Baby! Baby! Baby!

Excuse the disjointedness of the following - I'm glad to say its been a great week.

While we were visiting our most excellent friend, Winn, in Ollantaytambo this week, I met a delightful lady named Annette who agreed to take me with her to go volunteer in a nursery in Cusco on Friday.

So, this morning, after our more than 2 hour commute (one-way), I spent a delightful time holding, feeding, cuddling, changing, reading to and generally loving on some of Peru's most beautiful babies. I hope this turns out to be a bi-weekly event in my life here in Cusco. It fits perfectly with what I want to be doing. If it works out, I'll post some photos - but I didn't take any on my first day.

Today was the first full day of sunshine and no rain that I can recall since we arrived in Cusco. We heard from a friend that March will be sunnier but the rainy days will have stronger downpours. By April, the rain will disappear and we will unprune.

I continue to take at least one new road from town every time I return home. I passed a music school a week ago and didn't write down where I saw it or its name for that matter. I had no idea how hard it would be for me to find it again. Now I'm repeating the trip down some streets but so far, no luck. It's not where I thought I was.

School starts for the girls next week. They are excited and a little nervous, I think. The extra 2 weeks of Spanish classes has put Meghan officially ahead of me and I am slowing coming to the realization that Helen, although quiet much of the time, isn't far behind her. *sigh*

Festividad de Compadres

Today we went to a festival in Marcacocha (just north of Ollantaytambo). It was a festival where people came to celebrate their ancestors. The festival was in the high mountains (in the middle of nowhere). There were people who were set up and making food.

When we came, there were two men and a lot of people standing around them like they were doing a church service. After the service, the band started playing. I hadn't noticed them before. It was a bunch of drums and some flutes. The men walked away and a lot of the kids who were about age 16 to 3 started dancing. They were wearing their best clothes.

Many people were walking around selling ponchos and silly string. Soon, it was time for lunch and we picked a place and sat down. The lady was making beef and chicken and some corn altogether. It was really good. Mom walked around everywhere but she could not find a place without beef (she didn't like beef). So, finally, after we were finished, she got a corn with cheese.

We watched the dancing for a little while and when I went to take a picture, somebody started throwing out candy. I moved out of the way so me and the camera wouldn't get squished. After the dancing there was bullfighting.

We found a place on a high wall that was made from big stones so that we could see the bullfight. The good thing was that they didn't hurt the bulls. They didn't have swords either. So the bulls were in a pen over where the people were dancing. It was really funny when they tried to get the first bull out of the pen. It took about six people to get the bull out because the bull was scared to come out. Finally, when the bull came out, he walked to the place with the most grass and began to eat. One of the guys waved his jacket in front of the bull and the bull charged. The man jumped out of the way just in time.

A few minutes after that the wall that we were sitting on began to slip. So many people had climbed up on the wall behind us, the stones began to slip. I was on the verge of falling with Mom behind me. Then people took the bull back into the pen and were going to take another one out. Mom's rock was slipping so she got off the wall with me. We walked around a little bit. When Dad and Meghan turned up, we went down the mountains and back to the hostal.

Our friend, Winn, cooked us some dinner but I wasn't hungry and I went upstairs and into my room and fell asleep.

Estoy perezoso

I met Evan on the steps to the Cathedral on Tuesday. I had finished my charango lesson and walked down to the Plaza de Armas for a tamalle and was sitting alone fending off the shoe shine boys that really wanted to clean my dirty boots. One after another, a constant stream of solicitation... I felt popular and have gotten really good at saying "no gracias, me gusta zapatos sucio".

Evan wanted to practice english and help me with my spanish at the same time, a good trade. He is in his third year at the university studying to become a tourist guide for the many sites in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. English is not required for a diploma but a must for landing a job with an agency or offering private tours. We sat for about an hour on the hard stone steps reading an english book about a dog and his master. He would read a sentence out loud and I would correct his mispronunciations and we would work out words or phrases that he didn't understand. He would then translate the sentence into spanish for me.

