Took a Cab to Go See Jesus Upon the Mountaintop

2-9-10

I woke up around 9ish. I checked some things and then showered. Natalia, Michele and another girl from Spain went out to run some errands. We grabbed crossiants. We then stopped at the camera store, where Michele´s camera got fixed! After, I mailed some postcards. We then headed to San Blas where Natalia got a hat, and I got some amazing chocolate. Cusco or maybe Peruvian chocolate is amazing. Then Michele, Natalia and I took the cab to Cristo Blanco.

It was really cool since I won´t probably be going to Rio de Janerio on this trip. It was gorgeous plus I got to see the whole city from up top. There were ruins up there but because of the looming rain we didn´t fork over the money. We had a nice cab driver who drove us around and so we got to see them from a slight distance. They were cool, maybe I will go next time.

At the hostel, I relaxed for a bit. I took a bit to Abbey before I got lunch. After lunch, I chilled and looked up some information about Colombia for my country. Then I headed to the school. At first, I took some photos because I had no children. Eventually I had one of the children, Mauro read to the younger kids. I took more photos and continue to make up for all the lost ones (got 107 in total). In the circle, we talked about the garden they are building for the children. I got special permission to take photos for the week. In the family time, we decided to do a dance for the show. The boys are hard to motivate to dance but they kind of did it.

After, I went to dinner with Niko, Richard and other volunteers, mostly British. We went to Jack´s Cafe. It was fun as always. We talked about various things before heading back. At the hostel, I sent photos and tried to send a video file to the Guilfordian for my article coming out on Friday. I then watched some of Harry Potter and the Globet of Fire. Then I journaled before bed.

Another show down

2-5-10

After my late night, I woke up around 10ish. I hung out most of the morning. Showering and relaxing. I wrote part of my article for the Guilfordian about my volunteer work. I then relaxed and ate lunch and watched Friends. I talked to some people who are leaving soon.

After a while, we all headed to school. In art class, we made a tree and had the children make animals, fruits, and more for the tree. It was interesting to see what they came up with. Eventually, we got in our families and tried to get the children to focus on presenting. Some of the children really knew the information, while others didn´t. The show took forever, with rain coming. I was getting impatient. Some of the presentations were good and really interesting, others were meh. Mine went ok. The kids did ok but the pinata failed. After the show, we had our meeting but got it short.

I then went to dinner at Jack´s since Justin was leaving tonight. It was pretty good to chat. Then Michele and I walked back together. We are doing breakfast, running errands and planning Sunday. Then I watched Harry Potter with some people before bed.

Macho Man

I set my alarm from 8 something but was too lazy to get up so I slept till 9:30ish. I got up and chilled. Got some breakfast and watched the news. I showered and relaxed. I finally was able to talk to Abbey for a bit. It was enjoyable.

After, I hung out with the other guests in my hostel. We talked about Machu Picchu and other things. Eventually we headed to the school. Justin and I had to play the role of the macho men by carrying boxes to the school. There, I danced with some of the kids before we started because music was playing. I played more games with the children and then a bunch of the volunteers and the children played some game kinda like duck duck goose but with dancing. Hard to explain.

In the circle, we discussed the show for Friday. It was funny to see what all the different groups were focusing on. In my group, after breaking up from the circle, we worked on our dancing. The children were really hard to get concentrate. We finally had to sit them down and explain it. We got them to focus, relativelly. I am hoping that the show goes alright. We finished and all the volunteers met. We discussed our goods and bads as well as the party tomorrow. The theme is Superheroes or cartoon characters. I am going as Clark Kent/Superman. Yes I am taking the easy way out. I talked to Yuri and he said I can take pictures of the children to use for the website and for myself.

After I got back to the hostel, I grabbed my camera and wallet because I was meeting up with Martha and Danielle who got back in town and were leaving tomorrow. On the way, I took some pictures. I also saw a vigil for all those who lost their homes. I took some night shots. After picking up a message from the girls at their hotel, I met them at Jack´s Cafe. It was great to see them. We talked about our past few days. Also about random stuff. With us, was a guy who works at University of Dreams. It was a lot of fun. I then said bye to them and to keep in touch. I tried to find my Brazilian friends whose last night it was but I could not. It sucks but that is life.
I passed people who were collecting things for those who have lost their home. I prob will go by there later this week and give them waters. I came back to my hostel to write and type. Tomorrow I am going to try to change my Peru Rail ticket for the third time to the 6th.

Waking up to Fireworks

Day 14 (1-24-10)
After a much needed sleep, I was awoken to the sound of fireworks. First of all, why are there fireworks going off at like 9 something in the morning. Second, today is a really cloudy day and hard to see much. I got up and checked people´s responses to my epic journey yesterday. I checked the Peru Rail website to see when their office was opened till so I could figure out my plans. I saw that it was open till 12. When I looked at the time it was 9:30. I quickly showered and all that jazz and left my hostel. Grabbed a cab and headed off to the office.

It was a mad house with many people complaining about what happened. I ran into people who I had met on the train. We talked about our various plans. An Argentine couple from our train, who served as translators, helped me, anAmerican girl named Sophie and a couple from Vancouver cut and get bumped up in line. The Argentine and Canadian couples asked for their money back because they couldn´t do it any other time. Sophie and I decided to go Wednesday. We got our money and bought new tickets. We have to take a cab to where we got on the second train yesterday because the full rail is shut down. So I hope Wednesday works.

After we got that all figured out, then we started to walk to the main square. Along the way, we stopped at this place that Sophie volunteered at, to found out where to get the cab on Wednesday. I asked about their volunteer program, it seemed pretty good but costed almost $800 for two weeks and I think the other one that I was waiting on was cheaper. We then parted ways to meet up on Wednesday. I then went back to my hostel. I was able to briefly talk to Abbey which was nice so we could catch up on each other´s Saturdays. She got to go to Bath and have a Jane Austen full day. I am happy for her.

I then went to get lunch. I went to check if Martha and Danielle were at their hotel but no they had left for Puno. So I decided to treat myself after a stressful day yesterday. I went to a resturant called Jack´s Cafe. It serves breakfast all day. I got scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. It was quite yummy. Then I went back to my hostel to relax for a bit. I then grabbed some dirty clothes and took to a place to get them washed and dryed. I relaxed for a bit more.

I then went to Skype with my mom since it is her birthday. It was nice to talk to her. I also got an email from the other volunteer program that they will be expecting me in the morning. Woohoo. I was then able to Skype with Abbey. It started to thunder and lightening here. It sucked because it looked like it was going to be a nice day. I won´t miss this weather in a few weeks. I ran back to my hostel. I relaxed for a bit before running to my clothes. Since then I have ate some stuff and packing my bags to leave the hostel in the morning. I am hoping for a good night sleep but we shall see.