Saturday, September 30, 2006

Life in Cusco

Sarah has been busy with her month long course called TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). It was been intensive to say the least. Sarah is at the top of her class and may receive an 'excellent' which is very rare for TEFL students. In addition to the TEFL class and all of the homework, Sarah is teaching a class in the evening. She is also taking Spanish lessons. She certainly likes to keep herself busy.

I, on the other hand, have been mostly busy being sick. The weather her is much the same as it is in Minnesota. The high is about 65 and the low is about 40. And no, we don't have central heating in the apartment making for cold nights and seemingly colder mornings getting ready. It is also raining almost daily. When we leave the apartment for the day, we have to be prepared for all kinds of weather. Anyway, I like many here have had a cold that doesn't want to go away, but that was the least of my problems last week. If you remember in the last email I said that it is best to try to live as the locals do. Well, I made the mistake of eating some street food in Lucre (the small village where I am volunteering) when my immune system was already being hit hard by a cold. When I ate the street food, I was with Marcus (a free-wheeling German guy who lives at the orphanage there). He eats about ten anticuchos (kebabs) a day and has never had a problem. So, of course, I had to take him up on his offer to have some. It's a guy thing, I think. I would've considered myself very lucky if I would have never had Traveler's Diarrhea, but this time I got it, or something like it, REALLY BAD. I was not getting better despite taking Cypro (antibiotic), Immodium, and rehydration salts. I finally was convinced to go to the doctor. I got some pills to reconstitute my system. It worked and I have been cured of that, if not also the cold.

Anyway, before any of this sick business, Sarah and I went to a Inca festival up on a nearby mountain at an old Inca ritualistic site. The festival was a type of coming-of-age for 15 yeard old boys. They had to compete in many different physical challenges to prove their strength. But the coming-of-age events were just a small part of the festival. The festival was extremely elaborate with probably thousands of young children in traditional Incan dress, doing traditional Incan dances, and reenacting many Incan historical events like wars, etc. It was really amazing how elaborate and coordinated eveything was. Sarah described as the a kind of Super Bowl halftime show, but on a much larger and longer scale.

Did I mention that both Sarah and I got extremely sunburned that day. We had read that the sun was intense because of altitude, but hadn't gotten even a spot of sunburn before this. It was overcast the entire time and even rained a bit, but sitting in one spot for four hours was inviting trouble. So just to recap, I was sunburned, had a cold and had a severe intestinal infection all at the same time. I felt a little like Job.

Soon Sarah will be finished with the TEFL course and I'll be finished being sick. After that we are still figuring out what our next move will be. We've tenatively found another, much cheaper apartment and will probably be traveling a bit in the surrounding area, probably doing many one day trips using Cusco proper as a base. We are also planning to go to Macchu Picchu the first week of November, hopefully before the rainy season really hits. We will be taking an alternative hike up, in lieu of the much more expensive and very difficult to reserve Inca Trail. Often it is necessary to reserve the Inca Trail excursion months in advance because they limit it to 500 people a day. Besides there will be far less tourists on the one we will take and it is supposedly even more beautiful.

That's all for know. I promise pictures of Sarah and I, the apartment, etc. as soon as possible.

Jeremy

posted by Sarah and Jeremy @ 8:15 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Swamped

Hi again everyone!

Just a quick note to say that we are still here and have tons to say, but no time to say it. Once things settle down a bit, we'll aim at posting an entry every week or so. But for now, thanks for reading... We promise to write more soon!

posted by Sarah and Jeremy @ 10:03 PM   0 comments

Friday, September 15, 2006

Jumping Right In!

Hi everyone!

I've been recruited to take a crack at posting on the blog. This doesn't come nearly as easily for me as it does for Sarah. I'm mostly a two-finger typer, but here goes.

Things are going well for us here in Cusco. I've been busy running some errands, getting some things for the apartment, like towels, toilet paper, laudry detergent, a kettle, a water dispenser, etc. Also, I have been simply getting things figured out. For example, making arrangements to have the phone connected, getting copies of keys made, discovering the best places to eat and buy things we need or want,etc. It takes time because I like to check out all of the options, not to mention I'm cheap.

Also, it's best to immerse ourselves in the culture and live as similarly to Peruvians as we can. This has always been my approach because it offers the most opportunities to truly experience the culture. Maybe it's not the easiest way to go about things, but it definitely keeps things interesting. You never know for sure what lies around the corner. Of course, we don't take unnecessary risks and there's only so much comfort I'm willing to sacrifice. So don't get the wrong idea. By the way, if you want our phone number email me at zotkov24@yahoo.com.

Two women at Maximo Nivel have helped us out a lot. One of the ladies even lent us a water dispenser and another offered to lend us her iron. I can't say enough about the staff here. Another lady, Heidy (pronounced Head-ee), has invited Sarah and I to her parents' house in the country. She is super sweet. It looks like we'll try guinea pig for the first time there.

This last week Sarah started her TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and is already swamped with work. She is handling it well however. We are both also taking Spanish classes, an hour a day.

On Thursday, I went to an orphanage for boys in a town about an hour away. It's actually more like a detention/foster center for displaced or dilenquent street kids. The police run it, but they do little more than make sure the kids stay there. It is a safe haven, but the children need much more than that. I, like volunteers in the past, will go to try to add some structure and teach the kids skills which they will need once they leave, i.e. turn 18. There is a volunteer who lives and works there. I hope that he can help me get started.

