ChChChChanges!

To take the subject line from an email from my friend, Angela, yes, changes are afloat. Granted, when she wrote me she was talking about the entire past year, but so much has changed just this past week that it almost seems like a new year.

First, the house has changed -- dramatically. Gab and Jess are out of the house for good, Gab going back to the U.S. and Jess in the U.S. for a visit and then returning to Cusco at the end of January but probably not to the house. And Niki is also in the states for a holiday visit. So, for the first few days that just left me and Alvaro and Luna, Jess' puppy, who Alvaro is watching while Jess is away.

And with Gab and Jess gone, I moved into their old room. It's closer to my studio and gets much more light. I upgraded my bed (bigger and less crappy), added some new decorative pieces and settled right in. It's gorgeous and light-filled and warm (thanks to all the light!). I love it.

Before...



And after!



Then Szymon moved in. He's Australian and awesome. He also knows how to cook and has been showing me what to do with seaweed, a pressure cooker and various other kitchen items that I am sadly not familiar with. He's also spent a lot of time working with Ayahuasca, something I still harbor a healthy fear of, but am working through it (even though I think it's good to maintain a little fear of it). I think we're going to set up an exchange with massage for a little Ayahuasca help (not big doses like in ceremony, just small ones for a little more insight). We'll see how it goes.

Sooooo the house that was once full of women and beautiful, intense female energy has now shifted to one that is mostly male (and me). It's so strange. But good, too! Change is always good :)

And we also had two puppies in the house all week. Yes, two. We're watching Luna for Jess, but we've also had Flor here, too. Flor is the last of the litter and absolutely beautiful. She looks like a yellow lab puppy, but since her mom is Chi Chi, we have absolutely no idea what she's going to look like when she grows up. However, when Humberto came over last week and sat down on my bean bag chair, Flor crawled right up into his lap and made herself at home. I wouldn't say it was necessarily love at first sight, but when I mentioned that she might make a good Christmas gift for his family he agreed. So, with no family of my own in sight, I accepted an invitation to join him and his family in Sicuani for Christmas and to bring Flor as a gift.

Two puppies in the house was fun. There's this light energy that comes from them. They played with each other a lot, which was so much fun to watch. They made a few guest appearances in my studio while I was with clients, which was initially cute but moreso to me than the client. I had to then learn how to barricade the door.

The night before Christmas Eve was interesting. On Christmas Eve day, the main square turns into the biggest market in Cusco with vendors coming from EVERYWHERE to sell their wares, including lots of natural greenery and items for natvitiy-scene making. The vendors and their entire families camp out the night before in the square which, on that night, was cold and rainy.

One of Shaina's friends, Sally, is the owner of The Real McCoy, a British pub/restaurant off the main square and, with our help, brought out two big vats of hot chocolate and cookies to pass out to the masses. We ran out quickly, but most of the kids got a hot cup from us.

And then on Christmas Eve day we spent the morning/afternoon in the main square at the market. It was interesting -- there were a lot of interesting items for sale that you don't normally see at the regular markets. More unique handicrafts and a lot of illegal fireworks. Police were doing their best to snuff them out and we saw a few crackdowns, but since fireworks seem to be a big part of every holiday here, I think the authorities generally look the other way.

We eventually made it to Sicuani by 6pm, with a frozen turkey and Flor in tow. Hum's mother was estatic over both (I think a little more for Flor) and after a dinner of meat and rice and potatoes, Hum and I went out to meet his friend to buy some fireworks. In the rain.

In case I haven't mentioned this before, it's summer here in Peru, which means it's the rainy season. And for Cusco, we don't really get what most people think of as summer. It's never hot here. Sure, when the sun is out it can get a little toasty for a couple of hours, but then the clouds roll back in, the rain starts again and it's fucking cold. That's right, it's fucking cold.

Christmas Eve was no exception. It was cold and wet. And we were on the hunt for fireworks. We didn't have to go far. Once we got out of the neighborhood and up to the main part of town, we found Sicuani's Christmas market (I guess every town has one), which was pretty much selling fireworks, alcohol and cheap plastic toys. Ah, Christmas.

