July 15th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
Incas are no different from the Ancient Romans, Ancient Greeks, Maoris, Aborigines, and Native Americans when it comes to art and tools. Museo Incas glorifies with an incredible collection of Incas artifacts, which include pottery, jewelry, sculptures, textiles, and tools. While visiting the Inca sites such as Pisac and Ollaytaytambo was fascinating, seeing the artifacts was just as exciting to see. It’s always very interesting to see how the Incas lived their lives by knowing what tools they used for both survival and pleasure. They also have enormous shadow boxes depicting scenes of Incas’ lives which gave me a greater comprehension of how they lived their lives on the lands of Peru.
The admission to the museum is very cheap – S./ 10 ! I would definitely go check it out! It’s located right behind the Cathedral!
July 14th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
Yesterday, I decided to take a stroll along the Avenue de la Cultura, a road leading up to Plaza de Armas. Walking in Peru is an entirely different experience. The sidewalks are somewhat uneven. In other words, the sidewalks are not well paved. There are tons of dents and hollows in the sidewalks.
The trashcans are absolutely bizarre! All trash being tossed into the cans does NOT go into a trash bag! It goes in the ground! When trash collectors pick up trash, they open up the entire door that is attached to the trashcan and lo and behold, there is a HUGE pile of trash underground. They sure do have to spend some time pulling all the trash out of the ground. I wonder why they thought of this way rather than the simpler way which is just to have trash bags in the trashcans – all they have to do is pull the bag out, and they’re done!
Many of the buildings are old and worn out. At the same time, many of them are painted in bright colors to add some a feeling of happiness to the atmosphere.
There is a big number of pedestrians along this road and even on other roads throughout Cusco. In fact, it is not common for Peruvians to own a car. Many of them walk or take a taxi. Taxis are absolutely abundant in Cusco like New York! (Unless there is a strike!)
July 13th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
A few nights ago, I spoke to my mom on the phone. During our conversation, I told her that, after experiencing the strike in Cusco and also in some other countries, I have mixed feelings about whether I should support union workers or not. While I truly do believe that the workers do need to be treated with great respect and to have the right to stand up for themselves when they feel that their needs are not met, when strikes happen, they impact many in the community and even throughout the world greatly.
When public transportation went on strike the other day, it created major havoc for people who needed to go to work and to school. Is it fair for the whole community to be put in a rest mode because of lack of transportation? It could even be dangerous. For example, what if some of the doctors rely on public transportation to get to hospitals, and they certainly need to be there for their patients.
Another example is that when I was in France for four months last year, Air France pilots announced that they were going on strike a few days before I was about to head home to the US. It was somewhat nerve wrecking because I needed to get home for my friend’s upcoming retirement party and to get ready to head to Australia and New Zealand for a month. I certainly did have a back-up plan in my mind which was to take a train to one of the airports at the bordering countries and try to change my ticket from there. Fortunately, the strike ended the DAY BEFORE I headed out! WHEW!
On the other hand, if I were an employee who was being mistreated along with a large number of other workers, I would certainly want to somehow stand up strong for ourselves to fight for the needs that we deserve.
So, what I’m saying is that I feel that there is a need for a middle ground so that both sides are not unfairly impacted. To be honest, I feel like I’m stuck in the middle about which side I should take.
The moral of this story is that traveling to other countries to experience something that I rarely or never experience in my own country allows me to form educated opinions.
July 13th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
PARE! Yes, I just said “STOP!” in Spanish.
On my very first trip overseas when I was 17 years old, I went to France. One of the things that shocked me the most was that the stop signs in France were written “STOP” instead of “ARRET” the French word for “STOP!” I asked the French people there, and they said it was because “STOP” is the most universal word for “STOP” in Europe, and there are a lot of people who travel through France from its surrounding countries where the languages are different from France’s official language. Also, France is not concerned about losing their culture unlike Quebec, Canada, where we find stop signs written “ARRET.”
So, over the past four years of traveling throughout Europe, I sure did notice that all stops signs were written as “STOP.”
However, Peru is the first country where I encountered stop signs are written in their own language! It’s fascinating to see how each country embraces their own language!
July 12th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
After being ill, I very much needed to get out and explore a little. I brought my camera with me and went on an adventure to meet some Peruvians! Here are some Peruvians whom I’ve met today!
July 11th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | 1 Comment »
2 AM in the morning on Friday, I woke up with stomach pain and feeling the need to go to the bathroom. Let’s just say that I was in the bathroom for about an hour to two hours. No need to explain the details.
