That One Time In Peru

Bonita Springs Paddle boarding My dogs Lakes Traverse City My family Athens, Ohio Root beer Grocery shopping My car Going to the movies Coney Island (the restaurants) Salads College Corn on the cob Running in my neighborhood Doing yoga outside by the lake Saturday morning breakfast with my family Panera bread bagels Swimming pools Wearing shorts and tank tops Taking my dogs for walks Having internet access all the time Asian restaurants, Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. Dinner at my granny's Greenfield village Apple orchards and cider mills Great harvest bread company Farmers markets Good cheese varieties Spending time in the south My friends Holland, Michigan Kayaking Dinners with mom that involved creme brûlée for dessert  General tsao's and sweet and sour sauce Heinz and hunts ketchup Macaroni and cheese Pedicures Slurpees My moms crepes with strawberries My backyard, bonfires, hammocks, and the g...

Being a foreigner makes you humble. You point to a bag of grains at the market and ask the woman selling it "is this for popcorn?" and she politely responds ... "no that's for chickens, this is for popcorn." "Chickens" She was polite at least, and honestly, you don't think anything of what an ass you just made of yourself, it all happened in another language, which obviously means it didn't really happen at all... Right?... ... I went through a phase when I was in elementary school where I loved the Dixie Chicks. Which is pretty comical if you know my current tastes in music. My favorite song of theirs is Wide Open Spaces , downloaded on my phone to this day. It's things like that, little hints and clues of what my life would become, that sometimes freak me out. Like maybe listening to the lyrics while dancing around in my best friend's bedroom in fourth grade taught me something. Maybe I was actually listening. ... I ...

Not feeling particularly inspired by any of my grocery items at home, I decided to splurge for a S/. 2.50 bottle of Inca Kola on my way home to sip while I made dinner. I wanted the sugar to comfort me, it did. I love Inca Kola.  In turn I'm also wide awake late at night again. Oops. Only now am I remembering why I hadn't had Inca Kola in such a long time... #noregrets Seems there's no better time to keep you all posted on the recent goings of my Peruvian life. I'm having writers block. I'm not feeling exceptionally witty or charming.  Besides my blog suffering, I'm actually okay with it, because in the meantime my communications brain, which is much needed for my work, has been flowing. I've had three days in a row when I just had to whip out a pencil and paper and write frantically and sketch to get my flowing ideas out of my brain and into some stable form of permanence. Visual things are just coming to me, and it feels exciting.  ...

Okay okay okay so yes my last blog post was about moving into my own apartment in Ollantaytambo, Peru, and yes this proceeding blog post is titled "That One Time In Paraguay," you're allowed to be confused. Just know that if you're confused, you clearly don't know me that well.  I'm the girl that cant sit still, cant stay in one place, and if I can, trust me its a damn good place. I, also, am a rule follower, and don't violate visa restrictions, and so I had to leave Peru, at least temporarily until my paperwork gets settled. I'm planning to be back on Tuesday.  Today, however, August 5th, 2017, is a day of celebration in the world of Brianna; I have achieved a huge life dream. I have accomplished something I've been working at since May 11th, 1996, the day I turned two-years-old. I have officially made it to the same number of countries as years of life I have lived. 23. Paraguay marks my 23rd country, its hard to even believe.  And, well, ...folk...

How do I even begin to express my sadness of leaving my host family? The funny thing is I'll see them, I'll see them around town, I'll stop by the house, I'll be here.  I've left many a host family in tears. Nepal was hard to leave because of Shila and Jenica, and Tommy the dog, and all the rest. I cried tears with Angelita in Spain as she dropped me off at the bus with my things, and saying goodbye to Angela and Irene was no small emotional task. Goodbyes to Mamá and Lituania in Mexico seem oh so long ago. Leaving my host family in Morocco was riddled with wishes for more time together. And now, after only one month in their home, Evelia, Alexander, Alexandra, Janis, and Tiago are my family. And I guess Bobo too, despite his constant fleas.  I will miss so much dinner conversations and holding Tiago and watching him grow day by day, I will miss bedtime movies with Janis. I can't even express how much these small daily activities have meant to me. ...