Arrived in the place I'm calling home

Leaving the comfort to be in the chippy. Leaving the capital to head to the provincia. Waving goodbye to the secure to jump in the dogpile. Leaving the stability to chase the desires. Jumping over the obstacle instead of running around it. Doing things the way you feel, in your geenweeno (genuine) self, you need to do them.

Living in comfort is hard to give up, but I ache for authenticity of the place I am in, a reality of which is easy to avoid if you are in the right economic class. However I would give up comfort for authenticity any day, even if you when I am sitting on the toilet without a toilet seat (no toilets seem to have toilet seats in Arequipa) and the paint is falling from the walls I am realizing that this is the reality that most people are living in. This is actually prbly considered nice. Maybe I ache for this because it's the opposite of how I grew up, or maybe because i'm cheap, or maybe because im adventurous. But maybe its just the way I am.

Immediately after getting off the plane I felt right...right where I should be. Even though it was too dark to see the mountains I still felt like I was stepping foot onto the land that I wanted to call my new home, for at least the next 3 months (nothing can ever be 639, obviously). The air thinner the nights chilly and the city full of volcanic ash that was used by the Spanish to build a unique city. With thin stone roads that lye between walls of white volcanic ash. So thin the car feels like its going to get stuck. Its feels like a mixture between Europe and Latin America.

Waking up excited to the sun shining through the hostal window I opened up the window to see mountains with their tips covered in snow. WOW! Spectacular. Standing at 1,500 meters (although everyone says something different, makes you think of facts, stories, legends, etc before internet and fact checked sources) looking up at 6,000 meters. Damn this is home! After running up to the roof deck the whole sky was painted tall and covered with volcanoes! Chachani,  Misti and Pichu pichu. Yes....yes I can definitely live here.  More tranquillo, friendlier people, beautiful city and beautiful scenery. 1 30hrs from the coast 3hrs from the colca canyon (deepest canyon)  1 30hr plane ride to Lima and 45min plane ride to Cusco. Talk about location.

Yesterday we went on a full day adventure to the Colca Canyon and a full day it was. Leaving @ 4am and getting back at 5:30pm. I normally like to stay away from touristy activities but damn this is one everyone who comes here has to do, at the least. The day starts up driving 3hrs as high as 4900 meters. 

I'm so tired to I'm going to leave you on a cliff hanger.

Today was my first day of work. Wow it was actually fun! I can't beleive I have a job and started working. A new chapter is always beginning. Even if you don't have time to fully comprehend it.

Kiki headed back to Lima tonight. It was really hard to say nos vemos. It is now my first time being by myself in Perú.

Latin thoughts

Here I am in my third and final week in Lima, for the time being. It's been a been busy full of sightseeing, friend/family meetings, food (as they are so proud of here), spanish classes and a little bit of partying, you always need a little to feed the soul.

Everyday I've been in Lima except maybe 2 it's been gray. Gray gray gray and nublado (foggy/cloudy). Lima is situated right on the coast. It has been the capital of Peru since the Spanish arrived because its right on the mar. Lima is a huge city and nobody really knows where they are going. It is not organised like most cities in the USA with grids, but it's more similar to a colonial city with zigs and zags and off set streets. It's easy to get lost. The great thing is that cabs can take you everywhere for cheap. They're no meters in the cabs so you always have to bargain, especially when you have "blonde" hair and blue eyes. But in the end a 15-20 minute ride usually costs around $4.

Here are a few things that remind me of Latin America from my experiences 2 years ago.
1) Frogger- there are no driving rules here. Everybody drives aggressive, everybody is trying to get there 1 minute faster, hit the pedal to the floor (and the horn) when you can and don't stop for pedestrians, they're taking their own risk crossing the street. Por eso I run across the street or cross in big groups. Get it over with faster and the heart going a little.

2) The Malecon- here that's what its called. Its public space that hugs the cliffs the fall down to the ocean. Here people run, bike, walk, do yoga, walk their dogs, paraglide (its really popular here), picnic, play music or just sit down and take some breaths looking at the ocean before heading back into the hectic concrete, Frogger jungle here. They had similar public space like this in Rosario right alongside the river. It's amazing and it's always in use. This has been my favorite area in Lima to hang out in during the day. I have realized that I have a love/hate relationship with cities. I tend to hate cities during the day, but at night I've them. I hate when the hot sun is burning down on concrete and glass and garbage. Or the fog restrains your vision to a building or a sidewalk. But at nighttime it is full of life. At night we have been going to the barrio calles Barranco which is next to the one im staying in. It has big old houses that were converted into living quarters, bars or other businesses. At the same time it also has these old antique styled hole in the walls with small tables and chairs to grab a bite or a drink with some patas (friends in Peruvian spanish).

3) Big buildings, and more to come- construction is going on on every block and every corner. So far it seems to move quicker than it did in Argentina but less quickly than in the US. Big apartment complexes are going up left and right. They are trying to squeeze more and more people in until this city might burst and they'll have to start again. I am living in Miraflores which is one of the nicest barrio inside of Lima however it is 30/40 minutes outside the city center. However you would never know bc they're so many tall builsings everywhere you go you feel like your inside of a city. In Chicago the city center is very clear and as you fade out into the suburbs the building only get shorter and shorter. But not here big buildings fill up the entire city limits and it is mainly all for living. Lima has 9 million people and is growing. It is the 2nd biggest city in the desert behind Cairo.

