First Week in Cusco
Trip Start
Jul 16, 2008
1
3
84
Trip End
Ongoing
Cusco,
Peru
Saturday, July 26, 2008
I am living with a very nice family that lives kind of far out of town. It is a 45 minute walk, or 9-13 minutes (depending on traffic/time of day) by taxi (which costs 3 soles, or about $1)
Catedral
. The family is very nice. There is a mother, Maria, and a father, Ariel. They are both dentists. They have an office a few blocks away that I went to the other day (donīt worry! Not for dental work...just to meet them to go to a show in town). They have two children but the children are living in Arequipa for University. The son is home right now on vacation. He is 17 and studying bioengineering. His name is Diego. He is nice and is very patient with me and my awful Spanish! There is also another student staying at the house, Florencia. She is from France but has lived in the US for the past 10 years. It is a small house, only 3 bedrooms (Diego is staying in his parentīs room...I have my own room), a kitchen, a living/dining room area, and 1.5 bathrooms. The bathroom has hot water, usually, however only if you want a weak shower. If you turn the water up for a more powerful shower, you will freeze. So, I do get to stand under a hot drip of water everyday. Some days it is slightly better than others. There also appears to be limited water as some times when I try to brush my teeth there is no water. But, thatīs not a big deal because I always have a bottle of water I can use. (Itīs only a problem when there is no water to flush the toilet!) The house is very cold. Colder than outside usually because we do not get any sunlight. So I am usually bundled up in house. I sleep with several layers on. The whole city is pretty cold. I am only warm when I am standing in direct sunlight. I have been to a few bars and restaurants that appear to have heat
Iglesia Compania de Jesus
. My classroom is freezing, although there is a portable heater. However only 1 of my teachers (I have 2 each day) ever turns it on. So, I drink LOTS of tea to stay warm. My family is very nice. I usually have 3 meals a day with them. Breakfast is typically bread with jelly, an egg or tamale, juice, and coca de mate tea (itīs good for altitude sickness). I leave for school at about 8:15. I have classes till 12:30, with a break form 10:15-10:45 and then I return home for lunch, which is the largest meal of the day. Because of the altitude it is better to eat a big lunch and a small dinner. Apparently the altitude slows down your metabolism. Lunch is usually 3 courses-a salad or tamale or soup, a plate of some kind of meat, chicken, or beans with sauce and rice, and then something for dessert like fruit, jello, or cake. I usually find that if I eat lunch around 2:30 I donīt even get hungry for a big dinner. We usually just have some bread and jam, maybe some fruit or avocado. It is a little difficult since I donīt eat dairy. Maria usually serves cheese or cake but I canīt have that so she finds something for me.
In the afternoons I usually eat lunch and take a nap and then return into the town. I have been wandering around the town and visiting museums
The Plaza
. There are many sites to visit in the town. There are 23 churches, many markets (which you all know I love after my experiences last summer!), museums, and just wonderful streets to walk down. There are a lot of people who come up to you to get you to buy things-hats, gloves, scarves, jewelry, paintings, belts..as well as people trying to get you to come to their restaurant or bar. They will follow you around trying to get you to look at the menu. But, they are never obnoxious and if you say, īīno, graciasīī a few times will usually leave you alone. I have gone out for drinks with friends a few times, mostly to Irish bars (made some Irish friends in my class and that is where they want to go!) Have sampled the local drink, a Pisco Sour, which tastes like a margarita, as well as the local beer, Cusqueņa, which just tastes like beer (maybe not the best beer but not terrible). Have walked around some markets but havenīt done much shopping (gotta save the money!) However I did purchase a hat and gloves...very necessary for living here. Very warm, made of alpaca and cost a total of 17 soles (less than $6). 
