Day 4

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Hola!

So although not much as changed since yesterday, I suppose that I do have a few things that I can report on (basically I got the opportunity to go to the internet cafe because other people were going and I wouldn´t be able to go alone).
Yesterday afternoon we went to the travel agent and officially booked our trip to Machu Pichu, Aguas Caliente/Cuzco. We are leaving friday morning at 5 am (yup we´ll be at the airport at 3 am). I am so incredibly excited to be going. Especially since rumour has it among the locals that they´ll be shutting it down in January of 2009 for a mass restoration project. After booking our trip we bought some cereal and PB to get us through breakfast over the next couple of weeks. As I mentioned previously, hard boiled eggs and buns got old after the 3rd day. For the rest of the evening we watched a movie at the volunteer house and played an INTENSE game of taboo. We headed off to bed nice and early for our early wakeup at 645.

My placement was WAY better today. We got there a little early and got to watch the sisters start the day with a prayer and singing a song. This was really uplifting and helped me to realize how they manage to get through the day. It also has made me realize how important organize religion is for support, especially in situations that seem so hopeless. There were also a lot less people there today (there were spanish medical students there on the first day who were really intimidating) which really helped to make it an easier day. However, somehow at lunch time I have been managing to get stuck with a fiesty little one with Cerebral Palsy. Developmentally she is on track, except that she is paralized from the waist down. She is 3 years old and likes to make a game out of making it nearly impossible for me to help her eat her lunch. She looks at me with her mouthed closed and refuses to open it. Meanwhile, the Hermanas think I am completely incompetent at feeding children. Today she got a firm talking to from one of the nuns (all I understood was Boca Grande.....open your mouth big). She coorporated beautifully after that. That my friends is the lords work in action. Also, today we got in mini trouble from Mario (the man who drives us to LaVictoria, the neighbourhood where Mother Theresa´s hospice is) on our way into our placement for not running fast enough from the van to the door. Apparently the tires of the van got slashed in december and the radio of the car was stolen shortly after. We drive around in a van with tinted windows and locked doors. We also got pulled over by the policia today for having tinted windows (apparently in Peru you need a permit). What a different place.

This afternoon we went to the Inca market where they sell all kinds of neat stuff (mainly Alpaca everything), went for dinner, and tried to go to a park with lots of fountains (Parka des Aguas). Unfortunately for us the fountain was closed but I think we´ll make it there later in the week.

So far the food here has been pretty good and I haven´t had any major indigestion. The cook at the house (luisa) makes this amazing hot sauce which I have been adding to absolutely everything (except breakfast). I haven´t had any guinea pig yet, but we´ll see what happens in cusco, apparently that is where it is really popular. The weather is really cold here for Peru (about 15 degrees celsius and colder at night). It has been cloudy almost every day, and I have been wearing almost all the layers of clothing that I brought. Thankfully there are only 10 people in the house this week (there is capacity for 40) and we have been taking some extra blankets off the empty beds. We´ll see what happens next week though because apparently there are 24 more people arriving next weekend! Crazy!

Also, I have a really good excuse for why I haven´t posted any pictures yet. I drowned my camera yesterday. My trusty MEC bag is so waterproof that it held in the water from my leaking water bottle. I left it to dryout over night. Today the lights turn on but the camera doesn´t work. I think if it doesn´t work by tomorrow I am going to buy a whole bunch if disposible cameras and just do it the old fashioned wa

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