“Pequeno camino…vamos?” – 20km Hike, no big deal...

This past weekend was the most exhausting one I’ve had so far. On Friday night we were out all night because it was my friend Kasha’s last night in Cuzco. She’s from Poland, but has been living here for years, so it was a pretty big deal that she was leaving. With that said, we were out all night into the morning, and I spent all day Saturday trying to get my chores and things done on 3 hours of sleep. I was planning to use Saturday night to relax and stay in with a few friends so I wasn’t too worried about being tired.

Anyways, I showed up to my friends' place around after dinner, almost falling asleep already. The boys then tell me that they were thinking of going hiking to a mountain called Ausangate to see snow for their first time. I was only half listening and with them speaking in Spanish I was really getting only 25% of the info they were giving me. They said it would be cold and I’d need to wear layers if I wanted to come. I have no idea why I agreed to go, but I figured it was just a little hike and might be a fun adventure (little did I know what I was getting myself into…)

An hour later, we packed into a taxi (9 of us in a 5 person taxi with all our bags of clothes) and headed 10 minutes away to a terminal. There we split into two taxis. At this point it was around 12:30am. On the road, the cab driver told us that it would take about 2 to 2 ½ hours to arrive at the basecamp. This is when I realized I probably made a huge mistake by coming. I pretended like it was no big deal but I was freaking out about what I was getting myself into.. Dios mio… anyways, I passed out in the car for a few minutes at a time, but it was tough because the roads were so curvy going around and up over the mountains.

We arrived at the base around 3am. And it was freeeezing. I had 3 hoodies on, jeans, sweatpants, and uggs (most clothing borrowed from my friends since I wasn’t prepared for this journey). We had some hot drink before we started the walk, and the walk was tough. Although it wasn’t too steep at first, the altitude was really tough for me to breathe. We started at around 4,000m above sealevel, which is at least 500m above Cuzco. It was completely dark out so we had flashlights, and I was scared half to death because I could hear a rushing river running along side where we were walking, but I couldn’t see it. At some points the cliffs were pretty steep too and we had to all hold hands to ensure that we wouldn’t slip (water was running over the path in some parts).

This is when I realized that the hike that we were on is actually a customary trek that Catholic Peruvians do every year. Ausangate is the highest mountain the region and the site of the traditional festival Q’oriti, which takes place after Corpus Cristi (I’ll talk about this festival later). The mountains are known both in the Catholic religion and in Quechan legend as being very sacred. For the months of May and June locals make the 10km trek to the church by the mountain of Ausangate, where they scrape the ice and bring it back to their towns as holy water. I guess I should have been paying more attention so I could have down my research beforehand. On the way up, there were 8 crosses marked along the path. The more we walked, the more people we saw walking in the dark with us. People of all ages, old, young, people on horses and mules, but no tourists. I think I was the only white person there haha… but what’s new.

At about 5km I was feeling pretty tired and weak, but we stopped to drink some mate de cocoa and rest for a bit. We continued to walk for another hour and a half and finally reached the church at 8km. At this point the sun had risen. There were also small booths selling things, Peruvian women cooking and selling soups and other meals out of the cauldrons, and tons of people huddled around together with blankets trying to keep warm in the high, freezing, winter air. We went into the church, and warmed our hands over a bunch of candles. Then we waited in line to get to the front of the church where we were able to say personal prayers right in front of a monument (I’m not sure the real significance of this monument but I’m trying to find out more). This is when I realized that my friends have really strong background and faith in Catholicism which kind of caught me by surprise, but I guess you can’t judge anyone before you know them.

After saying our prayers (aside from my other prayers i prayed to have the strength to make it back alive...) and leaving the freezing cold church, we tried to warm up in the sun for a bit. We ate some amazing soup, sitting on a log outside the church. I felt truly Peruvian hahah… after finishing the soup, my friends wanted to hike the next 2km up to the snow glacier. I wanted to die just looking at it because it was so steep, but I didn’t want to look weak so I sucked it up and off we went. The climb was way worse then just getting to the church. I had to stop every 5 minutes just to catch my breath… I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have asthma. We finally made it to the glacier and my friends were so excited to see snow for their first time. They wanted to take a million pictures…it’s crazy just because I’ve seen snow so many times and I never thought it was that awesome, but to them it was the coolest thing. We climbed around for a bit, then stuck our feet in the freezing cold river to help our swollen feet.

