"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."
Though I never thought this would happen, my trip has come to an end and I am back in Eugene for the summer. I already miss my backpacking way of life though, and I know that as soon as I can, I will be on the road again. I will miss meeting new people all the time as I have for the past year. I will miss living with just the essentials, a few shirts and a pair of pants, without a cellphone, computer, or other "unnecessary" things. Most of all though, I will miss all the amazing things I got to do throughout the year. People always talk about culture shock when you go somewhere new, something I have yet to experience (I guess I always go somewhere with no expectations so I don't understand how I could be shocked), but it can happen when you come home as well. It is weird for me to be back in a country where busses work, where there is always hot water and electricity, and where everything is so clean and expensive. I now notice how many people have cell phones, how big and well kept houses are, and how there is no trash in the streets. If you put me back in a Latin American village though, I wouldn't think a thing was off. Coming back to a large house, with a tv, multiple computers, so much food in the fridge... And everything else, I feel a bit out of place. I would rather be living out of a tent, or on the floor of a shack, with almost nothing to my name but my experiences.
Everyone asks about my highlights (and favorite countries) from this trip, so here they are. Peru. That was the most exciting part of my trip, getting to climb 6,000s in the Andes, doing beautiful treks, and living in the mountains. I had never really thought about taking up mountaineering, the idea had appealed to me, but I had never gotten the chance to try it. Now, after climbing in the Andes, I am absolutely addicted and most of my future trips will probably be centered around climbing. My next favorite part was my Nicaraguan village. Though it was hot and without mountains, I lived on a beautiful beach, tried to learn to surf, and met an amazing group of local surfer boys. I definitely enjoyed the "village" life, where everyone knows everyone as well. Lastly, I really enjoyed living in Bolivia. It was the most different country, so poor, traditional, and such a different way of life. I also stayed there over three months, which gave me the time to feel like I knew it a bit better. Though those were the highlights, I enjoyed just about everything I did over the past ten months, from working with monkeys in the Bolivian jungle, to hitchhiking through Argentina and Chile, to volunteering in orphanages.
Countless people have asked me why. Why did you do this trip, why so young, why alone? My answer, why not. I was brought up traveling, I took my first trip to Europe at seven (at which time I told my parents I would later live there, which I did), I traveled at least twice a year abroad from then on, and then lived in Belgium for a year at sixteen. As my fellow travelers know, once you do it once, you can't stop, it becomes a way of life. It was completely natural for me to leave for a year this year, and for all the people who asked me why I am doing it, I want to ask them why they weren't. It is one thing to do vacations (as I have done before), visiting a place for a few weeks. It is completely different to leave for an extended period of time. Once you do one "big trip," there are bound to be others. I already had a list of countries I want to visit or live in someday, and throughout this trip, my list more than doubled. Really, my life pf traveling, mountains, and adventures has only just begun.
Though I was a bit afraid to come back, it has been an amazing few days. After getting in at 2am, a friend picked me up at 4h45 to hike the butte at sunrise followed by a day of long boarding, biking, and visiting my best friends. I then headed to the mountain at 5am the next morning, and spent the weekend skiing and taking pictures. Now, I am really looking forward to this summer. Being away has made me appreciate where I grew up even more, and since I can't be on the road anymore, I plan on taking advantage of my summer here in Oregon. I hope to climb Hood, mountain bike weekly, start rock climbing, downhill at Willamette, backcountry ski something, sail, sky dive, and complete a five week long bike trip through Oregon. Even though my trip is now done, I have decided to keep up this blog on occasion (when I do something exciting) so that family and friends far away can keep in touch, and because it ends up being a good journal for me to look back on later on. Now, this chapter of my life has finished, and the next one is about to begin.
Showing posts with label Nicaragua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicaragua. Show all posts
May 21, 2012
May 16, 2012
In the land of sun, salt, and sand
“Home is where the heart is, and my heart is wherever I am at the moment.”
Instead of doing my PADI (diving certification), visiting the corn islands, and going to Honduras, I decided to spend the rest of my time at my beach home in Nicaragua. From my first day there I loved it, and I had no desire to be hopping from place to place for my last few weeks. Though there were many parts of the culture I liked there, I know I could never live there permanently.
