not reading in San Blas

Yesterday we had another bus strike in Cusco. Roads were blocked off by fallen trees, huge boulders, and trash to prevent any buses who chose not to strike from being able to drive. There were armed police on almost every corner. Many businesses closed for the day, along with almost all of the schools. This meant that the streets were crowded with school children playing volleyball and soccer in the street (in the middle of the trash, tree branches, and rocks), protesters, people on bikes, venders, and huge masses of people who had to walk (sometimes from way out in the campo) to work instead of taking the bus.

I left the girls´ home around 11am to go visit the girls at the bakery where Meghan works. It had been almost a month since the last time I had seen them. It took me an hour to make my way through the crowded streets and finally up the steep stairs to the bakery. But I was warmly greeted and it felt so nice to catch up with familiar smiles.

Around 1pm I decided I´d try to be productive instead of going home and taking a nap. It was a nice day to find a spot outside to read. I left the bakery and found myself seated on the steps in front of the church in the Plaza de San Blas. Right as I opened up my book to get my read on, Yanet made her entrance. Yanet is eight years old. She was trying to get the tourist sitting next to me to buy a knitted finger puppet that her stepmom had made. She asked the tourist where she was from. The answer she got in return was, ¨No.¨ So Yanet thought she would try her luck with me instead. We ended up sitting and talking for a good half an hour. In the end, I bought a chancho (pig) finger puppet that she would, after much thought and discussion, later name Tiolín. We shared some yellow jello stuff and she told me about how her stepmom had sent her into the city with 20 finger puppets to sell. Of these 20, 15 had been confiscated by police because Yanet got caught vending in the Plaza de Armas (which is prohibited). She sat there next to me trying to figure out what to do so that her stepmom wouldn´t beat her. Her mother had died just after her little sister was born. Yanet was two years old at the time. Her dad remarried and her stepmom was constantly hitting both her and her younger sister.

I had been her only sale for the day thus far. Yanet thanked me for the purchase and the jello and said she had to go make at least a few more sales before going to meet up with her aunt. After she left, I looked over at the tourist sitting next to me and asked her in English where she was from. I never caught her name, but she was a nurse from Seattle on vacation with some friends. She noticed that I was reading ¨The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down¨ which she had already read. This striked up some good conversation that lasted until Yanet came back. She was looking pretty discouraged until the nurse from Seattle decided to purchase a spotted dog finger puppet. She quickly got up again to go look for more possible clients.

I wished the nurse luck and safety in her travels and found a bench on the other side of the church...next to the big fountain. Five minutes into my reading, Yanet popped up next to me. She was tired and hungry. I offered her an orange I had in my purse. She thanked me but said she´d eat it later because if you eat an orange in the sun it will give you a fever. Moments later we were approached by Belizbez. Belizbez is 10 and knows Yanet because they both sell things in the Plaza de San Blas. Belizbez wanted me to buy a coin purse that her mom had knitted. I bought one and she took off to buy some lunch at the market. Shortly after, Yanet also left to go to her aunt´s store.

Opening my book again, I heard a familiar voice call out, ¨Tasi!¨ It was our good friend, Juan Carlos! I think the last time I saw him was when Meghan and I went to his son´s baptism...months ago. It was a pleasant suprise. He, too, had been kicked out of the Plaza de Armas where he was trying to sell some of his paintings. We chatted for a while before some more of his artist friends joined us and asked if we were going to go watch the big soccer game at the stadium. I thanked them for the invitation but told them I was on my way back to my apartment to eat lunch. Juan Carlos took down my new cell number and said he´d be calling Meghan and I to stop by and catch up with us.

Later in the afternoon, Meghan and I went to sit in the Plaza de Armas. There were so many people. One can definitely see that we are entering the height of tourist season. We enjoyed the downtime...in silence, people-watching, and also talking about where our thoughts were. Later in the evening, we decided to continue our relaxing night of fellowship with some arroz con leche. So we headed back to the Plaza de San Blas where a woman sits every night selling very rico arroz con leche. We took our disposable bowls and sat at the top of the fountain. As we slurped down the last of our delicious dessert, I recognized the beautiful face of a new friend. Yanet had come to the fountain with a bucket to gather water for her aunt who lived nearby. She seemed excited to bump into me again...and was more than pleased to get to meet Meghan, too. She couldn´t stay long but asked if we´d be back in San Blas tomorrow (today). We told her we´d try really hard to go and see her. She smiled and was off. It was the best day spent not reading ever.

It´s going on 2:30pm here in Cusco...another three hours until Yanet said she´d be in San Blas. It´s hard to believe that is already Thursday and tomorrow will be Friday. This weekend we´re going camping for a night. One of our friends, Freddy, has some beautiful property in the campo next to a lake. I am really looking forward to some relaxing time next to the fire, listening to friends singing and playing the guitar, sleeping under the stars, and playing soccer the next day.

I am definitely thinking about and missing everyone at home. Love you all and wishing you the best.

greetings from chile

It's been a long while since I last wrote. A lot has happened in the past month that I should have written about. I write this from a friend's laptop in Santiago, Chile. I arrived late last night and spent much of today on the metro and making my way to the Peruvian Embassy where I will return again tomorrow to hopefully finally get my resident visa. Before my arrival here in Santiago, I spent a wonderful week at the beach in Arequipa with the lovely Meghan Hurley, my roomie. It was our first real trip together. We spent some quality time soaking up some sun, staying up late talking on the balcony of our hotel, reflecting, relaxing, and recuperating from the Cusco flu...did I mention ceviche?!?! It was amazing to enjoy some fresh fish! Although it may have not been the best choice for my stomach, my taste buds were more than pleased. Meghan returned to Cusco and I continued my journey down south to Chile.

It was a good day. I was pretty proud of myself for not getting completely lost on the metro and for being able to find the Peruvian Embassy and whatnot. Afterwards I found myself passing a coffee shop that happened to be playing some Ella Fitzgerald..."First you say you do, and then you don't"...I don't know the name of the song but I hadn't heard it for a good while. It immediately sent me back to fourth grade. I remember gathering up enough courage to sing it when my dad had the karaoke machine in the class. It was right after Stephanie Saum sang "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls" by TLC.

I landed me a spot in the corner on a comfy couch where I enjoyed a huge coffee, a little downtime of writing, and reading some of Paul Farmer's "Pathologies of Power." It's now going on 7:30pm. I'm staying with some friends who I met in New York during training to come to Peru. Their roommate, Michelle, has been here for over two years and will be catching a plane back to the states on Monday. So this weekend I am really looking forward to more downtime and enjoying the fellowship of friends and good company before hopping back on the long bus ride back to Cusco. Again, I apologize for not keeping this up to date. I will try to write more frequently. I hope this finds all of you well. You are missed and loved.