May 30, 2011 (Day 5)

Sleep is a very valuable thing. After having gotten another 8 hours of sleep last night, I feel a little better and more energized. It seems almost as if I am a completely different person today than I have been the last couple of days. It is a good thing, though, that I got a good amount of sleep because today is the first day of classes. However, the day didn't start of stupendously. I awoke at 7:30 am, got dressed, and made my way downstairs for breakfast at 7:45 am. I believe I had a type of banana oatmeal-ish sort of thing, which was actually good even though I am not the fondest of bananas with hot chocolate and bread. Overall, it was pretty good.

My next task was to make my way to the school by 8:30 am for our orientation. However, it sounded a lot easier than it turned out to be. My host father had driven me by the Centro Bartolomé de las Casas (the CBC) and had told me how to get there. The only thing is that there are 3 different buildings along the same street with CBC on them. One is a hotel area and the other two are schools. I figured that I had arrived at the right place because it clearly had CBC on the wall. However, after being there until 8:40 am, I was pretty sure I was in the wrong place because no one else was there. As soon as I was about to leave, I saw my professor enter and we both concluded that we had gone to the wrong place. So, we went down the street to where the other school is, but that was also the wrong place. Finally, after a little guidance from one of the ProWorld people that works with our group, we arrived at the right location. The only thing was that we were 20 minutes late. Whoops.

The orientation went really well and we took an exam to test where we were, and I think I did well. We got them back and it had "B-A" on it. So I can take that as I am at a B and working towards being an A in Spanish, or that I am just a BA person in general. Either way, I will take it.

After orientation, we went to the place where the library is and then returned to break into our classes. Our professor is a lady who, we figured out during class, has a 2 year old son. Now isn't that cute? We did our introductions and told her what our intentions were for being at the school and learning Spanish. We then proceeded to dive into verbs and how some are similar with others, but they mean different things. We just basically went over some basics. After that, it was around noon, so we all went back to our homes for lunch and siesta. I ate, more or less, a vegetable soup with chunks of meat with potatoes covered in a kind of chicken sauce that was simply amazing. I am, though, getting a little too adventurous with the spicy salsa, because I put it in the soup and basically was choking and crying from how much I put in there. My papá y mamá helped me remedy the situation with juice and bread. It actually worked too. I was pretty impressed.

After lunch, I returned to the school to find out that I had been moved to another class, still not very sure why. The new professor in the afternoons is very nice and sweet, but I could not help but notice that she was in a lot of pain while she walked around the room. Nevertheless, I think she is going to help me so very much with my Spanish. I learned today that there are 5 types of nouns and around 5 types of articles. Who knew there were so many? I am excited for the days that she will let us go out and roam around the city practicing our Spanish...the adventure seeker in me cannot wait.

When classes ended, a group of peruanos that live in the Q'eros community came to talk to us about their culture. They are a group of people that live in a very remote area of Peru, in the mountains, who actually still practice the ancient rituals of the Inca. They make their own clothing, for the most part, as well as instruments, and food. They are truly a self-sufficient culture. Most families have 3 homes at varying altitudes so they can plant different crops at different heights and when the weather gets too bad for one area, they move to another home. The video we watched of their culture and the songs they played for us were simply amazing. They then offered us the chance to buy some of their merchandise that they make themselves. It was pretty pricey, but with the amount of work and love they put into each and every item, I can understand. I only had around 40 soles with me, and most of the merchandise was much more than that, but I was able to buy something for my mother. I think she will be very happy.

It is off to dinner soon, in about 20 minutes, and then I will most likely look over some of my notes from class today and do the quick homework that I have. But, I can go to bed satisfied that I was able to flag down, ride, and pay the correct price for a taxi here in Cusco. I have heard stories where the cabbies will try to jack up the prices if they suspect you are American or a tourist. However, I had no problems with the cab driver and got the ride at a very reasonable price for night time (3 soles = $1.11). That is a lot better than in the States.

In any case, I will be eating and going to bed soon there after. So, for now, buenas noches and ciao.