Another week....

Protests in the streets

Hola, ¿Cómo te vas? Things are going pretty well here. Plans have changed since I last posted; no, I’m not in Ocongate yet. There were strikes Tuesday and Wednesday so there were no buses or taxis at all. Thursday, I was going to go to Ocongate...but I didn’t for some reason, I forget. I knew Berta was coming up  for Saturday so by then I figured I might as well wait and go back with her because she was planning on going back Sunday. Well, her plans changed and she went back Saturday late afternoon. I stayed for church and well, here I  am. I’m going to Ocongate this afternoon, around 2 or 3. Michael is taking me to the buses and Berta will pick me up in the Plaza in Ocongate. Ok, now you know my plans, we can back up a little. Tuesday and Wednesday, because of the strikes, I didn’t do too much. It was also pretty rainy and some of the protests can get violent so I pretty much stayed inside all day studying Spanish, reading, sleeping, chillin’ with Michael and Jin, etc. Oh! Jin! Jin is a new student at the Machu Picchu Linguas School, he’s also living here at Rosanna’s. I thought his name was Jean, and Michael though it was Jim, but we figured it out...It’s Jin. He’s Korean so when I first met him I assumed he didn’t speak much English...apparently he’s from Virginia, born and raised. He’s a pretty cool guy, just a fireman here for a month to explore and learn Spanish. We get along pretty well, it’s nice to have more company here. Thursday...Thursday...hmmm well I got a massage and ate at the McDonalds here in Cuzco. How’s that for a cop-out day? I also was asked out twice within an hour of each other in the Plaza de Armas. One was a guy I have talked to before, he’s tried to sell me his paintings in the past. We were chatting and he asked me to go to the Discotecha with him but I kindly declined. About 45 minutes later, another guy tried to sell me sunglasses. I tried to explain that I didn’t want sunglasses because I wear regular glasses, so it wouldn’t really work out. He then decided to ask me to go dancing...because that’s relevant, obviously. I also politely declined but he was pretty persistent; eventually I went on my way. Saturday I finally got to meet Berta! She came up to Cuzco to go check out one of the trout farms with Michael. I got to go with them; it was pretty neat to see how the farm works. It was quite a hike! We took a taxi to some small town outside of Cuzco and got dropped off by the side of the road. We then continued to cross a stream and hike a mountain. After about 45 minutes of hiking we finally stumbled upon a couple houses and a trout farm. I didn't realize it would be such a hike so I didn't wear sunscreen, and I am now pretty badly sun burnt on my neck. After spending the morning and afternoon at the farm, we went to lunch. I was so exhausted afterwards, so I crashed pretty hard. After my nap, Michael, Jin, and I went shopping, so I think I'm all ready for Ocongate now! I just hope I can fit everything in my backpack. Berta is so very nice! She and Michael were mostly talking business the whole time, but I can tell I like her already. Friday I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. I was reminded I’m not in the states. This museum was just a couple plain rooms with paintings on the wall and then in a hallway upstairs by some conference rooms. There were actually some conference things going on so I had to avoid news cameras while enjoying some art. Some of the art was absolutely amazing!...others, not so much. That evening I asked Michael if he would have time to go get a phone with me, since I’m still struggling with the language. I ended up going to the Dentist with him to take Alexia and Shirley (because he’s Alexia’s Godfather). Afterwards we got a phone. But upon seeing Shirley, she invited me to a Stake Single’s dance that night! So after the Dentist and phone I went home and changed and Shirley and her friend came and got me for the ¡Fiesta! It was pretty much like any other church dance I’ve been to, except more salsa music, but not by much. It actually was about half Spanish music and half American. There were a few songs played, that if they knew the meaning of the words, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have played them, but it’s all good. I got to meet lots of people my age from my ward. I also got to meet a particular young man whom I happen to now have a crush on, haha. His name is Luís, I don’t know how old he is, but he is an RM, and he’s very nice. We didn’t get to talk a ton because every time we’d get talking as we were walking home, the rest of the group would stop to see if we would notice and then start to make fun of us. Luís knows just a little English and I know just enough Spanish for us to have a pleasant conversation. I also saw him again today at church, but only for a moment. He’s very handsome :] I’ll post a picture of the group, he’s the one in all black, on the bottom left, second person in. Church was great today! I obviously didn’t understand very much, but I still loved it. I really liked a woman’s talk in Sacrament Meeting; I really don’t know what she talked about because not only is my comprehension of Spanish not at it’s best, but it’s difficult to understand any woman giving a talk while crying. Either way, I could tell she had an amazing testimony. A young woman spoke on having good friends with good morals...I’m pretty sure. I could only understand the basics. In Sunday school a young man who spoke English pretty well sat by me and explained a lot of what was going on. I only have the Book of Mormon in Spanish so Shirley would share any other scriptures with me in Spanish, and I would also look them up in English, so I could know what was going on. I had to read a scripture aloud in Spanish; the scriptural words in Spanish are pretty different than normal Spanish for vocabulary, but all went well. I really had no idea what was going on in Relief Society, but I know it was almost the exact same as any other Relief Society meeting. Just lots of women sharing stories and crying, while the teacher can barely get a word out. In Relief Society a woman was sharing a thought when she decided to pull down here blouse and breast feed her child. I forget that’s perfectly normal here, to nurse in public, without a blanket or anything. Next week there is no church, because of the elections I guess. The elections are such a big deal here, it’s a little ridiculous. The next week we’ll have General Conference broadcasted in another building. Upon coming here I was pretty sure I’d been told that there were only one of two chapels in Cuzco; there are definitely not. Within 30 minutes (walking) of Rosanna’s house there are probably 3 or 4. They are really nice too! Definitely not what I was expecting. Well, I probably should finish packing, eat some food, and be on my way! Just thought I’d keep you all updated! I’m sure I’ll post again in a few days and let you know how I like Ocongate! I love you all very much! Thanks for reading ;)

