So I had my first full weekend here in Cusco, and it was an absolutely beautiful weekend. I truly couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend.
Friday
During the day, I mainly relaxed and did nothing much all day. We had gone out Thursday night, which left me pretty exhausted, and since I had been doing something productive just about every day, I decided I could relax a bit on Friday. But working with the girls was great. They're learning pretty quickly, which is always a bonus to see. The “basic” girls, meaning the younger ones, are still struggling with having a introductory conversation. I had them have an introductory conversation in Spanish so that they could understand how it’s supposed to be, and that seemed to help them understand a bit more. Then, we asked them all individually to start a conversation with either Bob, Verity or I. They were so excited to show us what they know. Some girls wanted to go again and again, and each time they were beaming with happiness. Since it was a Friday and the end of the week, we decided to do something a little more fun. We taught them how to play “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in English, and they absolutely loved it. Below are some of the pictures from it.
Friday
During the day, I mainly relaxed and did nothing much all day. We had gone out Thursday night, which left me pretty exhausted, and since I had been doing something productive just about every day, I decided I could relax a bit on Friday. But working with the girls was great. They're learning pretty quickly, which is always a bonus to see. The “basic” girls, meaning the younger ones, are still struggling with having a introductory conversation. I had them have an introductory conversation in Spanish so that they could understand how it’s supposed to be, and that seemed to help them understand a bit more. Then, we asked them all individually to start a conversation with either Bob, Verity or I. They were so excited to show us what they know. Some girls wanted to go again and again, and each time they were beaming with happiness. Since it was a Friday and the end of the week, we decided to do something a little more fun. We taught them how to play “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in English, and they absolutely loved it. Below are some of the pictures from it.
With the older girls, we had moved on to numbers since they grasped the introductory greetings pretty quickly. We taught them numbers so that they would be able to say the date (fecha in spanish) and how old they were. They caught on extremely quickly, and they were able to say how old they were. We played BINGO with them. Next we played a “BUZZ” game, where in the first round, if they had a number that had a 3 in it, they had to say “Ay, caramba!” The game got harder as it went on, and I think they enjoyed it. Another thing about the older girls is that the majority of them have one page of vocabulary, where they ask us what words such as nun (monja), “I love you” (te amo/te quiero), sister (hermana), and pretty (bonito/a) mean. We write them on the board, and they continue to build their vocabulary that way.
I absolutely love the girls at La Recoleta. They always have a smile on their face, and they’re extremely eager to learn. The younger girls run back to us once the older ones are done with class just to say “Hello!” They’re hysterical, anxious, excited and adorable, and already they’ve made a huge impact on my life.
Saturday
Saturday was a day of endurance and hiking. The altitude here definitely took a toll on all of us. We heard that there was horseback riding through the countryside right outside of the city. It was near Cristo Blanco, a smaller version of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janiero, and quite a hike out of the city. We could’ve taken a taxi out to Cristo Blanco, but where’s the fun in that? The hike was definitely hard. I didn’t think I was that out of shape, but then I remember that Cusco is at an altitude of 11,200 feet above sea level. To give you an idea, the highest point above sea level in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 feet. There is a definite difference there.
When we got to Cristo Blanco, we obviously had to take pictures overlooking the amazing city of Cusco. I took individual pictures of everyone and snapped a really good photo of Hope while she wasn't looking. We then all wanted our own photo of us in the "Hope Pose." If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen them all. It was a beautiful day, and the pictures turned out wicked nice. I could've stayed up there all day. All of Cusco was at our feet, and I truly felt like I was on top of the world.
I absolutely love the girls at La Recoleta. They always have a smile on their face, and they’re extremely eager to learn. The younger girls run back to us once the older ones are done with class just to say “Hello!” They’re hysterical, anxious, excited and adorable, and already they’ve made a huge impact on my life.
Saturday
Saturday was a day of endurance and hiking. The altitude here definitely took a toll on all of us. We heard that there was horseback riding through the countryside right outside of the city. It was near Cristo Blanco, a smaller version of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janiero, and quite a hike out of the city. We could’ve taken a taxi out to Cristo Blanco, but where’s the fun in that? The hike was definitely hard. I didn’t think I was that out of shape, but then I remember that Cusco is at an altitude of 11,200 feet above sea level. To give you an idea, the highest point above sea level in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 feet. There is a definite difference there.
When we got to Cristo Blanco, we obviously had to take pictures overlooking the amazing city of Cusco. I took individual pictures of everyone and snapped a really good photo of Hope while she wasn't looking. We then all wanted our own photo of us in the "Hope Pose." If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen them all. It was a beautiful day, and the pictures turned out wicked nice. I could've stayed up there all day. All of Cusco was at our feet, and I truly felt like I was on top of the world.
From Cristo Blanco, we all followed a boy for about 10 minutes because he was going to bring us to the horses. Not gonna lie, it was a little sketchy. But we finally got to the horses and each paid S/.25 to ride a horse through the countryside and explore two Inca sites: The Moon Temple (El templo de la luna) and Zona X. The horses were slow, but it was definitely a beautiful way to explore and take in a bit of the countryside. We were all starving after our hike, so we headed to Norton's where I had a delicious bean burrito that I couldn't even finish because it was muy grande!
