Funny Picture

This photo is from local bar for tourists. It cracked me up, though probably not as much as for the staff who watched me take the picture.

The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful

For two days I've been thinking about what I want to say about my stay in Cusco and I am still not sure. As my time comes to an end, I realize what an experience and how quickly the time has gone by! The hospitality, the friendliness and graciousness of those we've met has been overwhelming. A population that has suffered much continues working toward a better life.
We have met people of the highest class here and those who have literally nothing left to their name. I have tried to have an understanding of where I fit into all this but I realized, that where I fit in, is as an outsider. I may never endure poverty like what exists here. I will, hopefully, be able to find proper schooling for my children and while I may not always agree with my government's decisions, I am granted much more protection than the citizens are here. I am completely fascinated by my experiences here. The positive energy from people here evokes a sense of gratitude.
I am sad to leave my life here but am also excited for the adventures ahead. From Cusco, we go to Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, a small town known for jewelry and ruins and then on to the Amazon. Who knows what will happen in the next chapter of this trip...

Jesus Mi Luz

Not a 15 minute walk away from the Plaza de Armas sits Jesus Mi Luz orphanage. A home for boys whose families cannot take care of them.
Most, if not all, of the families are in Cusco and some of the mothers actually visit their sons. They usually come with even smaller children on their backs but provide some support to the lifestyle of the boys in the orphanage.

A few blocks off a main street, there is a huge red steel door that is locked all the time. To get in, you have to ring the bell. The wait can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes depending on who has the one key and where that person is. The complex has two main buildings and a shed.
One building has administrative offices downstairs and upstairs is the library and the dormitories. The other building houses the kitchen which would catch anyone´s attention for it provides food to a group that is hungry nearly all the time. One large tree stands in the middle of the grounds providing a feeling more along the lines a yard and not grounds of an orphanage. Walkways are lined with multi-colored cement stumps to indicate the preferred way.

Once permitted entrance, various scenarios can be at play. Boys playing on the basketball court/soccer court, boys washing their dishes or helping in hard labor on the grounds, or on rare occasions the boys will be inside, upstairs in the library. When they are in school, the boys usually have play time until 3:00 and then have to work on homework until 6:00 when it is dinnertime.
When they´re not in school, which was the majority of my time here, they still go inside at 3:00 (on the rare occurrence that we´ve been able to convince staff to keep the kids outside, they can stay out later)and look to us volunteers for entertainment. Big hugs and smiles are usually at the front door waiting.

Being a governmental organization and being low on supplies, the boys are usually dressed in an eclectic style. Pants that are too small and shoes that are too big. Sometimes there are no shoelaces and floss has to be used or no shoelaces are used at all. Unfortunately for these boys, there is no toilet paper or kleenex to help them with their chronic runny noses.
It took me asking three boys if they needed toilet paper and them telling me yes and me telling them to get some only for them to reply that there isn´t any before I caught on. Because of this, they have learned to blow excellent snot rockets or just continue on with a very runny nose. I usually want to laugh and cry at the same time as I watch them struggle. Lotion is not very commonplace, either, and these boys suffer from cuts due to extremely dry skin. Some are shy and won´t respond when asked how they are doing but a quick soft touch or a small crack of a smile tells me they know I´m here.

Most want to play professional futbol and it has been great for me to get to play with the boys of all different ages from the small ones at 8 years old to the older boys of 15.
Taps is a huge game for the boys to play and it involves thin, little plastic coin shaped toys that are tapped on each other. It takes less than a minutes for groups of boys to congregate to play Taps.

Just in many situations, there are the bullies. There are three that come to mind and they usually run everything. They decide who gets to play futbol, what toys the younger kids can play with and they will threaten the other kids if they don´t get their way. They can also be the hardest working kids if they want to be. As I watch them interact I realize how they´re just such young boys and they just need love. Tough love, soft love, whatever kind of love...they need it and more of it.
I watched one kid go from being a bully to being his 12 year old small self in a matter of seconds when I took his toy away. The most ironic of situations is one of the smallest boys at 8 years old who is a natural leader and can sometimes control the older boys. Such big britches for such a small boy. They usually travel in packs together and when they can´t find anything better to do, they´ll look around for the easiest target and smack him and then run.

