El Dorado

Well, the streets and structures are not covered in gold anymore (thanks to the Spainards, of course) but Cusco still has quite a few treasures to offer. First, let me say that I freakin love the street food here. My favorite is the grilled meat you can find with a potato on top of the skew, especially the chicken and sausage together...YUM. And of course there is also the catus fruit that I recently learned I could not take home with me because I would get pricked with microscopic needles and therefore had to let the vedor peel it for me while I ate it right there on the street. In addition to the legitamate vendors there are tons of kids that sell anything from chicklets to tiny postcards (yes, I bought one) to the people who come out of the clubs at night. They are so convincing!

I also love how Cusco is like NYC. At any time during the day or night you can get a taxi, no problem. There are tiny taxi´s that are cheap (s/2.50 anywhere in the city) and larger ones that are like stationwagons for s/3.00 anywhere in the city. The city buses are more like big astro vans that people cram into and they have no particular route. You just have to know that if you get on the bus labeled ¨Batman¨ where you´ll end up next. There isn´t good coffee around like NYC but I did have cafe con helado (coffee and ice cream) a while ago and if was divine!

As well as food, a ride and tiny postcards they advertise massages on the street for s/20.00! I had to get one and was not totally disappointed. It wasn´t quite an hour like they promised but I would say that a 45 minute massage for $6.30 was well worth it. I´ve also gotten my nose pierece for s/50.00. Now, you may say, ¨Christa, whey in the heck would you wait to go to a third world country to get your nose pierced¨ but I look at it this way, I didn´t want one till I got here! So now I have a tiny little blue gem in my nose as a souvenir from Peru.

The people here are golden as well. For instance there are all those who I work with here at The Point. They are local and sweet as sugar. I guess it doesn´t hurt that they think I´m pretty sweet too. :) My colleauges at ICPNA are also really cool. I´m observing a new class with a teacher who is doing an exchange from Arizona. And I´m loving that I´m getting Spanish lessons from Nelida. She gave me a proper Spanish workbook to complete from a minor level. We´re meetin again this Sunday to catch up since we haven´t been able to meet prior. She´s got a busy schedule with teaching, school and work. I´m going to have to cram though because I´ve been beaten by this cold I have for the past couple days. I think I´m finally getting over it but I still have an aweful cough that sounds way worse than it is.

Is it possible to O.D. on Vitamin C???

So I've had a cold for the past three days and it sucks. Especially when I have to work in a bar where people smoke like chimneys! I've been drinking coca tea and water with EmergenC packets constantly but I've been warned that too much could be a bad thing...so I guess I'll have to go and get some actual drugs for my cold. boo. I've also cut my right hand yesterday while washing dishes. Apparently Cusqenian dishware isn't that durable and they often break under the pression of other dishes in the sink. No matter, now I don't have wash them for a bit. :)
There is a new girl at the bar now, Laura, who is from Canada. She worked at The Point in Lima for a bit. I don't know if she's going to work out though, she's quite used to the way things were run in Lima and we're a bit more organized and run like a proper bar. We'll see.
I've been observing classes at ICPNA for these last three days and am liking it so far. The only problem I have is that I keep getting so sleepy while observing. lol I don't know how the students handle it! Also, the teachers there can't be the greatest inspiration. One teacher has an exentric way of waving his hands about, it looks like he's always flapping his ring and pinky fingers through the air. Another teacher reminds me of my neighbor from Tennessee in the 90's. They're all really nice, just much different that any other teachers I've ever had.
It's quite fun being in the classes with the students though. In one class there are two Fabrizio's, probably around 14/15 who think they're Rico Suave's. When I left yesterday they both blew me a kiss. And to think I might be their teacher! In my favorite class, the junior class, all the kids say "good afternoon, Christa" when I walk in. Love it!
Side note about the city. I think the whole of Cusco was built with marble streets. I know it's not really marble but I can't help but slip around while I'm walking almost everyday. And I know it's not just me, I've seen the locals slip to. And I'm now thinking fully in soles, not dollars. I haggle with the street vendors for s/ .30 centamos, or 10 cents! It sounds silly but when you live here and get used to how much things should costs you can't help but stand your ground and not be taken advantage of like a gringo! lol

ICPNA

I observed my first class at ICPNA (Instituto Cultural Peruan Norteamericano) where I´ll be ¨volunteering¨ next month. I can´t wait to start on April 6th. The classrooms are quite small. Mine had only 8 students, all between the ages of 9 and 10. I´ll be working with students that age on comprehension, pronounciation and how to use what they learn during conversation. We teach from workbooks and require the students to pass set examinations but I think other than that I´ll be set free as to how I want to go about teaching the students I have. Which is awesome cause if you know me you know I love kids and I love to have fun with kids. If I can teach them something along the way...even more awesome. Weird side note, I just noticed today that Amparo, the director, is missing her left arm. I know, weird, but something I thought I should mention.

