My first day in NY, I get pooped on by a bird!
I was with my cousin and her first reaction was to laugh and tell me "wait wait wait let me take a picture!!" as I'm like -___-"
Then she told me that in Asia, it's good luck when a bird takes a dump on you. What the?! But okay, I'll take it. Bird poo, do your magic!
I had to walk around all day in Times Square with my carry-on luggage, and at one point I accidentally dropped it, and its handle snagged the top of my sweatpants, and pulled them down! So there I was in Times Square, flashing everyone AHH! Good thing I was wearing underwear.
fml.
miércoles, 26 de septiembre de 2012
domingo, 23 de septiembre de 2012
back in the states
You know you had a good trip when you come back to your home country and have reverse culture shock.
We both had different flights back and really different experiences leaving.
Sarah:
After eating our last chifa (yeah we finally found the cheap food... at the end of our trip ><) and saying bye to the new friends we had made in Barranco Backpackers Hostel we finally had to leave Peru :(
My flight back was a nightmare... My first flight was canceled due to "bathroom problems" that required the police to bring sniffer dogs into the plane... we basically had to wait 4 hours for the people at the airport to admit to us that our flight was canceled after all... So yeah 13 hours later in the airport I finally get another plane and they figure out other connections I will be able to make to get back HOME!! The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful (mostly sleeping on and off)... I was disappointed about the food though... no chicken and rice :(
Back in the US, I was excited to be able to use English again, and the ease of communicating to people... when I first arrived in Miami I wanted to try English out with all the people in the airport I could... little did I know that most people in the airport actually spoke mostly Spanish
Once I got back to NC Justina and I and a couple friends ended up going to Shooters... as soon as I got the the cashier I pull out my wallet and start counting out my cash... hand it over to the guy... he just stares at me and says "this isn't gonna work... this isn't gonna work". I look down at the money I had handed him... Argentinian PESOS!!! hahaha guess I'm still really mixed up from traveling haha!!!!
Justina:
AHH HORRIBLE TAN LINES!! from not wearing sunscreen at Machu Picchu T_T oh unjoyous peeling sunburn.
At my layover in Bogotá, because of some crazy complicated thing regarding my baggage, I somehow ended up standing outside of the airport, with people telling me to go back in to check in for my connection. But...I couldn't miss this perfect opportunity to explore Colombia for an hour!! So I got a taxi to take me into the city and I walked around the old part of Bogotá, where their White House equivalent is. Totally spontaneous and unplanned...and so cool! The taxi driver taught me a lot about Colombian history, culture, etc, all in Spanish. Wow, the Colombian accent is so distinct! I caught a little bit of it on video...
Awesome how the adventure doesn't end, even when you think it's over!
Once back in the states, I was soooo excited for MOM-FOOD! omnomnom I was practically inhaling the noodles. Oh, vegetables, how I have missed you so! But besides food, adjusting back has been rough, for both of us. We really enjoyed our trip and miss being in South America - we've learned so much and changed in positive ways. Today I went back to Duke and all my friends kept telling me I have a different positive aura that wasn't there before, like a really happy one. Yay!
Anyway, we have lots of anecdotes and videos we forgot to share, and we'll post soon.
Even though the trip is over, we'll continue blogging here, so staaaay tuned :) Justina moves to NY on Tuesday (one way flight, no job and no apartment!).
We both had different flights back and really different experiences leaving.
Sarah:
After eating our last chifa (yeah we finally found the cheap food... at the end of our trip ><) and saying bye to the new friends we had made in Barranco Backpackers Hostel we finally had to leave Peru :(
My flight back was a nightmare... My first flight was canceled due to "bathroom problems" that required the police to bring sniffer dogs into the plane... we basically had to wait 4 hours for the people at the airport to admit to us that our flight was canceled after all... So yeah 13 hours later in the airport I finally get another plane and they figure out other connections I will be able to make to get back HOME!! The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful (mostly sleeping on and off)... I was disappointed about the food though... no chicken and rice :(
Back in the US, I was excited to be able to use English again, and the ease of communicating to people... when I first arrived in Miami I wanted to try English out with all the people in the airport I could... little did I know that most people in the airport actually spoke mostly Spanish
Once I got back to NC Justina and I and a couple friends ended up going to Shooters... as soon as I got the the cashier I pull out my wallet and start counting out my cash... hand it over to the guy... he just stares at me and says "this isn't gonna work... this isn't gonna work". I look down at the money I had handed him... Argentinian PESOS!!! hahaha guess I'm still really mixed up from traveling haha!!!!
