Cusco, a continuation

Yesterday I met Jen and Monique to hang out in DC for the day. Jen just moved from California and is living here now and Monique, who's from Holland, has been in DC visiting for most of May. It was so great to see them and the day ended up being so much fun. We took the metro in to Eastern Market and got brunch and then explored the farmer's market and flea market. Afterwards Jen took us to Georgetown because neither Monique nor I had ever been. The highlight was Georgetown Cupcake where the line was pretty far down the sidewalk. About a minute after we started waiting, the rain began. We waited about 15 minutes but it was absolutely worth it. The cupcakes looked amazing and when I took my first bite of my peanut butter fudge one I had somewhat of a religious experience. I'm already planning in my head the next time I'll be able to go back. The rain, thankfully, was shortlived (and therefore like the South American storms) and so we walked around Georgetown for a while. There are adorable streets with canals and locks and we sat and relaxed in front of the fountain down near the Potomac. Our final event was the Machu Picchu restaurant in Falls Church. It felt so exciting to be back with my friends from Cusco, sharing really rico Peruvian food. We all shared cebiche as an appetizer and then I had pollo saltado for my main course. It was great and they even had jugo de maracuya which really made me happy. On the way back to the metro to pick up my car we listened (and danced to) some of our favorite discoteca favorites. The entire day was pretty perfect.

Dia 123: Ultimo Dia en el Imperio Inca

Technically, I'm no longer in the Imperio Inca anymore. I'm a bit further north, at the Lima airport to be exact. I have 4 more hours until my flight. I'll be back in the U.S. around 8:30 tomorrow morning and then in Washington DC around noon. It's completely surreal to be leaving Cusco, to know I'll be back home tomorrow. It's not that I don't want to see my family or friends, but right now I'm really bummed to leave. Saying goodbye to so many wonderful people was really difficult. To the beautiful little girls at Buen Pastor orphanage who have shared their skills and stories with me the past month and half, to my familia cusqueña who have taken care of me (as a parting gift, my family bought me a really beautiful scarf made of alpaca. I gave my dad Casablanca and bought flowers for my mom) to the professors at school who helped me learn a great deal of Spanish and who have been my friends, and to all of my other crazy friends from countries all over the world who have made the experience what it's been. It's always hard when experiences like this end, because it comes with the knowledge that it can never be recreated. I'm not afraid to never see Cusco again or even to not see so many of the great people I've met becase I know I'll return to Cusco and I have very high hopes for seeing my friends again. I do know that it just won't be the same though. But despite the sadness over leaving, I am so grateful for all that I've seen and done the past four months. I think and hope that I've grown a lot.
Last week, we went to a picanteria with our professor Edwin and drank chicha. Drinking with a professor is always fun, especially when you're given details about his losing his virginity. Last week we also had our final presentations. We had to write 5 pages and do a 20 minute presentation. I chose the topic of machismo and I was proud of my paper. My presentation, unfortunately, was not my finest hour. I gave my presentation and then proceeded to faint as soon as Carolina, one of the administrators at the school, asked me a question. I'm disappointed that I let my nerves get the best of me, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Last night for my final dinner in Cusco, we went to the Muse and I had anticuchos de alpaca (kebabs) and shared a large beer with another professor, who, it will suffice to say, I have a very special place in my heart for. I think it's been a good ending to a wonderful trip. I'm happy with how things ended, but I wish I had more time here. Hasta luego, Cusco. Has sido increible.

Dia 107 en el Imperio Inca

I have two and a half weeks left here, which is kind of incredible to think about. I knew it would go by fast, but at the moment, I’m not really sure how I feel about it ending. In one way I’m ready to go but there´s another part of me that will definitely miss the experience of living here.

Two weekends ago we took a trip to the southern coast. We took the bus on Friday night. After a bit of wine and some silliness, I fell asleep early and when I woke up 8 hours had passed and it was 4:30 in the morning. Unfortunately, with all of the winding mountain roads, my stomach was slightly topsy turvy, but I did appreciate being able to look out of the windows at the black sky and see the outlines of mountains and tiny little towns with lights twinkling in the distance. Despite the motion sickness, the bus was pretty comfortable and the 17 hour ride passed relatively quickly. We arrived the next day in Ica and took a taxi to the little oasis town of Huacachina. Huacachina is by far one of the coolest places of seen. It is entirely surrounded by massive white sand dunes and a gorgeous blue sky. We found a nice hostal with a pool and swam for a while and then went to check out the laguna. We took pedal boats, which quickly descended into bumper boats, but with the intense desert heat, even the simple act of pedaling was exhausting. We decided we’d had enough fun, when Dan and I got our boat stuck in some reeds and some local kids had to help pull us out. That afternoon we returned to our hostal to go on a sandboarding tour. We all climbed into an open sand buggy and buckled up. Then we raced up into the dunes. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve seen a desert before, but never one like this. The vastness was beautiful and the time of day was perfect. Had we gone earlier in the day we would have perished in the heat, but late afternoon was surprisingly comfortable and we got to see the horizon glow pink and orange as the sun went down. The buggy ride was terrifying, but so much fun. We were going so fast and dipping through the dunes as copious amounts of sand flung itself into our faces. The sandboarding itself was great too. We had the option of lying down on our stomachs on the boards or standing up with both feet strapped to the board. I tried both, though never successfully made it down the hill standing on a board. The last dune we rode was perfect. It was huge and the feeling of speeding down it on my stomach was such a rush. All in all, the entire experience of being in the desert that day is probably the neatest thing I’ve ever done.

