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.

Wandrin' Round

This is the Catedral outside of the San Pedro Market, which has become one of my most favorite places... I just haven't taken pictures inside yet...Don't worry, there is plenty of time for images causing you to become vegetarian! EEK!


The picture above is the alley that my apartment is on. All of the streets are so narrow around here. The street leading to this alley does not have sidewalks.  Below is the street my school is on at 6:30 AM.  Avenida el Sol is normally packed. But it's awesome walking into work when there is no one else around.  It's madness trying to maneuver around Peruvians while walking on the sidewalks, so I take this time to enjoy the little things...

Here are just some pictures taken while walking around Cusco.

Stick that in your beltstrap.

So! Starting off the third week, and I might (shockingly) know enough vocabulary and grammar to be able to teach English to second language learners! Go Heather!!! whoot whoot. But really, my classes have improved greatly since the first week, so if this scale continues exponentially, then by the end of the third month I will be super teacher and have a great relationship with my students. We´ll see if the Inca idea for tomb building and the after life can translate into my job in the here and now. Maximo could be seen by some as a tomb, so it is possible, sí? Funny side-note: I just realized the key I had been using as an apostrophe is IN FACT an accent symbol. The apostrophe is somewhere completely different on the keyboard. One more for technology; God only knows what the score is at now, technology something astromonical, Heather 0... Moving along now. Of course there are enough factors keeping my classes like a roller coaster, it will be good or bad, but never constant. Maybe next month I can be the substitute, that is a lot of fun, just coming into classes and having a good time without having to be planning lame lessons. Granted you don't really build up the rapport with students, but anyway.

(This was Monday) Today marks my first pay day! It's awesome! Granted I'm not sure what my check will be since I hit up the snack bar at least once a day, and my spanish classes are deducted. However I did teach something like 7 extra hours this week. It should equal out...ehhhh.

Saving money is not possible at this altitude, I'm convinced.

I made lentil concoction last night (Sunday)! It was awesome! The spice section at the San Pedro Market was so incredible, I loaded up on cumin, black pepper kerns, fresh ginger, and I threw a little bit of all that into a pot of lentils, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, and it looked and smelled awesome until the sketch cooking supplies at my disposal started malfunctioning... The pot was way too small for my endeavor, and so things started boiling over and then burning... But it was cooked enough to have a small portion microwaved and eaten. awesome. Nothing comprable to Angus' soups, which I would kill for right now, but it was something that left me nostalgic for home. I wonder how fast the next six months will go by, not that I want them to end anytime soon, but there's such a confusion of time here, I'm not sure how that will take a toll on my mental spirits. I have noticed that the only days to drag by are Mondays and Tuesdays. So if that's only two days a week, for however many weeks are in the six months I shall be working for Maximo.... do the math ... it's not that bad! Whoo hoo.

Bury me here.

Above is the main Inca tomb at the Sullistani ruins site. Below are the ruins from the Colla period.  There were about five different styles of tomb construction here, but two varieties were tombs buried in the ground, so we didn't see those (they were also several miles away) and then there were the Colla, some other group that started with a T that I couldn't pronounce, and last were the Inca.  
Here is a close up of what the outside of the Inca tomb looks like.  There was a lizard etched on the side, the stone that is directly above and to the right of the stone with burn marks on it.  It's a dark stone inbetween two paler stones.  The lizard has the same representation as the snake, they are the underworld animals in Inca beliefs. 

These stones were part of one of the tombs, and they littered the landscape, it was pretty cool. Unfortunately for the kid in me it was not acceptable to climb around on them and act like an explorer or a monkey.  Phooey.

That's supposed to be a skull, it looked very badass next to the huge Inca tomb. Below is the inside of the tomb, The diameter is larger on top than at the bottom, that's because the Incas believed the spirit ascended into heaven, and if you extend the top so it keeps getting wider as it rises, there is a lot of heaven available for the spirit to be a part of.  The previous tomb constructions were the same diameter at the top and bottom, so the deceased was limited to the amount of heaven they experienced in the afterlife.

This island is a national park.
On the way back into Puno we stopped at this home, they had a different building for each "room" and there was a large compound where they had a guinea pig area, and out back there were pigs and more llamas.  Below is the traditional diet, there were two different types of dehydrated potatoes, one kind was just dried and the other they dried after soaking in the river for a long time period.  Apparently if you boil the potatoes for a while they return to whatever consistency they were originally.  There was also this type of clay they used as a flavor, it was really salty, and is added to boiled potatoes for some kick.  It kinda tasted like dirt, but was a soupy texture. They also had some cheese, but that went fast.  It was fun getting a chance to experience what a lifestyle in the middle of nowhere, Peru involves.  The beds were a stone frame with a few reed mats and blankets.  It looked rough.  The kitchen was a nicer area than I've seen in some other places; there was an outdoor oven and then an indoor area for when the weather is bad. This family had really nice pottery, I think the wife made most of it. Overall this compound was more developed than a lot of the ones we passed going to and from Sullistani. 

Teacher!

