Peru - Part 2

Upon arriving in Cuzco, I had arranged to meet up with my next-door neighbors from Greensboro who happened to be traveling the region as well. I was overjoyed to see familiar faces after the crazy bus ride, especially ones that remind me of home and my family. I didn’t get to see much of Cuzco that day as I went directly to the hotel but it was obvious that it’s a huge city with TONS of tourists and activity. We went to a traditional dance show that night and even got to go up on stage and dance as best we could (not very well ha). We then went to a delicious restaurant and I had my first taste of Peruvian food, lomo saltado, which is basically a bed of rice with meat, onions, peppers, and tomatoes with a serving of french fries on top – yummy! The next day it was off to plan my time in Cuzco and figure out how to get to Machu Picchu. That afternoon I ended up touring the city solo and had a great time getting lost among what seemed like thousands of narrow streets lined with original Inca walls (see photo)… no cement or mortar needed as they somehow made huge blocks of stone fit together perfectly. That afternoon I also toured the Coricancha which was the Inca’s sun temple, one of the most important Inca worship spaces. It’s now part convent, part museum and, like everywhere in Cuzco it seemed, you feel a little like you’re at the United Nations as you hear so many languages while touring.

The next day it was off to the Sacred Valley about an hour outside the city where after a full day of exploring I hoped to get a train to Machu Picchu as talk of the impending transit strike had me nervous. The views of terraced hillsides and of the fertile valley sandwiched in between majestic Andean peaks were just breathtaking and the strenuous hiking was definitely worth it. My favorite part of the day, however, was a visit to Chinchero where some local women explained how the Incas sheared and dyed the wool they used to make their beautiful and vibrant clothes, blankets, etc. The completely natural techniques are still used today and it was amazing to see how juice from a certain root can clean dirty wool in 20 seconds or how little bugs are crushed to make a red color used for dye and for lipstick. After a full day in the Sacred Valley, I ran to the train station to try to get a ticket to Machu Picchu for that afternoon as I knew that for two days the trains wouldn’t be running due to the nationwide transit strike…. I figured it would be better to get stuck up at one of the wonders of the world for a few days instead of staying in Cuzco – but too late! The couple in line in front of me got the last ticket! That meant trucking back with the tour group and spending Tuesday and Wednesday in the city. Needless to say, I got to know Cuzco REALLY well with so much time on my hands.

The most interesting happening in Cuzco over the two days was the huge protest against the government that took place at noon on Wednesday. For literally two hours thousands of Cuzqueñans marched into the main plaza protesting the President’s neglect of the country’s poorer campesinos. Each group had different chants and banners (ones of my favorites being “urgente, urgente nuevo presidente!”) but all with the same message: that the country’s quality of life is decreasing and that the poorer citizens aren’t given a chance to get ahead. And of course it was strange to see the thousands of tourists stuck in the city watching the protests as if they were an outdoor concert. Cuzco is certainly a city full of contrasts… see the photos of the protests below.

And finally, after a long wait, I finally made it to Machu Picchu!! Even though it was expensive and I had only one afternoon to see the entire site, it was so so so worth it! I really can’t describe how it felt to walk around an ancient Inca city that I’ve seen in pictures for my whole life… truly incredible. The train from Cuzco left at 7 am and we arrived at Machu Picchu around 11 am. We had a 2 hour tour of the site and then were free to roam around on our own until the train left at 5 pm. It was extremely crowded that day as everyone had been waiting in Cuzco for days until the transit strike was over and most people had to fly out of Peru the following day. But despite that, and the heat, it was a magical experience. The site of course looks exactly like it does in photos, but what’s missing from the photos is the perspective… a city situated between Andean peaks that seem to go on forever. I felt extremely tiny overlooking the site and can’t even imagine how anyone could have found it almost one hundred years ago. After a few hours of touring and exploring, I climbed to the highest point that I could reach and spent a good hour just taking it all in. You really feel insignificant sitting there surrounded by mountains, the Urubamba river, and the Inca ruins, and I felt truly lucky to be able to experience something that before I had only dreamed about.

By the time I arrived back in Cuzco I was dead tired and was more than ready to head back to Argentina the next day. This time I did half the trip flying instead of by bus because of some bus accidents that scared me, so I arrived back home in 15 hours instead of 40-something :) If anything, I’ve learned that in South America you really have to learn to go with the flow, but that once you do, it’s amazing!

