A Year of Soulshining

October 2, 2012 by Meghan Johnson

It’s been one year to the day since I arrived in Lima, Peru and began the most amazing year of my life.  I’ve said many times that I feel like I’ve lived out several lifetimes in this past year.  I’ve passed through my share of seasons, emotional states, and border crossings.  I’ve felt alternately like an old lady and a ten year-old girl. I am now more aware of who I am and what I want to accomplish in my […]

Categories: Bolivia, Colombia, Friendship, Israel, Music, Peru, Playtime, Russia

Capture the Colour

August 29, 2012 by Meghan Johnson

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to my usual readers that I am a color fanatic.  I root it out no matter where I am, though usually I’m drawn to places that wear it right on the surface.  As part of the Capture the Colour competition with Travel Supermarket, I have selected five photographs from my travels to represent five particular colors:  blue, green, yellow, white, and red.   Enjoy the photos and wish me luck! Blue: Jerusalem, Israel:  This […]

Categories: Cartagena, Colombia, Israel, Moscow, Peru, Russia, Travel

Things I’ve learned by volunteering

August 13, 2012 by Meghan Johnson

This week marks my one-year anniversary of leaving the corporate world.  Since then, I’ve traveled a lot, learned a new language, and spent a good deal of time volunteering.  Here are a few of the things I’ve learned as a volunteer. 1.  What’s easy for you may be difficult or impossible for others.  And vice versa.  One of my placements in Yaroslavl, Russia was at a school for mentally disabled children.  Some of them could not complete the craft projects […]

Categories: Actuar Por Bolivar, Children, Colombia, Community Development, Cross Cultural Solutions, Peru, Russia, Touchy Feelies, Volunteerism, Yaroslavl

The Inka Trail Trek: 4 Days, 3 Nights of High-Altitude Fun, Part 2

November 16, 2011 by Meghan Johnson

This post concludes the story of my Inka Trail Trek experience.  Read Part One here! Day 4: Being woken up at 3:00 in the morning by hands tapping on your tent and voices chirping “Señoritaaa” in an all too chipper tone isn’t quite as bad when you are also presented with a mug of steaming mate de coca and a bowl of warm water to wash your face.  Another thing inspiring me to crawl out of my sleeping bag was […]

Categories: Peru, Playtime, Travel

The Inka Trail Trek: 4 Days, 3 Nights of High-Altitude Fun, Part 1

November 14, 2011 by Meghan Johnson

This weekend, I survived 25 miles of the Inka Trail with just a few (dozen) bug bites, calves as tight as Inkan masonry, and a sunburnt nose.  The trek isn’t exactly conquering Mount Everest, but it was my first true camping experience, and here are some of the details for your entertainment. Day 1: After meeting up with a group of fellow sleepwalkers/trekkers at 4:30 AM in Regocijo Square in Cusco, we took off by bus to the town of […]

Categories: Peru, Playtime, Travel

First Class Ticket to Cusco

November 7, 2011 by Meghan Johnson

“Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move toward the unknown -even when we don’t want to and when we think we don’t need to.” — Paolo Coelho I was not happy to be leaving, that’s no surprise.  I knew I loved Lima; Cusco was an unknown.  My friends wouldn’t be there.  The weather forecast predicted ten days of rain.  After my experience traveling to Punta Sal a few weeks ago, I expected the act of traveling there […]

Categories: Peru, Touchy Feelies, Travel

Leaving Lima

November 6, 2011 by Meghan Johnson

I left Lima this morning with a heavy heart and a stuffed llama.  My volunteer work has come to an end, and my journeys from this point forward will be solo traveling.  I leave behind my compañeros, amigos and niñitos, and have to hope I’ll find as much joy in my next destination as I have in Lima. My last few days working in Villa El Salvador were far less frustrating than they’ve been in the past, perhaps because I […]

Categories: Children, Peru, Touchy Feelies, Travel

I Know What You Did Last Weekend: A Punta Sal Adventure

October 31, 2011 by Meghan Johnson

Since today is Halloween, I suppose it would be fitting to tell a scary story.  The macabre spirit has taken over in Peru as well as the States, judging by the fake spider webs and black and orange decorations draping the store fronts.  Tomorrow is an even bigger holiday here:  The Day of the Dead (or All Saint’s Day, as Sister Jackie likes to correct us).  So dear readers, sit back, grab a bowl of candy corn, and enjoy the […]

Categories: Peru, Playtime, Travel

Thoughts on working with children

October 26, 2011 by Meghan Johnson

When I first heard I’d be working with four-year-olds for five weeks, I was secretly horrified.  I do like kids, in a very vague, conditional way.  I like them for limited and quantifiable periods of time; I like them if I don’t have to discipline them; I like them if they are already potty-trained and quiet.  I have no experience with dealing with more than a few at a time, let alone 30 of them. Unsurprisingly, my first few weeks […]

Categories: Children, Peru, Volunteerism