Day 2, Peru here we come..part 2

3...2...1 and Peru here we come.

After I found my seat (24A) a man helped me put my backpack up in the luggage compartment and then I occupied my seat.What I had yet to discover was that the man who had helped me with my backpack was actually Javier Armentia, a journalist, an astronomer and  also one of the musicians of the Ruta.

We "killed" some hours talking, then I saw that the ruteros kept passing and after a while I decided to get out of my seat and join them.Not even a minute passed by and I had to return to my previous position because the plane was experiencing turbulences.In my mind I was saying the words  "Please God, don't let us die".

So..even later I managed to get out of my seat and went to the back of the plane where I passed some valuable time with Maha.Later, when I came back to my seat there were 2 more musicians and I got to know all of them. Antonio, Salva, Julio and of course Javier.Salva was the funniest. He started singing a song that he had just invented "Romanian, Romanian ".Oh and he also brought us peanuts.Nice gesture.

Day 2, Peru here we come..part 1

The day that we had all been waiting for had finally arrived.In less than 24 hours we were going to be in Peru embarking on our adventure through the lands of the Moche's.

The sweet sound of the megaphone of  Jesus Luna( the camp's "boss" as to say so) woke us up announcing the beginning of a new day, of a new adventure.After having woken up, we had a shower, then quickly went to undo the tents.Somehow the tents had multiplied themselves over the night (I didn't know the tents were capable of doing that!) and we had to disassemble like 7-8 tents after having put up only 4-5 the previous night.I guess that there are some things that science can't explain.

After putting the tents in their bags we went to eat breakfast and as usually, my group, despite of being Group 1 arrived last in line once more.

Now..the "advantage" of being G1:we got to be the first group to clean out the campsite.yay.Great start.While everybody was talking, getting to know eachother, relaxing and having fun, we were stuck running around with a garbage bag, making sure that the traces of the "ruteros" would vanish(metaphorically speaking, because they went in a bag :)) ).

After having cleaned the campsite we heard the words "bus" "airport" and "groups".Luna was going to tell us through the magic megaphone the groups and the buses that we were going in to the airport.My group went with G12(boys) and if I remember correctly with G5(girls) also.ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP.

At first it may seem like an ordinary bus ride, but I tell you what: many things happend.After the bus had left someone decided to share a letter with us.Three girls from RQ'10 G1 had written a letter to us and had left it in the tent.It said something about how the tent had become their home in only 36 days and that  they had also left us some sand in the tent from the Carribean Sea

As we continued our trip to the airport Joan, the monitor from G12 started taking out the ruta ID's belonging to the American expeditionaires that were yet to be united with the group.He took them out one by one reading out loud the name and country of each one of them and then the groupmates proceeded to clap and cheer for them.Oh and  also , Marco from G12 was juggling in the bus.I had always wanted to do that, but I'm not talented enough.Maybe someday I will learn how to do it...

Ok...so the bus stopped and we finally got to the airport...and what happend next?
Remember how I mentioned that we were "the cleaning group" for the day?
Well...that also meant that we had to carry all of the Ruta equipment and believe me, the boxes, the tents, the musical instruments and everything else were not light at all.Not that I'm a feminist or anything , but wasn't the lifting of heavy objects part of what guys should do?Guess what, the only men that appeared were some flight attendants who we talked to.After they found out that I was Romanian they started saying words like "mamaliga" "tuica" "ce faci?".Funny in a way.

So...I had some snacks left in my backpack that I was ready to throw away because they were all crushed and the chocolate had melted.I decided to share them with my hungry groupmates who were more than happy to help me get rid of them.Bea was the most excited exclaiming "wow, Romanian waffles and cookies"(not that they had anything special).

Later we saw the guys from G11 and they were playing cards.We joined them and soon we were playing Mafia.It reminded me of the times when me and my classmates would go to the park and spend hours and hours playing it, only this time we had Spanish cards.

So..how was the atmosphere in the airport before our big trip?
Some were talking, others were singing(some groups even had a group song..wow) and some others were buying sweets and makeup(now who needs makeup in the jungle?)

After a while, we heard Irish music and suddenly I found myself clapping while watching the Irish(Joe) perform a typical dance from his country.He soo looked like a LEPRECHAUN.haha

Hoy es el día que todos estamos esperando...

