If We're Not Soulmates, Then I Don't Believe In Love

Exploring The World With Her

My blue shirt made me easily recognizable to other members of the World Exploration program. That being said, I had made it from Miami to Houston and then to Lima without seeing anyone.

I had been in Lima for two of my five hour layover waiting for my terminal to open up so I could check in. My bags were already checked and I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Hey girlie!" I look up to see a tall girl with long curly hair. "You're with World Explorations too? I mean obviously, since you're wearing the shirt." She laughs at herself. "Hi, I'm Dinah Jane. It's nice to meet you."

I stand to look taller than I did laying on the ground and smile at her. "Hi Dinah Jane. I'm Camila."

She gives me a big hug. "I think we're going to be really good friends."

"Me too."

We sit back on the ground and continue to talk about our lives back home until finally 1am hit and we were allowed to check in.

We found our gate and there, sitting on her phone, was a short Hispanic girl in a blue World Explorations shirt.

Dinah Jane walks right up to her even as I lagged behind, social anxiety kicking in. "Hi! I'm Dinah Jane. What's your name?"

The girl looked freaked out for a hot second until she noticed our shirts. "Oh hey. I'm Ally."

We spent the last couple of hours playing cards with a random four year old girl who had wandered over and asked to play. She was adorable, even though she totally scammed us and won the game.

We were separated on the flight to Cusco, but met up again right outside the exit door. From there, we picked up our bags and walked outside.

There was a girl standing there holding a sign that said "World Explorations". She noticed our shirts and waved us over. "Hi! I'm Brooke, and I'll be one of y'alls mentors on this journey!"

Already, I was feeling way overwhelmed. Dinah Jane and Ally had carried most of the airport conversation, and then Brooke was super energetic too. It was a little much. All the way on the walk to the van, the three of them chatted it up. I, as per usual, listened.

Cusco, Peru is complicated. Cusco is a city within Peru, that also has a lot of provinces inside of it. Home Base for the next two weeks was in Ollantaytambo, a small province of Cusco in the valley of three separate mountains. The drive to Home Base was over an hour from the Cusco airport. During that hour, I passed out. I tried to stay awake and get a glimpse of scenery, but my eyelids were heavy and I couldn't do it.

Upon arrival to Home Base, a nice hostel called the Tumy House, we received our room assignments from Brooke. "Okay so Ally and Dinah will be rooming together and Camila will be with Lauren and Normani."

Lauren and Normani were apparently in the group that hadn't arrived yet, but there on Room 8 was my name next to theirs. I entered the room and set my stuff on the twin bed farthest from the door.

Brooke had said that the next group would arrive later in the afternoon, so I took the time to sleep off my jet lag. I woke up a few minutes before lunch and went to the bathroom before heading downstairs.

Lunch was a small affair of potato soup and a chicken and rice entree that was reminiscent of traditional Cuban dishes. As we were finishing up our food, a van pulls up outside. In that van is 11 teenagers, all donning the blue World Explorations T-shirt.

The four of us around the table immediately stand and go into the foyer to greet them. Brooke has a huge smile on her face and hugs the mentor when he walks in. "Hey Sam. How was your trip?"