Back to school!

Today was my first day of TEFL/SL classes. The class consists of 11 students (mostly women; I was not surprised by this). I am attending Maximo Nivel which is located on Ave. Sol, which is one of Cusco´s main streets. I definitely feel like we are in the hub of things. The school is really nice. English and Spanish classes are taught here; there is a travel agency; laundry service; computer lab; snack bar, a huge volunteer program, and much more. Best of all there is free coffee and tea everyday. ;) There really is so much to do here.

I will have class everday 9-12 and 1-3 and class observations some evenings. Today´s class went really well. It is a ton of information packed into one class. I hope I like the other classes as much as today´s. My teacher is verryy upbeat and really nice. SO today I had class from 9-12, lunch, then we all took a city tour of Cusco on a mini bus. I was all ready to have a tour of the historical sights. Well we ended up brushing by the famous churches, etc. and our tour guide Jonathan mostly pointed out all of the bars, discotecas (clubs), and restaurants we should check out! It was a lot of fun.

We also stopped by a few of Cusco´s largest markets. The first one was filled with food. Mostly fruit, meat and grains. I took a picture of an intact pig, which I will be sure to post for everyone. ;) I also saw some cooked cuy (guinea pig) at another market we went to called El Molino. El Molino is filled with clothes, and a whole bunch of other stuff. You can buy 3 DVDs there for 10 soles, which is around $3. Then we went to a more westernized market, where I bought some chicha morada. It is one of the most known juices in Peru; it is made from black corn (yup!), pineapple, apple, and some other fruit. It was yummy.

Oh ya and for the first time in a while I have homework to do! Chao!

Exploring

I feel like I have somewhat adjusted to the altitude now. Of course there are people who have been here a month and say they still get winded going up stairs. There is 30 percent less oxygen up here compared to sea level. I have felt a little homesick at times then I look outside the window and remember where I am. I have spent the last couple days discovering some of the main sights of the city. I visited the main plaza yesterday called Plaza de Armas. The main cathedral is constructed there. It contains the largest bell in South America. I visited some of the other churches around the city as well. They all tend to have very ornate gold altars. Practically even inch of the altars have been carved by hand. Much of the art reflects the baroque style of extravagence, curves, and gold. It is all about the gold. I also visited the Museum of Religious Art today. It contains pieces from the Cusco School of Art. The art has images of the Catholic faith brought by the Spanish infused with the religious practices of the Incas. It was fascinating.

Today I took a walk to the neighborhood of San Blas. The buildings are white washed with bright blue doors. It has recently been restored. San Blas is the up and coming ¨hip¨ area of Cusco and believe me the people of Cusco know it. I was walking up this hill of cobble stoned streets on San Blas Street and every few steps I was encountered by a person selling you jewelry, paintings, scarves, among other items. Peruvian women and children stand by in their traditional gowns holding llamas waiting for you to take a photo of them. Which you pay for of course. I found out they all charge different prices. Best to agree on a price before the photo. The poverty made me sad and I started to dread when anyone approached me because some of them were very aggressive. One lady followed me for 5 blocks or so. She had a child on her back so I eventually bought one of the beautiful hand carved boxes she was selling me for a minimal price. I learned from her not to make conversation with them because once you do that they will not leave you alone.

Today is my last free day before classes. Tomorrow I start my first day of TEFL/SL training. It is a four week course that trains you to teach English as a Foreign/Second Language. I have already met one of my teachers. She is from South Africa and has been doing TEFL classes/trainings for the past four years in South Korea, Costa Rica, Peru and other countries.

There are free salsa lessons every Saturday at my school. I took the beginner class yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I did not plan on going to the class, but I was checking the internet at the school and all of a sudden someone comes in and says in Spanish, ¨Salsa classes in 5 minutes.¨So I just jumped right in! I hope to go again in the following weeks. Please think of me tomorrow on my first day!

La llegada

Yah! I have arrived in Cusco, Peru! I have now been here for over 24 hours. My flights went okay. I left SFO at 1AM on Tuesday morning heading to El Salvador. I was able to sleep a little, but my stomach was upset, which never happens to me when I fly. Thankfully I felt better once we landed in El Salvador. And while waiting in the terminal for my flight to Lima I ran into my friend Suzanne! She also went to UCSB and we had studied abroad in Madrid, Spain together. She was heading to Cusco too and was going to hike the Inca Trail. So then off to Lima we went and I sat next to a Peruvian man from Lima who wanted me to teach him English. Apparently English teachers are in a very high demand there. I am not even trained yet and I have a student. ;) I spent a night in Lima. I had to get up at 2:45AM for my flight that was going to leave at 5AM. However, when I reached the airport I found out my flight was delayed for 4 hours! While waiting to check my bags I heard someone shout,¨Valerie!¨ I turn around and saw another girl who went to UCSB with me, Katie. She was traveling with her sisters to Cusco. She had also studied abroad in Spain the semester before me. SO crazy! We ate a free breakfast of watery scrambled eggs and toast with pineapple juice at 4AM. I did not finish my eggs. Anyways, we finally left for Cusco around 9 or 10AM. Once landed in Cusco, one is greeted at the airport by Peruvians in traditional dress that are playing Andean Music. It was awesome. I was then picked up by a one Peruvian man that works for the school I am going. He was very friendly and we took a taxi to Maximo Nivel (the school) for a quick tour. Then we took another cab to the Family House where I am staying. The city was unusally full. I asked what was going on and apparently I arrived on the day of Cusco´s biggest festival of the year, Inti Raymi. It is a procession to celebrate the Incan Tradition of the winter solstice. The celebration starts in Cusco and ends up in the Sacsayhuman (pronounced as ¨sexy woman¨) ruins not far from the city. After all of the congestion in the streets I arrived at the Family House. It is adorable. It is a modern Cusco home with 3 levels. Other students and volunteers of all ages live in the house. I am so lucky because I was given and private room and bath, which I did not expect. I love my room. I have a window with a view of the mountains that surround Cusco. I tried to upload pics, but it did not work. So to be continued. There are chefs that cook for us. The food is delicious. Too good really. I like everything we had eaten so far. Today I had a yummy potato, cheese, rice, corn, and vegeatable soup. I did not recognize the corn at first because the kernals are like 3 to 4 times the size of American corn. Everyone in the house has been super nice and friendly. The lady that runs the house is very helpful. Sometimes her 7 year old daughter Paula comes with her. Paula and I watched some of Night at the Museum together in Spanish and she invited me to her birthday party in August. ;) Ok I could keep going on, but I will same some for next time. I am still adjusting to the altitude. I am drinking a lot of coca tea. I heard there is coca candy too so I am very excited to try that. I miss everyone!