2. Lazy Days on the Riverbank

Okay, okay. I haven't seen any rivers in Cusco yet; although, I did cross a few streams as I hiked up to the top of the mountain I now live on. After you pass one of the only non-cobblestone, two-way streets on the outskirts of Cusco, there is a really faint grassy trail you can follow to the Temple of the Moon. I got out there, but to be honest I didn't even go all the way out the ruins. Just the trail getting there is so beautiful, I had to stop and take it all in. Also, who could resist singing your heart out at the very top of the mountain. How lucky was I to borrow such an impressive place for my practice room that day.

my take on the quintessential "relaxing by the beach" picture

Still, that's what it seems these past few days here have been about. I've honestly just been wandering around town, trying to gather my wits about me. I'm pleased to report that I can now easily get to the two biggest, open-air markets where I've been buying all of my food, mainly avocados and papayas, except for bread which I've been getting at a nearby bakery. It's surprising how inexpensive fresh, raw foods are here versus packaged, processed goods. I can also find my way to the closest public library, several good cafes, and a variety of Catholic churches.

In my various adventures in and around town, I already feel like I'm slowly immersed into the "culture" here. In general, I've found Cusqueños to be very warm, friendly, and helpful with directions. People you've just met are quite likely to kiss you on the cheek, something I'm not quite used to, but I really appreciate the thought. Still, I've also had my bumps in the road. On my very first day here in Cusco, I had my digital camera stolen from me, right out of my bag. I even felt it being taken from me, turned around, and a man told me that the man who had taken it was long gone. Well then, that certainly threw me off and had me feeling anxious for days. I just didn't want that to happen to me again. What probably upset me most wasn't that something I owned was gone and now I'd have to rely on my somewhat unimpressive iPod camera, it was how quick I was to generalize that behavior. I was still afraid to trust I could have bad luck like that anywhere, I guess it was just more notable that it'd happen here, while I was still adjusting to being in a new place. It would be incredibly unfair of me to generalize that to all new people I meet here. The exact same thing could have happened at home, and I wouldn't feel compelled to mistrust everyone I met there. For now, I can say that it's been quite a learning experience in maintaining self-awareness and awareness of my surroundings.

My volunteer work didn't officially start until Wednesday, so the days leading up to that we're really quite interesting and relaxing. Of course I had to take it easy to adjust to the altitude, something that still catches up to me whenever I try to climb upstairs or move too quickly, but I was really excited to jump into that metaphorical river from my cheesy title and get started. I did have a meeting with Niki, the founder of Healing House, on Monday about getting my music class project off the ground, but in addition to that the other volunteers and I are in charge of keeping things going at the house. Cleaning up the kitchen, answering the door, making flyers, working in the garden, etc. are all part of my duties when I'm on the schedule. So, on Wednesday my first assignment was to paint one of the walls in the foyer. Part of it was already painted with chalkboard paint for us to write our yoga/meditation class schedule, but there was a need for an announcements section. So, one of the volunteers and I found the rest of the chalkboard paint, eye-balled an alright amount of paint thinner for our assignment and just went for it. And actually, it turned out alright. I did make a mistake at one point and painted down past where we were supposed to go, but I was told that if it looked too bad we could just turn it into a bit of artwork later on. My shifts have been going quite smoothly since then, and meeting new people and answering questions at the door has been pretty interesting. And it's an excellent opportunity to practice my Spanish.

My involvement with the music classes here is what I'm looking forward to most. There are lots of opportunities to get involved with the weekly kids and young adults programs on Saturdays. I'm also working on getting some to come for a separate chorus class outside of that. Tomorrow, I'm actually going down to one of the local schools that hosts a very large Saturday program for children and parents that can't send their kids to school. I sat down with the principal today, and he was very happy to allow me to observe and offer the music class to those kids, for me to gauge interest levels and work out some logistics to making possible for as many as possible to come. I was able to meet him and have this opportunity thanks to Alvaro, a House affiliate who teaches music at that school.

I suppose I'm just dipping my toes in the water (sorry to the that mediocre river metaphor going) but I'm really happy to be here and finally start my volunteer work and contribute what I can to the good that's already going on here.