my new hero

There were 33 kids in the policia today! That is so many. Hard to keep track of. But my favorite part about this morning was the old lady who was there. Sometimes they put the "ancianos" (ancients) that they pick up on the street in with the kids cause, well, i don´t know why, but they do. So anyway, old Kichwa lady, as old as the hills, doesn´t speak any Spanish, only Kichwan (or Quechuan depending on how you feel like spelling it. It is a phonetic language that was never written until recently so people disagree on how to spell things). So she has two different shoes on her feet and another in her hand and she is just kind of roaming around hitting people with it. Well, the big scary police captain that makes everyone nervous and sit up straight and such came in to try to find out her name. She asked him to lean closer because she couldn´t hear him and started hitting him in the head with her shoe! We were all laughing but trying not to laugh and afraid he would hit her, but he was just so surprised that she probably got in six or seven hits before he slunk off with 33 kids and 3 volunteers and one aciana laughing at him. That was the best thing I´ve seen in a very very long time.

Maybe I haven´t mentioned that the police can be really aweful and sometimes just beat on the kids and there is nothing you can say or do about it? It sure was great to see an old lady beating the police today.

I will be going this afternoon to look at the apartment of Yuri, who is the director of the program here. He is leaving to Lima for a month and asked me if I would house sit for him. Everyone who has been there says it is super fantastic, so I am looking forward to living in a house (as opposed to a hostal) again and not paying rent for a month. Also he lives only two blocks from the center of town, so that will be nice. My own shower, my own kitchen, it will be so fantastic.

It feels good to be settling into here. After today I have told them that I don´t want to do the police station on Saturdays anymore so that I can have more time for exploring. I am feeling a little silly and bad that I haven´t been out more since Cusco has such amazing stuff to offer. I am just so low on energy when I get back from the policia that I don´t feel like going out. I am hoping that as I get more accustomed to it that will change and I will start to do more stuff. I think that also living by myself will mean that I get out more since I wont be entertained at "home".

Love you!
em