horseback riding, soccer gaming, and salsa dancing

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hey all,

i haven´t written in a while and everything is kind of blurring together but i´m going to try my best to get it down here.

last saturday (over a week ago) i went horse backriding through the hills a little outside of cusco. it was a group of about 8 of us and we hopped on horses, got a guide, and explored the temple of the moon, the temple of the monkey, and other sacred, ancient inca spots. it was so so sweet.

i haven´t ridden a horse since i was about 8 years old and was scared out of my mind to be riding up and down and all around these mountains on a much taller than i four legged animal, who i had no idea how to control. but, in the end it was super fun and the views were incredible. i´m so sad i forgot my camera.

on sunday there was a huge fútbol (soccer) game between a cusco and a lima team played in the cusco stadium. a group of us walked to the stadium, bought our bright red cusco jerseys, and cheered on the players during the game. there were two specific areas des¡gnated for the really intense lima and the really intense cusco fans and they were almost more interesting to watch than the game in general. they brought drums and flags and jumped and sang the entire game. it was awesome. the lima team kept lighting these bomb things that let out bright orange smoke and it was craziness. but, i´m not exactly a sports person and left during half time because i was exhausted and not sure of what was going on. regardless, it was still really fun.

monday was a regular day of class and volunteering, but that night i had my first private salsa lesson at a salsa club on avenida el sol, the main street through town. i went with my friend julia and FELL IN LOVE. i love salsa. i love it. my teacher is named franscesco and was the number one tango dancer in peru during 2000-2003 and also has studied jazz, ballet, hip hop, and of course salsa. the studio had this perfect wood floor that felt so good to my dance deprived feet. we danced from about 8 pm to 1 am and i learned so much. the club filled up and i had the best time. afterwards i went dancing with julia and more friends from my house at different reggaeton clubs and finished the night with a late night stop at the 24 hour chicken place near our house at about 3:30 am. it was a fantastic night.

on tuesday night i went back for another salsa lesson and it was SO hard. so much fun and a great work out for my mind but it required a lot of practice, concentration, and an acceptance of frustration. we only danced for a few hours that night but it was still awesome. the next night i went to arequipa and therefore couldn´t dance but im going to start up again soon.

besitos,
em

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