About Lauren

I am a modern day explorer, a writer and photographer. I am creative and energetic. I grew up competing in equestrian show jumping. I was on swim team, went to volleyball camp, and played the violin. I confess that new experiences are what I crave. My parents instilled a sense of adventure in me from an early age. “Always try new things”, is my Dads motto. I majored in Journalism at Cal State University of Fullerton. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry since I was 15 years old. I put myself through school and used the rest of my earnings to travel. It’s my dream to see the world, as it is, the good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Then I want to share it with everyone else.
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travel

Cuzco

Cuzco
(or Cusco, I have seen it written both ways)
The slovenly streets of Cuzco are an interesting place to visit. Street vendors will hassle and haggle you. Some buildings lean sideways and are supported by beams wedged between the side of the house and the cobblestone street. Houses and buildings are brown and white with the bright pop of a blue door.


Before you go
-The peruvian currency is Nuevo Sol (soles) but they will take US dollars. I highly recommend exchanging because you will get much more for your money, (they will say, “one dollar is good” but the item is usually less than a dollar when converted into soles). There are ATM’s (which dispense local currency as well as US dollars) and currency exchange shops all over the city.
-Bring sunscreen and a hat because the sun is intense. We went in March and, even though it was raining on and off, I got a lot of sun on my face.
-Don’t bring anything flashy. We wore very basic clothes that were easy to layer and virtually no jewelry. Leave anything expensive at home. We didn’t have a problem with theft but we were very cautious about our things.
-When we went we made sure to get our hepatitis immunization shots. It’s very common for hepatitis A to be in the water and food in Peru.



Get Acclimated
It’s good to visit for a few days before heading to Machu Picchu, that way you get acclimated. It’s higher than Machu Picchu with an elevation around 11,000 feet. I have never had altitude sickness before but I did get it slightly while visiting here. The moment the doors opened up on the plane I was dizzy and short of breath.
Altitude Sickness
There are a few different things you can try for altitude sickness. No heavy exercise for the first day or two. You can drink the herbal coca tea, mate de coca, found all over the city. I thought it tasted awful but it did give you a slight buzz, which seemed to help the sickness. I preferred coffee to the tea. Keep hydrated and drink plenty of bottled water. Don’t drink alcohol until your completely acclimated.


Getting Around
The taxis are very inexpensive and an easy way to get around. The ride to our hostel was a bit scary. The cars are small and rundown. No one brakes until the last possible second and they try to pass one another with only millimeters of room. Occasionally they hit each other but no one seems to mind. It’s a bit like bumper cars. It might be a good idea to have the address of your destination on hand. A lot of the time the taxi drivers didn’t know where we wanted to go just by giving the name of the location. Make sure to ask how much your ride will cost before getting in. Also, make sure you learn a little bit of Spanish so you can get around.


Stay
We stayed at the Loki Hostel above the Plaza de Armas (square of the warrior). I liked being close to the plaza because it’s a good central location and easy to grab a taxi.

On the downside we had to hike up a mountain of stairs to get to our humble abode. The Loki Hostel was very inexpensive and we had our own room and bathroom. I was surprised by how nice the accommodations were. We had an amazing view and a large room, 24-hour security, and a restaurant on the premises. It felt like staying in a hotel, until the weekend hit. It was quiet until Friday night and then the whole place turns into a club. That part was really annoying. But for the money it was totally worth it. Try not to stay here on the weekend unless you’re looking for a party atmosphere.



Eat
Be very careful when eating in Peru. You will get sick if your not cautious. The tap water will get you sick. Most places use tap water to wash fruits and vegetables. I promise you, this will make you very ill. It happened to my good friend after eating a salad. Only eat fruits and vegetables that you can peel yourself or ask restaurants if they use filtered water for their cooking and food preparation. Order all beverages without ice. Make sure the meat is fully cooked and for breakfast your eggs should be cooked through, (there can be traces of salmonella). We found an awesome restaurant called Jacks that’s owned by a New Zealand couple. They use only purified water and use fresh fruits and vegetables. I could not resist ordering the fruit pancakes and I was rewarded by a heaping mound of deliciousness. Plus, their cappuccinos are the best in the city! They are located just off the Plaza de Armas on the same street as the 12-sided stone.




To see and buy
Just get lost. We would walk around for hours just looking in all the little churches and walking in all the quaint shops.
I really enjoyed walking around San Blas. It’s a traditional old quarter of Cusco with a picturesque district set apart by narrow and steep streets, colonial houses built with walls of Incan stone and numerous art workshops.
If you have a free afternoon, venture out to the Peruvian village of Pisac. You will drive down into the beautiful sacred valley of the Incas (a must), and there is a large market to shop with brightly colored goods.