We started the trek back down the mountain, and I figured 10 km downhill wouldn’t be too bad because it wasn’t climbing uphill. It was faster, but so painful for me. My knees and legs were killing me from the constant pounding of walking down hill and by the bottom I was almost in tears because my knee was bothering me so badly. But I felt really proud of myself…and my friends told me they were surprised I survived (thanks guys…) We jumped on a bus to get back to Cuzco and there wasn’t enough seats so I sat on the floor basically… my seat folded down but at every bus stop I had to fold it up so people could get on and off the bus. So much for being able to nap on the way back… It took us 3 ½ hours to get back. I was so painfully tired at this point. We stopped and had the best meal around 4pm for about $6 (pork, salad, potato..mm), and then I slept for 13 hours until I went to work on Monday morning. When I woke up on Monday I could barely move I was so sore, but it was an awesome experience that I’ll never forget (and probably never do again…but that’s besides the point)

Only a few more weeks left… :(
xo

More Babies & Life in Cusco

Never thought I’d say it, but after all the homesickness I experienced when I first got here, I am finally feeling like I’m going to really miss this place. It’s become home, and I love how I’m used to things here. There has been some new volunteers coming from Canada and England, and they have been asking me for help and advice since most of them don’t know Spanish yet. This makes me feel really good that they want advice and I like taking people under my wing when they are new to this city.




Things are pretty much the same. I saw another birth at work a few days ago, which was incredible. I watched the entire process, from the woman in active labor all up to the actual birth. The last few minutes before the baby was born, the doctor had me do an ultrasound and listen for the baby’s heartbeat which was incredible. I couldn’t believe they let me do it! After the baby was born, I helped take the measurements and then dressed the baby all by myself. I was so scared to break it because it was so small and fragile but it’s getting easier. IT’s so crazy to look at the babies and know that they have been inside their mom for 9 months… it’s just hard to describe when you actually see it happening.



This past weekend I got my camera and phone stolen. It’s my fault because I left my stuff out with my friends’ jackets… I normally have my phone on me and hardly ever have my camera but I completely spaced about having my electronics in my bag. I’m more bummed about my camera than anything…but I’m just lucky that I wasn’t mugged. It could be worse. I didn’t have my keys though so luckily I was able to sleep at a friend’s house that night since I couldn’t go back to my house. I guess getting robbed was bound to happen since it’s so common and I’ve been in South America for 5 months now. Mmm moving on.

On a different note, I have noticed myself changing so much during the course of my time here in South America. When I finish my trip I will write a blog on that, but i can’t believe how much more independent I feel. Before this trip, I wasn’t very confident in going anywhere by myself (especially into the poorer parts of Cuzco for example) or showing up to a salsa class at a club without a friend. Now I’m used to eating dinner by myself if my friends are working, walking to work in a poor area by myself, and learning to enjoy the solitude of not always being surrounded by friends. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I am always with my friends, but I’m starting to appreciate the time I do have by myself. Gives me time to relax and reflect on the things going on in my life.

In 3 weeks my mom will be here to go traveling, and in 4 weeks I will be back in Boston. I can’t believe it… not sure if another post will be up before I’m back in the states, but we will see.

Hasta luego! <3 span="">

"With that accent you gotta be from the US..." - Congress de Salsa: Lima

Almost 2 weeks ago I went to Lima (the capital of Peru) for a salsa congress with a bunch of my friends from Cuzco. It was funny because the majority of them going were guys and I’d never seen guys so excited about something aside from football or something at home. Some people flew (1 hour by plane) and some of us took the bus. I took the bus on Friday night and it was 21 hours…but it actually was better than I thought. Our bus was about $20 bucks and was not great. I almost didn’t even go because I was so sick when I woke up on Friday. I was so stuffed up I could barely breathe and couldn’t stop coughing…but I pushed myself to go and I’m so glad I did. The busride to Lima was crazy with the roads. The roads twisted and turned all through the mountain range for about 10 hours (a bit tough to sleep because you are constantly rocking side to side) and we were so close to the cliffs that I thought we were going die. I give the busdriver so much credit for driving this route. About 12 hours into the ride, the roads evened out a bit, and we drove through the desert a bit, and then finally we reached the coast, and drove up the coast the rest of the way to Lima. So we pretty much saw every type of landscape on the way. We were a bit late reaching Lima (we are always running late so this wasn’t a surprise). We had to rush to shower and eat before the congress started. Luckily because it’s South America, the congress started an hour late.


