Grassy-ass Senor

After our whitewater rafting adventure we spent a week in Cusco taking Spanish lessons and staying with a family in their home. It was quite a different experience for us as the house was a bit out of the city and essentially in the suburbs of Cusco. Living in this area it was apparent how very poor the living conditions are for a large percentage of the Peruvian population.

Our Street

The house we stayed in was much like other Peruvian homes with an open courtyard area and separate rooms surrounding the courtyard. Three generations of the family lived in this house: grandma and grandpa, their three daughters and the daughters' children. Although the three daughters were older than me and had their own children, their mother and father were still the head of the household. There was one communal kitchen where the grandmother cooked everyone in the family and us breakfast, lunch and dinner. The family had extended their house by adding rooms for those travelers who wanted to take Spanish lessons and contribute to the charity.

The rooms were spacious and we had our own bathroom (albeit with a tempermental shower: it either gave you an electric shock or tried to give you hypothermia). We were on the top floor which gave us a spectacular view of the mountains. My favorite part was the traditional handmade wool blankets they provided that were so deceptively heavy and extremely necessary at night when the temperature dropped. There was a thunderstorm every night that we were in Cusco but we didn't mind as the sound of the rain drowned out the hundred barking stray dogs and a rooster that liked to cock-a-doodle-do a few hours before the sun came up. And it also provided gorgeously vivid rainbows.

Please mind the awful big bum shot. It was the only one we had of the room....

A charity called FairPlay organized the home-stay and the Spanish lessons. It was started by a Dutch man called John and his Peruvian wife Fanny (Brits, I did not make that name up). Fanny is one of the three daughters of the family we were staying with. The main objective of Fairplay is to help single mothers in Cusco get back on their feet and provide a decent life for themselves and their children. Single mothers are highly discriminated against in Peru and there is no form of community or governmental support to help them care for their children and get a full time job. Fairplay trains them to become Spanish teachers at the school and provides courses for them to learn how to save money and budget their expenses.

Paddy and I did a week of Spanish lessons. We each had our own teachers, one grammar teacher and one practical teacher. We would start our mornings at 8 am with our grammar teacher and then 2 hours later would head off into town to practice for another two hours with our practical teacher. The courses were great but also pretty intense. You couldn't exactly zone out in class when the teacher is working only with you. We would get homework every night and I have to admit, it was kind of fun being back in the school environment. Paddy of course would copy my homework everyday which is clearly reflected in how well he speaks Spanish now. Every time he says thank you to someone I burst out laughing because it sounds more like "Grassy-ass". One night he wrote little notes in my school notebook in Spanish. I didn't find the notes until the next day with my teacher and we both had a good laugh as he had written: "Paddy is my girlfriend!" I wouldn't say either of us are any where near fluent but it has definitely sparked my interest to keep learning.

Our Spanish Teachers...

On the Wednesday night the school had a cooking class and invited all the teachers and students to come along for dinner and drinks. It was a great evening with absolutely delicious food (beef and french fries cooked in a brown sauce and served with rice). Peruvians love to add french fries to stews. It's very strange but also quite yummy. Unfortunately, I can't say I actually learned how to cook a new dish during this cooking class. The extent of my contribution was chopping up a few onions. However, I was drinking quite a few glasses of my new favorite red wine (Gato Negro.... out of a BOX!!) and mingling with the other students. Overall, it was very enjoyable evening.

When we were not in class we either went back to do a bit of homework or explored around the town. The town is extremely beautiful and lively. It seemed that every corner we turned offered another photo opportunity. At least every other day that we were there we stood on the side of the street while a peaceful protest paraded by. Often times the protest were requesting equal rights for the indigenous people.

One afternoon we decided to test our luck at a little place called Paddy's! We just couldn't resist a little taste of home. It was delicious but as expected, there wasn't a single local person in there.

Our last night in the home-stay also happened to be Meme's birthday (one of the three daughters in the house). They threw a party for her in the kitchen and loads of teachers from the school game. They made jug after jug of rum and cola and we had quite a few laughs. It was a great way to say goodbye to Cusco.