Definitely hike Sacsayhuaman. The ruins were a complex military fortress and are an amazing example of Inca architectural skills. It was made of enormous carved limestone boulders (some weighing more than 300 tons each) that were fit together perfectly without the use of mortar.
Cuzco will surprise you, it sometimes shocks you, makes you appreciate what you have, and will always stay with you. I would go back in a heartbeat. Enjoy your time in this city, be safe, and be aware.

news

People’s Shoe Company
delivers Footwear firm with its roots in China gives back
By Lauren Wenz
For the Daily Titan
news@dailytitan.com

“Shoes are a premium on Skid Row”, said Joe Rowe, the associate director for the Los Angeles Mission, which provides services for the destitute in an area with the highest concentration of homeless people in the country.
The mission is a nonprofit organization that focuses on feeding, clothing, rehabilitating and healing.

“When you think about it, the worst punishment for the homeless are their feet. The people’s feet really take a beating,” Rowe said. This year Anton Brandt, founder and owner of The People’s Shoe, plans to give a percentage of his revenue to the mission. “I wanted to bring it back to home. I spend so much time in L.A., it just felt right,” Brandt said.

Brandt, 26, grew up in Laguna Beach. While traveling the world and living in Shanghai, he became friends with migrant workers who labored near his apartment, he said. Noticing their shoes, an idea popped into his head. He would start a shoe company that would deliver only the highest quality at an affordable price, and would give back to the community as much as it could. The People’s Shoe was born.

The People’s Shoe plans to host its first fundraiser for the Los Angeles Mission in August, at a park near the mission. Last year, The People’s Shoe gave money and shoes to the Starfish Project, a nonprofit that directly helps people in need in Cambodia, who are overlooked by larger organizations.
The Starfish Project has no bureaucracy and is self-sustaining, Brandt said.
Brandt picked the foundation because he traveled in Cambodia and saw first hand what a difference the project was making in the area.
He ate in a café that was owned and operated by the women in the foundation. After talking with the families and hearing their stories he wanted to assist them any way he could. In fact, he told them he would be sending help.
“That was huge for us, we had only been up and running for six months. We gave money and shoes. The families that we helped are sending back pictures of themselves wearing our shoes! We’re putting them on our blog.” Brandt said.
Donations to the Los Angeles Mission will not only include money, but shoes as well.
“Shoes are so easy to give. Everyone needs them.” Brandt said.
But you wont just see The Peoples Shoes on the feet of the homeless. According to Riviera Magazine, The People’s Shoe are the “uniform of cool.”

“The price is just … perfect. The kids are loving it. And they’re way cooler than Converse,” said Marzieh Sharif, owner of skate and surf store Deckem, located in Laguna Beach. “They are selling great. We are stoked on them.”
Going strong in over 20 stores, The People’s Shoe has been featured in Rolling Stone, Antenna, Page, Anthem, Threadtrend, Coutorture and the fashion blog We Are The Market. The People’s Shoe is also dedicated to being green. They package their shoes in reusable totes, their offices are paperless and most of the staff gets around on bicycle, according to the Web site.
The People’s Shoe is preparing for the fundraiser in Los Angeles. Green Truck, a Los Angeles-based organic food caterer, will donate food and there will be bands, side- walk chalk art and a clothing drive. They are already looking for volunteers, Brandt said.

personal

The wind was so fierce it slapped my face; my feet whipped around 14,000 feet in the chilled air, my heart hammered against my chest, fear drenched every ounce of my being, and then it happened, I became entirely irrational, I lifted my butt from the safety of the plane floor, and jumped willingly into the blue sky.

In the fall of 2006, I made a decision that would utterly change my life. I had just turned 20 years old and I decided to take time off from school and travel Australia. My parents were not happy. My boyfriend, at the time, thought it was a fabulous idea and decided to come with me. Working as a waitress all summer gave me enough money to go for two months, living humbly of course. No fancy hotels, just hostels and cheap meals, but I was game. I bought my ticket and was off just three short weeks later. Venturing into the unknown, virtually by myself, for the first time in my life. After a 16-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, I landed feeling exhausted. I didn’t sleep a wink, too excited to explore down under. We started in Sydney, rented a car and made our way to Brisbane. Then we drove up the Gold Coast, the eastern coastline. When we arrived in the most easterly point, Byron Bay, we decided we might never leave. A small hippy town, surrounded by pristine coastline and relaxed happy people, Byron Bay is unlike any place I had ever been, yet at the same time it felt a little like San Clemente, which was home.

