LIVE FROM CHILE

JANSEN HERE REPORTING LIVE FROM LA SERENA, CHILE. I've been out of the American game for 14 days now and I have lots to share. Like a lot. Very detailed information that maybe like 5 of you will actually care about. But I'm doing it for those 5! And for 27 year old Jessica Jansen to read later and reminisce on. Vamos. 

Did NOT enjoy saying goodbye to my mom and dad at the airport. Mostly because John Jansen insists on escorting me as far as he can go without getting yelled at by airport security and then will stand at that spot until he can't see me anymore. I had to hold back the waterworks the entire security line because their goodbye meant that I was really saying sayonara to everyone and everything I know and love and am comfortable with for 4.5 months. YES I KNOW IM A BABY BECAUSE 4.5 MONTHS ISN'T EVEN LONG. And that I'll have to get used to it if I ever wanna live the *~missionary life~*. Baby steps, y'all. But then I remembered that Jesus comforts us in our sorrows because I had an entire 3 seat row to myself for the 14 hour flight. I spent 12 of those hours using all 3 of them. And to think I had regretted not requesting a window seat. An aged Spencer Pratt look-alike sat across the aisle from me. We kept making awkward eye contact because I never stopped staring at him. Spitting image. WHERE WAS HEIDI. 

Also, a second s/o to Jesus: The last few days before my departure I started to get pretty nervy/anxious about the whole leaving the country forever thing. Was especially high-stress the morning of. I had all my prayer squads praying for me and I was talking to Jesus overtime. When I sat down in the gate to get on the plane, overwhelming peace and confidence hit me like a tidal wave. So thx to all mah saints for keeping me in your thoughts. 

14 hours later give or take I landed in Santiago, Chile and successfully navigated my way ALONE to my pal Cadi's house 6 hours away which left me feeling like a v independent woman. The sun was rising over the Andes as I drove out of Santiago and I was just sitting there nice and greasy and rugged on the bus with this stupid smile on my face. Just reaaaally felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. But OOH for all you praying types: This is gonna be four months away from real school, work, and leading Young Life. BASICALLY I REALIZED GODS GIVEN ME A LONG ASS SABBATICAL AND IM NOT TRYNA WASTE IT. Pray that I use this time to seek Jesus's big beautiful face and his purpose for me being here. Why yes, I absolutely will selfishly exploit this blog for my own prayer requests. 

Anywho, I got off the bus in Coquimbo and waited at the station for my trusty pal Cadi to come pick me up. Apparently when you're 5'10", albino, blonde, and have blue eyes you get stared at a lot here. Can't quite figure out why. People would walk by and comment on the "solita rubia" or the "blonde all alone". I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING PEOPLE. 

Finally Cadi came to my rescue and took me to her Chilean beach mansion and wow I immediately fell in love with her nasaly beagle. Also her entire family are the most wonderful and welcoming people in the entire world. They took me to a picada (what Chileans call the small family restaurants all over the place) and bought me my first drink as an unofficial 21 year old. Pisco sours man, they'll get ya. 

Oh btw, Cadi. Caroldiana Schneider. Born in Chile and raised by abalone farming American parents. Cadi and I met when she moved to California to go to college. She wasn't raised in a religious family but went to a private Catholic school in Chile because everyone goes to Catholic school in Chile. But lol she was so opposed to the idea of God that she was the only one in her class who refused to take communion. And she loved frustrating the religion class teachers with her hard questions and pride in her atheism. She became a Christian her sophomore year of college and now she's obsessed with Jesus. LOL THERE HE GOES AGAIN. She is a recent Cal Poly grad who majored in psychology and now wants to get her masters in trauma to open a restoration home in India for victims of sex trafficking. In her free time she enjoys sleeping on cardboard outside in Compton and being used by Jesus to physically heal people through prayer in the Tenderloin of San Francisco. She also looks just like me and people constantly ask us if we are sisters or twins. So you can imagine how well we blended in with the Peruvians. 

