Hola...

so four weeks in and we have fully merged into Peruvian society, merely blending into the crowd....yeh, i wish! As ´gringos´ (white tourists) we are constantly hassled to buy all manner of things, from material belts and dolls to massage, piercing and tattoo sessions, waxing (we´ve smelt it as we walk past the places and it smells like solder, seriously there is no way either of us is having anything waxed!), or just being asked for money, or to come into a restaurant. We walk down the same paths almost every day and you would think that they would begin to recognise us by now, but nooooo. The other day we walked for 5 minutes from the main plaza to home and we were offered 15 things...that´s three offers a minute!

There are a few people who are starting to recognise us now and know not to ask unless they want NO GRACIAS! firmly spoken in an irritated tone. And there are a few who have become pretty friendly, including one 10 yr-old called Marco (who speaks some English). He goes to school in the mornings, but in the afternoons he wanders round offering shoe-shines. One day, after asking Becky if she had a boyfriend (hopefully on behalf of someone older!), she befriended him and today actually agreed to have a shoe-shine on Monday at three o´clock, despite not actually having any shoes - only pumps and flip-flops - so it should be pretty entertaining to watch and i will keep you all updated! haha.

On Wednesday, it was a sunny afternoon, so after work we sat in our home plaza, Becky with a book and I brought my weaving out to carry on making the belt i started in Chinchero. It was my best effort to blend in so far and yet i think it was the thing that has made me stick out more than anyone in Cusco. "What!? A white woman weaving!? Let´s all have a gander...!" You would think, if anything, it would draw tourist attention. Of course there were a few who came for a look, but actually it was the locals who were more fascinated with the spectacle that i became. Fortunately no one took offence that i was attempting to imitate their art - everyone was really friendly....including one toothless old lady who spoke to us in Spanish despite us not being able to understand a word (i´d like to think more for the lack of teeth than the language) but it was great just to listen to her speak. And one old Brazilian guy who has lived in Cusco for 5 years actually photographed me! I felt quite violated but i guess it must be weird to witness.

During this time one local vendor got talking - in English and Spanish - and after a few probing questions, uncovered that Becky is an English teacher in the UK (apparantly!!). So basically she proceeded to do his English homework for him - of course i thoroughly disapproved, but what can you do?

Today my attempts to blend were scuppered further by the Sun. While Becky is now adorning a rather irritatingly glowing tan (as always), I am valiantly representing England with some rather attractive red and white stripes (if you like raspberry ripple). I have however pumped some money into the local economy...

Horse riding wore the ´inside leg´ of my threadbare jeans into an actual hole, so earlier in the week I took them to a lady i´d heard about in a local market to be patched up. Needless to say I was a little nervous about a strange Peruvian lady taking a look at my crotch, so I was more than chuffed when i picked them up three hours later, perfectly patched and ready to wear. She did such a good job i paid her nearly double what she asked (which was 6 soles - in the UK approx. 1 pound). Imagine getting that kind of service in the UK!

We had a day off yesterday (because of Labour Day), so we went to buy some flowers from San Pedro market to brighten up our room. Liam (other volunteer) did a Pub Quiz last night and Becky did us the honour of partaking in the Paper, Scissors, Stone section (see photos)...i know it doesn´t sound like an intellectual quiz but it really really was. Infact i need to have words with Liam about that! We came fourth!!! out of five. ahem. REPRESENT!

And i know you all want to know that the rich food is still taking its toll on us both - so for now we are sticking to a strict diet of plain carbs until after the weekend. There was never a better excuse to eat cake and biscuits and crisps and other such crap!

Now we are off to pack for Machu Picchu (so excited!)...so look out for some photos of more breathtaking views. Thanks for all the messages - it´s great to hear from you all! Keep it up.

Love Liz and Becky (las profesoras) x x