Dream Big!

I saw a video earlier today, and it spoke to me on a level much deeper than my own personal wants and desires. It spoke of dreaming, seeing the world, and creating your own path. As I watched all I could think about was how much that sounded like the message I’m trying to bring to the people my life touches through The Travel Heart. So in light of this, I implore you. Go. Dream. Travel. Get out of the comforts of everyday life and LIVE! I, myself, am of no exception. Today, that changes. I’ve decided that I will be saving up a minimum of 20k. With that money, I am going to do exactly what I’ve always wanted to do. Throw caution to the wind and see the world! The WHOLE WORLD! So, I am taking a snippet out of this incredibly wise video by simply asking for help. “If you ask for a new life, you will receive a new life” and as The Travel Heart, that is my greatest wish. A life where I am my own boss, and the seven wonders of the world, my work place! What goes around, comes around, and with your help, we can make a lot of good come around to countless people all over the world!!

My Beautiful home!!

I think that, without a doubt, I have the most beautiful view of Cusco at my finger tips, all thanks to my lovely home at Loki!!!

An Open Apology…

Some of you may have noticed that I have essentially disappeared for a couple of months. What happened in those months, I am not proud of, however, all of you deserve to know the truth. The truth is, I started to party far too much. Almost every night, I would stay out too late, drinking WAY too much and, as a result, began missing work. I’d be lying if I said I did not learn anything from this experience, and two of THE biggest lessons I have learned is that 1, you can in fact get fired from a volunteer job, and 2 is that it is DEFINITELY wayyyyy easier than I thought to reach that “too much” of a “good” thing. This was a massive wake-up call for me, and I absolutely hate the feeling that I have let people down… However, I did not let my days in cusco end, even though I had NOTHING for weeks. As I job and apartment searched, scoured for the cheapest food I could find, and slept on a friend’s couch, I finally found a place to live and a job that allowed me to stay in Cusco, for as long as I wanted. Let me tell you, it can be incredibly difficult at times to stay clean, and remind myself of my responsibilities, however, what I tell myself everyday now (and what I hope you can all do as well, in times of trouble) is that “This is not how my story ends” You write your story. Your story does not write you, and it’s certainly not going write me. So thank you for all your kind words at the beginning of my journey, and I deeply apologize for my mistakes, but I will not lie down and accept defeat. I will work my ass off, everyday, just to prove to myself, and the world, that I am not the girl dancing on the bar every night. I am the girl who works behind a bar in order to make ends meet. The girls who wants to study until she reaches her PHD. The girl who’s biggest dream is to be a field researcher for the National Geographic. I am better than my past, and I am DETERMINED to prove it.

Missing my babies

It’s it’s been  whole two weeks without my dogs, and I won’t lie, I’m really starting to miss them…

Photography class?

It was supposed to be an art class, but I guess photography is an art too, right?

The street dogs ARE friendly!!

Even though they can look a little scary, the street dogs can actually be super sweet, just like this native, hairless Peruvian dog! He was so cool!

Thank you!!

Can you believe we got of this out of donation money?! Thank you so so much to everyone who has donated so far, we appreciate it so much!

Donations!!

The donations are here, and the dogs (and volunteers) absolutely love all of it!

Another Adoption!

The second adoption is a crazy story! This Australian moved ALL THE WAY TO CANADA just to bring her new best friend to a better home. We are so proud of you, Gemma, and we know you’re going to give Loba the best life she can have!

Welcome to Corazón De Los Apus

Getting food for the kids, watching over them, helping with homework, and making sure they have a safe and fun place to reside is the main goal of my project.

#modelstatus

Can’t you just tell this girl is going to be a model?! She’s a ball of energy, and one of my favorites to teach!

Oh wait, now I’m the leader?

Teaching is hard, but at least days where we go on walks to the park are easy and fun!

Follow the leader

A temporary change of placement for the next few weeks, landed me at Corazon De Los Apus, and The kids are so sweet! I love that I get to spend a little extra time with them each week!

Adoption Time!!

In a bitter sweet goodbye, our little Cholita will be the first dog I’ve seen get adopted, and I couldn’t be happier for her! I love her dearly, but she will have an amazing life with all the comfort she could hope for!! Have fun in México, pretty lady!!

Seriously, everyone is here!

It’s the best kind of feeling when you look around the room, or in our case, yard, and realize that everyone there is working for the same goal. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite feelings of all time, and I don’t know if I ever would have felt this if I had gone on any other trip.

Everyone is joining in!!

We have so many volunteers now!! It’s absolutely heart warming to see how much love is in this place!

A volunteer’s best friend!

Whether it’s one of the dogs, or another volunteer, it seems impossible to leave this place without gaining several new friends, that you can tell will last for years on end.

Saying goodbye. It’s tougher than you’d think.

Saying goodbye to those close friends is even harder. After living in the same room together for months, and taking care of one another for anything they may need, it almost feels like you’re saying good bye to a sister or brother. I’ll miss you like crazy, Leah, and you know I’m going to visit in Australia someday soon!

New Country. New Continent. New me!!

A wild change for a wild adventure!! I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

Meeting freinds to last a lifetime

I can’t stress enough how much I love these people!! Through everything they are some of the strongest, and most dedicated people in the whole world!

The food is AMAZING!

I feel like I shouldn’t have to caption this. It’s just beautiful. Never has a milkshake achieved this level of mastery before.

So. Many. Dogs.

In the whole shelter, there are about 50+ dogs. Just IMAGINE being the one to clean the cages in the morning… it’s worth it, but it definitely takes a special kind of love ❤️️

The dogs!!

From little bitty 5lb balls of energy, to our 120lb mess of lovable mutt, the shelter has every kind of pup you could think of!!

The best part? The people I meet!

In only a week I’ve met at least 10 amazing volunteers, and with most people staying 2-3 weeks, I can hardly fathom the amount of people I’ll meet in the next six months!

My first day at the shelter!

The dogs are amazing and the people are even more so! I can’t put into words how much I’m loving my job!

Off and Running!

It’s official! As of 10am, Sunday morning, August 7th, I walked down my front porch stairs for the last time for the next 6 months. It’s going to be a wild ride, but I wouldn’t rather it go any other way! Hello Peru, and hello new me!

My Greatest Reward

Words cannot describe how excited I am to have the opportunity to help those who cannot help themselves while in Peru. Luckily for this pretty lady, she found a wonderful home as a pup. While in Cusco, I will be working on the Animal Care project in a rescue dog shelter and a rehabilitation/ release sanctuary for the native endangered species of the Andes. For me, there is no better feeling than helping an animal get back on it’s feet and learning to trust again.

How Do You Define Travel?

A year ago, if a stranger asked me if I felt as if I was well traveled, I would’ve said yes. After all I had been to countless resorts, tropical countries, and seen amazing wildlife. How else would one think of travel? In my research of Cusco, Peru, the city I will be soon be living in, I found a completely different perspective. It helped me figure out one of the greatest lessons I could have learned on my own. That the physical travel in itself is not the importance. It is not the physical pleasure that is most fulfilling. It is knowing that you are reaching out to a crying community with an army of open arms who would go to the ends of the earth to better the lives of the ones who seek assistance. I am beyond honored to be partnering with The International Volunteer Headquarters for my first journey into an experience that will allow me to fully put other’s needs in front of my own comfort. It seems so rare that people are able to find a fulfilling opportunity to build a life upon. It is because of it’s rarity that I am humbled to have found an outlet for such an event so quickly in my life. Thank you IVHQ for allowing myself, and many others, to find themselves.