Justina:
AHH HORRIBLE TAN LINES!! from not wearing sunscreen at Machu Picchu T_T oh unjoyous peeling sunburn.
At my layover in Bogotá, because of some crazy complicated thing regarding my baggage, I somehow ended up standing outside of the airport, with people telling me to go back in to check in for my connection. But...I couldn't miss this perfect opportunity to explore Colombia for an hour!! So I got a taxi to take me into the city and I walked around the old part of Bogotá, where their White House equivalent is. Totally spontaneous and unplanned...and so cool! The taxi driver taught me a lot about Colombian history, culture, etc, all in Spanish. Wow, the Colombian accent is so distinct! I caught a little bit of it on video...
Awesome how the adventure doesn't end, even when you think it's over!
Once back in the states, I was soooo excited for MOM-FOOD! omnomnom I was practically inhaling the noodles. Oh, vegetables, how I have missed you so! But besides food, adjusting back has been rough, for both of us. We really enjoyed our trip and miss being in South America - we've learned so much and changed in positive ways. Today I went back to Duke and all my friends kept telling me I have a different positive aura that wasn't there before, like a really happy one. Yay!
Anyway, we have lots of anecdotes and videos we forgot to share, and we'll post soon.
Even though the trip is over, we'll continue blogging here, so staaaay tuned :) Justina moves to NY on Tuesday (one way flight, no job and no apartment!).
miércoles, 19 de septiembre de 2012
MACHU PICCHU
First stop: Cuzco
In order to get to Ollantaytambo from Cuzco, we had to take a van with a bunch of locals up a really windy road..a two hour ride up and around mountains! Of course we were in the back seat. blehhhhh. Sarah almost threw up.
At least the scenery was beautiful.
Somehow we recovered in Ollantantambo. Sucking coca leaves and drinking the coca tea may have helped.
Then we took a train to Aguas Calientes.
We felt so attacked in A.C. by people trying to sell us stuff for ridiculous prices. Bargaining is hard! They weren't very nice about it either. Whether we got a good deal or a bad deal, we felt bad either way.
The next morning we woke up at 4am to hike up to Machu Picchu, instead of taking the bus, cuz we're cheap! We quickly regretted it. The 1.5 hr hike up the mountain, just stair after stair, was torture.
Once we got up to MP it was gorgeous..just like in the pictures!
We even tried to reenact the MP ad from all the airports.
Then we had to hurry to do an additional hour hike up Waynapicchu, the mountain of DEATH dundundunnn.*the really tall mountain in the distance, above and below
The stairs were SO SCARY. We were both freaking out, because most of the stone stairs have no railing to protect you from a 8,800 ft plunge of pain. But it's so worth it for the view.
And then...
LLAMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In order to get to Ollantaytambo from Cuzco, we had to take a van with a bunch of locals up a really windy road..a two hour ride up and around mountains! Of course we were in the back seat. blehhhhh. Sarah almost threw up.
At least the scenery was beautiful.
Then we took a train to Aguas Calientes.
The next morning we woke up at 4am to hike up to Machu Picchu, instead of taking the bus, cuz we're cheap! We quickly regretted it. The 1.5 hr hike up the mountain, just stair after stair, was torture.
*false expression, Justina is actually in lots of pain
We basically climbed the whole mountain.
BIG. the sign isn't lying.
The stairs were SO SCARY. We were both freaking out, because most of the stone stairs have no railing to protect you from a 8,800 ft plunge of pain. But it's so worth it for the view.
Obligatory jumping pics.
That's Machu Picchu in the distance.
LLAMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The baby llama was happy to let Justina hug it in exchange for a nice back-of-neck scratch. All the naysayers who said llamas are mean were wrong. They just need some good luvin.
YAY!
Llama Jesus eating guinea pigs
domingo, 16 de septiembre de 2012
Hola Amigos!
So far we´ve been having an amazing time in Peru! We arrived in Lima on 11th. The flight was pretty uneventful except for the yummy food (chicken and tomato sauce) they served on the plane (no, for real Justina is obsessed!!). Once in the airport in Lima, we were asaulted by all the taxi drivers that swarm around all the lost looking tourists (aka us...haha). Surprisingly, we managed to get a fairly good price to our hostel (Kaminu hostel). This hostel was really nice, and pretty cheap compared to our previous hostel experiences. We decided to go for the 18 person room but most of the time it was only us two!!
The first thing we did was visit the town with some of the guys at the hostel. We went to visit the cathedral and its catacombs and walked around the town. Our other highlights from Lima were the barbecue at the hostel and the magical fountain park. The barbecue was nice we made a lettuce and tomato salad and had it with chorizo, pork loin, bread and cheese.
