Final Day of our Trip

25 September 2017

After blessedly getting a decent night’s sleep, we all rose the next morning for a hotel breakfast. I showered before heading upstairs for a very picked over breakfast. The poor hotel was not prepared for the might of so many hungry exchange students, and they were very behind on getting food out to all of us. After waiting a decent time and getting my hands on a small breakfast, I headed back down to my hotel room to wash my face, etc. However, upon my return to the hotel room, I realized that we know longer had water in our hotel room. This posed a problem, so I ended up returning to the 5th floor so that I could grab a cup of hot water. I then returned to my room, let the water cool down a bit, and then washed my face/brushed my teeth from a tea cup of water. Needless to say, I was very thankful that I had already taken a shower. After headed down to the lobby, I discovered that not only had I not had water, many students no longer had water in their rooms. 

Thankful we were all checking out, we put our luggage into storage before heading out to explore Cusco for a few hours. We all first headed to a museum that was originally built by the incas before it was taken and modified by the Spaniards. Inside was beautiful, with many incredible paintings. Sadly, we were unable to take pictures of many parts of the museum (eg. The paintings). After our tour, we were then all able to go out on our own. I ended up walking around with Nadja (Switzerland), Salome (Switzerland), and Malin (Wisconsin).

We first went to the Plaza de Armas so that we could not only take pictures, but so we could exchange money. We then walked around before we decided to ask someone where the closest grocery store or supermarket was. After we got directed in the wrong direction a few times, we finally walked several blocks until we reached a market, not a supermarket. The two are very different. Markets are much more packed and disorganized, but are fairly cheaper. Supermarkets are cleaner and more pricy. We ended up going to both, as we purchased all of our dry goods (dried sweet potatoes and dried corn) in the market, but went to a nearby grocery for pre-packaged things (Oreos, etc.). After going back and forth between the market and grocery store a few times, we finally got everything we needed and were able to head back. Along the way, we stopped to buy some patches and some bracelets to remember Cusco by. We made it back to the hotel just in time. After our arrival we said our goodbyes and boarded the bus to go to a bus station that would get us back to Lima. 

Machu Picchu

24 September 2017

We all woke up very early, ate another mediocre hotel breakfast, and then all started walking past the restaurants and down to the town square. We then waited a bit with the town statue, before we continued on the road toward Machu Picchu. The walk was right by a river and had stunning views…

After a while we arrived and began the hike. Sabrina and I had previously thought we were going to take the bus up to the top, but after fearing we would regret not walking up the trail, we decided to stick it out together. The walk was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was however not really easy, as it was over 1000+ stairs. The stairs were also in the jungle, meaning it was humid and wet. So while I am happy I chose to walk, it was a cake walk. Sabrina and I ended up walking up with Marion and Pierre (Belgium). Our method to hiking was to go up as far as possible before sitting down and taking a break. I also put on music and started dancing on the way up. While I didn’t have any energy, it was better for me to get hyped up while walking so I didn’t acknowledge my exhaustion. 

Once we got to the top, we all paid to use the restroom, stamped our passports, and of course took photos with them. We then all split into groups based on language. While I am beginning to understand more Spanish, I went with the English group. When touring Machu Picchu, you want to understand what is going on. As we were entering, we had to have our passport and tickets ready. However, Sabrina couldn’t find her ticket, so she ended up getting separated from our group. This meant that we spent around 10 minutes waiting for her, until we were told be the authorities we had to leave. After leaving her behind, we went up some more stairs before we got our first real view of Machu Picchu…except as I learned from the tour, it wasn’t Machu Picchu. The mountain we were climbing was Machu Picchu, which meant the mountain we were viewing with the wonderful ruins was Wayna Picchu. I felt like I had been lied to my entire life, but nonetheless, the views were stunning. 

We continued to climb higher-up the mountain and take photos before we stopped with the other exchange student groups. Here we quickly posed with all of our flags (we weren’t supposed to have our flags out, not really sure why not). After taking those important photos, the tours split back up again, and we went back to the tour. 

