For our last big trip, we decided to go to Lake Titicaca (please. no giggling.). Apparently it's the highest navigable lake in the world. Whatever that means.
So on Thursday night we left at about 9:30 and got on a bus and rode for six hours through the night. It was actually pretty decent, it was a double-decker bus with super comfy seats and I actually got some sleep! HOORAH! We got to our hotel in Puno at like 4 in the morning and got a couple hours of sleep before leaving again at 7. We headed down to the docks and got on our boat and rode out to the Uros islands, which are man-made floating islands. They were actually pretty cool...if you could get over the nagging thought that you might fall through the layers of weeds into the lake. Then we headed to another island (I forgot the name) where we met our host families, had lunch, and hiked up to some ruins at the top of the island where we watched the sunset and learned about the people on the island. After coming back down, we had dinner and then they had a fiesta with dancing and music and such. We didn't stay for too long though cause we were tired and cold. Yes I know. We're party poopers. Deal with it. But we stayed the night on the island with the family, so that counts for something.
In the mornin, we headed over to the neighboring island, Taquille, where we hiked to the main plaza and learned how to tell if people were single or married depending on the clothes they're wearing, which was interesting enough. We looked around the plaza for a while, had lunch, and then started the 3 hour boat ride back to Puno. And I got sunburned. (Lake T is even higher in altitude than Cuzco, so the sun is closer. This also means it's extremely cold when the sun goes down and it's harder to breathe. Two of my favorite things. Yay.) Anywho, we're chilling in Puno now waiting to get on a bus back to Cuzco. One day left...
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
MAH BURFDAY (Part 2)
So I realized I didn't even write about what we did for my birthday! After the project in the morning, Kassie and I got our yummo Peruvian ice cream, and did some email and such at Maximo. As soon as we walked back out of the building, we looked at each other, and simultaneously said, "Ice cream?" So we went and got ice cream...again. Cause it was my birthday. And we wanted it. haha :) We headed back to Yoni's and hung out upstairs and played cards and listened to music and organized our room a little.
When we came down for dinner, we saw that the table was set with nice dishes and there was this GORGEOUS birthday cake they had made for me! (Funny fact: They had spelled my name "Haslay" cause they had no idea how to spell Ashley. I loved it.) Yoni and Diana made us my very favorite Peruvian dish, Aji de Gallina, for dinner. This happens to be Kassie's and Matt's favorite dish here as well so they lucked out. :) They had even bought a bottle of wine for the occasion, which Kassie and I obviously didn't enjoy, but the other volunteers were pretty stoked about it. So we ate our awesome dinner, Wendy took some pictures, and then they sang Happy Birthday to me in both English and Spanish. I blew out the candle, and it's their tradition for the birthday person to take a bite out of the cake, and then they try to smush the cake into their face when they bite into it. So I had cake face. And it was awesome. haha :) Jacqueline gave me a little magnet board and keychain from Australia, and gave a keychain to Kass as well. But it was a really fun night! Definitely a good birthday :)
When we came down for dinner, we saw that the table was set with nice dishes and there was this GORGEOUS birthday cake they had made for me! (Funny fact: They had spelled my name "Haslay" cause they had no idea how to spell Ashley. I loved it.) Yoni and Diana made us my very favorite Peruvian dish, Aji de Gallina, for dinner. This happens to be Kassie's and Matt's favorite dish here as well so they lucked out. :) They had even bought a bottle of wine for the occasion, which Kassie and I obviously didn't enjoy, but the other volunteers were pretty stoked about it. So we ate our awesome dinner, Wendy took some pictures, and then they sang Happy Birthday to me in both English and Spanish. I blew out the candle, and it's their tradition for the birthday person to take a bite out of the cake, and then they try to smush the cake into their face when they bite into it. So I had cake face. And it was awesome. haha :) Jacqueline gave me a little magnet board and keychain from Australia, and gave a keychain to Kass as well. But it was a really fun night! Definitely a good birthday :)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
May 17th...MAH BURFDAY
I honestly kept forgetting today was my birthday. Thank goodness for facebook, or I may not have remembered at all. haha :)
But today was our first real working day at our new project! And boy, did we work! It was pretty challenging both physically and emotionally, but I'm SO happy to be working there. I really am. The place is run by a few nuns and they have about 25 kids, and they desperately need help. The children range from years 3 to 18, and they are all very disabled both mentally and physically. They are all in wheelchairs, and none of them talk. There were only 2 or 3 nuns there who take care of all of them, and I have no idea how they do it without volunteers.
There are four volunteers there including Kass and I, the other two are named Jessica and John. The kids were all already up when we got there and in their wheelchairs, so we had to line them up outside the bathroom and change all of their diapers, which is a big ordeal, considering about half of them wear cloth diapers since they don't have enough of the disposable kind. We had to lift them out of their wheelchairs (some of them are pretty darn heavy), and take them to the changing table, where we changed them, changed their clothes, washed their faces, and brushed their hair. Then as soon as one child is done we stick them back into their wheelchair and take them into the therapy room, and then head back to start on the next one. After they were all done, we split up to do some different chores: Kassie mopped inside, Jessica went to go help with therapy, and John and I swept all the sidewalks and stairs outside.
We all then went into the therapy room to help out. There is only one physical therapist there, so they need our help with that as well. You have to get them all out of their chairs and onto the mats where they can be stretched and worked and played with. Then they have snack/breakfast, which means you have to feed them since only a couple can feed themselves, and then we get them all back into their chairs and wheel them back into the main building where they have lunch. We have to mash up their food and then feed them, and then when they're done we take them to the bathroom where we wipe off their faces and brush their teeth. We then took them into a different room, where we are done for the day. All of that takes place in four hours, and it's pretty crazy. It's a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm SO glad we're working there! They need us so badly.
It was also hard to watch some of the kids, since a few are very obviously in pain. One little girl named Sonia is autistic and has a spine condition, but she was also just diagnosed with a brain tumor and so she is constantly crying and banging her head against the floor or her fist because it hurts so bad. Jessica and I each spent a good half an hour just rubbing her back while she laid on the floor trying to comfort her and make her feel better. :( It's really sad because most of these kids were abandoned by their families or found on the streets, and their conditions are made worse by the fact that they don't get individual attention and care.
