I bet you are wondering what "kid washing" is right? I was too! It has to be one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had, but bigger than that, it was really humbling as well. Every Saturday there is a ministry group that bathes street childrene in Cochabamba and we had the honor of helping them out a few times. We set up tents, have hot water, and children line up from ages 7 weeks to about 4 years old for about a 2 minute bath on the Plaza. It is an hour of chaos...little naked children running around (that are more than ready for a bath), people shouting for more water, and looking for childrens' parents (most of them who only speak Quechuan so we can't communicate). We are given a small bathtub about two feet long and one foot wide, a bucket of water and some soap. There is only a limited amount of water, so by the time you are done with one bath there is only about 1/2 inch of brown water at the bottom of the tub. Some kids splash in the water, some just sit there, some cry :( especially the littlest ones. It is so nice to see little dirty black feet and messy faces get clean, but it is hard to know that they go right back to living on the street as we go back to our comfortable beds and hot showers. I just hope that they know that even though were are there for just a few hours, that they know that they are loved and they have a hope in Christ Jesus.
On another note...
Sunday afternoon a few of us took of on an adventure to Salar de Uyuni. Basically, it used to be a lake that evaporated and left a huge "lake" of salt for miles and miles. It is so cool. Supposedly, you can see it from the moon....at least that is what someone told us....i have yet to check it out on google maps. It was such a strange experience....miles and miles of white (kinda like snow) but it really messed with your depth perception (which made for some awesome photos). We hired a guide company that drove us around to some islands, a hotel made of salt, and a train cemetary. Look for pics (maybe on some of the linked blogs)
48 hours of traveling, same clothes, no shower, little sleep :) We are all feeling great!
I was supposed to leave tonight for La Paz, stay there until Thursday and then catch my flight to Mexico....but I just cant bring myself to get on another bus today....I will just travel in the morning. Pray for safety traveling to Mexico. My flight leaves Thursday afternoon and I hope to be at CVE by Friday afternoon. Lord willing I will be seeing many of you on Saturday!!!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Blogs
Here are some blogs of some of the volunteers I am with and we have had simialar experiences...Marcia has been here for a while so I guess Anna's blog is more relevant.... but they do a way better job and have pictures :)
http://squeekypig94.blogspot.com/
http://chickadee125.blogspot.com/
http://squeekypig94.blogspot.com/
http://chickadee125.blogspot.com/
The Unexpected
I have been at Hospitals of Hope for just over a week now and I can truly say that this has been quite a different experience then I ever expected. Honestly, I didn’t know exactly what I was walking into with this organization, but from reading about it on the internet I figured that 2 weeks anywhere couldn’t be that tough. Prior to arriving here, I had my stethoscope, my medical book (actually an app I downloaded onto my phone) and my scrubs all lined up for some hard work at the hospital….however…..that isn’t really what we are doing here. The hospital is actually very well staffed, so the volunteers play a different role. I would say that the medical students benefit from this the most, it is very learning centered and a lot of time is spent watching surgeries and working in the clinic with the doctors. After a few days of that, I prefer to stay with the nurses or sit and talk with patients. However, we aren’t even in the hospital that much. A typical day starts with hospital rounds at 8 then we stay at the hospital for only a few hours. Other times we help out or attend other random functions at the hospital during the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen some pretty cool things, brain surgery….a chest tube put in (with a glass bottle reservoir for the drainage)….facial burns….broken everything….. The most interesting times are when large car accidents happen (which in one week I have already seen about 3) and several people are in the ER and doctors and nurses just move from patient to patient. This is when I help out a bit and things can be fun.
The biggest blessing this trip has been the events outside of the actual hospital. Yesterday we spent the morning at an orphanage for girls 12-18. I was a little intimidated because I remember what I was like at that age J One of the other volunteers planned for a project and lesson based around butterflies….It was really cool and sent a deeper message to the girls about a being born again and life with Jesus. The surprising thing was that they loved it! They were totally into the project and seemed to enjoy being with us. We joked, talked about movies they liked, things they liked to do for fun…they really seemed to appreciate the morning…and, of course, we loved it as well. Last evening we went to a different orphanage in the evening. It was called Casa de Amor and seems to be run really well. Many of the kids actually end up getting adoped, which is a really hard thing to do in Bolivia…years of paperwork. The children were from 7 weeks old (my favorite) to 3 and it was awesome spending time with them. I don’t know how the long term workers at these places do it! There were so many horror stories about the kids who ended up there. It was heartbreaking in a way, but also wonderful to see that they were in a “safe” place.