More protesting

¡Despues de la fiesta!

At the trout farm with Bert and Michael

Plaza de Armas

P.s. We've found a kitten in Rosanna's house! It's tiny and adorable but horribly grumpy and I don't like it very much. I've named him Mufasa because he looks like a lion, but Rosanna's kids call him Noob. Diego is a big gamer so that makes sense...

Machupicchu Trip!

Well Hello!

                I am back safely from Machupicchu :) if my mother goes a day without hearing from me she is sure I have died, but don’t worry, I’m perfectly safe. A little sore and pretty tired, but very good. Well, Saturday morning I met a guy from the tourist agency at my school, from there he took me to the agency while he gave me some papers, my ticket, bus pass, etc. and told me all about my trip. After that he dropped me off at the bus station and said “See ya later!” I got on a bus (which was really more like a van)  for an hour and  a half and headed off to Ollantaytambo. I was in Ollantaytambo last week as part of the Sacred Valley tour, but this time I was there for the train. From there I took a two hour train ride to the town of Machupicchu. I mostly slept on the train, and read a little, but I actually sat across from the Dutch couple who also go to the school. It was a very big coincidence, and it was nice to see some familiar faces. I’m actually not supposed to tell the school I saw them there because they don’t want them to pay their host family less because they were in Machupicchu for one night. But anyhow, we got to the town of Machupicchu at about 3pm. At the train station a girl from the hotel had a sign with my name on it (or close to it – Alicia Escalante is close enough) and led me to the hotel. There I got my room and met my tour guide for the next day. After meeting with him for a while and after he explained everything for me, I went and got dinner. The view from where I sat was pretty awesome. The food, it was okay. Peruvian pizza is good, but nothing amazing. After dinner I went to “Agua Caliente”, or the Hot Springs. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting natural bodies of hot springs, but it was very developed. It was all tiled and whatnot, very crowded, and not very hot. It was more like Luke warm, very dirty water, in a small area with a lot of people. I saw the Dutch couple there and their friend, so I hung out with them for a while, but left pretty earlier because it just wasn’t all that great. And yes, I had to pay to get in, so that’s kind of lame. After the hot springs (and a well needed shower) I wandered the town for a little bit and got a massage. Because the town of Machupicchu is purely tourist, everything is overpriced. My massage I got in Cusco was about a third of the price as this one, and much better. This one was still good, but probably not worth 80 soles (which is about 25 American dollars). After my massage, I decided to go to bed early. Or at least try to. The next morning I had to be at the bus station before 5am so I could be up at Machupicchu and get in line before 6am. My tour guide would meet me inside the gates, along with the rest of our tour group, around 6:15. From 6:20 to 8:20 we had a walking tour. It was awesome to hear all about the history of Machupicchu and how the Incan people lived there! In comparison to the other ruins I have seen, they are very similar, but much more developed. Machupicchu was almost all the way done when the Incans left, unlike the ruins in Ollantaytambo, which are only 20-30% finished. It was way cool to see the temples and hear the explanations for the shapes of all the buildings and what it represented and to see the housing and know what each specific courtyard was for, etc. After the tour, I had time to explore on my own. I wandered around the ruins for a while and then hiked up to the sun gates, which were really amazing. It took me a little longer than I anticipated, probably because I was so exhausted. I had gotten a really poor night’s sleep the night before, maybe a good 4 hours, so my body was not liking all the hiking. Once I got up to the sun gates, I stayed for a while. I read some scriptures and my book I’m reading right now called “Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times” by