While at times, this work has been difficult, it is most rewarding. I don´t know if or how I have impacted any of these kids. Maybe to communicate to them that there are people out there who care. Their smiles will make your heart melt. Each of them deserves a good home and I wish I could provide that for them. Their excitement in playing games and getting help with homework makes the hard moments worth it. There are infrastructural issues, which can affect how the system as a whole is run, but ignoring those (which can be extremely difficult), these boys are what matter. I am sad to leave them, especially not knowing what will happen to them, but I know they are in better hands than they would be if Jesus Mi Luz didn´t exist.

Laguna de Huacarpay

Growing up, camping was always a summer feature. Once each of us (there are 3 children in my family, of which I am the youngest) reached a certain age, my father would take us camping. Tent camping of course. I wouldn't know the first thing about pop-ups or RVs. Luckily, REI has come up with easier fashioned tents so it's quicker to put up a tent than to have to fiddle with the splintered wooden sticks and the metal fasteners. Camping here in Peru was a different experience, but one I would do again and again. I'm sure people in the States have experienced car camping, but this car camping was unlike any other I've seen or heard of. The only planning done was what food to bring, who was going and the general vicinity of where we were to camp: Laguna de Huacarpay. (I would try to spell it phonetically, but that would cause more confusion than help).

We arrived at the Laguna (it's not like Peter Pan's Laguna, it just means a smaller lake...pretty much anything smaller than Lake Titicaca is a Laguna) and drove around looking for spots to settle down. A hay/grass area under a tree was chosen and we parked.
A fire was started mostly just of grass...no need for technicalities because we had an endless supply of grass to pull from and it gave the kids something to do. All in all, I believe there were close to 20 people crammed into 3 cars. One grandpa, his 7 children and some of their spouses, 4 grandchildren, a couple cousins and 2 gringas. What a party!

A makeshift pan that was made earlier in the afternoon was used to cook beef kabobs with peppers and onions, served on a real plate with a mountain of fried rice and potatoes. Most definitely, it was the best, most gourmet looking meal I've had for dinner while camping. It comes a close second to my father's breakfast of sausages cooked in peach juice. Mmmmm. I was lucky to help the other women in preparing the potatoes and getting things ready for dinner.

Frequent trips were made to the road, away from the fire to look at the stars, so close it seemed like I could just put up my hand and touch them. Jupiter was out, the Southern Cross, and somewhere was the star we named after my grandfather. It was very tranquil to stand there and look up, especially when shooting stars flew by and we got to make wishes.

It wasn't until about 1 or 2 in the morning that the craziness started. Rum and coke is a common drink around here. Pitchers are filled with the two and a sippy cup(half a Dixie cup) rotated around while everyone warmed up around the fire. The first game was Hot Potato but every time you were caught with the ball, you had to act out an animal.
I'm not a very outgoing person in this area, so I blushed and giggled just about every time I had to go. My first animal was a horse (a joke for Christina and me because we kept using the word for gentleman- caballero- instead of horse-caballo- for a few days until we got it straight) and then I did a fish. Christina did a bird and a frog. Then the game was the same except that you had to SING! That made me even more nervous! Christina got it right with the Beatles and then I had to come up with UB40--at least some of them knew what I was singing.

All the while music was playing and we were all laughing. After Hot Potato, we played a game of mimicking dances. Each person would have to do a dance move and everyone would follow. Hehe. Christina and I just did funny dances from the States like the Running Man and Roger Rabbit. It was hilarious.

We didn't go to bed until after 4 in the morning and Christina and I slept in the backseat of one of the cars. There was even a couple in the trunk! (Yes, the trunk was open).

