Running around

So I haven't been able to blog as often as I would like, but we are having a great time traveling, so I guess it's ok :)  We finished up in Arequipa, including a trip to Colca Canyon, which is one of the deepest canyons in the world at approximately 13,650 ft (over double the depth of the Grand Canyon), and we saw a couple condors there--that's what the canyon is mostly famous for.  We also went to some hot springs which was nice because the town we were staying in for our tour was freezing!  Well, it was in the 50's, but that's definitely considered freezing when we've spent the last 2+ years of our lives living in 80-90+ degree weather with no big climate changes.  Anyway, although it was very cold, we were still able to enjoy everything and take lots of pictures, which will be finding their way to the internet soon enough...still trying to figure out how I wanna do that.

Well, today we're in Cusco after an early morning flight, and another altitude change (up to 11,152 ft now!).  We walked around the town a bit (insert heavy breathing here) and found it to be about the same temperature as Arequipa--warm during the day (mid 70's), but cooler in the morning and evening (about 60 degrees).  It's a neat place, but definitely more touristy than Arequipa, even though we saw lots of tourists there too.  This seems to have more foreign tourists, where Arequipa had more national tourists.  We quickly  realized our hostel was located in a more foreigner area where all the restaurants have more "gringo" food and prices, so after an expensive (but very filling) brunch, we decided we would be walking further down the road for future meals.  

Today we tried looking for a place that sold used clothes--not as common here as in Nicaragua, but we found the area.  Apparently, they don't just sell them anywhere, there is a specific area "under the bridge" as we were told, that sells used clothing. Well, the bridge didn't look too shady and it was midday with lot of people around so we decided to check it out.  We walked into a few different shops and they all seemed similar and their prices were way too high for used clothing.  I was shocked!  Although, most of the clothing wasn't priced and after giving me a price and I didn't look interested, they lowered the price a few times, but it was still expensive.  Frank & I were looking to see if we could find some sweaters and possibly some sweat pants/legging type things to layer for our hike to Machu Picchu.  And since we'll be camping, not staying in hotels along the trail (those don't exist), it will be fairly chilly.  Hope the sleeping bags are warm!  Anyway, we couldn't find anything decent--just a simple long sleeve shirt came with an $8.00 price tag.  Seriously?  A used shirt.  Anyway, no luck there.  I did find some new leggings this evening at a shop for about $10,then the lady offered me a lower price because I started to leave.  I was trying to go for cheap, but at this point I'm kind of desperate, so I might cave and buy some new leggings--at least I'd be able to use those in the US too.

After our clothing adventure, we came back to our hostel/hotel and hung out and relaxed to make sure we didn't over exert ourselves in this high altitude.  Speaking of that though, we've been doing fairly well.  Frank feels it more than me, which is strange because I've had to take Dramamine for buses before and I've passed out on a bus and come close a few other times.  We were thinking that I would definitely be taking altitude sickness pills, but so far I only took one on our first day in Arequipa because I was feeling miserable, but I think that was mostly because we spent the night in the airport and I was a little dehydrated.  Oh, the joys of traveling on a budget :)  Anyway, we've been drinking coca leaf tea, chewing the leaves, eating the hard candies, and munching on the cookies, which all promise to ward off altitude sickness, and I think it's working.  It also helps you digest things better, which I have noticed.  My body already feels better less than 2 weeks out of Nicaragua and still on the road--that's a good sign! haha

So far our post-Peace Corps travel has been good, just with a few small bumps along the way, but overall great.  We're really excited to continue our travels and hike the Inca trail this weekend.  I'm starting to feel a little nervous now that it's so close, but I'm also very excited!  This has been a dream of mine for quite some time and now I get to finally do it and Frank will be by my side :)

Airport Sleepover

So we finally made it down here to Arequipa, which is in the southern part of Peru.  We left Trujillo late last night and caught a flight to Lima, where we stayed overnight in the airport, on the floor.  Good thing I swiped a blanket & pillow from the airplane ;)

Well,we're here now and it's a beautiful place.  The central park is really nice with flowers, a fountain, and awesome old architecture.  There are a lot of little cafes, restaurants, and shops.  It seems like quite a fun place and we wish we could spend more days here, but we will just soak up all we can while we're here :)

We hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving and we're planning on making a semi-Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at our hostel--details later.