  The day that we've all being waiting for was finally here.All that waiting was finally over.Here I was with living my dream.As I put my ruta t-shirt on, I started to feel nervous.That strange feeling of leaving home and starting a new adventure was dominating.A new beginning, this was it.
 I started drinking this huge can of burn (it was 6 am and I had to stay awake all day) and then I got in the car. I decided to stress out my family once more talking to them about the ruta :D.I was going to be away for one month.Finally, one month for my parents to be "freed" of my unfinishable monologues about the ruta :).That wasn't it.I put on a song "the last train" and repeated it over and over again.bad bad person
After 1 hour in the car, we finally got to the airport, one step closer to living my adventure.I had to wait a loong time because the flight attendant who was supposed to accompany me was not there.The clock was ticking, as the minutes passed by, I put my backpack where you leave your luggage.It weighed 11,5 kg.That was what I was going to carry for the next 35 days.Then I got my ticket and said my last goodbyes to my parents and left them my cellphone.That was it.No more technology (besides my camera) for the next month.Ironically, my friends had placed bets on how long I will last without facebook, but, was I really that addicted?
 Finally, the steward took me to the plane where I was the first person to embark.This was it no more turning back.My journey had started.I walked to my seat and opened my diary, waiting for someone to sit next to me.Unfortunately, no one came.As the plane set off I couln't believe that the day that I had been waiting for was finally here and I kept asking myself: "is life a dream or is my dream alive?".Maybe I was dreaming, but I didn't want anybody to wake me up.I liked the dream and I wanted it to never end.All of the moments related to the ruta kept flashing back in my mind.It was time for me to continue the "film" and live my dream.
 Now...lets see what happend when I got to Madrid.Well, the flight assistant handed me over to a person from the airport.I was like a human package being sent from one place to another..weird in a way or another.Then, we waited for my monitor to pick me up.However, she did not show up right away.I panicked a bit at the beginning because I felt like an abandoned package, but then I saw two people coming over.One of them was Silvia(my monitor) who was laughing a lot.We then went to this place in the airport where more ruteros were and also some monitors.Juancho, the monitor from group 11 saw the little flag I had on my sleeve and he commented "Romania stole the Andorra's flag".NOT TRUE :P.I then met the other ruteros.There was a problem.Everyone had a different way of saying hi.I mean, in Romania when you present youself, you shake hands and kiss the other person on the right and  then on the left cheek.Everyone else kissed first on the left cheek and some just hugged.I just had to adapt.
  Later on, I had to take my malaria pills since we were going to enter the jungle in less than 2 weeks, so I took out the sandwiches that my nom had made for me and started eating them.I felt weird.People were staring and they kept asking me questions because they saw that I was an open person.Then, after looong conversations I decided to take out the cards and start playing, until the clock stroke 2pm.As I looked forward, I saw a monitor coming with two familiar faces.They were Julie and Viki.I got up and ran to hug them.Here we were, less than a year later, seing eachother once more in the country were we had previously met.Incredible what life had planned out for us.
 We then caught up for a while and played cards once more for like 2-3 hours, because we were supposed to wait for the ruteros from Portugal, whose flight had been delayed.Then, we saw a group of 3 ruteros.It was them.The Portuguese had arrive.They presented themselves and then hardly spoke.They were really shy.
 Moments later, we took the bus to the campsite.I sat next to Julie and we remembered the moments that we had previously spent together.
 The bus stopped.We had finally arrived at our destination.As we got out of the bus we saw people leaving back their families as they entered the gates that led to a world which was rutero-exclusive.We went into a building, left our traditional outfits, the medicine and got our ruta ids.I could now call myself an "identified rutera".Then, I looked around and saw Diego.We stopped to talk for a while and there it was, the thing that I did not expect, I had problems associating his voice with his face.Weird.I then went out, left my bags where my groupmates had left theirs and went to learn how to put up the tents.Suddently I saw what I did not want to see.Blete, group 10's monitor handed me a stick to put it all together.Now...what was I supposed to do with it? Somehow I miraculously figured it out and then, when the tent was all put up, we were free to go.Some went to the pool, and the rest of us went to get some water.Eric and Juanky presented themselves on our way back and then I saw Lluna and Paloma coming through the gates.Paloma recognised me and then I presented myself to Lluna.Then, I saw the guys from Navarra all in a line, wearing aviator glasses.Weird in a way.After that, more people came and our groups got together little by little.Soon, a monitor came and told us that Silvia would be joining us later that night because she was still at the airport.Great start.Day 1: "the abandoned group".Jara, group 2's monitor came to us and gave us some more "great news": we had to put up all the tents that afternoon.I had thought that the first night in the ruta, like in the previous editions, we would spend it in the gym, but I guess I was wrong :(.
  I was going to put up the tent with Bea and Irene but my tentmate came so I put it up with her instead, which was actually a good idea, because she was quite handy.yay
 After we put up the tents I saw IQS coming at me and then he stuck his camera into my face and asked me some questions.I did not know what to say ...I messed it up.So there went my chances of ever being a protagonista.However, Bea told me that he was going to pick me because I was Romanian....We'll see...
 Later, I saw more familiar faces and said "hi".No response...I then said my name and I received hugs and kisses.weird.Then, we went to eat.We had pasta and then chicken.
 After dinner, we all gathered together to see the esclipse.It was priceless.While watching the eclipse we chatted for a while and then Luna(the camp's "dean") greeted us.For the first time I was no longer Alina, and we were no longer normal teens, we were ruteros.
 After Luna talked to us we went and got our yearbooks, our aloe elixir products and most important, our buffs.I was so excited about my buff.I felt like I was in Survivor, waiting for Jeff to say drop your buffs, you are now one tribe.The ruteros were my tribe, but somehow it felt like we were a family.My second family.
 Later that night we went to bed.Me and Martha got in the tent and then Isa showed up amd she joined us.Even later, Silvia showed up with Katriin and she told us that where there is room for 3 there is room for 4 and Katriin ended up sleeping with so that she wouldn't have to sleep alone in a tent.
 Almost forgot to mention.That night I ended up with a headache because I wasn't used to that much talking and fast.Spaniards talk waaaay tooo much and too fast.So at one point I was with Ifi(Greece) and we talked about how we wanted to speak to non-Spanish people because they spoke slowly.
 This was it.The day that I had been waiting for had ended.It was a perfect day.
Now, my adventure has just started...Let's see what happens next ;)

