Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Plain Mary Jane, Uruguay
It has been three months since I’ve left South America. I would say that by now I’ve begun processing the place, but to be honest, I don’t think I had an experience that properly qualified me to even begin processing it.
I think that Latin America is a good introduction to traveling. If I could do it all over again, I would have chosen to start traveling through Latin America before heading over to Asia. However, I did this backwards, so it’s too late.
Here’s the thing: Asia is crazy. Asia is intense. Asia is jam-packed full of loud noises, strange smells, and people, people EVERYWHERE. Asia is IN YOUR FACE. Asia will kick your ass the moment you step off of the plane, and will continue to beat you down with an array of unforgettable experiences until the moment you leave the place.
Latin America is very, very different. Yes, there are people. There are cars, there are houses, there is food, there are all of the necessities and basic essentials that you will see in every country. But Latin America does not LEAP out at you. Latin America is subtle. Latin America is bursting with flavor, but it’s all in the aftertaste.
And so little old me, who had grown accustomed to this ‘in-your-face’ kind of traveling, shied away from the subtlety of Latin America. I went through an array of amazing experiences; I did a homestay with a Costa Rican family for a month, I learned Spanish, I lived in Paraguay for two months and traveled all around the country taking interviews with natives, and I traveled to Panama, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Peru on top of all of this. But I didn’t FEEL the culture in the same way that I did in Asia. I felt that while I had many cultural experiences and interactions, I didn’t fully appreciate or understand the significance behind them in the way that I did while in Asia.
Transversely, my integration into Asia was much slower than in Latin America. I knew that I had ample time to wander around and understand Asia, and so I took my sweet time. I read all kinds of books about India, Nepal, Thailand, Turkey. I questioned what social services in these countries really meant. And I went on an array of experiences with Carpe Diem and with my school that challenged a lot of local traditions and customs. My head was always on level with what was going on around me.
Latin America was more of a solo trip. I had a plan to go in there, learn about micro-finance, and enjoy the sights while I was there. I plunged headfirst into the continent with no prior knowledge or experience, and hit the ground running. I didn’t have the TIME that I wished I had to fully experience the things in front of me, because there was always a thousand things to do: my current research project, learning spanish, turning in papers, potential job and internship opportunities for the future, and onwards. I went into Buenos Aires, Argentina armed with a laptop and a recording device to transcribe all of my interviews from Paraguay, rather than spending my time REALLY appreciating the city. I spent 5 days in a room on Easter Island furiously writing away my research project instead of exploring the volcanoes or various maori statues. I arrived in Peru exhausted and ready to collapse, thinking about nothing much except my plane ride back to the United States the next day.
Now it seems like I may be going off of a complain here, and I’m surely not: I know that I had unbelievable, unforgettable experiences that SO many don’t have the fortune of doing. I am truly, incredibly blessed. I can’t believe that I have had the opportunity to travel to seven countries within a mere four months, and have that count for my schooling.
Merely the point I’m trying to make here is that because of these factors, my experience in Latin America was not as potent culturally, or as significant as my experience was in Asia. And while I wish that one day I really WILL go to Latin America when I have the time to experience all that it can offer, my heart still pines to go back to Asia.
My senior year ends in a few months, and then I’m graduated. Let’s hope that I can keep the traveling up after that.
Latin America: You were beautiful. You were magical. I am sorry that I couldn’t fully appreciate all that you had to offer. I dearly hope that I can come back under different circumstances, to truly know all that you have to offer.
Much love,
Brittany
Today one of my very best friends, Mira ( Lady the Tramp) and I met in Manhattan for tea and sweets in Curry Hill. We plopped ourselves down at an Indian restaurant and requested Chai and Gulab Jamuns, an Indian delicacy and dessert (essentially they are fried dough balls soaked in honey. Sickeningly sweet). The Indian man mumbled something for a good minute with Mira and I merely catching some resentful mutterings about us only ordering dessert, and then he whisked off to give us tea (not Chai! What kind of Indian restaurant is this?) and stone cold gulab jamun (usually it is warm). While we laughed at the strangeness of it all and caught up on each other’s lives, I noticed a shop across the street- Om Saree Palace, a retail store for, what else, sarees, a typical dress worn in India. There was also a variety of shawls, men’s clothings, salwar kameez’s, and jewelry.