I also substituted for an English teacher at another center for street kids in Cusco on Thursday. I taught two hour long classes. The kids are very sweet and well-behaved for the most part. Most of the students are very low, but they have learned a bit. English will help them to interact with tourists. It is a big business here in Cusco.

Also, I've been searching out another apartment because we are thinking of staying at least another month in Cusco. We are hoping to find a cheaper place that is just as nice as the one we are in now. There are a couple of people who work here who have been helping me out a lot with the phone and apartment hunting in particular. They make the phone calls in order to get the true Peruvian price. If I called they'd peg me for a foreigner right away and consequently want more money.

Anyway, that's all for now. We're still working on adding more photos, but haven't had much time to do it yet.

So long from Cusco!

posted by Sarah and Jeremy @ 12:06 PM   0 comments

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Feeling Fine in Cusco!

Happily, the bus ride from Lima wasn't as long as we thought! After leaving Lima at 3:30pm on Friday (we're on Central Time right now because Peru doesn't use daylight savings), we arrived in Cusco 21 hours later (at about 12:30pm on Saturday). Yes, the bus ride was long, but we saw some amazing scenery of the Andes and the indigenous people along the way, saw a few good (and a few bad) movies, and played BINGO in Spanish! I also think taking the bus helped us to acclimate to Cusco's high altitude more slowly than if we would have taken a flight there. The bus and the flight were our only two options; there aren't any trains that go from Lima to Cusco.



Anyway, enough about our bus trip. I have to be somewhat quick here because we're hungry and need to go soon, but I wanted to tell you all a few things before we go:

* We took all the precautions we could in preventing altitude sickness and it worked! In addition to taking the bus to help us acclimate a bit more slowly, we took some medication that we got from the travel clinic to prevent altitude sickness, took a long nap upon our arrival, drank mate de coca (a tea that helps), and ate light meals. It paid off and we're feeling good.

* Our apartment is GREAT! We have lots of space: 2 bedrooms with skylights (one on a loft), 2 work areas with desks and shelves, a living room with comfy couches, plenty of pots and pans in our kitchen, hot water in the bathroom (now that we've figured it out), and a private patio with our very own cactus garden! Plus, it's in an enclosed private area with other families and businesses, is within a 10 minute walk to Plaza de Armas (the main square), and the neighborhood isn't at all touristy. We've spent some time walking around Cusco, and are really liking it. We were just commenting on how nice it would be to just stay at this apartment, but when it comes down to it, I'm sure we'll travel more.



* Some of you know that we were a little concerned about the food and if we'd like it. So far, so good. We've had potato soup as an appetizer and chicken (for me) and beef (for Jeremy) on rice at a "chifa" or Chinese restaurant for $1 each. Last night, we had Italian pizza. This morning, Jeremy had eggs and chorizo sausage with fresh fruit and I had muesli with yogurt, fresh fruit and honey. We also had the Cuzqueno waro (a type of white bread, kind of like a bun) with strawberry jam. VERY TASTY! Mom, when you get here, I think you'll do just fine with the food!

* I've figured out how to post some photos (check the previous entry as well) and plan to put up more as we go along. Let me know if you have any photo requests!

Here are some photos of Sarah's tour around the Cusco area with her TEFL group.



Anyway, I think that's about all for now.

We'll write again soon!

Sarah & Jeremy

posted by Sarah and Jeremy @ 5:57 PM   0 comments

Friday, September 08, 2006

Safe and Sound in the Southern Hemisphere

Hi everyone!

After many months of preparations, we have finally arrived in Peru! Here's a photo of us just before we left the States.



Admittedly, though we´ve been here two days, we´ve spent little time exploring thus far. Instead, we´ve been taking full advantage of the luxuries afforded us by the extremely nice hotel in Lima that my Aunt Julie arranged for us as a wedding gift. Picture this: two nights in a suite on the 21st floor with full view of the Pacific Ocean, wonderful (and complementary) meals in the Executive Lounge, 100 cable tv stations, and the most comfortable beds that you could hope for! There were also lots of other services that are too numerous to list.

These are photos of our beautiful room and our room's breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean at the JW Marriott!!!


So, anyway, we´ve secluded ourselves in the hotel and are now just venturing out into the broader world. So far this afternoon, we´ve exchanged some of our money for Nuevo Soles, tried Inca Kola (a bubblegum-flavored Peruvian cola that I liked and Jeremy hated), and found cheap internet cafes on every block we´ve passed. Granted, we are in a commercial area, but there are more internet cafes around here than any other kind of business!

Our Spanish skills are improving. I was especially proud when I approached a bank teller and asked (in Spanish) if they exchanged traveler´s cheques; he spoke back to me in Spanish and I could understand him! Lots of fun! Oh, a quick note to those who are planning on visiting, dollars are readily accepted in many places around here (at least in Lima), but it is difficult to find places to change traveler´s cheques. So, bring dollars instead.

Well, today we plan to see a bit more of the country by taking a (long) bus ride to Cusco from Lima. We´ve read that the trip is usually about 30 hours, so we upgraded a bit and will be in business class for a few dollars extra. From what we understand, the buses are pretty comfortable here. They even have bingo!

Our next post will be from Cusco.

Sarah and Jeremy

posted by Sarah and Jeremy @ 1:47 PM   0 comments