Eek!  I am procrastinating lesson planning for my 3 o'clock class by writing about how awesome the first two hours of my new job were this morning.  It was raining and nasty at 6:45 AM walking to Maximo Nivel faster than was safe because I was running late... It's so easy to want to sleep in when I live in a cave for a bedroom, that and I was out a little later than I planned last night, oops. I'll come back to that.  I almost slipped several times walking down the street, it was quite a spectacle, me in tights, a skirt, hiking books, and a rain jacket with my bookbag stuffed underneath.  Not the ideal look for the first day of school... I got to Maximo at 6:55 and ran up to the teachers lounge to unload and change into my cute shoes, wasted some time because I lost my keys to my locker, and then had to grab some Mate de Coca because my first class is in the basement, where it's cold, plus I'm addicted to the stuff.  I'm sipping on my third cup today and it's only 10 AM. All in all I was only a minute late, and then proceeded to sit and review the text for the next week because no learners showed up.  I don't feel so rejected since the classes to the right and left of mine only had one or two learners show up, respectively.  So much for taking three days for a reading... Hopefully tomorrow there might be some learners for my Intermediate 1 class.  I'm a substitute at 8AM, but that means I'm either taking over a class, working in the office, or sitting at the Tutor Table in the main lounge/lobby.  I did the latter today and had fun goofing off with the resident Tutor.  We didn't have anybody to need tutoring until right before 9, and then the table filled up... But I peaced out.  I don't have class again until 3, but it's my favorite level: Alto Basico, which is three months of English under their belt.  I haven't planned yet, but I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun! Wish me luck... 

I'm also teaching two classes of Basico Nuevo, which is the first level, it should be interesting. I'll probably be ready for Trivia night by the time 8 PM rolls around, but at this point in the day I have yet to be jaded by my class schedule.  

Back to the bar situation from last night, I went with several people to this Peruvian bar that you need an "in" to be able to enter.  Luckily one of the members of our group was a Peruvian and so we were acceptable.  It was a lot of fun, we just hung out sipping 1.5 Liter Pilsner beers out of little juice cups.  It was a trip. The perfect way to end a day of soccer!  That was another trip, this woman called me an animal at one point trying to enter the stadium fifteen minutes before the game was supposed to start. And this man in front of us was pulled out by the national guard that was security (incase of rioting... awesome.) because he or his son threw a bag of water and it landed on the police securing one of the stadium entrances. That was fun.  The game was incredible, there were so many people, and a lot of fireworks and streamers and water balloons being thrown at the goalies of the opposing team and the guards standing between the stands and the field.  The score was 1-1 only because of penalty shots, but there was some intense falls and fancy footwork, and the crowd was a lot of fun to spy on.  All in all yesterday's plan of lesson planning turned into something much more enjoyable. 

ciao.

CLEAN SHEETS!!

This is our living room/hallway entrance and that doorway is my bedroom.  It was the living room, so it's huge, but it comes with a dining room table and some cabinet with glassware that just adds to the swankiness of my style. It also gives me more space to unload my crap... wicked.
These are the money maker shots. This is the attempt at a panoramic view from our roof top, moving counter-clockwise if you are sitting in the blue chair as shown in the rooftop picture.  What I didn't capture on camera was the houses behind the chair, or the guy I've never seen who hammers erratically somewhere nearby.
This view in the picture above is my favorite. sooooooo purdy.


Here is the roof/patio we have which overlooks the city, it's pretty awesome. That sketch setup is the entrance/doorway to our patio.  Apparently in Cusco if you do not finish construction you don't have to pay property taxes.  That's only hearsay, but it makes sense with the plastic tarp and whatnot.  There is no door...

This is my room, the only picture of it clean that will be taken. I promise. I'm off to a better start on slob control than I was at my previous residence... Luckily I had this baller roommate who helped prepare me for being gracious and groomed me to be a presentable roommate.
THIS IS THE TOILET OF MY DREAMS!  Look at that color!!!! It's SICK! I love it.  The sink is the same color...LOVE IT! The shower situation is kinda sketch, but it's the typical set-up of a Cusqueno apartment. There isn't so much a shower stall/area as a a shower head right next to the sink, and the shower curtain divides the sink/shower head from the toilet. Really the curtain rod only goes far enough to block the door, but thanks to some ingenious rigging  MacGyver style with a paper clip and duct tape, the shower curtain extends to block out the toilet and keep the TP dry. There is only one knob to turn on the water, and if you turn it just a little the water is warmish, but you've gotta wait a second for it to warm up.  Turn the knob all the way and it's cold. My first shower was quite an experience.
I tried to save the best part for last: check out this kitchen! This is nicer than my apartment in Boone! The stove is real and it's gas. That oven is large, and... drum roll.... there is a microwave!!  The first thing I did after unpacking was go to the grocery store, La Mega. It was a beautiful moment, I do believe tears came to my eyes... The vegetables!!!  I have been eating beets for the past several days, so delicious.  I did have a great cooking moment though, with the beets. After boiling them I rinsed them off with the tap water and then I had to reboil them for another five minutes or so... Still not used to the parasite problem... But I did eat lettuce the other night at a nice tourist restaurant, another awesome find: I found a place with bacon that tastes like the way Patti cooked it on the stove. If it's not beets, I'm chowing down on BLTs at Jack's... yummy!  Anyway, this has taken a turn from the apartment... NO more tangent-ing. I'm off to the grocery store to try to make papas rellenos, stuffed fried potatoes! 

LOVE.