Mannequien?

So this is what litters the streets of commercial Cusco. Aren't you disgusted about what you are missing out on?  LOVE IT! And I just noticed too there is a little bit of XYZ going on, too.  Fabulous!  

Unfortunately there isn't much new going on, another TEFL party has come and gone, this one a little bit more of a show stopper than the last one.  I sported a llama fur hat like something straight out of Siberia, and sunglasses to boot.  Unfortunately I did not capture this on my own camera, and once I find a picture worthy of this blog, I will try to post it on here. It was quite a fun night, as was the entire weekend.  I tried to hike up into the community above me, Villa San Blas to check out this Temple of the Moon cave labyrinth, however I didn't really know where I was going and got seriously lost, and decided to walk back down so next time I will bring a map or a knowledgeable guide for assistance.  

This is the last week for classes this month, so there is a lot of review and fun games, candy, and then of course, being the holy day that it is, Friday is going to be fan-tas-tic. We are throwing a Iowa Legalized Gay Marriage Party which should be pretty intense, it's costume based, and so far the other teachers I've talked to are really getting into it.  We'll see what really happens, as I will be sure to post all appropriate pictures.  Enough procrastination, I have to get ready for my next class. only three more to go today!  CHAO!

Raise your skinny fists like antennae into heaven (when you hear the siren)

This is the backside of the awesome Senor de Temblores. He is a black saint who, while helping clean the wreckage from the 1950 Earthquake, somehow stopped some of the aftermath tremors. Or something like that.  There were so many people in the Plaza for this parade of the humongous Saint to be carried along the street by a bunch of men, one of which I found out is in my Intermediate 1-2 class at night. Six degrees everybody!  That's hot shit... So anyway, it took an hour for the Saint to move one city block, and then he started heading up into San Blas... We decided to try to duck out, HA!  That was incredible trying to move past people who weren't willing to shift to the side simply because.  It was awesome. And then we met up with some TEFLers, and luckily they were hulks, so we latched onto that band wagon and just mauled the crowd over, including little kids that couldn't stand up in time... muahahahah! 

Suddenly, mere steps from freedom (we were so close we could feel the air and got cold again) these sirens went off and everyone raised their right hand up toward the cathedral, and that was the end of that. Cold and stuck I had an awesome time making faces at the adorable kids resting their heads on their parents shoulders. We finally got free and it was so much fun walking away watching the mass exodus of people, talk about a wave!  

CUY!

So these pictures uploaded backward...Here is my attempt at a Seinfeld episode!

Above is the empty plate of cuy bones and a recoto relleno that I couldn't handle two bites off.  I am a disgrace to the Alves side, I know.  My deepest apologies! 

Below is me biting into one of the first tasty morsels that make up a cuy.  It is choice meat.

Aren't the adorable?!
This is when we were hot on the trail!  By the time they started dumping the cuy fur in the street I knew we were getting close!

Below, the first scent we caught. This only egged on the hunt!

Ollantaytambo!

These are ruins, up close. Interesting that these are the ruins of homes.  Some of the rooms didn't have doors.... 
A CAVE!  We couldn't get very far inside, which was good, because I was starting to get freaked out at this point... Couldn't blow my cool, but I did climb out fast as possible.
Me and my roommate, Amanda. We were the slow pokes of the group for real!
Here is the market and Ruins you pay for.
These are the ruins we scaled a mountain to check out.  It was an awesome hike and a chill moment on the side of a mountain. One of the people in our group brought his Ipod, so we enjoyed a soundtrack with our meditative moment.
Here are the ruinas gratis!  (Free Ruins) of Ollantaytambo.  These were houses for Inca. Below is the Plaza of Ollantaytambo.
I am Queen of the Andes!  Recognize.
The entire time we were here, the clouds were on the mountains, it was so beautiful.  And this is a lower elevation than Cusco.  Ollantaytambo is en route to Machupicchu. There were always bus tours stopping in the Plaza with tourists going to the Ruins you pay for, I'm sure they were on their way to the Mac daddy of Inca awesomeness ruin-style.
This tiny van is called a combi. About 15 people will get crammed into this bad boy without shocks, it's madness!  This particular combi had it's tranny drop on our way out of Ollantaytambo, so we had a second to run and and catch this other bus, it was so fabulously Peruvian. 

International Travel 101...

Since I haven't been putting the ¨party pictures¨ up, I thought this particular party would be a good start. Two of the teachers at Maximo finished their contracts in March, so they threw a going away party at one of the Spanish teacher's restuarants in San Blas. It was themed: Dress as a Crazy Peruvian! So I went out and got this fabulous neon blue skirt with sky blue embroidery, and I'm slightly pissed it did not make it into any of the photos, but don't worry. When I show up in the states I WILL be wearing that bad boy on the regular. So, anyway, with that skirt, bombass tights (from the God of department stores) and that awesome strand of dyed llama fur, I represented.
Above: My friend Shannon, who volunteers for Maximo; and Owen, the tutor for Maximo.
Below: Shannon again, and Gabe, who was my TEFL training roomate and current coworker, and Montse, a fellow Maximo teacher.

Above: Nilten, Montse's boyfriend and my tandem partner (we practice Spanish and English together) Vaila, one of the teacher's leaving, Sally, a fellow teacher, and Amanda, a roomate and fellow teacher. I have no clue who that guy who's sticking his head into the photo is, and am curious as to why he is in the picture....

Below: Owen and I did a trade off, that mask was wicked hot. His sister who was visiting is wearing a llama fur hat that I totally want!

I just really like this picture.