The biggest blessing this trip has been the events outside of the actual hospital. Yesterday we spent the morning at an orphanage for girls 12-18. I was a little intimidated because I remember what I was like at that age J One of the other volunteers planned for a project and lesson based around butterflies….It was really cool and sent a deeper message to the girls about a being born again and life with Jesus. The surprising thing was that they loved it! They were totally into the project and seemed to enjoy being with us. We joked, talked about movies they liked, things they liked to do for fun…they really seemed to appreciate the morning…and, of course, we loved it as well. Last evening we went to a different orphanage in the evening. It was called Casa de Amor and seems to be run really well. Many of the kids actually end up getting adoped, which is a really hard thing to do in Bolivia…years of paperwork. The children were from 7 weeks old (my favorite) to 3 and it was awesome spending time with them. I don’t know how the long term workers at these places do it! There were so many horror stories about the kids who ended up there. It was heartbreaking in a way, but also wonderful to see that they were in a “safe” place.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Bolivia
Getting to Bolivia
My first few days at the hospital have been interesting. The hospital is only about 30 beds and the majority of patients are here for the clinic. However, they have some really good traumatologists here and do a lot of orthopaedic work (oddly enough). Most hospital patients come in through the ER, and the majority come in from car accidents (which doesn’t surprise me in the least). Today there was a car accident and 2 men came in with broken limbs and a lot of lacerations. I was holding my breath as I watched healthcare in a third world country...washing and reusing things that I wouldn’t think twice about throwing away, splints made out of cardboard, broken x-ray machines, restraints made by tying people down with cloth....they had to work with what was there. It has been quite a learning experience.
Aside from hospital work we do a lot of things in the evenings. Game nights, Wally ball, visiting local orphanages, and last night we went to "English Club" were another mission group works helping others learn English. Well, I am going to head back to the hospital...there is an in-service on suturing....I don’t think they will have us actually do it, but they want to show us how.
Love and Miss you all,
Heidi
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Lake Titicaca
What a beautiful lake! Lake Titicaca is 284m deep and 3200 square miles, with half the lake in Peru and the other half in Bolivia. We decided to take a lake tour on Saturday that involved a 3 hour boat ride with islands and ice capped mountain views, and we stopped off at a few islands as well.
The first islands we visitied are called the floating islands, there are about 47-50 of them with about 600 Uros Indian inabitants. They first made these islands to escape the Incas, but they continue living on them today. They make islands that about 4-5 families live on out of reeds that grow in lake Titicaca. They were really strange to walk on, my feet sunk a bit as I walked across, and you could feel the island moving with the waves. Houses were made out of the same reeds, and the Uros showed us how they cook, fish, and earn a living. Every month another layer of 5-6 inches of reeds has to be added, so most of their time is spent keeping up the islands and making boats or homes out of the reeds.
After the floating islands, we went to another island, Taquile. It was much larger than the folating islands and had mountains, stores and restuarants to visit. The indigenous group that lives there is quite intersting. All the men on the island are constantly knitting, and the main source of income for them is textiles. It was strange to see all the men walking around and knitting, because in Cuzco it was something only the women did. The dress of the island was very specific as well. The women wore black headscarees and full skirts with 4-8 layers the colors of the layers signified if someone was married or single. The men wore these long caps that also had significance depending on the colors. My favorite thing was the belts the men wore. Instead of a wedding ring, you could tell if the men were married by the type of belt they wore. The married men had really colorful belts that were woven out of their wives hair! I asked the guide if they only dress like this for tourists. He told me that sometimes the younger generation would wear jeans and sneakers, but they would still wear the hats and belts. He said that since it is such a strong tradition of the island, not wearing them reflects poorly on their families. Aside for the interesting cultre, the panoramic views on the lake were increadible. I just wanted to sit there and read all day long.
At night, we came back to the mainland after a long day. All of us were tired of sleeping in hostels and taking lukewarm showers, so we were feeling a bit....high maintainance ;) and moved to a really nice hotel. The other place we were going to stay was only 7 dollars per night, but it was freezing cold and most things were broken in the room. So this morning, we woke up in our cozy beds, took hot showers, looked out onto the plaza from our patio, and had a nice warm breakfast in the hotel. For one night, it was totally worth it.