But today was our first real working day at our new project! And boy, did we work! It was pretty challenging both physically and emotionally, but I'm SO happy to be working there. I really am. The place is run by a few nuns and they have about 25 kids, and they desperately need help. The children range from years 3 to 18, and they are all very disabled both mentally and physically. They are all in wheelchairs, and none of them talk. There were only 2 or 3 nuns there who take care of all of them, and I have no idea how they do it without volunteers.
There are four volunteers there including Kass and I, the other two are named Jessica and John. The kids were all already up when we got there and in their wheelchairs, so we had to line them up outside the bathroom and change all of their diapers, which is a big ordeal, considering about half of them wear cloth diapers since they don't have enough of the disposable kind. We had to lift them out of their wheelchairs (some of them are pretty darn heavy), and take them to the changing table, where we changed them, changed their clothes, washed their faces, and brushed their hair. Then as soon as one child is done we stick them back into their wheelchair and take them into the therapy room, and then head back to start on the next one. After they were all done, we split up to do some different chores: Kassie mopped inside, Jessica went to go help with therapy, and John and I swept all the sidewalks and stairs outside.
We all then went into the therapy room to help out. There is only one physical therapist there, so they need our help with that as well. You have to get them all out of their chairs and onto the mats where they can be stretched and worked and played with. Then they have snack/breakfast, which means you have to feed them since only a couple can feed themselves, and then we get them all back into their chairs and wheel them back into the main building where they have lunch. We have to mash up their food and then feed them, and then when they're done we take them to the bathroom where we wipe off their faces and brush their teeth. We then took them into a different room, where we are done for the day. All of that takes place in four hours, and it's pretty crazy. It's a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm SO glad we're working there! They need us so badly.
It was also hard to watch some of the kids, since a few are very obviously in pain. One little girl named Sonia is autistic and has a spine condition, but she was also just diagnosed with a brain tumor and so she is constantly crying and banging her head against the floor or her fist because it hurts so bad. Jessica and I each spent a good half an hour just rubbing her back while she laid on the floor trying to comfort her and make her feel better. :( It's really sad because most of these kids were abandoned by their families or found on the streets, and their conditions are made worse by the fact that they don't get individual attention and care.
Monday, May 16, 2011
MACHU PICCHU
This was probably the coolest weekend I've ever had.
At 6:20 on Saturday morning, we were picked up by a representative from PATAS, who took us to the bus station just a couple blocks away. We got on the shuttle and rode for two hours through gorgeous countryside to Ollantaytambo. After arriving there, we got on a train (it was my first time on a real train!) and rode for another two hours to Aguas Calientes, where we would be spending the night. The train ride was actually really enjoyable, for a few reasons. One, the scenery outside was INCREDIBLE. We had huge windows as well as skylights so we just stared outside for a good part.
But the best part of the ride was the people sitting by us. In the trains there are tables between each two rows of chairs, so you are facing the people sitting across from you. The first people we met were this older couple named Bo and Sylvia. Sylvia was originally from Ecuador, and Bo from California. They had met in Ecuador and lived there together for some time before moving to Alaska. Bo's work has him moving all over the planet: Ecuador, India, Europe, and now in Alaska. Sylvia goes to school in the States for culinary arts and picks up recipes from wherever they go. It was really fun to talk to them and hear about the things they've accomplished. They seem so happy and know how to live life to the fullest and be succesful. Sitting next to them were two Peruvian girls; one spoke English, the other didn't. But when she asked us where we were from, and we said Utah, the English speaking girl freaked out and said she lives in Provo! And works in the Springville Walmart! SMALL WORLD!!! The Spanish-speaking girl lives in Lima but they've been friends all their lives. They're both members of the church and the one who lives in Lima served a mission in Chile. It was such an enjoyable ride and we were sad when it was over.
We arrived in Aguas Calientes and were taken to our hostel. We dropped our stuff off, and walked around the town for a while. I was surprised by how much I actually really liked Aguas Calientes. It wasn't too full of tourists and just a happy little town. (Dangit...I sounded like Bob Ross there.) Anywho. We decided to go up to the hot springs - which is what the town is named for - and spent a good couple hours up there. We came back, got dinner, watched a few hours of this hilarious reality show, met our guide, and then headed to bed. Sadly, Kass and I barely slept at all, before having to get up at 4:45 the next morning.
So we woke up, and headed down to the bus station where we waited in line and then hopped on a bus to take us to Machu Picchu. It was pretty short, only about 25 minutes, but when we got off, we had to wait in this HUGE line to get in the gates. Eventually we made it in, met up with our guide Miguel, and we were on our way! He took us around the ruins and explained a lot of history and cool significant places like temples and such. I'm really glad we had a guide just because it was really interesting to learn what things meant and what they were for instead of just walking around a bunch of rocks. Machu Picchu was definitely the coolest place I've ever seen. I can't even describe it. If you have the chance, GO THERE. After the tour, we had the day to explore for ourselves. We were going to hike Huayna Picchu, which is the famous mountain right behind the ruins, but Miguel told us he highly recommended to climb Machu Picchu Mountain instead, which is on the other side, and almost twice as high. There are only 400 people allowed to climb HP in a day, so it's hard to get onto and very crowded, but anyone can climb Machu Picchu Mountain. However, no one really knows about it so very few people do. We only saw maybe ten other people the whole time on our hike. It was an amazing hike, the trail was pretty and the views at the top were spectacular! You could see not just MP at the bottom, but a whole 360 degree view of the mountains and the Urubamba river. It was a steep hike, and lots of stairs, but definitely worth it. AND we didn't have to get up at 2 to get in line for Huayna Picchu. Bonus.
After hiking for 4 hours and getting back to Aguas Calientes, we were absolutely exhausted. So we grabbed some dinner and just sat at the train station, dreaming of hot showers and sleep. We got on the train at about 4:30, which we almost missed...scary...and started our way back home. We finally got home, Yoni warmed us up some leftovers, and we each took a hot shower (which, by the way, felt like heaven), and got right into bed. Best night's sleep ever.