THE Bus Ride

I can’t resist dedicating an entire post to the 7 hour bus ride from Puno to Cuzco. I should have known when the ticket was so cheap that we would be stopping in EVERY small pueblo, village, town, etc. along the way and that arriving punctually wouldn’t really be of concern to the driver. The first few stops were fine since by then the bus wasn’t full and I was still interested in seeing life on a Saturday morning in small town Peru. After about an hour, when I finally thought we were cruising, a self-proclaimed healer got on the bus and proceeded to give us a 30-min lecture about how dangerous our current eating habits are, how probable it is that we will all get diabetes, and how ginseng will save all our lives. It didn’t help that he screamed the entire speech so that everyone could hear and that I happened to be right next to him. But he finally got off after convincing five people to buy his ginseng and I thought we were home free to Cuzco…. until a woman selling a chicken dish got on. Now, it’s very common for food vendors to get on buses here, sell their goods, and get off quickly to pursue the next bus, but this woman actually brought a small electric stove with her to prepare the food ON THE BUS. Luckily we could open the windows…. she then finished up and I tried to concentrate on my music. We still had about 4 hours left at this point and more people kept getting on the bus even though it was already clearly over capacity (this bus company apparently lets as many people on as can fit standing up in the aisle). So really I was just glad I had a seat! At hour five a woman gets on with a crate of live chickens and then at hour six a guy with a small lamb that he lets run up and down the aisle for the last part of the trip. Needless to say I can only laugh at this point and hope that the Cuzco bus terminal appears in front of us as quickly as possible…. I definitely learned to expect the unexpected but was EXTREMELY happy when we finally arrived and swore that on the return trip I would choose a different bus company.

Peru - Part 1

I started off in Tacna which is a duty-free border town where there is LOTS of movement. I was extremely tired after traveling so I stayed in the bus terminal and observed the action all day before my next bus was to leave for Puno. I had no idea that so many people come from all over Peru to buy both food and household goods in this small town. When I left the city that night we had to stop at a city checkpoint and wait for an entire hour while everyone’s goods were inspected, then it was off to Puno! Land of Lake Titicaca and some dear friends I know from working at Concordia Language Villages… I arrived at 6 am after a very cold bus ride through the Andes and I was excited to see Sol and Enrique there waiting for me. At this point I was at an altitude of around 12,000 ft. and I could definitely feel a difference in the air, not to mention that I was quickly whisked away to Enrique and Ursula’s house at the top of hill. The view of the town and Lake Titicaca was breathtaking but I was very out of breath by the time I reached their kitchen.

I spent that day exploring the town and taking in the fresh Puneñan air. With Enrique we trekked up to an overlook of the city where he explained a bit of its history and showed me where he had gone to school, worked, etc. Puno really is a small city tucked between the lake and the Andes, from the overlook I could see the entire thing! From there we went to his family’s restaurant Mojsa in the main plaza where he, his sister Ursula, and Sol currently work. Puno has recently become a hot tourist spot because of its easy access to the lake so Mojsa is busy from noon onwards everyday. It was fun to see my Concordia friends in their element and finally get a better understanding of their lives… not to mention I loved tasting the delicious dishes that Enrique had created. Sol is helping the restaurant develop an NGO that works with local farmers to give them fair prices for their goods that they will in turn use to invest in the future of their small pueblos. For the rest of the day I checked into my hostel, walked to the port, went to Mass at the Cathedral, and of course got a taste for the night life.

The next day I took off at 7 am for Lake Titicaca and visited the floating islands of Uros and the larger island of Taquille. Thirty two floating reed islands make up the Uros community, with a population of around 3,000 Aymara peoples. I have never seen anything like it and it was fascinating to know how the islands are constructed and how daily life is organized. They are only a 15 minute boat ride from bustling Puno but seem a world away. They’re constructed by cutting reed grass from its roots and then anchoring multiple blocks of the roots together to form a small island. The already cut reed grass is then spread in many layers over these blocks to form a kind of carpet. The only problem is that the islands are constantly sinking so three times a month new reed grass must be cut and dried to add additional layers to the island. And every few months the islands are completely reconstructed in a new, but close by, location so houses must be rebuilt and families moved. These Aymara peoples currently make their living from tourism and modern technology is beginning to creep into island life, I was surprised to see a TV in one of the reed huts on one of the islands. And it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the Uros as many of the youth now travel to Puno and start lives there. After traveling by reed boat around the Uros community, I was off on a 2 hour ferry ride to Taquille where we explored the island and had some great views of the lake (and a delicious meal of Titicaca trout!)

I was exhausted after such a full day and needed to rest up for the next day’s journey to Cuzco. Thanks Sol, Enrique, and Ursula for such wonderful hospitality!

