Machu Picchu!

¡Hola Estudiantes! ¿Cómo están todos? Es probable que todos de ustedes han aprendido, por lo menos un poco, sobre los Incas, su civilización, y el sitio de Machu Picchu.

Primero, miren ustedes a estas fotos…

Y ¿Qué piensan?

View of Machu Picchu from the top of Wayna Picchu Mountain

View of Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu Mountain

Machu Picchu, the famous ancient Incan civilization that is today one of the 7 Wonders of the World, has got to be the most amazing place I have ever been.  I can't fully express how fascinating it really is but I will try to pass along some of the interesting things I learned about it while I was there. 

*First of all, due to the very high altitude of the city of Cusco and Machu Picchu, upon arrival you are advised to drink coca tea to help with altitude sickness.  You can also buy coca leaves to chew on or coca candy (the best option in my opinion). 
*Second, how incredible is it to think that after hundreds of years Machu Picchu is still there!  And, the only reason, presumably, that it is still there is because it was never discovered by the Spanish.  The entire time that Pizarro, the Spanish explorer, and his conquistadors were invading Peru and South America, Machu Picchu remained hidden within the Andes mountains.  So while the Incas disappeared during this era, their civilization remained.  The way in which the Incas built Machu Picchu, the architecture of the city, helped to keep it hidden from anyone that could have been passing by.  From below, it is perfectly hidden, only from atop the tallest surrounding mountains was it visible.  Also evident throughout Incan ruins and architecture, are the three animals that were considered sacred for the Inca people.  They were the condor, the snake, and the puma.  What is even more incredible is that there are still other Incan cities similar to and bigger than Machu Picchu that have yet to be excavated and studied because it is so hard to travel to them (for example, it may take 2-3 days worth of hiking to arrive).  One of which was only discovered in 2004!  Speaking of discovery, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu.  It was rediscovered (after being a forgotten/lost civilization) in 1911 by the American Explorer, Hiram Bingham.
*Aside from Machu Picchu, I also had the opportunity to visit Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Cusco's Cathedral, and the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, watch Cusco's weekly parade that included a lot of native dance and music, and go to the house of native and learn how the alpaca textiles are woven and died to make clothes, blankets, and other things.  The textile industry is a very important aspect of the Peru's economy and many people in Cusco and the surrounding areas still dress in traditional clothing made from alpaca wool and dyed different colors using different plants, seeds, and food.

¿Qué piensan de las fotos y la información?  ¿Les interesa a ustedes, sobre cual temas quieren saber más?  Hay tanta información disponible para aprender sobre los Incas, Cusco, y Machu Picchu.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

Hola Chicos!  For some reason, it was not letting me comment back to answer your questions... but here are the answers in a post!

1)  Buenos Aires was a actually seemed clean for a large city.  I would not describe it as nasty or dirty.  There trash system was different, I noticed.  They simply put their trash bags on the sidewalk instead of in dumpsters so at times if bags broke, etc. then there was trash on the sidewalks.  The most noticeable thing was that they did not pick up after their dogs so you constantly had to watch your step.  Also, I'm sure because it was a big city that it was polluted but not terribly to where I noticed it a lot.

2)  The flight from Buenos Aires to Lima was 4 hours long.  We flew on LAN Airlines and the plane was very nice!  All of the seats, even in coach, had personal TV Screens in the headrest in front of them, a remote, and you could watch TV, Movies, create a playlist of music, or play games.

3)  The very first difference I noticed and that I still notice is how warm the people are here.  Latin Hospitality!  I don't know if it is due to Buenos Aires being a bigger city or if its because they are a more European country but I did not feel like the people were as warm and friendly there.  If you have the chance to visit Argentina and travel to other south or central American countries you will probably better understand what I mean. 
Some other random differences I have noticed are that Lima has so many more American restaurant chains than in Buenos Aires:  Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa John's, Chili's, TGI Fridays, etc. where as Buenos Aires only had BK, McDonald's, and TGI Fridays. 
Lima does not have a city wide transport system, which makes for challenging travel for foreigners...you have to be extra cautious and kind of learn your way around on your own.  The buses here range from school buses and charter buses to 12 person vans that they squeeze a lot of people into.  There is a guy that stands by the door to yell the route of that particular bus and to take change.  When in doubt (and I'm a "tourist" so I usually am) just always ask if the bus passes close to such and such location.  The taxis are also different, they don't have meters.  You have to flag down a taxi and then negotiate a price for where you need to go before you get in the car.  You also have to make sure the driver knows how to get to where you need to go!
The traffic lights here include a countdown of how many more seconds the light will be red or green, which is neat. 
Things are cheaper here! Para almuerzo (lunch) you can usually get a drink, appetizer, entree, and a small dessert for about 4USD!  In Argentina, most prices were comparable to the US.

4)  My host university in Lima is University of the Pacific or Universidad del Pacífico.  I would say that my classes here are slightly easier if only because they understand that we are international students studying a foreign language in another country.  Other than that, the difficulty level is similar to the classes in the United States.

5)  Peru so far is awesome!  I love it here!  My host family is quite large, as it is common for extended family to live together in Latin America.  There is my host mother, Ana María Fernandez Revoredo, her youngest son, her oldest son and his wife, her mother, her brother, her sister, and then my two roommates that are also from the United States.  We also have a maid that comes Monday through Saturday who cleans, does the laundry, and cooks all of our meals.  Her name is Magdalena.  I like the feel of Lima and the colors (of the buildings, the houses, everything is very colorful).  It is very much a Latin American city.  The food is great, a fusion of peruvian and latin american and asian flavors, lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, seafood, and SPICE (PICANTE) that did not exist in Argentina.  As I have said, the people are extremely friendly and welcoming.  In fact, the first day I was here, a group of friends and I went to visit another friend, Shannon, and explore the neighborhood.  We arrived at Shannon's apartment building, called up to the 10th floor, told her host mom who we were and she invited us up...then we got up there and Shannon wasn't even there, she just wanted to invite us in to talk!  The weather is nice, mid-60s during the day but it feels a lot warmer because it is about 98% humidity everyday.  In the evenings the temperature drops and it feels cooler and the wind can be pretty cold coming from the ocean.  I live about 5 minutes (driving) from the Pacific coast.  However, it's not as sunny here.  Right now is the part of the year when it is common for a light mist/fog from the ocean to cover the city so it is usually overcast or at least partly cloudy where it was sunny a lot of the time in Argentina. 

6)  I made a few Argentine friends that I will keep in touch with and I will definitely keep in touch with my host family there.

7)  My favorite color is green :)

8)  I love South America because I love experiencing the culture of Latin America, the language, the people, the food, the music, lifestyle, all of it interests me.  On that note, I have not been in Peru for very long but I would already say that I prefer it over Argentina because it feels a lot more like latin-y to me.  That is not to say that I didn't enjoy Argentina, because I am so grateful for my time there and everything that I learned while there.  I can't say that I like South America better than the U.S. because the U.S. and Oklahoma will always be home for me but I would be thrilled at the opportunity to live in South America full time at some point in my life! :)