Peruvian livin'

Hello all,



I am currently in Cusco, Peru...tomorrow morning we are setting off for a 3 day excursion to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. it is probably the most touristy part of the trip so far...I have seen so many gringos here in Cusco...And people are usually impressed/surprised to hear that I can actually speak Spanish. This trips has brought me through the South of Argentina, Central Chile, Northern Argentina, Bolivia, and now Southern Peru...all in one month! We are having an amazing time, and so far (knock on wood) no problems or lame places.



Right now we are planning our Christmas and New Year's Eve activites...although it is hard to get into the spirit of the holidays without the usual commercialism and cold weather. I am a bit sad to not spend the holidays with my family, but I guess ther will be times that we cannot be together, but next year will be wonderful and I will appreciate more than ever!



So, I have had some observations/realizations on this trip...I will share some...



-There are a lot of people travleing from the England, Ireland, and Australia. It seems that Americans do not travel as much as I thought (At least to South America)...but the Americans that I do meet tend to be pretty cool.

-Not all foreigners say they dislike the United States, but tend to have a few negative generalizations (Americans are not that friendly, tend to stick to their group, don't want to make new friends, act like things should be easy for them, hold the same expectaions for things as in the United States, etc.)

-I have realized that, I am not just an American...I am an amazing human being, and I happen to be a United States citizen, and that is a wonderful thing...In other words, I have nothing to be ashamed of...people may not like my country, my culture, my president...but that doesn't mean that they don't like me...I am an individual (obviously), although I am a product of my environment (US culture), I am not a stereotype, nor am I to be blamed for things out of my control, and if people cannot understand that, then perhaps they should examine themselves as well...

-I have realized that I love my country more than I thought...we have beautiful things to see, friendly people and a great philosophy for living. Given, we have made mistakes (knowingly and unknowingly) and done terrible things, but you would be hard pressed to find a country without skeletons in their closet...Wow, I really sound very Pro-America...Oh well, It is about time that I start standing up for my country instead of hiding behind all of my opportunites and taking my life for granted!! I am Proud to be American in more ways than not and that feels astonishingly liberating!

I am thankful for this opportunity to be away from home to see how much I truely do value it!