Before the Ruta...

   Now.You are probably wondering...what happened next?What did I do after I got the big news?How did I prepare for the expedition?
  After I got out of the Embassy I saw the contestant, who had formerly told me that I was not going to win the Ruta and that she would, crying outside in the rain.I guess it is true, he (well me in this case) who laughs last laughs the hardest.Then, while I was walking on my way to my highschool I called my mom and told her the big news.She was also in a state of shock.After that, I got to my highschool where I told my classmates that I had won.Some were happy for me, some congratulated me in an ironic way and some didn't say anything.Then, during the break I saw my Spanish History teacher.His teacher friends who were at the Embassy supporting their students had called him and told him that I had won.What can I say....news spreads faster than I thought.
  Later that night, I got on the facebook page of our Ruta and Maha, the "rutera" from Morocco added me as a friend and we instantly started to bond.Also later that night, my Hungarian friend told me the bad news: we weren't going to see eachother that summer, he hadn't won the Ruta :(.Better luck for him next year.
   As the days passed by, my parents' life got more and more stressful thanks to me continually talking to them about the Ruta and at school, everything went normal...well kind of...
  Each day we found out about more ruteros winning and we started adding them on facebook until one day I came up with the idea to make a group so that we can all be together and get to know eachother before the big day.I didn't manage to make the group, but my friend Jenia made it happen.It turns out to have been a success, because before the Ruta we were 160 people and now we are like 241.:)
  So...days passed, weeks passed, even months amd as the big day was getting closes and closer, I got even more and more anxios and my mind was lost, somewhere in my "ruta world".
  Then, one day I get a call from the Embassy.I had to go get my equipment.Finally, I could feel like a rutera.Well, everything was perfect until I had to go to school because I had an exam that day and I couldn't miss it.I still remember the weird looks on people's faces when they were looking at me, walking with my backpack on my back, which even bigger than me :).Well, that wasn't it.After I finished the classes, it started raining.Now...what came into my mind? why not put on my raincoat?Now...if I had lived close to school, that wouldn't have been a horrible idea, but I also had to take the metro.I looked like Humpty-Dumpty.Big backpack underneath, small backpack in my front, and a big yellow raincoat over it.The looks on people's faces: priceless.
 After that..came more days of thinking about the Ruta, a radio interview, and some more thinking about the Ruta.I started counting the days since they were 117, but soon they got less and less and I got a bit scared.The only time that I felt a bit safe was when I read the list with the winners from all over the world and I saw Julie's name and Viki's( I met them last year in a camp in Spain and Julie was one of my best friends:) ).
 As the big day got closer, I kept pinching myself.Was it really true?Had my dream become reality? And then came the moments when I kept doubting myself and kept worrying about how the Ruta might be.What if I will not resist the hikes?What if I will not understand the people around me?What if I will not get along with my tentmates?What if...?
  Then, there was like 1 week until the Ruta and there was this thing on the site called "protagonistas" and my friend said why don"t you try out? I just went for it and so one day we decided to film the clip.I had the script on a piece of paper and my friend was holding it while filming me.You will have the impression that my eyes were rolling, but the truth is that she was moving the paper and making it hard for me to read and I tried to look at the camera but also read.Quite hard :(.
 Now, one day before the Ruta, I was more and more nervous.This was it.My dream.24 hours away from being fullfilled.Did I get any sleep? NO...

Well, my next post will be about the first day in the Ruta....


THE QUETZAL STARTS TO FLY.....

 
 
 

How it all started...

