Weather and Cultural Adjustments

I only have two complaints about this beautiful country so far, the weather and having to search hard and far for a strong wireless connection. Primero, I am currently 11,000 miles high in the mountains and it is winter(not summer) here in Cusco. During the day the sun is high in the air and is beating down heavily making you think that “hey I should wear shorts because it’s really hot” then you step into the shade and you then think to yourself “yea…why didn’t I wear pants again”. Also to make matters a little more complicated very few business and no homes have heat. I wear about 3 layers to bed, including thermal underwear, and I have 4 blankets as well. This leads into my second topic about cultural adjustments. I think being a USA citizen makes me take for granted several luxuries that are not promised to others in the world. Approximately 50% of the world lives on 2 dollars a day or less. However, light, heat, electricity and access to safe, healthy food is a luxury that most Americans enjoy on a daily basis. I have already had my moments when I complain about no heat and get extremely frustrated that no public places have wifi. I attempt to counter these moments by recognizing that the reasons for my irritation is due to the vast amount of privileges that I possess. I am learning on a daily basis that I need to adapt to Peru and not be frustrated when it doesn’t adapt to me. Unlike in America, I am the foreigner, the other, the one that no one understands in this country not the other way around. Besides getting use to no heat, wifi, hot showers, and no one speaking English, Peru has been a wonderful experience thus far. I am really looking forward to my second week in this beautiful city!

Hola Peru!

So I decided to randomly start a blog as a way to keep track of my happenings in Cusco as well as let people know what I am doing. Primero, why am I here? Well I have always wanted to do a study abroad and last summer I discovered this trip while browsing through MSU's study abroad website. The name of my trip, Community Engagement and Interdisciplinary Studies in the Peruvian Andes gives a good summary about my upcoming Peruvian vacation. Currently I am located in Cusco, Peru which is near the southern/middle part of the country and is in the mountains. I am living 3,300 meters (15,000 feet I think lol) above sea level! Very high! A lot of people who venture here get altitude sickness. Luckily I have not had the misfortune but walking up hills can sometimes be a pain. The weather here is a little funky, but luckily thanks to Michigan I am use to weird weather lol. During the day it can get as warm as 70 degrees but in the early mornings and late evenings it can drop to about 35-40 degrees. Dressing for the weather has never been as hard as it is now lol. Regardless of all of this, Cusco is a beautiful city. The central part of the city called Plaza de Armas always have something going on. A lot of restaurants, bars, cafes. The drinks here are pretty cheap too :-)! Thus far, I am loving Cusco and its people. I can't wait to see what kind of mischief I get into next.