Desde Cuzco

I am so thrilled to be writing this post from Cuzco, Peru. I arrived in Cuzco on Sunday, after a long day of traveling Saturday and a short morning flight to Cuzco.

Dia de Carnival
Cuzco is a beautiful city, rich with history and culture, that I am just beginning to explore. On Sunday evening, my first day at the language school, all of the new students were supposed to be given a quick tour of the city, but we were unable to go out into the streets because we knew that we would be a huge target. It was dia de carnival, and in Cuzco, they celebrate it by throwing water balloons or buckets of water at passer-bys. Traditionally boys chase after girls and vice versa, but the boys are the ones doing most of the throwing and there is no discrimination for tourists. The kids are also armed with shaving crème and huge water guns, and are merciless, but one boy gave me a water balloon to throw before he doused me with a bucket of water! I was soaked head to toe, freezing cold and my hair was greasy from the shaving crème. At night, they throw flour, but I knew I was an easy target so I spent the evening with my host family. It was a crazy, but definitely fun experience.

Visit to the Clinic
Today, I had the chance to visit a clinic for mentally handicapped children that have been abandoned by their parents. The clinic is supported by the Amauta language school, which I am attending. We gave a donation towards their emergency medical fund for the children, and then spent about an hour visiting and playing with the children. I sang songs with them that I learned in highschool Spanish class (Los pollitos dicen pio pio pio...thank you Mr. Norrid!), and I spent a lot of time playing with a girl who could not sit upright without help, or speak. When I laid her back in her bed (something very difficult to do, because she really enjoyed the attention) I saw that her name was Katy. I also visited and played with twin toddlers Ruth and Yusira, and I was so excited when they both grabbed my hand at the same time.

The Amauta Language School runs a volunteer program in addition to classes for students, and the clinic is just one of their 25 projects.

Cuzco, World Heritage site
It´s incredible to be living in a city with so much culture and history. Cuzco was named as one of the world´s heritage sites and people seem to be flocking from around the world to visit. I have made friends from Austria, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Holland and the states. But it´s an odd experience to see in this bustling city, where history and present collide, an Irish pub or an American sports bar & grill in the Plaza de Armas.

The booming tourism industry is sparking some conflict as they try to decide how to best manage Machu Pichu. Tomorrow, there will be a strike in the main Plaza de Armas, and there will be no transportation within Cuzco or to Machu Pichu. (It looks like I´ll be walking with some friends to school tomorrow! It´s a good 45-50 minute walk, but I need the exercise).

I think that´s all for now…if you have to read these long posts every time, I´m afraid you´ll never come back to visit! This weekend I´ll have the chance to see a huge celebration in Puno for Carnival. People come from all over to see the festival and there will be folkloric dances and firecrackers in the main streets of the city.

Until next time!

Katie