movin' on down

I am going to move out of Cusco!

This week has come up with something good, which is a decision at least. I have decided to move to a small town near Cusco and live there. Which one? I don't know yet. I get to go visiting them to find out, which will be super fun. I had been looking for organizations in small towns to hook up with, but I think that if I move somewhere I can just go looking around on my own for ways to help and I don't need to be part of something already existing.

Cusco is just a tourist town. No matter how long I lived here, I would never stop being a tourist and I would much rather have the chance to experience a more authentic Peru, especially since I have so much time here. It is a great jumping off point to all sorts of amazing stuff so I want to be close. I think I will probably end up in the Sacred Valley, which is so so so amazing and a little warmer. Last night I was wearing long johns, socks, a hat and under four wool blankets and a comforter and couldn't sleep cause it was sooo cold. It's not even winter yet. Nuts to that. It will be winter in the sacred valley and I will be wearing long johns anyway, but it wont be unbearable. I think.

So tomorrow I head out for more adventures of getting to know small towns. This is so fun. Yesterday I went to a place called Lamay and walked around for a few hours and it was quiet and peaceful and beautiful and, well, the sacred valley. Views of the Andes all around, river running through, paradise for sure. I didn't walk around the town part though so I get to go back. sweet!

I did visit with a couple this week that was interested in having me be their volunteer coordinator which sounded really interesting in a lot of ways. I feel like it would have taught me so much about what I want to do that I was tempted. But, they wanted me to sign a one year contract the next day and weren't clear on a lot of things and weren't interested in offering anything back, like room and board at least. But I was struggling, because it would be like free school also. But at the end of the day I decided not to do it because they charge their volunteers. You can't sell what you wont buy, and I am so opposed to charging or paying for volunteer work that I just couldn't do it. Hopefully another opportunity to learn that kind of stuff will come up in a manner that is better suited. Also the wife was kind of aweful and we would have fought for a year straight. No thanks.