Cusco 2nd week

  Cusco, Peru
Monday, June 9, 2008

Cusco at night

So my second week in Cusco (June 1 -8) consisted mostly of Spanish lessons (6 hours a day), enjoying walking the beautiful streets of the city, eating (seems to have become a favourite pastime during my travels) - please see following photos of the first cuy tasting! - and actually heading out for a night on the town! A big deal for us ladies who had been enjoying very leisurely, but somewhat quite evenings - you know all the chocolate cake & wine!

Plaza San Blas in Cusco

I am optimistic that my Spanish is progressing well. During the second week it seemed some instructors had either thought that my Spanish was getting more advanced or perhaps they thought the questions they posed were easy - for example: What is the problem with the American healthcare system? Why is it a scandal in the United States when Janet Jackson shows her breast on TV? How are Muslims viewed in the United States? Please answer in Spanish. Ugh. I think I need both the answers in English and some more advanced Spanish.

Cuy - guinea pig - is a Peruvian specialty. I am not sure of the origin of it, but it is particularly a speciality here in the highlands of the Andes. We - Lena, Lotte & I - decided we needed to head out to one of the restaurants recommended by one of our Spanish teachers for a taste before I left Cusco.

pretty little cuy ready for us to eat

The exciting part is that you get the whole cuy because that is they way the Peruanos eat it - claws, head, full body, mmmmmmm! The bummer about that is pretty much the same thing - that you get the whole cuy - the eyes, teeth, head, claws, etc. He pretty much looks like he was smashed as he was running across the kitchen floor and then thrown in the fryer. It is possible this is what occurred. As for he taste, we weren´t sold, not quite like chicken - maybe a bit oily like duck. Not sure if it is actually the taste that wasn´t happening for us, the presentation, or our cultural norms, but we weren´t planning to run back for more -- however, I am not a quiter, so may be willing to try again!

He is showing his teeth so I will show mine

Our night out was great fun! We went to two salsa clubs in Cusco with Lotte´s ´sister´in the family she is living with in Cusco. It was her 28th birthday, so we went out with a group of her friends. Lots of dancing! And fortunate to be the only gringos in the place! - which is very fun and a little hard to do in such a touristy place as Cusco. On our city tour the previous weekend, we had stopped by a place where if you splash the water on your face it is said to take years off your skin. Clearly that must be fact since one of our local male companions of approximately age 20 asked me if I was 25 already. My response of course was just barely -- flatterly will get you everywhere around the world!

night on the town - Salsa club

Love & Miss -
KG