I’ve made it to Cusco! I wish I could say that the traveling went smoothly, but I don’t think that’s possible these days. One 40 minute delay due to a cockroach infestation after my first flight completely messed up the following four flights, so I had to spend the night in Houston as well as Lima. Luckily, I met someone from UDUB who had the same thing happen to him, so we became traveling buddies until Cusco. I thought that either Michael or Mark (the two guys running the pharmacy) would pick me up when I arrived, but was pleasantly surprised when my friend Richelle from high school appeared at the airport! We had planned to meet in Cusco to volunteer together, but I had thought she wasn’t arriving until July. We walked together to Los Nogales, a neighborhood close to the airport but far from the center of town. Our apartment is located here, and I was able to meet the rest of the volunteers after they woke up. Many of the volunteers are working just with the school, a kindergarden located a ten minute walk away from the apartment. A few others, including myself, are working with both the pharmacy and the kindergarden. Only Michael and Mark work solely with the pharmacy, which they helped create two years ago. 

        My first day in Cusco was slightly stressful, to say the least. I had to quickly adjust to the Cusco drivers, who don’t seem to follow any apparent rules. Taxis and buses have the right of way everywhere, and separate lanes don’t exist. Pedestrians have to be extremely vigilant to avoid getting hit or stepping on a stray dog (of which there are hundreds all over) In addition, the altitude, combined with only having had 6 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours, provided the perfect combination for a pounding headache. After a short nap in the morning, I woke up and decided to go to the center of town with Richelle. However, in the process of rearranging my belongings, I somehow misplaced my debit card, my sole means of obtaining money. Two hours of intense searching left me frustrated, stressed, and still debit card-less. 

        However, today went much smoother than yesterday. After talking with my parents, I found that I can get a new card sent to me in less than a week, which made me feel immensely better. I also had my first day of volunteering, both at the school and the pharmacy. I worked with the 3 yr olds from 9-1, helping the teacher attempt to calm the craziness created by about 30 young children in a tiny classroom. I found I was able to communicate with everyone, but had to figure out ways of conveying things like "Stop eating that box of crayons!" and "Don’t open the door to the porta potty when other kids are going to the bathroom". Even after just two days, I can feel my Spanish improving, which is really exciting. 

        Tomorrow, three other volunteers and I are going to a different school to give oral hygiene talks to all of the classes. We’ll also be giving out toothbrushes to all the kids, which should be helpful since many people here don’t take care of their teeth. 

        There are so many other aspects of Cusco I could talk about right now, but I’ll stop for now and leave it for another blog post. I can already tell that these next two and a half months are going to be challenging, but also incredibly fun and rewarding. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of my time here!