hello from valparaiso chile. itś easter and i guess that most things are closed here. i probably should have moved on from here but since it was difficult for people to find transport to other cities and places to stay, i figured i would just stay in valparaiso. itś cool here though. a nice city with lots of street art. awesome street art. to call it graffiti would be a sin, i think.
im sorry that i haven been super awesome with my updates on here. and sometimes day to day stuff is not too exciting. and whatever. and sometimes it is.
chile has been great really. i didn`t even expect to come here but i did. i found out that americans can still cross into chile via land without paying the reciprocity fee. i will tell you that the reciprocity fee is getting in the way of my travel adventures. i didn`t go to bolivia for that reason. but people say that bolivia is beautiful and cheap. and it would probably pay me back in that way, but i just wasn`t organized for it. i get the whole point of the reciprocity fee... the united states charges people from these countries to get into the states so they charge us. completely understand. but i hate that us travelers are the ones who have to pay for our government`s decisions. i wish that congress or the president was cutting me a check for this. but until it`s done with i guess that i have to keep paying. and i will because i don`t see myself cutting down on traveling anytime soon.
so yeah... enough of the rant. life has been awesome. truly awesome really. and the thought of coming home is just... gross. i don`t know how else to explain it. people keep asking me when i will be returning to the states. people i meet here and some of you from home and ugh... i don`t even want to think about it. but it is such a common question. i joke with everyone that you have the 5 main questions when you meet someone new and we should all just carry a fact sheet around with us. first question is generally.... where are you from? second is... how long have you been traveling? third... where have you been? fourth... where are you going to? and fifth... which sometimes you honestly never get to... or you get to it hours or days later... what is your name? but i don`t mind those questions because generally everyone enjoys talking about traveling. duh. but the question of when are you going back to the states? um... not sure? maybe a couple months. maybe a couple weeks? and people generally respond.... that`s awesome. which it is. i like not having an end date. but then at the same time i feel like i`m suppose to. i will figure it out someday. i thought by now i would have a clue but i honestly don`t at the moment.
the thing i love really about this trip is all the people. i have met some great people. a lot from germany. a lot. to the point that i think i should be speaking german right now. but they`ve all been cool. i think i have liked everyone i`ve met with only a few exceptions. and some people i`ve met and didn`t connect enough with to exchange information but have wanted to tell them something later. that always stinks. it is a weird thing to meet people, share something awesome, and then go about your way. cause it is awesome in the moment then is kinda sad a day or two later. i have been able to catch up with a couple people... so that has been awesome. but overall it`s just an in the moment type thing. besides germans i would say i have met a lot of brits, some americans (actually a guy from watertown and a guy from the cape... oh and two guys who lived in dorchester), some australians... but not nearly as many as i would have thought. some people from israel. some from the countries that i`m visiting. it is pretty cool. i wish i had discovered the awesomeness of hostels at a younger age. not that i mind staying here now... but it is such a fun experience that i wish i have been aware of it years ago. i was always so scared of hostels. scared of sharing dorms, of people taking my stuff, of bed bugs (which apparently are quite common here), etc but it has been alright. people are cool and most places have lockers.
after traveling here for a bit of time, i think i can say that south america gets a bad rap in the states. yes, there are super shady parts and yes there are more pickpockets here than in the states, but overall it has been alright. in quito and buenos aires i saw cops EVERYWHERE. like... everywhere. it made me feel safe. and everyone talks about bolivia and columbia back home that it is just the scariest place in the world, but i have met so many people... some solo female travelers who have really enjoyed both of those countries. said they felt safe and that it was incredibly beautiful. and so i am glad to be out exploring the world. to... understand how life is. and to not completely feed into american media cause i think they make it sound worse than what it is. who knows. maybe i`m wrong. maybe i`ll get mugged today. it could happen. but right now... south america is an amazing continent with amazing people... it`s beautiful here. some parts are just absolutely stunning. and the locals i have met have all been cool. and not necessarily just the people working in the hostels or at the tour places.
this is quite a long blog... but i am not done. ;) it is interesting that the world knows about america. everything. they know the national anthem. they know who sarah palin is (which, i`m sorry... that is something you just shouldn`t know). they know the pledge of allegiance. it is just. i don`t know... weird. and i am sure it is just my own ignorance... but... it stinks. and yes america is a big country ... but we are so self centered. most of us. me included. i hope to change that though as i go. i really do. but on the flipside... people from other countries... unanimously have said that americans are the friendliest. we are open people and easy to talk to. and that makes me happy. cause i think that is something pretty awesome and a wonderful compliment.
okay. i am done. a different blog than what i have written in the past. ha. in the past long ago... but... yeah. just some thoughts on this easter sunday i guess. :)
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