Where the Grass is Always Greener (and It Better Stay That Way)!

I have felt that this past month has been a hectic month so I've been trying to count my blessings every night before I go to sleep so that I can appreciated every moment that I have here. I think that this is especially important since I have the opportunities to go to some amazing places, including last week's trip to the Amazon.
Even though I wasn't wearing any green on St. Patrick's Day I did leave dry Cusco for the green, hot and humid Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios, the Peruvian Amazon. We had a really long delay because of the rains that are occurring in the Lima and Northern Peru. When we got to Puerto Maldonado we rested until our five o'clock lecture.
On Saturday morning we had a lecture and then went to the FENAMAD headquarters (an organization that defends the rights of indigenous groups in Madre de Dios). While there we got to meet the president of all the indigenous groups in Mare de Dios. Experiences like this make me feel like I picked the right study abroad program. I know that if I directly enrolled into a Peruvian university I would just be another tourist without any cool connections. Speaking of which that afternoon we had one of my favorite lectures of the semester, on none other than bilingual education. Our lecturer was actually an advisor in the Peruvian Ministry of Education and the main motivator for EIB (the bilingual education program, which includes 43 different dialects). Education has always gotten me psyched so one could imagine how glowing I was leaving our classroom.

An Amazonian Sunset

Sunday we took a 2.5 hour boat ride to Palma Real, a community of 500 indigenous people. We met with the president of the community, which was an interesting experience. To meet him we went to to the community house and were surrounded by almost all of the women and children in the community (was a bit hard to hear the president speak because children were running around and screaming). After our meeting we learned how to make arrows, clothes made out of tree trunks (can't remember what it's called) and ayamari (grass roof weaving).

Me learning how to do ayamari

The highlight of the whole experience was playing with children from the community. I love kids but I think sometimes they're a reflection of the community. Throughout my week I was so impressed by by how the children could still keep themselves entertained with whatever they had, like making structures out of leaves and rocks and pretending tables were cars. I could also see the effects of globalization amongst them. Were really interested in wearing our baseball hats and sunglasses.
Monday we walked 45 minutes on a muddy trail (was the perfect dose of adventure for me) to Lago Sandoval. When we got their we took two canoes and went around the perimeter to see wildlife, like howler monkeys.

Lago Sandoval- we went swimming later! It was that hot!

Tuesday we went to Infierno where we first met with the president and then went to the elementary school where we paired up with students and drew aspects of our American and Peruvian lives (also played a pretty epic game of soccer). In the afternoon we did more activities, where we learned how to make jewelry, fans, and baskets.The next two nights we stayed in a cool, minimalist nature lodge, about a 20 minute walk from Infierno.

Basket weaving

Wednesday morning we divided up into four groups and went to different chakras, or plots of farming land. My group picked rice with a couple for three hours, which was probably one of the hardest things that I have done (lots of bugs and humidity. IDK I thought I was a lot more rugged but whatever!). In the evening we went on crocodile tour (saw two, one the size of a hand and the other that was six feet long), which was pretty cool, but we got stuck on a rock!

Rice on rice on rice

Thursday morning we went to a shamanic center and learned all about the different types of herbal plants. Something interesting that we learned was that the center has become somewhat of a resort so that it can compete with other foreign tourist companies with lodges in the area.
Overall, despite the heat, bugs, and other factors I had to keep on telling myself to make myself the best of my experience in the Amazon because lord knows if I have no idea when I'll be able to go back!

Peruvians Live for It- Comida

Three weeks. That's how long it takes me to get settled! With being settled I'm discovering that I have more free time than I anticipated and, being the daughter of Brian Jerome, I definitely do not see myself laying around. The goal is try to do something new every afternoon here on out! (All things considered I was spending this afternoon writing a paper, in Spanish).
Anyway, I'd like to focus this blogpost on the thing that keeps all going and glues cultures together- food. Here in Peru I have never encountered such an interesting array of food and eating mannerisms. First meal of the day is breakfast. My host mother has been really good at introducing me to different foods. Thus far I've had bread (the bread here looks like a thicker, chewier version of a pita) accompanied by either chicken, cheese eggs, or avocado (my personal favorite. Also I can't say that I can easily have a locally grown avocado in Vermont).

Pan cusqueño

I drink a lot of fluids during breakfast, which including tea, coffee, and juice. Since the majority of the coffee is exported from Peru there isn't a lot left for the rest of the population, so it comes in a thick concentrate (like an espresso). The tea is also pretty strong, so for both you have to add a lot of hot water. I still think it's just crazy!
Juice is the third essential component of breakfast. I've had everything from tuna (cactus fruit/ personal favorite), tastes a lot like watermelon) to quinoa (tasted like liquid applesauce) to leche con platanos (literally a banana smoothie).

Tunas

At school I usually drink five cups of tea so that I can pay attention but I'm starting to think that it might be a good idea to get some knitting materials. In the middle of the school day Julia, my program's rural home stay coordinator (we're going to stay on one of the floating reed villages on Lake Titicaca in a few weeks), gets us some sort of snack like chicken sandwiches. choclo con queso (corn of the cob with cheese), or cake, especially if it's somebodies birthday! There are also a lot of enticing snacks always being sold on the street by local women, like fruit, cake, churros, and juices.

Choclo con queso

Lunch, just like Spain, is the biggest meal of the day and consists of two courses. The first is some sort of caldo, a Peruvian broth soup that consists of anything from chicken to noodles to beef, along with assorted spices. The past few things that I have had for the second course has been arroz con seca (rice with some sort of spiced sauce), fried trout (my favorite), chicken all of which is served with some sort of refresco, like purple corn juice or honey lemon tea.

