pounding and I was so confused because I thought we were watching the world cup, this led into the guys making fun of me, which took us into us coming up with ice soccer a new sport invented by drunk backpackers in Peru...don't ask. My head pounding the whole time.
When I first joined everyone at the bar they were like "girl you have the sickest beer pong skills." I was like WHAT? Apparently my drunken game was something to talk about. Every time I threw the ball I was getting them in and if I didn't they were bouncing off the table, off a cup and into another one. Iain said I have a five wink technique, I would close one eye and blink the other five times before throwing the ball...haha it apparently works. I didn't even know who these people were but they all knew my name so I kind of had to get everyones name again. Man am I a piece of work...but we all know that already.
We strolled back into the hostel around 4am as after the bar we went to Circus. I was sober I stopped drinking around 10 or 11 but wanted to go out as the guys were leaving the next day. We all literally hung out for one day, but it was a good day and we had a really great group...love it when that happens.
Today Jon and I did the free city tour that the bar manager at the hostel runs. It was so much better than the last tour and really informative. We went to an alpaca farm where we got to pet the alpacas
and llamas and see how their wool was used and colored with natural minerals from the earth. We were taught how to tell real baby alpaca sweaters so that way we won't get gringoed...lol we are gringos here and the locals do call us that. We were told about markets and restaurants, what to eat what not to eat, got some history on Arequipa and taken to a rooftop where we had amazing views of the volcanoes and town center all finished off with a fantastic sample of a Peruvian cocktail.
I'm not finding it too much of a culture shock here. Maybe its because I know there is going to be a culture difference but nothing here has been to shocking yet. However the toilet tradition here I need to get used to, they are not big on toilet paper here so I have to carry it on me when I go out and whe you do use it, you must always put it in the garbage bin...ALWAYS! yup even when you go number two. I was mortified the first time but its something I am (almost easily) getting used to. Plus the Spanish thing is something I am going to need to work on. People are amazed I am working here with no Spanish. The backpackers who have been in South America for a while all speak Spanish so I am definitely determined to be able to speak it by the time my six months is over. I am really amazed at how many backpackers speak it, but I guess when every country you travel to speaks the same language (except Brazil) it makes it easier, not like Europe where every place is a different language.
Now I must say good night. Jon, Ceyhan and I are up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to head to Misti for a two day trek up to the summit. Wish me luck...I'm gonna need it.
-My Beautiful Life-
My 12.5 hour flight to Lima was not that bad. I ended up in the middle row with an empty seat beside me (same as the previous flight) and a couple beside me on my left. Everyone had boarded the plane and there were some empty seats available. The couple sitting next to me got up and went and sat at the two seats available by the door. Perfect!!! A row of 4 seats to myself!!! I slept for 8 hours...I woke up to eat but then went back to sleep - which definitely helped with jetlag. Beatriz came and sat with me at one point and apologized as she remembered she had to go to her fathers place and wouldn´t be able to have me over, I do however have her information and we are going to try to meet up at some point as she is in Arequipa every month for work.
The worst part of my travel time was my Layover in Lima. An 11hour layover for a 1 hour and 10 minute flight to Arequipa. I wandered the airport though it is small so there is not much to wander. I had to take money out so I went to the bank machine which gave me American money. I went to the money exchange and ended up with all these soles and a lot of confusion. I didn´t understand the conversion so wanting to buy some lunch where signs are telling me that some thing is 15 soles ($6) is so confusing and frustrating especially at 8 am in the morning - I actually didnt get the exact conversion till the other day, it took me 5 days lol. After a few hours of boredom I wandered more and found a Starbucks so I bought a chai tea and plunked my butt down on the floor for most of the day and used their free wifi.
I was really happy once I could finally board my plane to Arequipa, at this point I just wanted to get there. I ended up with a front seat, so lots of leg room, an empty seat beside me (again) and a very nice peruvian man in the aisle seat who told me all about Peru and what to eat and drink while I was here.
