Part II: The Intern

Here begins the second part of my Peruvian adventures. I sit at the airport in Minneapolis, awaiting my first flight, the start of what will be a 30 hour (or more) journey back to Peru. After a relaxing month at home - and several seasons of Dexter - I secured just enough boredom to make the trip back exciting. This time, I am headed one leg further than Lima, to Cusco, and from there, a taxi and a colectivo to Ollantaytamo, about 30 miles from Machu Picchu high in the Andes Mountains.

In November I was hired as the Programs Intern for an organization call Awamaki. It is a very small organization, comprised of myself and perhaps three other people. It works to support and consult a group of Andean women weavers. They help sell their products in the US and abroad and consults them on their weaving designs to make them more internationally marketable (example, ipod cases). They also run some medical workshops and educations classes. Check out the website: www.awamaki.org. My role in the organization I have yet to exactly define. I think I will be a logistics helper of sorts. Website content writer, website design, budget analysis, volunteer coordination, and translator have all been things mentioned that I may do. More updates to come on this...

I will be living with a family while I live in Ollantaytambo. I do not know who yet. Again, I'll let you know on this... I DO know that Ollanta has about 2000 people and I passed through it on my way to the Inca Trail. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in the Western Hemisphere, having been occupied since before the time of the Incas. In fact, the original Incan ruins still sit atop the hill on which the city was built, and the cobblestone streets are still the work of their previous Incan inhabitants. Cool, huh? :)

Emotionally, I'm both more confident and more scared than the first time around. Firstly, I'm alone this time. No wingman Hayley to have my back. This could also breed loneliness. :( On the otherhand, I feel MUCH more confident with my Spanish than three months ago. In fact, I've hardly thought about it at all, which proves it. Second, I think I've got a pretty good handle on how things work now in Peru. It's a kind of go-with-the-flow sort of society, and planning things meticulously well in advance does little help in traveling around. I also am culturally-adapted (kind of), but I know I won't have that terrified look on my face when a perfect stranger introducing themselves leans in to kiss me on the cheek this time.

The excitement factor has compounded in the last week because I am walking into what the Peruvian government has deemed a "state of emergency." Heavy rains in the Andes has led to flooding and landslides in the area where I am going. About 3000 people were trapped near Machu Picchu and have had to be helicoptered out due to washed out train tracks and unnavigable roads. They've actually dropped these rescued travelers off in Ollanta, so that's a good sign! The last I've heard, the road between Cusco and Ollanta is open, so hopefully I will get there without delay! I also found this on the Awamaki website: "Awamaki will be participating in the relief effort for displaced families." Relief efforts? SWEET!!!

Wish me luck! And let the adventures continue...