Wanderlust & the Wild Child

You never really know a country until you've met its people, experienced its culture, attempted its languages, eaten its national dishes, traveled its roads less traveled, and given back. I've been to Peru 20 times, and volunteered time in it's most dire areas, building schools and teaching english. Some would even say I've lived there, and yet there's still so much of its beauty I haven't experienced. Peru is so much more than its pride and heart, Machu Picchu, that a tourist would think of when they imagine Peru. Peru is anticuchos (the heart of bull), and salsa on Calle de las Pizzas until 4am. Its the horns of taxi cabs, infamous cliffsides of Miraflores, and la Marinera (a traditional dance with handkerchiefs). It's the waves of Mancora, and the rainforests of Tarapoto. It's hundreds of varieties of potatoes, and smiles of street children playing with a tire in Manchay. There's always a difference in what a tourist sees, and what a traveler sees. It's about looking beyond whats right in front of you, reaching outside of your comfort zones and meeting new people, volunteering time, trying new foods, or clothes, and dances, and appreciating the beauty of this amazing world we live in.