Dealing with culture shock: the 4 D's

Since I've arrived back on U.S. soil after 3+ months traveling in some of the most spectacular places on Earth, there has certainly been some moments of culture shock/adjustment. Luckily, being without a job and living back in my family home has helped me not sync back into old routines, but I can't say it hasn't been a difficult time. As I've loaded pictures on my computer and responded to friends and family via email and phone it has given me opportunities to reflect on the amazing adventure I just came from and how lucky I am to experienced it all. The past week has also provided some excellent opportunities to deal with said "culture shock" mainly by putting my mind and energy into other activities, thus I present my 4 D's of dealing:

Detox: When I arrived back from my trip and realized how simple life could be living out of a backpack, and how so many people in the world live with so little, I was pretty disgusted at the amount of stuff I had collected in my life for the past decade. Years of working in retail with massive discounts as well as a life of sample sales and perks in New York had led to boxes of unnecessary clothing, shoes, bags…you name it. It was pretty overwhelming and made me feel quite bad about myself. With the help of my mom and sister, we cleaned out boxes from New York as well as my closet and room from Chicago and had ourselves a busy weekend of an insane garage sale. That, on top of selling some of my finer designer pieces to a local consignment store in town, provided not only a nice supplemental income for the next month, but an overwhelming feeling of detoxification and relief.

Selling items at Crossroads

the massive garage sale

Decompress: I knew after coming back from a whirlwind trip, I would need to take some time to just chill out both by myself and with family and friends. So, in the midst of the garage sale/cleaning out madness, I found some time for yoga at a local studio that my mom has started practicing at. It felt so nice to experience more vinyasa-style yoga (in English) and practice with new teachers who I very much enjoyed. Taking some time alone on the mat also provided some great introspective reflection on the trip and some ideas and thoughts I have about the future moving forward.  As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite parts of my travels has been the people I've met and the new friendships I've formed, but I have to say I feel like a very lucky girl for the close friendships I've kept over my entire childhood and adolescence and how lucky I am that so many of my close friends live in Chicago and were eager to catch up with me and hear about the trip. A night out with some of my closest girlfriends proved to be just what I needed to feel grounded back at home.

catching up with great friends

Dyeing my hair: ok, this is really just for fun since it's summer in the states and I don't have a professional job to report into, but I decided to do something fun with my hair, just for a bit of a change….

Departing once again: and although South America was a large portion of my 6-month adventure, it's not the only part. My sister and I are currently in the midst of packing up for our 3-week trip to Thailand and Vietnam. I know I am in for a HUGE culture shock on the other side of the world, but I couldn't be more excited and open to the next great adventure….More to come from travels in Southeast Asia! xo

Where I rest my head: Sur de America

As I prepare to depart South America after 3+ months, I can't help but feel bittersweet that the adventure is coming to an end. However, I am constantly reflecting on the amazing experiences, languages heard & learned, sights seen and friendships formed. Although, I've never been a complete homebody, one of the most challenging aspects of my trip has certainly been not having a home per say...but rather the clothes/things on my back (quite literally) and the excitement of finding home in the jungle, beach, mountains, desert, farm and city. It's also been some of the best parts of the trip as there has been such a variety of places I've stayed and the people, scenery and adventures at these places are what I will remember most and what has made each place feel like home if only for a few hours. Thus, a brief reflection on the final month of travel and "where I rest my head"....
note: some of the images are taken from the internet

Peru
Lima: Elio's apartment
Graciously, a friend of a friend let Sabrina and I crash at his place the night before we departed for Cusco. Located in the posh area of Miraflores, it was amazing to have our own apartment to call home for 24 hours.

Cusco: Loki Hostel, 2 nights before and after the Inca Trail Trek

Great staff, but more ideal for the traveler who wants to party until all hours of the night! The restaurant and bar on site and volunteer opportunities in the community are definitely highlights.

