¡Dar Gracias por Esta Vida!

This week has been such a huge shift in energy, which makes things uncomfortable for a while, but hopefully a new energy arrives at the house soon. I'll explain all the weirdness now.

On Monday I woke up, checked social media, watched some Gossip Girl, then went shopping with Kaki for things that she could bring home as gifts for her family and friends, as well as for a llama sweater. A llama sweater is most likely made out of wool from an alpaca but has llamas as part of the print. They are actually really attractive in my opinion so I plan on getting one as soon as I get enough cash after my debit card mishap. After shopping we went to Presada for lunch. It is the BEST vegetarian restaurant I have ever been to. I got a veggie burger made of lentils and spices with pesto, cheese, and a sweet barbecue sauce that was delicious, accompanied by a fresh mixed fruit juice. Then I went back to my room to rest for a bit before Kaki and I headed out again.

This time we went to the tattoo shop in Inca Alley where I was the support system for Kaki's second tattoo. She had been on the fence about it for a while but had the artist draw up her vision the week before to see if she really wanted to commit. This tattoo was much larger than her first and she wanted it on her back where her Solar Plexus chakra is. I had never seen someone getting tattooed before so it was as much of an experience for me as for her. The mandala was outlined on her back and the artist started prepping the needle. Keep in mind Kaki was supposed to leave the next day to fly back home to Chicago. I would imagine that it would be uncomfortable to be flying for 24 hours with a fresh tattoo on your back, exactly where all of your luggage hits and where you will have the most pressure when sitting in an airplane seat. Anyways, while she was getting it done I tried to distract her with small talk , which made her laugh because she could see right through it. At least she wasn't crying of pain! After only about 45 minutes of tattooing the artist was done and this was the final product! 

 After the tattoo session was over we realized it was pouring outside and I didn't have a rain jacket or an umbrella with me. So we ran home in the freezing cold rain which caused sort of a flood on our street to the point where the sewage covers popped off and there was sewage water flooding the streets. Yes, it did smell as disgusting as it looked. I was also wearing Toms, so those were soaked and my feet were frozen. Once we got home I went back to my room and found Friends on Netflix!!! What a score. I watched a couple of episodes and then went to the main house for Monday Night Meditation and it was fabulous. Julia led it with some great breathing techniques as well as a wonderful guided meditation. I saw so many felines from large tigers to cats and was especially impacted by the words Dar Gracias, give thanks. I would love to bring Give Tanks to Peru or even Florida State because gratitude is an awesome and life changing characteristic to honor. 

Once I was realigned I participated in the house meeting at 7:30 where we surprised Kaki with a birthday cake because we wouldn't be with her on her birthday in August. I had told her during the tattoo session that I was going to have a half birthday party for myself while I was here, celebrating on July 7th. Sneaky me, she had no idea we were throwing a small party for her! It seemed as if she really appreciated it and I really appreciated the delicious chocolate cake Sylvia made, with chocolate icing, a delicacy here. After the little fiesta we went to Juanito's, our favorite sandwich shop, for the best papas fritas in San Blas. I was thoroughly full and went back to my room to watch Harry Potter with Ash, of course. And that day he had not only his sassy pants on, but his whole suit. You are welcome, Ash, for putting this on the Internet for everyone to see!

Like every Tuesday I went to the Mantay Shelter to give treatments but this week was different because we were teaching them Tai Chi and Karate, a nice change. I was not particularly excited though to wake up at 7:30 while it was below 50 degrees outside. I pushed through my discomfort and got a taxi for Sherri and I to go to San Jeronimo. I was really proud of myself for getting the taxi too, which should only cost 10 soles but because I am blond and white drivers try to up charge me. This guy wanted 12 soles and I firmly told him no, 10. He was taken aback, said okay, and I was able to tell him where we needed to go. All in Spanish, thank you. 