The next day we left Huacachina in order to go to Paracas. We took the bus through the city of Pisco and then a cab to Paracas. Paracas is a touristy little beach town situated on the edge of the Paracas National Reserve. We decided to wait until the following morning to take a tour of the Ballestas Islands because that is the best time of day to see the different animals indigenous to the area. We drove into the reserve to go to Las Minas, a really nice, tranquil beach in the shadow of the cliff. The only way to the get there was by a small bridge carved into the side of the rock face. After lounging on the sand for a while, I decided that I wanted to swim despite the cold temperature of the water. I went with three of the boys and swam out to a rock, which we climbed on and jumped off of. Even though the rock wasn’t super far out, it felt adventurous especially because the rock was covered in sharp barnacles which cut my legs. I also almost climbed up on the rock where a sea urchin was lurking, but luckily was forewarned. The following morning we took our island tour early. On the way out to the islands we saw a giant candelabra in the surface of a cliff, which is possibly a relic from the Nazca culture. Once we made it to the islands, the first thing we saw were giant stone archways with waves slapping against the rocks and multitudes of different birds covering the surfaces. We saw penguins, pelicans, turkey vultures, boobies, and lots of others. Continuing around the island we found lounging sea lions with drool dripping from their mouths as they took in the sun from the rocks. There was even a triumphant moment reminiscent of Discovery Channel as a baby seal tried to climb a rock and kept slipping down until a wave came and boosted him up. Then we saw something pretty incredible: an entire beach covered with hundreds of barking sea lions, including coves where their sounds echoed.

After the island tour we had breakfast and then took another cab back to Pisco. We had thirty minutes to kill before out bus to Ica so we went to the Plaza de Armas. Two years ago in 2007, the area was badly damaged by an earthquake. The roads in Pisco are still debris covered and uneven and the beautifully painted cathedral has broken windows and other signs of devastation. That night in Ica we got dinner and then began to walk to the bus station to get our bus back to Cusco. I stepped off a curb and suddenly my left foot was stinging with pain. I’m not exactly sure how, but it turns out that I sprained it. I will try and put up some pictures from the trip when I can, but unfortunately my camera is currently out of commission after falling into the sand.

Last week was Semana Santa (Easter Week) here. Thursday and Friday were holidays so I had a four day weekend, which ended up being pretty mellow. On Thursday night, Kristina and I saw Marley and Me at the Danish film café that we frequent and discovered a really great jewelry shop. The next day we took a picnic and went to Moray where we sat around one of the smaller groups of terraces. It was really nice because it was so quiet and isolated. Afterwards we went to Salineras so Kristina could take pictures, but didn’t go in. Then we caught a bus back to Cuzco, but it was ridiculously full and we had to stand for an hour, which was not the most fun I’ve ever had. That night I got caught on one of the side streets of the plaza as a procession was going by and had to stand against the wall as a morose crowd walked by with candles and a glass casket with a replica of Jesus. The following I day I did lots of souvenir shopping and saw another procession with women with fun, shimmery skirts. I spent most of Sunday with Emily. We went to Jack’s Café for a delicious breakfast and then later met to get massages, brownies from the Coca Shop in San Blas and later juice and sandwiches from Yajuu.

This week I have volunteering in the morning and Peruvian history class in the afternoon. Tuesday our professor took us to the Inka Museum which is large and has a lot of nice artifacts including mummies.Yesterday and today I read some stories in Spanish to the girls at Buen Pastor while they knitted, which was kind of nice. Nada màs ahora.