At 6:20 on Saturday morning, we were picked up by a representative from PATAS, who took us to the bus station just a couple blocks away. We got on the shuttle and rode for two hours through gorgeous countryside to Ollantaytambo. After arriving there, we got on a train (it was my first time on a real train!) and rode for another two hours to Aguas Calientes, where we would be spending the night. The train ride was actually really enjoyable, for a few reasons. One, the scenery outside was INCREDIBLE. We had huge windows as well as skylights so we just stared outside for a good part.
But the best part of the ride was the people sitting by us. In the trains there are tables between each two rows of chairs, so you are facing the people sitting across from you. The first people we met were this older couple named Bo and Sylvia. Sylvia was originally from Ecuador, and Bo from California. They had met in Ecuador and lived there together for some time before moving to Alaska. Bo's work has him moving all over the planet: Ecuador, India, Europe, and now in Alaska. Sylvia goes to school in the States for culinary arts and picks up recipes from wherever they go. It was really fun to talk to them and hear about the things they've accomplished. They seem so happy and know how to live life to the fullest and be succesful. Sitting next to them were two Peruvian girls; one spoke English, the other didn't. But when she asked us where we were from, and we said Utah, the English speaking girl freaked out and said she lives in Provo! And works in the Springville Walmart! SMALL WORLD!!! The Spanish-speaking girl lives in Lima but they've been friends all their lives. They're both members of the church and the one who lives in Lima served a mission in Chile. It was such an enjoyable ride and we were sad when it was over.
We arrived in Aguas Calientes and were taken to our hostel. We dropped our stuff off, and walked around the town for a while. I was surprised by how much I actually really liked Aguas Calientes. It wasn't too full of tourists and just a happy little town. (Dangit...I sounded like Bob Ross there.) Anywho. We decided to go up to the hot springs - which is what the town is named for - and spent a good couple hours up there. We came back, got dinner, watched a few hours of this hilarious reality show, met our guide, and then headed to bed. Sadly, Kass and I barely slept at all, before having to get up at 4:45 the next morning.
So we woke up, and headed down to the bus station where we waited in line and then hopped on a bus to take us to Machu Picchu. It was pretty short, only about 25 minutes, but when we got off, we had to wait in this HUGE line to get in the gates. Eventually we made it in, met up with our guide Miguel, and we were on our way! He took us around the ruins and explained a lot of history and cool significant places like temples and such. I'm really glad we had a guide just because it was really interesting to learn what things meant and what they were for instead of just walking around a bunch of rocks. Machu Picchu was definitely the coolest place I've ever seen. I can't even describe it. If you have the chance, GO THERE. After the tour, we had the day to explore for ourselves. We were going to hike Huayna Picchu, which is the famous mountain right behind the ruins, but Miguel told us he highly recommended to climb Machu Picchu Mountain instead, which is on the other side, and almost twice as high. There are only 400 people allowed to climb HP in a day, so it's hard to get onto and very crowded, but anyone can climb Machu Picchu Mountain. However, no one really knows about it so very few people do. We only saw maybe ten other people the whole time on our hike. It was an amazing hike, the trail was pretty and the views at the top were spectacular! You could see not just MP at the bottom, but a whole 360 degree view of the mountains and the Urubamba river. It was a steep hike, and lots of stairs, but definitely worth it. AND we didn't have to get up at 2 to get in line for Huayna Picchu. Bonus.
After hiking for 4 hours and getting back to Aguas Calientes, we were absolutely exhausted. So we grabbed some dinner and just sat at the train station, dreaming of hot showers and sleep. We got on the train at about 4:30, which we almost missed...scary...and started our way back home. We finally got home, Yoni warmed us up some leftovers, and we each took a hot shower (which, by the way, felt like heaven), and got right into bed. Best night's sleep ever.
Friday, May 13, 2011
May 13th
This week has been pretty chill! It's crazy to think we only have a week left here...the past few days we've walked around Cuzco a bit more and just explored different areas and such. Today, for instance, we wanted to go to Moray (which are some really cool ruins) but we didn't have enough time so we just went to El Molino, which is the black market, instead. There's Molino 1 and Molino 2...we only went to the first one, but it was HUGE! Definitely a little overwhelming. But it was cool to walk around and see.
Important update: We are officially switching projects! The kids at Ayarmaca are SO cute and so much fun, and we really enjoyed being there, but we weren't really needed. We mostly just colored with them and played and whatevs. Which was all fun and whatnot, but we didn't come here to play. We may have helped out a little bit, but there wasn't really much we could do there. So we talked to our project advisors, and they said we could switch to a different project instead where we could be of more help, and we happily agreed! (I don't know why they didn't do this in the first place.) So Monday we will be heading to a clinic for disabled children (both mentally and physically) where we will be cleaning, feeding, changing, bathing, playing with, and just generally taking care of these kids. We have a couple other volunteer friends who are at the same place and they said it's pretty challenging, a lot of work, and a little heart-breaking, but you are definitely making a difference and it's so worth it. Which is what we're looking for! It will be pretty hard and sad to leave those adorable kids at Ayarmaca, I've definitely gotten attached to a few of them (especially little Yampol and Pamela!). We'll go say goodbye to them Monday morning before heading to our new project. But as sad as it will be to say goodbye to them, we're really looking forward to our next assignment and helping out! We're really excited!
In other news...we're starting our journey to Machu Picchu tomorrow morning!!! We'll be spending tomorrow night in Aguas Calientes and then going up to MP extremely EARLY the next morning. And by early I mean like 2 am. Oh yeah. Livin the dream. Can't wait!! :)
Important update: We are officially switching projects! The kids at Ayarmaca are SO cute and so much fun, and we really enjoyed being there, but we weren't really needed. We mostly just colored with them and played and whatevs. Which was all fun and whatnot, but we didn't come here to play. We may have helped out a little bit, but there wasn't really much we could do there. So we talked to our project advisors, and they said we could switch to a different project instead where we could be of more help, and we happily agreed! (I don't know why they didn't do this in the first place.) So Monday we will be heading to a clinic for disabled children (both mentally and physically) where we will be cleaning, feeding, changing, bathing, playing with, and just generally taking care of these kids. We have a couple other volunteer friends who are at the same place and they said it's pretty challenging, a lot of work, and a little heart-breaking, but you are definitely making a difference and it's so worth it. Which is what we're looking for! It will be pretty hard and sad to leave those adorable kids at Ayarmaca, I've definitely gotten attached to a few of them (especially little Yampol and Pamela!). We'll go say goodbye to them Monday morning before heading to our new project. But as sad as it will be to say goodbye to them, we're really looking forward to our next assignment and helping out! We're really excited!