Once we got to Mantay I saw all of my girls and told them we were doing Tai Chi today instead of Reiki treatments. I still did massage for the pregnant ones, but we were switching things up a bit. I had brought with me a bag of shoes that someone had donated to them from the Healing House and you should have seen their faces light up when they found out they could have the pair that fit them. Even though the shoes weren't new, they were new to them and that is what counted. Teresa took the combat boots, of course, with her sassy attitude. I told her they were called "Kick Ass Botas". Teresa's son, Sergio, came in to say hi and because he saw his mom getting new shoes he thought he was too, so he took off his snow boots to try on the large hiking boots I had in the bag. I have never seen anything cuter. How could I forget the headbands that were in the bag as well, Sergio put one on and was too precious. 

Finally done passing out the shoes and gathering the girls Sherri took them into the courtyard to learn Tai Chi and Karate while I massaged one pregnant girl at a time. I had my regulars but then got a new girl who didn't seem too pregnant, but still had a very visible bump. I asked her how far along she was and she said 8 months at the age of 14. At 14 I was in 8th grade playing four sports and focusing on my grades, not even capable of getting a boy to like me. This young girl has lost her innocence and freedom at too young of an age. Despite the circumstances they are still kind of cheerful when we arrive. I had to tell the girls that Kaki went back to the Unites States that day, so she couldn't come give treatment. After I finished massaging the pregnant girls I participated in some Tai Chi and the girls laughed because when I would do a karate kick, my foot would end up near Sherri's head because she is so short. Then they realized I was flexible and asked me if I danced, I told them I used to and they asked me to teach a dance class next week! I was stoked and they wanted ballet instead of hip hop, which is understandable because not all of them have the ability to pop, lock, and drop it in their third trimesters. So next week I am teaching ballet and they all want me and Sherri to come back because they really enjoyed being with us that day. This makes my heart burst with happiness to know that I can brighten their day and give them something to look forward to. I am also curious to see the group change because three of the girls are supposed to give birth while I am here! My connection with the girls and the possibility of a connection with their babies blows my mind. 

Once Sherri and I got back to Healing House we saw Kaki and took her to The Rock where she reflected on her time here and really appreciated the scenery. After five months of living in Cusco, you really aren't ready to go back to reality. After the rock we went to more tourist shops to get gifts and a llama sweater because none of the previous selections were sufficient for Kaki's needs. It was a pivotal moment when Kaki finally found a suitable llama sweater at the last place we were stopping at before giving up. She then forgot her scarf there and realized it once were were eating our favorite veggie burgers and the BEST juices yet at Presada. The whole gang had joined us and it was awesome to see a bunch of people together for Kaki. There are so many relationships you make while in Cusco, with people, stores, restaurants, even the city itself. Our joy was short lived though because Kaki had to catch her plane but not before packing the last small things and saying her goodbyes. Even I started crying after only knowing her a month, she had such a large impact on my time here so far in Peru and I am so grateful to her for that. Once most of the tears had been shed, Giancarlo and I took Kaki to the airport in a taxi and sent her off on her way back to the real world with her guitar in tow. 

Giancarlo and I walked out of the airport to catch a cheaper taxi and heard the Peru vs. Colombia game on the radio, which they ended up losing 2-0, along with any hopes of getting into the World Cup. Once I got back to the house I had to participate in the clinic and gave Reiki back to back which was surprisingly draining after the already long day I had. There were so many people at the clinic compared to normal and with so many people moving out that day we didn't have enough practitioners or rooms to accommodate people. After the rush was over I finally sat down to eat some bread because I hadn't eaten since Presada and here I eat at least four times a day because I am awake for so long. Near the end of our clinic hours Guillermo the chiropractor showed up to give treatments and because everyone had already left I got a free adjustment! I had back pain and he proved to me that my L5 vertebrae was out of place, so he adjusted my back and my hips but had trouble because I'm too flexible. After that he pulled my earlobes to open my middle ear and let the fluids drain. But because of all of the adjustments I got a headache immediately after and was in a weird mood for the rest of the night. I also made some spashitty and then went to bed and had some crazy boat/pedophile dreams.