Hasta luego,

Ashley

Dia 91 en el Imperio Inca

I´ve started to come to think of Cusco as my city. A lot of my friends here don´t share that particular sentiment. I´ve heard a lot of greivances about Cusco and while, of course, I have a few of my own, I´ve loved being here the last 3 months and think this place is charming and know that I will always think of it of fondly. What has brought on this expression of affection? Tomorrow is April, which means I only have one month left here, and part of me is freaking out a little bit with that knowledge. There´s another part of me that is really looking forward to grocery shopping in the U.S., eating American Mexican food (real tacos!) at home and seeing a long list of people who I really miss. But at this point I have no idea what the summer will bring when I go home, but I´m sure the transition back into my ¨normal life¨ will be interesting. In the vein of reflection, here are some things (some good and some bad), about my city and this country that I´ve learned in the past 3 months.
1) There are copy stores everywhere here. They literally line the blocks and I´m not really sure why.
2) Bread is an acceptable meal for breakfast and dinner. Also, carbohydrates are out of control. In one meal it is common to eat potatoes, rice, AND bread.
3) If you are sick (whether legitimately or even if you just have a headache), you will be told by everyone you meet to ¨abrigate¨ (cover up). If your throat hurts, you must wrap a scarf around it. If your stomach hurts, wrap a blanket around your body.
4) Taxi rides are commonly terrifying though not as much as in other places I´ve been (for instance Amman or Cairo). People don´t slow down for pedestrians or stray dogs in the street.
5) The pharmacist can and will give you antibiotics without a prescription from the doctor.
6) There are lots of random parades to lots of different Virgins.
7) Hot drinks are always better. Not only that, but cold drinks with ice don´t really exist.
8) Cocoa tea cures EVERYTHING.
9) Milk comes in a box and doesn´t need to be refrigerated. Same goes for yogurt, which is drinkable, and butter.
10) On a typical night out, you might get asked if you want to buy drugs 3 or more times. You will also get asked if you want a massage at least 5.
11) The weather can change from sunny and hot to rainy and cold in a matter of seconds.
12) Everywhere you look, the mountain views are incredible.
13) The sun here is intense. Cusco literally has some of the strongest UV rays in the world.
14) All of the artesans claim their goods are made of alpaca. It´s not true.
15) Compared to other Spanish speakers, Peruvians have a really clear accent. This doesn´t mean I undestand everything all the time, but it does make my life easier.
16) Anything that goes wrong can be blamed on the altitude.
17) Cusqueñas (at least my parents) think that their food is better than everywhere else. They even claim this about their pizza and Chinese food. Sorry, but also not true.
18) All food is described as ¨rico¨ (rich).
19) It rains often, but there is very little humidity. I´m very grateful.
20) Cusco is called el Umbligo del Mundo (the belly button of the world).

Over the weekend, I went to el Museo de Arte Precolumbino, which is really nicely kept up and has a really cool range of artifacts. The Humanities geek in me was really happy. Also, I´m now taking culture and civilization class and we´re learning about the Mexican and Cuban revolutions, which really makes the sociology geek in me happy as well. This coming weekend hopefully I´ll be taking a trip to the Paracas National Wildlife Reserve. I´m keeping my fingers crossed for sea turtle, sea lion, penguin, and condor sightings, all of which my travel book say are possible to see there. I also really want to go sandboarding and see the desert oasis Huacachina. 33 days left. My plan is to make the best of it. It´s already been a wonderful adventure.

Con amor de mi cuidad,
Ashley

Dia 83 en el Imperio Inca

I started volunteering last Tuesday at an orphanage for girls called Buen Pastor. So far, I have mixed feelings. For one, it always takes me a little while to warm up in situations like that. I am generally pretty extroverted but, in all honesty, I don´t always know how to relate to children especially in a foreign language. My first day I worked in the kitchen with 3 girls and a cook, peeling potatoes and mashing garlic. When I left, I realized how much the walls reminded me of Copprome, the orphanage I volunteer at in Honduras and felt really overwhelmed and ended up walking home trying not to let my tears flow freely. The second day I learned how to knit with the girls. There are a few different workshops there where the girls do different crafts like ceramics or knitting. There´s also a green house, which they took me to see during our break, a volleyball/basketball court and cows. Also, shortly after I´d gotten there, a girl tried to escape. The director got up abruptly and ran out of the room, leaving me with a ten year old girl named Melanie who told me a girl was trying to escape because she didn´t like it there. That day I also got to play volleyball with the girls when we were done knitting. I wasn´t very good and made them glad. I´m happy that I at least amused them. When I went on Thursday, the coordinator wasn´t there and no one really knew what I was supposed to be doing so I helped the girls cover their notebooks with plastic. Today I knitted again and asked the girls what they wanted to be when they grow up (police officer, professor, veterinarian) and learned that the volunteer coordinator was also an orphan herself.
Two weekends ago we went to the town of Ollantaytambo, which ended up being really fun. I didn´t feel like buying another tourist ticket to see the ruins so I ended up walking around and exploring with Ashley and Emily. We stepped onto a side street and found a ridiculously small monkey hanging on to the back of a dog which was trying to attack another dog.

The monkey was adorable. We also decided we wanted to try chicha (corn beer) so we found a place that had a red bag hanging outside, which means they have chicha, and went inside where we found a courtyard of animals. We shared a cup between the three of us with a small group of locals, including a man who sang to us in Quechua. Afterwards we got dessert and wine in the plaza and were sitting there enjoying our treats when Hilde and Trey pulled up in a taxi and told us they were staying the night so we decided we would too because we were enjoying ourselves. Trey invited two Chilean guys who were on their way to Machu Picchu to sit and chat with us for a while which was nice. After they caught their train, we found our hostal, which was really nice and had a great courtyard with lots of pretty flowers. Unfortunately, Trey, Hilde and I sat on the hammock together and broke it and the thick log that was holding it up, fell on top of my head, which was really painful.
Back in Cusco on Monday we met our Chilean friends again and went out dancing pretty late even though it was Monday night. The following night was St. Patrick´s day so we went out again to a bar called The Real McCoy filled with lots of gringos and played beer pong, which is about as gringo as an activity as can be.
This weekend we took another little trip to go camping in Urubamba. Also unfortunately, we asked the school for help in planning and we ended up staying in some random family´s backyard after at least a half an hour searching in the dark for the place. Nonetheless, despite the fact that it wasn´t really camping, it ended up being a lot of fun. Jeroen and Cameron played their guitars, we sang, ate lots of roasted marshmallows and hot dogs and I foregoed sleeping in a tent in favor of sleeping by the fire under the stars. It drizzled lightly in the morning which woke me up, but I didn´t mind too much. We also decided around 1 in the morning to climb a high wall and go frolicking through the family´s corn field. It was slightly terrifying, but really fun. It was hilarious because everyone kept falling over in the ditches in the dark. The next morning, we had a slight problem because one of the sleeping bags was missing. We determined that one of the girls who´d come with us who was a friend of a friend from school had taken it. Which is pretty lame if you ask me, but in the end we got it back so I suppose it´s ok. Nada màs for now.
Hasta luego,
Ashley