Also, regarding the pictures, I won't be able to upload anymore here on my blog :(  but I will be adding them to Facebook sometime soon.

Cheers!

Last night after wandering around downtown Trujillo again, we came back to the house and hung out with the family a bit.  We gave them some gifts from Nicaragua and then we all sat at the dining room table and they shared suggestions for our various travel destinations in Peru.  We asked where the best place was to try the national drink "Pisco Sour" and they told us a few places, but then they brought out their Pisco bottles and Carolina's parents went to the kitchen to mix us some drinks.  It was great!  We got to try some fresh Pisco Sours--they are a mix of Pisco (kind of like Brandy), lime juice, sugar, and ice.  I was a little hesistant to try them since I've heard some mixed reviews, but it was actually pretty tasty :)  I guess it depends on where you find them and who makes them.  Anyway, we had a couple of those and talked about Peru late into the night.  It was a great way to spend our last night here.  Today we're going to go exploring in another place, but we fly out late tonight for an overnight flight heading south of Lima.

Not sure if we'll be around internet to make phone calls today, but Happy Thanksgiving to all!  We did have a turkey sandwich last night :)

Trying new things

Today we went to another area with ruins and got to explore those--Frank was super excited to see everything :)  Later, Carolina took us to the beach to walk around and see what the northern beaches looked  like.  We walked out on a pier and watched people fish and some take some kayak sorta things made from reeds out to tour the waters.  It was a neat little area.

Carolina's parents came and picked us up at the beach and took us to another town where we got lunch.  It's known for it's ceviche and various meats.  Frank loved the ceviche, while I just picked around at the non-seafood things which was fine.  I enjoyed a juice they call chicha morada, made from purple corn, pineapple, and cinnamon.  Then they ordered the main dishes: goat with beans, and duck with rice.  I got the goat, but couldn't quite get past the vision of a goat on my plate.  Frank of course loved the duck, and even shared the  neck with Carolina's dad. Well, at least he can be adventurous with food for me :)  I did try the goat and some raw fish from the ceviche, so I was proud of myself for that.  However, I don't think I'll be eating anymore of those the rest of the trip!  I'm not really looking forward to trying guinea pig, but Frank sure is haha  I'll dance or sing in front of a crowd, but don't give me fish, seafood, or any weird meats.

Arriving in Peru

We had quite a travel day on Monday--got up around 7am, caught a taxi to the airport, took 3 flights and finally ended up in Trujillo, Peru around 10:30pm.  Long day.  Highlights: the airline company Avianca serves great (free) meals on the flights; found a Starbucks in the Lima airport (a little bit of home); the taxi driver was outside of the (tiny) Trujillo airport waiting for us holding sign with my name :)  Also, we got here safely!

Carolina wasn't in Trujillo when we got there, but was on her way.  Her mom offered us coffee and bread to relax and then we got to bed since it was after midnight and it was a loooong day!  Today we slept in a bit, but I still felt super tired.  Lots of travel wears you down.  Hope to gain more energy soon!  Anyway, we had breakfast with the family after our hot showers and Carolina arrived.

Today we ventured out and visited some ruins just outside of the city.  They were really neat to see and we even got to go inside of some old temples--unfortunately grave robbers destroyed a lot of it awhile back, but it was a neat experience.

In the afternoon we headed into Trujillo to see the city and get some lunch.  We found a nice place and relaxed a bit after soaking up the morning sun.  Frank tried his first Peruvian beer and really liked it--it was a malt beer, so much better than the light beer in Nicaragua.  I got a slice of cake because I prefer dessert over alcohol/beer haha

After letting our bellies settle, we strolled around town, toured a museum, and got a cheap street dinner in the evening before heading back to Carolina's house.  We then finally got to make some phone calls to our (worried and waiting) parents and all is good.  We have plans to visit more ruins tomorrow and I'm not sure what else.  It's kind of fun having someone else plan things and show you around :)

Panama Canal

Well the last few days have been a little crazy, but I wanted to catch up a bit and share about our adventures in Panama.  We discovered that it was a little more expensive than we had anticipated and we're still so used to Nica prices that, at least for me, the prices were a bit overwhelming.  We made it through though and ventured over to the Panama Canal, which even had a $34 buffet (yes, per person), that we kindly refused, although Frank was close to caving when they showed us all the delicious food.

