Today, I had a really fun day. However, it started out pretty crappy. I had to go in the morning to my volunteer project without Caitlin because she wasn't feeling well. When I got to the school, the actual classes were closed because they were putting cement on the playground to make it more secure for the kids (before it was an uneven floor with sharp rocks everywhere).

The 4 year olds and 5 year olds were placed in the another room all together. They were screaming and making a lot of noise despite the teachers' attempts to calm them down. One little girl woudn't stop crying because she did not want her mother to leave her alone. She was a girl in the 4 year olds and apperently she did this everyday. The whole first period (before recess) was used to pass out all of the kids' activities and drawing that they made since the beginning of the year. They had to put them in their work folders. It took one hour because there were a lot of papers...

Just before recess there were three new volunteers that joined us: one guy, his sister and her best friend. All of them were from Spain. The only person that spoke English was the guy. I was a bit jealous because they knew how to speak to the kids perfectly and build rapport really quickly, however, I was still struggling. Recess was long today. Because of our unusual situation today, the teachers decided to make recess until the end of the day (1pm). I was playing soccer with a few of the kids, but again, the Spaniards stole the show. The guy played soccer better than me, and the girls got everyone to participate in a song that they were teaching the kids...

I felt like I spent most of my time watching, then participating with the kids. I was like an old toy that no one wanted to play with. Even the teachers were enjoying the new arrivals telling them about their curriculum and asking them to help. Finally, the end of the day came around, and if nothing could have gotten any worse, I got a huge, and pretty bad sunburn, because I forgot to put sunscreen that morning...

After my project, I decided to go to Maximo Nivel. I was planning to go to the Coricancha temple today. Suddenly, I hear in the background: "Nicolas!" It was Marissa, the cousin of Miritza, my home caretaker. She came and gave me a huge hug. Marissa is a very cute girl, and a huge flirt (with everyone). She asked me what I was doing today, and I told her that I was going to the Coricancha temple, so she decided to go with me. Marissa does not speak much English (she is taking classes at Maximo Nivel), so we kind of have a language barrier, but because she is so energetic and charismatic, and because of my Spanish-English dictionary, we end up understanding each other.

When we got to the church (whih is right in front of Maximo Nivel), we found out that it cost 5 Soles. Marissa did not have much money on her so we decided to just go for a walk around the Plaza des Armas. We had great conversation! (Note: Hassan or Sabine, if you are reading this, please refrain from more assumptions...) We talked about eachothers' families and religious beliefs. Marissa had to be back to Maximo Nivel for 4pm, but asked if I can meet up with her again at 6pm.

Now that I had the time, I decided to go to the Coricancha temple. The Coricancha temple is actually the temple of the sun (for Cuzco). It is one of the biggest ones in Peru. The walls and floors were once covered in sheets of solid gold, and the courtyard was filled with golden statues. The Church of Santo Domingo was built on the site, using the ruined foundations of the temple that was flattened by the Spanish in the 17th century, and is a fine example of where Inca stonework has been incorporated into the structure of a colonial building. Major earthquakes have severely damaged the church, but the Inca stone walls, built out of huge, tightly-interlocking blocks of stone, still stand thanks to the sophisticated stone masonry.

When I payed for my ticket, the woman at the booth told me that a guided tour was included in the ticket price. However, when my tour guide arrived, I found out that it was only in Spanish (and an English tour would cost me an extra 20 Soles). So I decided to take the Spanish tour and try to understand the best I could. I was the only one in the tour (so it was like having my own private tour guide!). Her name was Laddy, a cute little Peruvian girl that had been taking English classes for 5 weeks now. When she realized that I was having a little trouble understanding (I actually was not having that much trouble), she switched to English. Her English was really good which made me very surprised. She told me that this was her first time doing the tour in English and I said that I was honored that it was with me.

After the tour was over, we talked a bit more, and decided to exchange e-mails. She wanted to practice her English and I thought that it would be a great way to practice my Spanish as well. After taking more pictures, 6pm was approaching and I went to go meet up with Marissa again.

I thought it would me a great idea to take Marissa to the nice lounge I went the other day called "The Leek". We ended up talking more about our lives, marriage, past girlfriends (it seemed like a date, but believe me, it was not!). I also had the chance to try Pisco Sour (an alcoholic beverage native to Peru) for the first time...I loved it!

After our pseudo-date, I walked Marissa back home, it was a far walk, but I did not want her walking home alone. We said good-bye, and I went to go meet up with Hassan and Sabine at the Plaza des Armas (we were going to Karaoke, tonight!). On the ride there, I could not stop thinking about how flirtateous Marissa was. However, I knew that I should be wary of Latin-American girls...

I had a little trouble finding the Karaoke bar, but when I got there, I laughed, because we were the only ones in the place...We still had a great time singing all kinds of songs from ABBA to Bryan Adams. Hassan and I serenaded Sabine many times with various love songs. I had a really good beer (probably the best I've tried in my life). It was a malt Cusqueña (the local beer). After talking more with Sabine, I realized that out of all the people I met here in Cuzco, she reflects my personality the most (non-taboo, lefty, liberal). We decided to leave pretty early, but promised the waiter that we would come back next week with lots more people.

Going back home, I could not help but think what an amazing day I had packed with full of activities! Hopefully, tomorrow was going to be the same...