The Power of Friendship

As I mentioned in the last post, there's a lot of roommate love going on.  In a family kind of way.  There are 14 of us in the house, and we all get along quite well.  We spend a lot of time talking about how much we like each  other and the vibe of the house.  Some have even been moved to tears (on multiple occasions).  I swear, we're going to start singing Kumbayah pretty soon.  We know how corny it is, and we relish in it.

Cuzco isn't the most dangerous place in the world, nor is it the safest.  I think that is why our house has bonded so strongly so quickly.  Most of us speak rusty Spanish at best and we're in this place that could really take us for granted because of it. I came in with a bit of a negative attitude, but despite my preconceived notions, each person in the house has managed to win me over.  Not like I'm the toughest person to win over, but still.  And knowing that I have 13 people out here who have my back is a very powerful feeling.

Tonight, 7 of us are leaving together on a night bus to Puno to see Lake Titicaca.  Its a trip I wouldn't have had the courage to do on my own.  I would've done it, but I would have signed up with our program, gone alone and been totally ripped off.  (we got the bus and the all inclusive tour for $95).  The tour we set up will pick us up from the bus station and take us on a two day tour of the Lake.  We will visit 3 of the floating reed islands and stay with an indigenous family on one of the islands.  It's going to be awesome.   Seeing Lake Titicaca is awesome, seeing Lake Titicaca with 6 friends that feel like family is epic AND awesome.

Without further ado, I present to you, my housemates:

Its not the best picture, but its first pic we have of most the house.  Left to right: Evan, who got cut off is from LA, Maddie from Canada, Ben from Germany, Jesse (Rasta Man) from Australia, me, Amy from Canada, Liza from Canada, Alejandra from Puerto Rico, and Rose from Canada.

Not pictured is Jill from Chicago, Elaine from Ireland, Adrian from Trinidad, and Min-ho from New York.  Also, not to be left out is Sylvia our house manager and Priscilla our professional chef.

Its a pretty good house.  I'm already anticipating how much it will suck when they all start leaving.  Whoever comes in is going to have big shoes to fill.