The 2 of us accidental Jesus lovers left the next morning to begin the pilgrimage to Peru. Which started with two 12 hour bus rides back to back and then a third 6 hour long ride. PERU 2014 NO REGRETS. 

By the time we got to Arequipa we were beyond excited to get off the buses and ready to get weird. That night mama got her first real taste of being in the country. We went to dinner and got Arequipeña cervezas and put up a cheers to the real start of our trip. Next came our soup. MINE HAD A FULL CHICKEN CLAW IN IT. But Cadi got a chicken claw AND a chicken penis in hers. Some girls are so lucky. I had a large craving for ice cream after a full tummy of chicken claw soup so we got some. You know how when you taste test different flavors in the states they give you a new spoon every time? Nope, not in Peru. They just ask for your slobbery salivated on used spoon back and dip it into the next flavor you wanna try. What are health codes? LOVE IT PERU. LOVE IT. 

We found our hostel for the night by asking our taxi man to take us to one cheap and close to the Plaza de Armas. Our hostel didn't end up being cheap or close to the plaza but it did end up being 5 buildings down from a church. Great job Jesus. So the next morning we went to church and it was so special and magical. All the women in the world came up to us and hugged and kissed us on our cheeks and made us feel SO welcome. The worship was a rock show for Christ. I'm talking guitar, drums, choreographed dancers, the whole deal. One of the songs had a part where everyone spun in a circle during the chorus. Watching the 75 year old woman in front of me spin in a circle while singing to Jesus was my entire heart. THEY ALSO HAD A SKIT AND A TRADITIONAL DANCE WITH OUTFITS AND EVERYTHING. We watched 7 people say yes to Jesus at the end and it was SO SPECIAL. Praying that they continue to say yes. The service was very different from what I'm used to.  Learning to embrace our huge God and the ways different cultures respond to him. I mean WHY SHOULDN'T WE HAVE CHOREOGRAPHED DANCERS AT CHURCH.

After the service we were walking to get breakfast and an older man coming from church too spotted us behind him and got so excited waving to us that he slightly fell off the curb. Just this old sweet friendly spanish speaking man in his Sunday best walking down the street holding his Bible. That's the stuff that warms my heart right there. 

We ended up getting breakfast in a café looking out on the Plaza de Armas and watched a large group of Arequipeñas all doing a traditional dance in celebration of the holiday together out in the square. Te amo Peru, te amo.

After bfast we took a city tour like a couple of 52 year olds in matching Teva sandals. And the worst  part was we were actually wearing matching Teva sandals. Even though we were with a large group of bumbling tourists I loved it because it took us to the outskirts of town where we got a better picture of life for the people there. Which is what interests me most anyways. And we saw alpacas. So that was cool. 

The next morning two white girls get on a Peruvian bus. First of all, the bus looked like it was from 1962. Good thing I love being driven on cliff edges for 6 hours on 50 passenger buses from 1962. Before we leave, the busman walks through the aisle with a video camera to film everyone's faces in case anyone wants to pull any funny business (like hijacking the bus and killing us all, I guess lol). So at this point I was feeling really safe. About an hour in I watched a man pee into a plastic grocery bag. And then hold that plastic bag on his lap for the next 2 hours. Maybe he did that because stopping at a "rest stop" looks like the bus pulling to the side of the road and all the Peruvians piling out and taking squats together. Maybe the pee-bag man was just embarrassed to squat on the road SO HE JUST DID IT ON THE BUS INSTEAD. I have so much to learn from this country. In the meantime, another man sold vials of healing blood (demonstration included) and the majority of the bus riders bought them. Also I was getting SO MAD because it was 10,000 degrees on the bus and everyone was wearing 2 alpaca sweaters and a beanie. WHY ARENT YOU ALL SWEATING. When we finally got to Puno and exited the bus I only had to walk past one girl throwing up on the bus floor. I swear I am not exaggerating any of this. All part of God's beautiful world.

