I have just one more full day in the USA for three months as I write this! As I am getting ready to leave the country, I keep encountering a lot of the same questions: Are you scared? Are you excited? Where are you staying? What are you doing? 3 months is a long time? What are you nervous about? What will you miss?
I thought maybe I'd go ahead and clear some of these questions up all together.
Are you scared, nervous, excited?
I am mostly excited. I need to get out of NYC and I need to feel like I am once again contributing to the world in an effective way. I am excited to be around fellow travelers, spanish learners, and people who "get" what I am doing without judging me for not working 90 hours a week. I am not nervous or scared honestly. I traveled 3 months before and this time I have been to the country and speak the language. I know I will be fine! Like any country, you just have to be a little more vigilant and careful if you are a girl alone.
I am however a little concerned about being a vegetarian in Peru, but I think I will manage. Where there are tourists, there are vegetarian options and Cusco is a tourist hub for better or for worse.
Finally, I hate packing for stuff like this. I am finally packed though and I am not bringing any make-up except concealer and mascara! It was the hardest decision to make, but I think it is the right one.
Where are you staying? What are you doing?
I am going to be attending the Amauta Spanish school in Cusco, Peru and living in the student residence there for 3 months. The first month is 20 hours a week of Spanish classes and then the next 2 months I will be volunteering for 20 hours a week. I am going to be volunteering with girls that have been sexually exploited and helping them reintegrate into society. It's going to be hard, but very rewarding I hope.
Oh and there are 9 grad school applications to keep me busy!
What are you going to miss? 3 months is a long time?
I never really think about how I am going to miss things in advance, other than food. I am perpetually missing friends where ever I am in the USA anyway. Unfortunately having friends that are adventurous and driven like me has lead to my best friends being spread out across the world. I will miss them in Peru the same as I would in NYC or Colorado. Thank god for skype, well, when it works!
I will miss some things about NYC in particular and as of now, I am not sure when I will be back and pretty sure that I won't be back to live here. I will miss the availability of anything you want 24 hours a day (even delivered if you want), some of the best foods on the planet and friends new and old.
Instead of missing things, I often focus on things I will not miss to make me feel better. The 90 degree, high humidity days; the subway, the constant headlines of bed bug infestations all over the city (Abercrombie, Hollister, CNN, movie theaters- I already have enough OCD thanks!) and the smell of the NYC streets.
I'm very excited to leave Saturday! I'm not so excited to be sleeping in the airport on Saturday night, but at least I will probably have a good story...
¡Hasta Noviembre EEUU!
My first time out in nature in over 2 months! Can't wait to be close to nature again.
(In the background the East Coast's version of "mountains")
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