Dia 71 en el Imperio Inca

Strangely enough, it is now March and I have seven and a half weeks left. Last weekend Maggie got here Sunday morning and we had to rush to try and make our train to Machu Picchu. By the time we arrived at the station in Ollantaytambo about an hour and a half from Cusco, we were about 5 minutes later than the time the train was supposed to leave. I was so afraid we´d missed it. We ran from the taxi and miraculously the train was still there, though it literally started moving once we were on it. The landscape on the ride to Aguas Calientes was beautiful. There were really steep, green mountains and a rushing river. Aguas Calientes is a really gorgeous little town as well. It reminds me a bit of what I imagine a coal mining town in West Virginia would be like, but prettier. The clouds hang over the mountain tops and the river runs right through the town next to the train tracks. Thankfully the train ride was pretty short because we were starving by the time we made it there and immediately went to find lunch. During lunch, it started to pour so we decided to find the nearest hostal possible which actually turned out really well. We stayed at Hostal Jairita for about $11 per night for a double room and the people there were all really friendly. Later we checked out the market and ran into some of my friends from Cusco. We also found out at the train station that no trains would be running the next day because of a strike and so we´d be stuck in Aguas Calientes an extra day. I knew about the strike beforehand when we booked the tickets, but I´d been hoping for the best. The next day we took the bus and went up a scarily, steep mountain to Machu Picchu. We walked up some steps, rounded a corner, and then there it was lying before us. It really was incredible. After walking around a bit, it started to rain on us, which was a minor irritation, but if anything, with the added clouds hanging over the ruins, it made the scenery even more picturesque. Unfortunately, it would have been too slippery and dangerous to climb Waynu Picchu so we didn´t. When we got back to Aguas Calientes that night we found a restaurant to eat cuy (guinea pig, an Andean specialty) in and were serenaded by 80´s music on the radio. Maggie ended up with the head, and I with the feet. There was very little meat on the bone, and what there was of it was not that great tasting. I didn´t eat the skin because it was tough and freaked me out. After dinner, we walked around a bit. We went over a suspension bridge and suddenly discovered another town. It was the real Aguas Calientes, I think, where the Peruvians live. The Aguas Calientes we´d seen previously was the tourist part. It was a bizarre moment, realizing that what we´d seen before was more or less a fabrication. I would have liked to explore the other side of the bridge some more, but it was dark and it didn´t seem like the best idea at the time. The next morning at an internet cafe, I happened to look down and there was a gigantic long, brown winged bug on the modem. Apparently cockroaches in this country have wings. Like the way there, the next day we had to rush back to Cusco in order to get Maggie to the airport for her flight back. I was disappointed that I didn´t get to show her more of the city, but it was so good to see her and have her around for a few days.
Wednesday morning, I woke up early and took the cumbi to the airport and flew to Lima, where I had about 4 hours of a layover. During this time I got a donut from Dunkin Donuts, read about Chris Brown and Rihanna in a magazine in one of the stores without buying it, and ate a delicious chicken and french fry lunch. Then I flew to Trujillo, the city of the eternal spring as it is called by some and also the second largest city in Perù, where I met Patrick, Amanda, and Louisa, but not until I´d first been accosted by literally probably about ten taxi drivers who actually surrounded me as I walked outside of the airport into the desert sunshine.
We took a taxi to our hotel in the centro about a 20 minutes ride from the airport. It was really nice and relatively cheap for having air conditioning, really comfortable beds, and breakfast. We walked to the Plaza de Armas and discovered that it was Trujillo week, which meant they had concerts and other events going on in celebration of the city. The buildings surrounding the plaza and all around the city are all painted in bright, vivid colors. For instance, the main cathedral was yellow. While in Trujillo we visited the beach town of Huanchaco nearby. It was not the nicest beach I´ve been to and the water was cold, but it was definitely appreciated after the rain and cold of Cusco and it was particularly beautiful at sunset. At the beach we rode these boats called caballitos de totoro (little reed horses), which you can sit on while a man paddles you out a bit and then brings you back in to shore. Also, at the beach I tried picarrones, which is fried dough similar to funnel cake but not quite as sweet and comes with a nice fig sauce. I also tried ceviche, which was good and included purple tentacles. In Trujillo we found a really nice restaurant very close to our hotel that had a cheap menu so we ate there quite a few times. My first night I had churrasco, which is steak. My first day there, I ate churros from a vender on the street which tasted pretty incredible.
Trujillo, and the northern coast in general, contains a lot of arqueological sites from pre-Incan civilizatons. It is located in the northern desert, and therefore, a lot of the sites have been really well preserved. We visited three temples and also Chan Chan (¨Sol Sol¨/¨Sun Sun¨), which is a UNESCO world heritage site and the biggest adobe city in the world. We went to the Temple de Arco Iris (Rainbow), Temple Esmeralda and Huaca de la Luna (Temple of the Moon), which was really impressive and reminded me a lot of some of the things I saw in Egypt last year. At both of the first two temples we saw Peruvian hairless dogs which I think are not very attractive, but they are a special breed here. The Temple Esmeralda had carvings of otters, but the guide explained that when it was discovered in the 90´s the team from Harvard that was excavating weren´t sure whether they were otters or squirrels, but decided on otters because of the proximity to the sea. Huaca de la Luna was actually 5 temples that had been built one on top of the other and was really massive. There were paintings there that were 1,800 years old.
Friday night we decided to go out dancing, but the place we went to ended up being kind of lame because most of the people there weren´t dancing, and those that were, were couples. Afterwards we left and went to the Cheops casino and each got 10 soles (about $3) in coins for the slot machines. Being slightly intoxicated, I didn´t really know how to use the slot machines and just pushed a lot of buttons. However, my technique worked out for me and I ended up winning 45 soles ($15) from a machine, which I was very excited about. Saturday, our last day there, Patrick and I went to the mall which was very bizarre because it reminded me so much of home. There was a food court with McDonald´s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, a movie theater, and a store that was very much like a Peruvian Walmart called Tottus. When we got there, there was even a go kart race going on in the parking lot and a live aerobic dance presentation going on inside as if it was an infomercial. We ate dinner and then watched the movie My Mother´s New Boyfriend in English, which was a little strange but amusing. We got back to Cusco on Sunday and were greeted with cold weather and rain. Today, for instance, it was really sunny and nice in the morning but later in the afternoon it started to pour and hail. I was in a market and the hail was falling through the holes in the tin roof. Also, my friend Ashley and I have decided we are going to be ¨new women¨ which entails exercising more and going to cultural events. I´m doing good so far (I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday and to a video dance presentation at Allianza Francaise last night) but we will see. That´s all for now.
Amor de Cusco,
Ashley

