Back to Civilization

Griffey Lake near Bloomington, Indiana.

I’ve been back in the US for a week and a half now. It has been a mixed bag so far: on the one hand, I’ve been relishing the variety of food items here that I did not have frequent access to in South America, including yoghurt, ice cream, sushi, homemade cookies, cinnamon rolls, etc. I’ve also had a bit of a difficult time adjusting. The first few days I was back, all I wanted to eat was rice, because that’s what I had been eating almost every day for the past 5 months. That urge is slowly waning. Another unsettling experience was the utter silence that comes with sleeping indoors. I always went to sleep to a chorus of frogs, crickets, katydids, and birds, and the walls of a house keep all those noises far away. I have also come to realize why we are drawn to our phones so much in the modern world: being inside all day is incredibly boring, and the phones become our entertainment and windows to the world. At LPAC especially I was constantly surrounded by a rich variety of life, and when bored of reading or brushing my teeth or looking at the person I was talking to, I would always stare into the forest. Trees are endlessly entertaining to look at, I’ve found. How can we isolate ourselves from trees?

After spending so long outside, being inside almost caused withdrawals. I have a constant need to be outside. The first full day in Indiana, we went on a day hike around Griffey Lake. I was happy: it was a beautiful day that I got to spend outside, in the forest. The next day, as it happened, I did not go outside all day. In the evening, I stared out the window of the dorms as the sun set. After dinner, I broke down crying. I finally realized that all I wanted was to go outside. Nina and I went on a walk on the campus to a little creek. As we looked at the flowing water, a skunk pushed its way out from under a rock and bumbled off to its nighttime business. The crisp outdoor air grounded me, and spending even that half hour outdoors made going back inside bearable. Since that day I have made it a point to go on at least one walk per day.

IU Campus.

I had waited through five long months of a long-distance relationship, counting the weeks and days till I got to see Nina again. However, the reunion was not everything I had hoped for. Five months is a long time, especially at our age, and I returned to find that our relationship had not survived the time and distance, on her side less so than on mine. It was, of course, not easy, but I had been mentally prepared myself for this possibility in the preceding weeks, which helped lessen the blow. I will take it as another learning experience, because there is so much still for me to learn about myself, other people, and how to form successful relationships.

Now I’m sure you are wondering about how the coronavirus epidemic has and will play into my travel plans. So far, I have been incredibly lucky. I left Peru just in time with the plane tickets I had purchased months in advance. A few days after I left, a state of emergency was declared and the entire country has been shut down. LPAC has been closed until further notice: all of the volunteers have left. No food is being brought in anymore out of fear of bringing Covid-19 to Lucerna, which is a community without running water or medical facilities equipped to deal with anything more than the common cold. Larissa, one of the “LPAC Babes”, went to Cusco. Her original plan was to stay at LPAC for 6 more weeks after I left and then to travel through South America for another 4 months after that. We have been keeping in contact, and she is currently stuck in a hostel in Cusco. No one is allowed to leave: food is brought in and the police come by daily to check on them and make sure they haven’t left. One day, the police came and tested everyone to see if they had consumed alcohol, which is evidently illegal during quarantine in Peru. Everyone who tested positive was brought to the police station and warned that if they were caught drinking again, they would be arrested and imprisoned for 6 months. Various governments have begun the process of evacuating citizens. Thank goodness I left Peru when I did.

In Indiana, I found out that the dorms were closing on Friday (I had arrived Saturday night). I received an email saying that my airline was waiving the ticket-changing fee, and so I changed my ticket to come home on Thursday, almost a week before originally planned.

My flights home had almost no people on them (on one flight I counted 20 people on a plane that could seat about 200), and the airports were almost ghostly. I arrived home safe and sound on Thursday night to a state that had been put under a “shelter in place” order. This means that everyone is required to stay at home except to do necessary things like go grocery shopping or exercise. This means that we can go on walks and hikes—thank goodness!

Sunday family hike on the Redbud Trail in the Cache Creek Wilderness.

I have seen a few of my friends since I got back. Seen is the key word here: social distancing means no hugging is allowed, and you have to stay 6 feet apart at all times. My plans for a big post-travel get together have been crushed for the time being.

My trip to Germany in the middle of April has now been placed into question too. Will I be able to fly? To enter the country? To work? Nothing is sure anymore, which makes for a difficult time. Originally, I was going to be home for about 3 weeks, which was enough time to arrive, acclimate to modern life, decide what college I am going to, spend some time with friends and family, experience post-travel depression, and leave again. Now, I’ve arrived home a week earlier than expected, am stuck at home, and don’t know if or when I am leaving. I can’t do anything but wait and see. If, however, it turns out I cannot go to Germany or can only go later, I need to try to get a job. I might go crazy otherwise.

The last bit of news now concerns colleges. I have heard back from all 8 I applied to. Here is the list, in the order I heard back from them:

Indiana University in Bloomington: Accepted

Stanford: Rejected

Humboldt State University: Accepted

UC Santa Cruz: Accepted

CalPoly San Luis Obispo: Accepted

UC San Diego: Waitlisted

UC Santa Barbara: Accepted

UC Irvine: Accepted

Now comes the big choice I have been hoping for and dreading. As I write this blog post, my top three choices are Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Indiana, in that order. I have not been to the Santa Barbara campus, and more than anything I want to go there and see what it feels like. However, with this shelter in place order, that is not really an option… I have begun a comparison sheet, writing out all the pros and cons of each university, and plan to add to that over the next few days. I have until May 1st to make my choice.

That’s it for now: this is the last blog post concerning my trip to South America. I hope you have enjoyed accompanying my journey. I will likely post about my college choice and trip to Germany at some point, but until then, ciao!