Inca Trail: Tent

 

Sleeping bags and camping tents were our home for 3 nights along the Inca Trail. Not ideal during a thunderstorm, but certainly an adventure!




Aguascalientes: Hotel Presidente
This simple hotel proved to be heaven after our 4-day Machu Picchu trek. Hot showers and a full breakfast were a plus!

  

Puno: Camino Real Hotel

Another simple hotel booked through our tour company, this was conveniently located to the main pedestrian street of Puno where the shops and restaurants were concentrated.










Amantani: Lucy's house
On the island of Amantani in the middle of Lake Titicaca, Sabrina and I huddled for warmth under massive blankets in the spare bedroom of our host, Lucy. A true Peru experience.

Brazil
Rio de Janeiro: Atlantis Copacabana Hotel
In Rio, I stayed with Erika and Ashley at this centrally located hotel steps from the beach and on the border of Ipanema and Copacabana. Although the staff wasn't the most helpful, the hotel was more than adequate and a treat for me, the backpacker!

Sao Paulo: I camped out for the night in my friend Paul's amazing apartment in the Campo Bello neighborhood. Such a treat and awesome to have a local host for the weekend. Too bad I didn't get any pictures!

Manaus: Gol Backpackers

This quaint hostel was an ideal location just outside the main square of Manaus and perfect spot for getting some rest before my tour in the Amazon.






Amazon: For two nights, I slept in one of the huts on the lodge property. My favorite part was the oversize hammock in the back, perfect for a siesta!

On the last night in the jungle, we camped outside in hammocks hung across a shelter, a little scary, but totally worth it.













Bolivia
La Paz: Hostal Estrella Andina

This was probably one of my favorite parts of my 24 hours in La Paz. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the city, this hostal was perfection. My new friend Tonya and I had an amazing private room and bathroom with the most comfortable beds I've experienced on the road.









Overnight bus to Uyuni

Following a packed 24 hours in La Paz, we boarded our 10-hour Todo Turismo bus for Uyuni to begin the Salar de Uyuni tour the following day. The bus company is new in Bolivia and is in answer to the terrible bus conditions that once existed, it's comparable to other coach bus companies in South America and was completely comfortable for the overnight ride....driving through death road on the other hand, not quite as comfortable...



Salar de Uyuni 3-day tour: Many people complain about the shelter conditions during the 3-day, 2-night tour of the Salar de Uyuni, but I found our company, Red Planet, to provide us with totally adequate accomodations, in fact more than comfortable.

Night 1

Night 2

Chile
San Pedro de Atacama: Backpackers Hostel
The Backpackers hostel just outside San Pedro's main town square was super chill and a great atmosphere for our 2 nights we stayed. Complete with a fire pit and hammocks for relaxing, the only downside was the cold showers and lack of water late at night.

Overnight bus to La Serena: we treated ourselves to Cama for the 16 hour ride, sooo comfortable!

La Serena: Hostal El Arbol
One of my favorite places of the whole trip. We only found and booked it the night before and it turned out to be a fabulous little B&B run by the nicest Chilean mother and her daughters. All the travelers were super nice and the rooms and beds were really comfortable, we contemplated staying longer as many of the others had...

Overnight bus to Santiago: Since the ride was only 6-7 hours, we took semi-cama (aka not a full recline seat) so it wasn't quite as comfortable, but totally doable for the quick overnight trip

Catemu: Eka Chakra Farm

During my stay at the Hare Krishna farm, Eka Chakra I was put up in a super comfortable room in one of the guest huts. Aside from the near freezing temperatures at night, it was super comfortable and very tranquilo

Santiago: Hostal Luna Calypso
For our first night back in Santiago, we stayed at this quaint hostal with a super-friendly staff. Located in the Providencia neighborhood, it was a great location to get situated for the weekend adventure with my friend Melanie.