Fireworks and alcohol purchased (I declined the offer of a plastic doll), we headed back to his parents' house to watch the end of a Christmas special on TV and set off the fireworks at midnight. The whole neighborhood was ablaze with fuegos artificiales and we made it back to our hotel with all limbs intact by about 2am.

Christmas Day was pretty quiet. Lots of rain, movie watching (his sister has an addicition to these horrible "Crow" movies, so we were subjected to that most of the day), and cuddling of Flor. Flor adapted well to her new environment and settled in to napping with the occasional romp on a pair of shoes the whole weekend. She was a good fit for his family.

Flor and Hum


Post bath...


There was also turkey! Man, I love turkey. Even though it didn't have the mouth-watering trimmings that I'm used to in the states, the white rice, potatoes and beet salad that accompanied it were sufficient. His mom is a good cook and the turkey was perfect. Flor even got a few bones to gnaw on later (which made her incredibly gassy -- lesson learned).

All in all the weekend was enjoyable. Hum and I argued a bit though (something we rarely do) and I think a lot of it has to do with the pressure we all feel around family. His sisters haven't been living up to their potential (to put it nicely) and his parents expect him to whip them into shape whenever he's home. This puts so much stress on a person! Note to all parents: Don't make your most responsible child do the dirty work of cleaning up the acts of his/her siblings -- especially during the holidays. It makes the invited guests feel a little uncomfortable. Thanks.

Got back to Cusco on Monday morning and began preparing for our little viaje starting the next day...

Tantra Workshops, Shabbat and Saying Goodbye

I know I say this a lot, but I'm still amazed by how fast the weeks go and how much actually happens during those 7 days. Last week was no exception. I made new friends, got in touch with my inner goddess and said goodbye (for now) to a dear, dear friend.

Last Wednesday our house was invited to a Tantra workshop run by Bridget, a woman Niki met while I was away. Bridget is British and now lives in Cusco (I think). The workshop was a beautiful lesson in getting in touch with the goddess within -- which also includes our sexuality. We did a lot of paired activities, switching partners every time. It was a wonderful way to connect with the women in the class and really appreciate how different we all are -- but at the same time bonded together as beautiful, strong women.

The exercises were incredibly interesting to me, especially as I get more introspective. For example, we spent 15-20 minutes lying on the floor with our hands on our breasts, breathing and sensing the energy inside of us, and I was surprised by how disconnected I felt to my breasts. I think I'm pretty aware of my sexuality and generally confident, but was shocked by how little I felt when I consciously touched such an important body part so connected with it.

After the workshop, we all felt the need for chocolate (typical women, eh?) and so we invited the other women to our house for good conversation, hot chocolate (I made from scratch -- turned out OK, not great), and quality time getting to know each other better. Almost everyone came and it was a wonderful way to end the afternoon.

As our workshop women started to leave, our friends Selena and Whitney came over to cook for Gab's last dinner. She was leaving the next day and since we had a can of coconut milk sitting in our kitchen for the past 5 months with Selena's promise to cook something with it, we finally got her to do so! She made the most delicious vegetable curry and we inhaled it. I will post the recipe as soon as I get it from Selena -- I promise.

Selena's amazing curry

And then on Thursday Gab left. I gave her a massage in the morning and then we all went out for a final lunch (a few puppies included) at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Kintaro. Gab said her goodbyes to all our friends and then she, Niki, Jess and I taxied back up to our house to help her gather her bags, put her in a cab and send her home. I held it together (barely) until she left, but I can definitely feel a loss here now that she's gone. I'm sure it will get filled soon with a new arrival, but no one can replace Gabs.

The group at Gab's goodbye lunch

Selena, Me and Heather with some of the pups




One last picture (for now) of the brujas.

