¡Here I Am!

(Pic: Top, Part of the drive to Urubamba. Bottom: The street I live on, also the main street in Urubamba. That peach and blue wall to the right is my home.)

January 10, 2009...

I have successfullly arrived in Cusco! After about 22 hours of traveling (that includes layover time) I was met at the airport by a woman from the staff named Cliona and driven around the main square of Cusco for a little tour. Cusco is stunning and I cannot wait to get back and have a more thorough look around! After that, we drove the 50 mile stretch of winding mountain road to Urubamba, where I am living. All along the road are green pastures, spotted with stone shacks, llamas, cows, donkeys, and sheep, and alot of corn! The green stretches on and on until it meets the incredible span of dark gray Andean mountain peaks. Beautiful! It took about an hour to reach Urubamba via taxi. I thought, initially, because I was placed in central Cusco, that I would be living there. But that is not the case. Urubamba is a tiny town set in a tiny valley with streets that, on occasion, transform into shallow rivers since it´s the rainy season. It is so charming here. Every edge of the town is met by the foothill of a mountain, so that everywhere you look are tall green hills close enough it seems you could reach out and touch them. There are vendors all along the roads, selling bebidas or herbs or ropas. Displaced dogs wander all over the streets, but they are so cute and docile, almost like they´re just people, too, sitting in doorways or strolling allong the way. Urubamba has three beautiful little plazas, with gardens full of flowers, and I can already see myself sitting on one of the benches there, reading a book on a warm day. My family is amazing. I can tell I´ll be so sad to leave them. Carla and Marco (my parents) are very warm and welcoming and their little girls are beautiful and so sweet. Little angels. They have already adopted me as their own, especially Camila, the six year old. She sat next to me and held onto my arm while we watched High School Musical in Spanish. Then, Alejandra (the eleven year old) and Camila showed me around town. The two year old, Marcela, is a doll. She was jumping on me and tickling me and pulling on the collar of my shirt and saying ¨tetas!¨ lol...that was really funny. Marco´s pottery is gorgeous (I´m going to ask him to make me a bowl or mug as a souvenir) and their pizzeria below their apartment is the cutest place! You wold not believe! So, my placement starts monday...they will take us volunteers in a taxi each day to and from the school we are placed at. I´m super excited to meet the teachers I´ll be teaching and to start getting to know the other volunteers! (I haven´t met any of them yet.) More to come...