   It was autumn 2009, I was in the 9th grade and we were in out Spanish Geography class.My teacher kept talking about these 2 competitions and one of them was Ruta Quetzal.He only told us that a girl from our school had won this competition and went on a trip to Chile, after winning a national competition.By then, Ruta Quetzal was a dream, but at the same time someting unreachable, because since there was only one spot it made it almost impossible for me to win.
  The months passed by and we heard nothing about this competition, until one day my Spanish teacher reminded us about the Ruta Quetzal.For some reason, no one in my class wanted to try out.She told me to just go to the competition even though I might not win, because it's a nice experience and I might even learn something from it.She still didn't convince me.
  Less then a week from the competition, the school principal called us all to the auditorium for a presentation of the Ruta Quetzal.The trip that I had in mind was nothing like the presentation.Tents?Conferences?Lots of trekking?Well...not  my ideal type of trip.That day though, I just thought that I might just try out for the competition, because I needed to try something new, something different, a challenge so I started filling out the forms.
  The day of the competition: I felt quite confindent because I had learned a lot about Mexico and about the Mayans (because the name of the expedition was the white routes of the Mayans).I got to the Institute where the contest was held. There, there were like 17 people, the only problem was getting past the first part because I knew I could pass the interview.After the ex-rutera presented the expedition and some of the equipment we were all put to sit down and close our mobile phones and make sure that nothing  was on the table.Then we were given white sheets of paper and a pen.We waited for  a while and then a man started writing on the whiteboard.The words weren't the ones that I had expected."EL DESCUBRIMIENTO DE AMERICA".My mom had been right.Just the night before the competition she had told me that I should look over the discovery of America but I told her that it was too common and that I didn't think that they would make us write an essay about it.I WAS WRONG.I did however manage to write something about it but it wasn't that good.
  A week later, the results came.I kept being optimistic about the contest and still thought that my name would somehow appear on the list.I was wrong.It was just not meant to be.
  I never give up easily so I kept following the RUTA QUETZAL on their site and tried to improve my Spanish skills meanwhile learning about Peru(the place where the following expedition was going to take place).So, in December I went to the Embassy of Spain and handed in my application form.I was the first one to sign up.
  As the weeks passed by, I found out that my friend from Hungary was also participating and that he had qualified for the interview.This was my chance to see him again and have fun together one more summer.
  The day of the competition came.I remember that I was a bit nervous it was my last chance.After the "ruteras" from the past year had presented the Ruta for us and talked to us about how the expedition was like, it was time for us to start the contest.Seated, with a blue pen and a blank paper waiting to be filled next to me I nervously waited for the subject to be put on the whiteboard.Different questions ran through my mind at that moment.What if it's something that I've never heard about? What if I don't have time to finish my ideas?What if...? Then, as the clock was ticking the whiteboard was being filled with the words: " WRITE AN ESSAY EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMMILARITIES BETWEEN ROMANIA AND SPAIN".The time limit was of 2 hours.I had no idea where to start, what to say and my imagination was leaving me just as I was trying to achieve the most important thing in my life.This was no good.Half an hour had passed and my page was blank.As I looked around everyone was concentrated, writing and writing ans smiling ironically at me that I was confuse.Then it hit me.It was now or never.It didn't matter if I had anything to write about or not so I just decided to put the pen on the paper and let my imagination flow.I wrote and I wrote.Now the girls who were laughing a few minutes ago were now panicking and pretending to think and then write just to descourage me.
  A week had passed and no news about the Ruta.Then one day I recieved a phone call.They had liked my essay and now they wanted me to go to the interview.
  It was January 21st, I put on my hoody, my boots and my large pants and I headead for the Embassy.I know that it wasn't the most suitable choice for an interview because as I entered everyone was in shirts and some were even wearing skirts or dresses,but come on, we're talking about an interview for an expedition.I waited and waited and as I heard my name, a girl who until then had been my friend said "you will not get the spot, it is mine".As I entered the room three women were waiting for me.I answered all the questions and then the question that changed everything came up "why should we pick you?" and I started talking about my passion for RQ and how much I wanted to win.After all of the interviews finished, we had to wait 45 minutes for the results.Those were the largest 45 minutes of my life.I was thinking "now this was my last chance.what if I blew it?what am I going to do now?".The jury then came with a piece of paper in their hands.As they were talking i tried to read the name from underneath, but I couldn't see anything.I was scared.Then the words that changed my life forever were "Our decision was very hard to make,but in the end we've decided to give the scolarship to the one who wanted it the most: Alina Radoi".After hearing my name I remained in a state of shock.I had done it.I had accomplished my dream.I saw people crying and people congratulating me.As I got out of the building I called my mom and gave her the good news.She was also in a state of shock because she had been the one telling me that I would never be able to do it, but here I am mom, living my dreams.