We continued climbing higher, before going back down to view and tour the actual ruins…

After the tour, all the students had to exit Machu Picchu before we could reenter and stay. This meant we all left, used the bathroom, and then reentered. When I reentered, I went with Nadja and Salome (Swiss). We decided to climb to a part with a great view and not a lot of people to take some more pictures…

Here we also met with some other students, all of with we took some more pictures…

We then all went back down, took more photos, before going to try and find a llama to take photos with. After our llama photos, we sat on the grass and admired Machu Picchu, it was honestly the most beautiful and magical thing I have ever seen. There was something about the entire place that was serene, beautiful, calm, and peaceful. After our break, we all decided it was time to move on with our day (we needed some real food). 

As we were exiting Machu Picchu, we ran into some Rotarians from Belgium that were also there to visit the wonderful destination. We talked with them a bit, before we headed down. Sabrina, Tiia, and I all walked down for the first bit. After doing so many stairs that day, everyone’s legs had started to shake. So we decided we would take the road up, a longer, but easier path. We conversed as we walked, but when we got to the next staricase, Sabrina and I decided to take it. Our legs were shaking pretty bad at this point, and while the stairs were more difficult, they were much quicker. We ended up with Girdeon (Austria). We all had a conversation about refugees (Girdeon’s family had Afghan refugees living with them and Sabrina’s parents are both Afghan). It was a really cool conversation, and helped me get some insight on the refugees in Austria. 

After what seemed like a walk forever, we finally got back to the hotel. By now, Sabrina and I had convinced ourselves that we deserved ice cream for walking up all those stairs. We ate lunch and then found Macie, bought a 1 liter tub of ice cream, walked to the Plaza, and ate it all. We talked and enjoyed the views before we headed back to the hotel. We gathered our things and then all walked to the train station. On the train ride back, we all talked and enjoyed our final glimpses of the magical Machu Picchu. 

Once we arrived in Cusco, we got the blessed news that we wouldn’t have to wake up early the next day. So, exhausted, we all got our rooms and went to bed. 

A Day of Incan Ruins

22 September 2017

After waking up and eating a hotel breakfast of the typical things (bread and fruit), all the students loaded the bus for our day of looking at Incan ruins. We were only in the bus for a short while before we stopped at the first place. Before entering, we all received our tickets with our names on them. However, seeing as some of the students had forgotten their ISIC cards (myself included), we had tickets with other student’s names. After I got my ticket (I was Olivia Moore), we all entered the ruins. I was walking with Anna and Courtney until Courtney got winded from going up the hill. I then had to go back down the hill to tell Charo and Henry (Exchange student coordinator and his wife) that Courtney couldn’t walk anymore, was feeling sick, and needed to go to the bus. After we got Courtney all situated, we continued on to the ruins. By then, we had missed what the guide had said, and had to get a quick refresh from the other students.

After the Tambomachay (first ruin), we went to Q’enqo. While we got a tour of the ruins, two unsupervised children started climbing the ruins like they were a playground. This was very distracting and concerning, so two students ended up removing them from the ruins (we had no idea where their parents were), before telling them off. Afterwards, the tour of the ruins continued. 

In the ruins was a table where sacrifices were performed. While this was interesting, it was more fascinating that the stone table was MUCH colder than the surrounding walls and atmosphere. Also with these ruins was a natural stone slide, which all the students had fun going down.

After these ruins we headed to Sexy Woman, or as it actually is Saqsayhuaman (sounds like Sexy Woman a bit). Here we got lots of information about the ruins, as they had been very important. There was a lighting temple and a sun temple (although both had been destroyed by the Spainards). The rocks that constructed the ruins were also a mystery, as they were not from any of the nearby surrounding mountains. This mean that they would have had to been relocated, but the rocks were so large and the Inca’s weren’t that advanced. The theory I believed was that there had once been a mountain or hill where the ruins stood, that had been dug away at by the Inca’s to form the temple. Martin (Chezch Republic) suggested aliens, but I wasn’t buying it. After we walked Saqsayhuaman, we went to the top, where we had an amazing view of Cusco…

Afterwards, we went and had lunch in the city. The next stop on our tour after lunch was the most fertile valley of Perú, which as you can imagine, was beautiful…

It was also very close to our next destination, Pisac. Pisac was not only the sight of many Incan graves, many of which were disturbed, but also had a great view of the valley (once you climbed it)…

Once we had turned Pisac, we ended up going to a jewelry store (not really sure why but). It was very interesting, as we got to learn how everything was made. In particular, this jewelry store specialized in using precious gems in the jewelry. Many of the pieces were related to Peru in someway, and all were very beautiful. Not to mention, you could fetch lots of them for a decent price…

The jewelry store was the last stop of the day, if you don’t count the tourist shops we visited right outside the jewelry shops. Afterwards we returned to the hotel. We all sat in confusion, as we didn’t really know what was going on for Machu Picchu. We eventually got the real information, and packed our bags for the next day and the days following. 

