Peru

….on the road again…after a wonderful Christmas holiday at home I'm one with the travelers again.

The next piece of my sabbatical is taking language lessons.I'm studying Spanish at The Amauta School in Cusco, Peru.The reasoning behind Spanish lessons is two-fold:to improve my very basic Spanish speaking abilities so that when I get to Ecuador in a month to volunteer and live with a host family it will be an easier transition and to gain more knowledge in the hopes of at least being pseudo bi-lingual someday.

The Amauta School itself is a "combination of educational, social and adventure program s customized to suit the student´s preferences while enriching their experience with the surrounding ancient Inca ruins of Cusco".And the school truly does do all of the above.Each week a schedule is printed of goings on both around town and around school.The school itself hosts weekly movie nights, salsa lessons, music/cooking lessons, lectures on the culture and much more.The school also has an in-house travel agency that is great at taking care of tours, trips, and treks!

Students were given the option of living with a host family in Peru or living in the school residences.I opted for the school residences because I wanted an atmosphere wouldn't feel as stressed about the language barrier….which hasn't exactly been true.In regard to the other students, 95% of the students here can speak English either as a first or second language (many students here know at least three or more languages!).The faculty and staff speak only Spanish both in and out of class, which has been difficult at times but I think will help in the end.There have been many moments where I've misunderstood or just answered "si" and have said things such as, " I live in Africa, I don'twant to go anywhere with her (the girl sitting next to me in class), I'm bored of this class", etc.Pronunciation seems to get me in trouble from time to time!, but everyone in the class is in the same boat so we've quickly become friends and with that able to laugh at one another.With that being said, it's incredible the amount of Spanish that has both come back to me and that I've learned in just one week!All in all living in the residence has been a great experience thus far, and I've met some really wonderful people!

The room and board at the school are pretty nice.I had my own room for the first week and am now sharing a room with Elisa from Holland.Very nice girl, she's here as a volunteer as she'd already taken Spanish classes in Holland and at the Amauta School in Buenos Aires.Anyways, our room is kind of the shape of a rhombus-trapezoid if that's possible and looks like it belongs in a log house/tree house…it's cozy!The bathrooms aren't exactly spectacular but they work…kind of..the shower doesn't get hot water very often so when you get a couple of minutes it truly is like heaven.Water has truly been something I've become very aware of in the last months; in Oceania they have massive water shortages and here they have undrinkable water and no modern plumbing…which makes things in the bathroom hygienically questionable as everything goes in the trash and not the toiletJ.As for the board, the food is terrific.Breakfast and lunch are included seven days a week, and the senoritas that cook are excellent chefs.I've eaten some really different foods, and they are awesome at catering to people's needs, which is very nice for a new vegetarianJ.Here in Cusco (and I think it's the same in Ecuador) they eat there large meal at lunch.Lunch usually consists of three courses, that's typical at the restaraunts as well, usually costing around 10 soles or $3.50.

Life outside of school is just as great as my time in class and the residence.Cusco is a lovely town.The school is roughly a five minute walk to the main plaza, Plaza de Armas.The plaza is full of shops, restaurants, churches, pubs, vendors etc.! Our group has become particularly fond of a pub called, Paddy's (don't worry P, I got you a tee, it's the "highest" Irish Pub in the world). It's a beautiful plaza area, to no surprise I'm sure; the largest buildings in the town are churches.The Cusco Cathedral is one of the most breathtaking churches I've ever seen.It's essentially three churches in one, and is decorated from top to bottom in elaborate decorations.I've sampled numerous restaraunts, at first leery about getting sick, but for the most part I've had pretty yummy food.The fruits and vegetables here are wonderful!The only thing that's given me any problems health wise was the altitude for the first few days I was here but the coca tea works wonders!

The Inca Ruins!My whole last weekend was dedicated to exploring the Inca Ruins scattered throughout the Andes of Peru!On Friday myself, Travis, and Chaz (two new friends from language school) headed to Manchu Picchu.Manchu Picchu is a cool little tourist village.We found some good music, suspect food, drinks, a lovely hostel for the night and rested up for our exploration the next day.The bus up to M.Picchu is about twenty minutes, but that twenty minutes you feel as if you're about to fall off a cliff with the buses passing one another!We spent about five hours hiking around the ruins, with a great tour guide, capped it off with a great buffet and headed back to Cusco!Saturday night a big group of us students headed out to see a lil futbol Americano and to see a Peruvian cover band, twas interesting.My weekend ended with a full day tour of the Sacred Valley to learn more about the Incas, tour more ruins, and experience the Pisac market—one of the largest hand-crafted markets around Cusco.I went on this tour with Maggie, another CCI volunteer here in Cusco. (The Sacred Valley of the Incas a key area of settlement to the Incas. Its agreeable climate and fertile plains make a rare and fruitful combination for the high Andes. It was also the route to the jungle and therefore an area with access to the fruits and plants of the tropical lowlands. The Sacred Valley served as a buffer zone, protecting Cusco from incursions of the Antis, the fierce jungle tribes who from time to time raided the highlands.

Needless to say my time here in Peru has been jam packed thus far!My next big trip is to Lake Titicaca which I'm very excited about because I'll "officially" be in Peru & Bolivia at the same time!