An Entry Oft Interrupted

Hello, Dear Readers!

I am writing to you from my bed, where I am becoming so cozy that I may fall asleep quite soon, even though it’s only 8:51 PM. Although Cusco in winter is much warmer than New Jersey in winter, it still gets dark very early at this time of year, so I tend to feel tired much earlier. It’s going to be nice to enjoy the last days of summer at home, eating late dinners outside while it’s still warm and somewhat light out. The last few days have been occupied with various administrative activities on my part. Now that all of the July interns and volunteers are here, Eliza, Laura, and I have been spending time checking in on how everyone is doing and making sure that internships and volunteer placements are going as planned. Tomorrow, we’ll all be traveling to the community of Occoruro to work on various development projects. I think it’ll be a nice change of pace. A few updates, highlights, and thoughts since my last blog…

One of my recent tasks has been to create a document listing all of the possible activities that are available within a day’s travel from Cusco. In compiling this list, I have begun to realize just how much of Peru I still haven’t seen! The northern part of the country has just been too far a journey, and the south is accessible, but I still haven’t gotten there. And even in proximity to Cusco, there are tons of things that I have yet to do! I learned, for example, about a town called Oropesa, which, despite its small size, has been called “the bread capital of Cusco.” The town even hosts an annual two-day bread festival every October! A mere 30 minutes from Cusco and I had no idea! Then there’s this activity called “via ferrata,” in which you scale a super steep mountain face using a system of connected steel ladders and bridges (while attached to a cable that prevents falling to your death). And paragliding. And even simply exploring more of the Sacred Valley! I’ve realized that I have much to do! I think that by actively seeking to see more of the country in my last several weeks, I will become more appreciative of Peru. I think such adventures will also make my date of return to home (sweet home) arrive that much faster.

This evening, I finally got to visit dear Agripina, the homestay mom who hosted weeknight dinners for the St. Scholastica students and me. When I had first met her, she had told me about how much she wanted a new Vera Bradley bag like the one that one of her prior volunteers had given her. I was so excited to give her the bag that I had ordered and asked Andrew and Brian to bring along with them when they came to Peru! It was worth every penny to see her excitement and that of her daughter-in-law, Pilar, both of whom just love Vera! Agripina insisted that I join her, her grandson Giordano, and her two current homestay students (Sarah and Nicki, of the U of Iowa) for dinner. She made some very delicious elbow macaroni with pieces of meat and vegetables and potatoes, and as we ate, we had some nice Spanish conversation. It having been six years since my own study abroad semester in Spain, I had forgotten how much Spanish practice can take place in a homestay. It was a delightful challenge to converse over dinner in Spanish. It was a reminder of how much I still have to learn, but also a great opportunity to practice! Agripina and I made tentative plans to go to Pisac together for the Fiesta of the Virgen del Carmen, which takes place on July 16th. I don’t know if we’ll really end up going, but I think we’d have a ball, so I’m hopeful!

Last night, I had an interesting domestic adventure. I attempted to cook arroz con verduras, which translates to “rice and vegetables” and ought to be the simplest thing in the world to make. And it probably is, for a Peruvian. But for those of us who tend to consume most meals rice-free, the process of rice making can be a bit of an ordeal. Determined to

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Ok, everyone, take a deep breath and imagine that about 21 hours have passed. Because that’s how long it’s actually been since I began this blog entry. It is now Friday, a little after 6 PM, and last night as I typed in my cozy pajama pants, Laura came into my room and convinced me to go out to the Plaza de Armas for the centennial celebration of Machu Picchu. We ended up having quite a delightful time. We met up with Eliza and her roommate, Jenny, and the four of us hung out in the plaza, where there was a band performing live and lots of people and stalls selling beer. I was pretty super excited to have some Quara, which is this fruity beer that tastes like lots of fruit (and not much beer), but by the time we got there, they only had Cusquena, so I shared with Eliza. (This was actually sort of a good thing because I had already eaten more than my fair share of calories in the form of Twizzlers that Paul and Eileen had left behind for me…)

Anyway, I’m back. Let me continue from where I left off. Rice cooking. The act is much more difficult than it seems! Because of the altitude, water boils very quickly here, so I probably should have used a higher ratio of water to rice, but I did not, so when the water had boiled off, the rice still wasn’t fully cooked. So I threw in some more water and some vegetable bouillon and waited for that liquid to evaporate. Which it did, resulted in a very mushy rendition of arroz con verduras. By the time all this had taken place, I was quite hungry, and was therefore quite able to enjoy the mushy mess I had created. However, I am actively seeking a Peruvian who will teach me how to make rice properly. I shall report back upon my success!