Montaña de Siete Colores

21 September 2017

The next day, we all woke up at 2:30 in the morning and got around as quickly as possible. We were definitely all exhausted, but nonetheless made our way down to the lobby. I attempted to eat a piece of bread, but ended up just sitting there exhausted before we all boarded the buses to get to the rainbow mountains. They were roughly 3 hours away from the city of Cusco, so we all attempted to fall back asleep on the bus (harder than you think). The bus ride was through mountains and was therefore not at all smooth, meaning the bus was shaking and jumping all the time. However, everyone succeeded in getting a little sleep before we eventually all arrived. Upon arrival, we all used the bathrooms before some students decided to take horses and others chose to walk. I chose to walk instead of taking a horse, and so I set off with other students to get to the mountains.

The hike to the rainbow mountains was the hardest thing I have ever done physically. The altitude of the mountains made the air very thin, meaning after only walking a short distance I was out of breath. The walk to the mountains wasn’t short either, the walk was roughly 3 hours to get there. The views along the way definitely made the walk a little easier…

When I was almost to the top, I had to give in and use a horse. It only cost 5 soles, which was honestly worth it seeing as I thought it would do me in to go up another hill. Plus I got to say I went horseback riding at the Rainbow Mountains. So after my poor horse got me up the final hill, I set off to the final destination, the Rainbow mountain. After going up what felt like an impossible amount of steps, I made it to a platform with a great view of the mountain and a congratulating Charo…

After a break and some photos, I had the energy to climb the final mountain, with the best view of the beautiful colors…

After freezing my butt off (we were told it would be hot), I trekked back down the mountain with Courtney. We took some more photos, and ended up walking back with Nadja and Paul (Swiss and German). Courtney and I ended up explaining the U.S. legal system and the election results to Paul, who had decided to come for the U.S.. Along the way back to the buses, Courtney slipped and fell into horse poop, making a great memory. 

After we got back to the buses, we headed to lunch and back to the hotel. We then had two hours of rest (everyone needed them at that point), before we headed out for dinner. The dinner that night was at a traditional restaurant that had traditional dances. The dances were definitely interesting, as they had people in masks that resembled a devil and one dance included women whipping the men. It was also Olivia’s (Canada) birthday, so we all got to see the cake be smashed into her face (no one got to eat any after that). Afterwards, we all went back to the hotel exhausted. 

Arrival in Cusco!

20 September 2017

The next day, we rose early as usual. We had a hotel breakfast, before we boarded the buses and set off for Cusco. The drive to Cusco would have been long, but we stopped along the way to take breaks and to see tourist destinations. The first thing we stopped at was an famous Inca burial grounds. We walked up the hill and learned about how the graves had changed as years passed. The most recent graves were ones that looked like towers, but many of the graves had been destroyed by the Spaniards, earthquakes, and lightning. At the top of the hill was an incredible view of a famous Peruvian lake and island…

After we all took pictures, we walked back down to the buses. The next stop on the ride to Puno was some other Incan ruins. We arrived at the ruins, and walked around with our guide to learn some information. Once again, the Spainards had destroyed a lot of the Incan city, but we were still able to see the architecture, the storage, schools, houses, and trail of the Incas. Surrounding the ruins were tons of locals, some of who owned local shops. Once of the most impressive was a man who made pottery. His entire shop was filled to the brim with detailed pieces that he had all made by hand. While I didn’t buy anything, I did take some pictures…

After the pottery, Courtney and I headed back to the main part filled with all the little tourist shops. We walked around trying to find cheap bracelets, which we ended up suceeding in. The key to getting things cheap in bartering is walking away or pretending you aren’t interested anymore. So Courtney and I went up to a lady, and asked her how much it cost for bracelets we had been wanting for a few stops on the trips now. She told us 1 sole (.33). We asked her how much it would cost to buy all of them (29 bracelets). She told us 29 soles. We had been hoping she would cut us a deal, so we just shook our heads and walked away to the next table. As soon as we showed we weren’t interested she started calling us back, “Mis amigas, mis amigas, senoritas, senoritas, etc.). She then told us to name our price, and we told her 20 soles. She agreed, and before Courtney and I knew, we had the bracelets and were sprinting back to the honking buses (we were late). Everyone on the bus was very impresesed with our deal, especially the girl who had paid 5 soles for one bracelet the day before. 

