Since leaving my family, Ian and I have moved in with a local couple on the outskirts of cuzco. The city is much different out here because it is a normal middle class residential area, but still very interesting because I feel a lot more like I am living here rather than just visiting. The Spanish classes are also going very well... I have caught on very quickly but keep getting rebuked for mixing my Spanish with my Portuguese! My brother, Chris, has also decided to join us for the South America portion of our trip, we are now the ¨Three Amigos¨/Gringos!

The apartment that we are staying in was probably built in the 1940's and is much different from most places in the US, but is still quite nice (I have my own room!). The couple who owns the apartment are also extremely nice. They are some of the most giving people that I have met. They are both travel agents, which is really nice for us trying to arrange buses all over Peru, and they are from areas that we are going. By the way, their names are Lucey and Ricardo like the tv show!

On the giving side, they work with a village outside of Cuzco three times a week. This is quite a commitment because the village is more than an hour outside of town. We got to go with them today, and just the journey their was an experience, switching cabs a couple times and finally off-roading in a rickshaw to the village. The village does not have more than 100 people, but they are very poor. They live in mudbrick houses with spanish tile rooves and dogs, cows, cats, and chickens roam freely.

The problem with this village is that they have poor irrigation for crops most of the year, and the rest of the year they are plagued with alcoholism. The men don't like to work, and the women do all the work. However, the children sometimes go several days without food because the women are plagued with alcoholism as well. You can tell when the children are malnourished by their skin and the color of their hair. Their faces become hard and crack, and their hair turns from black to blonde. They are also several kilometers from the nearest doctor and there are no cars.

Lucey and Ricardo go there several times a week to make sure that the women are cooking food for the children and also to make sure the teacher that their church is paying to go there shows up. They are also trying to set up a rural hospital there and teaching them to grow different varieties of crops, and how to bake, and make ponchos to sell in the market. Today, we went there to help repair the school from the last earthquake, and we brought large pizza looking loaves of bread to give to the children and a sack of clothes that weighed probably 60-80lbs. It was a really moving experience. I don't have too many photos because I'm opposed to exploiting their culture, but I have a few of the village from a distance.

The funny part of the day came when they wanted to give us some food. The ladies had prepared one enormous plate that was a mixture of large steamed corn and various beans and another plate of what looked like collard greens, but tasted much better. Well, we started eating, we had eaten for 1/2 hour and had not made a dent, and Lucey said that we had to eat it all to not seem rude. So, since Ian was filling sick, I tackled the enormous plate of beans and corn (about 2 pounds) and Chris tackled about the same amount of green. I am not going to need to eat for a week, and I hope I dont get adverse side effects from all those beans. After, we also found out that the greens give you crazy dreams, so Im interested to hear Chris´s story tomorrow!

Tomorrow we visit the Inca sacred valley and are going to the Day of Kings festival in another small town outside of Cuzco. Till next time, Cheers