Dia 59 en el Imperio Inca

Right now I should be on a bus to Ollantaytambo with Maggie, but the weather in New York didn´t cooperate and she´s been delayed a day which bums me out. This week felt really busy and was kind of exhausting but in a good way I suppose. First of all, last Sunday was Carnaval and it was so much fun. First, we ( a group of 17 of us) threw water balloons off of Pat´s balcony at passerby on Los Pavitos until the police were called (oops). Then we took taxis to Huaracondo where Pat´s family has a house and where we engaged in water warfare with the children there with Pat´s house as our fortress. Lechon and tamales were served for lunch, though I sadly couldn´t partake in the pork so soon after having typhoid (I finished my antibiotics yesterday and am pretty much eating normally again-yay!). I did, however, eat a very small piece of pig brain, which surprisingly, didn´t taste too bad. It was a very slimy and had a squishy consistency though. Andy and Trey ate the eyes. After lunch we ventured out into the plaza where we got soaked and then found a really nice pool and jumped in fully clothed. We played some chicken and Marco Polo, and then I froze the rest of the day afterwards because I hadn´t brought a change of clothes.

Monday, after school, even though it was rainy, I went on a hike with Dan, Wilder, and Tom. I really enjoyed it and I was proud of my lungs for cooperating. It was pretty steep in some parts and because my actual tennis shoes were still wet from the Carnaval festivites, I was wearing my Converses which have no traction. Because of the rain, the hill was pretty muddy, so admittedly without the boys pulling me a few times I might not have made it up. We went through San Blas and up the hill to Christo Blanco, which was pretty neat because I hadn´t been up to that area before. On Tuesday I walked around for a while with Matteo, which was fun. We went to the two molinos, the second of which had some gross cow parts much like the San Pedro market. Then we bought beer, plantain chips, and chocolate and ate them in the park by my house. Later we went for fondue with a lot of French speaking students and we spoke predominantly in Spanish together and I felt proud that I was able to have real conversations in a new language. Wednesday we had salsa class and then went to the volunteer house where Patrick had made us delicious soup (which I managed to pour all over my lap) and I drank slightly too much wine. Thursday we placed second and third in the pub quiz, respectively. And yesterday I got my hair cut finally. It´s a lot shorter than it´s been in a long time, but I think I like it.

Hopefully Maggie will arrive on time tomorrow and then we will have three days together. We´ll do Machu Picchu Monday and I definitely want to go to Tipòn and eat cuy. Then Tuesday, I will fly to Lima and Trujillo for the rest of my spring break. I´m really excited about the prospect of warm weather and a beach. Can´t believe tomorrow is March. I´m at my half way point now màs o menos.

