gringa

(sorry, the pics don't really line up with my words ... hope you can understand anyway!)

This week … I relished my status as a GRINGA (white girl), enjoying 5 days as a genuine tourist in Cuzco! Seriously, there are more foreigners than Peruvians in that city … and more English than any other language, which was a nice break! I was so thankful to get to spend this time with Solomon Martinez, a fellow HNGR intern whose internship site, Ayacucho, is about a 10 hour drive from Andahuaylas. It was so great to get to debrief our time so far, and we also took full advantage of our time in this tourist city … even enjoying McFlurries and pizza!!

We took a night bus on Friday, arriving at about 4:30am. We crashed at my coworker Angela’s place for a few hours and then spent the rest of Saturday getting to Aguas Calientes, aka Machu Picchu Pueblo. It basically exists to house and feed extranjeros on their way to Machu Picchu. One kind of funny thing is that literally almost every restaurant there calls itself a “pizzeria”! I guess that’s what most foreigners want … and as I’ve already confessed, guilty here!

On Sunday we got up super early to get in line for the bus to Machu Picchu. It was so worth getting up early to get to see it with less tourists crawling all over … This place is AMAZING!! A TON of walking (my feet and legs are still sore!), but the views are incredible. It is so fascinating to think about the history of the ruins as well. I can’t believe it was only “discovered” in 1911! I took a ton of pictures … enjoy ☺













After exploring Machu Picchu from 6:30am until almost 1pm, we headed back to Aguas Calientes and relaxed the rest of the day. Monday morning we headed back toward Cuzco via Ollantaytambo, another town with really cool ruins. This was probably my second favorite part of the trip – the pueblo is still original Inca construction, there’s a really cool artisan market, and we hiked around the ruins for quite awhile before taking a taxi the rest of the way back to Cuzco.
We purchased a “tourist ticket” that let us go into several museums, ruins, and a really beautiful native dance show, which is what we did the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday. Those nights we spent at a crazy hostel replete with 20-and-30-something Europeans and Americans, sleeping in a room with 8 other people … I enjoyed the free internet and hot shower a lot ☺ Wednesday morning we hopped on the bumpy bus back to Andahuaylas, arriving back at my house at about 5pm, TIRED. I totally recommend the Machu Picchu trip … although it is quite expensive, and requires a ton of walking.

Being a “gringa” here has been interesting. I stand out because of my white skin, greenish eyes, less-than-great Spanish, lighter brown hair, and especially my size – just tonight, I was out shopping for a birthday cake with a coworker and a little girl looked up at me, wide-eyed, and commented “You’re big! Do you eat a lot? You’re bigger than everyone in this store!!” Sometimes it’s really strange when people remind me of how different I am … because I forget that I look so very different from them. I guess I like to pretend that I fit in. But then every other person on the street starts practicing their English, or a coworker asks me for my computer when I leave, or the taxi driver tries to rip me off, or a little kid yells out “Hola, gringita!”




























It’s not always very fun to be the outsider … or to be automatically associated with the United States. It was interesting to be in Cuzco for Peruvian Independence Day (July 28) ... We saw this poster hung up in the plaza underneath a sign reading "Somos libros?" (Are we free?), and there were spaces for people to write down there thoughts and opinions. Ouch.






I have been thinking a lot about my identity while I’m here. It reminds me of the days of being called “bature” in Nigeria, as well! Sometimes, I fall too easily into the role of privileged foreigner … and other times it really bothers me. And what have I done to deserve to be able to afford an awesome vacation to Cuzco? In reality, nothing ... As people stereotype me, I think about the many times I’ve stereotyped others. It doesn’t make me feel too good. I’m sure I’ll continue to learn about this throughout the rest of my time here (unless I figure out a way to get really tan, dye my hair, and … shrink?).

Now I’m back to work … still hoping to fall into some kind of routine, but trying to go with the flow. Things at home are still great, and I was excited to meet Talita, my host sister, upon my return to Andahuaylas! I’m looking forward to spending time with the host fam this weekend.

Please be in prayers for my family this week – as I write this, they are en route to Nigeria! Pray for Katie, who is “alone” in Chicago … and for Mom, Dad, Steph, and Jon, who will be adjusting to Jos life again … I love you all and wish we were all together, fam!

Love to everyone … thanks for your continued encouragement and prayers. Still homesick, but feeling better about life in general ☺