Two+ weeks down......

So I realized today that I´ve already been here in Cusco for more than two weeks which is weird, but at the same time I definitely am starting to feel comfortable here, and am going to be kind of sad when i have to leave next weekend.

This week has been really busy, with spanish classes, which are going well, although I´m not sure how much I can feasibly learn of a language in 2 weeks of part time classes. Plus, I also did some volunteering through the school at a hospital for kids with physical and mental disabilities, most of whom have been abandoned by their families because they can´t possibly care for them, and it´s seen as degeneration and shameful to have a child with any sort of "abnormalities". So that was really good, cause most of the kids are so cute and just begging for attention as there´s hardly any staff there, or at least there wasn´t at times when I was there. But unfortunately, I´m pretty sure that as a result of playing with them, I managed to get some icky eye infection which made for a pretty disgusting show on thursday and friday, and didn´t help the cold-ear infection-sinus trifecta i was already battling. But anyway, started some cipro treatment, which has seemed to quickly start clearing all of that up, so hopefully i´ll be healthier now for a while.

Went out on Wednesday and Thursday nights dancing, first with people from the Spanish school (who are strangely 98% all Dutch) and then with people from Loki, the hostal I´m staying at, which is an awesome place to meet people, although the turnover is kind of overwhelming, and the only good part is that other people are just as likely to forget your name too so you start to not feel bad when you have no idea what people are called anymore.

Last night even though I was supposed to hang out with some people I met at the hostal, I went to bed early and actually slept for about 14 hours, which I think also helped with my many ailments, cause today I woke up totally refreshed, (and only needing a handful of kleenex instead of a box) which is a nice break.

Today though, I went out for lunch at a really good all day breakfast place and then went to read a book I had brought at Plaza San Blas, which is a little bit away from the downtown and usually a better place to be able to sit in peace without being hounded by people trying to sell postcards and finger puppets to gullible tourists. Strangely a) there was some sort of market going on there, so there were tons of prospective entrepreneurs there and b) I opened up my novel, which was Margaret Atwood´s The Edible Woman, (that I can´t remember where I got it from) to find on the title page a handwritten note that said "for Sarah -best, Margaret Atwood". How bizarre is that? I was going to hand it in to a book exchange soon so I could get something new to read, but I might end up keeping it just because that´s such a weird coincidence, almost like magic.

Ok well that´s pretty much it for now- things are kind of in a routine here, so nothing all that exciting to report, but I´m off to see a reggae band (which sort of reminds me of newworldson for those of you who know what i´m talking about). Hope all is well with all of you!!

xo Sarah