So today, I was starting my volunteering...or so I thought. I was meeting with Heidi (the director for Maximo Nivel) at 9 o´clock. Breakfast was good, but small. I was also not really getting used to the high altitude. I had a headache and a lot of gas. I was told to just drink Coca tea. Coca leaves act as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue. They are used my the natives for altitude sickness. It is what cocaine is derived from, but does not produce the stimulatory effects that cocaine does, however, if I were to pass a drug test, I would probably have cocaine in my blood...

I had amazing conversations with averyone at the house during breakfast. Living in the house were Barbara and her son Jeremy, Tyler (a very extrovert and fun guy), Caitlin, Spencer (a med student), Kevin (a vietnam war veteran), Alex (my roommate that is in to soccer just as much as me), and Jose. Right away, I new Jose was an amazing guy. He had this energy to him that made him the center of attention no matter where he went. He was a funny charasmatic, leader-type peruvian that learned English 3 years ago and is now studying in the States. He explained how he wanted to change things around Peru (especially in Cuzco) and would probably run for congress when he got back after his studies. More about him later.

Taxis here are at a fixed rate (2.50 Soles or less than one dollar). I took a taxi to the Maximo Nivel office which is about 5-10 minutes away. I was taking the orientation with a girl named Karla, another med student (but osteopathic medicine). Heidi gave showed us a powerpoint presentation and explained us the rules and what to look forwar too over here. Right away, I was so excited to start. I had a smile on my face from cheek to cheek just thinking about all of the possible scenarios that can go on when I will be volunteering (especially since I brought a lot of gifts). Moreover, Heidi told us that we can ask out home caretakers to do our laundry for 0.5 Soles per pound (0.15 cents!). So for all of you that were hoping that I would finally be doing my laundry, not in this lifetime!!! Heidi told us that we were unfortunately starting on Thursday at 9am due to the celebrations today and tomorrow. I did not know about it, but it was called Inti Raymi, which means in Quetchua (the Inca language), the festival of the sun (more about it later). We had to take a Spanish exam in order to see where we would be placed if we wanted to take Spanish lessons. I was surprised to know that I was an Intermediate level 1. I am sure that it had to be because I had learned a lot already since I got to South America.

Orientation ended at 11am, so Karla and I decided to explore the city a bit, since there was a parade going on. Tomorrow was the big day, but today they were pre-celebrating Inti Raymi. I had forgotten my camera, so Karla offered to take pictures for the both of us. We also thought it would be best to inquire about the prices to trek Machu Picchu since the price can vary greatly here. During the afternoon, Karla was talking to me a bit about Osteopathic medicine, which got me really interested in applying. I liked the way these types of doctors thought.

Around 2 o´clock, I really wasn´t feeling well. I had nausia and stomach cramps (probably from the altitude again). So I decided to go home, eat and sleep a bit. Maritza made me some borritos, and then I went to bed for 2 hours. When I got up, there were people that were in the living room talking to Jose. Jose told we that these people (husband and wife) are part of the most known family in Cuzco. He met them during an interview he had the day before with the local media on his progressive plans for Cuzco. The couple were asking Jose for help to find volunteers and funding for the restoration of an Inca ruin on their land. I don´t know why, but Jose turned to me and asked me for advice. I proposed that as for the volunteers, I could ask Maximo Nivel if they wanted to get involved and offer this project to futur volunteers. As for funding, as long as they had a detailed business plan, I would go around to the universities in Montreal and propose this project. He said that it was a great idea! I was really excited to help out. I don´t know, but Jose had this ora that made other people want to get involved in his projects and help out. The couple offered to drive us to the Inca ruins on Thursday morning at 6:30am.

During supper, we decided to go out that night (Salsa!!!). I was going to experience the much anticipated Cuzco nightlife! Most of us (all except Alex, Babara and Jeremy) were going out (including Maritza and her cousin Marissa!). We took two taxis to Plaza de Armas, the main square where most of the nightclubs were. We got there at 10pm since most of us were getting up early the next morning to see the Inki Raymi celebration. It was great to have Jose, as our local, and native speaking person in the group. We got into this club called Mythology. They were playing Salsa and I was excited to start dancing. No one knew how to dance Salsa except Tyler, Marissa, Jose and myself. So we had to teach the rest of the people how to dance it. Right away, Jose grabbed Marissa and Tyler grabbed some random girl. I took Caitlin to dance and tried to teach her the steps as well as the left and right turn. She was a very fast learner! I then danced a little with Maritza, which oddly enough did not know how to dance Salsa, however trying to teach someone something while maintaining a language barrier proved to be quite difficult. We left that club and went to the club nextdoor, IncaTeam, however I was really not feeling well, so 20 minutes later, we all left home.

I don´t know what I had, but it surely wasn´t getting any better. Hopefully, sleeping on it would make me feel better...