Bruce C. Hafen, it’s a great book, I’m almost done with it. I also took a little bit of  a nap up there, but I had to be careful because there are so many bugs and such. Oh my goodness! I have never seen so many butterflies in all my life! In the ruins area, there were a few. But on the trail up to the Sun gates, oh wow! This part of Peru is like where the Jungles meet the Andes. It’s total mountains and peaks everywhere, but they’re covered in jungle-like plants and trees. Because of this, there are lots and lots of bugs. It was so cool to see so many butterflies all over! After the Sun Gates, I hiked over to the Watch Tour, and was going to hike over to the Incan Bridge, but my feet decided I should take a rest first. So I read on a little terrace for a while, just enjoying the amazing view. I was so exhausted and had already been there for 7+ hours, so my body decided it didn’t want to go hike up to the Incan Bridge. So I went and got some lunch, some ice cream, was around the ruins a bit longer, and headed back to the town. The road down/up to the ruins is pretty sketchy. I could have hiked back but that would have been another hour and my feet didn’t even want to stand anymore, much less go down rocky, steep stairs for an hour. Plus, walking anywhere that is that secluded by myself doesn’t sound too tempting. The people of Peru are wonderful and very loving, but I am still protective of myself. Once I got back to the town, I went into the Catholic church to read and rest a bit more. I feel asleep after reading some scriptures and was awakened by two gorgeous, Peruvian girls. One couldn’t have been more than 5, and the other was probably 2 or 3. The older of the two woke me up saying (in Spanish) “Don’t you know this is the house of God?” I nodded and tried to fall back asleep, but once again she said “The house of God!” “La casa de Dios!” Haha it made me laugh so I sat up from resting my head on my backpack and she continued to chat with me. She showed me how to use the holy water and how to pray. She made the cross sign on herself and her (what I assumed to be) little sister. After that they ran outside to play. The kids here are by far the worst birth control ever, Haha by that I mean they are so stinkin’ cute, they just make you want one for yourself. I got back to the town around 3 but my train wasn’t until 7:30. So I went to the internet cafe, emailed mother, checked my facebook, etc. Because it was Sunday I was trying to spend money on only essential things like communication and food. Well, there’s not much to do in a town that is purely for tourists that doesn’t involve spending money. So I mostly walked the town, read my scriptures by the river, read my scriptures in the church, got some hot chocolate to hold me over, read my scriptures in the Plaza. I read the whole book of Mosiah yesterday so that was nice to get so much scripture time in. I saw the Dutch people around town but they were shopping and going to restaurants, so I mostly chilled by myself. It was good though. And don’t worry, when I mean by myself, I’m still around tons of people all the time, so I’m still perfectly safe. I didn’t back to Cusco until almost 11:30. There were lots of taxi’s waiting by the bus so I immediately got in one and went home (to Rosanna’s house). Well, it’s the morning now :) I am feeling very tired and have a little bit of a sore throat but besides that I’m feeling good! Today I will be packing my things, and getting ready for tomorrow, when I plan to go to Ocongate. I still need to talk with Michael and figure out some of those details but I’m pretty sure I’ll meet Berta tomorrow after she is done with school in the Plaza of Ocongate. Starting then, I wont have internet as often, but there are a couple internet cafe’s so I’ll still be on every once in a while. I’m very excited to go to Ocongate, meet Berta, and start working in Huecco Uno. I am especially excited to practice my Spanish even more and work with all the beautiful children! I love you all very much and will post again in a few days and let you know all about Ocongate! Hopefully I’ll be able to post pictures of Machupicchu with this blog, if I can figure it out...¡Chow! 