Sunday
Even though I'm not much of a religious person, I am always interested to see how cultures celebrate and practice their religion. When the Spanish conquered the Incas here in Cusco, they brought with them Catholicism and created these massive cathedrals. Verity, Justin and I decided to attend a church service at the cathedral in the Plaza de las Armas. There weren't many differences than that of a service back in the states. And the church was interesting in its style. Dark, a little gaudy, and gold everywhere you looked. Even the statues of Jesus on the cross had a gold toga wrapped around him. The artwork was definitely in the Spanish style with the darker colors and the idolization of the kings as saints. I wasn't a huge fan of the church, but it was still interesting to see. (I couldn't take pictures inside)
Sunday was also the last day of Carnival, and the majority of us were trying to figure out ways to avoid becoming drenched like last Sunday. Through the grapevine, we've heard that Carnival was going to be crazy just about everywhere. But many of us decided to head out to Pisac to visit the famous market. There are also a whole bunch of ruins, but we didn't see them that day. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera because we heard that Carnival was going to be sporadically crazy, and I didn't want to risk it. Verity, Justin, Jill, Hope and I grabbed a bus from Cusco to Pisac and it took about 45 minutes to get there. The bus was very tight, and there were people practically sitting on top of each other. But the views to and from the town were spectacular. The mountains continued as far as the eye could see, and it seemed like the fields grew more green the higher they got up the mountains. The bus zigzagged through the mountains, and looking down was definitely frightening. It seemed like the bus could tip down at every turn.
We got to the Pisac market, and it stretched on and on. We bumped into some other volunteers who lived in the house, and we got empanadas at a little restaurant near the market. The market was full of bright colors and people at every turn. Many of the stalls were selling the same thing, while some had original work. It's all about finding the right price. We looked at headbands, hats, bags, jewelry, and so much more. I bought myself a ring of the Inca calendar. It was originally 51 soles, but I only had 40 soles on me. After much bartering, and literally pouring out the contents of my wallet to show them all I had was 40 soles, they gave the ring to me for the cheaper price. I also bought a little gift for someone (hehe).
We started to walk to the outskirts of the city to take in some of the sights. We looked behind us and noticed there was a group of girls with a goat that had water balloons in their hands. This was the only instance of Carnival that we experienced in Pisac. We kept saying "Senoritas, por favor no." We didn't want to get wet, but they kept inching their ways towards us. I finally gave up and said "okay." One of the girls tried to throw their balloon, but it actually exploded on them instead of us. Another girl actually put the balloon against my neck and squeezed as hard as she could until it exploded on my back. We asked if we could take a picture with them, and we gave them 1 sole each (there were four girls). They were adorable, and they made their way into the countryside with their goat.
The rest of the day was kind of relaxing. We had an amazing meal made by Maritzo, who only cooks for us once a week. The meat just melted in your mouth, and he cooked us some sort of potato fritter. For dessert we had pie that was just perfect. Some of us ended up playing "Head's Up," the game that Ellen Degeneres loves to play. It was definitely a great way to end the weekend.
Even though I'm not much of a religious person, I am always interested to see how cultures celebrate and practice their religion. When the Spanish conquered the Incas here in Cusco, they brought with them Catholicism and created these massive cathedrals. Verity, Justin and I decided to attend a church service at the cathedral in the Plaza de las Armas. There weren't many differences than that of a service back in the states. And the church was interesting in its style. Dark, a little gaudy, and gold everywhere you looked. Even the statues of Jesus on the cross had a gold toga wrapped around him. The artwork was definitely in the Spanish style with the darker colors and the idolization of the kings as saints. I wasn't a huge fan of the church, but it was still interesting to see. (I couldn't take pictures inside)
Sunday was also the last day of Carnival, and the majority of us were trying to figure out ways to avoid becoming drenched like last Sunday. Through the grapevine, we've heard that Carnival was going to be crazy just about everywhere. But many of us decided to head out to Pisac to visit the famous market. There are also a whole bunch of ruins, but we didn't see them that day. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera because we heard that Carnival was going to be sporadically crazy, and I didn't want to risk it. Verity, Justin, Jill, Hope and I grabbed a bus from Cusco to Pisac and it took about 45 minutes to get there. The bus was very tight, and there were people practically sitting on top of each other. But the views to and from the town were spectacular. The mountains continued as far as the eye could see, and it seemed like the fields grew more green the higher they got up the mountains. The bus zigzagged through the mountains, and looking down was definitely frightening. It seemed like the bus could tip down at every turn.
We got to the Pisac market, and it stretched on and on. We bumped into some other volunteers who lived in the house, and we got empanadas at a little restaurant near the market. The market was full of bright colors and people at every turn. Many of the stalls were selling the same thing, while some had original work. It's all about finding the right price. We looked at headbands, hats, bags, jewelry, and so much more. I bought myself a ring of the Inca calendar. It was originally 51 soles, but I only had 40 soles on me. After much bartering, and literally pouring out the contents of my wallet to show them all I had was 40 soles, they gave the ring to me for the cheaper price. I also bought a little gift for someone (hehe).
We started to walk to the outskirts of the city to take in some of the sights. We looked behind us and noticed there was a group of girls with a goat that had water balloons in their hands. This was the only instance of Carnival that we experienced in Pisac. We kept saying "Senoritas, por favor no." We didn't want to get wet, but they kept inching their ways towards us. I finally gave up and said "okay." One of the girls tried to throw their balloon, but it actually exploded on them instead of us. Another girl actually put the balloon against my neck and squeezed as hard as she could until it exploded on my back. We asked if we could take a picture with them, and we gave them 1 sole each (there were four girls). They were adorable, and they made their way into the countryside with their goat.
The rest of the day was kind of relaxing. We had an amazing meal made by Maritzo, who only cooks for us once a week. The meat just melted in your mouth, and he cooked us some sort of potato fritter. For dessert we had pie that was just perfect. Some of us ended up playing "Head's Up," the game that Ellen Degeneres loves to play. It was definitely a great way to end the weekend.