Month: March 2023

So…the next time someone approaches you to ask if you’d be willing to take a survey, consider saying yes or at least be kind to them. Surveying to me has become like a customer service job, or rather, a job that everyone should have at some point in their life because you sure learn a lot about people and more importantly, how to treat people. I’ve decided to dedicate this blog post to the humans that I’ve interacted with while surveying at the historic sites here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It doesn’t seem to matter that this study is being conducted with the National Park Service, people still think it’s a scam or that they are going to be asked for money. Someone has to remind people the process of collecting data and doing research…Nonetheless, it’s made for some interesting conversations and moments where I question, did that person really just say that?

I have encountered a lot of kind people who do respect research and the NPS but those stories aren’t as entertaining. So this will be a collection of the “oh my gosh I can’t believe they just said that” stories:

03/06/23

I approached a man (from Florida) and asked him in English if he’d be willing to participate in the visitor use survey. He then responded with, “¡Hola! Are you offended when us Americans try to speak Spanish to you?” To which I responded “no, I’m from Oregon and Puerto Ricans are also Americans…” 

Another man that I asked IN ENGLISH if he would participate in the survey responded with, “No, I don’t speak Spanish.”

03/07/23

After surveying a nice older man while his wife hovered over us, he stuck out his hand to shake mine. I reached my hand out, naturally, to shake his hand back. His wife then tried to bat at our hands with a pamphlet saying, “ooooh don’t touch, don’t touch!” I presume because of being in a post pandemic world but there’s really no knowing what’s going on inside peoples heads…

03/08/23

For context, I have a septum nose ring. 

A man explained to me the history behind using nose rings on animals, mainly cattle to pull them around. He then told me that nowadays they are used so boyfriends can drag their girlfriends around. 

3/11/23

This is less funny but rather a powerful moment for me. Two middle aged women from Florida were asking me about my life and plans and I told them how I was traveling in Latin America and how I’m planning on going back and their first response was, “…but aren’t you scared?” I looked down at them as they were both sitting on a bench in front of me while I was standing surveying, and seeing their genuinely curious faces and big scared eyes, I happily responded with “No.” It almost flashed before my eyes, a life with fear and with no exploration because you’re scared of something that hasn’t even happened. I felt blessed to be the age I am and experiencing the things I’ve experienced because I don’t want to be middle aged and scared of the world around me. 

Initially this was going to be a funny story because one of these women was complaining to me that she had to use her credit card to pay for the pass to enter the National Historic Site. She explained how that was unfair because you’re never suppose to use your credit cards “in a place like this.” I think she means a debit card but I was also confused what this place meant to her. Was Puerto Rico a dangerous place to her? Did entering a U.S. government owned building not feel legit? Does she know that Puerto Rico is a US territory? Does that even matter to her?

At first I thought, “oh my gosh here we go…” but then I really just felt bad for her. And once they asked me if I was scared to travel, I really felt bad. It’s not so funny once you realize that someone lives their life with fear due to a lack of knowledge. And I’m not saying I know everything, I’m just a little more aware of the world around me…

The two weeks working in Puerto Rico wrapped up quickly, as I knew they would. It felt like a nice stop in between leaving South America and going home to the states — not too mention it’s a beautiful archipelago.

I enjoyed traveling by myself again and thought about that while sitting on the bus heading north having no idea what my next week will look like. I do enjoy company for long 18hr bus rides but it was good to have time alone. Why people recommended La Serena to me, I’m not sure…A friend I made from Austria put it best, “if you’ve been to other beaches in your life, they were probably better than this one.” I don’t even have photos of the beach because I didn’t feel comfortable taking my camera out and I felt that the image of dead gutted birds on the shore, mixed with trash, and heavy clouds wouldn’t be something I needed to remember. This is important to note because I came to this city for the beaches (supposedly). Let me back track to my first day in La Serena.

After a very long bus ride, I arrived at the terminal and judging the town very quickly, I made the decision to do the 10 minute walk to my hostel in the evening. Always feeling more vulnerable with my bags on me, it was a fast walk but felt good after being on the bus all day. Once I found the hostel, I was stranded outside with the sign that read “reception closes at 4pm.” This is when I met Felix, a kind man from Germany who not only let me in but helped me distinguish my bed for the night and gave me a little tour of the hostel. 

I instantly was reminded once again how kind people are and how you’ll often find a friend while traveling alone. I ended up spending my next few days with him and the Austrian I mentioned above, Raphael. I loved the trio we made: always laughing and having good conversations about the world. They were some of the kindest people I met while traveling and when they left La Serena, my heart sunk again for a bit. 

The funny thing though is that it’s also a small world here in the north of Chile. We all had reservations at the same hostel in San Pedro de Atacama, I was just a day behind them. 