The magical fountain park was also sweet! It was a water and light show that we went to see before leaving for Cuzco. The craziest part of that experience was running through this one fountain and getting completely soaked (and this was in pretty cold weather in the first place...) Pretty crazy cuz we´re both ridiculously sick but totally worth it!
Also, the taxi drivers in Peru are soooo bad! We always feel like they are trying to take advantage of us :( Boo on them!
Now we are in Cuzco! We ate guinea pig and alpaca meat. The guinea pig was terrible, barely any meat, too salty, and too many bones. They make better pets than meals.
So far we´ve been having an amazing time in Peru! We arrived in Lima on 11th. The flight was pretty uneventful except for the yummy food (chicken and tomato sauce) they served on the plane (no, for real Justina is obsessed!!). Once in the airport in Lima, we were asaulted by all the taxi drivers that swarm around all the lost looking tourists (aka us...haha). Surprisingly, we managed to get a fairly good price to our hostel (Kaminu hostel). This hostel was really nice, and pretty cheap compared to our previous hostel experiences. We decided to go for the 18 person room but most of the time it was only us two!!
The first thing we did was visit the town with some of the guys at the hostel. We went to visit the cathedral and its catacombs and walked around the town. Our other highlights from Lima were the barbecue at the hostel and the magical fountain park. The barbecue was nice we made a lettuce and tomato salad and had it with chorizo, pork loin, bread and cheese.
The magical fountain park was also sweet! It was a water and light show that we went to see before leaving for Cuzco. The craziest part of that experience was running through this one fountain and getting completely soaked (and this was in pretty cold weather in the first place...) Pretty crazy cuz we´re both ridiculously sick but totally worth it!
womp womp. sick.
Also, the taxi drivers in Peru are soooo bad! We always feel like they are trying to take advantage of us :( Boo on them!
Now we are in Cuzco! We ate guinea pig and alpaca meat. The guinea pig was terrible, barely any meat, too salty, and too many bones. They make better pets than meals.
sábado, 15 de septiembre de 2012
Peru!
Going to Machu Picchu tomorrow :)
We spontaneously went to a Juanes concert last night, just cuz he happened to be in Peru with us. A sign! We were so sick, feverish and congested, but it was bloody brilliant!!! Juanes sang my fever away!!!
Reflections on Argentina
I didn´t realize how much I liked Bsas...until I left! Porteños are pretty unpopular in other areas, and I surprised myself by how offended and defensive I would get every time someone insulted bsas. lol!
CULTURE
If Spain and Italy had a baby, its name would be Argentina.
First off: the greeting cheek kiss. Ughhh omg I can´t handle it because I´m so gunshy ever since my first (FAIL) attempt, when I turned my head too much and accidentally kissed the other person on the lips T__T uyyy. So imagine my terror at having to do it every day, multiple times, for a month and a half!
Sarcasm: So a stereotype of Americans is that we´re over-exuberant and too easily over-exciteable...and wow I never actually thought of myself that way, until I came here and I was the only one saying WOOOT or showing excitement. Porteños express themselves a lot more through sarcasm, and they´re really great and creative at it.
Bad service: Once a waitress was cleaning the table and brushed all the crumbs into Sarah´s lap, and didn´t apologize!
10 pm dinners
Very inviting: I can´t believe how many bday parties of people I don´t know that I´ve crashed. Moreover, almost everyone would always ask us, when are you coming back to Bsas? And they´d also tell us, Let me know when you´re back so we can hang out!
Know how to have a great time: the nightlife is really great (if not for the machisto men). It usually starts at 2am and could end at 10 am..yikes! We went to a show called Bomba del Tiempo, which was a drum show, and it was so awesome, highly recommended.
FOOD
Ok, the food isn´t that great in our opinion, because Sarah and I really like vegetables and aren´t used to that much meat. But we looooove the ice cream, the pizza, and the chorizo. SO GOOD! They eat a lot of dulce de leche, asado, alfajores, empanadas, pasta, medialunas, milanesa...Sarah and I couldn´t believe you can order ANYTHING delivery, like ice cream and McDonalds.
Args also drink mate allllllll the time. It´s a tea made of super strong herbs (runs through ya like a thousand rushing waterfalls!). Even while driving, they can carry the hot thermos of water in one arm nook and the mate cup in the other. Impressive.
Sarah is craaazy about chocotorta, a really simple cake made of dulce de leche and chocolate. The owner of our last hostel taught us how to make it.
Random note...Why are these pants in style now?!
CULTURE
If Spain and Italy had a baby, its name would be Argentina.