After paying the disgruntled employee for our cheap meal, I told Mira that I wanted to check out Om Saree Palace. We headed over and walked inside to see a kindly old Indian lady folding shawls.
“Namaste, Aap Kaise Hai?” (hello, how are you?), I asked in Hindi.
“Chik Hai, Aap Kaise Hai?” (fine, how are you?) The lady responded, positively beaming.
“Chick Hai,” I replied. “Torrah Hindi bolti hu.” (I speak a little Hindi).
The woman’s smile widened even further. “I am so excited that you are here in my shop and that you speak Hindi!” she proclaimed. “So many tourists come through here but they don’t speak Hindi. Were you in India?”
I recounted my story to her- three trips, six months, all over North and South India. And I loved every second of it.
Sarla, the old woman, was from New Delhi. When I told her that I had been to Paharganj and Majnukatilla in Delhi, she nearly jumped up and down with excitement.
While Mira and I chattered with her incessantly about India (Mira has spent time in India as well) and perused the clothes, an absolutely gorgeous salwar kameez caught my eye. It was orange, red, and black, spread into a pattern that looked almost tribal. I knew instantly that I had to try it on. It fit me absolutely perfectly. Sarla clapped her hands.
“I will give you a good price for this salwar,” she said. “I had very good business today and you made my day, so I will give you a special price.”
While my phone played Hanuman rapping in the background for Sarla’s utter delight, she slashed 10 dollars off of the salwar kameez (she sold it for only $45, which is cheap even by India standards considering the quality!), and gave me a pair of gorgeous black and glittery earrings to go with it for free, as ‘a birthday gift’ (I had told her my birthday was tomorrow).
Standing there, basking in the warmth and loveliness of the beautiful lady who was so giving and so happy that I knew and understood her culture, I felt so unbelievably happy to know people in the world that have gone out of their way for no reason at all other than kindness. There are rare occasions when I’ve come across this when traveling- that is, meeting a foreigner and the only thing that ties us together is a few words or a gesture- but this forms a bond and a kinship that are beyond words. It is the very power of humanity. And it says that even though we are very different people, from very different backgrounds, we can understand each other. We can love each other.
Thank you lovely Sarla, for making my day, maybe even my whole experience, in New York. We need more interconnectedness like this in the world.
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
I know that it has been a very long time, considering the time in which I usually post. For this, I apologize. I’ve been adjusting to life in New York, which has been very interesting, to say the least. Know that I have not forgotten about this blog, which I love dearly, and I will make a dedicated effort to update a bit more soon (mainly to wrap up my travels in South America, to give a brief synopsis of my life in New York, and a taste of what’s to come). In the meantime, stay tuned.
Much love,
Brittany
It has been over a month and I have still not written yet about my experiences in Chile, Easter Island, and Peru. Why? some of you might ask. I am not an unproductive person, and I generally try to write every few days on this blog to share my travel experiences.
Generally, the biggest reason has been that I am still dealing with the nuances of being back in the United States, which includes being on vacation. For the first time in– pretty much a year and a half– I am not swamped and/or overwhelmed with new experiences, work to do for school, and/or schemes that will fit into the ‘big picture’ of my life. For now, I am content to spend some time lying lazily in my bed and doing absolutely nothing all day long. Today, I spent about two hours reading and analyzing the contents of Burt’s Bees ingredients to determine whether they’re actually a socially-conscious company (considering they were bought by Clorox back in 2007). They’ve passed the test so far. I also invented a method called ‘after shower goodness is baby oil + body lotion mixed together= glowing and sweet-smelling skin.’ It is a tried and true method.
