With a week of Peruvian culture and altitude under our belts, we are all now becoming more accustomed to our teaching and different schedule. A typical day here for us starts with an early morning work-out. This is followed by breakfast at the local market where we order fruit smoothies and egg sandwiches. 

After breakfast our first official task of the day is to work as teachers’ aides at local schools. Starting last Wednesday, we were teachers aids at the Tambo de Gozo day school. The boys helped in a class of six high school aged boys, while Leah worked in a kindergarten class of about 20. The Peruvian school system is quite different from our own in the U.S., as their school day lasts about 4 hours, and seemingly random holidays are common. Free from teaching, we spent the weekend taking day trips to the Lares hot springs and to a soccer game in Cuzco. The car ride to Lares was strikingly beautiful, though not for those afraid of heights, as the one-lane road wound through the Andes mountains, often with a large drop off.  The only thing that eased or mind was the care free nature of our driver. Once at the hot springs, a local police officer in full military camouflage insisted that we take a shower before getting into the tea brown pools. 

Our second day trip was to the city of Cuzco. Before our main destination however, we decided to get a little more in touch with nature. Specifically llamas and alpacas. We first stopped at nearby animal sanctuary, where animals are taken in order to be rehabilitated and hopefully released back into nature. They have been rescued from a variety of traffickers and abusive situations, including a puma which was kept drugged and domesticated in a night club for years. 

We made it to Cusco just in time for the soccer game, which was Cusco’s home team against rival Arequipa. Although the home team lost, it was still fun to experience how passionate the Peruvians were about soccer, a stark contrast to the almost nonexistent profession soccer league in the U.S. After the game we fit in 20 soles ($7) massages before heading home to a dinner at El Sabor. The massage experience involved a lot of giggling and stifled laughter, both from the STRIVE students and massuses. Now we are back in Pisac and excited for another week of learning and new experiences!