Hello from Cusco, Peru!!! Today I am answering all of your pressing questions from Facebook about the first half of my gap year, the future, and more!! Thank you to everyone who sent questions! I had a whole lot of fun answering them! Enjoy!
Kaley Mackenzie: “What’s been the hardest part of the race so far?”
What a question to start off with. I think the hardest part recently has been to continually say yes to this. Nine months is a long time, and homesickness is a real thing. For me personally, Peru has been really hard on my body (I’ve had altitude sickness, migraines, lice, and mild strep, as well as issues with my hips), so it has been so tempting to fall into the pattern of “If only I were at home in the U.S., I wouldn’t have these physical issues on top of all the hard discipleship stuff I’m working through, etc, etc, etc.” The idea of comfort is so alluring, especially recently. But I’m being reminded that I purposefully gave up my comfort and my life at home for God these nine months and it truly is so worth it.
Amy Colón: “What’s the best food you’ve tried so far? The worst?”
In Ukraine, our host mom Vita made us borsch, which is a traditional Ukrainian soup made with beets. And holy cow. It was amazing. We would walk home in the rain every day after teaching English and there would be a pot of hot soup waiting for us on the table for lunch. It was the best surprise whenever it was borsch. Wow. Yum. I miss it. On the other hand, the worst food I’ve tried so far was in Romania. We were at lunch at our host’s house and they served us this giant block of pig fat. It was literally just raw pig fat. Apparently, it’s a delicacy in Romania that is only eaten during the holidays, so it was a big deal that they were serving this to us. I just want to say….never again.
Carol Turner: “Favorite city/country so far?”
My favorite city is definitely Lviv, Ukraine. And my favorite country so far is a toss up between Ukraine and Peru. Ahh. They’re just so pretty and full of culture and wow. Love.
“Most memorable adventure?”
There are two that stick out in my mind. First was our surprise trip to Greece. What. An. Adventure. Greece is gorgeous. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain the pure, unbridled joy I felt as I wandered the streets of Thessaloniki and swam in the Aegean Sea with my squadmates. For an introvert who doesn’t have many friends back at home, all-squad month was really tough. But the Greece trip reminded me just how lucky I was to be doing life and exploring the world with my squad. It was just incredible. The second was my recent trip to Machu Picchu. It blew my mind. It was such a beautiful place and such a hard hike! All stairs! God really showed me how vast his imagination is and how he created such insanely huge, beautiful wonders and also created me and takes the time to hang out with me. How crazy. I’ll never get over it.
“After seeing what you have seen and done what you have done, what if you had said no to the race?”
I really don’t know. I guess I would be home, going to university, and really really wishing I could travel. Travel would still just be a dream. My life would be so different. Not just in what I do, but in who I am. I have learned so much about my identity in God and who he made me to be (a creative, confident woman with a voice made for leadership and healing who is unafraid to be who she is). Wow. I don’t know. I’m just so glad that God put me here.
Nancy Sledge: “You usually have your hair up. Have you cut it, besides the bangs, since you’ve been gone?”
Nope! I trim my bangs every now and then, but other than that it’s still short, but hasn’t been cut. I’ll probably trim it soon. If you see Jenna Rose, tell her she needs to trim her hair, too. That girl has some wild split ends.
“What are you doing right now? What occupies your day?”
Days here in Cusco typically look like this: waking up in the morning to pray, read and do yoga, VBS in the morning for the kids around the neighborhood, lunch break, taking the bus to the local university for English club (we basically just have conversations with students looking to practice their English), and coming home for dinner. On some nights, we open the cafe for people/students looking to practice English and enjoy some coffee and music!
“Has anything changed over the past few months regarding your choice of a major in college?”
Yes and no! I am still planning on majoring in theatre with a concentration on stage management, but I’ve decided to double major in Spanish! I’ve always wanted to be able to speak Spanish ever since I can remember and being in South America has sparked that passion again, so I thought why not?!
“Have you had the opportunity to contact any of the people you met in Ukraine?”
Yes actually! My host mom, Vita, and I will sometimes communicate over Facebook, which is always so sweet. A lot of our English students follow me on Instagram, too. Social media is a crazy cool thing!
“Do you all have air conditioning?”
Haha nope! We’ve got the shade and the wind and tank tops (at least in South America) to keep us cool!
“Can you tell us a little about your experience on the trip by bus to Peru?”
Oh boy. What a freaking travel day. Or should I say…days. It took us a total of about 80 hours to get from Chile to Peru. Here’s how it went down. We hopped on our first bus which was supposed to take us all the way to the border. However, it broke down in the middle of the Chilean desert, miles from our last gas station stop. So we proceeded to spend the rest of the day and the whole night in the desert. It was slightly terrifying, but also really beautiful. Then, we got onto another bus which I got a much needed nap on, and then another. It hailed on the last bus, which caused the roof to leak, so we all got rained on for the last five-ish hours of the ride. Then we took random cars across the border with some pretty funny car drivers. And then ONE LAST BUS (I know ahh) took us to our hostel in the middle of the city of Cusco. It was wild.
“How did the Christmas play you wrote and directed turn out?”
I’m gonna point you over to my last blog, “Motel Baby”, where you can get all the details!
Amber Roth: “What’s a new word you’ve learned in another language?”
My favorite word that I have learned so far is: ????. It’s Ukrainian/Russian for ‘snow’, and it’s pronounced “snee”!!!
“What’s a language barrier you’ve crossed?”
There are so many instances where the language barrier seems to dissolve into thin air. Believe me, it’s really confusing and difficult to communicate with your taxi driver who doesn’t speak a word of English when you can’t remember what the Spanish words for ‘right’ and ‘left’ and ‘keep going’ are. But there are countless sweet moments where language doesn’t even matter. The laughter shared between me and a girl in VBS playing with balloons. A hand game taught and played through body language and slightly judgmental facial expressions. Hands held in a circle as someone prays for the city and the team. Teaching Chilean third graders how to do a backbend. Music, dance, laughter, tears. Beautiful moments that don’t even need words.
“What is one of the most basic essentials to traveling? What is one thing you wish you had brought?”
Other than your basic sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and toiletries, my personal essentials are a warm, comfy, cute sweater, my notebooks, and my Spotify account. You never know when you’re gonna get chilly on airplanes, trains, buses, at airports, etc… And writing and music are two of the most important things in my life. They all make me feel like myself, so they’re super important for me to have here on the field. I wish I had brought my Converse! They might be a luxury, but wearing Tevas 24/7 gets really old really fast. I’m just saying. I also wish I had brought physical pictures from home!
“How would you characterize each place you’ve visited so far in 3 words?”
Romania: new, honeybees, and chaos
Ukraine: snowy, playful, and family-oriented
Chile: still, dusty, and laughter
Peru: lively, discoveries, and hospitality
“What is one piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to travel right now?”
SHUT UP AND GO!!!!! Just do it!!! If you don’t have the resources, reach out to people! Make it a priority and go after it. It’s 110% possible. DO. IT. No hesitations. You aren’t going to grow while you’re comfortable. It’s so much easier than it seems, I promise. You won’t regret it. God created this amazing, vibrant, gorgeous, insane world for us to explore and love! Go!
If your question wasn’t answered in this blog post, DON’T WORRY! This is only part one! There were so many questions I had to split it into two blog posts! Part 2 will be coming to a laptop screen near you in the next few days! Thank you to everyone who asked me questions! I had tons of fun doing this! Thanks for reading!
-Emm