We ended up finishing the drive and getting to our next hotel in Cusco exhausted. Nadja, Annie, and I all trekked up to our room and fell asleep as fast as possible for the next day’s adventure, rainbow mountain.

Floating Islands

19 September 2017

We woke up bright and early so that we could make our way to the boat on time. I woke up, finished packing, ate my pancakes and jam, and then said goodbye to my host family. We all then trekked down the giant hill to get to the boats, thinking we were late (we ended up being some of the first kids).

After the others joined our group, we all boarded the boats and set off for the next island. After about a hour and a half on the boats, we finally arrived at the island. We unboarded the boats, and all met with the guide. We then had a bathroom break before we started the hike. The hike was not easy, as we were once again climbing up a steep mountain/island thing.

Eventually, I made it to the center of the city (the final destination). We walked around, took pictures, and shopped a bit. We also got to learn about some of the history of the island from the tour guide. After a while, we all walked back down to the boats and headed for our next destination, the floating islands. 

The ride to the floating islands was a long one, but we eventually made it there. We all walked off the boats onto the islands, which kinda sunk underneath your steps. The people on the islands spoke an Incan language, but we nonetheless got a tutorial on how the islands were made and learned a few words. 

After the tutorial, we all took pictures, looked at items made by the islanders, and we all eventually went on a boat ride. I paid three soles for what I thought was a special boat ride, but it ended up not being anything different. We were told that we were going to go to the middle of the lake, where we could jump off, but we ended up just going to a separate island. Here, we once again shopped around at the islander goods, before returning to the original boats that would take us back to Puno. 

Once we arrived in Puno, we all headed back to the hotel and took showers.  We all then headed to Puno’s Rotary meeting. Here speeches were given by the Rotarians and Fred (the boy hosted in Puno). We all recieved pins as gifts from Puno’s Rotary as well. Afterwards, we had free time to explore Puno a little bit. We got food and shopped around. Tiia and I went on our own adventure and ended up walking in the wrong direction to get to the city center (the meeting spot). So we ended up asking a Peruvian lady who was super sweet. Then we all went to eat pizza before calling it a night. 

Going to School!

18 September 2017

The next day we woke up very early so that we could get to school. The girls and I ended up being late (not last though), because we couldn’t skip our breakfast of pancakes and strawberry jam. We also received necklaces of flowers from our host families. Once we arrived, we joined the other exchange students  before going to get into lines (typical Peruvian school). After we got into lines, some Peruvian students approached us to give us more necklaces of flowers. I was feeling pretty blessed after receiving two more necklaces from two Peruvian girls (some exchange students didn’t get any necklaces). After getting our flowers, we went and sang all of our national anthems. We also listened to the Peruvian anthem and speeches given. 

After the speeches were given, we all got into groups so that we could go to class with the Peruvians. I ended up getting put into the right class, art class. We went through and talked about traditional Peruvian instruments and then we went through all of the countries and talked about traditional instruments. This was a difficult task for me and my fellow American, as we literally had no idea what instrument was originating from America. We needed up choosing the washboard and a harmonica (not really sure if those are American). After that, the Peruvian boys played songs for us and sang in Quechua. All the students were asked to sing or do something in their counties, so Tiia rapped in Finnish and everyone else sang a song. According to Tiia, all the boys were staring at me a little shocked when I stared singing, and when Jeanne started to sing in French, one of the boys started to cry. Afterwards, the Peruvians took back over and we all got up to dance while they played and sang. 

Eventually our class ended, and we all got into new groups to start conquering our task, painting. We ended up sanding the walls, scraping off old paint, and painting the walls with fresh white paint. Our wall didn’t take that long, so my group ended up being done fairly quickly. This gave us time to go to the bathroom and to eat a lunch of oranges, cheese, potatoes, and little fish. The fish were whole fish (eyeball and guts) breaded and seasoned. While it tasted delicious, I could only manage to eat one. 

