Lessons Learned

Going into this trip I knew I would learn alot of things. When my study abroad office described the emotional roller coaster that studying abroad is they couldn't have been more right. The first 2 weeks are vacation- everything is exciting and new, you are so open to new experiences, friends and fun. About the third week in you miss home and will do almost anything to talk to friends from home and feel normalcy- eat Mcdonalds, lay in bed and watch netflix and speak your native language. This was my first time out of North America and the longest I've spent away from home. But I have to say I'm so incredibly thankful for this experience as it has taught me much more than I could've imagined. So- here are some lessons I've learned
1. The US is a place ruled by many laws and amenities that most of us don't even think about or appreciate on a daily basis. People selling things on the street (especially food) without a permit and a DEHEC inspection, women with lambs charging for you to take pictures with them, dogs running through the streets in packs, police officers fighting against crime (no matter how small) and walls thick enough to provide privacy.
2. Other countries have incredibly unique and beautiful cultures. I have to say that one of the best experiences I have had here was for a photography project called "a day in the life". I followed a woman named Valentina who was a housekeeper at the "Casa Grande" where Mike and I stayed for a few nights. I don't think I've ever met a more admirable woman in my life. Most people in the US with blue collar jobs find it hard to smile and laugh. While trying to take Valentina's picture it was near impossible to not catch her laughing or cracking a joke. She and her friend invited me to lunch with them and on the way she gave a homeless man food. I was in tears. How could someone who probably makes less than $20 usd a day be so humble and selfless? I don't think I'll forget the joy this project brought to my life and the lesson of appreciating the small things.
3. Patience. Patience. Patience. Waiting for a bus or taxi. Hoping you'll have internet, water, and lights when you get home. Being served at a restuarant after waiting an hour and a half for food. Not letting your host family/ little sister get the best of you. In photography we learned to be patient for a good shot- usually you just want to jump on it and take a million pictures of an interesting subject but not before you change your white balance, ISO number, check your shutter speed and depth of field and make sure there aren't people picking their nose in the foreground. Also- being patient when everything you planned is closed or the information you were given was not accurate. When in Aguas Calientes (outside of Machu Picchu) we expected to visit natural hot springs- they smelled like chicken broth and wearing a bikini was asking for alot of strange looks, also the hiking trail we wanted to take had been under construction for over a year apparently. It takes the patience of a saint to not loose youre cool in situations like this.
4. Hard work. Cusquenans are some of the hardest working people I've seen. There is no high class in Cusco. My host parents are probably middle to high class and have a small 3 bedroom apartment 2 km from the city center. They have a kitchen similar to one you'd find in a nice hotel in the US but have nice things here. I was incredibly lucky to have a wonderful family and nice place to live. We have a maid named Marina who is constantly running about and accepting orders with a smile. We became quite good friends, I will miss her. When I leave my house here I pass many shops owned by locals, people on the streets selling candy and drinks to make a living, I take a taxi or bus that cost less than $1.50 no matter the distance or price of gas. At my small university the professors strive to make connections with students and are truly great teachers. The maid at school smiles and asks what you're doing. In La Plaza de Armas there are more vendors selling "gratis massajes", inviting you to their club, braiding bracelets, artists basically giving away their hard work and blind men playing flutes. Being solicited to by things gets very frustrating and I snapped a few times but thinking back on it I would do the same thing to feed my children.
5. Good friends and good times. Our session at USIL had less than 15 students in it. A diverse group that somehow blended almost seamlessly. I'm so thankful to have met these people. From mornings in the school court yard to 4am trips to get some drunchies- I will miss our group like crazy.

Its crazy how after a month away from home I feel like I know myself so much more. Limits and boundries, likes and dislikes, patience and the value of "fast" friends. Me va a extrañar Cusco, Peru- la gente, los lugares, la comida, y la cultura.

Tomorrow I leave for Puno and Lake Titicaca then La Paz Bolivia. Hopefully I will be able to blog once or twice more before leaving but if not- see you in America.

