Saturday, May 31, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
It's Really Over!
We've made it home alive and well...except not well in Adrienne's case but we got her home alive so our job is done. I just want to make a few comments about the trip:
1. You can't truly appreciate how multicultural Canada is until you've lived as a Chinese person in South America for a month.
2. It's incredibly weird for me to resist the urge to throw the toilet paper in the bin and to flush it down instead. I will also never, ever take for granted toilets, toilet paper, toilet seats or anything toilet related.
3. I think I should now be considered to have 'stomach of steel' considering i had the least stomach problems amongst us. But AliceT beat us all in the health department, she resisted all of our germs!
4. AliceT is also as strong as a man, carrying her bag and Adrienne's around. Although I'd like to boast that even I carried one of Adrienne's bags a few times.
5. I personally feel a lot stronger and more well travelled than before. Next time I do a trip like this, I would backpack instead of following a tour. And there definitely will be a next time.
1. You can't truly appreciate how multicultural Canada is until you've lived as a Chinese person in South America for a month.
2. It's incredibly weird for me to resist the urge to throw the toilet paper in the bin and to flush it down instead. I will also never, ever take for granted toilets, toilet paper, toilet seats or anything toilet related.
3. I think I should now be considered to have 'stomach of steel' considering i had the least stomach problems amongst us. But AliceT beat us all in the health department, she resisted all of our germs!
4. AliceT is also as strong as a man, carrying her bag and Adrienne's around. Although I'd like to boast that even I carried one of Adrienne's bags a few times.
5. I personally feel a lot stronger and more well travelled than before. Next time I do a trip like this, I would backpack instead of following a tour. And there definitely will be a next time.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
It´s Over!
We are done here! Almost.
We go back today. IT has been really amazing. Seen so many things etc. etc...
I am full of health issues... might not be able to see people for a while when I get back...
trust me when I say that you do not want what I have... me and my plethora of foreign diseases.
And a big happy birthday to Brenda! She gets to spend 12 hours on a plane today!
We go back today. IT has been really amazing. Seen so many things etc. etc...
I am full of health issues... might not be able to see people for a while when I get back...
trust me when I say that you do not want what I have... me and my plethora of foreign diseases.
And a big happy birthday to Brenda! She gets to spend 12 hours on a plane today!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Almost over...
We´re savouring the last of our South American dreams now. Santiago is amazing, it has the city feel of nyc with the background drop of switzerland. It´s hard to believe a month ago today i was writing my last exam because it literally feels like a year ago, my life before here seems so distant. Health wise its been tough for some as usual. Here´s another round of guess who. Guess who fainted at the observatory a few days ago? Guess who had stomach pains so bad we considered taking her to the emergency room in the middle of the night last night? It has been exhilarating to say the least...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Pictures!
Internet is expensive here so no one wants to post. To summarize, we froze our collective asses off in Bolivia while driving through the salt lake and then the desert, sleeping with no heat in minus 25 degrees at night. It was like an orphange bootcamp. I can´t even begin to express how hard it has been for us physically, hopefully it is all very character building. I, at least, found the whole situation very hilarious. Too bad alice got the stomach flu after going into the hot springs when it was freezing cold outside and Adrienne has caught a cold. Between the 4 of us we´ve had: common cold a few times over, fever, altitude sickness, motion sickness, stomach flu, diahrrea, constipation, stomach cramps, skin rashes, eye cyst, and i´m sure a few more i can´t remember at this moment.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Chillin´ in Chile
Hi All! We´re now chilling in Chile, it´s kind of chilly so we might try to look for some chili tonight.
I sincerely apologize to all those who don´t share my sense of humour. It´s actually not chilly here, it´s quite lovely. We´re in San Pedro de Atacama, it´s like a town out of a cowboy movie. Adrienne and I are going to do the standoff in the middle of town tomorrow hehe. A lot has happened in the last few days, i´ll let the others update you but most importantly, a vicuna spit on me!! It made me so happy lol.
I sincerely apologize to all those who don´t share my sense of humour. It´s actually not chilly here, it´s quite lovely. We´re in San Pedro de Atacama, it´s like a town out of a cowboy movie. Adrienne and I are going to do the standoff in the middle of town tomorrow hehe. A lot has happened in the last few days, i´ll let the others update you but most importantly, a vicuna spit on me!! It made me so happy lol.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Great morning in the mines
I really had a great time in the mines today. What an experience! And quite the work out might I add. It is not easy climbing out of a mine at 4200 meters above sea level. This was probably the most interesting morning of my life. Everyday in South America is like a strange dream to me. I am just so out of my element. It is late so I am not going to write much even though I have so much I want to share...
