The subjunctive man. It is a form of Spanish that is not so hard to conjugate, but it is just hard to understand when and how to use it. In English, we really do not have it or use it in any meaningful way, and so it is hard for me to really grasp and comprehend it at times. I think instead of going to my usual afternoon class, I will return to the class I have in the mornings to do a little extra practice with the subjunctive. It is something that the Peruvians, and many other Spanish speaking countries, like to use a lot. So, I figure if I can understand it better, I will be able to communicate more effectively with the people.
On my walk home from school for lunch, I finally decided that I should blog about a couple of the epidemics I find that are here in Cusco, and really all of Peru. First is the car exhaust. Coming from the US and Missouri, where there are really are not too many problems with car exhaust/smog, it is hard for me to bear this environment. I feel like I am someone that cars deeply for the environment and its enduring health. I want to see the rain forests and glaciers that exist now be around for many, many years to come. So it is almost painful for me to see all of this car exhaust released into the air, when I know that the conditions here can be better. I know that if Peru would put in place stricter regulations on car emissions and impose fines on those that do not uphold those regulations, the air would be cleaner and the government would collect money from fines that could be used to help fund more programs. I am not only thinking of the environment here, but also of the people. I walk around and have cough attacks on my way to and from school sometimes because the smoke irritates my lungs. I know that the people that live here and breathe in this air constantly have a decreased lung capacity and are more likely to develop respiratory problems at some point in their lives because of the unbelievable amount of air pollution here.
The second epidemic is stray dogs. Everywhere you look whether it be Cusco, Lima, Paracas, etc. there are stray dogs EVERYWHERE. I see them sleeping on sidewalks as I walk to classes and running across streets through heavy traffic. Peruvians seem to have gotten used to this and allowed it to become a norm, but it is truly a sad situation. I see dogs that are limping around because they have hurt, sprained, or broken legs. I see dogs that have to literally tear open a bag of trash so that they can eat food. Dogs here have sex all over the city, wherever they want and then have a litter of puppies that will be born into a world of pure survival. They will never know love. They will only know the pains of the world. I just cannot believe that there is no movement here to spay and/or neuter dogs or cats. It seems as if they allow them to just live their lives and introduce more babies into the world of whom will only add to the problem. This is something that really concerns me, and I feel that it really is an easy fix. It is something that does not take a lot of time or money to do, and it will lead to cleaner cities, and a better standard of life for both the people (since there would not be as many disease ridden dogs around town) and the dogs. To go along with that point, there really are not any public trashcans here. Because of the lack of trashcans, people just throw trash into the street or over fences, or wherever they can find a place for it. Again, something that I think is such an easy fix, and if the problem is the cost of paying someone to go around and clean them out every once in a while, I think that is a cost that is necessary. Plus, it might provide jobs for some of the population that are unemployed right now.
The rest of the day with classes and all was good. We went over more subjunctive and then, when classes were over, we all went out to the market. I was so happy when I went to the ATM and was able to pull out money with my credit card. I understand that there will be fees and interest and all that stuff on my withdrawal, but it was so nice to actually know that I have money now and can really spend it if I need to! I chose to look around, and I feel that I bought some pretty good gifts. I went to one little shop in the market and some of the items caught my eye. There was a little girl there while her mother was across the aisle, and I asked her what she thought would be a good gift and what she liked. We had a nice little conversation in Spanish, and with her help, I feel like I walked away with some good gifts at a very good price! The rest of the time there was spent trying to find the other people in the group, and when we all had left, I walked home and finally uploaded my pictures from Ollantaytambo and Machupicchu. When that was over, I started on my homework (really early for me...I was proud of myself), and then went down to dinner. The rest of the night will be spent talking to Amy and getting excited for a movie in our morning class tomorrow! I just might go out and get some candies and a drink before class tomorrow morning! Yay!
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