This weekend we escaped the gray and headed to Paracas, 3hrs south of Lima. Once you escape Lima you can find the sun.  In Paracas it would be foggy in the morning and in the afternoon it would be sunny and warm. It was an oasis paradise that reminded me of the Mediterranean because of the water color and because of the bays of paracas with calm water.

I need to go do some homework now for mi clase de español pero voy a escribir mas tarde. Here are some photos from Paracas. 

I love you all and hope your doing well! Emma happy birthday and live it up in college! Do you! And make sure when its over you can say Damn I did so many things and met so many cool people and learned so much!

Caitlin- keep up the good work with your project and keep getting results!

Mom- I hope work is going great and your not being too much of a sponge!

Dad- have fun in CA geeking out!

Now your really empty nesters!

Uncle O- enjoy the last days of kiting season and being an empty nester as well. I found great kiting in paracas and will bring my gear next time I go! I saw slingshot advertisements and SUP boards.

Arriving in style

After only a 30 minute layover in Houston (I was freaking out I wasn't going to catch my flight-not recommend) I was on my way out of the country again after 8/9 months back in the U.S. However, this time it didn't feel so far it was a 6-7 hr flight and I was still in the same time zone as Chicago. This factor was especially nice because I didn't have to deal with jetlag, although I think anytime you travel by plane you get a little case of it.

After touching down in Peru, my new home for now, I was getting ready to have to speak Spanish to navigate my way through the airport and go through customs, where the lines are always longer than your patience. As I exited the plane and was turning the corner towards customs the first thing I see is a guy in a suit holding up a lamented name card "Macabee Greenwald". As I looked at him laughing to myself I said "Soy Macabee Greenwald, quien eres?"
He immediately began speaking to me in English and welcoming me to Peru. In most situations like this where people greet you at transportation centers in other countries you have to be skeptical and careful, making sure not to give them your things and always make sure to consult others. And most importantly don't get pushed into taking a taxi, bus etc you do not want to take or feel comfortable with how pushy they are being.
But this was a different situation and I trusted him. We went to the diplomat section of customs with no line. As everybody was looking at me to see who I was and holding doors for me and clearing the way for me as if I actually was a diplomat. I'll run in the upcoming elections for a position as the minister of fun.
After getting escorted by Eduardo around the airport we stepped outside as there were 3 black cars in a row with tinted windows and men in suits around each car. Eduardo whispered me directions on which car to get in. And there at the end of this maze of escorting Kiara was waiting with her mom! As we drove back a motorcycle cleared the way with his light's as we drove through downtown Lima.

It was a pretty stylish way to enter the country. But I deserved it right? Yeah, I'll think so.

I'll finish this post up later, just wanted to get some thoughts out and let you know I'm doing well!

My incubator

I'm sitting here a little too comfortable at the airport. With my big green LL bean backpacking backpack and my grocery bag full enough to feed a family. My mammas doing (thanks!).

I'm feeling comfortable because I've been used to being on the road. I lived in a teepee for a summer then I went abroad for the first time by myself to Chile and Argentina for my study abroad. Then I went to on a 5 month tour of Asia by myself but meeting up with local friends along the way (best way to travel). Then I finished college, travelled along the west coast, from as far south as L.A. to as far north as Vancouver, BC and many places in between. Sleeping in the comfort of my tent, couches, floors, R.V's, a Teepee and even sometimes a really nice bed (not sure if it was, or it was just relative). When I wasn't on I-5 or 101 I was taking refuge at my cousins house in Hood River. Even there we were always on the road to a trailhead or a kiting launch site. It has been a hell of a time.

But at some point you need to recharge your battery and live in a stable environment. With a bed that's yours a pantry that you can parade through and people who know you as well as you know yourself. The incubator. I am so happy I was able to just spend over a month in my incubator at the age of 23. Yeah they make bigger ones these days. I feel rested, rejuvenated and full of love. Coming home always reminds me of who I am and where I come from. My roots and the place I have lived the majority of my life. Where I put down the building blocks of my life and let me tell you it helped me built a solid foundation.

Leaving the incubator I am ready to take on this new adventure and excel at it. It started off on a good note. After all I have 0.5 lbs of weight to spare in my bags combined!

Love you all!

Here's a photo of my incubator

Excuse the commentary, even though you love it if you understand it. You need to speak somewhere between Macabee English and Macabee Argentinean Spanish in order to understand it. I was with Luca in an ancient Chinese city outside of Hangzhou in a tower watching the boats go by. This canal is not natural, as most things in China seem to be. However I am speaking from a millennial perspective. This was hang built in the 5th century BC! YES! WOW! Now that is amazing. No there weren't computers then, lasers and the companies Caterpillar & John Deere did not exist. It is the longest artificial river/canal in the world! Yes UNESCO put their stamp on this site. I'm standing on one point of the 1,100 miles of this bad boy. Industry, Transportation.

Here are the great new shoes I bought for my trip at Waterproof LLbean boots