How Donkey Kong is this? Bailey, Brenda knew you would love this.
Brenda was the only one that did not have to watch her head in the mines. LOL
I love love love this picture! It reminds me of that scene from Armagedon.
Gassy
Here up in Potosi, and it seems like everything so far has been more gassy than back home: the Cokes, the Sprites, the agua con gas... and even me. I think it´s the altitude.
We went mining this morning. The most exciting part for me (and probably Brenda too) was Donkey Kong Country mine carts. You´ll see. Ouu ouu ahh! (Monkey noises)
Our collection of health problems continue... need for health services is back.
More pictures to come... (not of health problems).
Oh, and toilet paper not going into the toilet bowl is very confusing.
We went mining this morning. The most exciting part for me (and probably Brenda too) was Donkey Kong Country mine carts. You´ll see. Ouu ouu ahh! (Monkey noises)
Our collection of health problems continue... need for health services is back.
More pictures to come... (not of health problems).
Oh, and toilet paper not going into the toilet bowl is very confusing.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Uros Island, Lake TiticacaPictures... FINALLY!
Sandboarding in Huachachina
Trying to climb up a sand dune. I made it to the top!
In Cusco. My baby...
My paid 10 soles for this picture!
Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru
Porno Karaoke
Hey all!
I would just like to say that in the jungle, i was not one of the 2 that were too afraid to shower. I showered, and wimpered.
Currently in La Paz, Bolivia. I do not feel comfortable wearing my Peru hat anymore. Apparently stomach problems are contagious.
Though I avoided sleeping in a double bed with Alice L in the jungle (we switched rooms with one of the older couples... do not know why out of all of the tour group, we were the only ones with the double bed vs two single beds in our lodge), I was forced to sleep with her in a single bed last night. With one pillow. It is interesting to see how things unfold sometimes... but I would have much rather slept in my own bed... except someone was already there.
Anyway, today is the Canadian couple's last day with us, and I am sad. They are so cool!!!! We taught them the use of the expression "itis" and they taught us the expression "shart". They are lots of fun. Yesterday us "chinas", our tour guide, the boys, and the Canadian couple decided to go out at night after the group dinner to send them off or say goodbye in style... apparently "style" involved extremely explicit pornographic videos that accompanied our karaoke lyrics. I will never think of "Hey Jude" in the same way every again. Frat boy from France had his eyes glued to the screen and his mouth open the whole time. We'll blame our inability to sing properly due to the ridiculous music video. ;) Oh, and as you'd have it, the karaoke bar was connected to a Chinese restaurant. We tried to go clubbing afterwards but most of the clubs in La Paz that we found had weirdo music, or lack of people, or a few weirdo people. We ended up going into some place with nutso tribal music and less space than a Hong Kong subway. Needless to stay, nobody stayed long.
Oh yeah, we got more taste of celebrity when some randoms tried to sneak pictures of us Asian looking kids in the ice cream store. Wonder how many more.
Other random points:
In Puno, they must teach their kids random facts about the countries that they get tourists from. Some random little girl tried to sell us alpaca hats by naming the last three prime ministers of Canada and our capital. I was really impressed, but I am not a sucker for alpaca gear like AliceT.
If one member of the tour group gets sick with something, more than half of the others will get it too... did you know that stomach problems can be contagious too??
Alpaca meat tastes like pork, and llama meat tastes like tough beef.
Anyway, off to the goodbye breakfast at a pub for the Canadians and another traveller.
Clubbing was free in Cuzco. As in, the drinks are free. Just walk around town and collect those cards they give out. FREE! Hence drunk AliceL. I wish i went.
Cheers!
Adrienne
I would just like to say that in the jungle, i was not one of the 2 that were too afraid to shower. I showered, and wimpered.
Currently in La Paz, Bolivia. I do not feel comfortable wearing my Peru hat anymore. Apparently stomach problems are contagious.
