A typical day in Cuzco

COUNTRY: Peru
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Construction
WRITTEN BY: Brielle Spicer

Life in Cusco is as hectic as the roads. We are going non-stop, but loving every minute!

A typical day goes something like this...

7.30am: Wake up to the sunlight streaming in from every angle and dogs barking like mad. The view is so stunning we have to pinch ourselves every morning; even after being in Cusco for over a week we still can't believe we are actually here.

8.00am: Eat a beautiful breakfast served by our host mother. Usually, this consists of organic bread with cheese, butter, jam, an omelette or fried banana, with homemade coffee, hot chocolate or fruit smoothie. Meal times in Gaby's house are always a treat. All the foods are so fresh, most homemade... None of that instant coffee powder or plastic McDonalds cheese!

9.00am: Enjoy a cup of Mate de Coca, tea made from coca leaves. It is drunk frequently to help reduce the extreme effects of the altitude. And also because it is kinda delicious.

9.30am: Leave for Pumamarca school. We have to catch a taxi with our in-country partner, Nico, as there is no other way (except on foot) to get to the school so high up in the mountains. Usually, us volunteers opt to sit in the boot of the taxi. It's such a novelty for us- but the norm in less populated areas- to fit as many people as possible into one car. Once we had nine people in one average sized car: 2 people squished in the front passenger seat, 3 in the middle, 3 in the boot and of course the driver. (Don't freak out mum, we're perfectly safe!)

10.00am: Arrive at the school and prepare la ensalada de frutas (the fruit salad). We divide up the biggest fruit salad I have ever seen among almost 100 bowls. The children are served this along with some crackers and a filling beverage such as Quaker (similar to porridge) or arroz con leche (rice with milk).

11.30am: Teach our first lesson of the day. This could be alone or in pairs, to any of the grades from Year 1 to 5/6. Most classes have 10 children or less. The kids are always so excited to be taught by us, so it is often hard to keep control of the class due to their enthusiasm!

12.15pm: Move on to teaching another class, or doing some construction work. This could involve fixing and painting the fence, or painting colourful art on the school walls.

1.00pm: Leave school via overstuffed taxi. Arrive home to lunch, which is always a feast! A much welcomed feed after an exhausting day at school. Lunch always begins with some form of soup, followed by a main of meat, chicken or fish with veggies and rice or potatoes, since they have about 600 types of potatoes in Peru alone. Unsurprisingly then, the diet here is packed with so many carbohydrates! Lunch is always accompanied by a homemade beverage, a refreshment made from water and some kind of local fruit. They have so many different fruits here, granadilla (similar to passionfruit) has become a favorite among the group. We've found that the food in general has so much more flavour than what we have back home.

3.00pm: Spanish lesson. The regular Spanish lessons have helped so much with daily life in Cusco.

5.00pm: Free time to go exploring, or plan lessons for the next day.

7.00pm: Given that lunch is the main meal of the day here, we only need something small for dinner. Sometimes I just have coffee and some bread. After our lunchtime feast I'm never more than peckish at this time. Afterwards we chill out, shower, and check in with friends and family back home. Then it's time to rest up for the big day ahead!