My love hate relationship with public transport: The journey to and from work every day is always an adventure. I take a 45-minute round trip to get to the school on a bus called 'Los Blancos'. Yes, the irony of the name is not lost on me (Los Blancos translates in English to 'the whites' ). It costs me 2 Soles, or $1 NZD, for the full trip and every day brings a new delight or a shock to my delicate and privileged eyes. Every bus has two people on it, a dr...

The real question is not if life exists after death, the real question is whether you are alive before death. Each day, on my way to work, I travel past a huge cemetery. It's always busy. Filled with people selling flowers and balloons, and grieving families paying their respects to their loved ones. The place fascinates me because for one; I've always been drawn to them and two; it's nothing like the cemeteries we have at home. So, when you find something i...

The Colca Canyon and the soaring Andean condor. Sounds impressive right? Well it was! I had wanted to go to this place from day one, but circumstances kept it just out of reach. Finally, the opportunity and timing was right for a mini adventure. Official tours run from Arequipa daily, but we chose to do it ourselves in the end. 160kms northwest of Arequipa is the little township of Chivay, the mid-way point in the Colca valley. Its roots date back to ...

The best part about getting another year older here is that when I walk into work everyday the receptionists say 'Good morning Miss'. And when they interrupt me in class for something they say 'excuse me Miss'. And as the students leave my classroom for the day they say 'see you tomorrow Miss'. When I separated from my ex-husband 3 years ago I decided I had a mild loathing for the term 'Ms'. Don't know where it stems from or why. Just the way I feel I guess....

Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear) and risk (for the sake of growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day. - Abraham Maslow Within seconds of jumping off the crowded bus, my eyes burned from the heavy smoke-filled air that engulfed revellers waiting to see in the new year. Thousands of people filled the beach front. Food carts and stalls lined both sides of the street, selling everything from yellow underw...