Chicha morada/ purple corn juice

Dinner is usually just a little snack at around 7 or 8, which I don't mind because at that point I feel like I've already finished an eating marathon.
To spice things up there are quite a few interesting food mannerisms here in Peru. First, whenever anyone leaves the table you have to say 'provecho', which translates to 'excuse me'. Also, whenever you eat anything that's heavy or fatty, like meat, you're supposed to take a shot of whiskey. When I went to Calca with my family we had a dish with seventeen ingredients and very fatty, so I was forced by family to take a swig of family (the Jeromes just drink tea, with the occasional touch of honey). Also, when I was in Machu Pichu I ordered chicharrones, fried chicken, which was served with a shot of rum right in the middle. There also into drinking hot drinks after drink whole milk (like when we had hot chocolate last week) because they say that you won't fall asleep without doing so.
There you have it! A short, vague synopsis of Peruvian cuisine! Definitely need to learn the names of more dishes but I'll make sure to incorporate them in my future blog posts!

Cheers and may you find some yummy grub this week!

Ruins and Roads

Before my week gets incredibly crazy I thought that it'd be best for me to do a post NOW! First up, transportation! There are four ways to get around this rugged country: mototaxi, bus, combi, and taxi (cars and planes are boring and obvious!). A mototaxi is a motorbike with metal walls surrounding the bike, making it look like a little bubble, with a bench in the back for three people to sit in.While in Pisaq we took a mototaxi to a restaurant and it was terrifying. I've gotten to like them but when I was in it it was dark and all of a sudden we turned on to a beaten up dirt road going way fast than I anticipated. When riding in these contraptions you need to constantly be holding the door shut, especially if you are squeezed in the back. I've almost fallen out a few times!
When going to Calca last Sunday we took a combi, which is like a collective minivan that drops people off at different stops. Nothing too special except when you're driving plays Ellie Goulding the whole ride.

Plaza de Armas at its finest

Buses here in Cusco are quite something. For me to go to the city center it's only S 0.70, or US 0.15. There's no technological system in the bus so there usually is a man standing by the door yelling out which stops are coming up. You're also supposed to give them your money when you're getting off of the bus. I've learned to give my money a few minutes before my stop so that I can get my change, instead of me rushing out and handing the bus attendant 5 soles.
This week we started classes. I have Spanish, History, and Research Methods. It's pretty intense but we only have five weeks of traditional classroom instruction, since the last few weeks is when we conduct our independent study. Class times vary from week to week but I usually have lunch at my house around 1:30, which is the biggest meal of the day (I will try to have a later post dedicated to Peruvian food). I try to keep my afternoons busy, considering that I'm in Cusco for such a short period of time. This past week I went to the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Qorikancha, and Saqsehuaman (all followed by my homework! Don't worry!)

Saqsehuaman (or however you spell it! Quechua wasn't a written language in the first place!)

We only had three days of class this week since we went on four night excursion through the Sacred Valley. Thursday we went to Chincero, Moray, Calca and Ollantaytambo. Chincero is this town known for it's textiles and famous for a church that was built on top of some ruins. It was really something! I could have spent hours looking at all of the intricate details and the paintings from the Cusco School.

Why it was so hard to soak it all in!

Moray is believed to have been an agricultural laboratory, with each terrace having a different plant with different attributes (they knew about genetic modification before Europe. They also didn't even use the wheel!) After Moray we went to Calca where there is a new museum about all of the Peruvian civilizations leading up to the Incas. It was super interesting and interactive, considering that after every room there was a diorama of what life was like for each corresponding civilization.

Moray

In the late afternoon we arrived to Ollantaytambo, which is one of the main towns where tourists stay before taking the train to Machu Pichu. There are also some amazing ruins there, which were also the location of one of the few Incan victories against the Spanish.
The Friday morning we went to a non-profit called the Sacred Valley Project. This organization tries to improve the accessibility of secondary education for girls living in rural villages by providing them room and board (without this they would have to walk three hours in each direction to go to school). For those that know me well you could only imagine how stoked I was after hearing one of the workers talk about the project. Definitely am going to try to do my independent study with them!
Afterwards we went to an indigenous community called Huilloq. The main objective for our visit was to observe and take notes, as if we were anthropologists. I was really surprised how different the community was, even though it was a 35 minute drive from Ollantaytambo. The majority of the people were still wearing traditional clothes and spoke Quechua in place of Spanish. I've never done an observation like this and definitely learned that I need to prepare myself better for these experiences but due to my inexperience I ended up throwing colored powder and water balloons with a group of little boys.

The after shot of playing with the locals

In the afternoon we went to the Ollantaytambo ruins. If you are going to Machu Pichu I would highly recommend going here beforehand. Ollantay is huge yet aesthetically pleasing. If you walk to the top you can find a wooden door which will lead you up to a path to the top of a mountain where there is (at least it looks like it) an old religious temple, where you can overlook all of the ruins, town, and valley. Really incredible!

The vista from the top of Ollantaytambo

Saturday morning we got up at 5 AM so that we could get the train to Machu Pichu. The train ride was two hours and had picturesque mountain views. We got to Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Pichu Pueblo, we got a bus to Machu Pichu, which brought us up a steep, curvy road. Machu Pichu looks just like the photos, but those don't even do it justice. Located in the middle of a circular valley Machu Pichu has beautiful views in every direction. After a 2.5 hour tour I was dumbstruck with how advanced the Inca were, through there advanced systems of astronomy and engineering, all without having a written language or using the wheel! In the afternoon we walked to the Puerta del Sol, or Intipunku, which is the first place on the Inca Trail where you can see all of Machu Pichu. The sun also goes right through it in the afternoon of the winter solstice (June 21st).

A picture of Machu Pichu by yours truly

I'm really enjoying my time here in Peru and even though I've been cramming my first two weeks here I look forward to see what else this country has to offer!

Cheers!

Louisa