Following our night in the hostel, we moved in to a friend's apartment in the Vitacura neighborhood for the weekend. The view from Andres' balcony was breathtaking and it was so nice to have an awesome local host in the city.

views of the city from Vitacura

For my final week in Santiago, I was taking additional classes at Ecela, so I moved back in with my host family that I had stayed with in February. It was nice to be back to a place I felt like I knew and spend my final days in a home. I am also pleased to announce that I had my first dream in "Spanglish" here during this week, certainly a monumental occasion to end the journey!

Namaste Series: Eka Chakra

The 

After sampling a taste of volunteering and staying at the Hare Krishna yoga park in Argentina, I thought i would try and inquire about volunteering at one of the affiliated community farms in Chile on my way back to Santiago. The Eka Chakra community welcomed me with open arms for my 4-day stay. During this time, I helped in the community cleaning and helping to prepare for an upcoming festival, tending the organic garden and building new walls on the living huts and kitchen. In exchange for my work and a small fee, I stayed on the property and enjoyed the most delicious vegetarian meals, as well as joined the evening hatha yoga classes. 
Unlike the community in Argentina, there weren't as many traveler volunteers, during my stay only a girl from Seattle and a family from Norway, however there were many more members, even entire families, of the community living at this farm and it was nice to practice my Spanish and learn more about this way of life. The farm, set in the town of catemu in a valley in the Andes was the perfect setting to relax, feel healthy and prepare for my final days of traveling in south America. Namaste.

A nice reunion and back to Chile

Meeting new people and creating lasting friendships has certainly been one of the highlights of my travels, which is why I was so excited to reunite with a friend I had made during my first days in Santiago, Leah, a fellow New Yorker! Following my trip through Bolivia, which I promise I will write about in another post, I made my way across the border to Chile where we reconnected in the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama. Our super chill backpackers hostel provided the perfect backdrop to a low-key 3 days in the driest desert in the world.

Sandboarding in the desert

Hiking in caves

enjoying a pisco sour at sunset in Valle de Luna

Following San Pedro, we made our way further south in Chile to the coastal town of La Serena. In La Serena we stayed at an awesome B&B/hostal where we made some new friends that took us out on the town. The following day, we did an amazing tour of Isla Damas, an island close to the town where you can see dolphins, penguins and sea lions and relax on the beach, it was beautiful and the sights were amazing!

boarding our boat to Isla Damas

a view of the beach

new friends!

From La Serena, it was only a 6 hour bus ride back to Santiago, where we parted ways for a week before rejoining to spend our final week in Santiago.

Adventures in the Amazon

Following big city life in Brasil, I ventured to a more tranquilo atmosphere in the heart of the Amazon jungle. In order to get to the more remote areas of the jungle and river, most tours depart out of Manaus, the capital city in the Amazonas region of Brasil, which to be honest wasn´t anything spectacular to write home about, but I had a clean, nice hostel and time to re-gather my things before departing to the middle of the jungle. I had booked a 4-day tour with Amazon Brazil Jungle Tours, which I would highly recommend. It took two boats to get from Manaus to the remote lodge I stayed at on the Rio Juma.

Boat 1 from Manaus

Boat departing second stop

arriving at the lodge

The lodging was basic; there were about 6 huts for guests, the kitchen/dining hut and the family´s home, but it was perfection. Right on the river, hammocks in every hut and even running water which I wasn´t prepared for! All our meals were eaten together in the dining area and each day was filled with amazing guided adventures via canoe through the river animal watching and enjoying the wonder that is mother nature untouched. I was blown away by the peacefulness and beauty, I don´t think I ever been somewhere quite so serene. In the evenings we fished, searched for caymans and even camped in hammocks one night in another area of the jungle away from the lodge. It was a spectacular 4 days, I think I will remember watching dolphins playing as the sun set into a picturesque pink sky for the rest of my life!

Canoing through the jungle

I caught one!

playing with caymans at night

canoeing at sunset

camping in the jungle