create something that will make the world awesome

snowboarding take 2

today was round 2 in my attempt to learn how to snowboard.  it was WAY better than last week. not only did i stand up 150% more of the time without no whiplash type face plants, but i also learned how to stop heel side and toe side (not as good as heel, but still checked that box) and somewhat control my direction.  also, can get up successfully facing forward and backward. (i know that none of these are the technical terms, but i dont know how else to describe it).

for you non-snowboarders, this just means i am better than last time which translated to a much more enjoyable experience.  i am excited to continue to get better.  i was thoroughly shocked by the difference from day 1 to day 2.

motivation

some motivation to keep up your new years resolutions or general life happiness goals...

dip week

starting today, we have no class for the next 10 days.  wharton calls this time period "dip week" even though it is slightly more than a week.  dip stands for dedicated interview period and it is when the larger firms (consulting, banking, etc) come to campus for summer internship interviews.

this week serves as a nice time to catch up on life as well.

and it is officially winter

winter had officially come to philadelphia and i am in denial.  it was actually colder than below indicates due to wind chill.

lesson learned

this week in class, we were discussing ways to approach the business world and the professor mentioned that you make more money off of relationships than you do off of pure financial transactions.  this was discussed in the context of negotiations.  essentially if you are just trying to make the spread then you argue over half whereas relationships will lead to more down the road.

pretty obvious, but never hurts to hear again

visitors

had some awesome visitors this past weekend.  love seeing the weitz kids and audi!

we had fun swimming, baking, shopping, walking around philly, going to historic sites and more.  can't wait to see you guys again soon.  we missed anya, but at least we got to facetime with her!

snowboarding

yesterday i went snowboarding for the first time.  we went with the wharton ski and snowboard club to the poconos - blue mountain.  i was shocked by how fun it was even though i fell quite a bit.  definitely different from skiing as all of your control is in the way you shift your weight.

i am told that it gets easier with time and i am excited to get back out there!  however, i am enjoying a lazy day today as i recover from bruises and soreness.  the pic below was me in my gear - i had more fun that it appears as this was taken just after i fell - face first.

things i love

today i love ordering new shoes, going on runs, green smoothies, great friends and planning adventures!

interesting approach to teaching

our professor challenged us to a unique assignment for "homework".  basically it was an exercise in self control/ self discipline.  we had to select something we would do every day for a week (until our next class) or we wouldn't do.  his examples included exercises, eating healthy, not drinking, etc.  we have to email him the item, do it diligently for a week and write down if we failed and why.

gun show

so my learning team decided to do an adventure - only took us 4 months to actually pull it off.  we had purchased living social deals for a gun range so we could all learn how to shoot. i realize doing this and posting about it post-sandy hook seems insensitive, but we had been planning it for months.

it was definitely an experience and my ear is still ringing from the range.  totally sketchy that they didnt check our ids or anything and that we could have easily walked out with the guns - they were definitely disorganized.  and the people there were totally scary.

anyhow, i was shocked by how strong the kickback was on the pistols...very strong.

i guess im happy to say i have done it once, but i dont think i ever need to do it again.  being around the guns made me stressed enough.

spring semester

having finished my second day of classes, i can now say second semester is officially underway. however, i am still in denial that we are back to lectures.

quote of the day goes to my legal studies professor.  we went around and introduced ourselves (small class) and said what we want to do after wharton.  one of the guys said he was in pe before and wanted a life, to which the professor responded "marry rich"

restaurant rec

to get back to the states i flew from lima to quito to bogota to new york.  we had an overnight in bogota and we went to the restaurant that we really wanted to go to when we were in colombia previously.  andres de res was amazing. probably my favorite meal of the trip!  if you ever find yourself in colombia go to andres de res. delicioso.

the amazon

we ended our time in peru in the amazon.  we flew into iquitos, took a bus for about an hour and a half and then a boat ride for over an hour to arrive at our lodge.  our lodge was described as rustic.  i have learned that rustic means electricity for only a few hours a day, cold showers, bugs everywhere and a roof that leaks on you when you sleep.

since we arrived late in the afternoon the first day, after unpacking we took a night time nature walk where we saw insects, lightning bugs, spiders, frogs, etc.

the next day we went on an hour hike in the rain, then hit up a little village where the locals took us out on canoes and demonstrated how to climb palm trees.  the picture with the multiple colored water represents different ph levels in the same river - kinda crazy!

that evening, we took the boat out to find alligators.  we didnt exactly see alligators, but we did find a sloth, monkeys and birds.  to see alligators you have to be in the river at night.  our boat did not exactly have lights and the river has quite a few branches that would take out our motor.  our guide used his flashlight to guide our driver back to our huts.  we all secretly planned our survival plans if we were to crash.


on the second full day in the amazon, we went to a small village (by village i mean a few families with tons of kids).  the quick rise in the water had washed away part of the buildings in less than a half an hour.  i was thoroughly amazed by all of the people we met.  these people have no income and live off the land and could not be happier. they literally have nothing but believe the land will take care of them.  we visited this village in order to see the large lily pads that exist in the amazon.



