Developing in a Developing Country...

Being new is always difficult, whether it is a new school, a new apartment, or a new job.  Being new in Peru has required even more adjusting...to the altitude, to the cuisine, and to the people who never stop trying to sell you something.  I am a rich woman here in Peru, made a little less so by the unfortunately large number of talented pickpockets here in Cusco.  I am hoping my accountant will let me write it off as a charitable donation, as some lucky Peruvian family will now be very well fed for several months.

My next lesson?  Coca leaves = Magica
Or so says my tour guide.  And my host mother.  And everyone else.  According to them, coca leaves can cure everything from cancer to infertility, create world peace, and make the handsome man sitting next to you on the train fall madly in love.  I am not exaggerating.  They also contain 27 essential vitamins and are a good source of calcium.    Illegal in the United States, in Peru coca leaves are more widely accepted than marijuana in San Francisco.  In fact, I have a bag in my backpack right now.  You can put them in tea.  Or hold them chewing tobacco style in the side of your mouth.  Wrap a couple leaves around a black gooey substance called the Activator (which in itself sounds suspicious), and you have magic in your mouth.  Legally.  As we all ¨"rolled one up" out on the Inca Trail, the good girl in me felt a little scandalous...but you know what they say, "When in Rome..."

Speaking of drugs...here prescriptions for medications are completely unnecessary.  I literally walked into a pharmacy, told the girl behind the counter who was NOT a doctor that my throat hurt in Spanglish while mimicking coughing and holding my throat in my hands.  I gave her the empty wrappers of the drugs I had been taking on the trail, given to me by someone who was also not a doctor, and she looked them up in a book, found something that I THINK she said was the same thing, then sold them to me for the American equivalent of 33-cents a pill.    

Yes I was sick.  I have terrible luck while traveling.  Then again, perhaps anyone climbing to 14,000-feet during a 10-hour hike in the freezing rain might have gotten sick as well.  It was the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done.  In return, my body chose to reward me with a pain so intense I did not sleep for the next 2 days.  I also could not talk.  I´ll leave you to guess which I was most upset about.

Sometimes tourist destinations are overrated.  Like, no offense Texans, the Alamo.  It looks SO much cooler in the movie.  The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu were not.  Despite a toilet that was essentially a hole in the ground, having no showers, and experiencing four seasons in the course of an afternoon, it was truly one of the best experiences of my life.  My group consisted of 13 hikers, 2 guides, and 19 ´cheskys´or porters.  Chesky means ´runner´ in Quechua, the native language of the Andean Highlands.  By the end, we were all one big happy smelly family.  Something about sharing medicine, coca leaves, and outhouses for 4-days really brings people together.  You might have noticed the lack of wisecracks about the food.  The food was phenomenal.  I could not cook half the meals we had in my American kitchen, much less in a tent at high altitudes.  Steak, soups, pizza, even a cake complete with decorative frosting.  The porters took amazing care of us.  Each time we reached the meal site or campsite everything was ready to go, with water for washing and hot tea waiting.  If you´re thinking of doing the Inca Trail, www.llamapath.com.  I strongly recommend it!

I am now back in Cusco with toilets and hot water (sometimes).  Before the hike, I stayed in Pariwana Hostel.  That was a completely different kind of adventure, but I met people from all over the world to explore the city with.  We partied a little, where I learned how fond Cusqueñans are of 80s and 90s American music.  The entire bus ride to our starting point for the Inca Trail was Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and a little Bon Jovi.  Oh and ´Girls Just Wanna Have Fun´.  Also facepainting.  Why do bars in Austin not offer this???

We ate alpaca steak and ventured into a market where you can have lunch for US $2.00.  Just like our fast food culture, everything here comes with French fries.  My host mother served me salad yesterday, you know, just your usual carrots, broccoli, beets, green beans, and French fries.  The only difference here is that despite their love for fried potatoes, no one is morbidly obese.  Other than French fries, they love their fruits and vegetables, and I have tried many I´ve never even seen before.  My guide said this is because they do not produce any processed foods in Peru.  So fresh produce is much cheaper than the processed foods they have to import.  A dining challenge in Cusco is to avoid the tourist traps.  So many restaurants offer three menus, a Peruvian, an Italian, and a Pizza.  They cater exclusively to tourists, as do the McDonalds, the KFC, and the Starbucks in the main square.  These restaurants are pricier and not nearly as delicious as the few hole in the wall spots we found by exploring outside the plaza.  I will write more on food later.

Now I am living with a host family and starting my Spanish lessons.  It is a little awkward being in someone else´s home, especially with the language barrier, but they are very nice and I am sure that just like everything else, I will adjust.  After all, I now have a toilet.  And access to all the prescription drugs anyone could ever want lol.  Adios!