Wow, I cannot believe I'm here, it is so perfect! I'm so sorry to those of you that were waiting to hear from me last night, my phone was supposed to work but alas it did not, and I am going to have some words for AT&T....
The house I am staying at is so cute, I have a room all to myself, and actually I am the only foreigner staying there right now. It's quite nice! Last night I got off the 22 hour bus ride and set off to find the house. I knew the address and found the general location on a map, and started walking. A few "taxi" drivers stopped to ask if I need a ride, but when I told them where I was going they did not know how to get there. At least they were honest! So I just continued on, very tired but excited. I asked a couple police officers for directions and they assured me that I was going the right way, though they could not be more explicit than that. I eventually found it and was very grateful to be let in and warmly welcomed by Haydee, the owner of the house and the mother of Yuri, the man who founded Aldea Yanapay in 2002.
I took a MUCH needed, very long shower and went downstairs to have supper. It was a delicious soup followed by rice and beef stew. It was nice to have something warm since it gets very cold at night. By the time I finished it was rather late and getting dark, and Haydee assured me that I need to sleep right away to recuperate from the long journey and change in altitude. I did not protest but went right to bed.
Today I will explore! I made it to the hostel which is not too far from the house, and I am using the internet here for free :) It is SO ADORABLE. I will take pictures and upload them as soon I as I can. I left my camera cord in my room, so that will have to happen later. In a few minutes I will go and find the school, Aldea Yanapay, and get myself situated with the schedule and the people. I suppose they will ask me to start helping right away, and I will be very glad to. I need to make a stop at the bank so I can pay for my room, and I will be happy to walk around and see more of the city. The city is surrounded by mountains, and is very beautiful. I can't wait to start taking pictures. I think I will probably give myself a day or two to settle in though before I go crazy with the camera. I have plenty of time here and I want to get to know the people and the neighborhood before I take too many photos.
Okay, time to sign off. I have much more that I need to say, but I have things to do people to meet and places to go! Hopefully I will come back and write more today, otherwise I will be back tomorrow.
Love, love, love
Maia Jo
Hey dear! I'm so glad you're finding everything to be welcoming and adorable! I'm so proud of you for eating the beef stew! Any major culture shock? Is the altitude sickness bothering you much? I can't wait to see pictures! Make sure you take a few black and white and sepia tone ones for me, I looooove those :)
ReplyDeletete amo! je t'aime! ich liebe dich!
jenjen
Hi Maia! What a great experience you are on! I can't wait to see pictures and follow your blog about your trip. :) Too bad we couldn't catch up before you left, but when you get back we HAVE to meet up and hear all about it! Take care and have a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteAngel
Maia I'm waiting for some pictures!! I'm glad you made it there okay and everything seems to be going well. Especially of the kids and llamas, como se dise llama en espanol?
ReplyDeleteMaia--We are so happy that you made it ok. Love the blog--keep it up, but don't forget to have a good time and give those little kids some lovin'. Mom and Dad
ReplyDeleteJen: No major culture shock yet... I think the hardest thing to get used in certain areas of town is the smell... but the shopping is amazing and all the people are so nice!!
ReplyDeleteRachel: Llama is originally a Spanish word (though I think they adopted it from the Quechua word from the Incas. So you just pronounce it with a Spanish accent (remember the double L is a Y). So it's "Yama". and then wool is lana. So its a tongue twister to say "lana del Yama"... haha!
Maia! I'm so glad you are safely there!! (and a bit jealous!....I'm still contemplating ways to sneak away and visit you :) I'm so excited about your blog and was telling my Spanish III students about it. They are excited for the time when we can soon visit your site regularly and work it into our curriculum. Peace and love to you. Take it all in.
ReplyDelete