Also, I bought my plane ticket to Oaxaca, Mexico this week! Oaxaca is not only a ProWorld site, but also the culinary capital of Mexico, which means I am going to eat lots of delicious things (all of which will, obviously, be sin queso and sin crema)! I’ll be there for five days, along with the rest of the ProWorld marketing team, to discuss strategies for the upcoming year and also to help train the soon-to-be-hired new University Relations Advisors! I’m excited to have some new colleagues with the same role as me, and am also quite keen on giving a few of my (maaany) states to a fellow rep. There are a LOT of colleges on the east coast, and now we can give them all more attention.

Laura and I were walking along one of the main streets in Cusco a few days ago, and we saw a banner advertising the Russian ballet. We discussed our feelings about the ballet, and I said to Laura, “I’m not particularly into the whole ballet thing, although if they were doing ‘Swan Lake,’ I’d probably go to that after having watched ‘The Black Swan.’” Seconds later, we looked up at the smaller print on the sign to see what was to be performed in Cusco, and we read “El Lago de los Cisnes”! It was a sign! So we decided that we’re going on a roommate date to the ballet! Last night, we found out that Eliza is also planning on attending. Hopefully, the dancers will enthrall us!

Today, I went with Eliza, Lalo, and the 33 students from Cal Poly to the community of Occoruro to work on two projects. We divided into two groups; my group, led by myself and Jnan, a Cal Poly professor, was assigned the task of sanding and priming the community’s meeting room in preparation for painting it. Along with a lovely Cal Poly student named Grace, I became one of the chief sanders, which ultimately resulted in my entire face turning green from the dusty paint chips that came off of the wall as we sanded. The best description of our skin color would be to compare it to the color of a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. Kind of gross…kind of awesome.

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And another deep breath if you will. It is now Saturday, and again last night, I again interrupted my blogging for social purposes. I am such a party animal!  Laura and I were invited to dinner at Eliza and Jenny’s house last night, and we were very excited both to hang out with them and to see the adorable puppies recently had by Jenny’s dog, Chaska. On our way to their apartment (which is adorable, I might add—complete with real fireplace!), we bought some vino and then decided to buy a chocolate cake. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing regarding the cake, but it turned out to be fabulously rich, and—dare I use my least favorite word—moist?! Jenny made us an amazing dinner called pequay (I know I spelled that wrong), basically a meat, potato, and vegetable mixture that was really well seasoned. I told her that she has to teach me to make it before I leave this country. I will then make it for you fine readers in the US of A! As we ate, we watched the soccer game between Peru and Mexico, which turned out to be pretty super exciting. Peru won by one awesome goal, and we—both the ladies and the puppies—were quite beside ourselves. (To be entirely honest, I wasn’t “beside myself.” I don’t really follow such things, but I will say that it was a pretty awesome moment when the goal was scored!).

Today, I accompanied three interns to a community close to the town of Izcuchaca, where we were to build stoves for two households. We were joined by a professor, Dr. Silva, from Georgia, and also his daughter Briana. Dr. Silva is interested in bringing students from his university to Peru, and wanted to experience one of our projects. It turns out that my team of stove-builders was also a team of perfectionists, so we didn’t finish a great number of stoves, but the ones that they did complete were top notch! It was fun helping to supervise them and watching them meet the community for the first time!

And now, friends, I must be off. A ProWorld student is sick, and I have offered to accompany her to the clinic. I am excited to see many of you in a few short weeks, and expect to write again very soon!