Return to the Blog...

Well, I’m back! To all my readers who have continued to check the page these two months, I thank you. And to those who have let me know that they read, I really appreciate it and I apologize for the overly long break…. Needless to say I have lots to share! Winter vacation started on June 27^th and therefore so did my adventures. Here in San Juan both students and professors really love vacation and the academic system works such that the semester ends, everyone has two to three weeks of vacation time, and then they take final exams. The good thing though is that if you complete your classes with an average of 8 (out of 10) or above, you can be considered exempt from final exams… which means I didn’t have any exams :)

So I decided to venture out of San Juan a little to get to know the region. First stop, Viña del Mar, Chile where coincidentally an old friend from high school in Greensboro was participating in a math conference. Since I lived close to there in 2003 I offered to show her around for the weekend before starting the looooong journey up to Peru. It was COLD but we walked the entire city, ate yummy empanadas, and – my personal favorite – rode the new train that connects the coastal cities with the smaller towns in the interior. I remember that they had just opened the train as I was leaving my study abroad experience so it was interesting to see how it operates. It’s beautiful! Fast, efficient and extremely clean… Chile has definitely progressed since I lived there. Unfortunately their pickpockets have also progressed in their ingenuity and I was their victim in the Santiago metro station. Luckily I didn’t lose anything and my friend was able to lend me some cash to get to Peru, thanks Michelle!

I then boarded a bus to Peru, a 30-hour bus ride. Although it sounds like horrible experience, I really do enjoy traveling by bus and I don’t mind the long rides because you really do get to know the country that way. And the great thing about traveling by bus in Chile is that much of the ride is along the coast which is spectacularly beautiful, especially at sunset. Too bad I had no camera then! I arrived at the Peru-Chile border around noon and then took a boarder taxi (a 1950s Cadillac) to cross into Peru, a much more informal crossing than any I have experienced. The Peruvian adventure was just getting started!

A Bit of Normality...

Yes, I am still alive here in San Juan despite the recent lack of blog postings. The truth is there just haven’t been events worthy enough to write about, and though it may sound odd, a slower more normal pace of life has been a welcome change. I finally feel like I’ve established a good routine and that I’ve decided on groups of friends since it was becoming impossible to participate in everything with everybody. The weather has also helped a bit as it’s usually 45 degrees, windy, and cloudy (yay for finally seeing clouds here!) so most everyone stays inside unless it’s absolutely necessary to go out.

I’m of course still attending classes everyday but I’ve started going to the gym more frequently as I’ve found classes that I really like. At school I have a great group of friends as everyone is finally finding their place among the 60 or so first year students. I really still speak with everyone and have no problem filling the 30 minute breaks that we have each morning talking with my classmates, but my core group is fantastic. Birthday parties, symphony concerts, “study” sessions… we’ve had some adventures. They’re all dying to try S’mores so hopefully with the help of some generous traveling neighbors I’ll be able to give them a taste of US culture soon. We’ve also established a nice group with the kids in the residence hall… nine of them left two weeks back since their internship here ended so we’re now down to six – me (nicknamed ‘la importada’ or imported one ha), a girl from Cuba, and four from different parts of Argentina. We eat together, study, and hang out taking advantage of the television they’ve just left us in the common area. Besides these groups, I attend Rotaract meetings on Wednesday nights where we plan community service projects. Our biggest endeavor is a full length play that we’ll put on in December to benefit one of the special education schools that exist here…. imagine Alyson acting, I’ll keep you posted. And then on Thursday nights I go to a church youth group’s adoration service. And on the weekends something always comes up, besides the fact that I do study, so although life has slowed down a bit I’m still much busier than I was in Nashville. That’s about to change though since classes end on Friday and I’m off on some adventures but for now I’ll leave you with some pictures of my sanjuanina life :)

Studying in our hallway (kids that left already from La Pampa ARG)



Singing outside on warmer days



My closest friends here (La Cubana and Victoria from Mendoza who will hopefully be my roommate in a month!)



Dorm friends from Catamarca and my roommate from Buenos Aires

Return to VALPARAISO!!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to return to Valparaiso, Chile where I studied abroad during my junior year of college in 2003. I stayed with my former host family in their new apartment and visited lots of my favorite places… namely the beach and my favorite bakeries :) Although I thought I would feel more comfortable in Chile than I do in Argentina (since I have lived there for 6 months and I’m only on my second in Argentina), I was surprised to find myself feeling extremely out of place. I had forgotten simple things – what different coins look like, how to take a bus through the small city center, crazy Chilean idiomatic expressions, etc. My host family found it quite comical that I now speak like an Argentine and had a good time confusing me with words that I used to use on a daily basis. The trip definitely made me realize how much I consider San Juan home now; I was missing my friends and my new life even though I was only away for 4 days.

