A haircut party and more Peru news

COUNTRY: Peru
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Building
WRITTEN BY: Marianna Page

We are nearing the two month mark of our time in Cusco, and we are becoming more and more accustomed to life in Peru. School in the mornings, Spanish classes in the afternoons and making our way into town using questionable buses and even more questionable taxis has become natural and just another part of our week. We are complaining less about the lack of hot showers and a few of us have even come to the realization that they actually feel safer walking around at night here than they do in Australia. While I can't speak for everyone, Cusco is really starting to feel like home for me at least.

So what have we been getting up to since the last blog entry? Constant roadworks between Cusco and Quillahuata saw us walking part of the way to school for a couple of days. While this was tough, especially at altitude, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The children at the school are getting used to us now, and the kids who were once to shy to speak to us are beginning to ask questions. Year 3 and 4 English class has seen the kids dress up in Tricia's clothes and a couple of them will even practice English greetings with us when we arrive at the school. Years 1 and 2 have been studying numbers and colours, as well as producing some impressive looking portraits. The kindergarten boys are still a little hard to control, often preferring to chase Alex instead of participate in our PE lessons, but we are gradually figuring out what subjects and techiques work best for them and what is the best way to hold the attention of 20 four year olds.

Last Sunday Leia, Tricia, Freya, Alex and I got a taste of a Peruvian Catholic festival in Ollantaytambo. In the main plaza we watched traditional dances before a very unhealthy lunch of chicharrón, or fried pork rinds. Somehow we ended up invited into a party celebrating a little girl's first haircut. People would line up, cut a lock of the girl's hair and put it into a bag with some money. Freya, Leia and Alex all had a go, even though none of us were entirely sure what was going on at the time.

There was also a party at the school celebrating the kindergarten students. We arrived to find music streaming from the classes and all the kindy girls looking absolutely adorable in dresses and Hello Kitty crowns. There was a piñata, and all the children got time off from their classes to watch a clown who, suprisingly enough, got everyone dancing to Gangnam Style. I guess this proves there really is no escaping Psy, even in rural Peru.

The weather is starting to get a little colder as we move into winter, and the group marked this change with 3 cases of Bronchitis in the last week. Cat, however, is staying healthy. We put it down to all the local Tofu she indulged in. We were all very suprised to experience a mild earth tremor last week, not powerful enough to damage anything but still a novelty for those who are used to relatively non-shakey Australia.

Finally, the group went to a 3 day trance music festival in the Sacred Valley. I was unable to go for health reasons, but I´ve been told that it can easily be summed up with the words Trance, Hippies and Beanies. Oh and a visual of 8 Australians zombie dancing may help as well. We are currently planning for a week long trip to Puno, Lake Titicaca and Arequipa, which promises to be brilliant. Touch wood we all stay healthy and continue to have a great time in our final month in Cusco!