In other news...we're starting our journey to Machu Picchu tomorrow morning!!! We'll be spending tomorrow night in Aguas Calientes and then going up to MP extremely EARLY the next morning. And by early I mean like 2 am. Oh yeah. Livin the dream. Can't wait!! :)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
May 11th: Halfway There...
Today marks the halfway point of our three week trip, so this post is dedicated a few of the things I have learned/noticed since being here.
Cars: Drivers here are absolutely bonkers. I don't even know how to describe it, except for the fact that I wouldn't last a minute driving around here. They somehow know how to get within half an inch (no exaggeration) of another car/building/person without hitting them. Taxis are our usual mode of transportation here, because they're all over the place and really cheap (only 2.50 soles, which is less than a dollar), and they're fast. However we also have taken many buses, which are even cheaper, but take longer, and they will cram as many people as possible onto them. You wouldn't believe how many people they can fit into one of those things. NOT for the claustrophobic.
Cheap: Everything here is SO cheap!! Oh my goodness. I love it. And if you go to the souvenir stores, its customary to bargain with them. So you can usually get down to half of their original price.
Fireworks: These crazy Peruvians LOVE their fireworks. Churches around here set them off every single day at the most random times, day or night.
Weather: I've already talked about this, but we still can't get used to the fact that it's pretty hot during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down, it gets ridiculously cold. Not a fan. Can't wait for my warm summery nights.
History: America seems so darn young and boring compared to here! Everywhere you turn there's some ancient cathedral or Incan ruin or whatever. The place is filled to the brim with history and traditions and it's really cool.
Smells: Cuzco smells funny. There's a lot of car exhaust and garbage and just general nastiness, and the air does not smell very pleasant, and it's usually pretty dusty as well.
Coca leaves: Coca tea (yes, "coca" as in "cocaine") and Coca leaves are extremely popular here and are believed to cure pretty much anything.
Kids: For some reason, all the kids here seem to be so calm and happy! I seriously haven't seen a kid this whole time that was being a brat. (Ok, actually there's one in the preschool that is a little bit of a teacher's pet, but still.) The babies are always tightly wrapped up in this brightly colored blanket thing on their mother's backs, and they never make a sound, and the little kids just tag along, not misbehaving or anything! I don't know what it is, but I think American kids need to follow their example. :)
Breathing: I've forgotten what it feels take to take a deep breath.
Toilet paper: I've already mentioned this, but it's really gross that we have to throw away our toilet paper instead of just throwing it in the toilet. Blech.
Availability of water: Though at our house we always have hot water for the shower, the water here is only on from 7 am to about 9:30 pm. And even then, it will shut off at random times and you have no idea when it will come back on. So taking a shower is always a risky experience, cause you don't want to be stuck in there with shampoo still in your hair if the water suddenly shuts off.
Food/Water: You have to be really careful what you eat and drink here. You can't eat stuff sold on the streets, no matter how good it looks, cause it's full of parasites and nastiness. You also have to make sure to either get bottled water or boil your water before you drink it. The house we're staying at has really good homemade Peruvian food though, and it's usually not TOO wild. (Though I'll be trying cuy and alpaca next week!)
Dogs: There are SO many stray dogs just running around all over the place...pretty mangy looking, but they basically just mind their own business, so that's good.
Accents: I love all the different accents of the volunteers here. Though the majority of the people are from either the U.S. or Canada, there are people from all over the world.
Being a white girl: I don't know what it is, but some people here act like they've never seen a white person before, even though Cuzco attracts quite a bit of tourists. Kassie and I get stared at, whistled at, and the like all the time.
No Trash Cans: Seriously. It's annoying. You have to search for them.
Cars: Drivers here are absolutely bonkers. I don't even know how to describe it, except for the fact that I wouldn't last a minute driving around here. They somehow know how to get within half an inch (no exaggeration) of another car/building/person without hitting them. Taxis are our usual mode of transportation here, because they're all over the place and really cheap (only 2.50 soles, which is less than a dollar), and they're fast. However we also have taken many buses, which are even cheaper, but take longer, and they will cram as many people as possible onto them. You wouldn't believe how many people they can fit into one of those things. NOT for the claustrophobic.
Cheap: Everything here is SO cheap!! Oh my goodness. I love it. And if you go to the souvenir stores, its customary to bargain with them. So you can usually get down to half of their original price.
Fireworks: These crazy Peruvians LOVE their fireworks. Churches around here set them off every single day at the most random times, day or night.
Weather: I've already talked about this, but we still can't get used to the fact that it's pretty hot during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down, it gets ridiculously cold. Not a fan. Can't wait for my warm summery nights.
History: America seems so darn young and boring compared to here! Everywhere you turn there's some ancient cathedral or Incan ruin or whatever. The place is filled to the brim with history and traditions and it's really cool.
Smells: Cuzco smells funny. There's a lot of car exhaust and garbage and just general nastiness, and the air does not smell very pleasant, and it's usually pretty dusty as well.
Coca leaves: Coca tea (yes, "coca" as in "cocaine") and Coca leaves are extremely popular here and are believed to cure pretty much anything.
Kids: For some reason, all the kids here seem to be so calm and happy! I seriously haven't seen a kid this whole time that was being a brat. (Ok, actually there's one in the preschool that is a little bit of a teacher's pet, but still.) The babies are always tightly wrapped up in this brightly colored blanket thing on their mother's backs, and they never make a sound, and the little kids just tag along, not misbehaving or anything! I don't know what it is, but I think American kids need to follow their example. :)
Breathing: I've forgotten what it feels take to take a deep breath.
Toilet paper: I've already mentioned this, but it's really gross that we have to throw away our toilet paper instead of just throwing it in the toilet. Blech.
Availability of water: Though at our house we always have hot water for the shower, the water here is only on from 7 am to about 9:30 pm. And even then, it will shut off at random times and you have no idea when it will come back on. So taking a shower is always a risky experience, cause you don't want to be stuck in there with shampoo still in your hair if the water suddenly shuts off.