Valparaiso is the same picturesque city as before, but things have definitely changed. The city is more built up, with more modern buildings and commercial areas, and there seemed to be many more people on the streets than I remember (this could also be because I’m comparing it with San Juan, not exactly a bustling metropolis). The university is on strike at the moment so it was strange to see the doors of my old classroom buildings chained shut with desks and chairs piled up behind them as a symbolic protest. Although I could never really get a straight answer as to why the university has been closed for the last month and a half, it seems to be because the city wants to raise the student bus fare significantly. There have apparently been lots of protests and my 15-year-old host brother has even gotten in on the action (his picture was in the local paper much to my host mom’s dismay). There are also lots more international students in the city. I felt an international presence even just in the short time I was there and it made me remember how in 2003 we were only 17 students in the exchange program. It seems like Valparaiso is definitely in style as a South American study destination… haha I know I’m always a trendsetter, right.

Unfortunately my camera is still broken but soon I hope a replacement will be brought from the US (electronics are extremely expensive here) with some friends so I will be able to post more pictures. All in all I had a great trip and can’t wait to return … in only 5 weeks during our winter break!

Professors and their students

One of the cultural differences that has most caught my attention is the way in which professors interact with students, in terms of personal relationships and what is taught. I have female professors for all four of my courses, and each course has two professors, one who is responsible for teaching on a daily basis and one who serves as an assistant (I have yet to figure out what this person does besides sit in on every class and help pass out papers). They are all extremely knowledgeable in their subject area and all but one speak British English perfectly… note that this does not mean they don’t ask me lots of questions about English vocabulary and grammatical structures that I hardly know how to explain (so I have to be paying attention 100% of the time as I’ve found out the hard way).

But what’s most interesting to me is their extreme bluntness – if a student is asking a question or explaining an idea and accidentally inserts one wrong word in English or if the professor simply doesn’t agree with what he is saying, they’ll say “no you’re completely wrong, why did you use THAT word?” Or “your idea makes no sense, you obviously haven’t been studying.” Etc. There is always a definite right and wrong. Many times it sounds so harsh to me that I think students in the US would start crying if a professor treated them like this, but here no one gets offended or embarrassed in front of their classmates even when being yelled at. These situations have made me realize that perhaps in the US we’re taught that we could always be right if we look at a concept in the right way or that even if you give a horrible presentation you’ll never be humiliated for in front of others. As students we’re much more used to presenting what we wish (whether on a test, in papers, or in presentations) and getting a grade. Here, feedback is blunt and constant – there is ALWAYS a second opportunity to do better, even on tests, so the student who leaves a course with a low grade has really had to work hard for it. On the one hand, this bluntness and opportunity for improvement gives students a real chance to learn the material, but at the same time students here are much more scared of their professors than in the US. But perhaps we leave college much less able to handle tough criticism…

Additional thoughts about school taken from my first report to the Rotary Foundation

"The most interesting aspect of studying the teaching of English here in San Juan is being able to compare the US and Argentine higher education systems. The most notable differences have to do with the use of technology, the knowledge with which students arrive at the university, and the notion of being a student. Here technology is absent from the classroom. All teaching is done with the chalkboard and all assignments are handwritten. Students have been taught only the very basics of word processing and become stressed on the rare occasion that a professor requests something typed. I also feel that many university students here enter school with a slightly lower skill level than those in the US. Secondary schooling here seems to be focused on the accumulation of information instead of on specific skills. Students graduate high school without knowing how to structure a five-paragraph essay or how to critically analyze text. This is of course not the students’ fault; it is a function of the Argentine secondary education system that is based more on memorization than in the US. This means that many of the skills that I developed in high school are developed here during the college years. Lastly, the idea of being a student is different from in the US. Because higher education at public universities is completely free in Argentina, there is little pressure to pass all courses on time, and therefore students normally graduate in 5-7 years. There is more emphasis on taking time to really learn the material instead of in the US where many students are consumed with passing to accumulate credit instead of knowledge. Also because public schooling is free, a more diverse group of people have the opportunity to study at the university. My classmates in the first year track range in age from 18 to 31, some working and many raising families in addition to being students. Equal opportunity is most definitely an advantage of the system here."