Wednesday I woke up lonely because both Sara and Kaki had moved out of Casa Verde, Sara just moving to the other house. My stomach hurt really bad because of the spashitty I made the night before, so Sara had to go buy flowers at Mercado San Pedro for me to give out as part of our Save Healing House Campaign! Our plan was to give out free carnations in red-femenine, pink-questionable, and white- masculine, along with a flyer and treatment schedule to those who we thought to be philanthropic, aka wealthy or giving white people. But really, that is our target audience while in Cusco because the Cusqueños themselves are struggling. So come 2 pm when my shift started I passed out free carnations and flyers while waiting for Bhakti, Paola's daughter, to get to the house after school because I was babysitting her! I was so excited to put my skills with children to use here just with the kids program, but babysitting abroad brings my confidence to a whole new level. It also brings up thoughts of being an Au Pair, which is a nanny that travels and lives with families that speak a different language. 

At first Bhakti was nervous to hand out flyers, especially to the boys coming home from school, but over time she became more comfortable and would tell me who to hand the flowers to! We ran out of flyers, which is a good thing, but not everyone was interested in a free flower, no strings attached. It makes me sad that people think nothing is free in life anymore, despite the random acts of kindness still happening in this world. We gave flowers to the mamitas that weave the clothing and sell them on our street, to the little girls that hang around us, and every other person that made it up those treacherous stairs. My favorite group was our last, we only had three flowers left to give to a mom, her hot son, her daughter that suffers from Cerebral Palsy, and a husband that was extremely skeptical. Both Bhakti and I asked them if they wanted a free flower in English and Spanish and they kept walking while the father said, "Nothing is free in life." I told him that this was, and the mom, hot son, and daughter accepted our last three flowers and as they walked away the daughter looked to her mom and motioned something of a question of why they got free flowers. It made me so happy to see this young girl smiling so big after walking up so many stairs and I admired their family for taking her on a trip like that. Both Bhakti and I were ecstatic to have made that young girls day!

After passing out flowers we came inside, I made her some bread and cream cheese because she loves bread and rarely gets cream cheese, then we worked on her homework, which was in Spanish. She only had two writing worksheets and a math worksheet but because she goes to the most prestigious private school in the area, her homework has to be almost perfect. So I went through it tediously with her, struggling a bit with my Spanish but working through it! After I got her to finish two of the three worksheets she really wanted to watch TV on my computer so I told her she could after she finished her homework and it was like pulling teeth to get her to finish, but she did and I set up Hercules with Spanish subtitles on Netflix for her. After she got bored of that we moved on to water color painting and drawing dogs, then her mother showed up after her yoga teacher training class that goes all day long.

 Once I sent Bhakti home with a good report I got in on the meeting with Sylvia, Sara, and Giancarlo for the kids program on Saturday. To go along with our fundraiser we are doing events every day and Saturday is a kids parade through Plaza San Blas celebrating the differences between us all. I don't know how organized we will be, but the event will make for great pictures and a lot of creativity! After the meeting it was too late to go out for a good vegetarian meal so Giancarlo and I made a spaghetti dinner that was actually good this time. We got to talking about who we are as people and our past relationships and how we have grown from them as well as what we expect from others in our lives as just friends. It is important to recognize what you need and can handle in friendship or else you can be drained of your energy without even knowing it. I also frequently have the feeling that Giancarlo has a lot going on in his mind and that I could be a really good outlet for it, so that conversation was a good step in the right direction. We stayed in the kitchen until almost midnight because it was raining and great conversation. Those are the moments with people that I really appreciate here. 

Thursday morning I was supposed to go with Sherri to teach yoga at Mantay but they cancelled because they were hosting another event that day. So I still woke up at 8 am and watched the Shaytards on YouTube to entertain myself until I got up to prepare for Ladies Lunch, which was our fundraising event for the day. We were making a squash soup with quinoa, spinach, and carrots to garnish, along with Krishna bread! The plan was to have local women come to lunch for 5 soles and we would discuss violence against women in Peru. Sadly, no one outside of the house showed up and the topic was a little too intense for a meal. I did some research though and over 60% of women in Peru have been physically abused as of 2012. This statistic is so high because many people believe the women want it to happen to them, or that they deserve it. The culture also teaches women to be subservient to men, starting at a very young age. 