Once we got up a couple hours later, we went to a nearby field, right next to the lake, and played soccer for about an hour. It was fun, but I had a few respiratory problems since I'm not used to running at 10,000ft. Then, we packed up and headed out.

Just like the Quinceañera (it was the same family who invited us to that), this family took us in again for their camping excursion. They want us to stick around to go up into the mountains
(I thought we were in the mountains) to go to their cabin. The hospitality is overwhelming and more than we could have asked for. Language barrier or not, they took us in and treated us like we were part of the family, as if we have always been part of their family.

A Condor, a Llama and Jesus

No this is not the beginning of a horrible joke.

This is a photo of an actual Condor we saw at ruins nearby Cuzco.
It is considered an endangered bird but is a large symbol for Cusqueños. There were trainers with the bird to protect it.


This picture of a llama cost me 1 sol because the woman who owns the
llama was cleverly standing 50 feet away and after we took the picture told us we owed her money.


And, this is a huge, overwhelming, statue of Jesus that sits on a hill overlooking Cuzco. It looks quite beautiful with the sun behind it.

Quinceañera

Imagine a black tie wedding reception for 200 people and instead of it being a wedding, it's a birthday party for a girl turning 15, where only 50 of the people are adults. A club mimicking Incan ruins was rented out. Little booth type sitting areas were backed with fake rock ruins, scattered around the whole club. One bar was in the middle and the other was tucked in a corner. Disco balls twisting with all different colors dancing on the floors and walls. Pop music played with pods of kids placed all around. Throughout most of the place, boys are on one side of the dance floor and girls are on the other side. Some small groups are mixed but mostly they are in groups of their own kind.

Compared to everyone around us, we looked like school teachers (sorry, I don't have a picture to show...Boris, Christina's friend, has them). Boys wore suits or tuxedos. Girls wore formal dresses, most of them strapless with elegant, intricate designs and heels. Most, if not all, had their hair professionally done.

Once Candy, the birthday girl who is Boris' niece, arrived, the dance floor was cleared and the music stopped. Candy's parents walked onto the dance floor and then 15 of Candy's girlfriends, wearing black cocktail dresses, walked in with candles. Once Candy arrived, her father gave a speech and then her best friend made a speech and then Candy, herself made a speech. She had a dance with her father, then one with her date and an interesting event occurred... Candy changed part of her dress and danced a choreographed dance for everyone and then she did another one with her friends. Once her dance was over, the party started.

Food was carried around on plates, while everyone danced. Boris' family moved to a more private part of the club where they had their own little dance floor and area to sit.

It was interesting to see the type of party thrown, the money and class to do so, and the dichotomy of children dressed as adults. It was like nothing else I've ever experienced. It was definitely a perfect example of wanting to experience a culture its dynamic characteristics, not just its tourist attractions.

Bailamosing

A word coined by a fellow Gringo who was visiting a friend here in Cuzco...though quite funny how the term came about
(a tipsy Gringo wanting to bailamos with everyone) it struck me that Christina and I are bailamosing just about everyday. Each day presents a different ''dance'' of Peruvian culture to learn and understand.

Racism is something that Christina and I have witnessed, but, for the exception of limited reverse racism (as some call it) in the States, we have never really been the target of it. It never occurred to me until a combi ride, that we could be targets of racism. Being 2 of 4 Gringos in our neighborhood, we stick out quite a bit. When I first went to meet my Spanish tutor, I was a little nervous as to how she would know that I was her student, until I realized, I would be the only Gringa surrounded by locals. She had no problem figuring out that I was her student.

The combi ride was interesting. Christina was sitting because of a sprained foot while I was standing. Behind me was a small boy with his sister and mother. I wasn't paying attention to what the boy was saying, but Christina overheard the little boy talk to his mother about the whiteys. He laughed quite a bit about us whiteys, but his mother and sister didn't do a thing to correct him. Instead, they just laughed along with him.