Friday, September 17 - It's been a WEEK!

Dearest family and friends,
                I am done with my crash-course week of school! I’ve learned a lot, but I think 8 hours of Spanish in school is a little too much for me. Of course it’s Spanish pretty much 24/7 here, but at least when I’m not in school I’m not constantly taking notes, doing exercises, and having lots of homework every evening. I still have lots to learn and will still be studying on my own every day, but fluency will come with time and practice. Yesterday, after class, we had a Salsa class! It was muy divertido! There are only 5 students in the school right now and only two others came, but that’s okay because the room we learned in was pretty small. Salsa must be pretty easy because I was doing great! Haha but I quite liked it, hopefully I’ll get to dance some more while I’m here.
                I bought a new camera yesterday in Mercado Molino. It wasn’t too cheap but less expensive than had I bought it in the states. I’m planning on keeping this camera for the rest of my trip though :) Wednesday night I went and got a massage! It was one of the best massages I’ve ever gotten and most definitely the cheapest! They’re only 25 soles, which translate to about 9 U.S. Dollars. Oh, also on Wednesday, I was in Plaza de Armas during my break right? I was just chillin’ on the steps of el Catedral reading my book, minding my own business. I noticed walking over to the Plaza that there were lots of policemen, but I didn’t think too much of it. Well, I was reading and suddenly here tons of noise! Drums, horns, yelling, etc. Apparently there were protests going on. Huge parades of people walking down the street, around the Plaza, with huge banners, all chanting and yelling and banging drums! Man, I wish I would’ve had my camera then! One of the groups had a huge, paper Mache rat. The rat is to represent the robber, or thief. Anyway, that group stopped in the middle of the plaza, set the rat down, and then set it on fire! When it was done burning two guys with HUGE sticks starting beating it! And everyone was yelling and chanting in unison! It was pretty crazy...
                So yesterday, I was out to lunch with Sandra (one of my teachers). She had her purse on the back of her chair – bad idea. We were eating in peace when all of a sudden the table next to us starting yelling! Some guy grabbed her purse! We were on the upper level of the restaurant, but right next to the stairs. As soon as we realized what had happened, Sandra, two servers, and a random guy in the restaurant started running after him. I think he got scared because he dropped her purse in the street as soon as he got out of the restaurant. They still chased after him but he got away. Luckily he didn’t have time to take anything out of her purse though. Her zipper was undone but nothing was missing. Theft is definitely a big deal here in Cuzco. I now always carry my backpack on my side, covering it with one arm. And I plan to buy a side back soon, so I don’t have to worry about it as much. I’ve been told that I’m much more likely to get pick-pocketed with a backpack then a side bag. Luckily, I go to Ocongate next week, where I won’t have to worry about it nearly as much. But don’t worry, I’ll still be careful and aware. I’ll either go to Ocongate on Monday or Tuesday, Michael says it’s really up to me.
                Well, tomorrow I’m off to Machu Picchu! Sadly, I have to miss church again. I didn’t plan these trips though, Rosanna did, and she didn’t take into account that I might not want to miss two weeks of church in a row. Oh well, I’ll still keep the Sabbath day holy :) I talked with Rosanna and I plan on coming and staying at her house some of the weekends. It doesn’t make sense for me to drive to Cuzco and back to Ocongate all in one day, every single week. Plus, besides two internet cafe’s and a few restaurants, there’s really nothing to do in Ocongate. So Rosanna thinks it’s a good idea if I come on Friday or Saturday and go to church Sunday, and then head back. I probably wont do that every weekend, but some, for sure. I really want to get to know Shirley better, and hopefully become better friends with her. Hopefully I’ll get to hang out with her on the weekends I come down. Shirley is the daughter of Wendy, who is one of my teachers – my favorite teacher actually. Most of the time in class we just talk and laugh, she’s great. She speaks almost no English so it really forces me to use my Spanish. Shirley is also Mormon, so it will be good to know someone at church. But yeah, Machu Picchu! I have to be at the school at 10:15am, to meet with my guide, or something like that. From there he’ll take me to the Bus station, and I’m not clear if he’s going to ride the bus with me or just drop me off. I didn’t really get a chance to ask him when talking with him today, but I guess I’ll find out in the morning. After an hour and half bus ride, I’ll hop on a train for a few more hours. I’m very excited to see Machu Picchu! The ruins are so amazing here in Peru!
                Oh, there is a Ratón in the house currently, so I keep my door closed. The other morning, I had to kill a very large spider before I could get in the shower. I’ve never seen a spider quite so....red. it was bright red and pretty big. Hopefully not poisonous, but I killed it so it doesn’t matter anyway. I most definitely don’t like spiders, but I’m getting used to seeing them around. Pest control isn’t exactly overrated here. Well, I have to hang up my clothes so they’ll be dry in the morning, so I best get to that! I love you all and I’ll post pictures soon!

