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!