Today I woke up a little bit later than I will become accustomed to during the next eight weeks. During the project weeks, I will need to get up around 6:30am in order to arrive at the ProWorld office by 7:30am and to be at the community of Occoruro by 8:30. However, today, I woke up around 8:30 for breakfast. Margarita fed us scrambled eggs and bacon over rice. After breakfast, we went out with Luis to the supermarket and to go buy SIM cards for our phones.
The district of Los Sauces is relatively simple. The main street that is in front of our house is Avenida Los Sauces. To get to the super market, we turned onto this street and then went onto Jr. Marcavalle. This took us to one of the biggest streets in Cusco, Avenida de la Cultura. This street, along with Avenida del Sol, is where most of the shops and markets are in Cusco. When we went to the supermarket, Jordan needed to buy some shampoo and sap, while Luis got some soap for the bathroom. Next we went to a store to buy SIM cards for our phones. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it was only 15 soles, or five dollars. While calling to the United States is still really expensive, calling within the country is really cheap.
When we got back to the house, we were served probably the best meal I have had thus far in Cusco. Margarita made us arroz con pollo, but with a little twist. There were also semolina noodles in the arroz, which added a nice touch. I definitely felt that the rice was seasoned similar to biryani in India, and I really liked the chicken. When I finally was able to finish the gigantic plate of food Margarita had given me, she asked if I wanted more. I said I was ok, but apparently that was a mistake. Before I could say anything else, Margarita promptly took my plate and filled it yet again. Thus, I learned rule number one in Peru; if you don’t want more food, you must say so firmly. Not that I could complain, the food was delicious. But after I had finished, I was so full and tired that I just had to take a nap.
In the afternoon, Jordan and I visited the ProWorld office, along with the other Cusco volunteers. On our way there, we took a combi, or a public van similar to a bus in the United States. The combi is by far the best way to get around in Cusco, since the fare is only 0.60 Soles. We took the Santa Ana combi to region which is a stop (or paradero) only a couple minutes form the ProWorld office. There, we played cards with the other volunteers and got acquainted with the amenities available to us. The office has WiFi, fresh fruits, and clean drinking water for us, not to mention many travel books and movies for us to watch. After playing cards for about two hours, we went back to our homes.
Dinner tonight was again excellent. We had sopa viernes (literally, Friday Soup). This was an amazing dish, as it was like nothing I have ever had before. The base of the soup was made with milk, cheese, and eggs, and there were also vegetables and noodles. I found it to be similar to a cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup, only a little bit lighter and with more flavour.
After eating, Jordan and I met up with the other Cusco volunteers at the Plaza de Armas for a night out. The Plaza de Armas has a large fountain in the middle, and a church as well as a cathedral nearby. There are many shops in the area, along with many clubs and bars. To start our night, we went to the Sky Bar, primarily because they offered us free drinks. After having yet another pisco sour (this one was better than the first one), we went to Mama Africa, one of the more popular clubs in Cusco. Here we danced for a bit, before heading to Mythology yet again. We danced until midnight before heading back to the house.
When Jordan and I got dropped off, we started to walk down the street to our house. However, as we were getting close, I heard some running and panting behind us. I immediately spun around, only to see three dogs chasing after us. Thankfully, I had paid attention to our orientation packet, which told us what to do in this situation. I pretended to pick up a rock, and held it high above my head. If the dogs threatened, I pretended to throw the rock. As I turned around to walk again, they started to chase after us again. I decided then that I should just walk backwards and continue pretending to have a stone in my hand. When we finally got to the door, I fumbled for the key and luckily got it on my first try. As we slammed the door behind us, we both let out a sigh of relief, knowing that we got lucky. Thankfully, we were not hurt, and we proceeded to turn in for the night.
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