Tuesday, September 14

Well hello again,
                Just to start off, my head hurts from the high altitude and learning so much Spanish, my nose hurts because of breathing all the pollution, and my stomach hurts because I ate some fruit last night. Apparently, due to the elevation, you’re (by that I mean tourists) not supposed to eat fruit in the evenings, only in the day time...I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either but whatever. Good thing I love being here so I don’t really care about my body hurting. I started school yesterday, it’s going well. I learn Spanish for about 8 hours a day. I’m at the school (or near it) for 10 hours, with a 1½ hour break for lunch, and two 30 minute breaks in between. So I only have class for 2 hours at a time, each time with a different teacher in a different classroom focusing on different parts of Spanish, so it’s really not too bad. It’s all one-on-one with the teacher, no other students, so it’s very personal. Yesterday was an overload, but today wasn’t too bad. Today my teachers were Sandra, Wendy, Yenifer, y Carlos. Carlos is definitely the most difficult teacher, he puts a lot on me and it’s all grammar, but he’s nice and pretty patient with me, so it’s all good. The school is right down the street from Plaza de Arma, which is the main plaza here in Cusco. It’s pretty amazingly beautiful. I took pictures for you all, but alas, my camera is missing in action! Did I mention that? Speaking of the Plaza de Arma, I’m pretty sure that’s where my camera got stolen. Sad day.  Anyway, Plaza de Arma is beautiful so I usually go there on my breaks. Everyday for lunch, I get to have lunch with one of my teachers. They’re all very nice, but I kind of like the time to myself. I kind of wish I had that hour and a half to just wander and get to know the city and eat by myself. I have time after school, but by then it’s pretty cold and the sun has already set. The sun sets here by 5:30 or 6, so by the time I get out of class by 6:30 it’s already dark.
                Let me just tell you, the men really are quite forward here. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t white. But because I am, I get hit on quite often. Yesterday, while chillin’ in Plaza de Arma on my break when a guy came up to me to try to sell me his paintings. This is very common, people come up to me probably every few minutes trying to sell me something. This guy, however, didn’t even really show me his paintings. He was just trying to get me to go dancing with his the whole time. He kept saying “It’s just dancing! Come with me! I buy you dinner after! Please Bonita? Ok, no? Ok, you give me kiss? Just one kiss pretty lady!” haha it was pretty funny. After a few minutes of that I realized I had to get back to class; he was pretty bummed. Silly men. Even though they’re pretty forward and obnoxious, jeez there are some attractive brown guys here! It’s not a bad sight :)

I’m getting pretty used to rejecting all the people on the street that want me to buy everything. I’ve also learned to not even glance at anything they’re selling on the street, otherwise they think I’m interested and won't leave me alone. I’m starting to get used to all the little differences here, they’re quite interesting. Little things like the street lights, the traffic rules, the common phrases of etiquette, how the restaurants work, the stores, etc. I feel quite comfortable here; besides struggling with the language, I don’t feel like a tourist at all. And as for my language, it’s improving every day. Speaking of Spanish, I have homework so I probably better get to it. Love you all!

P.S. I’d love to hear from you! My email address is alysanicole47@gmail.com. I actually have internet quite often (that is until I go to Ocongate), so I have plenty of time to read and respond. Keep me updated on your beautiful lives!

--
-Alyssa Nicole Escalante-

Sunday, Sept. 12

¡Hola mi familia y amigos!

