It still hasn't completely hit me that I'll be on a plane to Peru in about 10ish days. Even though everything is paid off, it still seems like a kind of dream that is forming in my head and won't actually happen. There's that ominous feeling that something is going to go wrong somewhere. It doesn't help that putting just about my entire experience into the hands of others is kind of unsettling. For example, I still don't know where I'm staying or what school I'm going to be teaching at. If I wasn't doing a volunteer program, I would have the hostel booked, and my mind would be resting just a smidge easier. It's a little nerve-wracking to be traveling to a new destination and not know where I'm going to be resting my head each night. But, in a way, that's part of the adventure, I guess: letting go of being so tight and anxious about every little aspect and just going with the flow. Yay for New Year's goals. This trip is going to be good for me. I can feel it.
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Last night, I received a forwarded email from Bob that confirms our reservation for hiking the Inca Trail up to one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World: Machu Picchu. I jumped up and down in the kitchen for a bit. I can't believe I'm going to be visiting one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world! Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders, whose civilization was wiped out by Spanish invaders in the 16th century (history.com). I think one of the numerous reasons why I'm so excited about exploring Machu Picchu is that it has such influence on the culture today in Peru. Even though the Incas were virtually wiped out by the Spanish, their culture still remains. This brings me to one of the reasons why I want to travel so much, and that is to gain experience that hopefully I can bring back into the classroom. Eventually, I would love to teach World Geography in middle school, and to be able to show my students what I've experienced would be amazing. I found out last year while I was teaching that when you use your own experiences to aid in telling the stories of the past, students are more attentive as well as retain information just a smidge more. The Inca Empire had great influence on how Peruvians live. Peruvians embrace their past, and it shows in their culture today. History and culture go hand-in-hand, and I want students to understand how the world around them works the way it does. Why and how can one culture be so completely different from another? I can't wait to bring my experiences into the classroom to help better explain how the past is never truly too far away. Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely loathe anything that has to do with needles. It's one of the reasons why I never followed in the Kasprzak footsteps of becoming a nurse. Because of this loathing, getting the vaccinations for this trip was the part that I was avoiding the most. But it had to be done. On top of my hatred for needles and shots, I'm not very fond of hospitals. The Framingham Hospital was a complete labyrinth to figure out, and once I got in there, that dreaded hospital smell became extremely overwhelming. I felt almost sick to my stomach. After getting through registration, I met with the nurse, and we discussed my itinerary for the trip. Luckily, Cuzco, Arequipa, and Puno are at very low risk for many of the diseases that are common around that area. In the end, however, I got the Hepatitis A and Yellow Fever shots and pills for Typhoid Fever. As I was getting the shots, I couldn't stop laughing because I was dreading it so much. The nurse probably thought I was nuts. I'm still debating whether or not to take the malaria pills, but that's something I can think about for the next couple of days. So all in all, I'm set with vaccinations and ready to hit the road. My cori form for my criminal background check has been requested, and I just have my travel insurance to pay for now. I can't believe the trip is less than 3 weeks away! FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED! AHHHHHH!
Bob and I got together last night and finally bought our plane tickets to Cuzco. It was beyond frustrating. Every flight that we chose suddenly became "unavailable." Why even post the flights if it's not even available? It got to a point that we simply glanced over the itinerary, and clicked Submit. After 6 attempts, we FINALLY got through and our flights were booked! Thank goodness. Our flight: Leaving JFK airport in New York on Saturday, March 1 at 6:40 am (oh boy...). We arrive in Bogota, Colombia around 12:30 pm, then have a 5 hour layover. Our flight from Bogota leaves around 5:45, and arrives in Lima, Peru at 8:40. After 9.5 layover in Lima, we will arrive in Cuzco at 7:30 am on Sunday, March 2. It's definitely going to be a loooong 24 hours, but we can catch up on sleep on the plane and when we get to the volunteer house. It didn't really hit me until today that I'm actually going. We bought the tickets late last night, and I was just tired so the excitement wasn't completely there just yet. But today, I kept doing more and more research for it (restaurants in Cuzco, the best Inca Trail packages, where is the volunteer house located), and I couldn't help but be extremely excited. However, I need to just relax and let everything just happen. That's when all the magic will happen. Next thing to book: Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu! |
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