Inferma de Casa

So I'm not positive that the title of this blog is correct- but it's supposed to be "homesick". These last couple days have been particularly rough. Lets go through some things I'm really missing right now: being understood (speaking Spanish doesn't get any easier really), highly processed foods: the oreos here are extremely tastey but I could def go for some Chicfila/Zaxbys, my parents: they get here a week from Saturday! friends (of course) and most of all having time to myself by myself.
Living with a host family has been a very enlightening experience. I love my host parents very much. They're very open minded and nice. Parenting in Cusco is SOOO different from the US. There isn't really a "respect your elders" or respect anyone for that matter mentality. Here, in my house, my three year old little host sister rules the house. This concept has been the most difficult for me to grasp. I'm not sure if you read my post about finding out that my host family had kids- but I was really excited. I have been really let down by the relationship that I have with my host sister here. I'm not really sure what is going on in that little mind of hers but I'm pretty sure she's trying to play alpha female with me all the time? But I am totally fine with her being the queen of home. Last night I went with my host dad to his sister-in-laws birthday party. The minute I walked in the door Cata started saying "ella habla ingles, ella habla ingles" (in a taunting way). I hadn't ever met this part of the family and I have to admit I was sincerely embrassed. This morning she told me I couldn't have juice? One morning I woke up and said "good morning" and got a "NO!" yelled in my face. Normally I could ignore all this and tune it out except for the fact that my host parents have never once called her down for it. In the US if you disrespect someone like that you are sure to get a quick smack on the rear- at least where I'm from. ANYWAYS- this whole situation is very frustrating.
On to other new things- we didn't end up going to Colo de Mono- the people were so disorganized. So that was sad, but instead we explored the city and did the Cusco Bar Crawl. It was alot of fun! And we found some new places that we didn't know existed. Sarah and I met some people from Holland and went to a burger place with them till 4:30 am. It was an interesting night.
Last night we went out for a "short night" and ended up coming home at 2.. They don't really go in early here. I'm really thankful that I have fun friends here- we all get along really well!
I'm sure by the end of next week I'll never want to leave. Just missing some comforts for now.
See you after I've experienced the "energy" at MP!

Bienvenidos a mi Vida

Some recent news here: The mining strikes have calmed down alot! Things have been pretty intense here though lately just because June is the month for celebrations in Cusco. Recently in photography we've learned ALOT- Its hard to even explain. Spanish is going well.. I had a slump this week but I think I'm back on the upturn. Except for my trip to a small grocery store about 30 minutes ago when I tried to ask what time do you close- "A que tiempo cierra?" and I got a point to a blank wall and "no mami" by the 13 year old behind the counter. So I left and went to "Mega" instead to purchase my mac and cheese. Which is SOOO delicious by the way!
Anyways, yesterday we went to Corpus Christi. This event was pretty much insane. We got there around 9am. This holiday includes a mass that lasts about 2 hours (depending on the speed of the speakers) then a parade that goes probably until 8pm. The original history behind Corpus Christi was that the Inka people combined their religion with the Catholic religion that the Spaniards brought. So I wish I would've known this for my Anthro class last semeseter- would've gotten that question right on the test. Ha! I digress. So during the insane fesitity men from ages 6 to 70 partake in moving the extremly heavy saints out of their home in the Cathedral and around la Plaza de Armas. This entire process takes about 10 hours. During the moving of the saints then men are mostly drunk. As for the little guys they move the tables that hold the multiple ton saints while they are making the procession around La plaza. The whole experience of being right up on all the men carrying the saints was unnerving. Everyone is pushing and shoving and it just gets really old really fast. I did not enjoy this very much. And now- looking back at my pictures it was a 7 hour day for about 5 good pictures. Photogrpahy is work.

Cute little Chica

Other new info- I got my face painted the other night at Mama Africa- it looked awesome but didn't get a picture of it. About half of our group is going to Puno tonight on a night bus which is the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. I would've gone but I'm going with my parents at the very begining of July :) My other "parents," homestay parents are in Arequipa this weekend for a concerto. Tonight I'm having mi amigas over for a movie night. We're planning on going to "Cola de Mono" tomorrow which means the tail of the monkey. It is the tallest zipline in South America. But I'm not sure if we are actually able to go because the travel agency had weird hours today. Anyways I really hope we can. I'm planning on going with my photography professor to a market about 2 hours outside the city on Sunday which I'm really excited about because its supposed to be very traditional. It takes so much to know the "real" Cusco.
Last weekend we went to the most beautiful place on the planet! The Sacred Valley. We ate lunch like kings (literally). My favorite part was Ollaytantambo. This is the place where three valleys converge- the valley leading to the rainforest, the valley leading to Cusco and to Macchu Picchu. This was a very important trading ground for the Inka. We also went to 3 other places- Urybamba, Calca, Moray and Pisac. All of these words are Quechua along with the name of my "neighborhood" Quispicanchis. Yeah- that was pretty rough in the taxi the first few times. But now I almost have it. Annnnd we're moving up the street next week- haha. Gonna try and add some pictures! PS- Booked my second trip to Macchu Picchu within 1 week of eachother. Looks like I'll be an expert!