piarty pisaq

This weekend was so fun and full of suprises! Saturday was Dia Mundal del Tourismo which meant lots of food, lots of music, and lots of dancing. Meghan and I went to a fundraiser bbq that one of the girls from the bakery was a part of. We enjoyed plates full of yummy carne asada, potatoes, and salad. After, we walked around one of the plazas where they had a parade going through. They also had a stage set up and different groups were playing music and singing. Later in the afternoon, we returned to our apartment for a little break before Meghan had to be at work. I was sitting on my bed listening to some music when I heard someone knocking on the gate outside. I went to our window to see who it was. It was someone I didn´t recognize, but he told me he was looking for Tasi Rodriguez. His name was Herbert Barco and he is the pastor of the first Nazarene Church here in Cusco. I guess my grandpa Rodriguez had contacted him and told him about how I will be here in Cusco for two years. The church is about a half hour away from where I live, so I was suprised that he had come all the way to my door to introduce himself and invite me to their church. I plan on going next Sunday.

Since it was the night before Meghan´s departure for her two week trip in Lebanon, we decided to make breakfast for dinner and call it a movie night. Sergio and Oswaldo came over and we all enjoyed some delicious french toast, eggs, and orange juice. Around 8:30pm, Oswaldo wanted us all to run and catch the last of the fireworks that were going on in the Plaza...but everyone was being lazy. About ten minutes before the grand finale...we got pumped and changed our minds. We barely caught the tail end of the show...but it was still good and fun to see everyone out at night enjoying hot drinks and watching the fireworks. During the night, Oswaldo also asked if I had plans for the next day (Sunday). He offered to take me to a place called Pisaq which is couple hours away from the city. It is his home town. So yesterday we departed around 9am (after a lesson in Qechua and a long discussion of where to best grow oranges) and made our way to Pisaq. It was so beautiful! I think it may be my favorite of the places I have seen here so far. We had fun hiking around until the rain started to kick in. Then Oswaldo started to panick...and seemed suprised that I was just laughing as we trudged through the muddy trail...not even sure of where we were anymore. It turned into a fun story that he was able to laugh at once we were back on the bus. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. I do not have my camera with me, but I shall definitely post some pictures from the weekend later. Until next time...chau!

miss primavera 2008

It was a chaotic day at the Hogar on Tuesday. None of the girls had school because it was the first day of spring, Dia de la Juventud, and Dia de Amistad. Instead, they spent the morning getting ready for Miss Primavera 2008 which is a pageant they have every year. 42 girls were running around like divas getting their hair and make up done. It was pretty intense. As many of you know...dress up is not really my cup of tea. But I helped out where I could. We made a pretty legit runway which I was pretty excited about. Most of the girls seemed to enjoy the attention and getting all dolled up. But there were some who wanted nothing to do with it. In the middle of everyone running around like crazy...there sat Rosaula and Natividad. They had just arrived that morning. Both are 14 and were brought to the Hogar because they ran away from home. There are supposed to be here for two months before they are sent back home. When I saw them, they were sitting on a bench by the office. I have never seen girls their age with eyes that looked as tired, bored, and zoned out as theirs did. I was on my outside to get some fresh air and decided to say hi and try to strike up some conversation. Rosaula barely moved her lips when she spoke and I had to lean in pretty close to hear what she was saying. They were cold and wanted to go sit outside and sit in the sun but they were told they had to stay there on that bench while everyone else was getting ready. I went looking for a Mami to ask permission to go for a walk outside with them. We finally made our way outside and found a little hill to sit on. Hot diggit...did that sun feel good! I was not really sure if I was bugging them or not...and then Rosaula just put her head on my shoulder and almost fell asleep. When it was time for the pageant to start, I was sad to leave our spot in the sun. But the rest of the night went well and the next thing I knew, I was designated photographer...perfect. Now I have all these girls handing me their email addresses so I can email them pictures of them in the gowns. I wonder how long it will take me to upload all 255 of the pictures. On my way home, I stopped by the Plaza de Armas to check out the outdoor concert going on. It was pretty crowded. I bought a sandwich and stood off to the side watching for a while. It was nice seeing everyone out there with their friends celebrating Dia de Amistad. I felt very alone watching everyone smile and sing along to the music that I had never heard before. I was frump girl in the corner pigging out on her sandwich. But it was okay...I knew that we are always with each other in spirit.