Food/Water: You have to be really careful what you eat and drink here. You can't eat stuff sold on the streets, no matter how good it looks, cause it's full of parasites and nastiness. You also have to make sure to either get bottled water or boil your water before you drink it. The house we're staying at has really good homemade Peruvian food though, and it's usually not TOO wild. (Though I'll be trying cuy and alpaca next week!)
Dogs: There are SO many stray dogs just running around all over the place...pretty mangy looking, but they basically just mind their own business, so that's good.
Accents: I love all the different accents of the volunteers here. Though the majority of the people are from either the U.S. or Canada, there are people from all over the world.
Being a white girl: I don't know what it is, but some people here act like they've never seen a white person before, even though Cuzco attracts quite a bit of tourists. Kassie and I get stared at, whistled at, and the like all the time.
No Trash Cans: Seriously. It's annoying. You have to search for them.
Monday, May 9, 2011
May 9th
Sunday: We left at about 8 am with Matt and met up with some other volunteers named Signe and Troels, and we caught a bus down to Pisac, which is in the Sacred Valley. Apparently the market is in full swing on Sundays, so we spent a couple hours just wandering around there and checking out all the cool stuff. Then Kass, Signe, Troels, and I took a taxi up to the very top of the ruins around Pisac. (Matt had already hiked them so he just caught the bus back home.) It took us about 4 hours to get all the way back down the mountain to Pisac, but the trail was absolutely gorgeous and the ruins were amazing! I was kinda expecting for the ruins out here to start to all look the same, but every new one we see is just incredible. We had a lot of fun hiking around and taking silly pictures. We then got on a bus back to Cuzco at about 5 pm, and it only seats about 28 people, and the seats were all taken, so we had to stand on our already tired feet. That wouldn't have been too bad, but then they proceeded to CRAM people on that bus until there were literally 61 of us. Oh yes. I counted. And we were packed in like that for the entire 45 minute bus ride. It was ridiculous. But an adventure, nonetheless!
Monday: We did our morning work at Ayarmaca, and then Kass and I went to the Centro de Arsenal and got a few more souvenirs for ourselves and families. After lunch we headed out with our two new roommates, Jack and Eric, to explore a little more of Cuzco. We went up to San Blas, and then down to the San Pedro market where we tried some fruit juice...it's pretty cool actually, you pick the fruits and they blend em up right in front of you, and they don't add any water or anything to it so it kinda has a milkshake-like texture. Pretty tasty. So we just walked around for a few hours, stopped in a few stores, and just did Gringo-y things. A pretty chill day compared to this weekend!
ALSO. I forgot to mention this on Saturday: Kassie and I have officially tried cocaine. :) haha not in THAT way, of course. But coca leaves are extremely popular here in Peru, as kind of a "cure all" type thing. Coca tea is the main thing they use, but they also take coca leaves and chew them up for about 15 minutes to help with altitude sickness. So when we went horseback riding, our guide gave us all some coca leaves to try to help with the altitude. Kass and I weren't having any trouble but we figured we would try it anyways...it was nasty. We chewed it for about a minute and then spit it out. :) BUT! We tried it. Rock on.
Monday: We did our morning work at Ayarmaca, and then Kass and I went to the Centro de Arsenal and got a few more souvenirs for ourselves and families. After lunch we headed out with our two new roommates, Jack and Eric, to explore a little more of Cuzco. We went up to San Blas, and then down to the San Pedro market where we tried some fruit juice...it's pretty cool actually, you pick the fruits and they blend em up right in front of you, and they don't add any water or anything to it so it kinda has a milkshake-like texture. Pretty tasty. So we just walked around for a few hours, stopped in a few stores, and just did Gringo-y things. A pretty chill day compared to this weekend!
ALSO. I forgot to mention this on Saturday: Kassie and I have officially tried cocaine. :) haha not in THAT way, of course. But coca leaves are extremely popular here in Peru, as kind of a "cure all" type thing. Coca tea is the main thing they use, but they also take coca leaves and chew them up for about 15 minutes to help with altitude sickness. So when we went horseback riding, our guide gave us all some coca leaves to try to help with the altitude. Kass and I weren't having any trouble but we figured we would try it anyways...it was nasty. We chewed it for about a minute and then spit it out. :) BUT! We tried it. Rock on.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
May 7th
It's hard to believe that a week ago, I was staying up late packing and getting ready to leave super early the next morning. Weird.
I got to call home last night for a little bit and talk to my mom, which was great! It was also a little weird just cause all of a sudden home sounded so CLOSE, instead of a continent away.
Anywho, we started off this weekend's adventures with a 4 hour horseback ride through the other three ruins outside of Cuzco. We went with an company called Liz's Explorers. The whole thing was only $25.00 and it was worth every single penny! We started out at a local ranch just outside of Sacsayhuamán, and rode almost all the way up to Tambomachay (about 5 or 6 miles from Cuzco). We stopped at a field, our guide picked us up and showed us around Tambomachay and Puka Pukara, and then we got back on our horses to ride down to see Q'enqo (the Moon Temple) and get back down to the ranch. It was absolutely amazing. We were riding through gorgeous countryside, our guides were super funny and friendly, and we didn't have to walk! If any of you are planning to go to Cuzco, I highly recommend it.
After our fabulous morning, Kass and I walked back down to Cuzco (yeah. back down all those stairs that I swore never to step foot on again) and got a taxi down to the Plaza where we got some lunch. We then walked down to Maximo where they have free salsa lessons every Saturday, so we did that for a while, which was pretty fun! We're both exhausted so we probably won't do much more today, but we do have a new volunteer in the house that we'll go meet tonight. Since Jen left yesterday (which we were bummed about) it's just me, Kass, and Matt upstairs so it'll be cool to have someone else there as well. His name is Eric, but that's all we know about him so far. Anywho. We'll probably just relax tonight because tomorrow is another busy day!!
I got to call home last night for a little bit and talk to my mom, which was great! It was also a little weird just cause all of a sudden home sounded so CLOSE, instead of a continent away.
