For anyone who doesn't know: I'm doing youth development work with an organization called FutureSense for the next two months in Urubamba, Peru. I arrived in Urubamba on Monday afternoon, so today was my first full day in Urubamba. Some of my first impressions:
- The food! All the food we've had here is extremely natural, extremely local, and such a change of pace from what I'm used to eating at home. A highlight so far was a bar of Machu Picchu chocolate (the flavor I got was cappuccino and it was a winner). The bar is made with local cacao beans, which have a slightly different flavor than what I'm used to. So far, I really like the idea of getting so much of my food fresh and pretty unprocessed, and I'm interested to see if I feel any differently physically after eating this way for two months.
- The people. I've really enjoyed so far getting to know my coworkers at FutureSense, and all the people of Urubamba have been extremely friendly. I'm excited to get more involved in this community in the next couple months.
- The walking. While a common form of transportation is mototaxis (I'll add a picture sometime later), we've already walked around the town a good bit. So far, I like it - we'll see how I'm feeling on my more tired days.
- The mountains. There are mountains all around, since we're in the highlands of Peru in the Andes Mountains, and even a glaciar can be spotted when you're standing in the right spot.
Overall, I already like it here. I've hit a few roadblocks - like not knowing how to turn on the hot water in the shower, or suddenly feeling like my Spanish is a bit rusty, or even feeling a little bit of homesickness. These are all things that will work themselves out with time. But I'm excited to begin my job in earnest - managing a project in a local school, where volunteers will plant trees and run English workshops for students there.
For now, I'm going to end this blog with a few pictures before I pack up and head home out of the WiFi zone.
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| My room. Small, but cozy and comfortable. |
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| The entrance to the compound where my room is. |
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| Right outside my room.There's a garden in the midde, and another building opposite ours. |
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| My backyard, so to speak. |
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| The second floor. My room is right there on the right, behind the laundry. |
That's all for now! Many more pictures and stories to come in the next few months.