Tangent: Love love love Peru and it's people and it's culture but this specific bus ride was pretty eye opening. It's just so different than what I'm used to. Not better or worse. Just different. We drove through some pretty desolate towns. I was really reminded like ok this a third world country. And if I ever were to actually move to Peru or another third world country it would be no joke. And it would be really hard. And gosh darn if I ever actually do it it will be 100% by strength from the Lord. Which is absolutely terrifying because that could be as soon as July (!!!) which is also absolutely exciting. Tangent over.

So in case you all didn't know there's manmade floating islands in Peru and I know this because WE SLEPT ON ONE. These islands were built by the Uru people in order to escape attack from the Incas. "Hey those Incans are pretty wild. Let's just build an island in the middle of Lake Titicaca so they can't get us." GOOD THINKIN PEOPLE OF URU. Loved hangin w/ u guys. We were the only people there who didn't live on the island full time. Also the only ones who didn't speak their language, Aymara. They served us fresh trout with the eyeball still in place (really easing into my taste for fish here) and rice and papas fritas with this spicy green sauce that rocked my effing world. Cadi and I are officially declaring the islands as the new 10-40 window and we'd like to return to preach the Gospel and sleep in our reed hut once again. 

Also, v weird happenings on the islands. We were packing up in our reed hut and Cadi randomly asked one question out of our "4,000 questions for getting to know anyone and everyone" book YES I BROUGHT IT AND I LOVE IT about how you handle situations when they don't go as planned. We both admitted that we're not very good with it and we'd like to do better. About 15 minutes later, OUR SITUATION DIDNT GO AS PLANNED. As if God watched us answer that question and was like "oh great let's work on that then". We were getting really sad and bitter our plan didn't work out but then we were like HELLO what question did we just read. Then we lol'ed at God and lol'ed at how silly we were and felt better about everythinh. 

Onward to Cusco. Our first night in Cusco was one of my favies. Me and Cadi accidentally talked about Jesus for 3 hours over a hot plate of alpaca meat. Literally for 3 hours we just got going discussing theology (how you understand/interpret God as he is revealed in the Bible) and challenged each other on topics we disagreed on. AND IT WAS A ROCKIN GOOD TIME. Man, that stuff is so interesting. Nothing wrong with some healthy disagreement folks. And NOTHING wrong with asking questions. Let's get better at both of those things. And not forget that all that stuff is secondary to the fact that Jesus died for us, conquered death for us, and is now living + breathing + moving with us. CAN I GET AN AMEN. 

The next morning we headed off to Aguas Calientes, the town that you access Machu Picchu from. Instead of paying $150 for a short taxi ride and a relaxing train ride with pleasant scenery we paid $35 for a 6 hour long van ride on a cliff edge and a BEAUTIFUL 2.5 hour walk on train tracks through literally the most beautiful scenery ever. Always tryna save a buck for some queso helado. At one point on the cliff death ride we approached a bridge thousands of feet up in the air and I thought "hmm what a nice rickety homemade bridge with no rails for pedestrians" until our van took a sharp Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland turn and I realized IT'S FOR US and luckily we made it across safely before I even had time to cry. But really, our nature walk was glorious and I was just blessing the feet of Jesus the entire time for being big enough to make a world so incredible and also personal enough to listen to anything and everything I say to him. 