Hasta luego,

Ashley

Dia 51 en el Imperio Inca

First of all, I hope you all like the addition of some pictures I´ve taken. They, as well as a lot more, are all on Facebook as well. Second of all, I somehow forgot to mention in my last post that there were earthquakes here last weekend. The first one happened Saturday night when I was sitting at the dinner table with my host dad. I felt the room start to vibrate and looked up and saw the chandelier swaying and my dad said, ¨temblores.¨ I had the urge to move but he just sat there so I did too and then it was over after a few seconds. The second one happened really early the next morning, but I didn´t feel it because I was sleeping. As far as I know they were just aftershocks from a much bigger earthquake that was up in the northern part of the country, but didn´t really cause any damage. So, anyways that was my first experience with seismic activity. Also this week I had my first experience with being sick and going to the hospital. Monday morning I was sick to my stomach so I didn´t really eat much all day, because I was afraid of upsetting it more. Then on Monday night I woke up in the middle of the night and began throwing up. I was still sick on Tuesday morning so I skipped school and pretty much literally slept all day. I thought I was feeling better so I woke up Wednesday and showered to go to school, but then I got sick again. My host mother took me to the doctor down the street and I saw a German doctor who gave me a blood test and determined that I had a strong case of typhoid fever. She wanted me to spend 48 hours hooked up to an iv with antibiotics at their sister clinic so that´s what I did. I got to ride in an ambulance with the owner of the clinic, my doctor, my host mom...and a nun. And I wasn´t sitting on the gurney. The nun was. Anyways, the clinic was nice and new and I had a big, private room. I slept most of Wednesday and watched far too much tv Thursday. The view from my room was great and the weather was perfect so I really wanted to be outside. A few friends visited me, which was really nice and my host mother stayed with me a lot. She even fed me soup once when my left arm couldn´t move because my nurse forgot that she´d put a thermometer under it and my right hand had the iv in it. Actually, the whole time I was there I felt fine. The only painful thing was everytime the meds went through the tubes into my hand. It stung pretty badly. It was also really irritating having to drag the iv when I had to use the bathroom. And I had to use the bathroom a lot considering they were pumping 3 liters of fluid into me over the course of two days. But I suppose that is all. Hopefully I won´t contract anymore strange illnesses while am here, but I can´t make any promises.
Ciao,
Ashley

Day 46 en el Imperio Inca

I joined a gym across the street from my neighborhood and went to my first dance class on Thursday. It was really great. It was basically Latin style aerobic dancing with really fun music. I was slightly self conscious being the only white girl there and not particularly a very coordinated one, but I´m excited to go back nevertheless. I also went to Bruce Peru´s pub quiz at the Muse again on Thursday night, but sadly with less success than the first time. I was on a team with my fellow americanos Jen, Phil, and Patrick. A lot of the questions were about Britain and my knowledge of Britain is limited. But it was fun anyway. Friday we had grand plans for the 13th, most of which were not realized. But we did make 5 liters of sangria at Cameron´s house and then met our professor Alberto at 10:30 to check out an abandoned house. We couldn´t find a way in and a group of drunk locals thought it would be fun to mess with us so we left. Yesterday we were walking to a market when we got water balloon bombed by a group of small boys. They got me in the foot. I hate wearing wet shoes. As for el Dia de San Valentin, apparently the whole city was out last night and there were red balloons everywhere. There are far too many couples in this city.

Day 39 en el Imperio Inca

I am currently in an internet cafe that smells like gasoline. I slept 12 hours last night and Monday was my month mark for being in Peru. Last weekend I went to Puno and Lake Titicaca with four of my friends, three from New York and one from Brazil. We left at 9:30 pm Friday night on a bus and got in the next morning at 4:30am. Our travel agency sucked and we ended up waiting two hours at the Puno bus station until someone came to get us. About 20 minutes after we arrived, the electricity went out and we were left standing in the dark which was a bit creepy, but after another twenty minutes or so the sun came up and it was ok. We took a taxi to the port and had another hour to kill before our boat left. There were about 30 other people on the boat and we napped for a while until we got to the floating islands, which are man made out of reeds. They also eat the reeds, which are very watery and taste a bit like cucumber. The islands were neat to see I guess, but I felt a bit awkward being there on a account of them being small and there wasn´t really anything to do. After seeing two different floating islands we went to a larger one called Amantani, where we stayed the night with a host family. The island was gorgeous, especially at night. I have never seen so many stars in the sky. Our family prepared us vegetarian meals including really strong tasting fried cheese and pancakes for breakfast. At night they gave us traditional clothing to wear and took us dancing. We did a bit of exploring during the day and went to the main plaza and sat in a little shop and had drinks and candy, but the walk back up to the house was uphill the entire way and exhausting. We left Amantani early the next morning for another island called Tequile but the water is really rough in the morning because it was so windy and I was horribly seasick the entire ride. I sat out on the back of boat with my head between my knees, trying not to throw up. We finally made it to Tequile and had more uphill climbing to do, which I did not appreciate very much after an hour of being sea sick. It hailed for about two minutes. There was not too much to the island, though there were a lot of great views. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get back to Puno by boat, though it´s actually only a really short distance. We sat on the roof of the boat and sunbathed for a while which was really nice. When we got back to the city, we headed downtown to check out the first day of the festival of the virgin of Candeleria. There were tons of groups of traditional dancers parading through the streets and everyone was very drunk. We ate dinner and were supposed to catch a bus back to Cusco that night, but we all decided that none of us really wanted to go back just yet so we changed our bus tickets for the next day. The festival ended around midnight, and surprisingly, the whole city went home after. We went to a bar and club but there were very few people there. The boys and I ate anticuchos from a vender off the street (beef and potato kebabs) which were yummy. We stayed in a ridiculously cheap hostel (about $3 per person per night) that actually wasn´t bad at all besides being extremely bright and loud in the morning because our room opened up on to a main street. That day we took a tour of some ruins called Sillustani which have pre-Incan and Incan tombs.
Last week, I went to some sites about an hour outside of Cusco called Moray and Salineras. Moray is a site where the Incas probably did crop testing on circular terraced landscaping and Salineras are salt flats located in this mountain valley, surrounded by tall cliffs. They were both really neat places to see. I don´t think I´ll ever get tired of all of the views here. Everywhere you look the landscape is really perfect.
Today I went to the San Pedro market near my friend Patrick´s house and saw some really distrubing things such as a pile of cow´s mouths. It all smelled pretty foul, but I bought myself some fresh fruit. I think that is all for now. I am going to go buy a cake for my housemate Liz who is leaving tomorrow and then we are going out for Indian food.
Nos vemos,
Ashley