The director of my school picked me up from the airport and took me to the hostel. I wasn´t overly tired so we decided to grab something to eat. We went to the centre of town and had dinner up on a patio so we had a view of the central park with the lights and trees and the surrounding buildings which was beautiful...and the Peruvian food was so yum, plus I drank (5) Pisco sours - the drink the gentleman on the plane told me to have. Pedro (my director) and I talked for hours. I am moving in with him, the coordinator and another teacher into a 3 story house - for only $215 a month. He said they all get a long really well and do weekend trips together and cook family dinners and we are all around the same age so I am super stoked. Pedro is really cool and we get along really well, plus we are both Gemini´s lol. I felt heaps better and a little more relaxed - not just because of the Pisco sours - but just meeting someone I am going to be living with and talking a lot about work and what is expected and how things are done really just made me feel so much better. Plus, they handpicked me to move in with them. Other teachers want to move in with them but they all get a long so I guess they are a little picky so I am pretty lucky. ¨Great¨I said to Pedro ¨now I am going to be the new girl that everyone hates!¨ Ha ha.
You are probably wondering what a Pisco sour is. Pisco is an alcohol made from a young wine. You pour the pisco over ice in a shaker, add lime mix and egg whites (yup egg whites) shake them all on ice, pour it into a glass and add a little cinamon and voila you have an absolutely delicious cocktail that does not give you a hangover!
The next day at about 2pm Pedro met me at the hostel and took me over to the school. I am talking away and enjoying walking down the brick lined streets running through mediterranean slash mexican like buildings, some really colourful and others just grey, it´s really interesting. None of the buildings are new, they seem run down but yet when you go inside they have amazing domed like ceilings made out of brick, gated doors or big wooden ones and colourful walls of yellows, oranges, blues etc. As we were walking over the bridge Pedro says ¨Emmie look¨ so I looked. How could I have missed it...they are right there clear as day - however I was extremely distracted by the Alpaca in the park. Misti and Chachani two of the three volcanoe´s in Arequipa. What a sight they are...absolutely breathtaking. Chachani with it´s snow peaked top and Misti is the perfect volcano shape. Wow! is all I kept saying. ¨Is this seriously the view I will get to see everyday on my walk to school?¨ I definitely won´t be complaining there. Then we looked behind us where Pikchu Pikchu stood. Ahh what another great view...I could definitely live here...oh wait I am.
The school is small but I love it and I am super stoked to start working there. We went over my schedule and Pedro introduced me to some other teachers including Heidi who is the coordinator and one of the roommates. He showed me the text books that we work out of...they are a National Geographic book...I am so stoked...I get to teach English with topics that I love! I am super stoked to start! Im nervous as I have 15 lesssons to plan a week but Pedro said they are always there if I need help. I can´t wait!
The next day (Thursday) I had signed up for a free walking tour. It is a new tour and they are testing it out to see how much they could sell it for, if they could sell it, what was great, what needs to be improved. The whole thing needs to be improved lol. OMGdess what a long day...also considering that I drank at the hostel bar and then when it closed the staff takes us to this little tiny club called Circus. I got into bed at 230 and was up at 530 so the bus ride out there I slept well all four of us did - there were four of us from the hostel. We stopped for breakfast and then drove some more, altogether it was about 3 hours that we drove out. When we finally stopped they said we were there and to put our river shoes on. River shoes? Why do we need river shoes? Why else would you need river shoes...to cross a river...a cold one. We then walked and walked across hills of sand surrounded by more hills of sand, saw cactus, an old abandoned bodega where ceramic from the old wine casks were strewn so I stole a few pieces. Crossed a river again except we had to go through bamboo like trees to get there but the guide couldn´t find the opening so it took 20 minutes for him to find the right spot. Ellen and I were holding on too eachoter as the current was pretty strong and we did t want to fall. John was completely against getting wet so he had his shorts styled in a diaper like fashion to keep them dry. Then we did more walking. We didn´t even know where we were or what we were going to see. We were told it was a vineyard tour and we would be drinking and sampling wine all day and so far none of the above had taken place. We got to see some hyrogliphics from the Inca´s which was really cool. This place has become a sanctuary. You can draw your own hopes and dreams on the rocks. They believe if you draw them on the rocks it will come true.