Wow, what a day! Well first, I’ll tell you about my evening last night. Wendy is the mother of Alexia, who is the girl who was baptized into the Catholic church yesterday.  The baptism was pretty cool, then we had dinner at Wendy’s house. The food here is very good, not amazing, but simple and very good. We stayed at their house for a few hours just eating and talking. It was really good for me to be around that much Spanish. I’ve never been so immersed in so much Spanish before, and I think even in that one day, my understanding and even my speaking has improved a little bit. Wendy has another daughter, her name is Shirley. Shirley is about my age, very nice, and actually a member of our church! So that will be so nice to have someone to go to church with and have a friend there as well. After that nice visit, Micheal and I went to the market near Rosanna’s house. It’s amazing to me how much trash there is here, on the streets, in the Plaza’s, everywhere. But I guess that’s how all the stray dogs survive. I got to Video chat with Mother online last night so that was nice. It had only been a day since I’d seen her, but it feels like I’ve been here much longer. The past two days may have been the longest days of my life...but I’m not complaining! They’ve been awesome! I love being here, experiencing a different culture and something new! It’s wonderful! This morning I slept in; I’ll most definitely have to use the alarm on my phone because my watch didn’t wake me up at all. To my surprise, I got to take a fairly warm shower this morning. There is no heat in the houses, so I assumed that meant the water as well, but I guess Rosanna has heated water. It was really nice, but I probably wont be so lucky in Ocongate, and it’s much colder there then here in Cuzco. The whole city of Cuzco just amazes me; the streets, the people, the buildings, the drivers, the culture, the street vendors, it’s all so...so...Peruvian! Haha, I love it. I feel I already have a love for the Peruvian people, and I still can’t even talk with most of them. But anyway, today was my tour to the Sacred Valley. I honestly thought this was going to be a bus ride to a open valley of grass, and then a bus ride back. Boy, was I wrong. It was an all day tour of the Sacred Valley, and many of the Incan cities surrounding it. The sacred valley is huge, and is full of farms and towns. It’s not really sacred, it’s just called that because there is a river running through it called the Sacred River (also not really sacred, that’s just the name). Before the valley, we stopped in a market; I resisted from spending all my money on all the beautiful things there and only bought one sweater and some weird seed things. My sweater is made from alpaca fur and is incredibly soft. It is, of course, orange :) I wish I could remember all the names of the places we went to today...oh! it’s on my ticket! Un momento! Hoy, nosotros fuemos Pisac, Ollantaytambo, y Chinchero. Pisac y Ollantaytambo are mostly ruins, and boy are they amazing. I’m trying to remember which one is which, but at one of them we had to climb hundreds of stairs, and let me tell you, at 12,000 feet, not being used to this altitude, that’s pretty difficult. I chewed on Coca leaves most the day to help with the altitude, it helped a little. They don’t taste very good though. It’s weird, it’s only been two days and I’m already addicted to Coca tea, but I don’t really like the leaves. The leaves straight are bland and have a bitter after taste. But in tea with sugar...mmm es muy bueno! I’m sad it’s illegal in the states, I would love to drink it when I get home. For those of you who don’t know, Coca leaves are what are used to make Cocaine – after a long chemical process of course. By itself, it’s nothing like cocaine, and perfectly healthy, I promise. Amway, the cities were amazing. My feet are a little sore from hiking all day, but it was very worth it. I’ll try to send some pictures to mi Madre so she can post them. We stopped in Urabamba for lunch; I tried alpaca! It’s not too much different from beef, pretty good though. I also tried alcohol for the first time today...whoops! At the restaurant they were offering the “drink of Peru” and it was free. I totally wanted to try it, but when it tasted like rotten nail polish, I realized it was an alcoholic beverage. Apparently it was delicious, said everyone at my table, but I though it was pretty disgusting. I’m a little disappointed, I really wanted to go my whole life without even trying alcohol, but oh well. There were a lot of nice people on my tour, I made some friends, and it was really awesome. After a very long day hiking in the sun, they dropped us off in a plaza in Cuzco. There are plaza’s everywhere here, like Wendy’s in Utah County. The main plaza is Plaza de Arma. They dropped us off very near to there, so I went over to explore. The buildings there are so beautiful! I would have stayed longer but I really needed to use the restroom and there are no [free] public restrooms, so I called a taxi and came back here to Rosanna’s. The extended family was here for dinner, they were all very nice. It’s amazing to me how well I understand most the people here like Wendy and her family, but I can’t understand Rosanna for the life of me. I couldn’t understand her family either! She talks so very fast; it’s a good thing she also speaks English or I would never know what she was trying to tell me. She always talks to me en Español first, and then in English if I just can’t get it – which is most of the time. Oh! I met her children! They are very nice. She has one son and one daughter. The son’s name is Diego, he’s about my age, but a little strange. Her daughter is...I don’t know how old she is, a few years younger than me, her name is Luciero – I think. I don’t know if they don’t speak English at all or if they’re only speaking Spanish to me to help me learn, but either way is fine. School starts tomorrow, I’m excited to learn! I’m also excited for church next week, I missed going today. I’m not sure when I’ll be going to Machu Picchu, I still have to talk to Rosanna about that. Well, it’s only 9:30 but I’m pooped! So I think I’ll call it a night! Feel free to email me (alyssanicole47@gmail.com) and keep me updated on all of your lives! Thanks for the support and love! I love you all! ¡Buenos Noches!