The Canal was a pretty awesome thing to see.  Frank had been there before, but we still did all the touristy things there including the 4 story museum.  It was all very interesting and I loved watching the giant ships pass through the locks.  It really is an incredible thing to see!  I'm glad we made the trip out there.

Apparently I have no more space to upload pictures on my blog for free, so the pictures will just show upon Facebook later.  I might see about deleting some pictures from some old blogs or something.  Until then, just words here :)

Detour

The plan was to take a flight from Nicaragua to Panama, stopping in Costa Rica for a 1 hour layover.  Well, apparently we weren't supposed to get to Panama that day.  We got to Costa Rica just fine, but after boarding the plane in Costa Rica, which was headed to Panama, they made an announcement that the plane was originally supposed to be going a longer distance to another destination so it had too much gasoline for such a short trip.  This meant that they needed passengers to get off the plane so it didn't weigh so much, 12 passengers to be exact, and I counted at least 12 empty rows in the back of the plane and there were several empty seats throughout the plane.  We first said no to a flight attendant because we had hotel reservations in Panama and we didn't know what we'd do in Costa Rica without any plans for there.  After they got desperate, we decided to say yes, and we were the last 2 off the plane and they closed the gate behind us after we got off.  They offered us a pretty good deal for getting off the plane, so we weren't feeling too bad.

They put us up in the Best Western in San Jose which is a pretty nice hotel (hot water, pool, wifi, free international calls...), and gave us meal vouchers for dinner that night and breakfast the next morning at the Denny's restaurant attached to the hotel.  Frank and I were feeling pretty classy in our swanky hotel and making international calls, but the hot water showers were the best!  The food was also delicious, but our stomachs took a little while to adjust to such rich food.

View from our balcony

The next morning after a bit of a hiccup waiting for the airport shuttle and lots of traffic, we got to the airport and then finally got on a flight to Panama.  We landed in Panama City just under an hour later and one time zone difference.  We gathered our bags and took a taxi to our hostel in the older area called Casco Viejo/Antiguo.  It's a neat area, but a lot of it is under construction right now.

View of Panama Bay & Panama City from our hostel

Some old abandoned buildings near our hostel

Yesterday was a low key day since we were pretty tired from all the traveling, so we just mainly hung out around the hostel and then grabbed a bite to eat.  That's when we found out that this area is pretty fancy, which means expensive meals, small portions.  Well, I think this will be our most expensive part of the trip, food-wise  so I think we'll be ok.

Today we slept in, as the dorm rooms here are dark with dark curtains, and the lights were left off.  It was nice to get a full night of sleep though.  We took advantage of the hostel's free make-your-own pancake breakfast--bananas too!  Then we explored the area.  It really is a neat place and there are some beautiful buildings.

Behind our hostel

Panama Bay low tide

Panama hats!

Just cruising the town

We walked near the bay tonight and enjoyed the cool breeze--it's been pretty warm and muggy here so far.  Tomorrow we're planning on going to the Panama Canal & maybe do a little hiking :)

The perfect end to my PC service

Yesterday I woke up at 5:30am thinking I would leave Boaco and take care of my PC duties in the office to prepare for my bell ringing today, but that's not how the story goes.

I did really wake up at 5:30am and I got all the last minute things in my room packed up.  I went over to my sitemate's house to drop off a few things and say goodbye and then waited for our ride.  My host mom said the truck was coming at 6:30am, but I knew better after living in Nicaragua for 2 years...we didn't leave Boaco until 7:20am, but it certainly wasn't my fault.  I didn't really mind anyway because I didn't need to be in Managua until 11am, well until they changed my appointment to the afternoon so it didn't really matter.  Well, we finally got to Managua and I hugged my host mom and grandma goodbye and we parted ways.  It sure was awesome getting a free ride to Managua in a personal vehicle :)

