The place of my dreams

The place of my dreams

Paulo Coelho. The Brazilian writer wrote: “When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.” (Paulo Coelho) What wise words, I couldn’t agree more with him. I remember once an old village healer was talking to my mom after she treated me. She threw her coca leaves on the table and said, “Uh-huh! Your daughter has a traveling spirit; she will fly far away from here.” I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but it left me thinking and deep down in my soul I felt Hope. Maybe my destiny could be as good as she said, even though it seemed impossible because those days our financial situation was not good at all. Yet, ever since that day I couldn’t help it, but I dared to dream big. I had imagined myself traveling far and living all kind of adventures. There was a particular country that I wished to see; Italy. So, I didn’t put limits to my imagination, and dreamed about it. After all, dreaming didn’t cost me a dime.

I grew up in a small town in the Peruvian Andes. By the time me and my brothers finished high school, we had moved to Cusco city looking for a better education and opportunities. Cusco City is a very touristic place because of Machupicchu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It means Old Mountain in Quechua (the Incas and actual Andean people’s language). I have always been fascinated by history; that’s how I fell in love with this city. Cusco is a mysterious city; it is magical, no wonder why is the major tourist destination in South America. The houses are not more than three or four stories tall, the roofs are red tiled. Narrow and old streets that had so many urban legends about the Incas make it even more mysterious. The main square “Plaza de Armas” and areas around it are beautiful. The colonial houses where the Inca’s walls remain as a foundation are amazing. It’s impossible not to wonder how they built those walls so well without modern technology. Right outside the city, you will find the fortress temple complex of Saccsayhuman; it’s just a small sample of Machupicchu. The architecture is impressive, with huge stone walls carefully cut to fit together. Some of these stones are twenty eight feet high and the estimated weight is over 120 tons. Archaeologists and Scientist can’t explain and prove how these walls were built. There are so many theories trying to explain it, even others believe that it was built by aliens. I have never stopped admiring the Inca’s Culture. That’s how I wished to know other places with ancient cultures like Cusco, such as, the Aztecans, Persians, Greeks, and one in particular, the Romans.

Every time somebody asked me, if I had money where I would like to go? My answer was Italy. It was my biggest dream. A year after I finished College, unfortunately things didn’t work out like I expected. I had to do something or go somewhere. As if God had heard my prayers, very shortly I found a program called Au-pair In America; a cultural interchange program. I was afraid to come to America, I had never dreamed of this place. I couldn’t even speak English, but then the healer lady’s words came to my head “traveler spirit”. So, I didn’t think twice. I borrowed money to pay the program, and I prayed to be accepted. Once again, God heard my prayers and I got accepted and soon got the visa. A Few weeks later, I was flying to America. My host family was originally from Europe; they lived in America because of work. America was a whole new world to me. The houses and streets looked exactly the same, so I always got lost, but my host family was very nice and patient. The kids were so cute and sweet; I improved my English thanks to them. In the summer of my first year as Au-pair, my host parents told me that they like to spend the summer in Europe, so we all would be going to Belgium and maybe England. My heart leapt with joy, I pinched myself to see if I wasn’t dreaming. So they did all the papers for me and I got the visa, and again the words of that healer lady echoed in my head “traveling spirit”.

Belgium is beautiful and different than America. I was amazed with everything, it was so clean and green and flat; there are no mountains over there. In the train station, there was a parking area not for cars but for bikes. I have never seen that many bikes in my whole life, thousands of them. After a month, my host family decided to visit some relatives in England, so they gave me two weeks of vacation. This was my opportunity to make my dreams come true and ravel to Italy. “What did I do to deserve so much happiness?” I wondered.

The flight from Belgium to Rome was just two hours. I didn’t need to speak Italian because Spanish and Italian are very similar languages, so we understand each other. I stayed at a cheap youth hostel. The rooms had at least 3 bunk beds, and every floor had just one bathroom. Oh well, I got what I paid for. I didn’t care because my budget was very limited. I stayed in Rome three days and it wasn’t enough, but at least I got to visit the most important places. With a map in my hand, I started my adventure. Because the museums were close to each other, and there was so much to see, I decided to walk most of the time. Somehow, I felt familiar with Rome; it reminded me of Cusco City. The museum Castel St. Angelo was one of my favorites, located in the center of the city. It was a mausoleum of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family. Inside there were statues of angels, and on the top the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword. From there, people can have an amazing view of Rome and the most important spot, The Vatican.

I saw so many times the Vatican on pictures and movies, but to see it with my own eyes was indescribable. St. Peter’s square is a masterpiece of art and architecture. Rome has more obelisks than any other place in the world; there are thirteen of them. The most important one is the Vatican Obelisk in the middle of St. Peter’s square, surrounded by four rounds of columns and a lot of statues of religious figures on top of the colonnades. The place feels very spiritual; it is believed that St. Peter was crucified upside- down in that circus.

Another thing I loved was the fountains. The city has a lot of small ones everywhere, and each of them had its own story. However, no one compares to the fountain of Trevi, the largest baroque fountain in the city. In the center of the fountain, there is a statue of Oceanus standing on his chariot that is pulled by 2 sea horses. One is wild and the other is docile; they represent the mood of the ocean, and it’s surrounded by more statues. The water runs underneath the horses. According to legend, if you throw a coin you will return to Rome, just make sure you use your right hand. I hope I did it right.

My heart beat hard when my eyes saw the Roman Coliseum for the first time; another seven wonders of the word. Walking towards the coliseum made me feel special. I imagined how the gladiators felt when they saw such a beautiful and impressive building. The complex was sophisticated, it had four rows; the closest to the arena was designed for the important people and the higher for the regular people. It is said that the Romans celebrated in the coliseum for a hundred straight days. The place was built for entertaining. In the morning, animals and people killed each other, around noon time they watched the execution of prisoners, and in the afternoons the main event; the fight of gladiators. Underneath the arena you can see channels and cellars where animals were kept, gladiators waited to fight, and condemned criminals waited to die.

Rome certainly was not what I have imagined; it was way more beautiful and interesting. My mom used to say, “Nothing is impossible in this life.” She was right. Nobody can stop us from following our dreams but ourselves because we are afraid of new things. There is one thing I have learned; never stop dreaming! Dreams are the desire of your heart, so make it happen. It’s the first step to achieve whatever you want. Keep moving on and work hard for it. I was an ordinary girl that stared to dream big. So, the universe and God put the opportunities in front of me. I was scared, but I took the risk, I conquered my fears. I made my dream come true. I’m grateful to the healer lady. Because of what she said, I had never stopped dreaming.

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