And then on Friday, something completely unexpected happened. Kind of one of those "only in Peru" things, but I guess it could happen anywhere there are open minds and hearts. Lea and I were having lunch at Prasada, a vegetarian shack around the corner from my house, when three guys came in and asked (in painfully bad Spanish) if all the food was vegetarian. I told them it was and translated a little between them and the cook/owner. We all got to talking and turns out they were Orthodox Jews traveling through Peru and they invited us to their Shabbat dinner that night. Unfortunately, they didn't really have a place to hold a Shabbat dinner let alone cook one, so I offered our house for the occasion and to do most of the cooking.

I take any opportunity to cook here in Peru as a challenge -- especially when it's a feast. Remember, I have no fridge, my oven/2-burner stove combo looks like an Easy-bake contraption and there's almost no counterspace. And after what I created in that kitchen, I think I'm ready for my Iron Chef appearance.

Sooooo, I took the boys to Mega, our big grocery store, and they bought all the necessary items I selected to make our feast. Then I had less than 2 hours to prepare it all because everything needs to be cooked before sundown. But I'm a pro, right? You betcha.

The menu:
Sweet potato latkes with homemade apple sauce and tzaziki (yogurt/dill sauce)
Lentils with risotto
Potato salad (one of the guys made this -- so much mayo!)
Tuna salad (again, one of the guys made this -- still not sure why)
Fruit salad w/mango, strawberries and banana
Garden salad w/homemade dressing
Rum (ok, I didn't "make" that, but it was still served)
Ginger honey tea

We laid out a blanket on the floor of my room and enjoyed picnic-style -- after saying all the prayers and lighting the Shabbat candles (which I did, as the lady of the house). Conversation was lively and entertaining and lasted until about midnight. A good time was had by all and we made enough food for leftovers for the boys the next day (they can't cook anything until sundown on Saturday).

The gang of Jews

So now the house is even quieter. Jess and Niki have both gone back to the U.S. for the holidays, so it's just me and Alvaro (Niki's boyfriend who lives upstairs). It's kind of nice but at the same time a little lonely. Fortunately, Humberto gets back from his job in Lima on Friday and Lea returns from her weeklong Ayahuasca retreat on Saturday, so I just have to hold out a few days more...

Feather Fans, Good Food and PUPPIES!!

Niki decided to cancel our regularly scheduled Sunday yoga and replace it with an arts and crafts day. Specifically, she wanted to make feather fans for smudging and we were all on board. So on Saturday after an uneventful (read: nothing stolen) but productive trip to the Barrotio market, we bought a variety of bird feathers (and food) at Mercado San Pedro for our gathering the next day.

It's funny how things change but don't change when you've been away for a few weeks. While I was in the U.S., some new friends entered our circle here in Cusco and, just like everyone here, when I met them I felt like I already knew them. The people who come through our doors are just beautiful. Leah is from Canada and is spending a good chunk of time here in Cusco taking Spanish lessons, practicing yoga and just living life. Kathleen is from Germany and is just traveling through for a while, also just enjoying life before heading back to med school. I can't even remember how Gab said they found us, but they're now part of the family and joined us for arts and crafts day.

It was the perfect rainy day for crafts. Our friend Selena came and so did Shaina and Heather (Shaina's housemate), bringing a couple of Chichi's puppies (now 6 weeks old) to play with. We made a lunch of chick pea tacos, mango salsa, guacamole and a few other goodies. Delish. We settled in to make our fans with the feathers we bought and a bunch of other beads, stones, leather and hot glue generously shared by Shaina. Each fan turned out so beautifully different and distinctive to each of us and they were so much fun to make!

Lunch.

Making fans!

The final products!

And...the puppies!

Oh, the puppies...
Damn they are cute. But they also need homes. Shaina is starting to feel the stress of having these 5 little munchkins and we're all doing our part to help get them adopted. Two (possibly 3) have new owners, so I took one of the other two out with me for the day to see if I could spark some interest. We went to the San Blas market for a glass of juice, wandered around the neighborhood for a bit and then went back to my house for a nap. When I picked him up that morning, Heather asked me if I wanted the girl or the boy. I said girl and thought nothing more of it after she handed her to me. I probably should've double checked before I named her Sasha for the day. Later back at the house, Jess said to me, "Uh, you know he has a penis, right?" Totally hadn't looked. Good thing Sasha can also be a boy's name!

