Staying Positive

My first two weeks in Peru have been interesting. Time feels like it is going by so slow and I feel like I've been here forever. Everyone told me that the first two weeks would be the hardest but for me I think it will be the first three. Right now we have a lot of free time which makes me want to stay in my room all day and do nothing. It is hard to force myself to get up and do something when I don't have any plans. I say that the first three weeks will be difficult because things won't really pick up until then. Our first extended trip will be this weekend in Huaraz, Peru, it is by a national park where we can go hiking. And the weekend after that is when our spring break starts and almost all of us are planning to stay at a beach house in Mancora (which supposedly has the best beaches in Peru). And then after that we will have a better schedule of all the trips we will be taking so I think that will help with the lack of motivation to do anything. Last Friday we took our first trip out of Lima and went to Matucana, Peru. There we took a trail and hiked up a mountain to find a waterfall. It was so beautiful there and my favorite thing we have done in Peru so far. Getting out of a big city for the day was nice, though, it was a two hour bus ride and got pretty car sick (so we'll see how well I handle the eight hour bus ride to Huaraz this weekend). I am trying to be more present and stop thinking so much about what I am going to do when I get back. I have realized that I need to force myself to be positive so that I can explore as much as I can and take all of the chances I get so that I won't have any regrets when I leave. My time here is completely dependent on my attitude and I am choosing to embrace this wonderful opportunity to explore a new country.