I like to call this post: Asthma, Anxiety, and the Andes
Hello world!
Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately. We have been gearing up for midterms and are in midterm week now. I have not forgotten about you though! I have decided that I would write this post about my trip during week 6 to the Andes Mountains. I wrote in my journal about it this trip (27 pages, to be exact), so even though it took me awhile to write electronically, I have a documentation of the weekend that I am passing on to you now!
So the weekend began as soon as we could possibly leave. I had class until 8:40pm that Thursday and right after class ended I rushed home as fast as I possibly could. I got home and had 20 minutes before we had to leave for the bus station. And in those 20 minutes I changed my clothes, emptied my school bag, put my clothes that I had already laid out the night before into it, took my trashes out, recorded and uploaded a three minute speech for my public speaking class, and ate dinner. It was crazy! Our roommate called us a secure taxi (it isn’t very safe to take a street taxi at night, especially without a male), and we were off! We made it to the bus station, picked up our pre-paid tickets, and boarded the bus. Eight hours later, I woke up in the city of Huaraz, which is in the Andes. I remember putting my winter coat on in the middle of the night and still being very cold when I woke up the next morning. Which is understandable, considering we were surrounded by mountains. We found a hostel, ate breakfast, and then embarked on a journey to find a tour. We decided on a three day trek called Santa Cruz. Included was transportation to the National Park, donkeys to carry our bags and the included camping gear, two donkey drivers, a tour guide, a cook, and all of our meals, all for 220 soles, or about 69 USD! I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect, but it ended up being incredible.
We spent the next three days in the mountains. Not any mountains though… The ANDES Mountains! It still blows my mind that this is my life and that I am so blessed to do these incredible things. So why did I subtitle this post Asthma, Anxiety, and the Andes? Well, my dear friends, that is because I had some asthma issues while up in the Andes. Which occasionally resulted in a bit of anxiety issues. I have known for almost two years that I have exercise-induced anxiety. This basically means that when I exert my lungs, they become inflamed and this can progress into an asthma attack. I had never had an anxiety attack before. That is, not until I decided to trek through the Andes mountains at extremely high altitudes (the highest point we climbed to was over 15,000 feet). Luckily I didn´t have a full asthma attack. All three incidents when I began to have an anxiety attack, I was able to recognize and stop it. This also meant recognizing and stoping anxiety attacks, because every time my asthma started to get bad, my anxiety would start to rise. It´s kind of scary not being able to breathe, so this is understandable, I think. Also, I had never had an anxiety attack before, so diving headfirst into this scary unknown was terrifying. Not to mention that each time I happened to be way behind everyone else and wouldn´t be able to get help if I were to have a serious episode. Luckily, I was able to recognize and stop these simultaneous asthma and anxiety attacks all three times. I am so grateful for this and for my tendency to pay good attention to my body and the signs it gives me.
I struggled with frustration about my weak lungs the whole trip and was trying to understand why God would give me lungs that aren´t strong enough to support me and all of the things I want to know. In my pondering and in my time trekking all alone through the mountains, I did learn a few things, with the answer to this question being one of them. It was as I was standing in the valley alone (aside from the wild horses and llamas), looking back at the towering mountain peak that I had just climbed over. I realized that if I had strong lungs and that if I had been able to keep up with my group, I probably wouldnt be able to appreciate the moment quite like I was right then. I am grateful for my weak lungs because they require me to stop more often and enjoy the moment, something that many of us forget to do in our hectic lives.
I am so blessed to be able to have had this opportunity to spend a few days in the Andes Mountains. I learned so much about myself and was able to accomplish so much while also rejuvinating my mind. To this day it is still my favorite trip I´ve been on thus far, and I imagine that it will continue to be one of my favorites for the rest of my life.
With care,
Abby