Chapter 6: Does the Easter Bunny come to Peru?

I sit in the shade under the overhang from the patio above, right outside the kitchen. The sun slants in from above, lighting the inner courtyard of the house in front of me. On the wall opposite me, leading up the open-air stairs, are several dozen handprints made in white and buttery yellow paint, a cheerful and youthful contrast to the austere cement background. Each stair is host to a pretty plant potted in a paint can or an old candy canister with hearts printed on its sides. The stairs lead upstairs to my room, bright with daylight and painted white except for one wall they would call “celeste” – blue – here. All around me, on the ground, filling the industrial work sinks, and on every ledge available, are paintbrushes, rollers, and half-emptied paint jugs of white, yellow, blue, and green. I hear two drippy sinks, one in the courtyard and one in the bathroom, things that will undoubtedly take weeks to be fixed. Good thing no one pays for water here. I sit here and munch on a Moroccan carrot salad and a bowl of simple pasta made by my very own hands in my very own kitchen. I have officially moved in!

This house – part volunteer residence, part office – will be the home of Awamaki for the next two years. It more than doubles the office space for the growing organization and provides ample hang-out space for our small army of volunteers. It has taken every minute of the past week to spruce up this joint. All the rooms were first sanded (an apparently necessary step for the plaster walls), then primed and painted a variety of bright colors. Peruvians don’t really do subtle. It has been dirtied and now mostly cleaned, and only a few stray pieces of lumber and a petroleum smell from the wood floor stain linger.

At the start of this week, my nesting instincts set in, and I promptly neglected the rest of my duties, trading in email for a paintbrush. Each day has started and ended here, and the blisters on my hands are proof. My reward made it well worth it though, and I said chao to my family and spent my first night here on Sunday. I was very sad – sadder than I thought - to leave my family, but they live just right around the corner, so I know I will see them often. I am already invited on Sunday for a “girls afternoon” for my sister Eliana’s birthday.

Semana Santa – or Holy Week – is this week, and although there haven’t been celebrations the likes of those in Spain, processions each night march from the central Plaza to the church, following the religious/mystical dolls/relics enshrined in glass cases and surrounded by cheap carnations. The brand of Catholicism here is very interesting and worlds away from the Catholicism practiced in the Cathedral of our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth. All homes are topped with either a cross or a pair of ceramic bulls to protect those within. Inside the homes, calendars and posters of the creepiest looking Jesus I’ve ever seen cover the walls. This Jesus is not the white-skinned, gentle-faced Good Shepherd we see in the US. He is almost always crowned with thorns, blood dripping down his face, and his eyes either rolled back gruesomely in his head, or colored red, appearing almost demonic. At religious festivals here, the dolls/relics are carried around, dances are done, and signs of the cross made over chests are common. But alongside these, the chicha (homemade corn beer) flows strongly and the last sip or so is sent spilling to the ground, “for Pachamama” – “Mother Earth.” The population piously does not believe in divorce. Instead, couples live together (in wedlock) for several years, having children and building a life together, until finally around the age of 45 they wed. And these are only examples. The synthesis of Catholicism and the traditional mysticism that was practiced hundreds of years ago before missionaries came is perfectly evident in almost all parts of the culture here.

The week will top out with “Doce Platas” – or “Twelve Plates” – on Good Friday, and Mass early Sunday morning. I have tried explaining the Easter Bunny to my family here and this bizarre description was met with only looks of confusion. Perhaps if they had plastic eggshells here they would understand better…

In the meantime, I will be doing the trek to Lares and the mineral springs there starting early tomorrow morning (again). I wouldn’t normally do a trek twice, but nearly all the volunteers are going, and there are mineral springs at the end for gosh’s sake! Who would pass that up?! Also, I have reached my half-way point here and I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. In certain ways, the time has absolutely flown and I get this panicky feeling whenever I think about leaving. In others, I can’t wait until I have access to goat cheese and a stable Internet connection again! When I return in the first week of June, I will spend about two weeks at home, celebrating Trisha’s graduation and watching my dad and Kaitlin run Grandma’s Half Marathon! If I had half a brain I would start training here and beat their butts when I get down out of the altitude (Ollantaytambo is situated at 9500 ft), but I probably won’t. ☺ After that, I’m off to spend the glorious summer in Chicago!!! (yep, here that Allison, Megan, Liz, and Nikki? I’m moving in! Or if not that, at least somewhere close…) I get tingles just thinking about it.

Thinking of and missing everyone! I love you all!

