I realized today that the title of my blog was more than incorrect in the creative license way that I intended...Cuentos is what I meant to write, not cuentas, that´s like ¨you tell¨. The rest of the incorrectness was intentional...since my name is Celine Bean, therefore I am an UNA, feminine, even though Frijoles are ¨¨los¨¨ (are those quotation marks?, I cannot tell)
<I´m not entired certain of this keyboard!" ahhh that´s the quotation mark! Foreign keyboards are always fun to navigate Ñ=! that´s a smiley face!
Since I wrote you all last, let´s see...
I took a stroll from the house I´m staying at to the center of town, and found myself in the midst of beautiful outdoor gardens in between apartment homes. It´s the rainy season down here, though technically it is summer, but it makes all the flowers bloom and the mountains green, it really is an incredible site.
A few things to get used to:
1. The smog, any time driving anywhere or on the bus, uhhh the exhaust is terrible. I really should have brought that mouth-nose cover you gave me Marta! I forgot to pack it! Although I feel like I´d look a little ridiculous walking around with it on. Weighing the pros & cons: look like a ridiculous foreigner and have respitory health, blend in (not really because I am a ridiculous foreigner) and have trouble breathing. I think I´ll try a little bit of both and see how it goes....
2. Remembering to throw the toilet paper in the bin next to the toilet, not in the toilet, AND remembering to take along toilet paper in my pocket or bag when I leave the house to any public places. most places don´t have paper for you, you need to bring your own, or get really good at the Shakira shake or the Beyonce bounce, really up to you which one you prefer. For me, I use both, it´s much more effective, covers all your bases.
3. And drinking water---it´s amazing how much water I feel I ingest or feel the need to ingest compared to others here. It´s a product of growing up in a culture where water is always available and easily accessible. Here in Cusco we boil the water, not because of micro organisms in the water, but more because it has really high levels of Chlorine in it. Since you have to boil it first (an extra step to drinking it) then let it cool, it really makes you aware of how much you drink, and how much we need to value each drop of drinkable water. It worries me about California and the drought we´ve been in. It´s interesting to think that it won´t even be a matter of dirty water that you have to boil, but a matter of no water at all.
In other news...
At the end of my walk to town, I found the Biblioteca! (the library)! Many of you know how much I love libraries, and for those of you that don´t...Well, I LOVE libraries. Some people travel to a place to see the churches, go to the shops and buy cool trinkets, see famous statues, and I like to find the libraries. Ñ) smiley face again.
It´s really a pretty library, La Biblioteca Municipalidad, and I found a room of windows in the back where people were studying all at this big long table, so I pulled out my Spanish study materials and my markers and paper and commenced studying as well. It was lovely. quiet, silent individual time amongst other peers. I really enjoy that kind of thing.
After my library enjoyment I went on a mission to find a new wallet, which I found! woohoo! Despues, I people watched in the Plaza de Armas, looking up at La Catedral! I watched teenage girls in different outfits model for a photographer and dance near the fountain, Argentinians selling food on a platter, little kids trying to polish shoes that didnt need polishing, and I met a Brazilian whose Spanish was worse than mine and made me feel super capable! hah.
After my centro adventure I returned home to cook a semi-Italian meal for the family I´m staying with. Earlier I had gone to the market to pick up vegetables and pasta and cheese and such. I made a salad with cranberries and almonds I´d brought from Chico, and a big pasta with sauteed onions, tomatoes, bell peppers spinach, garlic etc. It turned out pretty tasty. We even had some white wine to go along with it!
Afterwards I taught Guillermo how to play Gin Rummy, mas o menos, seeing as I don´t know the exact rules but we had fun anyways. We played cards while we attempted to jailbreak-unlock my old phone on his computer. It´s halfway there, soon I´ll (hopefully be able to use here as a Peruvian phone!)
This morning I went to an Improv group here at a performance space in a wonderful woman´s home, her name is Dalia. She teaches groups of Improv and other teatro groups. It was hilarious and SO much fun. I can say I successfully (more or less) did improv in Spanish! The other players were great and lots of fun, and we made up some pretty silly scenes. It makes me really excited to get more involved in the arts-performance scene here in Cusco, and in Peru in general. Dalia and I also talked about the possibility of me offering a workshop or doing a performance at the space there, so Í´m excited to follow up on that and see what possibilities there are!
That´s all for now folks! I´m going now to catch my 2nd bus (this time very carefully) to go to Guillermo´s family´s reunion-going away party for him!
Chao! hasta pronto!
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