Cusco, Peru 2

We´re in an ¨internet cafe¨ around the corner from our casa and after waiting more than 30 minutes, we hope that the 3 pictures we picked will be uploaded soon! We are learning so much here- including patience! We had anicipated days of lounging around peacefully, possibly even with pangs of boredom, but instead we are on the run it seems, every waking moment. We are not climbing mountains or sweating much, and yet we have never been so thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day! We each have 1 on 1 class time for 2 hours per day, as well as 2 hours of walking around town in ¨practica¨ classes with our professoras... 4 hours doesn´t sound like much, but there is never a moment when the attention is not totally on us. Por eso, estamos muy cansadas. Cullen found a few minutes of tranquility today by hiding in the dressing room longer than necessary while trying on camisetas. The rest of the day we continue communicating in our best effort of spanish which includes an impressive display of charades. Everyone is so friendly and accepting of our fragmented sentences. The food is very different with an emphasis on meat, potatoes, pasta, and small dry rolls. Today, we sampled a delicious fruit that a woman on the street peeled for us- it was called tuna (almost scared us away!), and it was apparently from a cactus. It had hard seeds and when I commented to mi professora how difficult they were to chew, she seemed to panic and quickly explained that you have to just swallow them- one more strong attempt and I would likely break my teeth! We went to a local´s disco and danced to salsa music while drinking Pisco con Sprite... we were by far the tallest people on the dance floor which gave us a good view but placed our heads directly in the cloud of cigarette smoke hovering over the crowd- but we were having too much fun to care... Yesterday, we visited our first Inca ruins that are on the hill overlooking the city. There were two highlights- our tour guide spoke only Spanish and yet we managed to learn a lot from him. At one point he explained that there was a tunnel where tourists have gotten lost ¨never to be found¨,then we got lost in translation right has he led us into a pitch black cave that was narrow and short and windy. We were totally disoriented, physically and mentally and did what seemed most natural at the time- laughed our heads off! Eventually we made it out and finished our tour in a total down pour (as it turns out, we are so far the only people out of the several thousand around us that use umbrellas- so much for blending in!). The streets are packed, but not with international tourists like we expected. It is the slow time for tourists (muy mojado) but all the children are on vacation for 2 months, so local families fill the street. Enough said for now- we are so completely full of awe that it is hard to put it all down in words. Ciao amigos!