Life here in Cusco is coming along swimmingly. I´m well settled (if you don´t count the fact that I´ve already had to change bunks to accomodate reservations) here at The Point. All of the staff now know who I am and although I know all of them I am still learning their names. lol I´ve also already had some interests. In particular a very nice, hot guy from Argentina named Claudio. He´s travelling with his five friends, all of whom I now consider my friends, around South America. By the way, when I say hot, I mean HOT! (please refer to photos on MySpace) Before I had to move rooms they were my roommates in Crazy Bitch. Now I´m in Miski Wawa (which means ¨sweet baby¨). I really hope I don´t have to move again anytime soon.

I´m by myself for now as Moose has gone to Puno where he has to pick up his new passport. No worries though, I´ve many friends in Cusco and at The Point. I´m also gaining a pretty full plate. Tomorrow I meet up with Nellida, a teacher at ICPNA, around 9a.m. so we can help each other out with languages and then I´m off to observe more classes until I have to be at work at the bar. Hopefully Litzy and I will be able to go out this weekend and she can show me the good spots for learning Salsa and where to drink. My dancing partner, Jenny, is gone to travel around more so I´ve got to find someone who loves to dance as much as she does! And there is always Nico, a really sweet Columbian American guy who is staying here at The Point. He also used to live in Crazy Bitch with us.

Well, I´m gone for now but check in with me later as I´m sure I´ll have more tales to tell!

Sacsaywaman

Yesterday I went to some ruins called Sacsaywaman...or Sexy Woman as it's known by all the locals! It was the second most important structure in all of the Incan Empire. The giant construction was used as housing for the high priests and warriors of Cusco, which was the Incan capitol during that time. It was said that it was 15 meters high and that the Incan's were not finished with it! Only 20% remains today to be seen but if you can imagine a sturcture that spans many miles, encompassing many temples and building including the temple of the moon where the queen and the essence of women in general were worshipped and celebrated. It blew my mind for sure. When the Spanish arrived they almost completely destroyed Sacsaywaman and took over Cusco. Even though they tryed to destroy all representations of what the Incan's worshipped there remains three that they were unable to recongnize within the stones themselves. One is the guinnea pig, another is the llama and the last is the puma. The entire structure of Sacsaywaman represents a puma head and the body is represented by the village below. Of course, today you can't really spot the body of the puma because the village has since grown into a major city but I was told that Avineda del Sol was once the tail of the puma which is still there today.

There were three major animals that were very important to the Inca's then. They were the condor which represented the upper part of the atmosphere or "heaven". The condor also represented force. The puma represented the earth itself or this world and war or power. Last, but certainly not least was the snake which represented the underworld and wisdom. Everytime you see an ancient structer here you see the three levels of the condor, puma and snake. Even by altars there were three tiered steps. Sacsaywaman itself was built on this basis of three layers.

It was amazing to see and unimaginable all in one. I hope that Macchu Picchu is just as amazing as it's the only Incan structure that was both finished and not destroyed by the Spanish. My boss said that if I get enough people together I can join a treck for free! All I would have to pay would be the entrance fee which is about s/122.00...or $60.00 USD. How amazing would that be?!

Found A Place To Stay!

Hello again. Good news, I found a place to stay at The Point Hostel here in Cusco. In exchange for accomodations, breakfast, lunch, dinner and internet I´m working in their bar four nights a week. This is a deal I absolutely couldn´t beat! The Point is really cool. Their logo is ¨A backpackers hostel by backpackers¨, or something like that. They are also known as ¨The Party Hostel¨and so a lot of people are always here whether they are staying or just visiting the bar. I don´t mind it so much. This is my second night and I´m pretty happy. My bed is super comfy and my roommates go out a lot so I kinda have the room to myself. It´s kinda like dorm style and my room has 10 bunks. Each room has a different name and my room´s name is ´Crazy Bitch¨. lol The ironic thing is...I´m the only girl in my room so far! lmao! I´ve already made a few friends. It´s quite easy here because there are so many foreigners who speak English. Although I don´t have to use my Spanish alot it is improving. I´ve learned very important frases like ¨Yo ya tengo¨and ¨Soy muy pobre, soy de Mexico¨! Just kidding. I really haved learned a little bit more and am continuing to learn everyday, especially since alot of my friends here speak both Spanish and English.
Tomorrow I´m going to ICPNA to meet up with Litzy, my local friend. She´s going to try to get me a job there teaching or something so I can earn some soles while I´m here. Cross your fingers everyone cause I really could use the extra dinero!
Today I hiked some ruins called Sacsaywaman but that story is for another day. I´m sunburned and pooped. Chao.

Cusco

So I've arrived in Cusco safe and with all of my things! Yay!! My trip here was interesting. Cruz del Sur was probably the fleshest (new Austrailian word meaning posh) transportation I could have taken instead of a plane. It had deeply reclining chairs, a tiny pillow but super nice blanket and it provided dinner, which was some sort of egg thing with rice a beef empananda and a chocolate and vanilla cake piece. We also got breakfast the next morning (if that's what you would call it) which was a ham sandwich and another cake piece. The food wasn't horrible but I am glad I packed an extra banana and ritz crackers for the ride. Speaking of the ride, it was...different. For the first few hours we were still leaving the city and passing through tiny "villages" as well as a ton of abandoned shacks and buildings. I had to wonder what had happened to all of these once homes and businesses. Almost all of the grafiti I saw on these were of Fujimori and Keiko...public figures that had been banished from the country because of coruption and hate crimes. Once we started ascending the Andes I started getting a little headache from the altitude. It was easily cured by some Alieve and sleep. Sleep...huh...