Tonight Linsdey is headed back to Cuzco, and it seems I will be taking a 6 hour boat ride across lake Titicaca to Bolivia. I have to go down to the docks this morning to figure out how and when I can cross, so that is my goal for today. It will be a nice ride, but it is just going to take a lot longer and be more expensive (the first class bus tickets only cost about 20 US dollars for the entire trip!).
Lord willing, my next update will be from Hospitals of Hope in Bolivia and Linsdey will be at home in Elgin.
Love and miss you all!
Heidi
The first islands we visitied are called the floating islands, there are about 47-50 of them with about 600 Uros Indian inabitants. They first made these islands to escape the Incas, but they continue living on them today. They make islands that about 4-5 families live on out of reeds that grow in lake Titicaca. They were really strange to walk on, my feet sunk a bit as I walked across, and you could feel the island moving with the waves. Houses were made out of the same reeds, and the Uros showed us how they cook, fish, and earn a living. Every month another layer of 5-
After the floating islands, we went to another island, Taquile. It was much larger than the folating islands and had mountains, stores and restuarants to visit. The indigenous group that lives there is quite intersting. All the men on the island are constantly knitting, and the main source of income for them is textiles. It was strange to see all the men walking around and knitting, because in Cuzco it was something only the women did. The dress of the island was very specific as well. The women wore black headscarees and full skirts with 4-8 layers the colors of the layers signified if someone was married or single. The men wore these long caps that also had significance depending on the colors. My favorite thing was the belts the men wore. Instead of a wedding ring, you could tell if the men were married by the type of belt they wore. The married men had really colorful belts that were woven out of their wives hair! I asked the guide if they only dress like this for tourists. He told me that sometimes the younger generation would wear jeans and sneakers, but they would still wear the hats and belts. He said that since it is such a strong tradition of the island, not wearing them reflects poorly on their families. Aside for the interesting cultre, the panoramic views on the lake were increadible. I just wanted to sit there and read all day long.
At night, we came back to the mainland after a long day. All of us were tired of sleeping in hostels and taking lukewarm showers, so we were feeling a bit....high maintainance ;) and moved to a really nice hotel. The other place we were going to stay was only 7 dollars per night, but it was freezing cold and most things were broken in the room. So this morning, we woke up in our cozy beds, took hot showers, looked out onto the plaza from our patio, and had a nice warm breakfast in the hotel. For one night, it was totally worth it.
Tonight Linsdey is headed back to Cuzco, and it seems I will be taking a 6 hour boat ride across lake Titicaca to Bolivia. I have to go down to the docks this morning to figure out how and when I can cross, so that is my goal for today. It will be a nice ride, but it is just going to take a lot longer and be more expensive (the first class bus tickets only cost about 20 US dollars for the entire trip!).
Lord willing, my next update will be from Hospitals of Hope in Bolivia and Linsdey will be at home in Elgin.
Love and miss you all!
Heidi
Friday, May 20, 2011
Sacred Valley
Just finished a week in the "Sacred Valley" of the Andes. We stayed in a beautiful little compund with round huts made out of adobe. They sound primative but they were really cool and had hot running water. It was pretty relaxing, classes for half the day then studying, visiting the plaza or doing homework for the other half of the day. There are a lot of Inca ruins in the valley so a couple of days we went to see them.
The valley is a huge contrast between extreem poverty where people live in houses with their animals and have litte acess to clean water, but right up the street is a restort with spas, restaurants, and gardens filled with waterfalls.It seems to be like that in all the Sacred Valley towns. It was kinda hard to see. The name of the resort was Casa Andina and we would often go there for internet acess. I have to admit that it was a beautiful place to visit, but the contrast was unsettling. At the end of the week I asked someone who lived next to our school how Casa Andina treated the community. She said they had to work 12 hour days and the pay was really bad, she felt that they exploited the town and the only people who made money of it were the onwers...oh dear....I didn´t tell her that I had just come from using their internet! I guess she used to work there, but she quit and she wouldn´t let her daughter work there. Disappointing.
