Hands Out Not Up

I've  been  avoiding writing this blog post because I've been plagued by both extreme laziness and a mild case of E. Coli. Where to begin...probably where I left off then. The second day in Cusco I went into a hostel that I knew was looking for a bartender. There was a bit of a misstep in our planning, because most places around here do exchanges work for housing. We already have a house so I don't need another one. What I need is free food...and money. They offer a large discount on food and drinks which is helpful, but I also really need something to do for the next three weeks. Anyways, they offered me the job right then and told me to think about it and email them. Unfortunately, I found out today they never got my email, so hopefully they haven't filled the position yet. It's odd to think you have to compete to work for free. However, there's tons of hostels around here and if not I'll go back to teaching. 

I want to give you a bit of info about our living situation. First, if you don't know what airbnb is then you need to go find out. I found our house using it and it's looking pretty good so far. Isn't it crazy I've only been away for two weeks. It feels like forever ago. Ok, so our host is a psychologist who lived in NY  for twenty years and there's another woman staying here whose getting her TESOL certification. We spent our second day chatting together for nearly three hours over breakfast. Now, I know naturally I'm pretty impressive, particularly in heels, but there's a very rewarding feeling of talking to a perfect stranger about your goals and ambitions and having them turn and tell you how impressed they are by you. Both our host and the other guest voiced this about Amanda and I. At one point claiming 'it's very impressive meeting such young girls with such focus, it's rare'. But believe it or not this blog post isn't about how cool I am, there was actually a much more interesting topic brought up at the table.

We were discussing expats and tourists/ tourism around the world and in Peru. We eventually ended up talking about the idea of America(ns) living in a perpetual state of fear. This probably stemmed from so many people telling us not to go to Colombia or Venezuela, despite America being a fairly unsafe place. Remember USA is #3 for homocide and #1 for most incarcerated citizens. Country of prisoners, we might as well be Australia. Just kidding...kind of. Ok, so we talking about fear in the US and how US citizens never go anywhere 'cause they only get two weeks vacation a year and our host who studies theology says, 'it's people like you who need to stay in those places because open minds and warm hearts are the only way to fix that. When Jesus saw people meditating in the church, he told them they must go out of the church and share with others as concealing themselves in the church didn't help anyone. People use to pray and put their hands up to God and ask for help, but they have to reach out for one other. Repair and relief is a collaborative effort.'  

For a moment I just stared at her. Possibly one of the most profound things I've ever heard. 

Though a little hard to come back from, we continued chatting for maybe another hour before Amanda and I hit the streets to explore more. On the way back, I saw an indigenous woman sitting on the ground next to a cart of grilled corn, or skewered beef hearts or something. We made eye contact and she looked at me with the most bewildered terrifying look I've ever seen on any living thing. It was horrifying. I'm not sure if I'll ever forget her face. A crooked nose, dark skin, pressed lips, and pupils that took up nearly her whole eyes. I could die happy if no one ever looked at me like that again.

If you were distracted by the beef hearts in that story, then I can go on a tangent to talk about food. Beef heart skewers are street food, but more sought after is Guinea pig and on Saturday they sell them, alive and well, out of giant bags on the side of the highway.  

A few days later we went to Pisaq, which is an absolutely beautiful town in the valley of the Andes. On Sundays they have a huge market. Amanda bought a bunch of jewelry, I bought my one necessary art piece and a baby shower gift. We will be back, probably as soon as we rationalize spending all the money we don't have. Pisaq is only thirty minutes away and it costs less than three dollars to get there. There's so many little things I want to buy people, but 1) I have no money 2) no ones buying me gifts from their hometown for no reason.  

We had lunch on a terrace there which gave us beautiful 360 views.

And then we left by late afternoon as our host warned us the drivers usually start drinking around 1 and it becomes difficult to find a sober ride back to Cusco.  

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow there is a strike in Cusco. The roads were nearly empty as people make blockades out of rocks and set tires on fire in the middle of the street. The smell is awful. Apparently the government promised to increase workers salaries and didn't do it, so today if your business was open when protesters walked by, rocks were thrown at it. That said, I do think Cusco is relatively safe. I assume there's petty theft, there's lots of hawkers , and the average amount of homeless on the street. Our host told us that Cusco is a very strong voice and vote, which is why it draws more attention when they strike. However, people looked generally happy today as I passed by group after group of adults and kids playing ball in the middle of the street. However, we all know how quickly that can turn... With that, my heart goes out to Thailand. Stay safe.