Week 4: The difference

Well the halfway mark is here! I won't lie, one month would have been enough---but just like how getting on the plane was the difference between talking and doing, staying the extra length is the difference between being a familiar tourist and being successfully and truly immersed in the culture. Even if it wasn't rewarding, it's all going by so fast anyway.

This past week was filled with experiencing famous local traditions, my first (and overdue) tastes of nightlife, and realizing I've already bought so many things that I'm going to have to leave most of my clothes here and arrive in the States wearing a wool poncho. Most importantly, however, is that I've officially finished my Spanish courses and can move on to the service work I've been anticipating! More deets on that---and other changes---next week. 

Visited Qorikancha. Also known as Temple of the Sun, the building was dedicated to "Inti," the "Sun God," and was formerly the most important temple of the Incas. It now houses Catholic art and artifacts, as well as some relics of Incan masonry.

Street vendors have been especially abundant in this festive month of local celebrations.

Best. brownie. of my entire. life.

Thanks to my wonderful friend Regaine for this wonderful shot!

I was lucky to have gotten this frame of the star of the show during the street procession for the city's grandest celebration of the year, Inti Raymi.

I'm sad to say that children here over the age of about two seem consistently untrusting and sad. Unless, of course, they're manning shops or working as venders in the street---which some do till way past my bedtime. Not surprisingly, being accosted by an 8-year-old is not something I find easy to react to.

Our ascent to Sacsaywaman for Inti Raymi took us through parts of Cusco that I had previously only seen as itty bitty houses and streets while sipping my tea in the morning, and flickering little lights on hilltops at night. I appreciated this intimate glimpse of a different part of local life.

Cusco's Cristo Blanco

Entertaining myself by documenting a piece of the ridiculous crowd during the slow-going ceremonial reenactment of Inti Raymi, celebration of the Winter Solstice through offering sacrifices to Inti (mentioned before).

Resting our calves from all the hill-climbing and tip-toe standing we were doing during the ceremony!

Hasta la proxima vez! :)

Week 3: Where taste buds belong

Today marks the end of my third week! This week has technically been the least eventful, and yet I've enjoyed it at least as much. If it wasn't for how much I miss Roberto---or the fact that my normally-prominent veins have almost entirely disappeared from visibility due to regular and exclusive exposure to ice-cold water and ice-cold air (don't worry, a post on the things first-world countries take for granted is in the making)---I might just be able to live here. For example, I'm just getting started with my appreciation for the handmade goods and the FOOD. The quantity, the quality, the variety! As a vegan I'm restricted to about 10% or less of most restaurants and menus, and still my taste buds are having the time of their (short) lives. 

And the chocolate. The richness and ingenuity of the chocolate that's available here makes Ghirardelli taste like plastic. But more on that another week.

Loving the llamas! (This is either the perfect or most horribly inopportune time to mention that I tried my first bite of alpaca this week... it's almost indistinguishable from beef but a little more chewy.)

I could watch the artisans for hours. Actually I wish I could, because I still don't quite understand how what they do results in the beautifully intricate patterns that it does.

Aldea Yanapay, a Quechua verb for "help," is an endearing restaurant in San Blas. On top of having amazing food at affordable prices, their adorable atmosphere reminds you that the profits go to causes that help local children.

Till post #4 :)

Week 2: Feelin' local

Hard to believe my second week here has already come and gone and I'm a quarter of the way through my stay! I will say, though, that I'm really enjoying the familiarity earned during the first week: I now know the correct---I mean most convenient bus stop home, the cafe that offers the cheapest chocolate caliente, and the corners where you can buy a llama keychain or avocado sandwich for one nuevo sol. The rest is best said by pictures.

(Loving my mirrorless Olympus & M.Zuiko 17mm lens; the almost-quality of a DSLR in the form of an inconspicuous point-and-shoot. Surprised/sad I didn't discover mirrorless sooner.)

 

Professor & class room.

 A shot from horseback riding last week. Practically fresh off the plane, and I was riding past sheep in a foreign countryside on the back of an animal named Poco Poncho... yep, that was a bit surreal.

 One aspect of my daily life that hasn't changed is the cups of tea I drain everyday.

I'm in love with San Blas! I can't say it's not touristy, because as the venders in the picture below indicate, it has its moments. But it's more of an expat kind of touristy. Less pushy-venders standing by to hassle families wearing khaki fishing hats and more of just doing life. All the culture, but with cheaper food and less bussle.
This is the main square at dusk.

 

An entree from the restaurant I intend to remain obsessed with. For lunch they serve a salad, an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert---all vegan---for 10 soles, or the rough equivalent of $3.59.

 

Visited four art/history museums this week! The explanations for most of the pieces have either been entirely in Spanish or essentially non-existent, but as usual I just like to gape at las pinturas. 

 

Afternoons spent in the plaza can mean making friends. :)

 

Finally finding time to re-discover a forgotten hobby.