Tonight we are off to Lake Titicaca. We are going to take an overnight bus and spend the weekend there before Lindsey goes back home. Hopefully, afterward I will be on my way to Boilivia, but they are having some trouble right now with protests along the border and I might have to go by water (which would cost about 70 dollars as opposed to about 20). A taxi driver told me that he thought the protests would be resolved by monday, so I will have to wait and see. Maybe I will be in Peru for a couple extra days.
Love and miss you all. Pray for saftey for traveling for both me and Lindsey.
PS I love getting emails!
The valley is a huge contrast between extreem poverty where people live in houses with their animals and have litte acess to clean water, but right up the street is a restort with spas, restaurants, and gardens filled with waterfalls.It seems to be like that in all the Sacred Valley towns. It was kinda hard to see. The name of the resort was Casa Andina and we would often go there for internet acess. I have to admit that it was a beautiful place to visit, but the contrast was unsettling. At the end of the week I asked someone who lived next to our school how Casa Andina treated the community. She said they had to work 12 hour days and the pay was really bad, she felt that they exploited the town and the only people who made money of it were the onwers...oh dear....I didn´t tell her that I had just come from using their internet! I guess she used to work there, but she quit and she wouldn´t let her daughter work there. Disappointing.
Tonight we are off to Lake Titicaca. We are going to take an overnight bus and spend the weekend there before Lindsey goes back home. Hopefully, afterward I will be on my way to Boilivia, but they are having some trouble right now with protests along the border and I might have to go by water (which would cost about 70 dollars as opposed to about 20). A taxi driver told me that he thought the protests would be resolved by monday, so I will have to wait and see. Maybe I will be in Peru for a couple extra days.
Love and miss you all. Pray for saftey for traveling for both me and Lindsey.
PS I love getting emails!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Machu Picchu
A group of seven of us set of for a weekend to see Machu Picchu. I wasn't totally sure what to expect. We booked a trip with a tour company not from our school and we did it for about half the price. The "typical" trip to Machu Picchu (unless you hike it) is to arrive by train from Cuzco and then take a bus to the top and it costs about 200 dollars per person to do it this way. However, our trip organizers figured out a way to it cheaper that was quite and adventure. It involved some of the most breathtaking and tense moments of my life.
We started out by bus from the plaza in Cuzco and took a 6-7 hour ride up into the mountains. When we booked the trip, we were told we would be taking "Mercedes Benz" (said in the most wonderful Spanish accent) up the roads. However, we were picked up in a rickety old van with 12 of us total. It was hot, sweaty, bumpy...and totally great!
The whole thing was admittedly "shady" but we were all kind of expecting that. Aside from the van, the ride was incredible. Winding roads, deep valleys, water streams down the mountainside (and over the roads) it was beautiful! The roads were narrow with steep cliffs. Each time we would go around a curve the driver would honk, letting the other cars know we were coming around the corner. Otherwise, cars often would drive in the center of the road.
In the car we visited with some people from Israel who had been traveling for 6 months, another girl from Portugal who had been traveling for 4 months and another girl who was returning to England after being in South America for one year. Each of them stated that they just "didn't have enough time" in South America :) There is just tons to see.
After the bus ride, we hiked for three hours through the sub-tropical jungle on the way to Aguas Calientes (the town closest to Machu Picchu). We saw beautiful flowers, birds and banana trees growing along the trail. The entire hike was along the beautiful Urubamba River with the towering Andes on either side of us. I don't think I have ever seen something so beautiful! Well, it wasn't exactly a "trail" we followed behind the train tracks :) Luckily, trains would give plenty of warning that they were coming because a lot of people choose to go the "economical" route.
After the hike, we got another one of our "all inclusive" meals that that don't include drinks and arrived after about an hour of waiting. Then, we were given a piece of bread, juice and some cookies for breakfast. We stayed overnight in a hostel in aguas calientes and started the hike up to Machu Picchu at 4am. Hiking to the top is about 1200 steps and takes 1 hour (if you don't stop) After the first 5 minutes I was regretting the decision... and I only had 55 minutes left to go! Needless to say, I don't think I have ever sweated that much in my life. After we made it to the top, all we could do was sit and stare at each other; it took too much energy to talk.
The hike was worth it in the end, and the feeling of accomplishment was great. After our drive and several hikes, I couldn't imagine that Machu Picchu would impress me much...but it definitely lived up to one of the Seven Wonders of the World standard. Wow. That is pretty much all I can say.