After lunch, I went with some other exchange students to approach the Peruvians, At first I was a little surprised they didn’t approach us. I thought that since most of the kids on the island would live there for the rest of their lives, they would have many questions for us. But after thinking about it and having someone suggest something I realized why they didn’t want to talk to us. Some kids were so nervous they couldn’t even tell us their names. The kids simply didn’t want to talk to us because they felt inferior. This honestly broke my heart, as everyone is a human and it doesn’t matter if you come from a first world country or third world country. 

So I along with a few others took it upon ourselves to go and try to talk to the Peruvians. While some still were so nervous and didn’t want to talk to us, we did find a group of girls who wanted to talk to us. They asked me if I sang, and so after they sang for me, I sang for them (in English and Spanish). It was really nice to just talk to people on the island and to hopefully teach them that everyone in the world is equal. 

After break, we finished up painting. We had a farewell speech and we all sang the cup song for the school. A lot of the students smiled and got a little emotional hearing us sing. After our song, a Peruvian student told us farewell in English. Then, my roommates and I found Papa Jorge and we walked back to the house for lunch. 

After lunch we had free time. At first my roommates and I thought we would go to the beach. However plans changed and I ended up going with a group of kids to go hike the other mountain of the island Pacha Mama. Pacha Mama was harder than Pachatata, but once again the views were simply stunning. 

After watching the sunset, I started my descent down the mountain. I went to go buy more water and then started the way to my house by myself. I thought I knew how to get there, but I ended up getting a little lost and a little freaked out. It was a lot easier to navigate the paths during the day, but I managed to calm myself down and make it home safely. I only knew the first names of my host parents, so I couldn’t ask anyone for help. Nonetheless, I made it safely back and went up to Gracie and Elsbeth’s room. We then talked with our little brother and waited for dinner to be ready. We learned how to say thank you in Quechua (Solpayki). 

During dinner, I was falling asleep, which my host family found hilarious. I fell asleep at the table, which put them over the edge, unable to control their laughter. They also asked us where we lived in Lima because our host dad had lived in Lima for 6 years. 

Afterwards, we all went our separate ways and packed/called it a night. 

Lago Titicaca/Amantaní

17 September 2017

We woke up early, ate hotel breakfast, and then headed onto the buses so we could be dropped off at Lake Titicaca. We had confusion between all the buses and who was sitting where, but eventually all issues were resolved and we made it to the lake. While the lake was stunning, it reminded me a lot of a Great Lake (only surrounded by different terrain). After we received our four bottles of water for the next few days, we carried our things to the boats waiting for us. I boarded with Sabrina and we climbed to the top of the boat…

Chezch Republic's finest, repping the flag!

Arrival on Amantaní

After a stunning and long boat ride (the boats went very slow), we finally arrived at our island. My first impression was that it was breathtaking and seemed very cut off from the world. We unloaded the boats and all gathered around to hear what Henry had to say. I had left something on the boat (go figure) and had to go back for it, so I missed most of what was said. However when I returned I dropped off my painting supplies and got in the line to be assigned roomates. I ended up rooming with Emily (USA), Gracie (USA), and Elsbeth (The Netherlands). After taking a picture with our host mom Juanita, we began the difficult journey to our house. By difficult, I mean tremendously hard, with us basically climbing a mountain just to get to our house. We stopped many times because we needed breaks, and we were all dropping things along the way. At one point Juanita jumped into the ditch to the side of the path to pick us all muña. Muña can be drank in tea or inhaled to help with the altitude anded breathing. Eventually our host dad, Papa Jorge came down with a cloth so he could help us carry all of our water bottles to the house. Eventually we were able to get to the house, where we met our adorable host brother.

Inside our house, the red bin to the left of the blue door was where the water for the toilet was.

I am forever grateful to have lived and stayed in the house I stayed in. The islands and my time in Lake Titicaca taught me so much. In the U.S. I always know that I am blessed to have what I have. But living with this family taught me that all of those things are not necessities. In this host family we had no running water. This meant that in order to do something as simple as flush the toilet, you had to scoop rainwater into the toilet until the toilet automatically flushed. This also meant that brushing your teeth or washing your face (completely normal things) took more effort. As for showering, it was possible, but all of us opted out on taking a shower. This was because when you scooped water into the toilet, it could sometimes splash up, meaning the floor had urine on it. None of this is meant to say that Peruvians are dirty people or that they have no hygiene, it’s simply to point out differences between my everyday life in Lima and my life in Amantaní. 