P.s. Well it appears as though my camera has been stolen. Hopefully I've just misplaced it, but as of right now I can't seem to find it. How depressing, I has so many awesome pictures. Hopefully it shows up!
--
-Alyssa Nicole Escalante-

A couple of pics!

The homes in Wendy's neighborhood

Celebrating after the baptism

New Plans

Well, it looks like my plans will be different than expected tomorrow. Tomorrow is when we will head down and take a tour of the Sacred Valley. We will leave at 8:30am and church is at 9:00, so i won't be able to go to church tomorrow - (don't worry mom, i'm still active). I don't think we will be getting back until evening, so maybe we'll have to wait until Monday evening to Skype. We'll see. I just took a very long, and needed nap. My bed is amazingly comfortable and warm. Rosanna is very well off and has a very beautiful home and lives on the longest (and probably busiest) street in Cuzco. Breakfast was great! I really like the Coca tea (or however you spell it). Micheal and I talked a lot. Because there is almost nothing to do in Ocongate for pleasure (there are two internet Café's, and one or two restaurants), Rosanna has offered to let me stay here on the weekends. I told them I will be coming in town for church every Sunday anyway, so that would be a great idea to just come Friday or Saturday and be here for the weekend. Obviously that wont happen every single week, but i now have that option, which is really nice. There are no other students staying at Rosanna's house right now except Micheal, so it's just us, Rosanna, and her two children. I haven't met them yet, but Micheal says they are very nice. I am going to a Catholic Baptism today that Micheal is participating in, he's the God-Father, or something. Then we'll have dinner, and possibly go to the Plaza de Arma. I sure hope so cause if we do, i'm getting a massage! They're pretty darn cheap here and you don't know how freaking sore i am! Ok, maybe some of you do, but i've never had my neck and shoulders this tight before. I will start school Monday morning at 8:45, and will have class for 8 hours a day. It's all individual tutoring,i'm excited to learn! Micheal says there are about 5 other students at the moment, so i'll meet them soon. oh! i forgot to tell you earlier! On the plane ride here i sat by a very nice young man, but he didn't speak English at all. I spoke better Spanish than he spoke English, but of course that's not saying much. I got that his name is Franco and he works at the airport and lives in Cuzco. Apparently this is flirting and i got his number and email address. He wasn't cute at all, but thanks anyway...i guess? The men are very forward here, especially since i slept most the flight so we barely even talked. But the short time i've been here, there are some very cute brown guys here! Not the typical "good looking" sort in the states, but still, very attractive. don't worry mother, even if they're cute, i'll have my pepper spray ready. although the people here are generally really nice, so far at least. Well, i don't have to be ready for the baptism for another 2 hours but i think i'll go explore the streets a little bit, take some pictures for you, etc. I love you so very much and am so excited to start this experience of mine!
p.s. we also had banana juice that Rosanna made with breakfast, suuuuuper yummy! :]

Sept 11, 2010-On my way

Hi Mom and Family!

