I will finish writing about Macchu Picchu. There is a lot more story to tell about that. At a later date.
This weekend we lose 6 roommates. Thats about half our house! I've become very close with them and am sad to see them go. As it's been there last week, its been a big week. We had our normal Wednesday night burgers, and Thursday we had a "weird food night." We went to a local restaurant and ate what the locals eat...guinea pig, alpaca, and cow heart. I didn't really care for the guinea pig, alpaca was good, and I surprisingly had a hard time getting over the fact that I was eating heart. I'm not usually one to be squimish about those things. Thursday night, after dinner we went to the discotecas. It was a good night, but by the end I was a bit cranky and ended up walking home. Alone. (sorry mom). Nothing happened. I still had my wits about me enough to sense danger. A Peruvian man escorted me for my safety part of the way. But once he started kissing my fingers I thought I best finish the trek on my own. It was fine. I walked quickly and there was no one else on the street. That being said, I'm not about to take that risk again. When I was about at the corner of my street I heard a group of boys. I don't think they even saw or heard me, but seeing them was enough to scare the shit outta me and I sprinted the last block to my house.
Last night was our official send off for the roommates. We hung out at the house, then we were off to the discotecas again. On the way there I didn't see one of the missing cobblestones in the sidewalk and rolled my ankle. Pretty badly. We continued on to the club, I was hoping I could just dance it off with the help of some alcohol to numb the pain. It worked for a little while, but by the time we hit the third club I was in some pretty serious pain. Walking was a challenge and dancing a near impossibility. I eventually and reluctantly gave up. Monica, one of the girls in the house offered to go home with me. I was really disappointed to leave early, it was definitely my favorite night out so far.
Today my ankle look like there's a tumor growing off the side of it. I've been icing it on and off all day. But I did manage to get my shoe back on to go to a Cusco vs. Lima soccer game! I can honestly say that I never thought I would end up at a soccer game in South America. Ever. I'm glad I went, I got to see a new side of Cusco. A much more lively side. Usually what I see are very sad people on the streets, or very shady people trying to take advantage of tourists. I feel like a better glimpse of what its like to live in Cusco. At least for those people who watch soccer.
We had to take two taxis there, so our group got split up. The stadium was a mad house, there was no way we were going to find our other friends (none of us have Peruvian cell phones). So we bought our tickets, got in line and went in. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side. We walked in the Lima side. the stadium is fenced off, so you can't just walk to the other side. The away team is fenced in with barb wire and numerous police in full riot gear! There are also police in riot gear on the field. Whenever the players go on or off the field the police create a line and hold their massive shields above there heads to protect the players and the refs.
We quickly learned why there was so much police action. The super fan section for the Lima team was insane. INSANE. They were jumping, shouting, singing, waving their shirts over their head, and setting off cherry bombs for the entire game. Yea, that's right...cherry bombs! They would clear a little circle, set off the bomb in the center, then jump around in the smoke. It was strange and also scared the piss outta me every time! At one point there was a fight. (why there was a fight when they were all Lima fans, I don't know). But the police jumped into action, they grabbed some guy by the neck and dragged him down the stairs, then they slammed him into the concrete and hit him a few times with their billy clubs. Gotta love cops. It was really disconcerting to watch. I was not comfortable with it. The other people in the mob started dispersing after that and things calmed down thankfully. Later when Lima scored a goal, I looked straight over to that section and saw all the women and kids running away from them.
We decided it was in our best interest to leave a few minutes before the game ended. Lima was about to lose and we were on the wrong side, we needed a taxi and I was a gimp. So we left about 5 minutes before it ended, which worked out pretty well. As we walked through the gravelly grassy area outside the stadium, my roommate Madi, who was wearing flip flops, accidently stepped on a stick with one foot, and then proceeded to get that stick stuck in her other foot. Badly. We thought it was stuck in maybe a half an inch, so we were just going to help her limp home and painfully dig it out. A few steps later she had to take her flip flop off because it was bothering her and then she noticed that the stick was nearly sticking out the other side of her foot! It was about 2 inches long. We went staight to the hospital. (and thank god we left early cuz it was difficult getting a taxi, I can't imagine how it would have been with the other thousands of people from the stadium out there). When Madi got back from the hospital she said they numbed her foot, cut it open, got the stick out, and stitched her back up. All for 20soles (about $8). Cusco has a way of beating you up.
That was my weekend, and its only Saturday! Right now I'm sitting in Alejandra's room while she writes in her journal and Jesse uses my computer to edit his photos. Still loving our little family. Tomorrow we've decided to take a day trip to Pisac, a small town in the Sacred Valley. One last family outing!
Goodnight!
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