I arrived in Cusco on Sunday by air, the views form the aeroplane were fantastic, mountain peaks as far as the eye could see an a very short descent. Cusco sits at about 3200m above sea level.
The family I am living with are very nice although i´m sure they are trying to over-feed me. I just hope its not to sacarfice me to some incan god!
Señora Maria-louisa is the mother and her 2 teenagers, Joanna and Andre also live in the house. The house is always busy with lots of friends and family coming and going. I had though Lima was noisey but Cusco is worse, not just in the centre but also the local neighbourhood where I´m staying.
My Spanish is coming on spectacularly well, after a shaky start at the beginning of the week, and a day or two of wishing I had gone to an English speaking country, I found myself sititng at lunch with the family today and actually understanding the conversations. Well the general topics anyway, it´s a start!
I started my volunteer Program on Tuesday. It´s not where I was supposed to have been but it turned out the local medical centre did not have anymore spaces for volunteers. The local centre, San Sebastian, was above a busy foodmarket in one of the deprived areas of the city.
The place I´m working at is a medical centre about 30 minutes bus ride away. It´s very different from where I should have been originally, the people who visit the centre appeared to be from relatively affluent backgrounds and either pay an outpatient fee or some of the more disabled people stay there until they have completed their rehabilitation. The centre is very well equiped and is a small town on the outskirts of Cusco, es muy tranquillo (very peaceful)and the views of the mountains are astounding.
My first day I was thrown in at the deep end. I am working with the physiotherapist,named Erick who assumes because I´m an OT I know what I´m doing in a physio gym! Luckily there are two Dutch physio students also volunteering who speak both nglish and spanish and have been helping me with my spanish medical speak and excercises for various conditions.
Unfortunately I have only worked two days this week as cusco has gone on strike! Thursday and Friday of this week hav seen huge protests against the govermnts plans to allow big buisnesses build very near to Machu Pichu, taking a lot of money away from
Cusco and preventing locals from being able to build houses and farm the land. So the protests have meant that the centr of Cusco has been closed for two days and there are no buses or taxis running. Imagine all the 
shops and tourist attractions fom Newington to Stockbridge being closed and thats about the scale of it here.
It´s particulary strange bcuase the area I´m staying in is pretty busy but it turns out its only buses and taxis that are on the roads, becuase yesterday and today has been eerily quiet!
The family I am living with are very nice although i´m sure they are trying to over-feed me. I just hope its not to sacarfice me to some incan god!
Señora Maria-louisa is the mother and her 2 teenagers, Joanna and Andre also live in the house. The house is always busy with lots of friends and family coming and going. I had though Lima was noisey but Cusco is worse, not just in the centre but also the local neighbourhood where I´m staying.
My Spanish is coming on spectacularly well, after a shaky start at the beginning of the week, and a day or two of wishing I had gone to an English speaking country, I found myself sititng at lunch with the family today and actually understanding the conversations. Well the general topics anyway, it´s a start!
I started my volunteer Program on Tuesday. It´s not where I was supposed to have been but it turned out the local medical centre did not have anymore spaces for volunteers. The local centre, San Sebastian, was above a busy foodmarket in one of the deprived areas of the city.
The place I´m working at is a medical centre about 30 minutes bus ride away. It´s very different from where I should have been originally, the people who visit the centre appeared to be from relatively affluent backgrounds and either pay an outpatient fee or some of the more disabled people stay there until they have completed their rehabilitation. The centre is very well equiped and is a small town on the outskirts of Cusco, es muy tranquillo (very peaceful)and the views of the mountains are astounding.
My first day I was thrown in at the deep end. I am working with the physiotherapist,named Erick who assumes because I´m an OT I know what I´m doing in a physio gym! Luckily there are two Dutch physio students also volunteering who speak both nglish and spanish and have been helping me with my spanish medical speak and excercises for various conditions.
Unfortunately I have only worked two days this week as cusco has gone on strike! Thursday and Friday of this week hav seen huge protests against the govermnts plans to allow big buisnesses build very near to Machu Pichu, taking a lot of money away from
Cusco and preventing locals from being able to build houses and farm the land. So the protests have meant that the centr of Cusco has been closed for two days and there are no buses or taxis running. Imagine all the 
shops and tourist attractions fom Newington to Stockbridge being closed and thats about the scale of it here.It´s particulary strange bcuase the area I´m staying in is pretty busy but it turns out its only buses and taxis that are on the roads, becuase yesterday and today has been eerily quiet!
And of course her is the obligatory llama picture!
5 comments:
Glad to hear someone is looking after you! Hope you have elastic waists on your clothes!
Take care, mum & dad xx
Hey! Just figured out that I can leave comments for you. I'm new to this whole blog thing.... Glad you're having a good time - it all sounds so interesting. Don't know how much British news you'll get over there but probably the biggest story since you've been gone (not really) is that HD DVD players will soon become obsolete. Oh how I laughed at Aly... I'm cruel, I know but that's what he gets for the eye patch comments Jill xx
Yo Dolly, sounds like things are going well....working with physios eh...get you and your foreign MDT!!! Hope they are not of the typical physio breed...you know the sort!!!!
Anyway take care, speak soon
Kerry xx
C'mon Kirsty, it's now Monday and no more blog?!! What else do you do at weekends?!!! Glad to hear you've arrived and that you're being fed like a prize turkey by your host family. Have you organized a theatre group yet? They MUST NEED a panto surely? Your little corner of the office is eerily quiet, with only the occasional gasping sob from poor lost and lonely Fiona to break the silence. We miss you!
Nigel (taking a momentary break from his immense workload).
Another great photo. I am sure we have one of you and Melissa dressed in the same outfits when you were a lot younger. Cindy was a lot smaller though.
Good luck with the trip we will keep checking back. After your experiences in Peru your next posting will be to the wastelands of Fife.
Andrea and Gary
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