Though I avoided sleeping in a double bed with Alice L in the jungle (we switched rooms with one of the older couples... do not know why out of all of the tour group, we were the only ones with the double bed vs two single beds in our lodge), I was forced to sleep with her in a single bed last night. With one pillow. It is interesting to see how things unfold sometimes... but I would have much rather slept in my own bed... except someone was already there.
Anyway, today is the Canadian couple's last day with us, and I am sad. They are so cool!!!! We taught them the use of the expression "itis" and they taught us the expression "shart". They are lots of fun. Yesterday us "chinas", our tour guide, the boys, and the Canadian couple decided to go out at night after the group dinner to send them off or say goodbye in style... apparently "style" involved extremely explicit pornographic videos that accompanied our karaoke lyrics. I will never think of "Hey Jude" in the same way every again. Frat boy from France had his eyes glued to the screen and his mouth open the whole time. We'll blame our inability to sing properly due to the ridiculous music video. ;) Oh, and as you'd have it, the karaoke bar was connected to a Chinese restaurant. We tried to go clubbing afterwards but most of the clubs in La Paz that we found had weirdo music, or lack of people, or a few weirdo people. We ended up going into some place with nutso tribal music and less space than a Hong Kong subway. Needless to stay, nobody stayed long.
Oh yeah, we got more taste of celebrity when some randoms tried to sneak pictures of us Asian looking kids in the ice cream store. Wonder how many more.
Other random points:
In Puno, they must teach their kids random facts about the countries that they get tourists from. Some random little girl tried to sell us alpaca hats by naming the last three prime ministers of Canada and our capital. I was really impressed, but I am not a sucker for alpaca gear like AliceT.
If one member of the tour group gets sick with something, more than half of the others will get it too... did you know that stomach problems can be contagious too??
Alpaca meat tastes like pork, and llama meat tastes like tough beef.
Anyway, off to the goodbye breakfast at a pub for the Canadians and another traveller.
Clubbing was free in Cuzco. As in, the drinks are free. Just walk around town and collect those cards they give out. FREE! Hence drunk AliceL. I wish i went.
Cheers!
Adrienne
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
i don´t want to post
for the record, i did speak to the men a lot, i just didn´t want to continue cause it was hard work and disrupting my dinner. we just had chinese food again for dinner with the canadian couple, we´re all practically in love with the canadian couple.
i´m really tired and not sure why i´m supposed to continue this post. i´ve climbed more mountains and hiked more trails this last week than i have in my entire life. it´s really testing my limit, i´m still trying to recover from my nasty cold which unfortunately half the tour group has also caught, oopsy. with the altitude as well it´s just killing me sometimes. it´s all such an adventure though! you wouldn´t believe how beautiful some of the landscapes are, it´s actually worth my efforts. and the stars are unbelievable, we think there are more stars here because we´re so high up. the whole sky just seems like it´s sprinkled with really bright lights, surreal when you´re staying with the local indians and have no electricity. going to the outhouse in the dark is quite the task.
i do miss home a little, you just can´t beat the comforts of home. i actually have cravings for just an apple...when you´re on the road so much it´s hard to squeeze in simple things i normally take for granted. the bus rides can be really long and we just eat cookies to tide us over and stop at toilets which are just absolutely horrid. it´s a good time for reflection though, i think we´re all learning a lot about ourselves and about each other.
until bolivia,
adios amigos
i´m really tired and not sure why i´m supposed to continue this post. i´ve climbed more mountains and hiked more trails this last week than i have in my entire life. it´s really testing my limit, i´m still trying to recover from my nasty cold which unfortunately half the tour group has also caught, oopsy. with the altitude as well it´s just killing me sometimes. it´s all such an adventure though! you wouldn´t believe how beautiful some of the landscapes are, it´s actually worth my efforts. and the stars are unbelievable, we think there are more stars here because we´re so high up. the whole sky just seems like it´s sprinkled with really bright lights, surreal when you´re staying with the local indians and have no electricity. going to the outhouse in the dark is quite the task.
i do miss home a little, you just can´t beat the comforts of home. i actually have cravings for just an apple...when you´re on the road so much it´s hard to squeeze in simple things i normally take for granted. the bus rides can be really long and we just eat cookies to tide us over and stop at toilets which are just absolutely horrid. it´s a good time for reflection though, i think we´re all learning a lot about ourselves and about each other.
until bolivia,
adios amigos
Titty Caca (Lake Titicaca)
Hello All!
