¡Nuestra Aventura!: Cusco, Perú!

We are absolutely LOVING Cuzco! It's so beautiful here, and there's a lot of culture and history. It's also much safer than south Quito where we came from! Our program is also great and we have tons of support! We are working in a girls' orphanage teaching English, doing crafts, dancing, singing, and giving the girls attention and support. We had orientation yesterday, and got a tour of the home and were introduced to the girls. They are just starting to put more structure into the girls' days, so we were asked to teach English every other day and do crafts the other days. We had the girls line up to sign up for English class, and we will have at least fourteen in our class ranging in age from 4 to 13-years-old. Today we did a craft with the little ones, and tomorrow will be our first day of English! I'm excited, but also a bit nervous as can be expected! I'm going to come up with a song and some interactive games so that they can see that learning English can be fun. I hope they will stick with it then!

We are staying in a homestay again too! This is what we really wanted, so we're psyched! Our host mom's name is Gabriela, and her husband's name is Leo. They also have a son who's in his 20's, whom we've yet to meet. Gabriela is a hoot! She's so funny, and calls us her babies! She does speak English a little too well though...not so good for Mike's Spanish practice! It's quite a big place they have; there are seven volunteers they're hosting right now. It makes for a great place to meet people! Two girls that live here actually went to Mount Mary College in Milwaukee...small world!

Yesterday we went on a walking tour of Cuzco. It was a great sunny day, and we learned about some great nearby places. We're close to a lot of things, and there's a lot going on in this city. The first night we arrived, we went out for ice-cream in the plaza with the other volunteers from our house. The plaza is so nice! The ice-cream was delicious too! We got it at this place called Qucharitas, where they make the ice-cream right in front of you. They pour the cream onto this freezing plate, and mix in whatever ingredients you want. I had chocolate cream base, with bananas, Oreos, and peanut butter--Qué rico! The bananas here are so flavorful and delicious! We are really going to miss all of the delicious and different fruits of South America!

These are some of the niñas from San Judas home for girls! Today we did a craft with the younger ones and danced with some of the older girls. :)