The good- The open door culture, everyone knows everyone, and you literally can't walk down the street alone because you always find a friend to walk with. Being outside all the time. People here don't live indoors, ever. In all houses, the "kitchen" (which is a few pots and pans and an open flame) is outside, as well as the bathroom (often not a flushing toilet, just a hole in the backyard), the shower, and basically everything else besides the bed. Everyone lives simply, family and friends are more important, and status, money, and material things mean nothing.
The not so good- People don't have anything to do here, so from an early age, a lot of the kids spend all their time drinking and doing drugs (not only the kids either, it's not unusual to find old men passed out on the side walk). It is also a macho culture. The girls stay in the house (normally from the age of 16-17, taking care of their kids) while the boys either work, or go out and drink and hunt for other girls. It was a joke that it was always me and my beach boys hanging out, because there was literally never another girl with us (at least not one from there). Another prolem is that there is nothing motivating the youth there. Many kids don't finish school, and even for the ones that finish high school, more school or starting some kind of career is not even thought about since no one does it. It's sad, because the kids here are so smart, street smart, and grow up so fast, but yet then they don't make anything out of it. I worked with some local kids, and they were some of the smartest kids I have met, they can fish, climb trees to reach coconuts, take the bus and do the shopping for the family at the age of five... But when they are older, they will just sit around, watch tv, and let each day pass by without doing anything. Tied onto that is the fact tha planning ahead is not a concept. People live from day to day, which is good in some ways, but bad in other such as bank accounts (don't exhist) or planning for the future if their kids. It was interesting for me to see and live this way for a while since I'm usually always doing something. I think that in a perfect world, it would be a mix. In North America, people focus too much on work and doing too much everyday, so mixing a little of the Nicaraguan culture would do them all some good. Now, after living this way, I'm going to try and mix a bit more of that into my life too.
Now, I am in Honduras, and sadly my trip is finishing tomorrow as I take the plane back to Eugene. Though I am not looking forward to this trip being over, I know it won't be my last.
Instead of doing my PADI (diving certification), visiting the corn islands, and going to Honduras, I decided to spend the rest of my time at my beach home in Nicaragua. From my first day there I loved it, and I had no desire to be hopping from place to place for my last few weeks. Though there were many parts of the culture I liked there, I know I could never live there permanently.
The good- The open door culture, everyone knows everyone, and you literally can't walk down the street alone because you always find a friend to walk with. Being outside all the time. People here don't live indoors, ever. In all houses, the "kitchen" (which is a few pots and pans and an open flame) is outside, as well as the bathroom (often not a flushing toilet, just a hole in the backyard), the shower, and basically everything else besides the bed. Everyone lives simply, family and friends are more important, and status, money, and material things mean nothing.
The not so good- People don't have anything to do here, so from an early age, a lot of the kids spend all their time drinking and doing drugs (not only the kids either, it's not unusual to find old men passed out on the side walk). It is also a macho culture. The girls stay in the house (normally from the age of 16-17, taking care of their kids) while the boys either work, or go out and drink and hunt for other girls. It was a joke that it was always me and my beach boys hanging out, because there was literally never another girl with us (at least not one from there). Another prolem is that there is nothing motivating the youth there. Many kids don't finish school, and even for the ones that finish high school, more school or starting some kind of career is not even thought about since no one does it. It's sad, because the kids here are so smart, street smart, and grow up so fast, but yet then they don't make anything out of it. I worked with some local kids, and they were some of the smartest kids I have met, they can fish, climb trees to reach coconuts, take the bus and do the shopping for the family at the age of five... But when they are older, they will just sit around, watch tv, and let each day pass by without doing anything. Tied onto that is the fact tha planning ahead is not a concept. People live from day to day, which is good in some ways, but bad in other such as bank accounts (don't exhist) or planning for the future if their kids. It was interesting for me to see and live this way for a while since I'm usually always doing something. I think that in a perfect world, it would be a mix. In North America, people focus too much on work and doing too much everyday, so mixing a little of the Nicaraguan culture would do them all some good. Now, after living this way, I'm going to try and mix a bit more of that into my life too.