What an amazingly exhausting day!
Praise God, we arrived in the Sacred Valley where several of us will be staying for the week. Looking forward to a quiet, relaxing week in the valley of the Andean mountains.
Check for pictures on facebook :) I think Lindz will post them
Saqsayhuqman 5-13-11
This morning Lindsey and I woke up with nothing really planned for the morning. We were going to rest and get organized for our trip to Machu Picchu this weekend. Plans change quickly :) At breakfast we were sitting with someone we met from Germany and she was planning to hike the ruins close to Cuzco. I wasn't sure how to get there, so another volunteer staying at our school offered to take the ride with us. It is interesting around here. Basically, everyone sits around and shares traveling stories, tips on how to do things cheaper, and other travel advice. It makes for great stories. So, randomly, Lindsey, Analie and myself set off for the Incan ruins.
The city of Cuzco was great, but the hike through the ruins was indescribable. Mountains on all sides, small "pueblitos" all around and lots of the people from the small villages taking their animals on the hillside. We didn't feel like walking the road through the mountains (dusty, dangerous and lots of busses), so we took several small trails through streams, mountains and fields as we looked at the different ruins. At one point, a heard of sheep came town the road and we had to quick jump up onto some rocks off to the side. I am sure the owner was wondering what we were doing there. Later we ran into some little girls planning on the hillside. They were trying to catch butterflies with this blanket they had. They stopped to talk to us for a little while, but they were busy catching butterflies. We hiked for about three hours hoping to "prep" for our hike up the stairs at Machu Picchu.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
School
I had to change the format of some of my posts. The internet at the school is unreliable at best and it takes hours to upload photos. We are having a great time, so it is hard to find free time to update posts.
Are room is quaint and comfortable, and there is a cool view of the city lights from out room. There are a few patios in the school as well to hang out on.and there are always other travelers willing to share advice about the best places to go and the cheapest way to do things. Everyone is really friendly and we try to do things in groups. We mostly communicate with everyone in English, but there are a lot of German, Dutch and Canadian students here as well.
Every classroom has a little station where you can make tea, they have coca leaves as well to help with altitude sickness and give you energy. We tried it, but I wasn't impressed, I think coffee has the same effects, but everyone here drinks it and some of the indigenous people chew on the leaves all day long. The coffee is good, it basically expresso in a little can that you add water or milk to.
The temperature here isn't quite what I expected- I had four blankets and tons of clothes on at night. I went out at night and bought some very fashionable socks made from alpaca.I really don´t have a ton of warm clothes so I have worn the same socks for three days! I also only have two warm pair of pants so I will just be alternating between the two and handwathing them on the patio outside our room. Today, the school cook was "bathing" in the same sink....I guess it gets a lot of use. Yesterday, Lindsey and I went to a market where I bought this blanket to wear. Yesterday I about froze to death in my classes and all I brought down were two pairs of cargo pants, then two skirts and a pair of capri's- nothing warm! The local women wrap the blanket around their waist and basically wear it as a skirt. It helps. Each night it gets down to the 40´s and there really isn´t any head...so we bundle up. Showering has to be planned ahead of time, and there are only hot showers at certain times and the water supply is unreliable.
The food is interesting. Basically you walk up and down cobblestone streets until you find small restaurants with little wood burning stoves and about four tables in each one. We had a reccomendation for a good place last night and we went with Katie, a girl we meet from England. Honestly, I learned more words in UK English than I did in Spanish yesterday. The restaurant served alpaca meat and it was pretty good. It´s about 7 us dollars for a five course meal and you can find a 3 course meal for about 3 us dollars.
Im off to book a trip to Machu Piccu. Lindz and I planned on taking this luxurious train up the mountain and going with the schools travel agency, but some other studens found a way to get there for half the price. They just told us that we would have to "rough it" for the weekend...i might regret this, but honestly, I would rather travel with a big group than with Lindz and I alone.
Love and miss you all!
Heidi
ps i don´t have spell check, and as you know my spelling is terrible....sorry!
Are room is quaint and comfortable, and there is a cool view of the city lights from out room. There are a few patios in the school as well to hang out on.and there are always other travelers willing to share advice about the best places to go and the cheapest way to do things. Everyone is really friendly and we try to do things in groups. We mostly communicate with everyone in English, but there are a lot of German, Dutch and Canadian students here as well.