The orphanage is a different experience everyday. Some days there is a little bit of play time outside and then a movie or cartoons inside. Some kids have homework and some do not. Public schools are on strike, which seems to be more common than we'd find in the States, so for the majority of the boys there is no school and probably won't be in school for the rest of the time we are here.
Those in private schools still have classes but there are very few of them. Children are taught in various ways and most are foreign to concepts in the States. Some days, we play outside all day long- well for the 3.5 hours a day we have with them. Some days, like yesterday, we brought a coloring book for them to share and some crayons, which worked well for the first hour and a half. After that, fights broke out, kids yelled louder and louder to get attention (which it seems to be common outside of the orphanage too), others fell asleep among the chaos. The difference in our days at the orphanage, only speaks loudly to the discrepancies in a governmental institution.

Christina and I have found it a different experience to have a wash room but one for washing clothes by hand. The angst is quickly stripped away by the single image of women washing their clothes in a river littered with trash to the point that you can barely see any of the embankment. A river so unsanitary, that the smell wafting up to the bridges creates a sense of being down in a sewer. The severity of the situation is striking and the image is emblazoned in my head and on my heart.

While these three examples are quite depressing, there have definitely been light moments for us which bear the same situation in learning about where we are.
For instance, what happens when the keys don't work to the door and everyone is asleep? Well, there are two options: 1) Find an open window and climb through to open the door from the inside for the second person. When the door won't open from the inside either, of course, just make the second person, with a bummed ankle climb through as well. 2) If there is no open window like the previous night, kick the door a little bit to try and get it to open and then have someone wake up to let you in. Luckily, for Christina and me, we had a chance to experience both these situations. Even though we've explained that both our keys don't work, one of them looks like it turns so it must be alright. The problem for us is not getting the key to turn, but getting the door to pop open.

Forget getting the door to open, what would happen if you finally get into the house after climbing in the window or slightly kicking the door and make it to the bathroom before there is an accident, only to find that there is no water? No water means no flushing toilets. Like any sensible person, or two Gringas like us, you'd try to get up early enough, before anyone else, to flush the toilet when the water has come back on.
Although, it's not gravely inconvenient at night because you can sleep through it, the interesting moments are when the water goes off in the middle of the day. It does make lunch an interesting yet funny adventure, to say the least.

While these are only examples of daily life, they do represent the new experiences we encounter on a daily basis. Taxi and combi rides can be different. Some stores are open during some times and others are not (although we have a good handle on when siesta is). Something we see as simple as having water changes daily. Even the weather that we thought would be the same is changing so now we have no idea what to expect. The only expectation to have here is to not have any expectations. With that in mind, I'm excited to see what other bailamosing I'll be doing.

To Be Guinea Pig Or Not To Be

This is one of those language barrier things. Guinea pig is a common meal here in Peru and it is one of those things that we´ve been told you must try before moving on. Christina and I both had guinea pigs as pets so it´s a bit odd to want to eat them, but we talked it over and decided we should try it. So we asked our guide what a guinea pig is called and she told us chicharron. So we thought, alright we´ll have to try it sometime. Well, we got back to our house for lunch and we had potatoes and a meat and a mint and onion salad. Christina asked what kind of meat it was and Ester, our host mom, said it was Chicharron and that it was Julio, her husband´s favorite dish. We kinda looked at each other but said alright...if we have to try it, we´ll try it. My 4 pieces had a bit of fur left over on them so I wasn´t really in the mood but to be polite, I ate as much as possible. Christina thought it was good and just went for it.
During lunch, we both explained how we had had guinea pigs as pets, and how mine was named Sammy and hers was named Lolly. We explained how it´s very normal in the States to have guinea pigs as pets. They thought it was amazing that we both had them as pets, but said okay. Well, since it was Julio´s birthday, a couple volunteers from Alipio´s house (Julio´s brother) came over. Christina asked them what the word for guinea pig was and they said cuy not chicharron. Chicharrones are pigs!!!!!! Christina and I started laughing immediately.
Christina had wanted to explain how we keep them in cages and give them little bottles of water with wood chips!! It was a good thing she didn´t because then we would have been muy loco.

