Supermarket and Ceviche

Hola a todos,

Today Tanya and I found our first supermarket which was both a good and bad experience. On the one hand it was great to be in a calm, orderly stacked-cans environment (although lack of lights meant it was really dark!) and see some brands from home (Nutella, Nature Valley etc We didn’t buy any though, the prices are extortionate). We also saw the first fridges we have seen in about a month! On the other, we were both feeling really, really ill and just stumbled around throwing shampoo, anti-bacterial soap, biscuits, “digestif” tea bags and pro-biotic yoghurt in to the trolley and got out before either of us threw up. The bus journey wasn’t nice either, we just tried to sleep.

Yesterday we met one of our school classes for a dance lesson at the Oropesan sports centre, which consists of a brilliant football pitch, mountainous background and tiny swimming pool! They taught us a Peruvian pop(?) dance which they are learning for a school competition on the 8^th October, and Tanya has spent a good while making one up to teach back to them. I just followed along a few beats behind! The competition is between the classes at the school. It was meant to last from 4 till 6, but this is Peru and so it began at 4.30 and finished at 5.30, just like the 2 hour school lessons… On Wednesday two pupils in one of the naughtiest classes EVER brought me a ceviche! Surprising in itself as Cusco is many miles from the sea and part of the dish is raw fish. It also had some Yucca and roasted maize corn (not like sweetcorn, much bigger and flour-y tasting) but was pretty good! Fran and I couldn’t finish it so some of the boys got a second dinner. Apart from our stomachs, we seem to be settling in well and the next dance class is at a girl called Grecia’s house, in Oropesa. The walking is keeping us fit but we are trying everything from drinking Coca-cola (Fran, from LAFF and a established Peruvian traveller, having lived here for over two years and married to an Arequipan for three), coca tea, sleeping, missing the soup part of lunch, missing the meat (difficult) and have come to just get on with it. Sleeping is better though! I am becoming immune to the cockerel and sometimes sleep through him and have some full and complete nights sleep!

I love the Peruvian music and the children here are so happy. I feel like I have less to write each diary entry as we become more accustomed to our surroundings. I have learnt some Quechua such as 'Nuqa runasimita rimani" which means "I speak Quechua". The kittens are doing well! Ciao. x