Anywho, we started off this weekend's adventures with a 4 hour horseback ride through the other three ruins outside of Cuzco. We went with an company called Liz's Explorers. The whole thing was only $25.00 and it was worth every single penny! We started out at a local ranch just outside of Sacsayhuamán, and rode almost all the way up to Tambomachay (about 5 or 6 miles from Cuzco). We stopped at a field, our guide picked us up and showed us around Tambomachay and Puka Pukara, and then we got back on our horses to ride down to see Q'enqo (the Moon Temple) and get back down to the ranch. It was absolutely amazing. We were riding through gorgeous countryside, our guides were super funny and friendly, and we didn't have to walk! If any of you are planning to go to Cuzco, I highly recommend it.
After our fabulous morning, Kass and I walked back down to Cuzco (yeah. back down all those stairs that I swore never to step foot on again) and got a taxi down to the Plaza where we got some lunch. We then walked down to Maximo where they have free salsa lessons every Saturday, so we did that for a while, which was pretty fun! We're both exhausted so we probably won't do much more today, but we do have a new volunteer in the house that we'll go meet tonight. Since Jen left yesterday (which we were bummed about) it's just me, Kass, and Matt upstairs so it'll be cool to have someone else there as well. His name is Eric, but that's all we know about him so far. Anywho. We'll probably just relax tonight because tomorrow is another busy day!!
Friday, May 6, 2011
May 6th
Since this weekend is going to be pretty crazy, I´m going to have to post now so I have less to write later. Such is my laziness. HOWEVER. My laziness only extends that far here in Peru, for this morning we got up and walked a couple miles to the top of a hill just outside of Cusco to go see Sacsayhuamán. Which, let me tell you, (and Kassie can attest to this), was no easy task. We walked up to Maximo to use an ATM, took a taxi to the Plaza de Armas, and then walked the rest of the way. We had to climb 6 extremely long and steep flights of stone stairs to get up the hill. That combined with the altitude...yeah. Craziness. It took us about 40 minutes, so not too long, but definitely won´t be climbing those nasty stairs again anytime soon. When we got to the top however, it was all worth it. We could see the entire city of Cuzco, the weather was gorgeous, and we were standing in ancient Incan ruins!
Just outside of Cuzco there are four ruins, all pretty close together. Sacsayhuamán is the lowest of the four. It was the capital of the ancient Incan empire, and it´s HUGE. It´s a great big fortress with super tall walls, and then there are terraces and doorways all throughout it. Right in the middle there´s a great big field, which is believed to have been a courtyard type thing. And of course, it´s all built with stones that somehow fit perfectly together, no mortar or anything. Yet you couldn´t even fit a piece of paper in between two of them, that´s how well it´s built. The precision is incredible. It took about 77 years to make, and the largest stone weighs about 70 tons!! Those Incans must´ve been BEASTS to have lifted all those stones and put that all together. Jeesh.
The walk back down was MUCH easier, since it was all downhill, and I got souvenirs for my brothers on the way. (Don´t worry, Manda, Meagan, and parents, I´m getting stuff for you too!) Since it was so great out, we stopped at this little ice cream window shop a few doors down from Maximo and had our first taste of Peruvian ice cream. We asked the dude who was serving it which was his favorite and he pointed to the chocolate chip kind...I´m not a fan of chocolate chip ice cream but I figured I might as well, so we both got it...oh my. SO GOOD. It doesn´t taste like regular ice cream. And the best part?? It´s under a dollar. Oh yes. Lovin how cheap everything is here.
Just outside of Cuzco there are four ruins, all pretty close together. Sacsayhuamán is the lowest of the four. It was the capital of the ancient Incan empire, and it´s HUGE. It´s a great big fortress with super tall walls, and then there are terraces and doorways all throughout it. Right in the middle there´s a great big field, which is believed to have been a courtyard type thing. And of course, it´s all built with stones that somehow fit perfectly together, no mortar or anything. Yet you couldn´t even fit a piece of paper in between two of them, that´s how well it´s built. The precision is incredible. It took about 77 years to make, and the largest stone weighs about 70 tons!! Those Incans must´ve been BEASTS to have lifted all those stones and put that all together. Jeesh.
The walk back down was MUCH easier, since it was all downhill, and I got souvenirs for my brothers on the way. (Don´t worry, Manda, Meagan, and parents, I´m getting stuff for you too!) Since it was so great out, we stopped at this little ice cream window shop a few doors down from Maximo and had our first taste of Peruvian ice cream. We asked the dude who was serving it which was his favorite and he pointed to the chocolate chip kind...I´m not a fan of chocolate chip ice cream but I figured I might as well, so we both got it...oh my. SO GOOD. It doesn´t taste like regular ice cream. And the best part?? It´s under a dollar. Oh yes. Lovin how cheap everything is here.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
May 5th
Oh boy. Peru continues to amaze me. LOVIN IT.
Today was our third day at the preschool we´re working at, and the kids remain as adorable and easy-going as ever. We brought some stuff to make flower hair clips and we made them with the kids...they each made one for their moms for Mother´s Day and then the girls made one for themselves as well. So today was their Mother´s Day celebration, and we put the flowers in their hair and they sang songs for their moms and such. They are SO cute! Kassie and I have fallen in love with this little boy named Yampol. He´s the cutest kid the world has ever seen. For real.
We´re still really enjoying Cuzco, and we´ve become more accustomed to the altitude, though it´s still not as great as back home. The one thing I can´t wait to have back in the U.S. is BREATHING. Besides having thin air because of the altitude, the air quality here is terrible. Seriously, walking our regular route every morning, we´ve learned to hold our breath for certain parts because it smells so terrible.
Other than that, we haven´t really done anything too exciting to write about since Monday, but this weekend will be jam-packed full of adventures, which I will tell you about after we get back :)
Today was our third day at the preschool we´re working at, and the kids remain as adorable and easy-going as ever. We brought some stuff to make flower hair clips and we made them with the kids...they each made one for their moms for Mother´s Day and then the girls made one for themselves as well. So today was their Mother´s Day celebration, and we put the flowers in their hair and they sang songs for their moms and such. They are SO cute! Kassie and I have fallen in love with this little boy named Yampol. He´s the cutest kid the world has ever seen. For real.