Another main difference between the island and my home in Lima is that Spanish was not spoken in the home. While my host family did speak Spanish, only Quechwa was spoken between the family members. Some families that had students didn’t speak Spanish, only Quechua. My family in Lima actually does speak Quechwa (it is my grandmother’s first language), but we speak Spanish in the home. Only my host mother and Tia Nely speak Quechwa fluently, while my host sisters know some basics and can understand it. Nonetheless, I am focusing on the Spanish for now, so I was pretty thankful that my family spoke Spanish. 

After our arrival, we all ate lunch with our host family, and bought some goods from them. 

Lunch, Quinoa soup with some veggies (we ate this more than once on the island)

The goods were a bit overpriced (not really expensive still), but we all felt a little pressured to buy from them, so I spent some money on a bracelet and something for my Rotary jacket. We then headed to the city center. 

Traditional clothing of the island (worn every day). 

Ignore the random Swiss in the front of the photo.

After everyone got there we began a climb the mountain. We were all tired from our previous climb to the house, but we somehow made it to the top of Pachatata. The climb was very difficult, and the exchange students all stopped often to catch our breath. However, while the climb was difficult, it was definitely worth it.  

Halfway up...break for pictures or because we were dying?

Almost there!

Made it without dying!

Smiling because I can breathe and take in the view!

Americans!

With my soulmate of a friend! 

The climb down was not only easier, but a lot quicker. All the exchange students went and hung around the plaza. I ended up going to buy some snacks, where I found Bon Bons. This is the closest I have yet found to a Reese’s, although Reese’s are way better, without a wafer shell and creamier Peanut butter. After snacks, we found Papa Jorge, who took us back to our house for dinner. After dinner we all put on traditional Peruvian clothing and headed down to the dance…

Acting like the serious Peruvians...

Going back to myself :))

The dance was tons of fun, and very very hot. I let loose a bit and my sash holding my skirt came off, meaning it had to be retied. A very nice Peruvian man retied my skirt for me, but he seemed to think I was much smaller than I am. My skirt was now tied very tight. The altitude already made it difficult to breath, add a tight skirt and dancing around without a care, and you are struggling a lot to breath. Nonetheless I had a great time, and danced in a circle of everyone with everyone watching. Dancing is growing on me in Peru (that is when I can breath). 

Sabrina and I :)

Adding Levi (Netherlands) to the mix!

After the dance let out, we all met back up with Papa Jorge, who graciously untied my skirt for me after I had to sit down so I could attempt to get oxygen to my lungs. After that, we trekked back up the difficult path to our house, and after figuring out how to wash our faces and brush our teeth, we all went to bed. 

Final Day in Colca/Arrival in Puno!

16 September 2017

I slept in since we didn’t have to do anything in the morning. After I got around, I had breakfast with Sabrina and Axelle. I returned back to my room, finished packing, and then left the room to go explore the river. I took some photos…

Random rock stacks!

Afterwards, I rolled my luggage up the hill and eventually boarded the bus. Sabrina and I listened to music, looked at photos, ate American and Peruvian junk food, and took photos. A little while into the bus ride, I realized I had left my jacket and hat in the hotel (except it wasn’t actually my jacket and hat, it was my host families). 

With nothing do, I spent my bus ride with Sabrina and the other exchange students. Once we arrived in Puno, to my relief, one of the Rotarians had grabbed my host sister’s jacket and hat. Now a bit less panicked, we all made our way through rainy Puno to our hotel. The hotel was a step down from the previous one (you couldn’t really Colca’s hotel). We all sat in the lobby, got our roomates, and then headed to our rooms.  I was rooming with Pia (Germany) and Axelle (Belgium) on the fourth floor. This meant we either had to drag all of our bags up four flights of stairs, or wait to take the sketchy elevator. We all opted to take the elevator (we weren’t going up those stairs), so we waited our turn and then crammed in like Sardines in a can. Once we got up to our room we all quickly got around and headed back to the lobby so we could walk to dinner.

