Detour to Peru

These next posts are a bit late, but I want to crank them out before I forget or get too busy, which is bound to happen in the next few days. But more on that later...

On 4th of July, I left my house in Moravia for the San Jose airport, where I celebrated my US pride by using my passport -- and wearing flannel. Since I wasn't going to eat hotdogs or sing the national anthem (out loud, anyway) or see a fireworks show, it was the best I could do. A few months ago, I had planned a trip to visit my good friend Sam, who is currently a Jesuit Volunteer outside of Cusco, Peru.  Since I had the time and the savings, I figured I should go while Costa Rica was on vacation, because I knew that once I hit US soil I'd be wrapped up in my next steps (and boy, is that true!).

Susan & Sam

So, off I went. The journey there was long -- I spent the night in the Lima airport and had my Fourth-of-July part of one by eating McDonald's chicken nuggets and diet coke.  God Bless America!  Despite the long night of sort of sleeping on floors and benches, and the early morning flight to Cusco, I arrived in one piece and good spirits. Now, if you scroll back about three years in this blog (here ya go!) you'll see a little bit about my last trip to Peru. When I studied abroad in Quito we spent about 10 days there and saw a lot of the country, including Cusco and Machu Pichu.  This trip was quite different. Instead of being totally a tourist, I was visiting a resident!
The trip was quick, only about four days, and for the most part we stayed in Andahuyallias and the surrounding towns. I got to meet Sam's (awesome) JVC community-mates, as well as some other volunteers from England and Spain who live with them for short-term volunteer stints. Sam and his housemate/my friend Susan, another BC grad, showed me around the Jesuit parishes in the area. I got to see the ins and outs of their jobs and meet many of the people they work with.  We also went into Cusco where we ate at the central market and walked around the city for a couple hours.
On Sunday, we took a long walk along train tracks that connect the towns. The views of the mountains were absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed at just how different everything looked and felt from Costa Rica. One of my favorite things about speaking Spanish is being able to visit so many diverse places -- no one country or region is like another! I feel so lucky to have friends in cool places to visit, too. (So...who's the next one to move abroad? Call me, I'll visit.)  The biggest difference, though? It was SO COLD. At night it was easily below freezing, but thanks to 6 or 7 wool blankets I was able to sleep just fine. The days were warm in the sun but cool as soon as the sun began to set. What a difference from Costa Rica! And if that wasn't a big enough change, I went home a few days later to East Coast July humidity...gross!
To wrap up, I am so glad I had the opportunity to visit Sam. It was great to catch up with him, meet his JVC family, and see Andahuyllias! Enjoy the pictures :)