Day 4 - I survived the commute

Thursday July Second

    I realized this morning, I'm a month into my summer vacation, a month?! That can't be true, I feel like I just got out of school! I also just received my SAT score from June and I got a 2070, I'm very happy I didn't get below 2000, I was so sure I was going to get 1999 or something! However I still hope to retake it to see if I can improve a little.

      I had to make my way to work by myself today which was an adventure. That's one thing about Cuzco, even the smallest things are exciting, drinking water requires you to boil it first, walking down the street requires fending off people selling things while simultaneously keeping an eye on your bag, crossing the road requires a sharp eye and a lot of faith, taking the bus to work gives you more adrenaline than a roller coaster! The busses barely stop at your station unless you wave them down, and even then they're practically still moving as you jump on! I really can't watch as they're driving! I spend the whole time constantly gasping and clutching the seat in front of me as the bus driver plays chicken with another bus for a spot in a lane, while everyone else on the bus is relaxing and practically drinking their morning tea! Needless to say I can't imagine having to drive here! 

        Incredibly I arrived safe and sound to the orphanage, and started off the day with helping Guiliana, who felt very sick, curl up on a doll's bed which was the cutest thing ever, and fall asleep for the majority of the rest of the day. Then Missyryan's ear piercing got extremely Infected so we had to deal with that as well.

     Then story time. Which only required keeping 32 four year olds quiet and still for ten minutes, easier done than said... Between my complete lack of knowledge of useful commands, like sit down, or be quiet, and them being four this proved to be pretty difficult. Bianca and Guadilupe proved to be the most troubling, they are both very intelligent and very curious, which means they are never still, and they WILL take advantage of you if possible. For instance I'm pretty sure they were telling me the wrong names when I asked them to tell me the names of some of the other kids! However the good far outweighs the bad in these adorable kids! Most of the time they are the sweetest, nicest kids I've ever met! I still feel like this is not the experience I wanted but I know I also know this will be good in a different way, I will learn how to take care of kids and I will also learn a lot about the Carholic culture and the Quetcha culture which the kids are also learning about. I hope to do some more volunteering at a local high school teaching English to try and get the experience I wanted.

Gabriel (and company) after I caught them hiding under their desk during lesson time! 

Fabiana, also playing under a desk!

Corali attached to my leg :)

      In the afternoon I went out with María Elena to do some errands. In the Plaza de Armas, I asked her to take some pictures of me  but she ended up taking three one second videos, haha! Although she has been nothing but extremely nice to me, today she annoyed me ever so slightly. The thing is he always has such a clear idea of what should be done, and how it should be done, and it's very hard to change her mind. I wanted to book a trip to Macchu Picchu and she was just so sure that I should book with Latino Tours, that she didn't even give me any other options, I guess the company is okay but I didn't really want a tour guide at all, but she wouldn't let me go otherwise, I also didn't really want to spend a whole day at this hot springs which I'm now doing, and I kind of wanted to hike up to Macchu Picchu, and also go check out some other ruins a bit above Macchu Picchu, which I'm now not doing. It was kind of annoying how set in her ways she was, I almost felt like she had some sort of deal with the agency to send all her volunteers through them and they would give her a commison. However I couldn't really argue with her because I am her responsibility for this month, and this is what she was comfortable with me doing. She's still amazingly nice, today was just a little frustrating.

A screenshot from one of the videos!

Another screenshot!

You can see the flag of Cuzco flying high and proud atop this Carholic Church. Look familiar? Oh yeah that's because it's also the LGBT flag, pretty sure that's just the opposite of what this church believes in!

       In the evening me met up with Jorge, Ana, and three of their friends to go out to dinner, we started out trying to find a restaurant that serves Quoi, a local delicacy of Guinea Pig (Thank you auto correct I had no idea Guinea was spelt like that!), but luckily the restaurant we ended up going to didn't have that! Phew, I still need to work up to eating something that cute a little more! However all adventurism was not lost as I ended up getting a local hamburger, with banana in it! It was so delicious, who would have thought? It was also huge! Only a few people could finish their meals!

It was twice as big as my mouth!

      Dinner was also a good opportunity to get to know Hunter, a new volunteer that just arrived today.

