Blog number next.  Los Dias de Cusco

Ya llegé.

My first few days have been a whirlwind.  I'll give brief bullet pointed highlights.

Sunday.  You heard about it already.  Don't be greedy.
Monday.  Got picked up and hand delivered to mi escuela. Mi professora makes jokes about being addicted to coca cocaine (the tea made is coca, silly).  She doesn't think I am stupid (most of the time).  There is another student at school who I help teach after classes.  At school I pour hot liquid Spanish into my brain for 4 hours (with a cookie break), then walk 30 minutes home for lunch.  I eat a stupidly large lunch (I just love Latina American eating traditions!).  After lunch I play futbol with Daniella.  Soon after I help literally destroy their jardin (under the close supervision of my hermano Fabri) with pickaxes and saws (yes saws.  For the grass, dub) so that they can replace the grass with a brick patio.  You read that right.  Strenuous physical exercise on my first full day at 3400 meters and I only had to lie down twice.  Booya.

Tuesday.  Same start as yesterday, though I get to remind myself that people here likely do not speak German regularly, so when you think they are saying "ach tun!" its more likely yet another Spanish word you do not know.  After lunch I head to Aldea Yanapay, a totally awesome afterschool public health program focusing on teaching the niños a different way to live - with emphasis on dedication to schoolwork/reading/learning, confidence, morality, eating habits, security and the importance of stability.  I am supposed to start on Monday of next week, but I want to chat about sabados de salud - their nutrition program for the whole family every Saturday.  As it turns out one of their volunteers up and left for the jungle and they need another hand.  Which means I get to start tomorrow (as I am writing in a weird mix of past tense and present, this tomorrow means today.  Aka Wednesday)

At supper I learn that 20 years ago there was so much terrorism even in Cusco that the govt could not guarantee your safely after 6pm and until 6 am,  (don't worry mom, 20 years ago).  To signify the change in life state of safety they would play a specific bugle tone at 6 and again at 6am.  To play a tune is "Toca."  So what do these cusceñans do with it? They create a style of music called "toca a toca" which is so lively you will dance all night long, from the first toca to the last.  Crazy cusceñans.

Oh, this is the day that Michael was supposed to arrive, but his bag flew to mexico without him so he got stuck in Lima

Wednesday.  School is school. Today I spent half the day talking about peanut butter condoms.  Preservativos = condoms, preservos = preservatives, FYI.

They best part of they day is starting at Aldea Yanapay.  These kids are absolutamente insane, but at they end of they day they all line up for hugs and kisses because they already love you for being there.  But again, they are crazy, off the wall jumping, yelling, wrestling....its like parenting septuplets.   This place is awesome and please please volunteer there when in Cusco if you like joy and happiness.  My favorite part so far: they actually have staff psychologists who lead "games" intended to find which students have problems at home, are abused, don't get enough to eat, etc.  I love this job.

I will get to chat with Dr Montoya finally on Friday to discuss what I will do, but it looks like I will spend the mornings in surgery or researching leishmaniasis, go home for lunch, and then spend the afternoons with bouncing bundles of ADHD.  If lucky I'll get home by 8.  :) Such a good busy life.  I'll get to meet with the public health school Friday too in order to seed there is another project that I can help with while here.

To cap it all off, Michael is finally here!!!  We are already discussing which hikes to this weekend.

Philosophy of the day, courtesy of my professora: the minute you think you know enough, that you can stop learning, is the minute you truly die.

This gets a little bit at the purpose of life - it assumes that the purpose of life is to seek knowledge, and when you stop this you stop life.  However, I do think that there is micro and macro purposes to life. Micro of course being your personal, individual purpose - the thing that you are meant to do.  Macro being twofold: first; to find and pursue your micro purpose, and  second; to Love, always.

So I'd disagree with my teacher a touch.  But only in that there is more to life's purpose than learning.  I completely agree that the idea of being done learning is both debilitating and egotistical.

I'll get into the second half of my what then must I (we) do question next time... and one of these days I'll discuss the gritty of this seemingly mythical ideal of "love, always." But not today.

Love
Always

Stewart