 Mercado Central de San Pedro

Tried this thing on the recommendation of a guy from Wales named Tom... not a good idea for anyone who's picky about their textures. 

  

I'll be nice and leave the topic of the meat market at this...

Hiking through the amazing Incan ruins of Saksaywaman. And yes, Peruvians are painfully aware of the name's English phoneticism. (Thanks for the shot, Sarah!)

Next week... :)

Week 1: Exploration Peru

So, a few things have happened in the last week.

Since honesty is a good place to start, I'll just come right out and tell you that I had Roberto pull over on the way to the airport in Malibu for fresh air to avoid crying, throwing up, or both. But before I knew it, goodbyes were said, bags were checked, and the adventure had begun.

The trip itself was a streamlined blur. It was almost as if getting through security in LAX, changing flights in Panama, watching The Little Mermaid, reading enough of the The Book Thief to realize it required anti-depressants, and passing through customs in Lima was somehow packed into a span of four sleepy hours.

I arrived in Cuzco at dawn. The sun coming up over an aerial view of the snowy Andes mountains was unreal---an official sign I'd arrived to a place like nowhere I'd been before.

My host family consists of a woman and her three sons, all of who are wonderful. They speak almost no English, except for one of the older boys, who knows enough to help me when I'm stuck. So, in-depth conversations are off the table. But we still communicate enough to be acquainted with one another and make small talk at meal times. I will be with them for one month before I relocate to the student dorms.

 

So far I've spent my spare time exploring, horseback riding, making friends, and visiting the textile museum, all of which have been absolutely amazing. After a crazy busy year, though, what I'm currently enjoying the most is the time itself, and the beautiful ability to squander it by kicking it back with a neck pillow, blowing up Roberto's inbox with cat memes until he's wondering why I needed to go to Peru to blow up his inbox with cat memes, and falling asleep with Spotify and earbuds.

I'm loving my Spanish classes. I understand what's going on, and yet I'm challenged. More importantly, our classroom overlooks the city and keeps us supplied with hot tea. Between attending classes, getting around the city, and being with my host family, learning has proved inevitable; I'm already thinking in Spanish! I'm fairly proficient with speaking the present tense---or at least I put it out there like I am---but I look forward to tackle the other tenses soon. As someone who enjoys getting to know people, limited conversation can be frustrating; there's so much I want to ask and understand, I find myself searching for a "Press when you've had enough of the whole language barrier thing" button. But it's all a part of the experience! And an incredible experience it's been and is becoming.

¡Hasta la próxima semana!

A grand adventure

"THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE." 

-ST. AUGUSTINE

Blue and white interstate signs appeared from the black of the night, increasing in size before disappearing over our heads as the big bus barreled down the dreary interstate. Unfamiliar color combinations and words served as reminders that we were somewhere else---somewhere unfamiliar and new. The steady rumble of the engine, the swiping of the windshield wipers and the whooshing of the pavement passing under our feet was all there was to be heard; all else was as dark and quiet as you would expect a bus at 2am with only a handful of passengers to be. 

Our destination was downtown Amsterdam---or at least that's what we were hoping. We bought no tickets and the driver spoke no English; we just climbed on board, grabbed some seats, and hoped that wherever it was going it could bring us back in time for our next flight.

We did make it to Amsterdam. We walked a few streets, talked to some locals, and grabbed some Chinese take-out before making it back in time to the airport. ("When in Amsterdam," right?)

Traveling means different things to different people. Ask Roberto about his travels, and he'll enthusiastically begin recalling plates of food---but I think of that rainy night in Amsterdam. The uncertainty of the unplanned, but the certainty that it will all work out fine. The regard of the world beyond our salted caramel frappucinos and neatly paved roads as something not unwelcoming and hostile, but waiting. To look your fear of flying on airplanes, sketchy characters on unfamiliar streets, and the ambiguous unknown in the face and say you're not stopping me.

I've missed that feeling ever since.

Tomorrow I'll be boarding a plane for two months in Peru. My bags are packed (well... mostly), my tickets are printed, and my poor appendages have been loaded with vaccines until it hurt to move. I will be rigorously learning Spanish and volunteering with a Christian organization in Cuzco that provides for those in need... and maybe some of that being-a-tourist-with-a-camera stuff, too.

As for the other frequently asked questions, "Why Peru?" "Is your husband going with you?" and "Why?" Because Europe is so predictable; nope, he'll be waiting in California for my postcards; because I can. Respectively. :)

I've heard it said that the opportunity to spend an extended amount of time in a foreign country is truly a priceless, unforgettable experience. I look forward to the people I'll meet, the pictures I'll share and the stories I'll be able to tell. Major thanks to my amazing husband for being crazy and supportive enough to let me do this, and a thousand apologies to those of my friends who've been told we'd get together after finals only to read this blog and realize I never had the time to make it happen---but I'm looking forward to fall!

Please keep me in your prayers as I embark on this grand adventure (and watch for more posts...)!

The Hartzell's. Point Mugu.