So, I'm in Managua and have nothing to do but wait.  Frank didn't arrive until hours later and unfortunately the server was down in the PC office so no internet was available :(  It was nice to see other PCVs though.  After Frank arrived, we out for lunch and then had our final medical appointments.  Since there were so many other PCVs in the office and they were planning on ringing the bell that afternoon, we thought it would be fun to ring it with them.  So, 4pm came and we were all getting excited.  Little did I know, my life was going to change...  As we gathered around, the TEFL group went up to the bell so we could take a picture of all us finishing our service together.  Then, one started ringing the bell and others followed suit.  The tradition is, that when a PCV finishes his/her service, he/she rings the bell on the staircase in the middle of the PC office and all staff who are in the office come out to clap and cheer for the PCV, so we had quite a crowd.  I waited off to the side with Frank while others were ringing so we could go up together.  Then when the ringing stopped, we walked up together and decided to ring the bell at the same time.  I turned to walk down the staircase, but Frank turned me toward him and started telling me that he loved me and after 1  1/2 years of dating, he knew he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life.  Honestly, I didn't hear anything after "1 1/2 years" since I instantly started crying and when he got down on one knee everybody started cheering.  He asked me to marry him and I of course said yes!  Well, I didn't hear him the first time with all the cheers, but the second time I said yes and then took the ring out of his hand.  Then I remembered he was supposed to put it on my finger, so with it half on, I made him slide it all the way on haha  All our friends and PC staff were there congratulating us with hugs, handshakes, and loving words.  It was perfect.

AND, it was a good thing that everybody was there, because they took pictures and video!  I had to watch the video last night because everything went so fast in the moment.  I'm so glad Frank asked his boss to record the event, and others were taking pictures :)

Ringing the bell together

Right after he started into the proposal and I knew what was happening...

Crying of course

Engaged!

Watching the proposal video on the computer

Frank is going to help me edit the video so I can get it up online asap to share with everyone :)

This morning Frank & I didn't have any PC duties to fulfill since we finished yesterday, so we made an attempt at re-packing our things, but then went over to the mall so I could get my nails done for when I show off my ring haha  Well, 2 hours later and some sore fingers (forgot how much it can hurt, but really it's not supposed to hurt that much--she was a little rough with the nail file), I was ready with pretty nails!

My Nicaraguan engagement ring with my pretty Nica French tip manicure :)

Little hearts on the sides

The video editing is in progress...

The countdown is over

There are no more weeks to count down now, just one. more. day.

I head to Managua tomorrow morning and then I'm outta here Thursday!

This morning I spent about 2 hours making sure all of my information was removed from my computer and deleted extra programs from my computer as well, to make it as close to factory settings as possible.  I wanted to make sure that every trace of me was gone from this computer since it will be staying here in Nicaragua.  The PC tech guy gave me a tip and said that if you go into Control Panel, then User Accounts, you can create another user and if you make it an administrator, you can log in with the new user and delete your admin account.  You then have the option to delete all files attached to your old use account, which I did.  I feel like that will be sufficient.  The guy I sold it to is a teacher in Camoapa and he seems really nice.  He came to my house today with his wife and baby boy who greeted Dyland with a handshake haha  It was pretty darn cute.

I´m a little sad to say goodbye to my computer, but I´m looking forward to a fresh start with a new one later on, and hopefully a lighter weight one!  I still have my Skype phone and will use that during my post PC travel.  My host family has a netbook so I´m using that for today and then I´ll be bumming off Frank ;)

That's NOT a condom

Today I went to the Access class today to show my students the newspaper article that they're in and to say my official goodbye to them.  Before class started, I was talking to some students and showing them some of the newspapers and pulled one out of the envelope my mom sent and something fell out onto the bench seat.  I saw it out of the corner of my eye and didn't think anything of it until I saw one of my students turn and whisper to another student and then it hit me.  I grabbed it quickly and tucked it into the package before the other student saw it and when the first student turned around he couldn't explain what happened as I was talking to others.

What was that item???