Dinner was a blast, with decent food, great friends (I sat with Sabrina, Courtney, Macie Tiia), and some awesome traditional Peruvian music. We all danced in our seats, and learned one part of a song “Pacha Mama”. Pacha Mama is the name of the mountain on one of Lake Titicaca’s islands. The songs were all in Quechwa, a traditional language spoken in the mountain regions of Perú. After we listened, ate, drank, sang, and danced, we got to meet the director of the school we would be painting. We also got to meet some of the Rotarians of Puno’s Rotary (who we would be going to see later). 

After dinner we returned to the hotel, where we all went to bed and took showers. We all knew we would be waking early the next day and were all unsure of how we would be living for the next few days so we prepared ourselves and got ready. We packed all of our things into one backpack before hitting the sack. 

Colca Canyon!

15 September 2017

All of the students woke up what seemed like the butt crack of dawn for breakfast (5:30-6:30). I woke up late (typical), and had to rush around so that I could make it to breakfast on time. It didn’t help that I had two bloody noses from the dry air (although bloody noses are much better symptoms than what other exchange students have). While I made it with 10 minutes to spare, I quickly realized that I didn’t have my contacts in so I wouldn’t be able to see the hike very well. So I decided to run back to my room, which meant that I needed the key to my room (which my roommate had). So I went and asked Nina for the key, except she didn’t have the key, she had left it in the room for me. Which meant neither of us had the key, which in our lateness was a problem. So we ended up running to the front desk and asking them to send someone to come and unlock our room. We ended up running back, grabbing our flags (which both of us had forgot) and I quickly put my contact lenses in. We ended up not being late, sometimes Peruvian time can save you. 

Once all of the students loaded the buses, we drove a ways to Colca Canyon. We all got out of the bus and began our hike. It was a little chilly, but nothing this Indiana gal couldn’t handle. The weather was also bipolar (like Indiana), it was cloudy and then sunny, so you were cold one minute, but hot the next. Nonetheless, the Canyon was simply breathtaking. 

First lookout point of the hike!

Jessica (Brazil) and I :)

One more with the flag!

Sabrina and I holding onto the flag for dear life.

Jeanne (my French host cousin) and I!

Tiia, Jeanne, and I (School Squad)

Sin Banderas 

I love them so much!!

Americans plus Levi (Netherlands)

All the Americans!

After the hike, the students were taken to the Plaza, where we all got off the buses. We went from table to table asking the vendors how much things cost. A rule of thumb is to ask around before you buy anything, because while everything is overall inexpensive, you can get it even cheaper by asking around first. Before buying anything however, I got to take pictures with a cute baby alpaca (who loved me).

Quite possibly the softest animal I have ever touched!

Alpaca kisses!

After the pictures I ended up buying a bracelet to add to my collection (2 soles), a Peru wallet (5 soles), and a sweater made out of Alpaca fur (35 soles). After all the other exchange students had bought their things, we promptly went back to the buses. We ate lunch and headed back to the hotel. We were supposed to go on a different hike, but it had started to rain and many students were sick, so they canceled it.

With the hike canceled, Macie and I decided to go and explore the Alpaca farm owned by the hotel. We tried to get the Alpacas to come to us (we kinda failed), but we did end up learning a lot about different breeds of Alpaca. I also finally learned the difference between Alpacas and Llamas (the answer is Alpacas are way cuter). 

Sacred variety of Alpacas that can't have their fur cut!

Cuties!!

Not so cute llama...

After the Alpaca farm, Macie and I went and put our swimsuits so we could enjoy the hot springs once again. After we got down there, the students (including myself) met an American couple and struck up a conversation. They had started in Lima, went to Arequipa, and were then in Colca (really weird because that was my path too). We ended talking to them about different cultures (they had traveled to many places) and the amazing things about Peru (there are many). We had in depth conversations about food, we all agreed German food is amazing. Eventually we said our goodbyes so we could all go to dinner. 

After dinner, I returned to my room with my roommate. We listened to music and talked. After a while Vera (Germany), joined us. The conversation somehow developed into one of German history aka the holocaust. It was a very interesting conversation, and it was very eye opening how two Germans can have completely different perspectives. One can’t bear to learn about it or watch films with it in, the other believed it was important to remember and never forget. We also talked about the problems currently going on in the United States.  We ended up finishing our conversation at around 1 in the morning, when we decided we should probably go to sleep.