My last day in South America

Well, it really has been a wild ride, one that I will never forget. Saturday night when I left on the bus I cried for about two hours thinking about all the things I would miss about living here. Number one, Aidan. He became my best friend after I jumped into his bed naked and he refused me. Most people would say, "why the heck would you ever talk to him again?!" but if you knew him you would know why. That little part of my heart I left in Cusco...that was him. For some reason we didn't get together in the way a backpacker might have a fling. We grew something special together and I know that we will meet again.

Number two but a really close second, Christie, my Aussie. Heck, if it wasn't for her I would probably still be sleeping in my room at The Point wasting my time away. Those hostels are great but sometimes you just get stuck there because they offer all the luxuries home would and you never get to really see the city you stay in. Plus I have all these great memories with her like screaming at Peter from the TV room to bring us CHOCOLATE!!! Plus there was the time that she and I were depressed about Moose leaving but then we found some chocolate marshmellows on a street stand and became instantly happy. :) And if it were not for Christie then I never would have met Damian, her latin lover and my great friend as well. He really helped me practice my Spanish because he barely spoke any English at all! I will really miss her friendship up close but I'm trying to talk her into coming to NYC!!!

Third will be all my other Peruvian friends like Karina, Vanessa and Julia. They are the one's that make Cusco bright and if they ever leave then that will be a cloudy day in history for that city. I'm really going to miss walking down into the Plaza and seeing people that I came to know. That's when you know you really live in a place, when business owners, residents and tourists alike recognize you and seek you out on the busy street to say hello. I'll also really miss all of my day to day habits. I'll miss Christie or Aidan waking my lazy ass up to go get s/1.50 egg and cheese sandwiches from Epi that were made even better by the fact that she let up keep our own mayo and salsa golf at her stand because we were such regulars. I'll miss fresh juice that costs less than a dollar from Rena and fighting with my friends just before which juice lady we would go to. I'll miss making up silly songs about the market and thinking up ways to make the best music video for "My jugo brings all the boys to the yard"!

And I can never forget those day trips to little pueblos like Pisac where I found my most favorite piece of jewelry I will ever own. It's a medium sized silver ring that has a leave on one side and what looks like a hibiscus flower on the other encircling a beautiful oval mother of pearl stone. It's also where I took my favorite picture in all of SA when I went with Christie. Where else will you see an old indigenous couple pushing each other around in an old sales cart! Calca is a tranquil pueblo just outside of Pisac where Aidan and I discovered a pair of scissor stuck in a giant cactus fruit plant that grew to tall for it's surrounding wall. I would reccomend anyone who needs a day away from the hustle and bustle of Cusco to take that trip. Then there's Ollyatatombo where Moose and I first went through to get to Machu Picchu. We had amazing food at the cutest restaurant...I can still smell that delicious burrito!! And the last time I went with Aidan and saw a baby money being carried around on a small black dogs back...or finally saw the giant Inca face on the side of a cliff which I never would have seen had he not shown me. Those collectivos that we took to these places were so damn cheap, less than a dollar, and they took us to places that seemed worlds away from Cusco. But I was always glad to go back home...

So, as I mentally plan to leave this wonderous and glorious place I've called home for the last four months I'd like to say a toast that will start with my first memory and I'm sure will end in tears.

Here's to blessings I found in Toronto and passing through customs.
Here's to Casa Ana II Hostel and 22 hour bus rides with Cruz del Sur.
Here's to internet cafes and meeting up with a great friend. (Love you Moose)
Here's to finding The Point and getting a job!
Here's to hott Argentinian men...even though they are just to quick in the sack.
Here's to my favorite Aussie and CHOCOLATE.
Here's to Paddy's and friday nights at the hostel where I lived for three months.
Here's to happy hours and Moose-a-looses. :)
Here's to Pervi, Bogus, Kemical and Calamity.
Here's to having to say goodbye and not wanting to let go.
Here's to Sid, you cunt, and baby English.
Here's to the Irish and fuckin llamas. LOL
Here's to potential cuddle buddies and always good friends.
Here's to being too drunk and seeing him again...what was I thinking?!
Here's to Karina, Vanessa and Julia...I LOVE YOU GIRLS!!
Here's to Epi and Rena in the morning.
Here's to pseudo boyfriends and Loki in my last week.
Here's to thank God I never got any parasites and never drinking the tap water.
Here's to love, the way we find it and putting my money on fate.
Here's to being broke and having to depend on friends.
Here's to missing family at home and family you know you gained in SA.
Here's to Cusco, my home and hopefully your plans in the future!