Day 19 en el Imperio Inca

The week in review: Last Sunday I went with Pat and Eric to Pisac for the day. We took the bus for less than a dollar, but paid the price of having the constant fear of plummeting over the edge of the cliffs. Despite that, the scenery really was pretty incredible going through the mountain valleys. It rained for most of the morning so by the time we got there, everything was soggy and slippery. We had some lunch, though the people forgot about me, and had amazing fresh juice. According to wordreference.com, maracuya (the juice I had) is passion fruit, which I didn´t know until just now. Afterward we walked around the market at Pisac which is pretty neat, with lots of handicrafts. It´s pretty quiet on a Sunday afternoon. We tried on some really amazing fluffy alpaca fur hats. I bought myself a purse with a llama on it to have something small for my wallet and camera when I go out, and a pair of earrings with parrots on them for less than a dollar. Then we took a taxi up to the Pisac ruins which was pretty far up the mountain and explored for an hour and a half or so. It was pretty muddy and slick from the rain earlier in the day and there was a lot of climbing involved (and I´m still not fully adjusted to the altitude I think), but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon and the views were incredible. Afterward we took a taxi back to Cusco since all of the buses were full at that time of day and more scary thoughts of taxi cliff diving insued especially when bus drivers decided to whip around and try and pass us. We made it back to the city safely and found a cheap restaurant for dinner. I tried alpaca steak for the first time, which was pretty delicious. And then we headed to a smoothie place for dessert and I tried plantain and maracuya together, which was really rich and delicious. On Monday morning before class I went to the Museum of Popular Art, which was kind of cool but really small. They had about fifteen paintings and another room full of ceramic miniatures and a lot of religious recreations in various mediums such as Jesus on the cross constructed out of cuy (guinea pig) bones and the nativity made from bent spoons and forks. Tuesday morning I met with my American friends to watch the inauguration at Andy´s house. I thought it was a really eloquent, good speech and I´m really excited about how things are going to be the next four years. I found the whole ¨when the yellow man can be mellow, man, and the white man can do what´s right¨ really bizarre and hilarious though. That night we went out to dinner at a restaurant called Obispo with couches and low tables and floor pillows. We played Jenga and chess while we waited for our food. Wednesday I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was small too, but had a lot of good paintings that I liked and a photo exhibit of Machu Picchu. My favorite title was something very emo that I can´t remember now that had to do with the flourishing of the heart. It was a photo of a flower. Wednesday night we went out for a farewell dinner for a couple of people here at a good Italian place with really tasty wine and sangria and then out to bar called Indigo where we played Uno during Happy Hour. We went out dancing at a discoteca called Mythology and got home late, for which my host parents joked with me about the next day at lunch. At least they are mellow. I ended up being out late last night too, though unintentionally. I was still pretty sleepy from the night before, but decided to go out for a pub quiz, which is basically just a trivia night at a local bar. The money went toward a local nonprofit group called Bruce Peru. There were a fair amount of teams and four rounds of questions. My team, dubbed ¨No se¨ was pretty genius and actually won. Our prize was a liter of rum and some coke, which we all shared. Then we headed to a local hostel called Loki for a toga party, which somehow ended up being really fun. Afterward we went to a club called Mama Africa, and thus I ended up arriving home late again. I wanted to go on a weekend trip today that the school offered to Puno and Lake Titicaca, but they left at 2 today and I had class from 2:20 until 6:30 and they wouldn´t let me make it up. I was a bit disappointed, but I will probably just go next weekend anyway when I have morning classes. I really am not a fan of afternoon/evening classes. It feels harder to focus and I don´t like getting done so late. But I guess that is all for now.
Ciao,
Ashley

