Time Flies...

I can't believe that Andrew and Brian are going to leave for the USA this Friday--it feels like they've only just arrived! It has been such a blessing to have a little bit of home here in Peru for a short while, and we've had some serious bonding moments.

Yesterday, I worked in the morning and then met the boys at their hotel to go to lunch at a place called Quinta Eulalia. Before we left, though, Andrew wanted to check out a very "authentic" chiccha bar that Sonia had mentioned to him. When we asked Sonia about it, she said that Maria (the woman who helps out at the hotel) would take us there, and thank goodness she did or we probably wouldn't have found it! We walked about two blocks down the street and then went into what looked like someone's yard. Inside the courtyard was a room and in the room were about four tables, mostly occupied by Peruvian men drinking HUGE glasses of chiccha. This chiccha was yellow and quite different from the more well-known chiccha morada. I had no interest in having any more than a tiny sip of Andrew's (and even that was quite narsty), but A&B both bought huge glasses, each of which cost only one sole (35 cents!). Apparently, refills only cost 50 centimos, but luckily, the boys weren't crazy enough to refill such huuuuge glasses! I don't know how the men of Peru drink so much chiccha without their bladders bursting. (Well, actually, I do know...most of them pee quite publicly...but still, the quantity of liquid that they take in is impressive!). We contemplated having lunch at the chiccha bar along with our chiccha, but since there was only one dish available and since I felt rather outnumbered in gender, we just stayed for chiccha. Andrew also got the joy of his life when he discovered that the men had a sapo table. Sapo is a game (often a drinking game) played by lots of Peruvians, and basically involves forcefully throwing little metal disks toward the table and trying to get them into the mouth of a little golden frog at the table's center. Maria informed me that it's very much a "men's game," so she and I watched as Andrew and Brian made pretty serious fools of themselves in front of several Peruvian sapo experts! One of the men said to us as we were leaving, "Cierto Peru." "True Peru." We've officially seen the "real thing"! :-)

Our lunch experience was also quite authentic. Quinta Eulalia was inhabited only by Peruvians until the Whitman siblings entered. We were initially quite distressed to find that the quinta didn't have a "menu del dia," but we quickly discovered that the portions of the a la carte items were HUGE and more than satisfactory for filling our bellies. I had grilled trout, which came out with its head still attached and served alongside potatoes and vegetables. The boys each had a bowl of the house soup, which was full of various "mystery items." It was quite flavorful, though Andrew wasn't able to handle the unusual items he kept finding, and gave up after he'd eaten out the recognizable meat and vegetables. Two musicians came to serenade us briefly, which made the experience all the more delightful.

In between meals, I had to work, so the boys occupied themselves primarily with searching for a charango for Andrew. A charango is similar to a guitar, but much smaller--kind of like the Peruvian version of a ukelele. The one that Andrew bought is from an actual factory where the owner makes the instruments right behind the counter--super authentic! Andrew is very pleased. My work day yesterday was pretty awesome. In the morning, I joined Eliza and two new interns on a trip to the school where they would be teaching English and computers. It's always interesting to be inside of the elementary schools in Central and South America. I haven't seen enough of how they work to truly understand them--right now, I just get the feeling that children are constantly "running free" throughout the school. I know that many of the teachers are working hard at instilling knowledge in young minds, but I get a kick out of how bold some of the kids are, and how often I find them walking around outside of their classrooms! I think that Elizabeth and Gabrielle, the two volunteers on the site, will do a great job there.

In the later afternoon, Eliza and I escorted two other interns, Brennan and Lena, to a library in one of the poorer suburbs of Cusco. We only stayed with them for a little while to give them a tour of the site, but by the time we went to leave, I was hooked. I know I'll be back there as often as possible! The owner, Amy, is originally from New York, and she started the library as a way to promote love for reading among children in a neighborhood where such love is less likely to be cultivated. The library has a bunch of books for reading practice, a homework room, and a play room, and the kids are just precious. I'm sure I'll have more to share on this after I've been back a few times!

For dinner, Andrew and Brian and I headed to the San Blas area, and eventually settled on a restaurant with a long Incan name that I can't remember. What I CAN remember is the meal, which was super delish! We all had pollo saltado, which is essentially chicken stir-fried with onions, peppers and french fries and served with rice. "Saltado" dishes are quite common here, but we all agreed that this was one of the better ones. Super yummy! After dinner, we headed to a bar called The Muse, where ProWorld was hosting an intercambio for all of the students currently here in Cusco. The attendance was very good, and allowed for some very lovely socializing among Peruvians and American students. After we left, Andrew and Brian wanted to go to Paddy's Pub (the only Irish-owned pub above 11,000 feet in the whole world--and they're pretty proud of it!), so we went there and watched the end of an NBA game (Miami versus Dallas, for all you sports fans). Then it was off to bed!

Today, I took the day off to spend with the boys, and we hopped on a bus from Cusco to the town of Pisac. Pisac is a stopover for visitors to Machu Picchu, and is famous for its huge artisan market. We spent the day shopping and improving our bargaining skills (Andrew's favorite method is to say "15 soles? No puedo." He then walks away and hopes that the salespeople will call him back with a better offer, which they usually do!). The boys bought a bunch of gifts for friends, and I bought a gift for Julie and also a teacup to add to my international teacup collection. I actually already bought one a few weeks ago, but this one was so much prettier that I decided to get it anyway! We also had lunch at a cute little restaurant where the boys got to try Peruvian arroz con pollo, which is delectable. Our bus ride back to Cusco was pretty hysterical. We weren't exactly sure of where to catch the bus, so we just stood close to where we'd been dropped off, and eventually a bus drove by (quite filled with people) and the door was opened and a man yelled, "Cusco! Cusco! Cusco!" until we hopped in! It was standing room only until a few people got off at a stop a few kilometers away. Luckily, we made it back in three pieces and it turns out that the bus station is right near my apartment! What luck!

Now I'm here in the office, and I must leave because I want to put on some long pants and a jacket before I meet the boys for dinner! Tonight, I am endeavoring to make them salsa dance a little bit before the night is over. I have high hopes of success!

Hasta pronto, amigos!