Vayamos a Museo de Chocolate!

Only about 7 weeks left at AMAUTA! Time sure is flying while studying Spanish in Cusco! I think I finally became acclimatized, as walking up the hill from Plaza de Armas no longer makes me feel like I’m going to die from lack of oxygen. Of course, this may be helped by the fact that I found a gym in Cusco (wahoo!) and I have been working out three times a week. I’ve been told if I can work out here, I’ll be able to run for miles and miles when I return to Canada!

This past week I visited “el Museo de Chocolate” here in Cusco with my Spanish class. The museum is only about a ten minute walk from the AMAUTA school. (By the way, did you know AMAUTA means teacher in Quechua? Cool, huh?)  The museum is completely free to visit, and it’s full of really fun and interesting facts about Peruvian chocolate. Come on, who doesn’t like chocolate?! They offer you free chocolate tea upon entry as well as the option to try a piece of chocolate (you get to choose from over 15 different typesJ).

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Week 3: No money? No problem! Free drinks for all!

Yesterday, my Spanish class went on a field trip with my Spanish class to the Center for Traditional Textiles in Cusco. We had the opportunity to learn how textiles are traditionally woven as well as the complexity of skill it takes to create these masterpieces. I loved that we got out of the classroom to learn about Peruvian textiles, which is a staple of Peruvian culture.

Speaking of Peruvian culture, on our way to the textile museum, we also caught a glimpse of another interesting tidbit of Peruvian culture – the Caminos del Inca car race!
We saw a crowd of people gathered in front of the Plaza de Armas, and after inquiring our teacher told us that they were waiting for the cars to come through the Plaza in 2 hours!

I am really enjoying my time here at AMAUTA. Not only do we visit museums during Spanish class, but I also have the opportunity to get to know the people that work at the school. For instance, I asked the chef here at the school, Oscar, if I could watch him cook (because I love cooking) and he said “Yes, of course you can help me!” Lunch is served at 1:30PM daily, so I spent an hour and a half helping Oscar in the kitchen, talking about life, work, and food- in Spanish! (What a great opportunity to utilize my conversation skills that I have been learning in class!) We made a vegetable soup, pasta and rice pudding for dessert. ¡Que bueno!
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That is right; I am a Canuck. That’s what people typically call people from Canada. I will be here in Cusco, Peru for three months studying Spanish with AMAUTA Spanish School and I will also be writing about my experiences as an AMAUTA student so you can get a sense of what to expect when you choose to study with AMAUTA. I would love to hear from readers, so please feel free to leave questions or comments on any of my blog posts! Without further ado, the first two weeks…

Week 1: Adjustments and welcome

After almost 24 hours of travelling, I arrived in Cusco from Toronto, Canada, and after not sleeping during the night (this may be a right of passage for Peru-bound tourists) all I wanted to do when I arrived was just that – sleep. Thankfully, I did, and I awoke refreshed. However, after a short jaunt to the main square, the altitude managed to tire me quite quickly. The school is located on a hill (as are most places in Cusco) and not remembering the lack of oxygen at 3400 meters above sea level, I walked at my usual fast pace. NOT a great idea! Some people initially feel sick or dizzy due to the altitude, but luckily I only experienced shortness of breath. I was told coca tea eases the effects of the altitude so I have been drinking it, and it is quite delicious, as well! One of the many medicinal wonders of the Incas!
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On the 23rd of September each year, Perú celebrates Día del Estudiante (Student Day)! It is a day to recognize the hard work of students, to congratulate and support them on their endeavors to be better people and professionals, and to enjoy the art of learning. Since AMAUTA is a Spanish school, and AMAUTA is full of students, and AMAUTA loves its students, AMAUTA organized a day of celebration!

The day started off as usual with a lovely breakfast of eggs, bread, and fresh juice followed by some Spanish language practice. Then, promptly at 10:00 AM, the bus left the school and made its way along the winding road from Cusco to Pisac, which is a picturesque Andean city located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The jaw dropping views of the fertile lands and historic Incan terraces made this 30-minute bus ride a treat in itself. However, the fun really began once we arrived in Pisac.
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The AMAUTA Volunteer Program provides the unique opportunity to live and work in Cusco, Peru. Spanish students and volunteers will experience first-hand its rich cultural diversity while cultivating a superior level of Spanish proficiency. Through the Volunteer Program, AMAUTA and the volunteers are able to make contributions to Peruvian society and to help bridge the gap between foreign visitors and native Cusqueños.

