August 16th, 2011

totally random/typical* day, just thought i would share. Below is a picture of the Plaza.


Woke up and had breakfast with Michelle-

• freshly cut watermelon, grapes, maracuya (passion fruit), bananas, etc
• cheesy eggs
• bread, butter, jam
• freshly squeezed maracuya juice

Took a taxi to Maximo, got coffee and went to class from 10-1pm

- Learned about playing games in your lessons by actually playing Jeopardy to review ESL techniques. My team was the "Sex Cuys".

Worked on my lesson plan a little bit and went home to eat lunch

• i cant remember what lunch was right now- but it was something Peruvian and good.

Decided to go walking around the center, so Arielle and I took a taxi to San Pedro Market- which basically is a HUGE Peruvian market that has different sections for clothes, fruits, potatoes, meats, grains, etc. However they sell pretty much EVERY part of any animal you are looking for, including Cow's faces/noses/hooves, frogs, chicken feet, etc. In the back they have little restaurants (picnic tables with ladies looking right in front of you). But mostly only Peruvians eat there.

However, last weekend I went there with some Argentinian friends and we bought pan (bread) and went to a little booth. We got soup, Lomo Soltado (meat/rice/salad), mate (tea), and a coke for only 3 soles. That equals about 1 dollar. Also, as we were sitting there eating, a Peruvian family stopped and started talking to us and they said that they wanted a picture with me because they thought I was "Barbie". The little girl was so scared because she thought i was the REAL Barbie. They gave me their baby to hold and took a bunch of pictures of me. It was bizarre and hilarious. Afterward we went to the fruit section and got freshly made icecream smoothies, again for 1$.

San Pedro Market

(click on this picture)

After we walked around San Pedro Market, we walked to the Plaza de Armas and went to a little cafe overlooking the plaza.

La Plaza de Armas

We got Cafe con Leche and Alfajores- a South American pastry that is DELICIOUS. It is like two crumbly cookies that put together with some sort of filling that can be dulce de leche or caramel or jam.

Afterthat, we had to go back home to the family house because i needed to work on my lesson plan more. (I will write more about teaching later). We talked and hung out with Pricilla and Gaby- the cooks at the Family House that we love the heck out of and have become our new best friends and go out with us whenever they can (even though we are supposed to keep that secret for some reason :))

After getting ready to teach, I went down and had dinner

• Arroz con carne y ensalada- to die for.

Took a taxi to Maximo and finished up preparing my lesson. I have been/will be teaching everyday night from 8-9pm this week. My lesson was really fun and I enjoy my class a lot. As one student was leaving he said "Thank you teacher, you are a really good teacher" it was really cute. Had a little feedback session with Sabrina-my TEFL instructor who is observing me all this week.

Then, I took a taxi HOME and hung out with Michelle and Arielle for a little bit. Skyped with my dad- which was awesome cause i hadn't talked to him in a while and he always makes me laugh and feel happy.

Watched the movie "CHE" and went to sleep.

*Typical day minus going out.

Daily Differences pt. 1

First of all, I am LOVING life in Peru. Everyday is a new adventure. Getting to know a foreign city is really fun and exciting, so I decided to keep running list of daily differences I notice between Peruvian life and life in the states.

(In San Blas)

1. WATER. There are multiple issues with the water here in Cusco. First, in order to preserve water in the city, they shut it completely off every night. (Apparently they refill the general water supply all day until 6pm, when they do it for the last time). Then, it basically just runs out, whenever. Usually this happens anywhere from 9-11pm. What does this mean for us? Well no showering, flushing, cooking, or anything else water related past 9.....interesting, but surprisingly im pretty used to it already.





TAMBOMACHAY OR BATHS OF THE INCA
(Apparently the Incas had it figured out)


2. NO WATER. Last weekend the water went off in our half of the city at 3pm on Friday with no sign of coming back on. We had some drinking water, but that was it. It ended up being off until Sunday mid-day, but only for 2 hours. Of course I was napping and missed the water and my opportunity for a shower. I felt really gross. So I stole a large pitcher of warmish water (freshly boiled) from the kitchen and attempted to shower myself with it. Turned out to be rather successful and actually preferable to the cold showers I take 50% of the time.





3. NIGHT LIFE. As with every city that is not in the U.S. there are little to no rules/laws when comes to going out. Here in Cusco, there are plenty of "Discos" and bars to go to. Usually we go out around 11:30, 12, or sometimes 1. This means that the clubs stay open until about 5 or 6am. Another thing is that the "bouncers/promoters" basically fight for you to come to their clubs and pelt you with free drink tickets. Most of the clubs are in the picturesque square- Plaza de Armas or up in the hills of San Blas. The ones WE have been frequenting are Mythology, The Lek, and IncaTeam.





4. TAXIS. There are VERY few people with cars in Cusco. Pretty much every car on the street is a little tiny one with a Taxi sign on it. Each taxi ride is 3 soles wherever you go (= approx. 1$), and you don't have to tip. They honk CONSTANTLY, whether they are picking you up, telling you to get out of the way, or nearly crashing into another as they frantically switch lanes and weave in and out of traffic.



5. PLATA ($$$). So the currency in Peru is the Peruvian Nuevo Sol, more commonly just called "soles" (soul-es). The conversion rate is approximately 3 to 1. There is a lot more importance put on coins here since there are 2 sol coins and 5 sol coins so I'm always trying to get change.

Okay that's all i can think of in this moment, i will write more later!!