I decided since I was in a country I had never been to before, I would try as many new things as possible. I went scuba diving, surfing, snorkeling with sharks, hang-gliding; I even laid out in the sun… nude! But nothing could have prepared me for skydiving.

I was reading the local paper one morning, and came across an advertisement for Byron Bay Jumpers, a skydiving facility a few miles from town. With my newly discovered love for extreme sports I thought, excellent! My boyfriend was not exactly on board, and after I let him get out all his ranting, I dragged him with me.

We arrived early. The air was cool, maybe in the low 60’s. The day was crystal clear, as far as the eye could see. The sun was shining and the green grass was still holding morning’s dew. We met with the manager and discussed buying packages; I purchased pictures and a video of my jump for $500. It seemed steep at first, but then when I thought about it, I was paying for the quality of my equipment, my parachute, whose sole purpose was to open- to keep me alive. All of a sudden, $500 didn’t seem like that much money.

I met with my instructor, an Aussy bloke named Matt. He was really animated and talked so fast with such a thick accent I didn’t understand a single word he was saying. I just kept smiling and nodding, as he explained the procedure for our jump. He was talking as he was suiting me up. My mind started to go numb, I only heard about every other word he was saying.

“The plane… you jump… make sure… don’t forget… just stay calm… your body… especially your legs and hands… keep breathing… when we come in for the landing…”

What was I doing? What did he mean pay special attention to my legs and hands? Weren’t all my body parts important? Didn’t he care about all my body parts? I did, why did I want to hurl them out of a plane? My mind was racing as we were walking towards the plane. I just kept smiling and nodding. Why wasn’t I saying anything? I kept willing myself to talk but my lips couldn’t form words. I stepped into the plane and all of a sudden there was a video camera in my face.

“Say hello to Mom and Dad, Lauren! Say hello! Tell them you’re crazy to jump out of an airplane 14,000 feet high! OK, any last words? Say goodbye!” the cameraman said as he bounced in circles around me. Capturing every idiotic moment as I just waved to the camera, dumbstruck. I thought about hitting him, I really did.

As the small plane filled with people I started to come out of my coma. I was in the very back with Matt behind me. He was strapping these buckles from the back of my suit to the front of his. I started to think of all the important people in my life. All of a sudden I had the strongest urge to tell Matt all my deepest darkest secrets. I didn’t even try to suppress that urge. I talked. Like word vomit, all my skeletons came waltzing out of the closet. And for 10 very long minutes of Matt’s life, the small plane flew higher and higher into the sky as I talked faster and faster. Somewhere between my confessions of petty theft and experimenting with marijuana, Matt happily interrupted me to tell me it was time.

Someone opened the door and all of my warm nostalgic feelings literally were sucked out of me. A harsh deep growl was emanating from the doorway. It sounded like death. I took a deep breath as I watched the other pairs disappear.

“Oll rite, Loren, ya ready?” Matt asked in his thick accent.

“Ready?” I said it like it was a question.

He scooted us forward until my legs were dangling helplessly out of the plane. The wind was strong and it moved my whole body so I swayed. The cameraman was hanging out of the cockpit filming but I barely noticed. I was looking at the earth. It was so beautiful from a birds-eye view it took my breath away. At that moment I knew, I wanted to do this. Even if the worst happened, this moment was just too incredible to pass up. My heart was thumping as I stared out into the heavens, the white clouds puffy and soft looking. I threw myself forward, and was jolted. Suddenly we were falling. Not just falling, we were being pulled upside down so fast my stomach was in my throat. I couldn’t tell which way was up and which way was down. I couldn’t breathe, the air was moving too fast to take into my lungs. I thought I was going to faint. Then the ground evened out and the sky was where it should have been, I took a deep breath. The wind was loud against my ears, but bearable. My body felt normal- well, better than normal. I felt like I was flying, not falling. I was entirely weightless. I couldn’t feel my own body weight. Matt grabbed my right hand with his right hand and steered us to the right, then the left. We spun around in large circles. The cameraman was doing laps around us and giving me the thumbs up. I was laughing and smiling and giving it right back. We just kept flying.

Time didn’t make any sense at all. It felt as if we were falling for an hour and a minute at the same time. Then to my surprise Matt screamed that I needed to pull the cord at my right hip. I automatically pulled and the chute opened. I felt like I was yanked straight up in a movement so hard it sent my stomach soaring. After a second everything evened out and we were just floating. It became quiet. I realized I was still smiling. Matt asked me if I had fun and all I could do was scream, but the good kind of scream. He screamed with me. After I was finished

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