We´re still really enjoying Cuzco, and we´ve become more accustomed to the altitude, though it´s still not as great as back home. The one thing I can´t wait to have back in the U.S. is BREATHING. Besides having thin air because of the altitude, the air quality here is terrible. Seriously, walking our regular route every morning, we´ve learned to hold our breath for certain parts because it smells so terrible.
Other than that, we haven´t really done anything too exciting to write about since Monday, but this weekend will be jam-packed full of adventures, which I will tell you about after we get back :)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
First Couple of Days
Oh boy. I´ve only been here like three days so far and there´s already SO much to tell!! Sunday we didn´t really do much besides meet the other volunteers in our house (Matt, Jen, and Jacqueline) and the owner who is named Yoni. She is the nicest sweetest lady ever! She also only speaks Spanish, but she talks pretty slow and very clearly so we actually understand what she´s saying, even if we´re not sure how to respond in her language haha :) So we just relaxed and tried to get accustomed to the altitude (which, let me tell you, is a BUGGER. I can´t wait to get back home and take a lung-ful of oxygen. Mmm.) Monday, however, was a different story.
Monday: We woke up and walked the two blocks up the street to the Maximo Nivel offices. They´re the ones that are running our program and where everything is based. We had our orientation and learned the name of our placement which is Pronoel Ayarmaca, it´s a government-funded preschool that has about 20 kids and is very poor and understaffed.
After orientation we went next door to Patas, which is Maximo´s tourism partner, and signed up for Spanish classes and for our Machu Picchu trip for next weekend! AUGH! Stoked about that. As we were waiting around, one of the girls from our orientation came up to us and said that since we said we were from Utah, she was wondering if we were Mormon...we said yeah, and she said, "oh good, me too!" So we were pretty excited about that and we´re going to go to church together this Sunday.
We headed back to Yoni´s, had lunch, got our stuff together, and headed BACK to Maximo to email family and stuff for a little bit, and while we were there, we met these two girls from Canada named Annie and Lauren and got talking, and since we had nothing to do that day, we decided to walk up to the western end of the city and check out the Plaza de Armas and all the little tourist shops and such up there. We had a great time and got to know them pretty well, and they´re going to come to Machu Picchu with us! Woot!
After spending all day up there, we went our seperate ways, and Kass and I decided to stop at this HUGE souvenir shop just down the street from us, and we each got a sweater and a bag - both made from alpaca :) The best part? It all only cost twelve American dollars. Oh yeah. Lovin Peru and their "Soles". We had dinner with Yoni and the gang, and watched videos of Matt and Jen´s bungee jumping adventure they had on Sunday...it looked SO painful! We also watched this absolutely ridiculous Peruvian game show that´s on at dinner every night, it´s super funny. Can´t remember what it´s called though...anywho. We just sat around and talked and it was great.
Tuesday: Today was the first day of our program! We headed up to Maximo and met up with Andrea and Andreas (yeah, funny, I know) since they were going to come with us on our first day and show us how to get there and such. So we got on this little bus and rode for about twenty minutes to the opposite end of Cuzco to this tiny little preschool with about 20 kids. The teacher is named Ruth and she was super nice - we think, considering we have no idea what she was saying. She could well have been cursing at us. Haha jk :) But the kids were ADORABLE. Oh my goodness. She told us they wanted to sing a song for us, but when she tried to get them to start, they were all too shy except for this one little girl named Melani, and she sang for us all by herself! AWWW!!! So we just pretty much have to play with them and color and help them write their letters/numbers and stuff, pretty easy! Today we just played "catch" with them...and by catch, I mean, like ten kids grabbed a ball and chucked em at us while we desperately tried to catch them all and toss them back. It was great fun. (I have to quote my dad here, I was telling him about it today and he said, "Though I can't wait til some oober cute (SO CUTE) little child of innocence looks into your eyes and says something in Spanish you can't understand and then unloads their native peruvian breakfast on your shirt." Too true. It´ll happen, I´m sure. hahaha)
Also the weather up here is pretty weird, it´s really hot around like 10 or 11, and since we´re so high up, the sun is really intense. But then the sun goes down at about 5, and as soon as it goes down it gets SUPER cold. Ridiculous. Another super weird thing to get used to in Peru is...for you squeamish ones, just skip ahead...you have to throw all your toilet paper into the garbage instead of in the toilet. Ew. Ew. Ew. And yes, that includes your used paper. Nasty. haha anywho, so now we´re just waiting around for Spanish class to start, and then we´ll probably just chill around the house tonight and organize our room and such. I´ll tell more later! Ciao!
P.S. I apologize for the lack of pictures. Believe me, I´ve tried. The internet at Maximo is super slow and it´s not letting me upload any right now. Tomorrow or Thursday we´ll go to an internet cafe and hopefully it´ll work there. I´ll keep ya posted.
Monday: We woke up and walked the two blocks up the street to the Maximo Nivel offices. They´re the ones that are running our program and where everything is based. We had our orientation and learned the name of our placement which is Pronoel Ayarmaca, it´s a government-funded preschool that has about 20 kids and is very poor and understaffed.
After orientation we went next door to Patas, which is Maximo´s tourism partner, and signed up for Spanish classes and for our Machu Picchu trip for next weekend! AUGH! Stoked about that. As we were waiting around, one of the girls from our orientation came up to us and said that since we said we were from Utah, she was wondering if we were Mormon...we said yeah, and she said, "oh good, me too!" So we were pretty excited about that and we´re going to go to church together this Sunday.
We headed back to Yoni´s, had lunch, got our stuff together, and headed BACK to Maximo to email family and stuff for a little bit, and while we were there, we met these two girls from Canada named Annie and Lauren and got talking, and since we had nothing to do that day, we decided to walk up to the western end of the city and check out the Plaza de Armas and all the little tourist shops and such up there. We had a great time and got to know them pretty well, and they´re going to come to Machu Picchu with us! Woot!
After spending all day up there, we went our seperate ways, and Kass and I decided to stop at this HUGE souvenir shop just down the street from us, and we each got a sweater and a bag - both made from alpaca :) The best part? It all only cost twelve American dollars. Oh yeah. Lovin Peru and their "Soles". We had dinner with Yoni and the gang, and watched videos of Matt and Jen´s bungee jumping adventure they had on Sunday...it looked SO painful! We also watched this absolutely ridiculous Peruvian game show that´s on at dinner every night, it´s super funny. Can´t remember what it´s called though...anywho. We just sat around and talked and it was great.