8 days into the trip the day for Machu Picchu FINALLY ARRIVED. Mama was most excited for this. I always said I would see Machu Picchu with my husband but that husband doesn't exist and this single, independent woman is in Peru and doing it. Sorry future Mr. Jessica Jansen, maybe next time. We made it to Machu by 7am and started our tour. I had a weird crush on our tour guide. He was probably 5'5" and 32 years old but he was just very sweet and wore a fedora and kept saying "looks, guys" and "looks at this, guys" and "we go for to see the temple". Maybe he's my future husband. BOY WOULD THAT BE A TWIST. After our v interesting history lesson (the Incas are literally the smartest people) Cadi and I embarked on our Machu Picchu Mountain hike. We weren't sure what to expect but don't worry it quickly turned into me destroying my entire body. It literally was 1 hour and 45 minutes of going straight up. But the only reason it was hard was because of the high altitude, our lack of sleep, and the fact that all we had eaten was 4 pieces of white bread and a slice of ham. Oh and a small orange that our hostel mates (a mom and her 12 year old son) had given us because they saw us at Machu and are just GENEROUS AND WONDERFUL and wanted to give us their oranges. Anyways the hike being hard had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my workout regimen for the ENTIRE summer consisted of 2 runs and 1 and a half zumba classes. So like ya definitely not because I'm out of shape. 

If I had to do a terrain analysis of the hike I would say it was 4% flat ground with rocks jutting out, 61% impossibly steep rock steps that were very uneven and couldn't fit my size 10 foot on them which led to a lot of uncomfortable side stepping, and 35% of those same rock steps except on a cliff edge with not a lot of room for error. So here we are 20 minutes into this death hike and I get to the top of a staircase and LOCK EYES WITH A JUNGLE BEAR. WHAT ARE BEARS DOING IN THE JUNGLES OF PERU. We turned right around and waited it out letting a couple other potential bear victims pass warning them of their fate until we worked up the courage to move forward. Happy to inform that there was not another jungle bear sighting. 

Fast forward through an hour and 25 minutes of not being able to breathe and we made it to heavens gates. I kid you not. We were in the sky. Surrounded by mountains and parallel with snow topped peaks. WE WERE THAT HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS. Literally in the clouds. Something that awful had never been so worth it. There were probably 15 of us humans at the top. And it was silent. We were spread out all sitting in silence just taking in da surroundings. There was just this sense of awe and worship. I find it fascinating that all people have a natural tendency to worship. Whether people were meditating, thanking Jesus, or just feeling the need to stay silent and breathe the mountain air--it was all worship. And I believe it's because humans are hard-wired to do so. Pretty special moment 3,082 meters up in the air. 

Other lessons I took away from the death hike: 

1. People are just the best. This trail is full of people from all over the world who speak all different languages and yet everyone coming down the trail was doing their best to encourage the people going up. I'm telling you, everyone NEEDED it. This trail was a real doozy. 

2. I find it so fascinating that humans find comfort in each other. Like if it was just Cadi and I on that death bear and ankle breaking trap ridden trail running low on water I would have been PANICKED. But because I knew all these other humans were in it with us I was a-ok. If you don't know me, you'll soon realize I have a deep reverence for my fellow humans. 

3. It's good to challenge ourselves from time to time. About 5 minutes into the hike Cadi and I both realized it was the last thing on planet earth we wanted to do right then. But we kept going. We knew we should. So we did. And man, we felt so effing accomplished. Important to do that for ourselves once in a while. 

And 2 other realizations on this day:

1. I am so thankful for this opportunity to be abroad and be in new places. And I know without a doubt that this is what I'm supposed to be doing for right now. But the traveling vagabond life is not for me. The part of life I value most is relationships with people. And it's hard to enjoy that part of life when you're packing up and moving every day. Although these 2 weeks have been GR8 time to get to know my sweet Caroldiana. But I'm just saying--if I had to choose one place to be for the rest of my life it would be at the dinner table with my best friends. Not Machu Picchu. Even as sexy as Machu Picchu might be. 

2. The last few days of our trip we had been just a couple of real tourist gals. Which is gr8 and fun but it definitely has it's place. My favorite moments here are the times I don't feel like a tourist (aka like at the church in Arequipa). Or when I'm watching two little girls share candy sitting on the curb while their mom sells stuff to people driving by in traffic. Or when we're chatting to Uru villagers that pulled up to the island in their boat to grab a gallon of gas. THAT'S THE PART OF TRAVEL I LIKE. Which is why I feel so inclined to move abroad, not just travel. AND which is why if I ever go to Mexico it's gonna be with my Mexican pals Chuy and Vicky (shout out to you Chu if you're working on your English reading this right now!) 