One of the master classes

Let me just explain quick what this “congress” business is. Basically a salsa congress is when some of the best salsa dancers gather to give classes to the public, put on a performance, and then have a party afterwards. I’ve been to master ballet classes before, where famous people have come from Russia to teach in Boston, but I never in my life thought I’d go to a salsa master class. The first class we took was with Shaka Brown, who is actually from Miami. He was an incredible teacher! The boys (my salsa teachers) were all so excited to see him in person, it was like Christmas for them. They were all videotaping and stuff during the class and it was so funny because I wasn’t starstruck because I had never heard of him before. At the end of the class he was trying to fix his camera so I offered to help (we have the same crap camera that always breaks haha) and he goes “with that accent you gotta be American...where are you from?” So I told him I was from Mass and he said he could tell by my Boston accent. This made me laugh since I do not have a Boston accent compared to a bunch of my friends (Jen Nicosia haha) back home. He told me that he was glad I was there because he wasn’t the only American. I thought my guy friends were going to strangle me for having a conversation with their idol… it was hilarious.


Shaka Brown and I at the "afterparty"

That night, we all got dressed up in our best clothes and went to the show. The dancers were incredible! They also had some local salsa groups from Peru perform. We also saw an amazing 13 year old dance, Johan. I’ve never seen a kid move like that in my life! After the show, they opened up the dance floor and had a party until 3am. It was fun to meet other people from all over Peru who came together for the congress. I also met one of the managers of the congress, who’s from NYC. We got talking and he said that they are looking for interns to help with planning events and marketing if I ever want to do that (co op opportunity 2011?? That would be AWESOME) except I’m so pissed at myself because I lost his business card! So I’m going to try to look him up again so I can have another contact in the US for job opportunities.


Riwfka, Joyce and I dressed up for the showcase.

It was fun to spend the night dancing with all my salsa teachers, although it was a bit nerve wracking at first since there were so many advanced dancers. But whatever, gotta start somewhere I guess. After the party, we went to another club but I was exhausted since I had just arrived in Lima that afternoon after a day in a bus…

Sunday, we took another two master classes with Shaka Brown, one with partners and one without. There were only about 20 of us in the class, and 10 of us were from Cuzco so we got some more personal attention and corrections so that was really nice. Afterwards, we showered and got ready and went to the afterparty, which was smaller because it was a Sunday night. There was a live band though, and we still had a blast. Shaka Brown asked me to dance (he comes up to me and says “hey Boston girl, you wanna dance?”) We talked while we danced about his background in dance, and my background in ballet and stuff. I admitted to him that I didn’t know who he was before the congress and he told me it was better that way because he hated when people treated him different when they know that he’s a world famous salsa teacher. I also met Johan, the 13 year old dancer, who was trying to hit on me which was hysterical. He told me he was 15 (nice try buddy, when you’re famous everyone knows your age..) and he told me he thought I was 16 years old. Nice job stroking my ego and thinking I’m a sophomore in highschool… it was funny though. He danced with me also but he threw so much breakdancing into it that I looked like a retard compared to him…haha oh well. After the party, the dance floor cleared and Shaka Brown demanded that I show him some “ballet stuff”. So we had a turning contest which was funny…my friends took videos. I told him he’s gotta come up to Boston to teach a class and he said he’d look into it. I couldn’t believe how down to earth he was! It was refreshing..especially since most dancers get very cocky when they are professionals.


The girls and Shaka Brown

After the party, we got invited to an afterparty at a dance studio of Deklan, the best chorographer in Lima, who is good friends with my friend Franschesco. There was some stupid drama with our other guy friends and they didn’t want to go anywhere with the famous guys. They wouldn’t say why, but Franshesco said he thought it was because they were so used to being the “best dancers” (in Cuzco they are) but in Lima they were small fish in a big pond. Oh well, we went to the dance studio and danced more and I talked a bunch with Deklan, who told me the whole story of how he got his dance studio up and running (he’s only 25 and has one of the best studios around which is pretty impressive in the dance world). He taught me how to do a couple partner stunts too which was fun :) . We were there until 6am and then finally left. Life here is exhausting but it was worth it…


Deklan, Joyce and I in Deklan's studio

Monday was pretty uneventful, Frank and I had dinner at TGIFridays with Franschesco and Joyce before we caught our bus home. Lima was so different compared to Cuzco because it was so much more westernized. They had so many American restaurants and stores, and in Cuzco they don't have any commercialized stuff like that. Our bus home was 10 more soles then the bus to Lima and was a piece of crap. It smelled, my seat didn’t recline, and in general was just dirty. AND it took 23 hours to get home. I thought I was going to die..I was so uncomfortable the entire time. I was so happy to get back to Cuzco. Overall, the traveling was definitely worth it to have the experience of attending a congress. Hopefully I can keep up my networking for the future.