We arrived in Puno on Monday and had Chinese food for dinner. There we met these older men from Tai Pei and they thought Brenda was 16. They keep talking to her in Mandarin, but B did not want to speak, and me and the others just smiled.
On Tuesday, we went on a 3hr boat ride in Lake Titicaca and visited various islands. On Uros Islands, we had sword flights with the plant that they used to make everything (including the island itself). A frat boy and Mrs.Sales wrestled on the island. That afternoon we were passed off to our ¨moms¨ and ¨dads¨. My mom was 28, and B and Adrienne´s mom was 24. I have to say that yesterday was the most interesting experience of my life! Adrienne needed to go, but was too afraid to use their outhouse of a bathroom. Needless to say, holding it in for that long gave Adrienne stomach problems. We played soccers with the locals. It wasn´t easy playing at 3800m above sea level. We climbed up to the peak of the island to see the sunset and B and Adrienne barely made it. (Altitude... and wussiness in my opinion) At dinner, I started getting some major cramps, so I had to excuse myself. I told her I had a stomach problems, and my mom asked if I had altitude sickness, I answered with ¨Creo es el tiempo de el mes¨. LOL Go translate that yourself. My ¨mom¨ laughed, so I assume that expression exists in Latin America. After dinner our ¨moms¨ dressed us up in traditional islander clothing and brought us to a fiesta. We wore poofy skirts, corsets, and a shawl over our heads. (Pictures to come) According to B, I looked Muslim, Adrienne looked like a bag lady, AliceL looked like a gypsy. We dance to local music (to me it all sounds like Shakira music because they played that flute) in the dance hall. Eventually we moved the fiesta outside and danced in a ring around a fire. It felt like a seance. My time is up. B will continue to blog.
Chau
We arrived in Puno on Monday and had Chinese food for dinner. There we met these older men from Tai Pei and they thought Brenda was 16. They keep talking to her in Mandarin, but B did not want to speak, and me and the others just smiled.
On Tuesday, we went on a 3hr boat ride in Lake Titicaca and visited various islands. On Uros Islands, we had sword flights with the plant that they used to make everything (including the island itself). A frat boy and Mrs.Sales wrestled on the island. That afternoon we were passed off to our ¨moms¨ and ¨dads¨. My mom was 28, and B and Adrienne´s mom was 24. I have to say that yesterday was the most interesting experience of my life! Adrienne needed to go, but was too afraid to use their outhouse of a bathroom. Needless to say, holding it in for that long gave Adrienne stomach problems. We played soccers with the locals. It wasn´t easy playing at 3800m above sea level. We climbed up to the peak of the island to see the sunset and B and Adrienne barely made it. (Altitude... and wussiness in my opinion) At dinner, I started getting some major cramps, so I had to excuse myself. I told her I had a stomach problems, and my mom asked if I had altitude sickness, I answered with ¨Creo es el tiempo de el mes¨. LOL Go translate that yourself. My ¨mom¨ laughed, so I assume that expression exists in Latin America. After dinner our ¨moms¨ dressed us up in traditional islander clothing and brought us to a fiesta. We wore poofy skirts, corsets, and a shawl over our heads. (Pictures to come) According to B, I looked Muslim, Adrienne looked like a bag lady, AliceL looked like a gypsy. We dance to local music (to me it all sounds like Shakira music because they played that flute) in the dance hall. Eventually we moved the fiesta outside and danced in a ring around a fire. It felt like a seance. My time is up. B will continue to blog.
Chau
Sunday, May 4, 2008
we´re feeling fantastic!
it´s been awhile, a lot to catch you up on. two of us have been constipated and the other two have gotten diarrhea. two of us got altitude sickness, one got sick and gave it to the other and one puked at a bus station due to motion sickness. can you guess who did what?
´
we´re all much better now and are having a great time on the tour with our group. our group is very interesting, a lot of young people and everyone speaks english. there are a lot of english people, i really fancy their accents and will try very hard to come home with one. there´s a canadian couple from red deer, alberta and their last name is Sale, i have a strong suspicion that one of them is related to Jamie Sale of the figure skating couple Sale and Pellieter. They´re extremely nice and we relate to them the most. The cliques within the group are usually the British versus the nonBritish. There are two old couples who we refer to as the old couples but we like them a lot. They met each other ten years ago on a similiar vacation and have been meeting up to travel together every year since then, they´ve been to the most off beaten paths like tibet, pakistan, burma, etc and they tell the most dramatic stories of their adventures. There´s also the ´frat boys´, two boys our age who seem to be meandering through life pointlessly. The ´spice girls´are refined english girls who sit in the back of the bus singing wannabe while the rest of us try to sleep.