Well, it's NOT a condom if that's what you're thinking (and I'm assuming that's what my student thought as well).  It's one of those "moist towelettes", that unfortunately they don't have down here so it obviously looks like a condom.  Great...just what I want my students to think.  Well, at least it was only one student and nothing really came of it since I put it away without him seeing.  I was torn as to whether I should explain it or not, but I didn't want to say "hey, this isn't a condom" and draw more attention to the object.  Now that I think of it, I should have picked it up, opened it casually, and wiped my hands with the "towelette" to make it obvious without having to explain anything, but I panicked and just put it away thinking, oh I don't want to explain what it is and then he doesn't believe me and then I have to waste it by opening it.  Seriously?!  I could have wasted one moist towelette.  I did, however, tell Edwin what happened and we both laughed.  And, I made sure to call my mom to thank her for that awkward situation haha 

Ok, with that story behind us, I will move on to the news article.  The students were really excited to see themselves in the newspaper and it was actually pretty funny because one student said he was disappointed because he wasn't in the picture, then we all gave him a hard time because he didn't come to class that day--his fault, not mine. haha  But he was joking anyway, so it was all good.  I had the students break into groups and take turns reading the article by paragraph and then they underlined words they didn't understand.  We discussed the vocabulary and the content of the article.  It was really neat.  After this, one student spoke for the class and told me she was very thankful for me working with them and it was a unique experience having me there to share my culture and different aspects of English.  She spoke very kind words and I felt very loved by all of them, even the ones that were texting while she was speaking ;)  Yes, they do that here too--so annoying!

Anyway, we took pictures and I told them "See you later!" since this isn't a goodbye.

This is where we took our first group picture a year and a half ago :)

Leaving Access class...

Then I went over to the other class and said my "see you later"s to them as well.

A lot of the students from this class were absent today...bummer.

Poop in my purse

Yeah, that sounds pretty gross, right?  Well, I'm hoping tomorrow will be the last time I ever have to do that again.  When you're sick here, it usually leads to a trip to the lab with a little bag of, well, poop.  In an effort to be a little discreet, I usually put my specimen in a bag and then in my purse.  As I was riding in the taxi today, I thought to myself "I have poop in my purse right now.  Gross."  Unfortunately, the lab wasn't open today since it's Sunday--I went to the lab hoping it might possibly be open, but nope.  So, tomorrow I have to make the same trip and hope for the best.  It really sucks being sick again this close to the end, but it could be worse I guess. 

Since the lab was closed, I called the PC doctor to describe my symptoms, which I pretty much had already decided was bacteria, parasite, or something of that sort.  She told me I could start taking some medicine to get rid of the bad bacteria so I could hopefully start feeling better and then do the test tomorrow.  I picked up the medicine, which is pretty darn expensive--good thing we get reimbursed for that--and took it immediately.  I just need to stay hydrated, avoid dairy & greasy foods, and hopefully I'll be back to normal soon. 

On a better note, I received my last package as a PCV here in Nicaragua from my parents.  It actually arrived Friday, but my sitemate Kelli picked it up for me and took it to my house so I could have it when I got back last night.  Yay!  It had some newspapers that have the article about my students & the work I'm doing here, which is super cool; some magazines, and some little fun things to share.  It got here just in time and now I'm just waiting for my last letter, which my mom actually sent before the package...weird. 

Anyway, I only have a few more days here so I'm going to try to soak up all of Boaco, even though I'm not feeling so good.  I was hoping to go to Access class tomorrow to take the newspapers and say my official goodbye, but I'm not sure if I'll make it between my lab runs (no pun intended).  We'll see!

Here's the article in case you missed it on my Facebook page: Megan and her students in the newspaper!

**P.S. This is my last Sunday in Nicaragua!

Fun-filled days & a neat surprise

I went to Managua Thursday for a med appt, but also as an escape from the boredom that was overtaking me.  I dropped off some things at the PC office to donate to the free bin for PCVs who might want anything I was giving away.  Giving things away in the form of a donation is always a liberating feeling.  I feel like I'm sort of doing a cleansing as I'm literally cleaning my room, but getting rid of things that I don't really need, at least not for our post-PC trip.  Also, it feels good to share these things with other PCVs who come into the office and need a pick me up.  I also grabbed a couple books and magazines off the bookshelf for my Access students and teachers--they could always use the English materials :)

I stayed in the office with Frank for awhile as he was doing some last minute preparation for his charla for Friday, and then we went and hung out at the hotel with others while we waited for his dad to arrive.  Since his dad's flight wasn't coming in til around 8pm, we got a little bite to eat before to hold us over until our real dinner which came at 9pm.  It was a nice dinner out at a restaurant near the office & it was almost surreal seeing Kevin in Nicaragua again, especially since we're leaving in just a couple days.  Crazy, but cool.

