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!