Overview of the weekend....

This weekend seems like a blur... tried to cram in so much! I did accomplish ONE MAJOR TASK which was to find cookies & cream ice cream. That was pertinent to my ability to function this week. In all honesty it wasn't really cookies & cream- but it was a variation of it and when you are in a foreign place you make do with what you have. I ordered a hot fudge sundae without the fudge and saw that they put an oreo cookie on top... so I mixed my sundae minus the fudge with my oreo and VAH-LAH! Cookies & cream ice cream!

Saturday after working for a good part of the day at Maximo on my lesson plans and my last mini lesson for Monday morning I headed to the Plaza and ran into a few students and we took a walk to one of the ancient temples... beautiful. They worship the God of the Sun here and there are all kinds of buildings that are symbolic of their belief in worshiping the Sun. I've decided that I'm a fan of that.... I mean I LOVE when the sun is shining & if their temples help the sun come out cheers to that :). I spent more time walking around Cuzco and met up with a girl from school and we walked back to the house. After hanging out for a bit I discovered that I might need a bit more then the 3 hours of sleep that I was living off of to get through another night in Cuzco so I took a quick nap. I woke up and for the first time really got ready. I haven't spent more then 10 mins (shower included) to get myself ready since I've been here so I treated myself to a hair straightening session. One of the girls at my house had the transformer so I was able to use my flat iron (oh the luxuries... I know, I'm vain). It did feel good to be put together for once though. I felt like straightening my hair was equivalent to putting on an evening gown for a quick moment... that was until I had to put on my dirty jeans that I've worn 8 times now without washing.... and a semi-clean shirt (only used twice). The next step of course is putting on deodorant & a splash of perfume with the high hopes of covering up the fact that my clothes are dirty. Gotta love getting a little dirty every now and then eh?

One of my big debates this weekend was: To do laundry or Not to???? Hmmm... the only solution that I have to any debates presently is: "but I'm leaving in a week....I can survive a few more days". That was the answer I stuck to this weekend. Should I go see a doctor if my bug is still in me??? Eh- I'll be back home in a week. Should I go to the bank and get more money??? Eh- I only have to survive another week. Probably not the best solution but I'm banking on the fact that there will not be a natural disaster between now and then that prevents me from leaving.... or else I will be wearing some DIRTY DIRTY clothes.

The good thing is that this week is all FORMAL week. I have to be dressed to teach in the finest teachers clothes I can find in that suitcase of mine... so I'm digging deep into the bag for some fresh clothes.

Back to Saturday.... After getting ready I walked up to Maximo to meet up with a friend of mine that works at Maximo but is Peruvian. He told me he'd show me a good meal... not the tourist restaurants but a locals place. He wasn't off work yet when I arrived so I took a little walk and met a police officer who wanted to chat. Everyone here has so many questions for me... who I am, what I'm doing here, how long I'm staying. I'm pretty sure every shirt I wear has a sign that says "I'm not from here". There is no blending in for me. He was nice and at the very least I allowed him to have a break from standing on the corner for awhile. That is what the police do best here.... stand on the corners. There are MANY kinds of police and they are all in different places each day... how that is arraigned or who arranges it is beyond me. BUT as long as they look important I guess that is all that matters. They are always in twos as well & I've witnessed (this time from the outside) them pulling cars over by foot. They blow their whistle as loud as possible and run after the cars.... totally legit... and hilarious to witness- when you aren't the one being chased :).

After talking to the officer I went back to Maximo and sat on the step waiting for Andy and a little boy who was four years old sat next to me and we carried on a good conversation for about 10 mins. I asked him questions about him, his school, and his family- his answers were priceless. He told me he was the smartest boy in his entire class and that he has two older brothers... but they are "little boys". I asked him if he was a little boy and he told me he is a grown-up (even though he was younger then his brothers). All of a sudden he decided he was done talking to me & ran off down the street. I had NO IDEA where his parents were, if he had parents.. nothing. I was quite disturbed to see him running down the main street in between people until he got out of my sight... but I guess that is normal here? My first though was- did he steal from me? But I had nothing that he could've taken on me... just my jacket (and a few soles for dinner on the inside of my jacket). Hmmm... maybe that is why he got bored with me, because i had nothing to steal. Sad but true.

Andy and I had a great night. I LOVE the fact that you walk everywhere here. We walked to a restaurant on the opposite side of the city- up some cobbled roads and into a little place called "juanitos". Good grub! They make any kind of sandwiches or burgers and I got a chicken sandwich that was to die for! Really good. We walked around for a few hours and enjoyed a beautiful Cuzco night. He showed me a different part of Cuzco.. more residential but it was good to see because I've kind of been stuck in the main parts.. I live just off the main street and take the 40 min journey back and forth between there all the time. We took a bus off the main roads and saw some parks and scenery that I'm glad I saw. Changed my perspective of Cuzco quite a bit.

Skipping right ahead... Sunday morning I woke up bright and early and set out to walk. I really love walking around here. This walk was a bit tiring though. It was up up up hill for about 2 1/2 hours.... way outside of Cuzco into the country-side. Just took a road that I knew and walked my little heart out. After 2 1/2 hours of peace and breathing in some fresh country air I realized that I'd have to go back all the way I'd come. Ops. I ended up walking back to the city and treated myself to "jugo de fresa" my FAVORITE. Fresh strawberry juice and rested and people watched in a different plaza for a bit. I made it home around noon and my host brother was about to leave to run (walk) some errands and convinced me to walk with him. So we walked some more. He is a riot.. good to spend some time with him because I hadn't seen anyone in my host family other then Marina in days. I feel bad for just sleeping there sometimes, but that is my schedule these days. We went to find a carpenter to fix a door who lived about 30 mins away. Juanca decided to take me a different route back home so I could see more of Cuzco... yet another part I'd never seen and once again completly unique. I loved it! We got back and made some lunch and I hung out with a few of the girls from the house. We took a walk- that is when i found my ice cream & forthe first time checked out some of the tourist markets. I got home, watched a bit of soccer with Marina's realitives that she had over and then went out again with Andy and a few friends to get some dinner. Once again we walked around and enjoyed yet another night in Cuzco. I'm seriously LOVING this walking around and seeing things. I'm going to miss living here for that reason. Your form of entertainment is to walk around the city & there are always SOOO many people out and about. It is a beautiful city. I am seeing more and more how much I'm going to miss it!

Then off to bed... this coming week will be my biggest week for sure. Stress... like never before. I'm intimidated but just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Here we go... the final stretch....