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!
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