From Colorado Springs to Houston to Lima to Cusco.  8:30 am on January 1st to 7:30 am (Cusco time) January 2nd.  I successfully assumed the façade of the cool, calm, collected, independent traveler until I landed in Lima and became the gringa trying to get my passport out while carrying two coats, a backpack a foot taller than my torso, a duffle bag, a purse, and a guitar.  (And yesterday I was proud of myself for packing so light).  But fortunately, it was not long before I found another awkward American comrade also looking a little lost.  We eventually fumbled our white selves to the inconveniently located check-in counter, but we had to wait three hours before anyone from our airline showed up to check us in.  Being that it was 2am, I kindof hoped to catch a short nap, but my friend was in the mood to chat and I felt too guilty to abandon my partner in displacement. 

I slept for about 30 minutes on the flight to Cusco, but I'm glad that I woke up to look out the window and feel what it's like to fly into heaven.  When you fly from Lima to Cusco, you take off… and go up… an up… and land.  You never descend.  The sun was risen and we passed through the clouds and I felt like I was in Jurassic Park being surrounded by all the curvy green peaks.

The guy from ProWorld, Travis picked me up and we went to the "Casa ProPeru" in Cusco and met up with some other interns, drank tea (Mate Coca from cocaine leaves, mmm), went through some general information, went out to lunch (delicious, three courses, things I have never seen in my life), and took naps.  The weather is beautiful and the city reminds me a lot of southern California--a few palm trees, quirky houses all connected to each other on a block, little shops etc.  Then we all loaded up for the hour drive down to Urubamba--a tiny little town tucked right in the middle of the Sacred Valley.  There's a ProPeru house there too (just kindof a safe haven for interns).  Urubamba is pretty tranquilla, lots of people walking around in the dilapidated streets with little three-wheeeled mototaxis honking around every once in a while.

My host parents, Raul and Eufemia, came and picked me up in the afternoon and they could not be more adorable.  They live in the coolest house--that's actually more like a courtyard with rooms around it.  They have a 24 year old son Henry and I already feel like we act like brother and sister.  We sat and drank Coca Mate and talked about the advantages and disadvantages of development (Eufemia--who was born and raised in Uru--spoke about how the advent of the internet has really changed the culture of the pueblo) and the differences between Peruvian and US food culture (oh boy, don't get me started).  They were pretty impressed with my Spanish and I feel like I can speak and understand just fine--but I think it's one thing to be able to have a dinner conversation, and another to be able to communicate with people in town… So we'll see.

But with one day down, I'm feeling really good about this.