!Que un buen dia!

September 28, 2009

I feel like so much happens everyday that I am here. It is hard to put into words the kind of beauty I experience everyday. I am kicking myself for forgetting to bring my journal to the internet cafe with me so I could give some details. I'll do my best...

Yesterday, I took a bus to a place called the Sacred Valley, which is the area of land that surrounds Cusco. There are many towns and villages within 2 or 3 hours by bus and I decided to visit Pisac, a town with a population of 100 families, and a giant market on Sundays. Peruvian markets leave me breathless- the depth of color and variety that is sold in these markets just astounds me and I have a tough time not buying everything. One of my favorite things to do at these markets is chat with the vendors. They sit all day in their outdoor shops and just hang, coaxing "Senoritas" and "Caballeros" alike to exmaine their goods. Frequently, the children of the vendors are nearby, whether playing with a ball under the table or slung on the backs of their mothers. These children are absolutely gorgeous, and although many of them look as though they have endured a lot for being so young, they continue to possess a certain sparkle in their eyes. They are just lovely and I enjoy spending time with them. In my final minutes at the market, while chatting with a boy who was flicking rocks with a plastic spoon, the father of the boy came up to me and asked if I was married and if I was Catholic, and he announced promptly that he'd like me to return the next weekend so we could go to the church with his father and get married. Sadly, I had to refuse the request, seeing as I wasn't Catholic. haha. (my first attempt at blog humor-how'd I do?)

Quick pause- have to announce that Whole New World, the Aladdin theme song, just came on in the internet cafe- how precious!

I left the market feeling refreshed and find my way to the crazy rambling bus that would take me home to Cusco. None of the buses are labeled, and you must find them by listening to hear if someone is calling out, Cusco, Cusco!!!! Luckily, I got a seat next to a sleeping hombre, but the Quechua woman who got on after me wasn't so lucky, so she used my shoulder as a pillow. Oddly enough, I find the closeness comforting. There's no wriggling to get free from someone- you just are where you are and you must be content with that. I quite adore this state of just being- whether its kissing a cheek when you meet a new person or sharing a shoulder with a Quechua woman on the bus.

Today was a glorious day! My best yet- I have to admit that I have had some feelings of being lonely, but today really helped me get back on track and take it all in. Cusco is a "small" town, 300, 000 people, including the surrounding Sacred Valley. However, the downtown itself is this wonder that was built by the Incas way back when. There are GIANT stones that create the walls and the plazas and no one really knows how the Incas, without any help frm machinery, built the town with 2000+ lb rocks. There are two main Plazas: the Plaza de Armas (the main Plaza downtown that has surrounding restaurants and cafes) and the Plaza de San Blas (a Plaza up the hill that is the artesan center and has markets every weekend). There are other places to go, but these plazas and the streets in between are theost popular places to go. Anyway, on my little break from my Spanish classes, I ran into the son of the family I lived with 4 years ago! I was so excited and immediately Neto invited me for lunch. Not two minutes later as I was walking back into class, I ran into his mother, Dina, my host mom from 4 years ago. This family hosts so many students, but for some reason, they both recognized me and meeting back with them was magical.

Although I had this amazing morning, I have to admit that my favorite part of the day happened just 2 hours ago. After I left Dina's house, I headed back to the Plaza de San Blas to meet someone I had met yesterday for a movie. She never came and so I just took in the sights around me. Since the Plaza is on top of a hill, you can see part of the city and the changing colors of the night. I just sat there, watching these children play on the fountain, and this young girl came to me to sell me a hat or doll. She just came and sat down next to me, which is unusual for vendors once they know you are not interested in buying something. She started asking me questions, and we ended up chatting for awhile until another little girl, Dayana, came up to me as well. The girls were so sweet and we just chatted, watching the sun set. After a while, I asked if the girls had eaten and both said no, so I offered them something to eat. Dayana ran to tell her brother she was going (she's 5) and he came with us as well. We bought some pastries and we sat in the Plaza enjoying the night. Dayana told me that she was learning to write, and so she wrote me her name in print and then in cursive, followed by Rodrigo and Natalia. I am looking forward to seeing my friends again soon.