Tuesday: Today was the first day of our program! We headed up to Maximo and met up with Andrea and Andreas (yeah, funny, I know) since they were going to come with us on our first day and show us how to get there and such. So we got on this little bus and rode for about twenty minutes to the opposite end of Cuzco to this tiny little preschool with about 20 kids. The teacher is named Ruth and she was super nice - we think, considering we have no idea what she was saying. She could well have been cursing at us. Haha jk :) But the kids were ADORABLE. Oh my goodness. She told us they wanted to sing a song for us, but when she tried to get them to start, they were all too shy except for this one little girl named Melani, and she sang for us all by herself! AWWW!!! So we just pretty much have to play with them and color and help them write their letters/numbers and stuff, pretty easy! Today we just played "catch" with them...and by catch, I mean, like ten kids grabbed a ball and chucked em at us while we desperately tried to catch them all and toss them back. It was great fun. (I have to quote my dad here, I was telling him about it today and he said, "Though I can't wait til some oober cute (SO CUTE) little child of innocence looks into your eyes and says something in Spanish you can't understand and then unloads their native peruvian breakfast on your shirt." Too true. It´ll happen, I´m sure. hahaha)
Also the weather up here is pretty weird, it´s really hot around like 10 or 11, and since we´re so high up, the sun is really intense. But then the sun goes down at about 5, and as soon as it goes down it gets SUPER cold. Ridiculous. Another super weird thing to get used to in Peru is...for you squeamish ones, just skip ahead...you have to throw all your toilet paper into the garbage instead of in the toilet. Ew. Ew. Ew. And yes, that includes your used paper. Nasty. haha anywho, so now we´re just waiting around for Spanish class to start, and then we´ll probably just chill around the house tonight and organize our room and such. I´ll tell more later! Ciao!
P.S. I apologize for the lack of pictures. Believe me, I´ve tried. The internet at Maximo is super slow and it´s not letting me upload any right now. Tomorrow or Thursday we´ll go to an internet cafe and hopefully it´ll work there. I´ll keep ya posted.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
We´re here!
Well folks, after an EXTREMELY long and tiring two days...I´M IN CUZCO!! And let me tell ya, it´s absolutely incredible. Let me tell you about my journey. (Warning: this will not be a very exciting post.)
My travels started at 3:30 am on Saturday, when my mom and I picked up Kassie and drove up to the Salt Lake airport. Getting there was an experience in and of itself, because Lil Miss Utah decided to have a blizzard. Oh yes. At the end of April. So that was nerve-wracking. BUT we made it to the airport on time and got on our 6:40 flight to San Fransisco.
Landed in San Fran at about 9..ish...and stood in lines and junk for a good majority of our 5 hour layover there. Whee. Caught the 1:55 pm flight to Lima...
...Which was nine stinkin hours long. Ugh. However, we passed the time with movies and games and it wasn´t TOO unbearable. We landed in Lima about midnight, and as we got off the plane we were informed that we were going to be put on an earlier flight to Cuzco. We were ecstatic, seeing as we were expecting a seven hour over-night layover in the Lima airport. It turned out to only be five hours with the earlier flight, and that was manageable. We exhanged some money for ¨soles¨ and headed to a pay phone to call the dude that was supposed to pick us up and had a heck of a time figuring out which coins to use haha :) But we finally figured it out and arranged to have the guy pick us up at the right time, and then headed to the gate. We took turns trying to get a few minutes of sleep while waiting at the gate, which didn´t really work cause it was pretty darn uncomfortable, but hey. We tried.
We finally got on the 5:35 am flight and flew for an hour into...drum roll please...CUZCO!! Flying over the city was SO cool, it´s just this little city nestled away in the mountains. They picked us up from the airport, and took us to the Maximo Nivel offices and showed us around there for a little bit, and then took us to our accomodation. We are staying in a little house with about five other volunteers (we got the ¨overflow¨ house) and they seem pretty nice! And it´s only two blocks away from the offices so we don´t even have to take a taxi.
I´ve only been here for a few hours and I´m already in love with the city. So many cool people and things to see, and I can´t wait to explore it all!
Love you all, more later.
My travels started at 3:30 am on Saturday, when my mom and I picked up Kassie and drove up to the Salt Lake airport. Getting there was an experience in and of itself, because Lil Miss Utah decided to have a blizzard. Oh yes. At the end of April. So that was nerve-wracking. BUT we made it to the airport on time and got on our 6:40 flight to San Fransisco.
Landed in San Fran at about 9..ish...and stood in lines and junk for a good majority of our 5 hour layover there. Whee. Caught the 1:55 pm flight to Lima...
...Which was nine stinkin hours long. Ugh. However, we passed the time with movies and games and it wasn´t TOO unbearable. We landed in Lima about midnight, and as we got off the plane we were informed that we were going to be put on an earlier flight to Cuzco. We were ecstatic, seeing as we were expecting a seven hour over-night layover in the Lima airport. It turned out to only be five hours with the earlier flight, and that was manageable. We exhanged some money for ¨soles¨ and headed to a pay phone to call the dude that was supposed to pick us up and had a heck of a time figuring out which coins to use haha :) But we finally figured it out and arranged to have the guy pick us up at the right time, and then headed to the gate. We took turns trying to get a few minutes of sleep while waiting at the gate, which didn´t really work cause it was pretty darn uncomfortable, but hey. We tried.
We finally got on the 5:35 am flight and flew for an hour into...drum roll please...CUZCO!! Flying over the city was SO cool, it´s just this little city nestled away in the mountains. They picked us up from the airport, and took us to the Maximo Nivel offices and showed us around there for a little bit, and then took us to our accomodation. We are staying in a little house with about five other volunteers (we got the ¨overflow¨ house) and they seem pretty nice! And it´s only two blocks away from the offices so we don´t even have to take a taxi.
I´ve only been here for a few hours and I´m already in love with the city. So many cool people and things to see, and I can´t wait to explore it all!
Love you all, more later.
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