Chapter 5: Newsflash and a Naughtily-named Lake

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!! I'm going to law school!!! I received an acceptance letter from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor last week and I could not be more excited. UMich was one of my top choices, and from what I hear, it is pretty much the ideal overall experience: top-notch school without the cut-throat competitive atmosphere. I am still waiting to hear back from several schools, but I just have a feeling that this one is it... I'll keep you updated!

Nothing TOO exciting has happened here in Ollanta in the past couple weeks. A couple power outages and more rain, one sick day, but all is well in the southern hemisphere. I did a cool hike last weekend that included a cave filled with human skeletons!!! Creepy!!! According to our 8 year old goat-herding guide, they were Incan workers who were lazy (one of the four Inca laws) and put to death because of it! Look on Facebook for some sweet pictures (sorry, uploading photos to the blog is painfully slow, so Facebook will have to do for now...).

This past weekend, myself, Michelle, Alison, Keri, and Ben (all Awamaki volunteers) went to Puno and Lake Titicaca in southern Peru. Lake Titicaca (yep, try saying THAT out loud) is the highest navigable lake in the world and was beautiful! We took an overnight bus from Cusco to Puno, and were promptly bombarded with tour agencies the second our feet touched the pavement. After some heavy negotiating, we departed on a two-day tour to the nearby islands. Puno, the city, is generally disgusting and smelly, so I was happy when we boarded the boat right away. This happiness was displaced by uncomfortable nausea when a man entered singing ridiculous touristy songs. This was our first indication of the poor quality of tourism that has taken over Puno and the surrounding area.

We boated to the nearby Uros Islands, which are floating islands! For hundreds of years, the locals have collected the reeds that grow naturally in the lake and pile them together to create small floating villages. They were stunning and absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the experience was ruined by the programed nature of the visit. As our boat docked on one of the lily pad villages, the women sang in unison, "Welcome." (Gag) The rest of the time on that island was a programed ploy to impress tourists and get them to buy cheap trinkets from one of the dozen identical stands. It was very disappointing, and sad. The lives of these people so depend on the tourists, that they play the puppets of the many tourist agencies. Thankfully, the visit to Uros was the last time we were disappointed on this trip.

We spent the next three hours boating to Amantani Island, a quiet, beautiful place, that reminded me faintly of my cabin in far away Minnesota. Sigh... :) We spent the night in a lovely clean little inn with fantastic food and charming owners. A sunset was seen from coastal docks, and was accompanied by a couple bottles of wine and some wonderful conversation.

The next day we floated over to Taquile Island and spent a few hours walking around and exploring the villages. We ate an overpriced lunch and then enjoyed the three hour boat ride back, sitting on the top deck soaking up the views, reading, and chatting in the hot sun. Not even a sunburn to taint the afternoon!

We spent the evening in Puno and took another overnight bus back to Cusco, arriving at 4:45am. We were very disappointed with the Peruvian McDonalds franchise, as they do not boast 24 hour service here evidently. After hanging out in Cusco's beautiful plaza and grabbing some of the first fresh fruit juice of the day from the market, we checked in to a hotel at 7am and caught up on some sleep. We spent a leisurely day in Cusco, recovering from our vacation, and returned early the next morning. It was a great little trip!


In other news, moving into the volunteer house has predictably been delayed, so I am due to move in next weekend. Cross your fingers! I can hardly wait to cook for myself, and I already have combed all my favorite food blogs for baked goods that I can make here with the limited local ingredients. If anyone has tips on high-elevation baking, let me know! Alison, one of my new friends here, will be moving into the house as well after a couple weeks traveling at the beginning of April, and we will be sharing a room! So look forward to some good stories from the AwaDwelling.

All in all, I can't believe I am almost halfway through my time here. The days fly by, and I laugh when I think back to my mindset of the first hours here (omg omg omg omg what did I get myself into, etc.). And just when I start to feel too far from home, the English Pub decides to throw a St. Paddy's Day party complete with Guinness, cider, and green Midori slushies. Chao and Happy St. Patrick's Day from an Irish girl in Peru!

Chapter 4: Finding my Stride

I woke up this morning in pain - sunburnt shoulders and legs begging to not be stood on – aches born from the hardest hiking of my life. Three hikes in four days, to be exact.