       Hunter: Beautiful, a little shy, but that could just be because she's only sixteen! I'm not the youngest one in the house any more, yay! She also has an adventurous side as she does rodeo! She barrel races horses, so we have that in common, horses not barrel racing! 

        After dinner Caroline (German), Hunter, and I went for a hike up to a church called San Cristobal, it was pretty high up the side of the valley so was a good workout! The night brought a whole new perspective to Cuzco! The cobblestone streets and old houses seemed even more magical, and the view from the church was amazing! The lights, the dark mountains, the huge statue of Jesus that was bright white in amongst the dark mountains! What an awesome night!

Hunter and Caorline walking the moonlit streets.

The view from the San Cristobal Church!

The Jesus statue shining brightly. Almost as strong as the catholic faith here in Peru

         

Day 3 - My New Life

Wednesday July First

     It was hard to get up early today, but the salsa dancing last night was totally worth it! It was my first day volunteering at the Kindergarten. María in her constant kindness personally accompanied me all the way there, and explained everything about twenty times for when I had to go by myself.

      The Kindergarten. Busy, busy, busy, there are over two hundred kids under six in one building! It's tiring just watching all the activity! It's also a very catholic school and so the first thing they did when I got there was a religious service recognizing the virgin Carmen, whose statue was holding a baby, but that was never really explained...

The courtyard in the Kindergarten

And my classroom

The kids are learning the Thriller dance right now! So cute to see them all pretend to be zombies!

        I was also surprised by how modern it was, the kids have uniforms and school bags, every classroom has a microphone and speakers for the teacher to use, and they don't appear to be lacking anything supply wise. While all this is great for them, I'm honestly...disappointed, I had imagined that I would really be doing something to help others when volunteering, but in the Kindergarten I'm almost useless. The only thing I did all day that was actually needed was teach the kids how to count to five in English, but that was ten minutes of an otherwise long morning.

        At lunch time I returned home to another huge lunch, and found another volunteer in our house who had just returned from a trip to Lake Titicaca,

         Aton: Laid back, self sufficient, smart, and self motivated, the only thing is I always feel it's kind of hard to become close to people like this who don't need anything from anyone. He is also a medical student at university, which means that all the A Broader View Volunteers are medical students except me.

        Then I went with María to drop off Mckayla and Mary at the airport as it was their last day. They were both extremely sad to leave, and I wondered what I would feel in three weeks time. I also tried to withdraw some money from my credit card while we were there, but as usual with that sort of thing, it didn't work, and now I have a big problem. I think the farther away from home you are the more problems you will have.

Goodbye Marya and Mckayla!

       In the evening there was a large dinner at our house with all the volunteers from all over the city. 

       Jorge & Ana: A couple from Spain who are probably two of the most enthusiastic and personable people you'll ever meet.

         Eric & Sarah: Not a couple, but both from the U.S., they were both quieter people who seemed very smart.

         We all watched a soccer game, which is an awesome part of Peruvian culture, and then had a delicious dinner ! So although the day didn't start out so good the ending was nice.

Here are all the volunteers starting with the back row, Aton, Tommy, Eric, Jorge, German Caroline, Ana, Me, María, Sarah, U.S. Caroline, mother of the two girls Gabby and Ellie, one of the two girls, the other one, and their nanny who for actually accompanied them to volunteer. 

Day 2 - Culture Shock

Tuesday June Thirtieth

    Coming to a new culture will knock the wind out of you, you lose all sense of orientation, and feel totally at a loss, but if you just stop fighting it and move with the culture, you'll start to really enjoy the differences. That's what I learnt today.

        In the morning I had my first Peruvian experience, I went with the German Caroline to explore the city center. The culture was just so in your face it wasn't very enjoyable. It was very rude how all the street vendors came up to you and forced their goods on you, I was constantly defending myself against the next attack. I did have to keep reminding myself that it was coming from a place of extreme poverty and desperation.

       I most blatantly noticed how little street sense I had when I tried to take a picture with two women dressed up in traditional clothing, I got the picture and one of them asked for two soldi. I gave her five thinking that was 2.5 soldi for each woman, however when I tried to walk away, the woman that I hadn't given money to started asking for five soldi as well, however I only had a ten soldi bill. I tried walking away but she just kept bugging me and bugging me until finally I gave in and bought some chocolate from a nearby cart just to get change to pay her! A ten soldi picture in the end! I felt so uncomfortable in that whole situation, at least the picture turned out good,

    The streets were just crazy though, narrow, crowded, noisy, and sometimes very smelly. So different from the empty, desolate streets in the U.S.! I enjoyed the excitement of it all but it was sensory overload! It was a real workout going around those steep, mountainous streets. We saw some crazy things too!