tipon and pikillaqta

The weekend flew by pretty quick. On Sunday, a group of about 30 of us (most of them were the girls who live and work at the bakery where Meghan works) hopped on a bus around 9am and headed outside of the city which was great! We climbed up closer to the mountains to Tipon and then to Pikillaqta. It was felt so amazing to get away from the city for the day and be out where it didn´t feel so crowded...in general a slower vibe. Tipon was beautiful. There were quite a bit of tourists there...we all went to see the old incan irrigation system. We had a pretty sweet tour guide. He loved telling stories...some people just tell things better than others. When our tour of Tipon was finished, he hopped on our bus with us as we headed to Pikillaqta. When we arrived, we all ate lunch. After lunch, we had another lovely tour of Pikillaqta which were pre-Incan ruins. It was pretty nuts...I felt so tiny. Everyone had such a great time. It was different going with the bakery crew because they are all much older than the girls at the Hogar where I work. I felt more like their peers. Meghan had typed up a bunch of song sheets so we sang the whole bus ride there and back. It was a nice break from the city vibe and although I do love my girls at the the home so much...it felt nice to not have to be chasing them down all day. It also felt good to be sore the next day from all the hiking. I am still feeling some of the soreness.

taller de corte

For the past couple of weeks, my mornings have started off in the Taller de Corte. It´s been a good way to ease into the day. I arrive around 8:00am and stay in the workshop until around 11:00am. Mami Kati runs the workshop. She´s great. The girls are always asking her to tell us another story. Her stories are fun and definitely help me in learning Spanish. But she talks so fast! So I just pick up on the main points of the stories she tells. She usually ties it together in the end with a lesson that the girls can learn from. Right now we´re working on costumes for some festivities and dances that will be coming up. We each got a big piece of red felt that is going to go on the front of some dresses. We were told to find a design to put on the front, and then we were going to sew different color beads into the design. I was excited because I got one too. I found a pretty sweet picture of a peacock that I wanted to use as my design. So I gave my red felt piece and peacock design to Mami Kati so she could copy the picture onto the red felt. She said it would work. But when I got it back...it was something completely different! It didn´t even have a bird on it. She drew some flower and spiral swirlies. It was pretty...but I was confused. Next thing I knew they were handing me these bright silver sequins that they wanted me to sew onto it...and some even brigther gold beads to sew into the flowers. So I have spent the last week working on a really bright design...every now and then glancing over my shoulder to the other girls´ designs...trying not to be jealous haha. But it´s been fun. The taller de corte definitely has a good tranquilo vibe to it. The girls are usually singing along to the ritmo romantica radio station that is always on in the mornings. I find myself humming some of the songs throughout the day without even realizing it.

I am very glad that today is Friday! It has thus far been a good day...very laid back. I woke up feeling well enough to go in to work (I stayed in bed much of yesterday with my voice half gone and a bad cough). Mami Kati told us a very random story about a guy who tried to finish his chores too fast and fell and ended up in the hospital. My extravagent metal flower design on red felt is coming along. It was pretty quiet around the Hogar because most of the girls were gone at a big exposition of some sort...I´m not really sure. So Roxanna did my hair for me (she couldn´t believe I don´t own a brush or comb) and we just hung out in the sun until it was time for lunch. And here I am. I´m not sure what the weekend will contain. Some of the girls from the bakery invited Meghan and I to go see some of the ruins and cites outside of the city on Sunday...so I´m super excited for that! Other than that, I´m looking forward to being outside and enjoying some sun. The weather here has been all over the place. It makes it hard to plan ahead with what to wear. It is pretty cold in the morning, but then it can get pretty hot in the middle of the day. Meghan has a pretty bad sunburn from watching a volleyball game last weekend. And then there is also the occasional sprinkle or downpour of rain in the middle of the day...followed by more hot sun. So I´ll be outside ready to pounce on the glimpses of hot sun.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and enjoy a beautiful weekend! lots and lots of love sent your way from cusco!

day 20

It is a cold rainy day here in Cusco. But I am staying bundled up beneath many layers...I feel myself slowly evolving into a chubby little snowman! Today is Monday and I didn´t go to work...rut roh! I caught a pretty bad cold this weekend and decided to take today off so I can fully recover before jumping back into a full schedule with the girls. And I am feeling much better today! The weekend went by pretty fast. I spent Saturday resting and then decided to attempt doing all of my laundry. To my luck, it began to sprinkle...and it only sprinkled! So I was able to get all of my clothes on the line and dried before it started hailing and pouring yesterday and today. I slept most of yesterday, too, and enjoyed some pretty interesting dreams. When I finally got up from my evening nap, I was quite hungry and decided to hit up a place called ¨Top Chicken.¨ I got a huge serving of delicious fries and an 1/8 piece of chicken for 4 and a half soles (around $1.50). I´m not going to lie...it was a pretty tough decision...deciding between ¨Super Pollo¨ (which I had with Meghan the first week I got here) and ¨Top Chicken.¨ But alas, I was feeling lazy and ¨Top Chicken¨ is just around the corner from our apartment.

