Day 3 in Latin America

Assemblies are usually known to not be very motivating, but that was definitely not the case on my third day in Cusco. The alarm went off at 7am because we had an introductory event about Cusco at 8:30am. So at 7:50am, Franka, Toni, and I left the house because we had to take a 40-minute bus ride to get to downtown Cusco. There were no proper bus stops or schedules. So we stood somewhere in the middle of nowhere, by a solitary blue sign, waiting for a bus to come into view. When that finally happened, the next step was to stick our arm out to indicate that we were waiting for the bus. But what awaited me was very... entertaining.

So, if you think taking a taxi is bad here, then taking the bus is a death trip. There's no maximum number of people that can fit on the bus, following the motto, "Make it fit." But that's not the end of the culture shock, no, because Peruvians are like German Audi drivers in the bus, but ten times worse. You can't call it fast driving anymore, as one could assume the drivers intentionally want to cause an accident. So the side mirror is only for decoration and shockingly, the speedometer never works. To top it all off, the door is also opened while the bus is at full speed, giving you a perfect view of the quickly passing asphalt. At least the bus ride here costs only 20 cents, no matter how long it takes. So I'd rather take the bus in Peru than in Germany with their prices.

Well, when we finally arrived in the city, we only had to walk a little bit to get to our language school... or so we thought. After 15 minutes and still not being close to our destination, we had to admit that we were lost. Asking for directions is not really effective here either, because Peruvians are so kind that they will show you any direction even if they have no idea where it is. So we walked back and forth three times until we finally found the school, 30 minutes late according to the Peruvians, but actually on time. When we arrived, we found out that our group leader was already gone. So we waited, luckily we had wifi.

When Edward, the guide, finally arrived, we got some useful tips during a short walk through Cusco and got a Peruvian phone number to have mobile internet. Thank goodness, finally internet. It was quite funny, especially when I pointed out to Edward that I actually had my first language lesson in a few minutes. After a short phone call, he told me that everything was okay and we could finish the tour. It's that simple here in Peru. After a delicious ice cream, we went back to the school, where I then met Heidi.

My Spanish teacher is a small cute Peruvian who likes to hum to herself. We got along well right away and the class was a lot of fun. After my first lesson, I met Antonia. She was staying with a host family and I found her really funny. We went out to eat together, although she had to order for me because I was still too incompetent, but well, practice makes perfect and all. We talked a lot and walked through the city, and she showed me some beautiful places until it got dark and it was time to go home.

More info to come...