School Days

2-7-11

First of all, I really miss salads. That’s a strange thing to miss, isn’t it? We’re not supposed to eat the peels of fruits here, like unpeeled apples are a no go, and neither are we supposed to eat lettuce. In the US salad makes up a major part of my diet, about twice a day you can guess that I’ll eat salad. Meat isn’t so much a part of my diet. I’m really missing those vegetables cause they’re all being replaced with carbs! For instance, my breakfast this morning was positively massive and I had to tell my host mom not to make so much for me again. I feel obligated to eat it and I don’t want to leave a plate full of food, but I’m going to gain a bazillion pounds if she feeds me like that every day. You can’t have corn, rice, and potatoes, plus meat. That is not a balanced diet. I don’t get how they aren’t super fat! Also, they put enormous amounts of sugar in their drinks and I can’t help but wonder if diabetes might be a problem here. I think I remember learning that it is in Nicaragua.

Quechua in the morning again, then another enormous meal. Whoo! Corn kernels here are so big here that you don’t eat corn on the cob with your mouth, rather you pick off kernel by kernel and place it in your mouth. Strange. The mugs we painted in Urubamba finally arrived today. They sort of smelled/tasted like chemicals from whatever sealant they used, but hopefully it will fade quickly. Did I ever explain the way that they drink coffee here? I think so, but if not, you add super concentrated coffee to a cup of hot water, then proceed from there. Usually to add a ton of sugar.

This afternoon was our first lecture for Indigenous Peoples and Globalization and for the first time I was here I felt like I was really at school again. Only in Spanish. I’m not sure how well I understand lectures when they are in Spanish and it really doesn’t help when the lecturer’s handwriting on the board is illegible. As Alma and I headed back to school after lunch I thought that I should get a rainjacket from my room, but I didn’t. Mistake! There was another torrential downpour that began just as class ended for the day. We waited around for it to stop, but the aftermath was just as bad! Streets aka rivers!

I came home to eat a “dinner” of crepes. Iris’ friend, who is evidently one of the Maggies’ host sister and also a Mormon (which seems unusual here), came to dinner along with a Venezuelan friend. They had a long discussion about religion and about Hugo Chavez and how although many people don’t like Chavez, he keeps winning because he betters the lives of the Venezuelan poor. Maybe Peru could take a page out of his book. 1-5 people in Peru live in poverty. I don’t think many Americans could conceptualize that statistic. It’s a grinding poverty with little hope for betterment unless you leave your family, village, culture, dress, and language, head for the city, and hope that you can make it. Many don’t. Also, children start working from about the age of seven, hawking goods on the streets. That’s another sight that’s very different from the US. Those kids don’t have much choice; it’s the culture of the place and they have to make a living and make money for food somehow. Those kids can’t grow up to lead very good lives though, unfortunately.

For no particular reason today was a rough day. Maybe I’m finally feeling homesick, but I felt off all day long. I feel as if I will be so far behind on things I usually follow in the US. Not even important things, but little references that other people will know that I won’t. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that the next time I go to Conn I will be a Senior. This isn’t a very accurate account of my life here because I don’t bad talk people or say what I really think of them, neither do I dwell on the bad parts of my experience. I don’t want to document what is bad, but it’s not all roses here. This semester is very different and plenty of what happens is ambiguous or bad even.

Well I have lots of reading to do, as well as Quechua conjugations! Chau. Paqarinkama (Hasta mañana en Quechua)

xo Claire

ps- Apparently it is winter here in Cusco, even though it’s summer in Lima. And when it’s summer here, it’s winter in Lima? That seems to go against my understanding of the season switch with the hemispheres, but I asked my host family and they said yep, that was right. Bizarre. I’m still figuring out this whole host family thing. It’s a strange to straddle family and boarder, trying to be both.