Things to Keep in Mind

1) Make sure water won´t stain the wooden floor before hanging wet laundry on the line inside.

2) Make sure the hooks on the wall are secure before trying to hang line (even without wet clothes on it).

3) Make sure your money is not fake so you won´t try and give pesos when the currency is soles.

4) Make sure to turn the hot water switch off after showering, even though there is no hot water, so it won´t cause the pipes to explode. (Haven´t done this one yet, but we´ve been warned).

5) Make sure to secure any toiletries or toilet paper before going to the bathroom so they won´t fall in before you have a chance to flush. Sidenote: for most Americans, the fear of falling into the toilet will become a reality. Ladies, there are no toilet seats.

6) Make sure to have coins and not as many bills because most likely you can´t get change and there is a possibility that they may take your bill without any question or any change. (Haven´t experienced this one yet, either).

7) Make sure to recognize your actual combi stop so you don´t continue to have to walk a 1/4 of a mile to your house.

And Of Course...

8) Make sure to have tickets with the right date on them so the conductor knows where and when you´re going and you don´t almost miss the train because you´re bags get hooked on the door and you nearly tumble backwards due to the weight on your back.

First World Royalty

No matter how destitute a situation I´ve found myself, I have still been privy to the common characteristics of an American life. Commonalities that are pure luxuries here in Cuzco.

We live with a well off couple and their twins. They have a nanny/cleaning woman who helps out around the apartment. Both the wife and husband are educated and in turn are educators. They have a 2 bedroom apartment with fairly large bedrooms, 2 televisions, 1 computer, a stereo, a nice sized living room with one bathroom. They live a little outside Cuzco proper and do quite well for themselves.

With these luxuries, there´s no refrigerator, but there´s a microwave. Food is purchased on a daily or meal basis. There´s no hot water or heat. A 2 burner stove but no oven. No cabinets for dishes, just a rack with enough dishes for individual consumption--no dinner parties. Their washer and dryer consist of a sink in a separate room with a bucket of soap and a clothesline hung on the top of the building outside.

Yet, with all these contrasts, they remain a well-off family and the nicest, most hospitable couple we could have asked for.


The neighborhood where we live, San Sebastian, is quite far from the center of town. Far enough that paved roads are far and few between. It makes the combi rides quite interesting- especially if there aren´t any seats available and standing, well crouching (we are quite large compared to a lot of Peruvians) is the only option. There is a bar that runs the length of the combi to hold onto but to secure your stance, it is best to push your shoulder blades up against the top of the combi. Otherwise, other riders end up with a butt in their face which won´t do much for keeping up gringo-local relations.

Cars-well anything automotive has the right of way. No stop signs exist and stop lights are considered an exciting find since there are nearly none.
Cross walks are painted but rarely used. They don´t technically mean anything. Lanes are painted as well but you wouldn´t know by how people drive. Horns are honked constantly either to warn dogs or people that a car is in the vicinity heading in the direction of the dog or person, or they´re used out of impatience for other vehicles slowing down the flow of traffic--which is pretty fast. Not autobahn fast but enough to instill some fear at points because of how close vehicles drive next to each other.

Dogs are everywhere--maybe someone´s pet, maybe not. Horses may have one front and back leg tied to prevent them from running away.

School is only for those who can pay. If school is not an option, then it is either work or the streets. Families who can´t bear the burden of a child can take him/her to an orphanage (like the one I´ll be working for--the families of these kids live in Cuzco).
Tourism, though sometimes annoying to Americans, is welcomed with open arms into a society where 60% of its wealth is due to tourism. While we might like to hide and keep sacred some of our most beautiful sites, here, the more people find these beauties, the more revenue goes to the State, the more jobs are created, the more opportunities for more people to get an education.

