For the Children

With being events manager I get to plan a lot of fun things and one of them was this years Christmas Charity.  I was super stoked to set it up as I had the perfect one.

Casa Hogar, is an orphanage for girls between the ages of 3 and 18.  They need everything from clothing, toys and school supplies.  We set up a box - decorated Christmas style - in the reception where everyone could leave their donations.

Two days before Christmas Sam, Kiki and Chantal - my two friend that are working here - and I took the donations to Casa Hogar.

It is  45 minute combie ride from the hostel.  A combie is the local transportation here.  Small cramped buses - some the size of a mini van some oversized tool vans - with no air conditioning, sometimes the windows dont open and you are lucky if you can get a seat.  Sometimes it is so packed thatyour feet barely touch the ground and their are too many hands holding on to the rails so you hope the shoulder to shoulder I timacy of strangers will keep you verticle. Other times you have to stand down on the step and hang out the door.

We were luckyd the combie wasnt full when we got on considering it was a smaller one and the roof barley reaches 5' 3" high - Im tall here.  However the more people that got on the more cramped it got, and the more cramped .it got the hotter it got, and the hotter it got the more my pores opened and I began to profusely sweat ....there were no windows.  I had slept in so didnt have time to shower before we left so I still had remnants of spilled beer and alcohol on me with a lingering musk of cigarette smoke, and I just kept sweating.  My feet were bei g stepped on, I had butts in my face, crotches and more people just kept getting on.  I felt so vyle, so I just put my head against the window - which wasnt even at a goodenough temperature to cool my face down - and counted down the minutes.  Honestly though it was so worth it, besides things like combies are a cultural experience so I take them in with a smile.

The girls are incredible.  They literally attached themselves to us immediately.  They didnt seem to care why we were there, they were just happy that we were there and they took advantage of our presence till the moment we left.

The design workof Casa Hogar is like a castle.  The  girls are told they are princes in a tower.  Their rooms are huge with lots of windows that let in the sunshine and fresh air and a view bei g the back drop of Chacchani and Misti.

Sam speaks no Spanish so I had to translate- no one their speaks English. It makes me smile that I have the ability to do that now plus I do t practice my  Spanish a lot because there is so much English here so I was more than happy to use my bad Spanish skills.  When I had trouble I popped out my mini dictionary which always helps plus Chantal was the only other one out of the four of us who has Spanish so between the both of us we got on fine.

Kiki looked at me with a look of sadness "they are so happy."  "Of course they are.  Here they are loved, are well taken care of and have eachother."  Sometimes I feel thats all we need.  Get rid of all our luxuries which we have come to feel are necessities and give us the basics in life...food, shelter, love and eachother.  I said the same thing when I volunteered at Casa Chapi....these kids just love you forno reason, its just because you are there and it makes you see that you dont need much to have happiness.

The girls were really touched when we left, a little emotional iternally.

We got on the (empty) combie and talked about our experience.  This experience made us realize we dont just want this to be a Christmas Charity "I think we should redecorate the box and have it as an on going charity," said Chantal.  "I agree." Said Kiki.
"Wow, im stoked you girls want to keep this going. Maybe ai can set it upso we can take the donations over every week."

Casa Hogar is our new charity.  The hostel manager said absolutely and we just have to make sure we can go every week.  I am so excited!  I really hope to get the girls what they need and to keep seeing those beautful smiles on their faces.

If you would like to donate please leave a comment or send me an email.

What you receive in return when giving is better than any gift you could ever get.


                                                                         -My Beautiful Life -

The Fun Police

¨I hate you!¨ ¨This place is great, but you are evil!¨ ¨I really don´t want to speak to you today.¨ Sometimes it´s death stares or a middle finger.   These are all things I see and hear regularly from the guests at the hostel.  Why?  Well because they are always extremely hungover with an expensive tab.  Why is this my fault?  Well, I am events manager also known as, the Fun Police.  I am their favourite person during the parties and the most hated the next day when they are feeling lingering intoxication and the after affects of jagerbombs, happy hours and free shots.

Honestly!!!  It´s fantasitc!!!   I am in charge of promotions and making the parties/events happen.   They are the same events we have always had I just make sure they happen and that the guests are having fun.   I go from room to room with free shots, getting people to sign up for the nights fiestas or the next days outing.

It´s a lot of fun but extremely exhausting.   Happy, sad, sick, hungover I always have to have a smile on my face and be with guests.  They know my name and I know theirs...I know when they are doing a trek,  I know if they are sick and make sure they are feeling okay, I make sure to constantly be communating with them whether it´s to let them know whats going on or making them drink free shots while getting them dressed up in our theme of the night.  I don´t take no for an answer when it comes to participation in activities or drinking  ¨This is WILD Rover not MILD Rover!¨ Then I tell them they can claim their free skirts at reception when they check out. I torpedo them from the top floor with water balloons while they are sunbathing around the pool,  I wake them up in the morning and sign them up for things when I know they are hungover,  I wake them up with free shots during happy hour, I pour free shots on them while they are taking a shower....you can probably see why I am the most loved yet hated at the same time.  However they still do all these things because they know that I dont take no for an answer and that at some point in the night they will have no choice so they do what I say.