Tomorrow is Meghan´s birthday. We both have a lunch break around 1pm so I´m going to catch the bus over to where she works, and we are going to....eat nachos!!! ah! I am so excited! We have been talking about it since I got here...and we decided that her wonderful life deserves a proper celebration...with delicious yummy nachos at this nice restaurant near where she works at the bakery! So I am very much looking forward to this tanke treat! At night she is inviting her boyfriend and some of our friends over for dinner. She has a recipe for Fetuccini Alfredo and chicken that she wants to try to make for everyone...so more yummy food yay!

Well, all this talk about food is making me a little hungry. I think it is time to get some groceries at Mega Super Mercado for this week. I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing weekend! Happy Monday :)

what stuff is made of

I wrote a blog entry friday but for whatever reason...it is not here. So here it goes again. On friday I had a meeting with my supervisor, Angela, to review how my first week went at the Hogar. She also gave me a tentative schedule for the next month or so. Starting tomorrow I´ll be ¨in charge¨ of watching over the youngest seven girls...Melinda (the youngest...she´s five), Maruja, Liset, Diana, Julia, Monica, and Eva. My day will start at 7:40am when I catch the ¨Batman¨ bus to the Hogar. From 8am-11am, I´ll be helping in the sewing and handicraft workshop. At 11am I´ll go pick up the seven girls from the sala de estudio and walk with them over to Niña Maria (the name of their dorm). I´ll help them get dressed and cleaned up for lunch and school. After lunch I´ll walk with them to school which is about 15 minutes down a really busy sreet. I walked with them friday and was blown away by how the row of girls, hand in hand, were able to j-walk across one of the busiest streets here...dodging taxis and buses that are at least 4 times their size. From 2pm-3pm I´ll help out in another workshop...then it´s spanish class until 5pm. The girls get out of school at 6pm so I´ll be there waiting to walk with them back home. And this is my schedule...for now.

I had an interesting weekend...spent much of yesterday with new friends...and spent much of today sleeping, eating, and resting (tanke wut wut!). As soon as I get off of the computer, I´m going to meet up with my roommate and her boyfriend to to go some big festival here. I´ve already forgotten the name...but it´s supposed to be the second biggest event here. It started at 3pm today and will last until late tomorrow night. So we´ll go check out some music, food, dancing...and who knows what else.

Earlier I was feeling pretty bummed out. I got to talk to Sean for a while which was good...good to process. I was just thinking about what I must really be made of. I miss home and everyone like crazy. And when I get to talk to my parents, or sean, or the tankes...I feel strangely like I am myself. But then I was thinking that I am probably more myself here because I am forced to face who I really am here...without my family, friends...the comforts of knowing how to say what I want to say...the stuff that I don´t have as much control over. Here, I get to see what I am really made of at my core. what about me is more unchangeable than not? what am I running on? when it comes down to it...what do my actions really show? this has been both disappointing and exciting to learn about. I told Sean that I didn´t feel like a very quality person. He told me that it´s okay because we know the way to quality.

on strike

I can´t believe I have already been here for a week. I haven´t written since I left New York...so here it goes. Today is my third full day here at the Hogar. On Monday I started spanish class with Vanessa who is the oldest girl staying here. She is 17 and attending the university just down the street. I´ll be meeting with her monday through thursday from 3pm to 5pm for a month. I´ve been walking 45 minutes to and from work every day because there have been a lot of strikes. On Friday, a group of students from the university hyjacked all of the buses and locked them behind the gates of the school. This was in protest to the increase in bus fare. In general, prices here have been going up. So today was a national strike day. Everything is closed. I saw no cars on the streets as I walked to work...only masses of people with signs and banners. The girls here at the Hogar haven´t been to school all week because of the strikes. The schools are supposed to open up again on Friday.

I am very excited to say that my stomach has been good to me lately. Thanks for all of the prayers for my physical well being. I´ve been feeling pretty good. It´s been an quite the adjustment getting used to meals here. I feel like I´m either really hungry, or super full. Breakfast at the Hogar is at 7am which means that I´d have to leave my apartment at 6 to get here in time. So by the time lunch rolls around...I´m pretty hungry. Lunch is the biggest meal here. There is always soup and something else...it´s so much food. I barely finish. But then by the time I get home around 6pm, I´m hungry again. And dinner really isn´t big here.

Overall, I have had a warm welcome from the people here in Cusco. I really would like to write more, but I have spanish class with Vanessa in just a few minutes. love love love you.