I called my parents since my dad is a doctor, and I wanted a second opinion on whether I should get medical attention since I’d already been taking Cipro for two days. My dad said that I should definitely see a doctor. I left a note under Jana’s door explaining what happened and that I needed to see a doctor ASAP and to explain it to my host mother. I also told her that if I’m not awake when she’s awake, she and my host mother should wake me up in the morning.
Both Jana and my host mother woke me up in the morning, and the minute I opened my eyes, I saw their facial expressions as if they were really concerned. Within a half hour, we were out of the house and headed to the hospital to which my travel insurance told me to go as it was covered by my insurance plan. Fortunately, the hospital happened to be only a five minute walk!
When I first arrived at the hospital, I was amazed by how clean and modern it looked. It was also brightly lit. I have admit that I was expecting to see a very gloomy atmosphere with paint peeling off the walls and dim lights because of what I’ve been seeing throughout Cusco and also because Peru is considered a third-world country. However, it was not at all! The hospital was just as modern as the hospitals I have visited in my home country.
I had a blood test, and I was also supposed to have a stool test, but was unable to do it due to being on anti-diarrhea medicine. Shortly after the blood test, I met with a doctor. As soon as I sat down with her, she said:
“You have Typhoid Fever.”
I almost fainted. “I had a vaccine for Typhoid Fever,” I told her.
“Vaccines usually don’t work,” she said.
“So, is this treatable?” I asked.
“You just need to take these medications…”‘ she said. She continued by giving me instructions on which medication I should take, and when I should take them. She sounded as if the illness was something that I shouldn’t fret over, and she said that Typhoid Fever is very common in Peru and treatable with medication.
After visiting the doctor, I went to the pharmacy with my host mother and Jana to pick up the prescription medicines and bottles of Gatorade to get fluid in my body.
As soon as I got back to my host family’s home, I called my mother to give her updates. The minute she heard “Typhoid Fever,” she FREAKED out by saying, “WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO???” and a few moments later, she hung up to call my dad. A few minutes later, I called my mom back to see what my dad had to say, and, as a typical mother, she continued to freak out some more by saying, “I WANT YOU TO COME HOME!” I burst into tears when she said it.
After my parents talked to a few doctors, they all said that my diagnosis seemed to be incorrect because diarrhea does not exist with Typhoid Fever. Plus, I was supposed to have a fever, and according to my temperature which the doctor took, she said that it was normal. Jana also told me that my host mother told Jana that she thinks that the diagnosis is wrong too.
So, I’m going to go back to the hospital this week to do another different test to try to get more accurate information.
Otherwise, I’m feeling much better today than I was yesterday. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip to Machu Picchu as I needed a day to relax and to take an easy so that I don’t get a relapse. However, I’m going to reschedule it to one of the days during the week. Next weekend, I’m going to Manu, a rainforest in Peru, for four days and three nights to gain a greater appreciation of ecology and to say to people in my home country that I’ve been to the rainforest and these are the reasons that it’s important to conserve the rainforests….
I feel tremendously fortunate to be staying in Cusco for a month as not only do I have plenty of time to recover from my illness, but also to reschedule my canceled tours. When I travel overseas, I never like to stay in a country for less than two weeks. I have to be in the country for more than two weeks just in case I experience issues like this, and of course, also really to immerse myself in another culture!
I also couldn’t have thanked enough my host mother and Jana who both came to the hospital with me and waited with me during the entire visit and also spoke to the doctor to ensure they know what they can do to take care of me. Last night, my host mother made wonderful homemade chicken soup which tasted very delicious.
Also, another beauty of staying with a host family is that, at least f I get sick, I’m resting in a home-atmosphere rather than in a hostel!
UPDATE JULY 12: I went to the hospital today to drop off the stool sample and to get my test results. After getting my test results, I contacted my parents and gave them the details. My dad contacted the travel doctor in my home country, and she said that I have the typical bacterial infection and to stay on Cipro until it clears up. The doctor said that it’s almost impossible not to get traveler’s diarrhea. So, hopefully, it will clear up soon! Keep your fingers crossed please!
July 11th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
This is the third destination that I visited in the Sacred Valley last Sunday:
Perched several feet above sea level overlooking the beautiful sunset by the Andes Mountain, Chinchero is another fascinating village in the Sacred Valley. Streetlights shine on the town like sparkling golden jewels. There were rows of Peruvian vendors selling Peruvian specialties by the adobe church. The adobe church is actually built above the Inca foundations. Apparently, the Spanish conquistador, Pizarro, burned the village during the 16th century by cutting off his Spanish pursers’ supply lines. A few decades after the village being burnt, the adobe church was built along with establishing a plantation.