when we arrived in the village one of the little girls (white shirt and red skirt with pigtails) said "tengo miedo de los gringos" translated to i have fear of gringos.  she didnt realize we understood what she was saying.  all of the children won over our hearts and ended up following us around.  one of the guys in our group gave them little toys and they were thrilled!  after they overcame their initial shyness they quickly let us know how much they loved photos and especially seeing them right after we took each one.  you would never guess that they grew up without electricity, let alone cameras, by the way they reacted to seeing their own photos.  we let them take some pictures with our cameras and they were in heaven!  as we were leaving the little girl who was afraid of gringos gave me a hug goodbye. precious.

after the village we went to the valley of the sloths to find some more sloths.  since we had seen one so up close the day before (and they dont move much) and it was deathly hot, we opted to do something off the typical tour.  we went searching for dolphins.  yes, there are fresh water dolphins in the amazon.  even more incredible is that there are grey (bottlenose-esque) and PINK (yes, pink) dolphins.  the pink dolphins are more bumpy on the top and do not have the same nose as the grey dolphins.  additionally, they do not typically jump out of the water, but instead, skim the top of the water.  since they are hard to spot and not out of the water long, i dont really have any great pictures.  after we spotted them, we decided to go swimming in the amazon.  shortly after being in the water, about 7 different pink dolphins (separate packs of 2-3) decided to swim within 30 feet of us. SIMPLY amazing.


after lunch back at the lodge we headed to one of the larger villages up the river.  all of the women create handicrafts to earn some supplemental income.  the head lady told us that she was very excited to have us and how great it was for the children to meet people from other places.  she told us that 15 years ago none of them had ever met a white person and she was glad the kids would be exposed to other cultures.  after we shopped at their makeshift stores, our guide painted us with local berries that act as a natural paint.  then, we took on the kids in some sports games.  the guys played soccer with the older boys and i played a small game with some of the girls.  it was clear they wanted to be active but the boys were not going to let them play soccer.

after the village, we went fishing for piranhas.  i am proud to say that i caught one!  we used bamboo sticks and fishing wire with beef on the end.  despite their reputation, they actually enjoy eating fruits and plants more than meat. 

for dinner we ate fried piranhas, as well as other more delicious food.  the locals then put on a traditional dance/music party for us as it was our last night in the amazon.



our last day we went up the maranon to where they maranon and ucayali rivers form the amazon river.  we spent most of our time on the maranon, which is one of the main tributaries/feeders to the amazon.  the water of the amazon is considered sacred by the locals.  we found a snake in the river and our guide literally pulled it out of the water and we all got to hold it.  they name the snake rachel since it colors matched my outfit.

after the boat ride, we started our long trek back to lima via boat, bus and delayed plane.

 

sidenote:  i have included some pictures of the kids we met along the way.  the last two are in the main town right before you get on the boat into the amazon.  i spoke with our guide about the families in the amazon that we visited and what we could do for them.  he said that they really need school supplies and clothing (happily accept second hand clothing), but not toys.  if you have any old clothes you want to get rid or or donate, please let me know.  i will be sending a package to him and he will distribute it to the families.




 

new years eve

we returned to cusco for new years eve.  that town is insane! 

we arrived from machu picchu around 10pm and after getting ready quickly we went to some club.  a little before midnight they told everyone to go outside, on the way out picking up a bottle of champagne (for free for each person).  tradition is to spray the bottle of champagne all over the fellow partiers. at midnight we all "ran" around the town square.  there were thousands of people and everyone was lighting off fireworks constantly - including into the crowd running.  the number of people running around the square was crazy and everyone was afraid for their life.  on the final stretch of the square was a band playing music - they even played the macarena, which was enjoyed by the tourists way more than the locals.

all in all, awesome experience.

machu picchu

on new years eve we went to machu picchu.  we took a bus to a train to another bus up a very scary hill then hiked some and finally we saw it - the incan masterpiece.  it is amazing how they built this whole city so high up in the mountains.

i am sure many of you know the history of machu picchu so i will not go into great detail. machu picchu (lost city of the incans) was built around 1450 by the incans under the direction of pachacutec.  it was abandoned during the spanish conquest of the area.  it was discovered in 1911 by hiram bingham.




couple of interesting facts:
- the mountain in the background of most pictures is huayna picchu and only 400 visitors can go up the mountain a day

- only 70% of machu picchu has been discovered, the remaining 30% is still buried under vegetation
- the roundish building is the temple of the sun and faces the sun gate

- machu picchu is actually the name of the mountain on the other side of the structure, meaning old mountain and is not typically in photos.  since they did not know the name of the city - they called it machu picchu
-quechua is the native language in this part of peru

below i have included some pics of machu picchu without people but also some pics i am in.  i have TONS of pics from machu picchu, so if you want to see more, just let me know.