Getting settled

July 1, 2011
Saludos from Pisac!

We are nearing the end of our third week back down here for the summer, and we are settling in. The initial culture shock/transition that inevitably is part of the adjustment of coming and going from the U.S. and Peru has subsided and we are feeling pretty content with our agenda and situation here.

Our second story apartment is just fine. We are on the main drag, and we have a view from one end of the house of the Vilcabamba River, and on the other end, we can see the Pisac ruins. We can also see lots of rooftop laundry drying, folks next door peeling potatoes, the garbage truck, falling down adobe homes, etc. Occasionally the pena, a few doors down has pretty loud music until late, but mostly it is fine. We actually have a TV here, which we don't have at home. There are only two channels, but one of them has futbol nearly all the time, so given that River, Sage and Steve are into this, it is rather exciting.

The kids just finished their second week of school at Kusi Kawsay. Sage is in the 2nd-3rd grade classroom with Profesora Rosaura who was River's teacher last year. River is the 4th-5th grade class with a new teacher, Profesora Jesica. For those of you who helped out with the Kusi Kawsay fundraiser last fall, thank you! You'll be pleased to know that the school was able to build two more classrooms and secured its official status with the Ministry of Education as well as with the Unicef school registry. The student population has increased this year, and things are going well. As with any new independent school, growth brings change and stability takes time. A couple of the original teachers have left and new teachers have come in. The school still lacks the necessary funds for the construction of three more classrooms to eventually have one classroom per grade. And, the school is still raising money to secure funding for teacher salaries. If you feel inspired to donate, now is a great time because the school association has organized a raffle. Each raffle ticket is $50, and the grand prize is a trip for two to this area in the Sacred Valley, including airfare, accommodations, meals and entrance fees to the famous ruin sites. If you are interested, here is the link. Your contributions will be very much appreciated, and if you win, it will be a fabulous trip!

The charm we experienced with the school community last year continues. Last week, in honor of the Andean Winter Solistice, Inti Raymi, the students at the school had the privilege of watching performances of traditional dance and music by various native groups of this region and beyond: the Shipibo of the Amazon, community members of Taquile of Lake Titicaca and a local musicians and dancers from the Pisac area. It was fabulous!

Today at school, the students presented songs, dances, and gifts to the parents in honor of mother's and father's days. Each grade had a presentation which included musical pieces in Spanish and Quechua. The entire event lasted nearly two hours and culminated in the entire school dancing together to the wonderful music of Winay Taki, the musical group comprised of the founding parents of the school. You can see them on Youtube here. Winay Taki will very soon be touring in Canada!

Socially, we are having a great time. The kids are enjoying reconnecting with friends at school and making new friends. They have had playdates at the house a few times already. We have already been to one birthday party and we're invited to another party this weekend. Birthday parties are fun events here with lots of music and dance. We went with friends to the Feria de Huancaro in Cuzco last Sunday. It is the equivalent of a state fair a la peruana. Alpacas, llamas, guinea pigs, pigs, sheep and horses; beautiful and colorful varieties of corn, potatoes, beans, quinoa, and other root crops from the valleys and highlands; tropical fruits such as cacao, sugar cane, coffee, papaya; steaming hot local dishes such as caldo de gallina, trucha, bistek de alpaca; ice cream of all flavors, kids' games; beautiful artesanias such as woven ponchos, knitted wear and embroidery and more!

Pisac is in many ways the same as it was last year. This valley town is a mix of local Peruvian small town and highland culture and customs and a burgeoning tourist market. Pisac has become a main tourist destination for both its spectacular ruins as well as its artesanias market. The artesanias market runs 7 days a week in the main plaza and caters to tourists. However, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are bigger market days that cater to the local population and showcase fruit, vegetable and household item items from elsewhere in the valley as well as from the highland communities. The Sunday market in Pisac is a centuries old tradition and is particularly spectacular in that it is the day the Quechua speaking people from the highland communities come down to Pisac to do their shopping in the market. They come dressed in their local finery, both men and women. The sellers of the artesanias were at one time all artisans, but now many of them are simply sellers of crafts they have purchased elsewhere. Nonetheless, there are wonderful finds at the market, particularly on Sundays when the highland women come down to sell their intricate and beautiful textiles.

Recently there are new businesses popping up that cater to tourists, hippies and folks out of the area. For instance, I was surprised to see that Pisac now has a tattoo and piercing parlor called Popeye's. There are also some new vegetarian cafes, and a wine bar. A beautiful botanical garden just opened. This was a historical property of someone prominent and it has been restored to showcase native potatoes, local medicinal plants, Andean trees, flowers and cactus. So, things are changing, and I guess we are also part of this change.

I taught a private yoga class in Spanish yesterday to my friend Veronica, a chilena. I have several women interested in yoga classes and I am on the lookout for a suitable location to offer a free or donation based class. At this point, I am focusing on offering yoga to the community here in Pisac rather than at the tourist retreat centers on the other side of town, as I feel more drawn to spending my time and energy with locals. We'll see how this goes with time. I am still exploring how to best use my time, energy and skills in this area. As much as I love teaching yoga, there are many very basic humanitarian needs to be considered in this area such as access to clean water, access to education, to health care, etc. There are fascinating cultural projects. I wish to also be of service in these areas as well. So, I am exploring all of this.

And, we are building a house! Steve really needs to start blogging about our construction project which is a story in itself. He is more closely involved with the project and workers on a day to day basis. I have been calling it: Design Build Pisac. (Those of you who know Design Build Bluff will know what I mean!) At any rate, things are advancing. The foundation is in and the adobe walls are going up. You will want to see photos, and I will have to defer to Steve to get them uploaded. This project is in every way different from building in the states, beginning with the location which is not accessible by truck or car and the building materials which cannot be purchased at Home Depot or any sort of box store, as they are mainly adobe blocks, mud, and eucalyptus beams produced on the property. It is Green Building for sure. At the moment, I am working on getting us electricity which involves making a formal solicitation to the private association of property owners who have managed to bring electricity to this rural area. The sooner we can accomplish this, the faster we can move along, but of course, it is not at all straightforward. That is to say, this entire process is completely nonlinear, and Steve will have more to say about this.

For now, I am going to sign off wishing you buenas noches from Pisac!