Although I haven't explored even more than 2% of Peru I know it's the best city in all of South America...but then again, maybe I'm just partial. :)

Amor

I think I might have fallen in love, not just with Cusco but an Irishman. Too bad he also happens to be my best South American friend. Here´s to fate, eh?!

Home in a week and a half. Back to reality, work and responsibility. Atleast I´ll be spending some quality time with my nephew.

It´s Cusco day today. There have been festivals all week and tonight there will be fireworks in Plaza de Armas!!!!

I have only s/45 left to my name...let´s hope that Epi will last me for the next few days.

In the home stretch

So, I have only two more weeks left and you can bet I´m going to be living it up until then. Once I moved out of The Point I got a little place of my own on Calle Atatud close to Plaza de Armas. Although not perfect it does suite me well. My room is right on the courtyard but doesn´t get much sunlight. It has two twin beds, nightstands and a quaint little chair. My favorite parts are the Klimt prints on the wall and my leopard print bedspread! LOL It does have a kitchen but the water doesn´t run all day. The only times I can take a hot shower are between 7-9 in the evening...if then. I tried to jump in there tonight but a fuse kept blowing in the building and turning the water freezing cold instantly. Boo. I can´t complain though. It is a place of my own and I don´t have to worry about sharing with four other people. I do miss the people I worked with at The Point but that´s probably it. Guess I´m getting to old to live in a dorm. :)

I´ve been to Pisac twice since I moved out and to the market here in Cusco everyday. I´m also almost done gift shopping which I can tell because my wallet keeps getting smaller. I still have to go and extend my visa for Peru and have no idea if I´ll be fined for going over. Oops. I´ve been much to busy with my new boy to even worry about that too much though. After a couple one night stands it´s nice to have someone to stick around for a bit, even if it´s only for a week and a half. His name is Phil and he´s super sweet...too sweet I keep telling him. Tall, handsom, smart and sweet, what more can a girl ask for in a Peruvian fling?!

One more thing to be extra excited about...my two friends Parvi and Sidney are coming to visit this weekend!!! I cannot wait until they get here. It will be so nice to have very familiar faces around. And it won´t hurt that we´ll get the best room in my hostel for sunlight!

When times get tough...HAVE A YARD SALE!!!

So, a lot has changed since I last blogged. I stopped being so homesick and started looking for a new job. Why, you ask? Once I got back from Machu Picchu I was on top of the world for a while. I was buying gifts for my fam, taking myself out to nice places to eat and generally being irresponsible with my funds. Then doom struck...I lost my job at Paddy's. Gary, the owner, claimed that immigration had been in earlier that day and asked too many questions. There were only two of us gringos working and Aidan happened to be the other. Gary claimed that he could cover Aidan by saying he was a realative because he has an Irish passport. BULLSHIT of course but what the hell could I say, it's his business. So I promptly went across the plaza to a new place that my friend Juan was opening, The Lek. I was there for about a week when I realized that it just was not going to work out. They paid me half as much as Paddy's and half the time I had to fight to even get my full wage. I never knew how good I actually had it at Paddy's.

So here I am, broke and with bills to pay at my hostel. But those who know me best know what I do under finacial stress...YARD SALE!!! I'm selling my laptop to the first buyer to pay for the rest of my stay. I remember soundly saying back home that I was fully prepared for this moment and frankly, I am. :)

In the meantime I'm having fun not having to work outside of the hostel. I get to actually go crazy a bit and party more, which my mother really doesn't like but I am enjoying immensly! This past friday's Pirate party was a success and debauchery reins! Yay!!