I’ve made it to L.A. safely. I just finished eating breakfast here in the airport. My Airline doesn’t open it’s front desk for a while, so I’m stuck here out in the lobby area for now. I’ll attempt to entertain myself for a few more hours as it’s only 8:50am and my flight doesn’t depart until 1:30pm. So over the next 5 hours I may possibly die of boredom, but we’ll see. For now, I think I’ll save my battery until I’m REALLY bored (like in a few hours). I’ll let you know how my flight to Lima, Peru goes. Transferring my luggage in between Lima and Cuzco is going to be a pain. So for now, this will be a “To be Continued!!”...

Hey! I’m on the airplane right now heading to Lima. I’m not sure, but I think we’re a little less than 3 hours away from landing. This is  by far the nicest plane I have ever been on. I know I haven’t been on many planes, but this is so nice! I have my own personal T.V. screen with games, movies, T.V. episodes, music, radio, airline info, and some other stuff. It is so very fancy. There was a very nice man sitting next to me but his brother is also on this flight in another section,  anyway, there was an empty seat next to his brother, so he went up there. So I have had two seats to myself, and it’s been a pretty luxurious flight. The view has been amazing! I’m so glad I have a window seat. The clouds over the ocean are amazing, and I saw the most beautiful sunset! I took pictures but they hardly do it justice. So far everyone that has talked to me on this flight (passengers and flight attendants) have assumed I speak Spanish, so I guess I look like I speak Spanish. No worries, by the time I’m flying home I’ll really be understanding what they’re saying! It’s been a good flight but very long. Over 8 hours is too long to be on a plane. I’ll let you know how it goes on the next flight and with meeting Micheal at the airport. So, until then....

I am now in the Lima airport. Wow, that was a long flight. I’ve discovered that most the people here that think they know English, really only know Spanglish. But it’s not too bad because I can still get what they’re saying. Even the people who don’t speak English at all, I can understand most of what they say with gestures and stuff, which is a little comforting. I’m attempting to get internet right now in the Wi-Fi section of the airport, but it’s not really working. Oh well, I will have internet access tomorrow. A moment ago there was a cute little brown kid following me around. My that I mean he was like in his 20’s, but these Peruvian people are pretty little. He kept trying to sit kind of by me but I kept moving to try and get internet access, then he gave up and went away. It’s ok, he probably didn’t speak English anyway. And as cute as his smile was, he looked like a punk. It is about 2:00am right now, so that’s 1:00am Utah time. I’m not tired at all though, I slept on the flight here. Surprisingly enough the food was pretty good. But then again, that was a pretty fancy-dancey plane. I made it through customs and everything okay, I was a little concerned about that because I didn’t know what half the forms I was supposed to fill out said. After name, flight number, and passport number, I didn’t really get the rest. But no worries, everything went very smoothly. I don’t really know where I’m supposed to be right now. I technically don’t have a flight gate I guess, but I don’t know where I’m supposed to be either. That’s okay, I’ll figure it out later. They don’t start boarding until 4:45am anyway. Right now I’m sitting next to a very nice man who is also trying to get internet, but we’re both failing. He doesn’t speak English, but we’re still managing to communicate a little bit. Well, there’s still not a whole lot to tell, I’m mostly just writing because I’m bored and kind of sick of flying/being in an airport. It’s been an experience. I still don’t know if being in Peru hasn’t hit me yet, or if it has and I’m just really calm about the whole situation. Either way, I kind of like that no one is speaking English to me. This is a fun, and new experience. Well, I’m going to find something else to do because I really just don’t have that much to say right now. But no worries Mamma, I’m safe. Love you all! And I’ll write again soon....

Oh my goodness! I’m here! I’m at Rosanna’s house right now, it’s 7:15 in the morning and I’m about to go down and have some tea and bread for breakfast. Cuzco is an amazing city. It’s different than I was expecting. I think it’s finally starting to hit me, that I’ll be living in a 3rd world country for the next three months. drivers here are a little crazy, but I think I was expecting that. Micheal y Rosanna picked me up from the airport and we took a taxi here to Rosanna’s house where I will be staying. There are a lot of stray dogs here, that eat all the garbage off the street. I’m sure Kimi would love it, because they’re all very big dogs and very friendly, if you have food that is. Well, they’re expecting me down stairs. I am here and safe Mamma, I’ll write again tomorrow I’m sure! And perhaps we can even Skype tomorrow!