Lay of the land

I´m starting to adjust to the rhythm of life here in Cusco. On the suface, this bustling city has a busyness and pace to it, when in reality everything still runs very much on Peruvian time and you can just as easily find yourself whiling away hours chatting to locals and travelers as zipping around on a whiteknuckle ride in one of the teensy taxis that think they are in a game of bumper cars.

My brain is saturated by so much new information and I feel like I´m getting a lot out of my lessons here at Maximo. Yesterday my private tutor and I had a great, hour-long conversation about poverty and public health and the differences that exist between our two countries. (Don´t get me wrong, I stumbled through but had the gist!) For all the education, medicine and government assistance that we have in the states, she was telling me that certain problems just don´t manifest themselves in the same way in Peru due to the strong sense of community that Peruvians have. When that gets lost, as it frequently can in our "developed" world, it creates so many avoidable evils. The conversation also made me reflect how much of my identity is woven into my choice of career, as well of course my passions, and how that affects the way in which I see myself and my role in the world.

On a more disgusting note, literally half of the people I´m staying with are deathly ill with something or another. Fingers crossed my bod will choose the high road! Besides, I´m whitewater rafting in the Urubamba this weekend and being ill just would not do :) I got up muy temprano this morning and booked me and Andy some tickets to go to Machu Picchu in a few weeks! Bring it on!

Faithfully and thus far healthily yours,
Millay