It's getting late so I must retire to my quarters, to my nighttime routine of headlamp, journal, Lonesome Dove, and Bush Baby.

Sweet dreams to all from Peru.

Señorita, abroche su cinturon...

September 26, 2009

I have arrived in Cusco! Got into Lima late Thursday night and managed to find a safe taxi to my hostal. Getting into bed Thursday night I was overcome with emotions- I felt sadness, excitement and utter relief all at the same time. I felt grateful for the amazing support system I had at home and knew I would be able to undertake this journey. I decided to spend the first few days in Cusco living with a family so that I can improve my Spanish.

A few highlights:
1. Getting lost on the way back to my hostel: Raring to go, I strolled the streets of Lima yesterday, equipped with my money belt and gringa style clothes. I felt unstoppable. Touring Lima was fun but heading home turned out to be the real adventure. I could not find the hostal! I didn´t take the address with me and I thought I knew where it was, but I was wrong. I ended up circling the nearby blocks for about an hour. Along the way, I asked multiple people if they knew where ¨Mire Tagla Torre¨cuadra 2 was...of course, I was mixing up the words since the true address was Marquez de Torre Tagle 107 (and it was on the 1st block, not the second). Anyway, I came to meet some wonderful strangers. A taxi driver got out of his car to walk me to where he thought it was, a woman took me to a policeman so he could direct me, and a man in a small shop tried to point the way. Everyone I encountered was kind (and patient with my Spanish) and it was the sort of kindness I did not think I´d find in Lima. Eventually, I crossed a street after nearly getting hit by a taxi, and I saw a door open and my hostel host was standing there, waving me inside. He said he had seen me pass the hostel quite a few times but had thought I wanted to get to knew the neighborhood...

2. Buckle up: First, let me start with this: Taxi drivers in Lima are notorious for asking gringos for more money. When I was in Peru before, I think it happened almost every time I took one, so getting into one this morning, I started to think about how I would approach the situation if the driver were to ask for more money. En route, the driver blasted Peruvian music and sang along. At this point, it was only 7:00am and the music started to wake me up. At a stop light, the driver turned down the music and turned around. He touched my belt and asked me to put the shoulder strap part of the belt on. Now, just to give a little belt background: when I got into the car, the seatbelt was one of the type that would not fit in the buckle, nor would it tighten up, so that the entire thing was completely floppy around my stomach and would not have stayed on my shoulder...I thought the request was completely endearing and I was ready to pay whatever he asked for since I didn´t feel like it was worth it to argue. Yet, to my surprise, we got to the airport, and he gave me change for the exact fare he had quoted earlier.

3. POLLO!!! Ok, here´s a shout out to those men in my life who want me to knaw on some meat. Well today was the day. I was served a giant chunk of chicken for lunch and I did what I had to do: I scarfed it down! After 4 years of being a vegetarian, I guess my body craved the protein. I did not want to disappoint the family, and I was eased into meatfulness by being served chicken. Here´s hoping that they don´t decide to serve guinea pig for dinner...

4. El desfile: After my flight into Cusco, my host mom Chila, picked me up. She told me that she was going to watch her grandson in a parade of customes....I wasn´t sure what this meant but I was extremely excited to get to go with her. We drove to her grandson´s school, which schooled kids preschool age through kindergarten. The room was set up with a giant runway stage in the middle and there were teachers dressed alike at the front of the room. There were chairs all along the side of the stage where parents were sitting. Basically, the school was hosting a fashion show for the students. Five year olds were paired with 2 year old and they would walk down the giant runway and blow kisses and twirl. It was just the cutest, most unexpected thing to walk into. During the intermission, the teachers called lottery numbers and the parents won perfumes. Then they continued the fashion show with the 3 year olds. It was a sight to see!

That´s all for now. At 3346 meters I get exhausted walking up the cobbled stone streets, so I have to leave now if I want to make it back for dinner.

Love to everyone. Thanks to those of you who gave me a little something to look forward to reading on the plane- I enjoyed the notes immensely and had to wipe away a few tears.

Chao!