Cusco: Odds and Ends

(I am inserting several pictures in order to continue sharing the city with you.)

After three days I am starting to feel settled in and that my “norm” is almost adjusted to the lifestyle I will have here.  We humans really do adapt very quickly!  Since I am sort of stabilized now, after this entry I will probably transition to doing about three blogs a week unless something really interesting and unusual happens, in which case I will post it immediately.   (Interesting and unusual being relative as the case may be…)

The teaching work is falling into a routine.  The girls are eager to learn and since we split them into three groups I am only working with eight, a manageable number.  All of the teaching is done in English and I use Spanish words occasionally to help connect a concept.  (I can do that with the simple phrases and words we are starting with.) The work with the elderly continues to be challenging.  We had them counting yesterday – we taught them English numbers and some of them were trying to teach us Quechua numbers.  We are communicating at some level, I think. We just do a lot of smiling and nodding if nothing else works.  They are really very sweet and it is a lot fun just to try and interact with them.  Spanish class is also falling into a routine and I am enjoying it- if only I could capture more vocabulary but I have to hope that comes with time.  I think my biggest progress so far is that Russian is not coming out of my mouth when I am trying to speak in Spanish- a big step.

While the big exploration of Cusco will happen this weekend, during this week I have tried to take different routes, when time permits, since I usually end up getting lost, between the house, the office, and the convent.  Today, for example, on the way home from the convent, I discovered the street where all of the hardware stores are located.  Just in case I need an emergency hammer, I now know where to find it, assuming I can find the street again easily.  Hopefully I will not develop an urgent need for tools.  Also this morning on the way to Spanish class at the office I popped into one of the bakeries I usually pass and picked a pastry at random to try.  It looked like a horn of some kind with an orange/brown cream in it.  I originally thought it was chocolate but it turned out to be something else, and I have no idea what, but it was tasty.  One down, untold numbers of other pastries calling my name waiting to be tasted–good thing I have seven weeks (and I am walking every day)!

Speaking of food, which is always a great topic, I am looking forward to exploring other dishes, besides the sweet ones (by the way the bakery also had some very tasty looking cakes that are on my list).  All of our meals are provided at the house but I imagine I will be dining out on the weekends in order to try other types of cuisine.   Here at the house, generally for breakfast we have fruit, bread, and some type of cereals that remind me of Sugar Pops but without the sugar.   I simply eat a banana before leaving and starting today will go in search of bakeries for my second course.  Lunch and dinner are similar meals in that there is usually a starch, either rice or potatoes or noodles, with a meat or vegetable combination.  We get dessert at dinner.  In addition we are provided all of the water that we want.  They keep a large supply of boiled water available and I generally fill up my liter bottle in the morning and at lunch.  So far it has all been pretty good, although I think I will miss my leafy greens in a few weeks.  Some of the others who have been here for a month or so claim that the menu has yet to be repeated so I expect a lot of variety.  I will write in more detail about the food as I get a chance to try a wider variety.  Roasted guinea pig is a specialty in Cusco so sooner or later I will have to track some down.

So far the weather has been all over the place and thus when I leave in the morning I feel like I am taking half my wardrobe with me.  Layers are definitely required and I am constantly putting one on or taking one off.  The temperatures have been similar to those in Houston this time of year, perhaps a bit warmer.  Even though February is the most rainy month of the year for Cusco we have seen a lot of blue sky.  I think I have been lucky so far.  It started raining last night after dinner and rained almost all night.  I was glad that did not happen during the day.  The few showers we have had during the day have been over quickly.  I am positive that before the month is out I will end up soaking wet and cold from getting caught out walking at the wrong moment- something to look forward to!  Overall the climate is very pleasant and the clouds coming over the mountains can be very dramatic and very beautiful.

The city is very clean- there is not a lot of litter in the streets and everything appears tidy, if somewhat dusty.  My only complaint is the pollution from the cars and buses. The air quality reminds me of my early days in Moscow when leaded fuel was the only thing available and working exhaust systems were just an option.  Sometimes it feels like the oxygen disappears and it has nothing to do with altitude.  It is a real bummer to be climbing one of the ever present hills and have a cloud of black smoke coming right at you.  I cannot tell how my acclimatization is going- at the top of a hill am I gasping for breath because I am living at 11,000 feet or because I just ingested a strong dose of carbon monoxide?   I am looking forward to the Inca trail and being out in the wilderness away from machines.  But given all the above, I still enjoy walking around the city and hope to continue with my feet as my made mode of transport.