TGIFridays - a taste of the US in Lima

Chau <3

Everyday Life in Cuzco

Ah time is flying by! As of today, I have 5 weeks left in Cuzco. I can’t believe it! I’ve been in Cuzco almost 6 weeks already… I wish time went by slower although I am excited to see everyone back home. I’ll try to remember what has been going on the last couple weeks…

After I got back from my cousin’s wedding in Florida I came down with a pretty bad cold that has been hard to shake. The cold nights here don’t really help…I can’t believe how drastically the weather changes from the daytime to the night. I am still working in the hospital, and liking it so much more than working in the “daycare” kindergarten. I just switched my job a few weeks ago to working in the obstetrician area which is so interesting. Luckily there is another American volunteer who has experience with this stuff so she has been able to explain all about babies and birth since I had absolutely no clue. I saw my first live birth the other day, and it was incredible! I almost missed it but I ran in just as they pulled the baby out. It was crazy to see! I have also seen a procedure done where they had to stitch up one of the mothers (I won’t get too graphic but let’s just say I’m going to have to get used to seeing so much blood). I also learned how to help the mothers breastfeed for the first time. The babies are adorable :) Sometimes the job can be slow when no one is in the labor room or delivery room, but I don’t mind. I also helped Rachel (another American volunteer) clean the umbilical cords of all the newborns which was also interesting, and I was taught how to use the ultrasound machine. I can’t believe the stuff they are letting me do here! It’s nuts.


Holding one of the newborn babies that I helped deliver :) Hospital Belempapa '10

As for life outside of work, I got a new “host brother” 2 weeks ago. His name is Hector and he’s from Wales and knows absolutely no Spanish. This has been a huge encouragement for my Spanish because he counts on me a lot for my translating, and it’s proving that I actually have learned something in the past 4 months I’ve had abroad. I took him out his first weekend here, and I didn’t realize he had a money belt on with everything including his passport, money, credit cards, iphone, and I don’t even know what else. Somehow all of his stuff got stolen and we aren’t sure where it happened…I felt so bad that I hadn’t asked why he had a money belt with him…when I go out I bring about 15 soles with me and my cellphone…oh well, water under the bridge. Another 50 year old woman from Spain also moved into my room which has been interesting. The Spanish accent is much different from what I’m used to but I’m getting used to it. It’s kind of annoying having an older roommate though because I usually come in late and have to keep the lights off while I try to get ready to sleep but oh well…


My new host brother, Hector, and I.

I’ve also been going to salsa every night at this club called InkaTeam. Because I’ve now been going for over a month, I’m getting to know everyone there and it’s starting to feel like a second home. I’m learning so much and I never get sick of it. It’s so nice to be around people who have a passion for dance like I do, especially when we are able to do it every night. It’s definitely something I’m going to miss once I come home… one of the nights there wasn’t many people in the club after salsa, so some of the breakdancers started doing some of their crazy trick stuff in the middle of the floor. After they were done, my friends Frank and Coco made me do my fuette turns and had everyone count to see how many I could do. It’s funny how impressed they are with easy things like ballet turns, but they can do all these crazy salsa and breakdancing tricks…


Pablo and Suzie doing some tricks at InkaTeam

I have also been helping Frank out with his salsa classes. Whenever he teaches group classes with the guys, he always needs more partners for the guys so I don’t mind going. It’s good practice for me, and Frank gives me tips along the way and I don’t need to pay for class which is nice. I also want to continue taking a few more private classes, but for now this is okay. Plus I’m getting to meet more tourists so it’s nice. Mostly everyone is from Israel like I said, so I’m even learning alittle Hebrew hahah…



a bunch of us out for a night of salsa

Last week I went to “la Molina” with Frank, which is the biggest market in Cuzco. It has literally everything you can think of and people are trying to sell their stuff or services in stalls. Frank was picking up clothes that were being sewn and fixed, and of course they were about 7 hours late with it being done (so typical in South America) so we had plenty of time to walk around and check out everything from clothes, shoes, TV’s, dvds, music, electronics, food, juice…everything. It wasn’t in the touristy section of Cuzco though so it was mostly locals there. There’s also another Mercado (market) close to the plaza that has more food, fruits, and juices. I went there with Hector and Ronnie last weekend and we stopped and drank juice that was made fresh to order in front of us. I had peach and it was delicioussss. We also went on a short city tour and saw a couple of things but it was kind of a waste of time. Oh well… I’m hoping to get some more touring and traveling in, but it’s hard because I don’t have too many people to travel with since most of my friends are locals and have to work.

alright, im going to post some other stuff separately so these entries aren't unbearably long to read... chau <3