Now, I am in Honduras, and sadly my trip is finishing tomorrow as I take the plane back to Eugene. Though I am not looking forward to this trip being over, I know it won't be my last.
April 23, 2012
My Nicaraguan beach village
"A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a far away place. A traveler on that plane sees the farm and dreams of home."
I am probably the happiest girl around. After visiting a few places in Nicargua, I decided I wanted to find somewhere to call home for my last five weeks. I chose a small beach village called Las Penitas, and within an hour of arriving, I found myself a room to rent with some local surfers (they own a surf shop so I also got a good deal on a board). The house is simple, there is no furniture, just a few matresses and hammocks (it's always fun to wake up in the morning and see who is sleeping where), and the kitchen consists of a portable stove and a small fridge, but really, it's all you need. There are no tvs, wifi, or other "unnecessary" things, but the people here, living simply and to enjoy life, are so much happier than people in North America who live for their work and money. It is also an open door culture, no one stays in their house except to sleep. For instance, at my house, there are always people coming in and out throughout the day, and the music is always playing. Since it's a small village everyone knows everyone, and I already know quite a few of the locals. I have been out (in the city about half and hour away) to a salsa night, another dancing night, and to a BBQ and party here at the beach, which also involved dancing. For someone who absolutely hated dancing before coming here, I am proud to say that I quite enjoyed myself. Though it took some coaxing, I ended up on the dance floor for most of the night.
My daily routine looks something like this: I wake up and take "my" dog for a run (there are three dogs, one puppy, and one kitty all at the house), I hang out with my surfer buddies (surfing or taking pictures, walking on the beach, swimming...), I often take the dog out again, I go surfing, I play with the other animals at the house... Basically the same few things over and over, day after day, but yet I haven't been bored once. Then at night often we go to someone's house to eat or have a few beers, before restarting the routine the next day. My hair has turned to straw, I am constantly covered with salt water and sand, and I think I permanently smell like the ocean, but life really doesn't get much better than this.
Surfing. So before coming here I never really swam in the ocean. Lakes and rivers sure, but not the ocean since I was a wee bit scared of the waves. My first time out surfing I was very nervous, as I was on a board with waves crashing over my head, one of the few things I am scared of. After about ten minutes though, I realized it's really not all that bad, and now I quite enjoy it. Though the surfing is hard (my lack of upper body strength is not helping) it's fun just to be in the water and maybe catch a few waves. I have also taken to swimming at least every hour since it's just so hot here. I went from being scared of it, to being in the water more than anyone else.
Crazy enough, I now only have three weeks left to my trip. I never thought I was going to have to worry about it ending, but I guess all good things really do come to an end. But before then, I plan on taking full advantage of my life here!.
I am probably the happiest girl around. After visiting a few places in Nicargua, I decided I wanted to find somewhere to call home for my last five weeks. I chose a small beach village called Las Penitas, and within an hour of arriving, I found myself a room to rent with some local surfers (they own a surf shop so I also got a good deal on a board). The house is simple, there is no furniture, just a few matresses and hammocks (it's always fun to wake up in the morning and see who is sleeping where), and the kitchen consists of a portable stove and a small fridge, but really, it's all you need. There are no tvs, wifi, or other "unnecessary" things, but the people here, living simply and to enjoy life, are so much happier than people in North America who live for their work and money. It is also an open door culture, no one stays in their house except to sleep. For instance, at my house, there are always people coming in and out throughout the day, and the music is always playing. Since it's a small village everyone knows everyone, and I already know quite a few of the locals. I have been out (in the city about half and hour away) to a salsa night, another dancing night, and to a BBQ and party here at the beach, which also involved dancing. For someone who absolutely hated dancing before coming here, I am proud to say that I quite enjoyed myself. Though it took some coaxing, I ended up on the dance floor for most of the night.
My daily routine looks something like this: I wake up and take "my" dog for a run (there are three dogs, one puppy, and one kitty all at the house), I hang out with my surfer buddies (surfing or taking pictures, walking on the beach, swimming...), I often take the dog out again, I go surfing, I play with the other animals at the house... Basically the same few things over and over, day after day, but yet I haven't been bored once. Then at night often we go to someone's house to eat or have a few beers, before restarting the routine the next day. My hair has turned to straw, I am constantly covered with salt water and sand, and I think I permanently smell like the ocean, but life really doesn't get much better than this.
