Hostel and Incan Ruins

Today I had my Spanish interview in the morning. Since I hadn’t spoken Spanish in about three years, I had forgotten much of my spoken Spanish. As a result, my interview was a little choppy. I could understand the interviewer perfectly, but I just couldn’t form the sentences very easily. The interviewer asked me many questions, and I was able to answer them relatively well, but in broken Spanish. I talked about my family, what I am studying at Duke, and other simple things about myself. At the end of the interview, I told the interviewer that I felt like I could understand and read Spanish well, but my speaking and writing were not that good. However, I felt that after being with the homestay for a couple of days and working in the community, my Spanish would come back to me.

After the interview, our group rested until lunch time. We went to Victor Victoria, one of the more renowned restaurants in Cusco. Here, I had an appetizer consisting of potatoes, fried cheese, and the distinctive green sauce symbolic of Peruvian cuisine. It was quite delicious, and I was especially astounded by the texture and tastes of the different potatoes. The appetizer had two potatoes, one that was purple and the other which was what us American’s would think of a normal white potato. The white potato had a somewhat crumbly texture, and it made me really thirsty. On the other hand, the purple potato had the kind of texture similar to a potato in the United States, one that was relatively smooth and firm. For the main course, I had arroz con pollo, a very traditional dish. I noticed immediately that the chicken was extremely fresh, as it had a taste that was different from the chicken I have normally in the United States. The rice was nicely seasoned, and kind of reminded me of biryani, a classic Indian dish that I am used to. After the meal, I had more mate de coca to help ease my stomach and to help me to get accustomed to the altitude.

The main event of the day was a tour of four of the most important archaeological sites near Cusco. Each of these sites is an Incan ruin, including some of the most breathtaking stonework and community organization. The first site we went to was Sacsayhuáman (also Saqsaywaman), the largest ruin. This ruin is where some of the battles were fought between the Incas and the Spaniards. Our tour guide explained to us that the organization of the ruin was so the Incas would be able to corner the Spaniards in places that were advantageous to the Incas. We got to climb up to the top of one of the stairs, and there we enjoyed a breathtaking view of Cusco. Once again, since we were not accustomed to the altitude, simply climbing up the stairs to the top was extremely tiring. On our way back down, we saw a group of alpacas, and stopped to take many photos. The next section of Sacsayhuáman that we visited was the “rock slide”. When I first heard the term, I thought that we were going to a place where the rocks were really unstable and that they could fall on us at any time. After all, isn’t that what a rock slide is? However, when I got to the “rock slide” I was pleasantly surprised. It was in fact a series of rocks, which had been weathered by wind and water over many years to create a smooth surface that could be used as a slide. All of our group members tried the slide, and I was really excited to go down it. While it was tough to climb up to the top, it was more than worth it. All of us raced against each other, and the slide down was amazing. The last site we visited in Sacsayhuáman was a cave where Inca treasures were rumored to be. On the way in, I didn’t think it would actually be very interesting, but the cave was actually really cool. It got really dark on the inside, and for a while I could not see where I was going. At the end of the cave, I got to see the cliché “light at the end of tunnel” which was really rewarding. Overall, I felt that Sacsayhuáman was a really interesting ruin, and was pleased to hear that I would be coming back again at the end of June for the Inti Raymi festival in Cusco.

The next ruin we visited was Tambomochay. This ruin was more of an agricultural ruin, as the Incas used the natural waterfalls and split them into two and eventually many more streams used to water their crops. According to our tour guide, archaeologists still do not know how the Incas were able to create such an advanced system that many years ago. I was really intrigued by how the stones were constructed to make it easier for the Incas. Additionally, we got to see the view from the top of a tower. On the way out, we tried one of the famous foods of Cusco, choclo con queso. This consists of an ear of Andean corn served with a piece of cheese. The corn and cheese are meant to be eaten together. One thing I noticed right away was that the corn was not like the corn we have in the United States. It had a lot more texture and flavour, and was also a lot starchier. In a way, it tasted very much like a potato. Additionally, the kernels were a lot larger and firmer. Our tour guide told us that the Sacred Valley (Cusco, Urubamba, and other cities) has 27 varieties of corn and over 3,000 varieties of potatoes. So far, one kind of corn and two kinds of potatoes down.

The other two sites that we visited were Puka Pukara and Qenqo. Since these were relatively small, I won’t describe exactly all of what they were like. Overall, they were similar to the other two sites, Sacsayhuáman and Tambomochay.

After our tour, we all headed back to the hostel. While we were all tired from a long day of exploring, we were sad that we would soon have to say goodbye to one another. The students in Urubamba took the bus and headed out, and just like that, our group of twenty students was down to only nine. Soon thereafter, our host families came to pick us up one by one. The people from my host family who came were Margarita Cahuana, the mother, and Luis Luna Cahuana, one of the sons. I was really happy to see that both of them understood that I wasn’t fluent in Spanish, and they spoke relatively slowly to help transition my roommate Jordan and I into the Peruvian culture. The hostel was near the Plaza de Armas, but our homestay family lived in the district of Los Sauces which was on the opposite side of the city. We took a taxi to get there, which took approximately 25 minutes and cost 3 Soles. To understand the prices of Peruvian goods, the current exchange rate is about 2.7 Soles to the US Dollar. Thus, the taxi ride cost about a dollar.

When we arrived at the home, I was taken to my room. I was really surprised by how nice the house was. The family lived in a flat, similar to the way many people live in India. There was a kitchen, four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room, complete with an LCD television and a surround sound speaker system. This was definitely not what I was expecting, since I had imagined Peru to be more like India in terms of the furnishings and the overall quality of life.

We started off our Peruvian experience over something very common, food. In Peru, meals are very important, as the family eats together and it is more of a social time than meals in the United States. In the description of the family given to me by ProWorld, I had read that margarita was an excellent cook. The dinner did not disappoint. We had some grilled chicken and rice for dinner, something that is somewhat typical of a Peruvian meal. The Peruvian diet has many starches and proteins, and the vegetables are a little lacking. However, I think that our host mom, Margarita, knew that we were accustomed to meals with lots of vegetables. She had prepared a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and lemon juice, which was absolutely delicious. I know that I said earlier that lettuce was completely off limits because it is hard to clean, but our organization told us that we could eat the lettuce at our houses, since our host families were trained to clean the lettuce with bleach. Overall, the meal was extremely tasty, and I definitely felt that I was really going to enjoy my time in Peru, at least with regards to meals.

My homestay family is definitely on the larger side. Over dinner, I got to meet most of the family. Aside from the mother, Margarita, there are nine children. However, only three of them live with the family, Luis, Lalo (who works for ProWorld), and Violeta. Luis is about my age, as he is in his second year of college. Lalo is 26, and Violeta is a little bit older. Violeta’s son Marcelo lives with the family. Lalo and his girlfriend also live with us. After I met all of them, I immediately knew I was going to connect with them really well. All of the family members were really cool, and they tried to help us learn Spanish and feel more comfortable. Luis even knew some English, which I feel is going to be really helpful. Not only can we use him to help us learn more Spanish words, we can also help him in learning English.

The rest of the day was relatively easy. Since both Jordan and I were both pretty tired, we just decided to turn in for the night and catch up on some sleep. Since tomorrow is going to be a free day, we thought we could sleep a little bit to allow Luis to show us some of the area nearby in the morning.