This thing definitely haunts dreams

These giant Incan stones are so exactly matched they were stacked without mortar! 

Love these cobblestone streets!

        We got back just in time for lunch, another huge meal. You finish the first course feeling very full, and then she brings out a second overflowing plate! It was as usual delicious though!

         After lunch I tagged along with Mary, María, and Tommy to El Mollino, a black market... I guess I've always thought of a black market as a seedy, dirty, dank, underground operation, but El Mollino was a pretty much open air market that looked like any other! The only difference was that shop keepers weren't paying their taxes to the government. I didn't buy anything.

And this is what a black market looks like...

        Back home there was a really big football (soccer not American football) game on which was Peru vs. Chilie, apparently they've been super big rivals ever since some ancient land dispute, and mother María got really into it! Sadly Peru lost 2-1, and actually the one goal they did get was an own goal by Chile so they technically didn't score once. The football culture and spirit down here is really awesome!

         After dinner we all went Salsa Dancing! Which is with out a doubt the funniest thing I've done so far! Forget twerking, this was actual dancing! It was up in this hot, colorfully lit loft, that felt almost like a nightclub, the music was loud, and the dancing was awesome! Tommy's ballroom dancing experience paid off awesomely! The steps were easy to learn and combined with lots of twirls and even a few cool group dances! We came home very late but it was so worth it. At the start of the day the energy and craziness of the culture had intimidated me, but by the end I was embracing it and loving every second!

Day 1 - An Unexpected Day

Monday June Twenty-ninth

An unexpected day. I awoke on my first day at around two o'clock in the afternoon! But there was still no sign of the other volunteers. María had made me a delicious lunch while I was sleeping, once again proving how amazingly nice she is, and although I was hesitant about the yucca, it turned out to be delicious!

Here is my house, my room is the bottom left hand window.

And the view from inside, cramped or cozy?

     Then the others started to arrive. First was Caroline, a married twenty nine year old from Germany. The rest of the volunteers are all around 22. She is very mature, and a little shy, but that could just be because she speaks very little Spanish. Next a whole group arrived from a fourteen mile hike through Incan ruins that I so wish I could have gone on!

       Tommy: a slightly nerdy, but very intelligent medical student who enjoys ballroom dancing. 

       Mckayla: a petite girl with overflowing energy, a little crazy and emotional, but a lot of fun.

        Mary: the daughter of an Iowa farmer, she is steady and clear headed. She is a very relaxed person to be around and balances out Mckayla well which might be why they seem pretty close.

        Caroline: so confusingly enough there are actually two Carolines in the house. This Caroline is much younger and loves soccer, she seems very self motivated. Although we are room mates I haven't gotten to know her to well yet.

         I don't know what I was expecting on my first day in Peru, but it was definitely a lot more Peruvian than going to the mall.

       Mary and Mckayla were going to get a pedicure, and so wanting to get out of the house I tagged along. It was the first time I'd ever gotten one and it tickled a lot more than I was expecting! It was cool how amazingly smooth my feet got though, and it only cost ten US dollars! It's crazy how cheap everything is here, a taxi ride might be one or two US dollars, a meal at the food court less than a dollar! However besides the crazy prices and the fact that everyone looks different, I could've believed I was in the U.S.! From the mall, to the pedicure, to the fast food hamburger we had for dinner (it should be noted here that the hamburger was actually delicious and not at all like McDonald's) I actually ended up having a more American day, than I do most days in America! 

       Even though I had only woken up a few hours ago, I was ready to go to sleep again once we got home, a mixture of the high altitude, still being tired from my plane trip, and a little culture shock. A surprising day.

Here is Mary (with the blonde hair), Mckayla and me getting our pedicure! 

Here is the finally result, I got purple, Mckayla got hot pink, and Mary got Red, White, and Blue, which I feel pretty accurately represents our personalities!