Whiskey Got a Bath
I met Whitney at my old school on Monday morning after her classes and we walked up to her boyfriend's family's house to pick up Whiskey, her dog. I've watched him before and he is one of the most amusing puppies (at 5 or 6 months old) to observe -- short with shaggy hair and really, really long. He had no idea what we had in store for him -- a big, juicy bath.

Other than our shower, we have no hot water except for the electric kettle. And we kind of forgot about that, so Whiskey was none too pleased with the cold buckets of agua we were dumping on him. Jess, after hearing the raucous, came out of her room and brought over the kettle, adding the hot water to our cold buckets. Whiskey squirmed a little less, but was still not digging the bath. He got dirty again within minutes of getting toweled off, but thankfully behaved himself at the restaurant during lunch (yes, you can bring your dog with you wherever you go here).

Whiskey after his bath.

Meditation Monday
We practiced an Osho meditation this week in our gathering. It was an hourlong active meditation of movement and stillness. So very moving and beautiful. Our group of people changes week to week and it makes the dynamics and energy incredibly interesting. After the women left, Gab, Jess, Niki and I spent some quiet time together, as this would be Gab's last Meditation Monday before heading back to the U.S. for an undetermined amount of time (read: She won't be back anytime soon). Gab got us each a beautiful stone pendant and while we had known that this week would eventually come, we had all been ignoring her impending departure. Sigh.

A Little Recap

Ok, so I've been a little bad about posting, but as one of my students (who checks the blog regularly) said to me the other week, "If I don't see a new post from you in a while I'm just assuming you're having too good a time to write!" True, true, Michelle. But I really do promise to get better about posting.

A couple of fun things to recap on. First, there was a car race that took place throughout all of Peru called Caminos del Inca. A bunch of stock cars decked out like they just drove off the tracks of the Peruvian Indy 500 race through all of Peru and have pitstops in various cities. Now, keep in mind that Peru is the third largest country in South America so the race takes about 2 weeks to complete as most of the journey goes through the Andes Mountains. We got to see them arrive in Cusco and the crowd went wild. As the drivers pulled into the main square they were showered with champagne by busty girls outfitted in one of the sponsor's (rather tight-fitting) unifroms. Ah, race cars and busty girls. My favorite.

The first car on this leg of the race coming round the bend...



Halloween also came and went. It was a fun night of parties, fashion shows and general merriment. Jess painted a cool spiderweb on my neck in addition to the funky make-up she applied so effortlessly (that kind of creativity is unfathomable to me, but it's great having someone so talented in the house). And with my little black dress, fishnet stockings, some fangs and a cheap vampire cape I bought on the street earlier that day, my costume turned out quite nice. Torrential rains kind of washed us out later that night, but it was fun nonetheless.



And then Gab turned 22! While I wasn't there on her birthday (I was already in transit to go back to the U.S.), we celebrated with a big party on the Sunday before I left. My gift to her was to cook whatever she wanted -- and she requested eggplant parmesean and cheesecake. I enlisted our other friend, Selena (an amazing baker), to do the cake and she and I spent the Saturday before the party cooking. The meal turned out fabulous and Gab let Jess dress her up (crazy make-up and all) for the big day. She looked beautiful and stuffed herself silly (as did the rest of us!)

The ladies of the house on Gab's birthday

Meditation Mondays at the house have really taken off and it's grown to be quite a large group. We practice a different meditation each time and then sing, chant or do whatever calls us. What started as a small group a couple of months ago has grown into something bigger that we all look forward to every week. The Monday before I left for my trip to the U.S., Amber brought her didgeridoo and performed some sound healing on each of us and Denise continued to lead us in song at the end. You never know what the night will bring, which is part of the fun.

