Skip to main content

Study Abroad Update

Hey, everyone! I just got news this weekend after doing my phone interview that I was accepted into my Study abroad and service-learning program in Cusco, Peru this coming Summer. I will be gone for over two months! I will most likely do some study abroad updates if anything interesting happens between now and then, but I do plan on making a separate blog to post about my adventures.

For now, I'm still figuring out my budget and waiting on scholarship decisions to come in. The cost of the program is expensive, so I made a go fund me at this URL: http://www.gofundme.com/k11txc
If you can donate and/or share this link, it would be much appreciated!

Source

Here's what I plan on doing while I'm in Peru:

  • Visiting Ollantaytambo, a beautiful city with palace ruins from the old Incan stronghold during Spanish conquest. It's also one of the first stops on the Inca Trail
  • I would really like to do the full Inca Trail Hike, which lasts four days, but I will definitely be doing a partial hike.
  • I know I will be going to Machu Picchu at least once and maybe even a second time after the program officially ends. 
  • Trips to Puno, the Sacred Valley, and Puerto Maldonado are on the itinerary.
  • I'd love to go to other places like Nazca or Cajamarca, but It's more likely that I'll visit Lima on the way back home. Hopefully, I can take the scenic train from Huancayo to Lima. 
  • There's so much food and drink to try! Chicha, chicha morada, Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian), Papas rellenas, Papas a la Huancaína, tallarines verdes (special Peru pesto), and I will probably try guinea pig at some point...
I'm still planning where I can go and what I can do, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know!

Comments

  1. Wow, it sounds exciting! Have a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I adored Peru. The people were nice, the food was fantastic (well, maybe not the guinea pig.... there isn't much TO a guinea pig), and it was very beautiful. Cusco was a delight. Puerto Maldonado was... well, it was my connection hub to go up the Tambopata River to get to a research station, so I don't really remember much about it except that it rained like crazy.
    Advice: Buy the sugared brazil nuts they sell in the airport in PM. They taste like magic and dreams. Take a second day at Machu Picchu and climb up to the guard tower on Huayna Picchu. They say it takes an hour, they're lying, it takes more than that but it's super cool. Watch hummingbirds in Agua Calientes (one of the hotels has lots of hummingbird feeders, they're everywhere, and nectar bats come feed there at night), and bring some tip money for the cute girls with llamas and the dude at Sacsayhuaman dressed as the Inca.
    And believe me on this: the mosquitos are NOT SCREWING AROUND. Take bug repellant. It is your friend.
    You're going to have such a wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Odd Ghoul Out's 2019 Concert Clip Show

It's been a decade since I first got into goth music and subculture. And, with my tongue firmly stuck to my cheek, I observe how I am  still  a baby bat! I'm young enough to still be called a "baby" at shows and club nights yet old enough to recall, with deep nostalgia, vying for a spot directly in front of the stage at my first Peter Murphy show nearly 10 years ago at a now-relocated venue in Atlanta... I also remember with fondness—and some embarrassment—writing a cliché poem for Peter Murphy, referring to him as the "original Bat." And, instead of keeping it to myself, I actually threw the typed poem up onto the stage directly following the show, hoping he'd pick it up and keep it in his breast pocket. Ah, the folly of youth! I don't recall there ever being this many bands of the goth or goth-adjacent persuasion playing in Atlanta since I got into the subculture. That's not to say there weren't plenty of bands playing this city. I only f...

Let's talk Goth, Consumerism and #zerowaste

Disclaimer:   I do not claim to be an expert on low waste (or "zero waste") living —far from it . The purpose of this piece is to explore what it means to belong to the Goth subculture in the context of consumerism and making sustainable choices. There are many ways to live sustainably, but this piece will focus on reducing waste. This piece does not seek to shame or blame anyone but rather to challenge throw-away attitudes that dominate our world—and the modern Goth subculture—by offering another perspective. Respectful discussion in the comment section is welcomed.  W hen I hear the words "zero waste," I often think of people making videos to show off three months of trash fitting inside a little mason jar, their magical Whole Foods shopping trip, or even a tour of their impossibly-tiny capsule wardrobe. Search #zerowaste on Pinterest and you'll come up with pictures of tidy little beige pantries with uniform mason jars filled with chia seeds, nutri...

Devil's Turnaround

Noonday Missionary Baptist Church's Cemetery is also known as "Devil's Turnaround." It is located along a little back road in Kennesaw, Georgia, and most of the graves are scattered in the woods. It is easy to miss, but some of the gravestones are visible from the road. The cemetery has graves from the 1860's. I wouldn't doubt that some of its occupants were slaves at one time. Many say the land is haunted by malevolent spirits who hurl objects and make physical contact--shoving, scratching, and even biting visitors. I could understand why any lingering spirits might be upset: These grounds have been terribly neglected. Much of the graves are broken and toppled over. Some are barely visible through the overgrowth of ivy and weeds. People also say the root of the haunting may be related to rumored cult rituals performed on the property. Located right by the cemetery are huge power lines (high voltage transmission lines). I could hear them b...