One of the ways volunteers support our projects, is through donations. Last month, two Dutch volunteers, who worked for 4 weeks in an after school project in Cusco, brought donations from their home country. Together with the AMAUTA Volunteer coordinator, we decided to use the money for two different projects in Cusco: an organization of blind people and a clinic of disabled children. (más…)

The project Amauta placed me in, involves working with teenage girls between the ages of 13-17. Generally there are anywhere between twelve and eighteen girls. The girls are Extremely enthusiastic to have volunteers around. men. Only a handful of them attend school and have the privilege to leave their home, so all visitors are happily embraced. You do need an intermediate level of Spanish for this project or else you will end up feeling fairly lost. Most of the girls are fairly patient and love helping you look up words in your dictionary if you are struggling with your Spanish. There is little structure to your volunteer actual time in the project, so you need to be comfortable with a more low key environment and building relationships. Otherwise it is great to come up with your own project to do with the girls. Half-way through this project I decided to start an art studio for the girls with money donated from friends and family. They have a large room for making paper which is now a perfect spot to create an art studio. The girls are very excited about this studio project and it was the first time I was able to actively engage all of them at one time for a two-hour stretch period and see them both animated and happy. It would be great to find someone to continue this project after I am gone. While these girls were prostitutes in the past, overall they are normal, hyper, and sometimes moody teenage girls. They love to hug, chat about your love life, giggle, and play volleyball. I you have some time available, I’d recommend you stay at least 6 weeks, as it takes a while for the girls to trust and embrace you. Thanks for organizing this, Amauta, this is an experience I will never forget!

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Study Spanish and Learn about one of the world’s most incredible past civilizations in our Inca Civilization course.

Through lectures, videos and field trips, we study the origins of the Peruvian culture and the developments they achieved in areas such as agriculture, medicine, ceramics and architecture. You will also visit museums such as the Museo Inca, as well as archaeological sights such as Tambomachay.

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AMAUTA Spanish School offers the exceptional opportunity to follow the Spanish Program at three different locations, each highlighting a different aspect of Peruvian culture: the beautiful city of Cusco, the rainforest of Manu and the picturesque village of Pisaq, at 15 minutes walking from the main square and the market, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Due to the lower altitude (2800 meters) the climate here is warmer than in Cusco. Here you can explore Peru as it is and feel like you are truly immersed in the culture.

The Sacred Valley Spanish Program maintains the high level of instruction, as all AMAUTA teachers rotate between the locations. In AMAUTA Pisac, the students live with the teachers in the residence, with many opportunities to practice Spanish. The Spanish classes will take place in either the morning or in the late afternoon, allowing time for the multitude of opportunities for exploring the Valley. Two guided excursions are included in the program.

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“Last week it was confirmed that Peru Rail will be running the route from Km82 to Machu Picchu Pueblo as normal from April 1st. Work on the train tracks – which suffered serious damage due to heavy rain falls and mudslides during the last week of January this year – will be continuing throughout February and March in order to meet this deadline. However, once the line is open services will be running with a lower capacity than normal – we are expecting train services to transport just 1,000 passengers per day as opposed to the normal 2,500 daily passengers. This reduced capacity is likely to cause some problems due to the already large list of people who were unable to travel to Machu Picchu in February and March and as such have rescheduled their trips for April and May. It is important that clients understand that all services to Machu Picchu during April and May are likely to be very busy and/or fully booked. One solution will be to operate more car tours to Machu Picchu in order to take the pressure off the train services. Priority will be given to those passengers whose tour reservations are already confirmed.
Looking further ahead, we expect train services to be running as normal from Ollantaytambo by May and from Cusco itself by June.”

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Prolonged periods of heavy rain have led to severe flooding and landslides in the Province of Cusco, which continues to be in a state of emergency. Although much of the press has been focused on Machu Picchu, many other low lying areas as the Sacred Valley have been severely affected.

However, the city of Cusco is operating as normal – virtually no damage was suffered within the city, with the exception of some poorer residential zones on the outskirts. All flights to Cusco are operating and most road links too. Key damages in the surrounding areas include all road and rail links with Aguas Calientes, which left 2,000 tourists stranded in the town. All tourists have now been evacuated safely, but Machu Picchu remains accessible only by helicopter. Therefore all train tours and treks dependant on Machu Picchu are closed until further notice. The Inca Trail will not be open until 1st March at the earliest, and all other tours and treks will open once a transport link between Cusco and Aguas Calientes is established. All tours independent of Machu Picchu are running as usual.

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