Like I said it is a lot of fun but extremely exhausting.  When I go to bed at night all I here are thousands of voices saying ¨Emmie!¨¨Emmie!¨ ¨Emmie!¨ I want to yell SHUT UP but know that wont do anything...I now understand why my mum used to tell me she was changing her name from Mommy to something else.  But, I love it, it has really changed my time here.   I am not wrapped up just with the staff in my own little world...I am having fun or more like making the fun with the guests who I have had the please of getting to know and it has been great.   It is a lot of work, and I only have one day off a week as I am a manager so on my days off I try and stay away from people as much as possible .... I love people but want my space and some solitude which usually ends up with me down at the bar drinking with them anyways.

Christmas is just a few days away and we have some big events planned....I can here them now ¨I hate you.¨ ¨You are the worst!¨ Oh, how much they love me.

                                                                                                - My Beautiful Life -

Questioning my Decision

I'm not gonna lie; coming back to Arequipa was wierd...a lot weirder then I expected.  Weird enough to make me question if coming back had been the right decision.

I figured I was ready to come back...it had been gone three months,  three incredible months of fresh air, fresh people and fresh thoughts. Me and a couple of guys even headed to Mancora for some beach time.

Leo was pretty funny.  I pretty much have everything you could need, considering my backpack is the size of a house. "Max,  Emmie is our mum, she has everything." So when we crossed the border and were filing out our forms all these backpackers needed pens - I have like 7 in my bag - so I handed them out. Leo's response "Get your own mum!"  Haha too cute.

I was like a kid at Christmas, I was so excited to be back at the beach.  I jumped in the pool first thing and then ran to the beach to play in the waves. It felt so good, the water the sunshine...perdect way to spend a morning.

I randomly met a guy who had just finished working at the hostel in Arequipa.  "You look familiar but we have met."  It took us acouple minutes to realize we hadmutual friends on Facebook.  Another friend from the hostel was working at a hostel a 10 mi ute walk up the beach so we all headed to see him.  That was the begining of the end for me.  The next thing I know its 4 am and we are taking a swim in the waves and then I wake up in a hammock at 6 am...the guys were still partying waiting to watch the sunrise.

The next day I was suppossed to head down to Mancora...but the furthest I could make it was to the hqmmock area where I spent my day curled up - in my brand new hammock.  I didnt see the guys till early evening.  I dont think I have ever had a hangover that bad, I literally couldnt function.  The next dayI booked a bus and headed off on a 40 hour bus trip down to Arequipa.

It was my first solo bus ride, Max and Leo were heading out the next dayand planned to meet up in Arequipa in a couple weeks. I was a little hesitant to go solo, I guess Im a bit paranoid after being robbed twice so I  spent the extra money and went with a high end bus company and I figured 40 hours Imight as wellbe comfortable.  Wifi, movies, two meals, full cama, leg room for days and a litrle woman beside me who gave me gum. PERFCT.  My first 20 hours were going to be great and I slept like a baby until the little woman kept tapping me to turn off her tv screen or talk to me in Spanish at full speed.

I arrivedin Lima 20hours later only to grab another 17 hour bus.  I was feeling horrible at this point, one crazy night and I end up with a throat infection and I had nothing for the pain, though I met two lovely bqckpackers whos mum had stocked her up on medication and sorted me out.

At this point Ijust wanted to get to Arequipa, even with all the luxuries it still is long and on my second bus the wifi didnt work and trustme 40 hours you want it, though I figured the next 17 I could watch the movies even thoughthey were the same as the previous bus.

I had a front row seat so I looked out the window a lot - the buses are two floors - which was great, but I swear at night when theyknow everyone is sleeping they speed up and cut corners a lot closer.  I woke up at one point and didnt see any road and then felt a sharp tur,, I knew we were high up and that we were driving close to cliffs.  I closed my eyes and begged myself to fall back asleep, its less painful if I sleep and we go over.

I got to the hostel at 730am, I was tired and my throat was so soar.

Like I said, it was weird to be back, in one second of being there it felt as though the past three months were a dream and that I had never left.  The volunteer staff was difderent but everything else was the same, the overtired play list in the bar still played, the clinking of the dice rings theough the walls of the bar and it smelled the same.  You know how your house has a smell - not a bad one of course - well so does the hostel and I noticed it as soon as I walked into the staff dorm - and I dont mean the stench that is gone - and thats when it all hit me.  Everything came pouring back, like a damn had been lifted,.  All the feelings that had drowned me before flooded my mind and my heart.  Oh no, Maybe I had come back too soon?   I thought I was ready, I was so excited, but maybe I had misjudged my how I was feeling and hadnt given myself enough time to come back to a place thay held so many memories. But I gave it a couple days and everything settled perfectly.

Its just as crazy as ever here, maybe crazier?  It could be that Im not used to working in a party hostel anymore...but its good.  Im running the events here which have been a blast and my outlook on things are different.  Working at the Secret Garden I worked really closely with the guests which has helped me ease my way back into things here.  Instead of getting myself wrapped up in a world only with the staff here I have really been merging myself with the guests which has been really important running the events.

I know coming back was the right decision, I am happy, I love being back behind the bar, Im with my Peruvian family and this is where I need to be right now,  plus...I got a teaching job which I am super stoked about!  Infact, I start today so I will leave you with that.

Wish me luck!

                                                                           - My Beautiful Life -