While this may seem limiting, the Peruvians we have met are not tarnished by the materialism that plagues so many in first world nations, creating a sense of First World Royalty. They remain humble and grateful for what they have and teach us Royals a good lesson.

Machu Picchu

There definitely aren't enough powerful words or ideas to properly describe Machu Picchu. These mountains emerge, all over Peru, and it reminds me of how I imagined the town at the end of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The mountains look over your shoulder, watching as us tourists embark on the Machu Picchu adventure. Glorious, magnificent, breath-taking--they just don't do it justice.

We made it up to Machu Picchu around 06.30, before the sun arose and just took it all in. You enter on one hill that overlooks the majority of the ruins and the mountains behind it. Neither of us could stop taking pictures. It became almost an addiction or compulsion for fear of missing that one shot. It ended up being the same shot but even standing 2 feet away from where the last shot was taken created a sense that it was a completely different picture.



We ran into a British woman who suggested going over to the Inca bridge and also waiting for the sun to come up for a beautiful view (again it's hard to do the view justice). Watching the golden glare peak over the mountains can only prove that God exists. The rays shining down over the city were unbelievably peaceful. It was quite overwhelming at times to witness such beauty that exists on our Earth.

This kind of beauty, while it can be found in the States, has its own unique qualities based off of the historical element here. What went on here thousands of years ago is masked by the beauty of what exists today.

We eventually went on to the Inca Bridge. The bridge is maybe a foot and a half wide and thankfully, not used anymore. It is literally attached to the mountain with solid, flat rock to one side and a couple hundred meter drop to the other side. It was an amazing view but one I'm glad to look at and not actually experience.

After the Inca Bridge, we toured the ruins. We took pictures of every angle that we could. To see these walls built by placing rocks together and where there was space, sticking smaller rocks in to hold the bigger ones. Knowing that these rocks did not come from this site is overwhelming itself. I have been struggling with a 40lb. backpack and people had to drag or carry bolders for many kilometres. Different rooms of all different sizes each having a specific purpose which is not completely known. Llamas and alpacas run around a lush green field eating, playing and even grinning for us to take pictures. It's either grinning or a warning sign of showing teeth. We were too far to tell, so we just moved on just incase.
There are steps that are so steep that you have to hold on to whatever rocks is around because no matter which way you may fall, it would do some serious damage.

By this point, my legs were already sore but we decided to do a small hike up Huaynapicchu. This hike is at about an 80 degree incline. Hmmm....my legs love me. The view was worth it. It overlooked the ruins and the mountains on the other side of the ruins. We rested for a bit and then headed to go do another hike on the other side of the ruins called Intipunku. We were told it wasn't too bad a hike until we started. It really wasn't too bad but our legs were pretty tired. The incline was not nearly as steep. We saw 2 geckos along the way. Woo hoo. We made it up and of course took tons of pictures and then headed back down to catch the bus. We made sure to descend a little slowly to avoid breaking our knees.

I have wanted to see Machu Picchu ever since I was 11 years old and it was worth every minute and every sol (Peruvian money). I would suggest to anyone and everyone to check out Machu Picchu because it is definitely worth it.

US to Peru

After a long two days of travel, we finally made it up to Aguas Calientes. It's absolutely beautiful here. We haven't ventured too much with the food yet but guinea pig is a standard typical meal so we'll be trying that soon. Alpaca is very common as well. The hot springs were not taken care of as nice as we might find in the States but the warmth felt great after hiking around Machu Picchu. We've met lots of great people including a guide who lives in Cuzco and is willing to show us around. We may be able to have him take us to Lake Titicaca one weekend. There are tons of foreigners around here: Aussies, Americans, Italians, Brits...it's great. Even the locals are extremely nice and hospitable. We couldn't have asked for a better frist few days here in Peru. Stay tuned for my Machu Picchu experience!