Besides visiting the church, I also visited a weaving site where I had the opportunity to see how Peruvians create magnificent weavings, such as scarves, tapestries, and sweaters. They showed us every step including how to create strings, dying the strings into different colors, and creating different illustrations on the weaving. What amazed me the most is that people can create dyes simply from nature, such as leaves, flowers, and soil!
P.S. I just realized that my photos from my trip to Ollaytaytambo didn’t show up on this blog entry. It’s now fixed and so, please go back to it to view the photos from this another great village.
July 10th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | No Comments »
Peru sure does have very strange food here! Yesterday, one of my Spanish teachers was teaching us Spanish words for fruits and vegetables. Not only we were given a list of typical fruits and vegetables such as oranges, onions, and blueberries, but also strange and unheard of names such as chirimoya and granadilla. Apparently, they were fruits and vegetables made specially in Peru.
The teacher gave us a homework which was to go the big market in Cusco and buy a fruit or a vegetable for the class to taste. I was assigned to get a pepper. Of course, I was thinking of the pepper that we, the Americans, eat. So, I went to the market today thinking that I should find the BRIGHT RED piece of food. Well, apparently, there are two very different kind of peppers – pimento and pimeno, and I didn’t realize it until I came to class today as the teacher said that I brought the wrong type of pepper. UGH! Oh well. I lived and learned. I will go back to the market one day and find the pimeno as I’m curious to see what it looks like.
Other students did actually buy fruits with VERY strange names and tasted them:
Tuna (No, it’s not that fish. It’s just a fruit that happened to be named tuna.)
Lucuma
Granadilla
Chirimoya
Unfortunately, I had traveler’s sickness the other day from probably water or something that I ate – who knows. Apparently, I was told by the Spanish school on the first day I arrived in Cusco that, in spite of precautions, more than half of the tourists still get traveler’s sickness from water or food. Unfortunately, I ended up in the traveler’s sickness club. Not to worry, it was nowhere near as bad as the food poisoning that I had when I was in New Zealand last December. I just took Cipro, an antibiotic, relaxed, and recovered within a few hours. However, I was reluctant to eat fruits that were just brought from the market and were not yet washed.
July 9th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | 1 Comment »
A lot of times when I go to the malls with friends in my home country, they always question me why I’m not buying anything. It’s simply because not only am I saving my bucks for traveling, but also to bring back some unique spices to my home country from a foreign country. As I mentioned, I brought quite a few sweaters, jewelry, and a scarf - the “spices” that are not only unique to Peru, but also useful in my life, obviously.
Because of the strike that happened yesterday, it was next to impossible to catch a taxi. So, I walked back to my host family’s home with Jana from the school. On our way back, I came across this shoe store which appeared to have I’ve-never-seen-before-shoes and the ones that appeared to have Peruvian flare to them. I immediately came across these hot TURQUOISE boots with a strip of a weave of a Peruvian design. Everybody knows that whenever I see turquoise, it’s a must-to-have item! LOL! Anyways, I couldn’t pass up not buying the boots. It was something that I can’t find in my own home, something that I can wear during the winter time, it was cheap as always, and something that makes me stand out from other people when it comes to fashion in my own country!
So, my rarely buying anything in my home country pays off because I can have the opportunity to bring home unique “spices.”
Strike is OVER! THANK GOODNESS! Let’s hope that it doesn’t happen again while I’m in Peru!
July 8th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Peru | 1 Comment »
UGH! Everytime I head overseas, I always experience a strike or a protest, something that I rarely experience in my own country. They irritate me so much because they make life somewhat more difficult and sometimes dangerous. Cusco is ON STRIKE today and perhaps tomorrow. Today, when I went out to catch a taxi, it was almost impossible! There were VERY few taxis today. All the ones that I saw already had people in the car! So, I decided to walk towards the school hoping that I could catch one on the way. I did finally catch one after a half hour or so, and of course, it was more expensive than usual – S./ 5 . It’s better than having no cab. As I was walking, I saw a big line of police officers walking on the street and some streets being blocked by big rocks. Unreal! Of course I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew that something MAJOR had to be happening today. When I got to school, I asked a student what was going on and he said, “Strike on public transportation!” Ugh! I went on my computer to check it out on Google News for more details for the sake of my safety and to be more prepared if the strike continues this week, and all I could find was these news: Click Here and Here GREAT! I hope I can get to Machu Picchu this Saturday! Please excuse me for my ranting today. However, as always, it’s part of the travel experience which is to understand how the residents of these countries live through these situations. So, I’m learning how to compensate for the difficulties of finding taxis.
