May 29, 2011 (Day 4)

When I left off on the last post, I had mentioned that I did not go to bed until 2 AM and I felt it today. I have been tired and sore all day, but I had to suck it up because today we were doing a walking tour of parts of Cusco. Before the tour, and after awaking, I played some video games with Diego, the son in the family. We played Mortal Kombat as well as PES, a soccer game. I played as Spain against Diego as Brazil and lost on a last second goal. It was devastating. Then I ate breakfast with the family (waffles with ham inside and papas helados). Papas helados are potatoes that are grown in the mountains and are rained on, but the rain freezes over them and it makes a special taste. They served them with cheese on top, and they were not bad but they were not terrific either.

The walking tour, although tired, was pretty amazing. We started off in the Plaza de Armas (the main plaza in Cusco) and walked up to where our school is located. Then we arrived at the Plaza San Blas which had a beautiful fountain/waterfall in the back and a great look at a part of the mountains. Afterwards, we started making our way back to the Plaza de Armas and passed by many buildings that had their foundation made out of old Incan stones. There were so many photo opportunities that I had to reign myself in and only take some shots that I thought would be cool, or else I would not have had anymore space for photos later. After getting back to the Plaza de Armas, we went to the Plaza San Francisco which had so much life to it. There were so many vendors and families there that I just couldn't believe how much activity there was. After resting for a short while, we started our trek down la Avenida del Sol (Avenue of the Sun). There were so many shops and places to stop to buy things, but we eventually stopped at a little ice cream place that had a lot of good ice cream. However, I did not buy any because I was full from breakfast and lunch (spaghetti with meat). Finally, we came to a large market and I went in and bought an authentic jersey of, from what I have been told, one of the best soccer teams in all of Peru, and who are located here in Cusco. I was looking for gifts for family members and Amy, but I have not found anything that I think they would love yet, so I will continue looking for them.

Right now, I am back at home after having my host father pick me up. I am so very tired and my legs are quite possibly the most sore they have ever been. Dinner will be in about an hour, 8 PM, and we will be having the leftover spaghetti from what I have been told.

The spaghetti was just as good as it was for breakfast. I gobbled that down pretty quickly as well as the tea that they gave me to help with my digestive system. I haven't had really any problems with it so far, but just to be sure I don't get any,  I drank it. With sugar, I must say that it was not too bad. When dinner was over, I watched a little bit of the presidential debates between the two candidates for President of Peru. I was surprised that the election for president is actually happening this coming Sunday! It should be pretty interesting, and the political scientist in me is very excited. However, I didn't watch too much of it only because I was very tired and I still had yet to talk to Amy. So, I made my way upstairs and talked to Amy for a little more than an hour and I was able to see my kitty, Lola, for a minute or so before she decided that running around the house was more fun. I don't blame her.

It is bedtime and I am so very excited to sleep. I am going to wake up around 7:30 am to be sure that I can eat breakfast and have enough time to get to school. Tomorrow should be interesting with classes starting and having to begin a new routine, but I am very excited to learn and practice Spanish more. It is something that I love to do.

Until tomorrow, hasta luego and buenas noches.