Evan's english was pretty good, better than my spanish and I told him that I wasn't studying very much. When he asked why, we had to refer to his spanish/english dictionary for the word lazy. When we found "perezoso" he just laughed at me. It wasn't a histerical laugh or a malicious one but I took from it that the expression "you're lazy" is not used much here and I don't think many people are.

Evan works as a plumber and electrician during the day and then attends class from 7-10 every night. His visit with me although very cordial was....... rooted with purpose and he took notes as if we were in class or study hall. I could tell that this was not an abnormal method of practice for Evan and that others had probably ready the same or different book with him in the plaza and as we parted ways I hopped that I might cross paths again for another impromptu lesson.

As I set off (slowly) on my last errand for the day (it was only 11:30) to the central mercado for sopa fixin's and some miscelaneous items, the absence of activity weighed heavy on my mind. I need to get busy, charango lessons, shopping at the mercado and making soup really don't make for a very rich experience here although the soup es muy rico!

Chinchero

It has been another great week. Spanish classes were awesome and my teacher Laura definitely deserves a HUGE thank you. I learned so much. Gracias Laura!!! Finally I think I am kind of ready for school, but not ready for the uniforms. Ha ha ha. We are going to meet our teachers next Tuesday and I am really excited. The picture is of Laura and I on my last day.

Sunday we went to Chinchero, a little town right outside of Cusco. We took one of the public buses and they were very crowded, luckily we got there early and got to sit. Most of the people were standing. It was rainy when we got there but we walked up to the Sunday market to look around. The people that didn't arrive early enough had all their stuff spread out on the ground covered by tarps. We were going to eat at the market but the soup was "Sopa de Cabeza" head soup. Basically that means a cows head put in broth and when you order you can get the eyes, ears, nose, or tongue. It was a tough choice but we decided against it.

It started raining really hard so we ran to the nearest textile place. The guy who was working inside had made most of the stuff. He weaved and he painted awesome paintings of himself in crazy places. My favorite textile was one that was half done. All the strings had been rolled into balls of yarn and put in little jars on the floor with the plant that was used to make that color. It was really cool to see all the berries, woods, and leaves that people squeezed juice out of to dye the wool and then spin it. We decided to buy a different unfinished textile to hang in the apartment for a little more color! On our way out he gave us a spinner (for free) that is used to make the yarn out of wool.
We went back to the market and bought another weaving for our table. The lady that sold it to us was really nice and we talked for a while. She showed me how to spin the yarn on our new gift and we took our picture with her before lunch. The picture is of Helen and I with the local lady at the market.

We ate lunch on the main road and then hiked back up the hill to the Chinchero ruins. The ruins were really cool but it was still raining so we didn't look at them as much as we should have. Mom really wanted to see the church so we sat there until one of the park officials came and opened it. The church was gorgeous. All of it was painted and there were no sections of wall that was blank. Nothing on the walls mattered because all you wanted to do was look up up up. The ceiling was amazing and it must have taken forever to paint because the church was pretty big. It was worth waiting for.

We took a taxi home at about 4. The ride was really nice because everything is green. It was a really nice day but I can't wait to come back in the sunny season.

I Get My Own Room... At Last!

Our house at home is nice, but for me right now there's nothing better than your own room. Maybe there's one thing better. Your own HOUSE where your sister isn't banging on your door every five minutes. ha ha ha

My room is PINK! Pink walls, pink chair, pink curtains, and a pink bedspread. The best thing is the curtains because in the morning, when the sun shines in my window, they make the light from the sun pink. I also have a very nice view from my windows. My desk is framed by windows that jutt out over the sidewalk to I get the perfect "visto". It also provides a perfect spot to play carnaval with the boys next door.

Carnival is a season the kids here play here in March. It's basically a big water fight that lasts a whole month. Now everyone is practicing. So, yesterday while I was walking home, the boys in the building next door threw water at me. The best thing is that they were on the 3rd floor and I am on the 4th. I ran upstairs and filled my water bottle. The only thing that could ruin my party was the 3-year-old that saw me before I dumped water on the other two. He was a sweet little boy, so I made the "shhh!" gesture and he nodded. Then I got the other boys soaked and closed the window quickly beause Mom said no more carnival if I got my room wet. I can't wait until March!