After that it was time to head back to the bus...over an hour of walking for 20 minutes of Inca history...it was interesting but too long. We saw dug graves where grave robbers steal the clothing from the dead and sell it on the black market...kind of creepy. We had to cross the river two more times. Thank goddess we decided to keep our shoes on after taking them off the first time because it just would've been too much. Jon decided he didn't want to get wet again and had the not so bright idea he could walk around the river and took off. After about ten minutes we realized it probably wasn't the smartest idea to let him go on his own but it was too late, so we crossed our fingers hoping he would meet us at the bus.
We got back to the hostel at 7pm...13 hours the tour lasted. We were exhausted. I was asleep by 930.
The next morning I was up around 7. I had some breakfast and then basked on the sun poolside. At about 2 I got a drink from the pool bar and that's when it ended...or should I say started. Ellen came and joined me and we must've tried every cocktail on the menu, then we enjoyed cola beers (she is German), Freddie the bartender was so disgusted he tried to charge us extra lol. From there we went to the night bar at the hostel where it was a theme party. Everyone dressed up, beer pong was involved and more drinks. Ellen and I stumbled up to bed before 1am.
Man, did I have a horrible headache the next day I could barely function. I didn't know how Ellen caught her bus on time. I could barely function. I went down to the lobby to use the computer and write this blog. In one hour all I wrote was...my trip to Peru was long...37 hours. After I got that written I stared at the screen. It was horrible. I wasn't even hungover I just had a headache from the sugar in the cocktails. I ended up meeting Iain at the computers. He was hangover as well but he seemed in better shape than me. We started talking about the pool and how we would go swimming in it if they put more water in it. "we should find some big buckets and a hose. Fill the buckets up with water and pour it into the pool." "wow" I replied to what seemed like the greatest idea ever "I'm so up to doing that if you are" "ya" he replied " its definitely a good plan" We kept talking away and staring blankly at our computer screens. "You know something Iain," I said about five minutes later "wouldn't it just be easier and more logical if we just found a hose and put it in the pool?" We just looked at each other and started laughing. That's when hair of the dog started. We figured the best way to get rid of our hangovers was to drink some hair of the dog, this took us into us watching the soccer game on the big screen at the hostel bar. My head was pounding and I was so confused because I thought we were watching the world cup, this led into the guys making fun of me, which took us into us coming up with ice soccer a new sport invented by drunk backpackers in Peru...don't ask. My head pounding the whole time.
When I first joined everyone at the bar they were like "girl you have the sickest beer pong skills." I was like WHAT? Apparently my drunken game was something to talk about. Every time I threw the ball I was getting them in and if I didn't they were bouncing off the table, off a cup and into another one. Iain said I have a five wink technique, I would close one eye and blink the other five times before throwing the ball...haha it apparently works. I didn't even know who these people were but they all knew my name so I kind of had to get everyones name again. Man am I a piece of work...but we all know that already.
We strolled back into the hostel around 4am as after the bar we went to Circus. I was sober I stopped drinking around 10 or 11 but wanted to go out as the guys were leaving the next day. We all literally hung out for one day, but it was a good day and we had a really great group...love it when that happens.
Today Jon and I did the free city tour that the bar manager at the hostel runs. It was so much better than the last tour and really informative. We went to an alpaca farm where we got to pet the alpacas
I'm not finding it too much of a culture shock here. Maybe its because I know there is going to be a culture difference but nothing here has been to shocking yet. However the toilet tradition here I need to get used to, they are not big on toilet paper here so I have to carry it on me when I go out and whe you do use it, you must always put it in the garbage bin...ALWAYS! yup even when you go number two. I was mortified the first time but its something I am (almost easily) getting used to. Plus the Spanish thing is something I am going to need to work on. People are amazed I am working here with no Spanish. The backpackers who have been in South America for a while all speak Spanish so I am definitely determined to be able to speak it by the time my six months is over. I am really amazed at how many backpackers speak it, but I guess when every country you travel to speaks the same language (except Brazil) it makes it easier, not like Europe where every place is a different language.
Now I must say good night. Jon, Ceyhan and I are up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to head to Misti for a two day trek up to the summit. Wish me luck...I'm gonna need it.
-My Beautiful Life-