We flew to cuzco from lima many days ago. cuzco is a very charming town, much better and safter than lima. we´ve bought a lot of stuff, aliceT has everything alpaca and i can´t wait to show you guys my peruvian gear. We also ate alpaca meat and it tastes like tasty pork. Macchu Piccu was incredibly beautiful and we traveled 7 hrs to get there and back that day, so glad we didn´t do the inka trail. then we saw some ruins but the best part of the trip so far has to be the amazon jungle. when we arrived we were greated parrots and we had our own little bungalows with mesh walls. the lodge had a big cafe, games room, a hippo/pig pet that acted like a dog, but there was no hot water so only two of us took showers because the other two were too afraid of the cold....can you guess who? we went to see monkeys on monkey island, went pirana fishing but caught nothing, went hiking and went out on a boat at night to try to spot alligators. it was very eerie to be sitting on a small canoe in total darkness in the middle of the amazon river. we flew back to cuzco earlier today and continued shopping. we´re leaving for puno and lake titicaca tomorrow morning, in the next few days we´ll be staying in huts with our indian parents and they´re going to dress us up and make us dance. you will probably hear from us again a few days from now when we´re in Bolivia.
the dogs here are amazing, none of them are on a leash and they´re all so obediant. i love them all. oh and at the airport today, a few peruvian men came up to adrienne and aliceL and asked if they could take a picture with them. we´re like celebrities here!
don´t worry, we´re doing really great and having lots of fun. miss you all. pictures will come eventually.
´
we´re all much better now and are having a great time on the tour with our group. our group is very interesting, a lot of young people and everyone speaks english. there are a lot of english people, i really fancy their accents and will try very hard to come home with one. there´s a canadian couple from red deer, alberta and their last name is Sale, i have a strong suspicion that one of them is related to Jamie Sale of the figure skating couple Sale and Pellieter. They´re extremely nice and we relate to them the most. The cliques within the group are usually the British versus the nonBritish. There are two old couples who we refer to as the old couples but we like them a lot. They met each other ten years ago on a similiar vacation and have been meeting up to travel together every year since then, they´ve been to the most off beaten paths like tibet, pakistan, burma, etc and they tell the most dramatic stories of their adventures. There´s also the ´frat boys´, two boys our age who seem to be meandering through life pointlessly. The ´spice girls´are refined english girls who sit in the back of the bus singing wannabe while the rest of us try to sleep.
We flew to cuzco from lima many days ago. cuzco is a very charming town, much better and safter than lima. we´ve bought a lot of stuff, aliceT has everything alpaca and i can´t wait to show you guys my peruvian gear. We also ate alpaca meat and it tastes like tasty pork. Macchu Piccu was incredibly beautiful and we traveled 7 hrs to get there and back that day, so glad we didn´t do the inka trail. then we saw some ruins but the best part of the trip so far has to be the amazon jungle. when we arrived we were greated parrots and we had our own little bungalows with mesh walls. the lodge had a big cafe, games room, a hippo/pig pet that acted like a dog, but there was no hot water so only two of us took showers because the other two were too afraid of the cold....can you guess who? we went to see monkeys on monkey island, went pirana fishing but caught nothing, went hiking and went out on a boat at night to try to spot alligators. it was very eerie to be sitting on a small canoe in total darkness in the middle of the amazon river. we flew back to cuzco earlier today and continued shopping. we´re leaving for puno and lake titicaca tomorrow morning, in the next few days we´ll be staying in huts with our indian parents and they´re going to dress us up and make us dance. you will probably hear from us again a few days from now when we´re in Bolivia.
the dogs here are amazing, none of them are on a leash and they´re all so obediant. i love them all. oh and at the airport today, a few peruvian men came up to adrienne and aliceL and asked if they could take a picture with them. we´re like celebrities here!
don´t worry, we´re doing really great and having lots of fun. miss you all. pictures will come eventually.
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