Other things:

1. Nothing has been more embarrassing than syringing food out of my wisdom tooth holes in the bus stop bathrooms. Dental care isn't one of Peru's strengths. So many confused looks. I have never felt like a bigger diva. 

2. So many women walk around in the traditional Peruvian clothing. Look 4 pics on my fb. I LOVE the outifts. Peruvian ladies are lookin' fly. But it's just such an interesting mix of old and new culture. 

3. Dawgs everywhere. Really missing all my doggy pals (Jack, Riley, Maggie, and Coral) back in the states. Luv u guys. 

4. Peruvians have a very distinct look. Their faces. It's just so distinct.  

5. It's chill to have your kids at work. It's even chill to have your boobs out feeding them while you're at work. Pretty cool. 

6. TOILET PAPER IS SUCH A COMMODITY. I once held a poop for 18 hours because every baño we had gone to didn't have toilet paper and I kept forgetting to buy some. Can't blame anyone but myself for that one. 

7. There's this one really strange game show that everyone's obsessed with. They even watch old episodes on YouTube. Which made me realize that I can't leave Chile without being on a Chilean game show. Cadi knows just the one I need to apply for so we are gonna be sending that email very soon. 

8. Because Cadi is Chilean she speaks Spanish with a Chilean accent. Which means I can't understand anything she says. She pronounces "vamos" as "amo". CADI YOU FORGOT THE V AND THE S. Instead of forgetting how to speak English I might just never speak again. 

9. Jesus is everywhere. I mean like hanging on rearview mirrors, on the back of buses, in statue form on hilltops, in stores, in restaurants, in hostels, EVERYWHERE. It's almost such a cultural thing that people are desensitized to who he truly is. Cadi, for example, grew up with Jesus everywhere and went to Catholic school and yet knew nothing about him. Praying that we can all become more aware of Jesus as a revolutionary God who saves and brings hope and is interested in us and not just as the guy who's picture is on the wall. 

10. Realized I'm gonna miss being called Jansen. Including the more intimate/endearing forms (Jansey, Jans). WHO WILL CALL ME THAT HERE. No one because I never introduce myself as that. 

11. Also it is so fun and surprising to hear my favorite Spanish songs that I normally only hear under my Spotify playlist "shakira > everything" on the radio. People actually listen to this stuff which is so GREAT. Finally people that understand me. 

12. Getting as far as Aguas Calientes and back we spent a total of 92 hours on buses/vans. I know it sounds like everyone's nightmare. But it was the cheapest we could get to Peru without planning ahead and it wasn't even bad ! ! ! I'm actually grateful for it because we drove through towns and farmlands and ways of life I would have never seen had we flown. We drove through some pretty real poverty too. Which was a real eye opener. And important. 

13. Wouldn't have wanted to do this with anyone but Cadi. She points me to Jesus 24/7. She also does a great job of reminding me that the Holy Spirit is a thing. Like wow Jesus does incredible things through us if we just let him. And because we don't have exactly the same faiths it was so great to learn from and encourage each other in different areas. Ugh. Love you boo boo :-* Move to Santiago with me. 

14. Also so glad to be sitting in Cadi's living room reunited with her nasaly dog and writing this with hot tea in my hand and my clothes in the laundry. 

15. The weirdest part about all of this is that I did this big trip but I'm not coming home. Like I'm just back in Chile after all this. FOR 4 MORE MONTHS. I can just kiss those In-N-Out fantasies goodbye. 

Congratulations on making it to the end of this post. I love you all a lot.

Brb, gonna go start school and move in with some Chileans. Bye.