its true

Im starting to speak a little more with my host family (carmela and mario). at least now I can tell them when Ill be home for dinner. I stay "in town" all day and so have a bowl of soup and a plate of something waiting for me at night. they were gone for 4 days and maria, the housekeeper, & her family stayed with us. I organized a painting night with her daughter Janet & another student in the house, Diana, from San Fransisco. We used cheap water colors and made extra brushes from locks of Dianas hair - never mind the challenge, great art was made!

I finally hiked to Sacsaywauman with Paul from my spanish school. the hike up (up up) felt great - Im finally over the altitude! and the ruins are mind blowing. as a lover of rocks, this area is the best place for me to be. Im mystified by these incans. Ill write more later on what Ive learned but this first day, this first taste got me more enthused than ever to see the sights. rocks the size of closets precicely chisleled and placed perfectly. these ruins have a jagged wall in the shape of a pumas mouth or lightening, depending on who is giving your tour. cusco is the place of cats so naturally I feel at home.

spanish school is great but intense! 1000 words in my notebook in one week. my head is exploding - I havent been a student in over 10 years. but its necessary if I hope to be talking well in 5 months.

my school took us on a "real" city tour - to the poor neighborhood and school they help support. Juan Carlos told us most these kids are abused in some way. the ones asking you to buy postcards in the main square are probably earning money to buy alcohol for their fathers. its beyond sad. we visited one typical house in the area. 6 people in one room. they were making another stove out of clay because the family is growing. guinea pigs live in the kitchen (food, not pets). they have electrical wiring running THROUGH the clay walls. living conditions were very on par with the jungle. Im still deciding how to process this through my "western mind".

we also went to a chicheria - they make the local brew out of fermented corn and sugar. it was pretty damn good. look for a red bottle or bag on a stick outside of a building (anywhere in cusco) and you know chicha is made and sold there. the incas drank it because it made them strong - yet another thing that easily translates through the ages.

Went dancing with Diana and Paul last night. Paul was late becuase he was trying to get his laundry back for the inca trail trek he started the next day. alas, the place was closed so he heads out on his trek sans socks and jocks. please, a moment of silence for our chafing amigo....

dancing was fun - only a small amount of silly old USA music (Im so not a fan of grease...), trance was pretty good though and at 11,000 feet, dancing is a better workout than usual. clubs get going around midnight and end???

I was going to spend 4 weeks in cusco taking spanish lessons but have decided its too cold. Ill do 2 here and 2 more in arequipa. now Im looking into best way to get to macchu picchu....