It’s also nice to take a much-needed breather and focus on the kind of person that I want to be in the future, which includes being environmentally and consumer conscious, an advocate for non-processed food, a promoter of human rights awareness and self-sustainable solutions for developing communities, and… admittedly, an everything-Apple technology dork. Being in the United States gives me room to process everything that has happened within the past two years- what I have seen, how I’ve grown, and the ability to fully enjoy the amazing luxuries that my life affords me while not feeling guilty about it. These are challenging and complex things to grapple with. But I feel with even more certainty, that spending the next six months in the United States will ultimately be a good thing for me.
Here’s to 2010. May the next year be as eye-opening as the last.
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Hello friends,
I seem to be going through a writer’s block of some sort, as I just can’t write everything that I wish or want to on this blog about my grand adventures. I don’t want to put up a substandard post about how amazing Easter Island was, the wacky crazyness I experience upon my return in Santiago, Chile, the fantastic day had with my one day stint in Lima, Peru, and the relief and both anxiety I feel to return to the United States, after traveling to 20 countries in two years. I know I am super back-logged on information to give…but I am backlogged in everything in my life right now. I hope you understand and that one fine day soon I will give an update that is fully deserved of this website. Until then, know that I am working hard to get all of these things cleared from my plate.
Much love,
Brittany
Hi friends,
As I stated previously a few months ago, I have been in the process of applying to the Peace Corps.
Today I had my interview and I was accepted!! I will be serving in the Peace Corps from October 2010-January 2013. I don’t know yet where I’m stationed, though I will most likely be nominated for the Africa and South America regions.
I have been on Cloud 9 all day today from this news, as I have worked so hard and put so much energy into making this happen, and finally my dream has turned into a reality. I have everything that I could ever ask for. An amazing family, an amazing boyfriend and his family, amazing friends, amazing stories and travels, and now on top of it, an amazing job once I graduate. I am the luckiest person that I know. I don’t know how or why I have everything I could ever ask for and need in my life, but I have it all.
I hope you are all as lucky and blessed as I am.
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
I am going on a week long field site visit to my internship’s offices in Colonel Orvieto and Ciudad del Este (2 and 4 hours out of Asunción). I will be ending my travels with a weekend in Iguazu Falls! Internet usage for the next week or so is doubtful. Stay tuned and I will be back next Sunday with many stories.
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Hi friends,
So sorry I have not written recently, five days is usually a long time for this blog. I am currently being hit with a literal truckload of information and work to do for my university right now. There is not enough time in the day to disseminate all of it. Currently it is 2:23 AM and I have decided to pull an all-nighter in order to lessen my workload a bit. Hopefully Uruguay will be a little less stressful (I go on Thursday!)
Thanks for the patience guys!
Stay tuned,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
When you organize itineraries and plans for the countries you’re going to travel to, it feels like Christmas.
Yesterday I booked a 4 day trek through the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu (December 16th-20th). It will be the last thing I do before heading home to the States.
I found the cheapest 4 day cruise (that isn’t dangerous) for the Galapagos Islands (December 6th-9th).
I just booked a plane ticket to Uruguay (October 22-25th). 4 days in Montevideo.
SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am doing South America like no one’s business.
Much love,
Brittany
By far, the best part about traveling is not the places that you go, or the things that you do and see. It’s the people that you meet.
Since traveling, whether in groups or alone, I have met SO many amazing and interesting people that I’ve lost count. I have made so many connections with open-minded, honest, passionate individuals, that I don’t know what to do when I encounter someone who isn’t the same. The amount of close friendships that I’ve made from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Costa Rica, and now Paraguay is so overwhelming at times (while I have met other great people from the other countries I’ve traveled to, it hasn’t resulted in such long lasting friendships as the aforementioned), and I feel so grateful for the many interesting and diverse group of people I can call my friends. I feel truly blessed to be constantly surrounded by free-thinking and intellectual individuals who I can constantly engage with about the world.
My life continues to evolve, and continues to be full of innovative ideas and perspectives that are ground-breaking for me. I am so happy to be in this place, and I hope I always will be.
Much Love,
Brittany