After lunch I worked from 2 pm to 8 pm and was in a really weird mood with odd vibes coming in. When I get uncomfortable vibes it usually means that something is about to change and will affect me, or to be aware of my surroundings. So while in a weird mood I did dishes, answered phone calls, took down yoga participants information, made plans for my trip to Lima, and showed Giancarlo old volleyball pictures to prove to him I used to be very athletic. He was surprised and said that I could do that again, but I had to explain that my body can't handle that level of impact anymore, at the age of 19. If you don't know, I have a genetic disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome where I am super flexible and feel more pain sometimes because the collagen in my soft tissue breaks easier and is not guaranteed to repair the correct way. I found this out my senior year of high school after I had gotten really sick and learned that I was never supposed to play sports with that type of condition. By the end of the year I completed physical therapy, was awarded a small athletic scholarship by the Tampa Bay Times, and was named female athlete of the year by my school. It just goes to show you that determination can take you further than you ever thought.

I digress... I was done working and had plans with Ash to watch a movie that night at 8:30 but he didn't show up until 10 pm. Peru time is no excuse for that one. Men, never keep a lady waiting. 

Today is Friday and it started out pretty painful. I didn't want to wake up to work at 8 am because I think I might be getting sick. I have a cough and feel faint and tired. I mustered up the energy to make it to the main house and set things up for Sara's yoga class this morning, which was very full! After I had let everyone in and gotten their names I went to go lay down because my body was exhausted from the altitude, possible dehydration, and whatever illness I am fighting. I laid in the warmth of the sun while I could still see my breath and woke up an hour and a half later to a lucid dream of a ceiling collapsing. That was not how I wanted to wake up. Feeling hungry and dizzy I made it into the kitchen and rested my head on the table until I came to. At that point I had slept through Sara telling me to update the Healing House Facebook page so I did that and then made myself two eggs and ate some bread to give me energy. I was till hungry though and only had 20 soles left to my name after the ATM incident, so I went to my favorite tienda, Parwa, and got a Coke, Milkway, 2.5 Liter water, and cream cheese, having to put back the Skittles because that put me over 20 soles. I walked out with all of that food and 1.50 soles to last me until I went to get American Express Cash to hold me over until my new debit card and pin arrived in the mail. 

After that I ate and laid out in the sun to get some vitamin D and Mallory and her boyfriend showed up with the puppies! After two weeks they have already grown so much and I played with them until both Mal and her boyfriend had taken showers in the famous end of the hall shower and I could shower before I was supposed to babysit Bhakti again. So I showered and felt so good, coming back to sunshine and news that Bhakti was with her cousin and I didn't have to watch her, this is only the beginning of the rest of my great day. I took part of Sylvia's shift from 3 pm to 5 pm so she could go practice singing with David across town so I sat out in the sun with my pants rolled up to mid thigh and reppin' my favorite Pi Phi tank. Then I continued writing this blog until the clouds came in and I moved inside while everyone else was in the marketing meeting. Around 4 pm Romina walks in with two FedEx envelopes for me and I jumped up with joy realizing they were my new debit card and pin!!! I signed for them from the courier and opened them, so happy that they arrived together. Normally the card comes in one envelope and the pin in a separate envelope two days later. I was also told by Nathan at my bank that it would take 5 to 8 business days to expedite to Peru after he sent in the request last Friday and it was processed this Monday. I felt so relieved to have access to my money again after activating the card. I ran to the ATM afterwards and tried my card and was able to take out the maximum amount in soles! Then I took out a second withdrawal to cover my rent and to have cash on hand for the next two weeks. Today went from pitiful to fabulous! I am so grateful for everything today and give my lack of stress to patience. If you are not patient you create so much more stress for yourself and mostly with things that you cannot control.

After I upload this blog I am going to Presada for another kick ass veggie burger and juice! After learning that I can budget here, I will make conscious changes in my purchases and be more mindful of the things I need and what I spend money on. It's a good life people! Find the little things that make you happy and if you can put them all together, it makes for a good day. Good vibin' to you all.