Despite the fleas, the bucket baths, the roosters that rouse me at 5am, or the kittens that poop on my bed, I have fallen for this place. I have surprised even myself at how much I love it here. There is a different quality of life that has nothing to do with the availability of fine wines or spotless delicious-smelling bathrooms. Things move a bit slower, people are more relaxed. My days are never hectic, my nights never off-the-hook. Tranquilo, they would call it here. I have for the past several years seen myself as a city-girl. I love the availability and convenience a city provides. I love the bustle and energy that fill the streets. I crave the diversity and variety that characterizes the American city. I predicted boredom and loneliness from this small Andean town, but I have discovered something quite different. Boredom is scarce; instead, I long for those two hours before bed to read quietly alone. Television, or at least television in English, is long forgotten and I hardly miss it (hardly…). While I am missing my friends and family (love you guys!), I cannot say that I have yet been lonely. I live in close quarters with my homestay family, and Peruvian mothers never let you stray too far from home. Which reminds me… Familial update! Our dog Loba (meaning female wolf, she’s a husky) had 5 puppies last week!!! They are soooooo cute and still have their eyes shut, but are growing every day!

So, alrighty. Lots lots has happened since I last updated (sorry!). Here are a few highlights:

Awkward Host-Brother Encounter. Two Friday nights ago I was sleeping soundly in my bed when I was awoken by a knock at my door. A look at my cell phone told me it was 2:30am, an ungodly hour here in Ollantaytambo (it’s true what they say, nothing good happens after midnight, at least here…). I answered my door to find an intoxicated Javier grinning sheepishly. Now, it must be known that Javier is very nice, but pretty shy AND has a girlfriend in Cusco, whom I have met. He asked me if I had anyone in my bed with me! I made him ask twice because I thought I had heard wrong. I hadn’t. I told him no, no, no, Javier. It’s not a good idea. Buenas noches! And then shut the door in his face. He knocked twice more a few minutes later, but finally retired to his room to play loud music (which I thought was even more annoying than the mid-night wake-up) when I didn’t answer. Needless to say, our encounters since have been extremely awkward.

New House in a week (which will help with the aforementioned awkwardness)! Awamaki is bursting at the seams in our currently office (right now, there are no less than 6 people sitting in this little room, with an Internet connection that only handles 4). But! We found a house that will be transformed into office and volunteer house. I get one of the three rooms ☺ We move in next week and I couldn’t be more excited! Not that I don’t love my host family, but I can’t wait to cook for myself and run my own schedule.

Weekend in Cusco with new friends Michelle, Keri, and Alison. We found this super cheap, but lush (for Peru) hotel to stay at. We played tourist – ok, who am I kidding, I AM a tourist – all day, had a leisurely, and vegetable-filled, lunch at my new favorite restaurant, went to the local market, got hassled by street vendors, got splashed with water balloons by 13 year olds (when will Carnaval be done?!), went out for a fancy dinner, and danced the night away in techno-playing clubs. Glorious and not at all like Ollanta, which is exactly what we wanted.

Hike to Highland Lake (I forget the Quechua name, something with –cocha). I went on a day-hike to a highland lake with some friends about two weeks ago. The first half of the hike was terrible. Entirely uphill, in high altitude, in the rain, freezing, and I wore only a long sleeved shirt and a thin rain jacket. Arriving at the lake, my hands were frozen, and we were soaking wet. After lunch, however, the sun came out and we headed downhill for a lovely afternoon of hiking.

Overnight hike to Lares. Last week five others, and myself, plus Miguel our guide, did a long hike to a nearby town called Lares. The hike itself was not too difficult, just very long. But we had a reward waiting for us at the end: hot mineral springs! It was like sitting in a very hot bath that never ever cools down. Heaven. Bliss. Euphoria. We stayed in a hostel that night, had some good two-truths-and-a-lie laughs and took a very windy and precariously steep road back the next morning.

Hardest Hike of My Life to Yanacocha. A group of six headed out around 7am for what was thought to be an 8-hour hike to a black lagoon high above Ollantaytambo. We proceeded to climb the mountain for five straight hours, at times side-stepping up a 45-degree angle ridgeline. Following a guide written by previous volunteers, we came to a standstill one hour from the lake and the path was nowhere in sight. After a quick analysis of the situation, and with storm clouds brewing around us (literally, around us. We were in the clouds), we decided to retreat. We stumbled into town around hour 9 of the hike, exhausted, and not exactly thrilled at the fact that we would need to do this hike again in order to publish the guide. More to come on this, I am sure!

On the future-life front, I am still eagerly waiting to hear back from law schools! Hopefully I will have some good news soon ☺