         

       

Day 0 - Leaving and Arriving

Sunday June Twenty-ninth 

Denver to Cuzco, Peru, the two day journey. It all started at Denver airport where I had to say goodbye to my Dad. I usually consider myself a pretty independent person so I found it harder than I was expecting to say goodbye to him. I just suddenly realized that he was the only person of the thousands that were there that day that cared wether I lived or died. As I walked through the airport and saw all the family units walking closely together I realized how special family really is. I guess this was the first thing I learnt on my trip, I wonder what's next!

Don't want to say goodbye to my cat, Ellie (she is actually there, just camouflaging into my jacket)

So early!

Excited to get to Peru!

      LAX. 10 am. The most terrifying airport you'll ever see. Luckily my Dad had given me a six hour layover, but told me that if I couldn't figure out how to get to my flight in that amount of time I should just give up on surviving Peru and come home! The airport consisted of seven unconnected terminals that lay in a sea of people, buses, taxis, and airport staff and security. All surrounded in the haze, smog, and stifling humidity of LA. The drivers are crazier than Miley Cirus and I almost got run over twice! Luckily I made it on the flight with plenty of time.

Crazy LA intersection! From the plane

I couldn't find the welcome to LA sign so took a picture of this shirt instead!

Beautiful clouds :)

      San Salvador. 1:00 am. Hot, hot, hot! My impressions of the country were only that it was dark at night, and it's airport was just the same as almost every other. On the flight there though I had meet Ivan.

When you realize why the seat you booked was the only window seat left on the plane...

Ever wonder if airplane food tastes just as bad on the ground?

Meet Ivan. He helped me so much, making sure I got through both the El Salvador and Lima airports! He is such a personality though it was really fun talking to him. He's the kind of Grandpa that yells at kids for littering and has very strong opinions on everything. He had all sorts of crazy stories from bar fights to rodeo stories from when he was in the military in the U.S. Thanks Ivan, you made my trip so much better!

       Lima. 5:00 am. Another long layover. At this point I had been awake for over 23 hours and was so tired that I was dizzy and the airport is just a haze in my memory! It is funny how exhausting traveling is, considering you're really just sitting around all day! On the plane to Cuzco I met the weirdest guy, just about the first thing he said to me was how he had managed to get five glasses of vodka on the previous flight even though he shouldn't have been allowed that many! And I was like, oh wow, we're so relatable... (not) I was glad when I finally got off the plane.

       Cuzco. 7:00 am. High, Dry, and Freezing Cold! The city was more run down than I was expecting, most houses were nothing more than crumbling brick boxes, and they looked so desolate. The houses that didn't look like this had gates on all their entrances, and bars on all their windows, reminding me how dangerous it really is down here. My home stay mother came to pick me up from the airport. María Elena is one of the nicest people I've ever met! She had been waiting for me since five o'clock in the morning just to make sure she didn't miss me! She greeted me with a big hug and talked to me all the way home! 

Sunrise on the flight to Peru. A very disconcerting sight when you haven't fallen asleep.

The majestic Andes, as I flew into Peru

This is Cusco, a fairly large town nestled high in the Andes.

       My house is one of the gated ones. It is quite big with room for six volunteers, María and her father. My own room has a bunk bed and another bed, so I will eventually have two roomies. I feel asleep almost as soon as I got home, at almost 8:00 am! Have yet to have met any of the volunteers...

Day 0 - Getting Ready

On Saturday June Twenty-seventh the alarm went off as it usually does far, far too early. I was still very tired from the previous night when a last minute fiasco had sent me to the pharmacy at nine o'clock at night trying to get a new prescription of malaria pills, and I then spent a frustrating, tiring half hour trying to fruitlessly negotiate with the heartless pharmacy workers who were more worried about working past the end of their shift than the fact that I could get a life threatening disease.

       Of course it was inevitable that some disaster like this would happen, Murphy's law still holds true, but it was also inevitable that once I returned home Dad found the pills on the kitchen table. Yes the kitchen table. Not in some crazy nook or cranny, the kitchen table. I don't know how I missed them there or if they magically appeared there, but I've never seen such beautiful, beautiful pills in all my life!

Just look at them! 

They are the last thing I need before I embark on the trip of a lifetime, to a place hundreds and hundreds of miles away.

First post!

I found my pills! Mosquitoes beware! This will make sense later...
(I also just figured out how to spell Mosquitoes! With an odd looking "e")