Sleep was virtually impossible. Imagine riding up and down on an extremely curvy road with loads of pot holes. Now imagine riding on the road for 19 hours. Now imagine trying to sleep on that ride. You get my drift. With all of the comforts provided by Cruz del Sur the ride itself was incredibly difficult. We were riding through altitudes higher than 4,000 meters in the Andes. Furthermore, the road itself was dangerous. To give you an idea, I could look out the window and see directly down into the valley below. I only saw maybe ten total guard rails the whole trip. And besides all that, it really is a one vehicle road but somehow we managed to stay on the road and let people pass without fault. I only had one scare. After I finally got to sleep at one moment the next thing I knew I was jerked to the left and things were falling from the compartments above. I honestly thought we were going to tip...it freaked me out but the other passangers didn't even wake! However, the view in the morning was astounding. I could see miles and miles of mountaintops which were either covered in clouds or snow. It really took my breathe away. About an hour outside of Cusco we stopped for a bathroom break (our toilets on the bus now smelled horrible) in a small village. I paid s/ .50 for some toilet paper and the service of getting new water to flush my toilet by a boy of about 6. I also was able to stand and take some pictures of the surrounding villages climbing up the sides of the mountains. Amazing.

When I arrived I didn't see Moose so I got a bite to eat and walked around the corner to email him. It didn't take long before he popped in a picked me up from the cafe itself! I was so glad to see a familiar face. We took a taxi to San Blas Plaza where his friend is staying. She generously offered to let me stay with her in her hostel for the night so that I could get some rest. I never got sick to my stomach from the altitude but I certainly had a nice headache for most of the day and was exhausted. I must have taken a three hour nap! Then we headed out in celebration of my arrival. I got to see where Moose works as a bartender. It's called "Patty's Irish Pub", the highest Irish Pub in the world! :) I might get a job there as well but I met this woman on the bus that works at IPNA, a rather large international school that has a lot of English teachers. I'll probably go there tomorrow to see if it's possible for me to teach English instead of working at the pub. Apparently I'll be making more than expected beause unfortunately foreigners get paid much more than locals. I can expect to make alteast s/45 a day which is like $15. I can live off of this wage comfortably here in Cusco.

It rained alot last night and so it was pretty cold this morning. I'm having to wear pants, a sweater and tennis shoes. Luckily I got a hot shower and breakfast this morning at Casa del Gringo II. This afternoon I'm going with Moose to find an apartment or hostel that is cheap enough for both of us to stay in. Looks like we're both on the same budget. I want to write so much more but I'm so overwhelmed. I think I'll have to wait a bit and process before letting the world know just how amazing and beautiful this city is.

Safe in Lima

I began my journey yesterday with the wonderful wakeup call of a Chic-Fil-A chicken busicuit and a Starbucks latte courtesey of my great friend Sophie. She graciously drove me to the Art Center MARTA station where I caught the train to the airport. Upon arrival I checked my bag and attempted to deposit a last minute check...not so lucky. Looks like I´ll have to send it back to my mother so she can deposit it for me. No worries though. I made my flight to Toronto which was smooth and got to explore the airport there. I grubbed on a Coyote Jack´s burger and chocolate milk before my flight. After walking around a bit I´ve come to the conclusion that the Toronto airport is the nicest airport I´ve ever been it. It really is amazingly clean and very art friendly!

My flight to Lima was 8 hours, 3 of which I slept and the rest I dined on odd tasting chicken with mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, a weird diced potato salad and chocolate mouse with a little ball of chocolate cake in the middle. I watched ¨The Secret Life of Bees¨ and ¨The Duchess¨. Right before my flight landed we were given a ham and cheese sandwich, pasta salad and cookie. I was grateful for the snack but it gave me a tummy ache.

Back in Toronto I had met a girl, Stacy, who was travelling throughout South America teaching English. When I told her my plan to stay in the airport until the morning where I would attempt to catch a taxi to my bus station she advised against it and offered to let me share her ride and room at her reserved hostel. After I actually landed and became overwhelmed with all of the people there I agreed! We took a taxi to Casa Ana where I had a wonderful nights rest and shower. The owner of the hostel went this morning to get my bus ticket and fed me breakfast! I´ll be leaving soon to Cuzco by way of the Cruz del Sur bus line. After leaving at 3:30 this afternoon my bus has one stop in Ica and arrives in Cuzco at 10:30a.m. tomorrow morning where I´ll meet my travel partner, Moose. I know what you´re thinking...a 19 hour bus ride?! We´ll see...