That night we all tried to get to bed at a decent hour because our ride was leaving early.  Unfortunately, my hot shower I had been dreaming of did not arrive because of who knows why.  I even got up a little early to make time for a nice soak, but nada.  The water was cold so I didn't even bother. 

After a good breakfast, we walked over to the PC office and hopped in the vehicle, where we sat sideways in the back bench seats, and enjoyed our free ride to Frank's charla in Masaya.  They were kind enough to let us tag along in the truck instead of taking a taxi or something.  Anyway, we sat through the first charla which was about tech stuff, then came Frank's charla which he co-gave with another PCV who is in the environment group after us.  They did well and incorporated a lot of activities to keep the trainees on their toes.  I even was rallied into participating...pictures to come later, since those were not taken with my camera.

Frank didn't put his contact info, just his countdown :)

Getting ready for an icebreaker

Participating in another activity

After the charla we were driven over to Catarina (again Thank you to PC!) to catch a taxi to Granada and got there in the early afternoon, just in time to check into our hotel and grab a light lunch.  Then we walked around and looked at art in a few different galleries.  It was really nice being back in Granada--haven't been there in awhile--and it brought back memories from when my family visited last December because we stayed in the same hotel :)

Lunch at The Garden Cafe (one of our faves)

I look a little exhausted here, but we still enjoyed the beautiful courtyard.

Granada's big cathedral in the central park with the Mombacho volcano in the background.

The sky was competing with the art galleries that day.

Checking out some local art

Neat little courtyard with shops

Volcan Mombacho

View of the volcano while walking to our hotel

We went out for dinner & drinks later on the main strip and talked away the evening.

Today we had a small breakfast at the hotel since we were pretty much still stuffed from last night's dinner, and then lounged in the hotel room until check-out.  We left our bags there while we walked around the town--first stop, the bell tower of a church that provides an awesome view of Granada.  Of course I've been here about 5 times so I didn't really take any pictures up there, but Kevin took some and I used his camera to take a few of him, so I'll have to get those later.

One of the many narrow staircases in the church

The church with the bell tower we climbed

The boys decided to buy some art--I opted for some neat postcards which I will later turn into art, and some t-shirts which I will later turn into a quilt.  Yep, I'm feeling crafty :)

We had a nice time just cruising around the town and had a snack at a little cafe--that bagel and cream cheese had been calling my name!  Then, we headed back to the hotel and waited a short bit for our taxi driver (someone from Frank's town) to pick us up.  It was a quiet ride as we all let the cool air hit our faces and reflected on the past few days.  I almost fell asleep, but then I remembered I wasn't going all the way up to Matagalpa.  Bummer.  I hopped out in San Benito (the bus stop in between mine & Frank's sites) and said goodbye, then waited for a bus to take me home.  Fortunately, one came soon after and I gripped the bars and slithered my way through the sea of people on the bus to a safer middle standing spot.  I eventually got a seat and relaxed.  It's been a long day and I'm ready for some shut eye.  Thanks Kevin for your visit & for spoiling us!  Thanks Lisa for giving up time with your man so he could come and visit his boy! 

While I'm saying thank-you's, this reminds me of the surprise.  Frank's parents decided to change our post-PC travel plans slightly and offered us plane tickets to Panama instead of the 25 hour bus ride we were planning on taking (9 hours to Costa Rica--2 hour break--16 hours to Panama).  THANK YOU!  Now we'll be traveling just one afternoon/evening and get an extra day to check out Panama :)


Ok, it's time for bed for me.  I think I might have caught something, but hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

**Today is the last Saturday for us in Nicaragua (and it's pretty much over)!