First off: the greeting cheek kiss. Ughhh omg I can´t handle it because I´m so gunshy ever since my first (FAIL) attempt, when I turned my head too much and accidentally kissed the other person on the lips T__T uyyy. So imagine my terror at having to do it every day, multiple times, for a month and a half!
Sarcasm: So a stereotype of Americans is that we´re over-exuberant and too easily over-exciteable...and wow I never actually thought of myself that way, until I came here and I was the only one saying WOOOT or showing excitement. Porteños express themselves a lot more through sarcasm, and they´re really great and creative at it.
Bad service: Once a waitress was cleaning the table and brushed all the crumbs into Sarah´s lap, and didn´t apologize!
10 pm dinners
Very inviting: I can´t believe how many bday parties of people I don´t know that I´ve crashed. Moreover, almost everyone would always ask us, when are you coming back to Bsas? And they´d also tell us, Let me know when you´re back so we can hang out!
Know how to have a great time: the nightlife is really great (if not for the machisto men). It usually starts at 2am and could end at 10 am..yikes! We went to a show called Bomba del Tiempo, which was a drum show, and it was so awesome, highly recommended.
FOOD
Ok, the food isn´t that great in our opinion, because Sarah and I really like vegetables and aren´t used to that much meat. But we looooove the ice cream, the pizza, and the chorizo. SO GOOD! They eat a lot of dulce de leche, asado, alfajores, empanadas, pasta, medialunas, milanesa...Sarah and I couldn´t believe you can order ANYTHING delivery, like ice cream and McDonalds.
Guerrin
Alfajor
empanadas
Dulce de Leche
Asado...my first time eating kidney, intestine and blood sausage!
Args also drink mate allllllll the time. It´s a tea made of super strong herbs (runs through ya like a thousand rushing waterfalls!). Even while driving, they can carry the hot thermos of water in one arm nook and the mate cup in the other. Impressive.
Sarah is craaazy about chocotorta, a really simple cake made of dulce de leche and chocolate. The owner of our last hostel taught us how to make it.
Random note...Why are these pants in style now?!
miércoles, 12 de septiembre de 2012
almost robbed...TWICE
Our second last day in Bsas (buen día from Peru!) we both almost got pickpocketed.
Justina:
In the morning, we were walking in the subway, when all of a sudden I felt my bag move a little bit, so I looked down...and saw a hand in my purse! AHH!! My mind suddenly went blank with panic, and luckily some inner ninja in me took over, because my instant reaction was to grab his wrist in a vice-like grip and yell-scream ¨HEY!!!!¨ The pick-pocket was so surprised. He showed me that his hands were empty, tried to say he was actually closing my purse for me since it was unzipped, and well...there was nothing I could do so I let him go. But whew that was a super close one!
Sarah:
Later that same day, we got on the Subte and I was standing in the corner by the door. This big guy comes over to me with a large black shopping bag. He gets uncomfortably close so I move back a little. Then this other guy comes over to my other side and starts `throwing up`, trying to distract me while the first guy reaches for my bag. Luckily I felt the first guy pull on my bag and grabbed it and escaped before it was too late.
When we told our friend our stories later that night, she high-fived us and said YES, now you are truly Argentinians! haha.
Justina:
In the morning, we were walking in the subway, when all of a sudden I felt my bag move a little bit, so I looked down...and saw a hand in my purse! AHH!! My mind suddenly went blank with panic, and luckily some inner ninja in me took over, because my instant reaction was to grab his wrist in a vice-like grip and yell-scream ¨HEY!!!!¨ The pick-pocket was so surprised. He showed me that his hands were empty, tried to say he was actually closing my purse for me since it was unzipped, and well...there was nothing I could do so I let him go. But whew that was a super close one!
Sarah:
Later that same day, we got on the Subte and I was standing in the corner by the door. This big guy comes over to me with a large black shopping bag. He gets uncomfortably close so I move back a little. Then this other guy comes over to my other side and starts `throwing up`, trying to distract me while the first guy reaches for my bag. Luckily I felt the first guy pull on my bag and grabbed it and escaped before it was too late.
When we told our friend our stories later that night, she high-fived us and said YES, now you are truly Argentinians! haha.
Waterfalls in Iguazuuu
new friends at the hostel :), from Buenos Aires, Holland, and Italy
Coatie...the Iguazu equivalent of squirrels...but cuter!
hermosas!!
butterflies everywhere! and it looks like they have numbers on their wings.
we took a boat ride that took us partially under a fall...we were SO SOAKED and COLD
wild guinea pigs?! yes please!
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