El Fin Del Tercer Mes...

Today marks two full months in Ollantaytambo. It is crazy how it is possible to feel as though I have been here for two weeks and two lifetimes at the same moment. This week will also mark my third full month in Peru. I've never been anywhere besides Michigan and Ohio for a full three months. I think I like adding Ollantaytambo to an exclusive list consisting of only Novi and Athens. It is starting to feel like home, even though it is all still so foreign and new. 

It makes it so confusing that in my memory I knew Kathmandu so well, and in some ways Toledo, and perhaps even more than Toledo, Rabat. I want to question, how could I have known Kathmandu better than Ollantaytambo, but I know the answer. In Kathmandu I was journalist. I worked everyday, at least six, sometimes seven days a week to venture into that amazing valley and explore. I witnessed a wide array of life in Kathmandu, everyday something a little new. I also had a deadline, and I knew that at the end of 10 weeks it would all vanish and I would be plopped back into normalcy so there was in fact a real push to get to know my surroundings. I went to Swayambunath more times than I can remember in those ten short weeks, and to Boudhanath at least twice, I went to Chitwan, and rode elephants, twice in one day actually, and to Thamel, what felt like nearly everyday, I rode busses to Kirtipur and Kantipur and visited Freak Street, Bungamati, and Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, the whole works. Many, many times. I had ten weeks to squeeze it all in. Hell, I went to New Delhi and Agra in a mere weekend. 

But I live here in Peru, and the pressure is off to see it all in just a matter of weeks. I will see it all. Time and time again I'm sure. When friends and family visit I will have the opportunities to show everyone around to the highlight destinations of my valley. The Sacred Valley. I live here. 

In three months I've worked a lot, gone to yoga, hiked to a lake, participated in a traditional religious ceremony, been to a catholic service, been to a handful of museums, ridden in a moto, had a visit from friends, explored Paraguay, eaten pizza, danced Pumpín, enjoyed pisco sours and calientitos, attended a wedding celebration, rolled my ankle in a hole, listened to hours of repetitive poems about corn in Quechua, taken cold showers, seen two rats, gotten sick, killed several very large spiders, eaten more potatoes than likely ever before in life, painted, learned to use a pushka, read, gotten fleas, followed by likely chiggers, been sunburnt and experienced some of the coldest nights of my life, been to grocery stores, listened to the ocean, tried maracuya ice cream, won beautiful pottery, been on top of mountains, listened to lectures, learned, oh how I've learned, learned to weave on a backstrap loom, learned some Quechua, been to breweries and markets, eaten a lot of rice, and many a fried egg, enjoyed Inca Kola, lived in hotels and with friends and a host family, moved into my very first, very own apartment, picked up some high altitude baking skills, taken photos, colored, learned some Spanish, improved my Spanish, developed amazing deductive reasoning skills, made a lot of tea, decorated my apartment, toured Lima, stayed at work way too late, visited schools, done lots of laundry, cried, laughed, laughed so hard I cried, lost my phone, found my phone, called home to sing happy birthday to my sister, downloaded more Netflix than I've ever watched before, discovered my love for Morochas, learned to make fresh popcorn, and listened to Morat nearly on repeat the whole time. Among several other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. 

It has been one hell of a three months, and as life begins to become 'normal' again I hope so desperately that I can remember these past three months clearly. If I can, I will understand all the challenges, sacrifices and pain it took for me to be comfortable here. If I can, I will remember the beauty and excitement and lessons that this journey has blessed me with in my first few weeks and months. 

I know that this is an experience I will remember forever, and looking beyond all the challenges that overwhelm me on a daily basis, I am so so so grateful for not only my own bravery, but for the unconditional support I have received from so many people since May 30th, the day I decided to embark on this journey of a lifetime. I know that beyond the obstacles of everyday, underlie lessons I haven't even begun to realize I'm learning yet. I know that without knowing it my Spanish is improving, my global perspective is widening, and I'm continuing to grow up.

I'm following a life dream down here in Peru and sometimes I think back to undergrad Bri and how absolutely in awe she would be that this is my life situation at 23. That makes me proud, because I know how hard I worked to follow this dream, and also how much this dream is helping me prepare for my next dream. 

And my next dreams are big. 

So three months down in Peru, my guess is somewhere between 16 and 21 to go; it is amazing how time flies. 

Things I'm excited for in the months to come: 

-visiting more South American countries

-continuing to improve my Spanish

-learning to bake and make a wider variety of food here

-getting better at my job

-taking more and hopefully better photographs

-having friends and family visit

-doing more yoga

-reading great books

-painting

-exploring more of the Valley through hikes

-Machu Picchu

-learning more Quechua

-preparing little by little for my next dreams

I wouldn't change a thing about the decisions I made which landed me here in Ollanta. My love for Photojournalism, Spanish, Anthropology, and travel got me here, and I am so so so grateful for that.