Thought I'd update you on the last few days here in Cusco.

After having arrived back on Sunday night I slept well. I still have the lurgy so had to call out Dr Lunas, the leather-clad motorcycle riding doctor this morning. Its confirmed I have PP's as we've nicknamed them in the house...Peruvian Parasites! They give you sickness, the runs and bad stomach cramps. Out of the 6 of us girls in the house 5 of us have gone down with them...Jess had an upset tum this morning so she's probably gonna want Dr Lunas to call within the next 24-48hrs! When you call him you just mentioned the PoD house and he knows where to come! I've just been to collect my prescription, a whole host of stuff, anti-runs, anti-sickness, antibiotics and for me some v strong antacid tablets cos thats whats making me feel the worst. I have eaten anything and kept it down since Sunday! Surprisingly tho I'm feeling ok and still getting out and about ie not having to stay in bed. Juz...Dr Lunas wasnt bad looking FOR A PERUVIAN but that's it...NOTHING ELSE, sorry to disappoint!

The week so far has been an interesting one. On Monday afternoon I went to view some possible placements. One a boys orphanage, then a girls disabled orphanage and then a "safe house" for girls. Very moving let me tell ya! The first place the Director, Jant, was a rather pushy money grabbing woman and although I didnt confirm that I wanted to work there I still came away with a project! To design a 40th Birth Celebration flyer that they will be giving out and to design a christmas card that they can sell. That would be really easy were I back at home with all the possible packages to help me be creative but here there are no resources so heaven only knows what I'll come up with! I'll think about it for a couple of days! The second place was the girls disabled place, a house with c. 14 girls (oldest 14) with a mixture of disabilities ranging from deafness, down syndrome, schitzophrenia and others which I'm unsure of at present. As soon as were were let in through the gate they pounced on me and wouldnt leave me alone, wanting to hold my hand and take me here there and everywhere! The third place was a safe house for young girls, some as young as 12 with babies! This place was great, the girls were there for various reasons, abuse, thrown out by their parents or because they didnt have anywhere else to go. Two of the girls from our house already volunteer here, their aim is to increase the girls confidence by helping them with craft projects, things they can sell to tourists.

Tuesday am saw us visiting kindergartens, we saw three of varying levels...some more resourced than others.

I've opted to split my voluntary work, 2 days at Poppolitos kindergarten - a place for under priviliged children. The classes are quite big but the children seem to be well behaved. Their resources are NIL so be prepared to receive a pleading email from me asking to send stuff. They have NO resources at all...I saw them cutting out pictures from magazines and sticking them in a book...that's it, that's their teaching. The classrooms have nothing in them apart from small desks and chairs, no pics, colourful learning aids, NOTHING. After a couple of weeks I will be asked to bring along some things for the children to do/learn in class. Luckily Claire in the house is a teacher and she's brought along a whole load of stuff that she's using in her kindergarten; she's said that I can borrow some of her stuff and take copies.

My other placement (Wed-Fri) will be at the disabled girls orphanage. I appreciate that this will be a tiring (both physically and emotionally) project but one which I think will be so rewarding. The girls are lovely and I think I'll really enjoy it there. Obviously I'm not sure what I'll be doing on a daily basis, think that will change each day. Some of the girls go to school and they bring down some of the boys from the boys orphanage so I'll be working with both.

I thought the mix of the two would be good ie not too intense and a real mixture - hopefullyit all works out. The kindy isc. 20 mins walk from our house so thats fine; the orphanage tho is on the outskirts of Cusco which means a combi ride! A combi is a local mini bus that they ram with as many people as possible. Luckily Jess in the house works at the boys orphanage so I'll be able to travel with her! That will be a new experience let me tell you!

Things in the house are going well although there is a definite divide between the more mature (24-42 yr olds) and the 18-19 yr olds! We have to take into account their immaturity but there are boundaries and turning the house into a Peruvian w**** house isnt one of them, the three of them had guys round the other night.....Peruvians are SO unattractive! Suffice to say the house rules have been re-read to everyone (no overnight guests) which means no "noise" so we can sleep...if you get my drift!

Off to Uptown with the girls to see a movie, its a nightclub by night and a cinema with comfy sofas, beers and massive banana pancakes by day....you turn up, pick a film and they put it on for you...cant be bad!

Tomorrow night is our big night out, we only tend to have 1 or 2 nights out per week, other times we're saving money or tired from placements etc. We'll be starting in Paddy's Bar (yes, I did say Paddy's Bar Mr Richardson!!!); its the one place where the Peruvians arent allowed in so you can have a drink without being letched over..unless of course its by a nice Ozzie Guy!!! After there we head to another couple of places apparently then to the local nightclub...ooooo god I hate nightclubs but its got to be done! Saturday will mean a long lie in before heading off in the afternoon using our tourist ticket which gives access to lots of local sights etc.

So...thats about it from me..a fairly quiet week chilling and feeling a little rough but I'll have more to tell you next week when I start my placement.

Ooooo yes, one other thing..... SANCHEZ our pet guineau pig is pregnant! She went to stay with Solidad whilst we were at Machu Picchu and she told us she was pregnant when we got back. Luckily the gestation period is c. 3 months apparently so the babies wont be born while I'm here...the noise they will make AND they are in our lounge!

Take care all
Lots of Love
Me xx