It's nice to be back in Cusco. I remember most of it but its nice to have all of the time in the world to look at things. My favorite thing to look at is a painting that is on the main road. The painting is of one of the battles of the Incas. It's really cool because some of it doesn't seem like it belongs at all!

Everything here is still a little rainy, but we have had some nice days. Spanish school is awesome but I can't wait to start REAL school. Everyone is very happy, so I'm glad we moved!!!

Eating Lunch With Some Old Friends

Like most rainy season days in Cusco, the day was bright and sunny, but of course it would start raining in the afternoon. We ate a small breakfast, cereal and milk, then dressed and packed up our backpacks to go out. Dad wasn't feeling good, so he stayed home.

I was excited because today we were going to go to Victor's house to eat lunch! But it was a shame that Dad was not feeling good. We went out of the apartment building quietly, not waking Dad, and walked out onto the empty streets.

We knew our way to Victor's house by heart. Dad and I had passed the house a few days ago adn we hoped that someone would be outside but nobody was there. The day after that, all of us were walking by the house and Leo (the cook) was standing outside the front door. She beckoned us inside and then everybody came piling in adn they all asked us to come on Sunday to eat lunch.

And now it's SUNDAY!! We found Victor in his car. When he saw us, he quickly got out of his car and led us inside. We went inside their living room and we talked a lot. Meghan asked Indira to see her and Carlos' wedding pictures. I should say that they got married and now Indira is pregnant.

The pictures were beautiful! The wedding was under a tent. Indira looked beautiful! She was wearing a long white dress and was carrying a big bouquet of red roses. Her black hair was in curls with a rose on the side of her head. And that's where we had to stop - lunch was ready!

Leo always makes good food but today she made a specialty. The soup was first. It was chicken broth and vegetables. Then corn, the corn here is huge! And it doesn't need any butter. Then after that there was chicken and rice with vegetables. And for dessert there was watermelon.

Then we went back to the pictures and then it was time to go.

They said we could come back any time we wanted and they said 'good-bye'.

I was happy to have seen them again and I was also glad we that we would come back. And, of course, when we come back, I want to see the baby!

Back in Cusco - Hallelujah!

So, for all of y'all out there thinking its different to visit a town on a vacation than to live in it - you're right. But that hasn't stopped us from enjoying the familiarity of Cusco and basking in the knowledge that this time, we get to stay for longer.

The girls have an interview and exam on Friday at their new school, Ausangate Bilingual School. They are very nervous but excited to enter an atmosphere of other children their age. Its a long ways from our apartment, but I think, if we can set up the private bus to pick them up and drop them off here at the apartment, we're home free.

Our apartment is not right downtown, but a little ways from the city center - the Plaza de Armas being the central spot of the city. We can walk there from here, but its a good 20 minutes - and we're huffing and puffing and walking slow as snails for a bit until our bodies adjust to the altitude. 11,500 feet is nothing to sneeze at -and Helen and I are both worse for the wear when we're on a walk.

Our big surprise when we got here was our apartment. We had our Spanish language school director scope out the school for the girls (he has one of his own that is between Meghan and Helens' age) and find us an apartment. So, after arriving late, taking a taxi to the language school in San Blas, and catching a taxi back to our new abode, we huffed up to the 4th floor of our new apartment building into our new digs.

What a surprise to find a spacious apartment with not 2, not 3, but FOUR! bedrooms. We can't wait to host our family and friends here! There is high speed internet, flat screen tvs and even a second computer. Aside from being able to hear the street venders with their fresh fruits hawking through loud megaphones "Uvas, naranja, platano" and the fact that our apartment doesn't have heat (brrrr!) I would say we could be living anywhere.

We're happy to have unpacked for a bit and hidden away our suitcases. I think we're going to join the South American Explorers Club to plan some weekend outings when the rain dries up. If y'all come visit, we'll plan a day trip or two with you!

Note: I'll post pics of the apartment later. I just wanted to get this posted.