Before I jump to the desert, something I found interesting — from the perspective of a woman — was comparing my day in La Serena where I walked around with Felix to my day alone there. Felix and I walked around town and markets and to the beach. The next day, I was bored in the town and decided to repeat that route because I enjoyed it, however I was alone this time. I walked to the same place we bought fried bread and sat by myself to enjoy it, and was approached by a flirtatious male. I then walked through the market looking for gifts and was asked out by a male vendor. I then walked to buy a smoothie at the same stand and was flirted with by the blender man. It’s funny how different your experience is as a woman by yourself. 

Anyways, once I stepped off the bus in the Atacama, I felt alive! There’s something about deserts, man. I instantly felt excited and ready to explore the driest place on earth. I found the hostel and walked through the doors dripping with sweat, to be greeted by the familiar kind smile of Felix. I was so happy to see my friends again and spend the week with them. 

We walked around the small town, went to salt lagoons, did a star gazing tour, ate delicious food together, drank beer and made friends with the other 50 Germans at the hostel (hah), and just enjoyed the tranquility of the desert. This stop was exactly what I needed.

For a lot of people, their next stop was going to be the salt flats in Bolivia. This was a hard moment for me because I really wanted to join them on that bus up there. We were already so close to the border and I met so many nice people, I was ready to go on that adventure too. But…I had a commitment to follow through with so I just let that feeling of wanting to travel more resonate with me and inspire me for future trips. 

I had a flight back to Santiago on the 27th and woke up that morning to a message from the airline that my flight was cancelled. Being the slightly neurotic person that I am, I had planned an extra day for possible errors such as this one. Still hoping to get back to Santiago, I showed up at the airport to see about other flights and bam, I was put on a flight that left in 10 minutes! This was a good reminder to not stress and have faith in the universe, that something will work out, that someone is looking out for you. 

[Written on 02/21/23]

Since traveling, I found I haven’t developed a routine of writing. There will be weeks where I write everyday and weeks where I don’t write one word. While this last month consisted of not writing very much, I felt the craving within my body for my pen and paper. To express some of my all-consuming thoughts, to help digest hard ideas, or simply to pair words with pretty photos from Chile and Argentina. So it’s later than I would have liked, but I’ve given myself the time to write now. 

I’ll start with the end of the world. Ushuaia is mountainous and extremely windy. It’s more developed than I imagined as well but I found it underwhelming, which makes sense because there’s not much to do there besides tours. I just enjoyed zooming out on Google maps and seeing how close I was to Antártica. 

There was a point in Ushuaia when Julián and I realized we needed to be back in central Chile in less than 2 weeks. Having taken our time going down Chile, my mindset switched gears to go slow but that wasn’t the case in Argentina, we had to get up the country, and fast! 

So, after running through every possible plan, we decided it best to take out some of the Patagonia towns and just go to El Calafate to see the all enormous Perito Moreno glacier (yeah, the one that’s actually growing)! After one of the worst bus rides of my life from Ushuaia, we finally made it to the insanely touristy town of El Calafate. It took me 2 days but I finally understood why everyone said you only need to see the glacier and then get out of there. The town is tiny yet packed with foreigners! 

The glacier, absolutely beautiful. 

The next phase in our plan was to fly into Mendoza because if paid with cash, the ticket was cheaper than a bus ride and 3 days faster, hah… So we jumped back up to central Argentina and I was excited to be in a familiar place again, or rather, to see familiar faces. I learned that it’s not always a good idea to mix different parts of your world together. My volunteer work in Mendoza was very different from my time traveling in the Patagonia with Julian and the two parts of my trip didn’t mesh well together…

Nonetheless, my heart was warmed from my Mendoza friends. I got to see more of the city than before and even go to the base of Aconcagua. Going back meant that leaving again was even harder because I saw people that I thought I was never going to see again. Goodbyes are always the hardest part for me. 

It was a bittersweet goodbye one evening in Mendoza. I was sad to leave but grateful to have been there again. I was also heading to Santiago to see my parents after 6 months of traveling. My heart was full with emotion that night. 

I got to introduce my lovely parents to Valparaiso where they walked the same steps that I did months before and met people who are dear to me. This was an exciting week but I definitely didn’t account for the heat that would be there in February. I think they were glad to escape some winter back home! 

We also got to explore Bariloche, Argentina together, all with fresh eyes. This was a nice change of pace from the busy cities in Chile. We ate asados, Swiss chocolate, and French fries until we couldn’t eat anymore! The city is also filled with breweries which was fun. The days flew by with them but was a much needed recharge for me.

And then the goodbye inevitably came and felt strange because I felt like I should be leaving, going home with them. I have such a short amount of time left traveling, about a week in Chile before my 2 week job in Puerto Rico. So my mindset is “ok you’re going to be traveling a week by yourself and then switch gears to work mode and then home.” I’m trying to enjoy this last week and reflect when I can. Take time to observe and appreciate little things like making a friend at the busy Santiago terminal when your bus is 2 hours late. I’m in no rush to finish my trip, no hurry to rush my life, I want to slow down. That’s why I’m going to La Serena and San Pedro de Atacama. I’m going to spend time on the beach and under the huge starry sky, taking my time to take it all in.