Surfing. So before coming here I never really swam in the ocean. Lakes and rivers sure, but not the ocean since I was a wee bit scared of the waves. My first time out surfing I was very nervous, as I was on a board with waves crashing over my head, one of the few things I am scared of. After about ten minutes though, I realized it's really not all that bad, and now I quite enjoy it. Though the surfing is hard (my lack of upper body strength is not helping) it's fun just to be in the water and maybe catch a few waves. I have also taken to swimming at least every hour since it's just so hot here. I went from being scared of it, to being in the water more than anyone else.
Crazy enough, I now only have three weeks left to my trip. I never thought I was going to have to worry about it ending, but I guess all good things really do come to an end. But before then, I plan on taking full advantage of my life here!.
April 4, 2012
Culture shock- A bit too clean, rich, and touristy
"Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going."
Well, I guess it's safe to say that I just experienced the biggest culture shock on my trip yet going from Bolivia to Costa Rica, the land of rich English speaking tourists and resorts. There are school groups, families, and groups of friends on two week vacations here, but almost no backpackers like myself. Every town is flooded with tourists and resorts, it is the typical "vacation spot," which I use to love, but now, just think is very fake. Once I arrived in San Jose, I found my way to a national park and beach to hang out for a few days. There was a pool, a wall with projected movies at night, and a lot of people. I met two Canadian guys there, and followed them to two other beach towns where we hung out on the beach, swam, and went out at night. We also visited some waterfalls (good for swimming in, the ocean is so warm it doesn't even cool you down from the scorching heat outside), and on our way there, ran into a family of howler monkeys. These small monkeys are extremely loud, and make a roaring sound like a mad lion, I found them amazing. Then, my parents and brother came down for a visit!
They flew in for my brothers spring break, and while they were here, we visited two cloud forests, saw lots of animals such as tarantulas, monkeys, cawatiis... And stay at la playa grande, a very nice beach with less tourists and good surfing (which we attempted to varying degrees of success). It is a different kind of traveling for sure, when you are alone or with your parents, but it provided an oppuritinuty to do things I normal wouldn't do. After they had to go back home, I headed over to Nicaragua. I went straight to Ometepe, an island in the huge lake, before getting bored after a few days. I am now jumping around towns, but my goal is to end up in a beach town, live and surf there (in the mornings) and volunteer in an orphanage in the afternoon. Hopefully I will have that all set up by next week!
Well, I guess it's safe to say that I just experienced the biggest culture shock on my trip yet going from Bolivia to Costa Rica, the land of rich English speaking tourists and resorts. There are school groups, families, and groups of friends on two week vacations here, but almost no backpackers like myself. Every town is flooded with tourists and resorts, it is the typical "vacation spot," which I use to love, but now, just think is very fake. Once I arrived in San Jose, I found my way to a national park and beach to hang out for a few days. There was a pool, a wall with projected movies at night, and a lot of people. I met two Canadian guys there, and followed them to two other beach towns where we hung out on the beach, swam, and went out at night. We also visited some waterfalls (good for swimming in, the ocean is so warm it doesn't even cool you down from the scorching heat outside), and on our way there, ran into a family of howler monkeys. These small monkeys are extremely loud, and make a roaring sound like a mad lion, I found them amazing. Then, my parents and brother came down for a visit!
They flew in for my brothers spring break, and while they were here, we visited two cloud forests, saw lots of animals such as tarantulas, monkeys, cawatiis... And stay at la playa grande, a very nice beach with less tourists and good surfing (which we attempted to varying degrees of success). It is a different kind of traveling for sure, when you are alone or with your parents, but it provided an oppuritinuty to do things I normal wouldn't do. After they had to go back home, I headed over to Nicaragua. I went straight to Ometepe, an island in the huge lake, before getting bored after a few days. I am now jumping around towns, but my goal is to end up in a beach town, live and surf there (in the mornings) and volunteer in an orphanage in the afternoon. Hopefully I will have that all set up by next week!
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