Every classroom has a little station where you can make tea, they have coca leaves as well to help with altitude sickness and give you energy. We tried it, but I wasn't impressed, I think coffee has the same effects, but everyone here drinks it and some of the indigenous people chew on the leaves all day long. The coffee is good, it basically expresso in a little can that you add water or milk to.
The temperature here isn't quite what I expected- I had four blankets and tons of clothes on at night. I went out at night and bought some very fashionable socks made from alpaca.I really don´t have a ton of warm clothes so I have worn the same socks for three days! I also only have two warm pair of pants so I will just be alternating between the two and handwathing them on the patio outside our room. Today, the school cook was "bathing" in the same sink....I guess it gets a lot of use. Yesterday, Lindsey and I went to a market where I bought this blanket to wear. Yesterday I about froze to death in my classes and all I brought down were two pairs of cargo pants, then two skirts and a pair of capri's- nothing warm! The local women wrap the blanket around their waist and basically wear it as a skirt. It helps. Each night it gets down to the 40´s and there really isn´t any head...so we bundle up. Showering has to be planned ahead of time, and there are only hot showers at certain times and the water supply is unreliable.
The food is interesting. Basically you walk up and down cobblestone streets until you find small restaurants with little wood burning stoves and about four tables in each one. We had a reccomendation for a good place last night and we went with Katie, a girl we meet from England. Honestly, I learned more words in UK English than I did in Spanish yesterday. The restaurant served alpaca meat and it was pretty good. It´s about 7 us dollars for a five course meal and you can find a 3 course meal for about 3 us dollars.
Im off to book a trip to Machu Piccu. Lindz and I planned on taking this luxurious train up the mountain and going with the schools travel agency, but some other studens found a way to get there for half the price. They just told us that we would have to "rough it" for the weekend...i might regret this, but honestly, I would rather travel with a big group than with Lindz and I alone.
Love and miss you all!
Heidi
ps i don´t have spell check, and as you know my spelling is terrible....sorry!
Cuzco
24 hours in Cuzco!
A little bit about the town....
The town itself used to be the "capital" more or less of the Inca empire, eventually, it had a big Spanish infulence as well. It makes for a really pretty town with cobblestone streets, ruins from the inca empire and a lot of colonial influence from Spain. A lot of thing in the town remind me of Guanajuato, MX (esp. the steep roads and small alleyways.
The elevation is 3326 m. Comparatively, Denver is about 1580 m. Before we left Lindsey and I were taking Diamox to prevent altitude sickness, but you can still feel the effects of being so high up. My hands and feet get tingly and the 2 flights of stairs to our room leaves us panting for air. Last night I asked one of the workers for some help with the key, and he told me "calm down, it's okay" :) I preceded to tell him that I wasn't upset, I just couldn't breathe!
Linsey and I arriving in Cuzco. A representative from the school picked us up. He comes from one of the indigenous jungle towns and his primary language is Quechua, which most people speak in the really small/secluded towns outside of Cuzco. A lot of the street names and foods are in Quechua. However, its still easy to make things out and a lot of signs are translated because it is such a big tourist town. Most people come here to start the treck to Machu Picchu.
A little bit about the town....
The town itself used to be the "capital" more or less of the Inca empire, eventually, it had a big Spanish infulence as well. It makes for a really pretty town with cobblestone streets, ruins from the inca empire and a lot of colonial influence from Spain. A lot of thing in the town remind me of Guanajuato, MX (esp. the steep roads and small alleyways.
The elevation is 3326 m. Comparatively, Denver is about 1580 m. Before we left Lindsey and I were taking Diamox to prevent altitude sickness, but you can still feel the effects of being so high up. My hands and feet get tingly and the 2 flights of stairs to our room leaves us panting for air. Last night I asked one of the workers for some help with the key, and he told me "calm down, it's okay" :) I preceded to tell him that I wasn't upset, I just couldn't breathe!
Linsey and I arriving in Cuzco. A representative from the school picked us up. He comes from one of the indigenous jungle towns and his primary language is Quechua, which most people speak in the really small/secluded towns outside of Cuzco. A lot of the street names and foods are in Quechua. However, its still easy to make things out and a lot of signs are translated because it is such a big tourist town. Most people come here to start the treck to Machu Picchu.
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