6.22.2008: week one

song of the day: pharcyde-passin me by (al green mash-up remix)



ive been in peru a week now and its still rockin.

my housemates are a real ill bunch, touchin down from all over the place; philly, washington, england, scottland, portland... turns out two of guys in my house go to vanderbilt with me, a year behind. word?! heres where i live. its a sort of volunteer house.



everyday i wake up around 845 to be at work at 10. i volunteer at a boys orphanage called solome ferro, which is about a 30 minute walk from the base.heres some of the stuff i see on the way to work.
fountain:


the incan kings old crib. in the front is one of the million taxis that bomb the streets. riding in these taxis is kind of like racing toads turnpike on mario kart 64, except with more danger. they cost 2 soles a ride (about 70 cents i guess).


ave grau: the street that the orphange is on



fruit carts and cute ninos:




aaand the orphanage.


the boys ages range from about 8 - 15 and theyre all rad. most days i help them with theyre homework (try to) then go outside and kick it with them. my spanish isnt that great, and the kids are hard to understand. usually my part of the conversation goes something like "si... si... si... hahahah... si... si..." but i do alright because i know the only word that really matters: PATINAR - to skateboard:











i brought my skateboard with me to peru and so take it to the orphanage. everyday, i walk through the doors and its "patina! patina! patina!" all over the place. the kids are super fun. full of enthusiasm and life, and they definately hold it down on the skateboard. they assume im brazillian, and ask me if i know capoeira. that and they tell me im marlon wayan from scary movie. i gueeesss. heres a couple of the kids.

guido is the only kid that eats the invisible candy i hand out. and he always comes back for more:






these hats have been hot in peru for centuries:


el capo:










different shoes looks amazing:



after work i explore cusco. this is a huge time for the city of cusco. theres a ton of festivals. the whole year in cusco sort builds up and culminates in a huge celebration on the 24th. heres some festivities around the plaza de armas at night. cusco at night is the most orangest place in the world.








peru is still the bomb. ive met a ton of real cool people. ive kind of got a cold though, and blowing my nose all day combined with the high altitude has been giving me some furocious nose bleeds. one time my nose starting blowing up when i was skating at the park. with no paper, blood got all over my hands and face. and so i sat bleeding in the park while people walked by wondering who i murdered and ate. *sorry, no picture. hands to bloody*

thats all for now.

oh wait. nevermind more pictures.











its redikuhluz how beautiful cusco is:




looks like boo buts its actually chocolate covered croissant... perfecto:




bye.