Day 12 en el Imperio Inca

So, it´s the end of week two. As was expected, time is going by pretty quickly. I´m feeling much better this week. Only a small remnant of a cough left over. I can even walk up the stairs in my house without huffing and puffing. Most of the time. I´m currently sitting at the school´s computer watching the rain and listening to the musical stlyings of Andy (some sort of traditional drum) and Cameron (guitar), two guys who go to school in New York. I was supposed to meet some people to go to an art museum, but the rain probably deterred everyone. On Tuesday a group of six of us took a taxi to the ruins of Tipon, about fifteen miles outside of Cusco. It was wonderful. Unlike a lot of tourist spots, there were very few tourists. It was pretty far up in the mountains (there was a lot of huffing and puffing), but the views were great and it was so serene. It´d be a great place to spend a day and picnic (which we probably will one day). The drive up the mountain was memorable as well. The road was very windy and it was slightly scary looking at the drop down the mountain. We drove through a little village on the way up and saw a lot of aloe plants (which are spiky, actually-who knew?) At one point, while exploring, a herd of sheeps, cows, and horses came down the path we were on so we had to move to the side so they could pass. After we left Tipon, we met some other students back in the city and went out for a meal at a vegetarian restaurant. There were probably about 20 of us and we took up the entire restaurant. Later on, we headed to a bar called Kamikase, where the dj played us some good songs to sing along to (Eminem, Dr. Dre, Britney) until a live band came on later. They were really good too. The next day, we had our second salsa class in the evening, which was a lot of fun. I don´t do too badly with it. My partner was an older guy from the Czech Republic, who mostly kept a stern expression, which was kind of amusing. Then we went in search of food and ended up at a Chinese (Chifa) restaurant, which was pretty tasty. Last night, my British friend Nicki had a get together at her host family´s house. They ordered amazing pollo and papas fritas and we played about five games of musical chairs (actually really fun), a strange game introduced by our friends from Holland including yelling out people´s names and being hit with a rolled up newspaper if you´re not fast enough, and a Spanglish version of charades. And now I´m here. I´m looking forward to going out to some clubs tonight since I missed out last weekend when I was sick. Hopefully the rain will stop though. It´s not the best weather to walk around in. I will probably do some more sightseeing this weekend and maybe check out some local markets. Next week my Spanish classes are in the afternoon/evening. I don´t know how I feel about that, but at least I can sleep in. I think that´s all for now.
Adios,
Ashley

Day 6 en el Imperio Inca

My luggage came! So for that I am very excited. Still not feeling great. My cough is getting better, but I still have general cold type issues. I chose to stay in last night instead of going out to a discoteca with the others because I knew I would have been dead on me feet and probably won´t get any better until I actually rest. We had our salsa lessons Thursday night, which were a lot of fun and yesterday we went horse back riding in the mountains around Cusco. The weather couldn´t have been more perfect. We rode for about 4 hours more or less but the views were stunning. My horse was named Vicuña and gained the reputation of not being very nice. She was very impatient and would kind of push her way through the other horses when they were in her way. And she also bit and kicked a few of the other ones. We visited the ¨Temple de Luna¨ which was just a big rock formation, but it sure winded me climbing up to the top. The air is
thin here. This afternoon I took in some markets with my Australian friend Liz which were pretty neat. I guess that´s all for now.
Ciao,
Ashley

Day 3 en el Imperio Inca

Hola!
I arrived in Cusco Monday morning around 11 am after two very grueling days of travel full of missed flights, jerky airline employees, and very sore shoulders from carrying around my backpack everywhere. Not surprisingly, my baggage didn´t make it to Cusco with me and still hasn´t arrived. I´m not really sure what I am going to do if it is lost forever. Pretty much all of the clothes I own are in that bag. I have been wearing the same couple outfits since I´ve been here and the lavenderia (laundry mat) never seems to be open when I go by. Cusco is very charming with incredible views wherever you look. I´m having a little bit of difficulty adjusting to the altitude I think. I was very sick to my stomach about 2 am last night. My host dad thinks it is because I had pizza for dinner. They never eat a big meal for dinner because it isn´t good for digestion in the altitude. So I think I definitely learned my lesson. My stomach is better today, but now I have a cough, probably because the temperature changes a lot throughout the day.
The other students are all a really great bunch. They hail from New York, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, and England. We all went out to a pub and restaurant for a while yesterday and I really enjoyed getting to talk with a lot of them. My host family seem really great so far. My dad only speaks a couple of words of English, but his wife speaks a bit more. Lunchtime is really fun with our Spanglish and listening to American 80´s music and the delicious homemade soup (today we had arroz con pollo which was fantastic). I have actually been drinking a lot of tea. It´s cocoa tea and doesn´t actually taste like tea. I even ate cocoa leaves in it today. But they pretty much believe it to be a cure all for everything and since I haven´t been in tip top shape, I´ve been drinking it at pretty much every meal.
Today the school had a program where we got to make chocolate in molds which was pretty neat and really yummy.

Tomorrow we have salsa lessons, which I am, of course, really looking forward to, and Friday, horse back riding, which should be really nice as well.
Spanish classes seem like they are going to be really good. Our classes are really small. There are only two others in mine now. However, my instructor at the moment (we will change weekly) seems to think my name is ¨Shayla.¨ I suppose it has the right letters in it so I´m not too bothered. I´m actually really happy with my Spanish. I´m communicating better than I thought I would.
I suppose that is all for now. I think I am going to stay in this evening and get some rest just so I´m not doing too much all at once. I hope very much that when I return home my luggage will somehow have magically appeared and the lavenderia will be open.
Hasta luego,
Ashley