Little Things I Learned While In Peru
- How to light a gas stove with a match
- How to light a gas stove with a match without burning myself
- How to light a match
- How to salsa
- How to ride a horse
- How to change film in a camera
- How to jaywalk like a pro
- That I’m allergic to dicloxacilin
- That if you’re traveling in South America, Loki Hostels are really lovely places
- Never to go anywhere without the exact address of where you’re staying
- Never to go anywhere without insect repellent, even if everyone tells you that there are no mosquitos because there totally will be mosquitos and they will bite you and one of those bites might become infected and you might have to cancel your trek to Machu Picchu because you might not be able to walk for two days because that infected mosquito bite might make your foot dark purple and swollen like a balloon and so painful you can’t even move your toes. Yeah. I’m bitter. Get at me.
- That bar owners find it hilarious when you assure them that you don’t drink alcohol and would rather a virgin mojito because, your friends helpfully add, you’re pregnant.
- That “Tips, Kiss, Sex” is an appropriate sign to scotch tape to a jar in some situations
- That hot water bottles are excellent replacement stuffed animals - and dead useful in 30-degree-Fahrenheit nights
- That pillows at hostels always suck.
- To bring an extra sweater
- To bring extra socks
- That you don’t have to change your clothes every day
- How to warm my clothes in freezing weather for when I get out of an ice cold shower. (Stick them in your blankets as soon as you get out of bed. The remaining body heat will seep into the fabric and make it less painful to get dressed.)
- That hiking boots and fanny packs can be fashionable.
- Never to be afraid to bring a camera
- To always keep copies of one’s passport on you
- To bring plenty of locks for suitcases and for backpacks
- To memorize your passport number because you need it at the weirdest times
- To just take the damn passport with you when you travel outside your home base
- That Cipro, anti-diarrhea pills, Tums, hydrocortisone cream, long bandages, Vicks, Advil, and cold medicine are my friends
- That small devices with internet connectivity are really useful
