Month: September 2018

So far, I’ve only updated the site when something really cool was happening. I’ve written to tell everyone all the fun things I’ve done here. I’ve been reluctant to share some of the realities of my life here out of fear that someone will think I didn’t make the right choice in coming here, or that someone will judge this amazing country negatively based on one event. Recently, however, it’s been harder to keep this side of my experience here from affecting me.

Some of the difficulties, I knew to expect. I was warned that pick-pocketing was common. Sure enough three weeks ago, my wallet was stolen while I was getting off the bus on my way home from school. I only had cash on me, but I lost about $35 US dollars. Since then, I’ve been so scared to go home alone that I’ve Ubered home or skipped class on the days when I had night class by myself.  Besides that, I’ve been catcalled and harassed numerous times here by men on the street. There’s a sense of unrelenting weariness I have now whenever I have to leave my touristy, upscale neighborhood.

Mentally, being in another country has been exhausting too. The language barrier, the cultural differences, and thousands of miles between me and my home are overwhelming at times. This past week especially I’ve been particularly homesick. Yesterday, I cried on the combi (think of it as a small public bus) because I was so homesick I didn’t want to go to school. Last night, I called my mom and my voice broke when I said hi because I missed her so much. There have been a few days so far where I’ve decided not to call my family because I didn’t want them to know how hard it sometimes is for me.  What gets me through it is knowing that at the end of this, I’ll be proud of myself for having challenged myself enough to come here… even if some of those challenges really sucked.

This weekend I took an 8 hour bus south from Lima to Nazca, a city in one of the driest deserts on the planet. At first glance, Nazca would not seem like much of a tourist attraction. That’s because the city’s main attraction, the Nazca lines, are only visible from the sky.

So, Saturday morning, my friends and I woke up at 7 AM to be driven to a small airfield about 20 minutes from our hostel. Then we bought our flights, for about 90 US dollars, for a 35 minute trip in a small Cessna, with room for only 7 people, including the pilot and co-pilot.

Each Nazca line figure, or geoglyph, was an animal or human figure carved into the desert sand thousands of years ago by the Nazca people, between 500 BC and 500 AD. No one really knows why or how these figures were carved into the sand, just that they offer an unprecedented glimpse into the lives and capabilities of a culture that no longer exit. Because of this, the Nazca Lines and the surrounding ruins which we later visited (pictured below), have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Before the flight, we were not allowed to eat anything because the flights are known to be somewhat nausea inducing. While at first, my friends and I thought this was an unnecessary precaution, once we were in the air, we quickly realized it was very important. The pilot did donuts in the air around each of the figures, so every thirty seconds the plane would be turned completely on its side; if you were looking out your window, you would be looking straight down at the figure. Each donut was nauseating, and by the end of the ride, everyone on the plane was fighting nausea. The flight and the views were incredible, and I’m glad to have done it, but I would not recommend it for those looking for a more relaxing vacation experience.