Life In San Jeronimo

For all the faithful readers, sorry that I haven't written in a few days. I finally signed up for Skype, so I've felt connected enough to the US to satisfy my blogging desires for a few days. Plus, everything has been pretty normal lately except that Will left us for the States today. Also, I apologize for all the pictures today, but they tell a better story than I do.

This weekend we ended up in downtown Cusco again because the ruin, Saqsaywaman (sound it out, it's like Mad Gab), that's really close to the city cost more than we were willing to pay. So, I actually enjoyed walking around town more this time because it wasn't nearly as crowded as it was on Friday night. In addition, Meg, Will, and I took a good bit of time to just read and think as we sat in the plazas and on the overlooks.

Besides our Saturday excursion into town, we hung just around San Jeronimo the rest of the weekend. Yesterday we went to a little outdoor restaurant and paid under $17 for four people with hefty entrees, an appetizer, and four drinks. It's crazy how cheap it is to live here. A person who makes $1,000 a month here is well into the middle class and most likely owns his/her own home and car, which is a rarity. We also walked around the market taking pictures, smelling the smells, and being just much a spectacle to the locals as they are to us. It was sobering to think that the camera I had hanging around my neck cost more than what most folks make selling at market in a year. Greg (Will's replacement as apartment-mate) noticed something about the vendors in the market that I thought was profound, he said, "I think it's great that even though some people here are dirt poor, they still keep a sense of beauty about themselves in their dress and culture." It's true, even though poverty can dampen people's perception of human dignity, it doesn't ever completely mute the image of their creative Maker. These pictures prove it. (Pictures: 1. Saqsaywaman, 2. overlooking Cusco, 3. plaza de Armas, 4. folded mantas that women wear to carry their belongings and their progeny, 5. a stack of hats that I found in a store that sells these to Quechua women)

As an aside, I've been writing a lot about poverty in the last few days not because this whole country is poor and I feel sorry for everyone here. On the contrary, it is a very wonderful place full of cultural and historical richness, beautiful buildings, and resplendent scenery. The reason it's been such a hot topic for me is that I'm now seeing it for the first time in a concrete way and letting it sink into my bones.

Also, tomorrow I'll put a couple pictures of our abode as requested by my sister. Uploading these pictures has taken me all of the movie "Rudy" plus about 20 minutes, so I quit for tonight.