I'm starting to feel a little better today. I'm definitely not in any state of normalcy yet, as easily judged by the fact that all I've eaten today has been two peanuts and a bowl of Peruvian Ramen noodles and a roll. And the fact that I still can't walk very far without feeling pretty breathless. But I decided that today would be a good day to get out and see some of Cusco for a few hours, just to start getting a feel for the city.
Laura and I both had a lazy morning, although hers was more justified since she went out dancing last night. I went to bed at about 10 PM and woke up this morning at about 11 AM. I'm hoping that as the altitude issues wear off, I won't feel so tired, but for now my eyes start drooping right around 9 PM! Around one, Laura and I decided to walk to a market in the San Blas neighborhood of Cusco. San Blas is generally understood to be the older, more colonial part of Cusco, and it's pretty obvious when you notice the winding quality of the streets, which may perhaps be due to a Moorish influence? I don't know, but I recall having learned in my Spanish and Portuguese history class that the roads in Moorish neighborhoods were often characterized by winding in circles rather than existing in the more modern, gridlike style. Laura has been to the market many times before, so she led the way so I could just take everything in. On the outskirts were lots of stalls selling clothing and scarves and shoes, and in the middle was every sort of food you could want. The sellers were interestingly arranged by the sorts of things they sold, so a person seeking rice or grains would go to one aisle and be surrounded by vendors all selling quinoa and lentils and flour and such. Or, if you wanted a fruit smoothie, there was a whole aisle of probably 20 women selling essentially the exact same types of fruit smoothies! How in the world to choose?! I was a little wary of eating market food so close to my arrival in Cusco, but I did buy some warm, toasted peanuts from one woman (she let me sample them and they were delicious!) and also some lentils from another stand. I figure that I need to start bulking up my food supply because eventually I'm going to start being hungry again and needing to cook for myself! Laura brought some potatoes and some cheese that was literally the size and shape of a brick! Cheese hater that I am, I found this rather repulsive, but it was kind of cute that they engraved the name of the cheese on the cheese itself!
It also turns out that today is El Dia Nacional del Libro (or National Book Day), so there were several tents put up just outside the market with lots of books! Not one to miss a book sale, I made a beeline for the tents, and came very close to buying a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone en espanol. I ultimately decided against it, though, as I have lots of other books on my present waiting list. After wandering through the book sale, Laura decided to take a cab home with her market purchases, but I opted to stay in the center of the city and explore a little bit. I walked through some of the big plazas--San Francisco and Reconcijo--and checked out a few stores as I walked. Then I decided to go into an artisan market, where there were about 15 different stalls selling everything from Peruvian futbol jerseys to alpaca slippers to scarves and Peruvian dolls. I think that my blondness definitely makes me a target for both whistling men and eager salespeople in this country. In the two days that I've been here, I've heard many a catcall and been given many a sales proposition. Today at the artisan market, I did succumb to the purchase of a lovely, warm scarf, partly because it was getting cold and partly because I had removed all of my scarves from my luggage and sent them home with my parents when I knew my bag was going to be overweight. The scarf is quite pretty, though I would like to have had several more walks through the markets around town without buying anything because there is SO much to choose from!
I next succumbed to a woman asking if I wanted a pedicure, because I really needed one! I could probably have pretty easily found myself some nail polish remover and cotton balls at the store, and I will definitely be doing that for my next nail care procedure, but the price was good and the woman was very sweet, so I agreed. The pedicurist's name was Ana, and she and I ended up becoming pretty super tight by the time my half hour pedicure was complete! We had a very interesting conversation about religion. I asked her about where I could go to mass tomorrow, and that led to a conversation about her Catholic upbringing and her current feelings on the importance of going to mass each week. From her perspective, going to mass is more a means of trying to be seen as a devout Catholic by one's peers, but she chooses not to go to mass and to show her faith by way of her actions. She also had some things to say about the pope, and had scriptural references ("Nuestro Dios es un Dios celoso," or "Our God is a jealous God") to back up her argument that sometimes people are almost too adoring when it comes to the pope. It was very interesting to hear her opinions, and when I talked about it later with Laura over dinner, Laura told me that it's quite common for Peruvians to be very active in their faith as far as Bible reading and such goes, but not so much when it comes to church attendance.
Ana also told me about her job working with children in what I would probably call "play therapy." We talked about my mom's work as a pre-kindergarten teacher, and the amount of patience that you have to have with children, and also the level of attachment that you feel for them, almost as if they were your own offspring. It was so nice to be able to understand Ana well enough to carry on a conversation, and even when she became impassioned about something and spoke more quickly, I was able to understand! It's starting to come back to me, slowly but surely!
After my pedicure was finished, it had already begun to grow dark outside. I forget about the fact that winter in Peru doesn't just mean cold, but also earlier sunsets. I'm sad to be missing the evening barbecue weather that characterizes late spring in New Jersey! I decided to walk home down the main Avenida del Sol, and I stopped at the "Mega" (the supermarket) on my way. The Mega was rather refreshing after the market, mainly because I knew that it presented items that would be much less likely to make me ill! I don't think I mentioned earlier that the market had big, giant animal carcasses just sitting and waiting for buyers without any sort of refrigeration or anything. That didn't exactly attract my palate! At the Mega, I bought some basic items, including spaghetti, olive oil, tomato sauce, cereal, and oatmeal, and I also bought my Peruvian Ramen noodle packet for dinner and a few fresh rolls and some saltines. I know that I'm going to need to start eating more adventurously soon, but for now, I'm going to stick with the plain and simple.
When I came out of the Mega, it had gotten quite cold, and since I had bags and was in a skirt, I decided to hail a cab. As I'd been instructed, I asked the driver to take me to the "Residencia Huancaro." The phrase actually refers to my neighborhood rather than my actual residence, but usually the taxi driver knows to take you to the entrance to the neighborhood, which happens to be right where my apartment is. This driver, however, did not seem to realize where within the neighborhood I wanted him to go, and I ended up taking him on a slightly roundabout route to get to my apartment. Luckily, he was kind and didn't charge me excessively, and we made it without going too far out of the way.
A few minutes after I got home and started making my Ramen, Laura arrived from an outing to buy new jeans (she was successful). She and I sat down and chatted for a bit, mostly about Peru in general. I also ended up telling her the saga of my love life, which (ha) took all of about 15 minutes. I then made her reciprocate. It was rather a bonding experience. :-)
Tomorrow, I am going to try and go to church at one of the main plazas in the center of the city, and then I have heard tell of plans to go to a futbol game! I'm excited to see some athletic action and to get to know some of the ProWorld people whom I have yet to meet, several of whom I think are also coming to the game!
I know that I promised pictures of my apartment, and I'll put them up soon--por seguro!--but for now, you'll just have to deal with text and know that I love y'all muchly muchly!
Thank you to those of you who have been praying--things are definitely improving, and though I'm not yet at my best, I'm definitely on my way in the right direction!
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