And just before flying to the U.S., I spent a couple of days soaking in Lima. I'd heard such horror stories about visiting there, but our stay was beautiful. We were in Barranco, the bohemian-style neighborhood next to Miraflores (a very upscale 'hood) and it was gorgeous. Good restaurants, beautiful views of the ocean and an overall sense of "I could live here if I had to live in Lima." Our hotel was actually the mansion of Victor Delfin, a local sculptor and artist still living on the grounds. The house has 5 guest rooms and the entire property is laid out like his personal gallery (and every piece is for sale). It was pretty damn cool.

The sculpture garden at our "hotel"

Out on the town in Lima


Our neighborhood in Lima (Barranco)

We found some cool bars and restaurants (Hum had his first Starbucks), ate some delicious sushi and took in a movie (there are no movie theaters in Cusco so this was a rare treat). Yes, I might have dragged Hum to see "Eat, Pray, Love," and yes, he might have compared my life to that of Liz Gilbert, which I vehemently denied. Aside from that, it was a great send off before traveling back to the U.S.

Ok, I think we're all caught up. Stay tuned for more punctual postings!

Time To Go Back Home

I spent the past 3 weeks in the U.S. visiting friends and family, taking clients, seeing students, celebrating Thanksgiving and remembering the life I used to have before I upped and moved to Peru. It was an amazing life and I did my best to live every moment to the fullest. What I didn’t realize until my first trip to Peru last February was that I wasn’t really happy. But I wasn’t UNhappy either – I was just sort of going through life enjoying what I could enjoy and ignoring what I couldn’t. It was working just fine until I stepped off the plane for the first time in Cusco. I really had no idea what was in store for me other than some volunteer work and Spanish lessons, but my life got turned upside down and when I left Peru at the end of the month I felt like a new part of me had been awakened and now wanted attention – and it wasn’t going to be satisfied until I came back to Cusco.

I was confused. I was depressed. I didn’t know what to do with myself other than work. I took on more clients than I should have and tried to ignore the nagging feeling that I didn’t belong in Washington anymore. Thanks to some amazing energy work and self realization, I made the decision to make a more permanent move back to Peru. I told everyone that it would only be for a few months – I’d be back before they knew it – but those who knew me well suspected that my trip might last a little longer. And they were right.

This posed a major problem. I was married. And while I won’t air any details here, I was married to an amazing man but had a feeling that our relationship (as husband and wife) was coming to an end. I left for Peru separated but with his full support to follow my soul and we agreed to divorce a few months later. This was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my entire life, mostly because I still love him. We are just not meant to be married anymore. But thankfully, we are meant to remain friends – and good ones at that. Thank you, Universe.

So, my first visit back to the U.S. was great. There were some awkward moments with someone who is no longer a friend and seeing my soon-to-be-ex in his new life dating and being single, but I was able to get through it without too many breakdowns (really just one). I spent time with former students of mine, took clients a couple of days and then spent Thanksgiving with my mother. It was a cleansing, re-energizing experience.

And now, back in Peru. Because I was willing to give up my seat on my flight back to Lima on an over-sold plane, I was upgraded to Business Class and still got on the flight! That gave me a few restful hours in a very comfortable, reclining seat and I arrived in Lima with just a few hours to wait for my flight to Cusco. I landed around 7:30 and Humberto met me at the airport with a big smile, a huge hug and kiss. He hadn’t slept much the night before either, so we crashed at my house for almost the entire day and night. I think reacclimatizing makes me tired, but thankfully no altitude sickness.

It’s day two and I’m slowly readjusting. It’s good to be home.

Virgin Festivals and Hot Springs

Well, I'm definitely embarrassed to say that it's been almost 3 weeks since I last posted and so much has happened since then (sorry, Gab's dad -- she's alive and well!). Elicia is now back in the U.S. (damn, I miss her), I've attended a couple of fiestas celebrating an array of virgins, found new restaurants serving soul-enriching foods and new people have come into my life (some of these stories will come in later posts). It's been a busy month!

Let's start with Elicia. It was so wonderful having her here. While she wasn't living with us, she was staying just around the corner and popped in every day for visits, meals and frivolity. I've known her for 21 years (with a small break somewhere in our mid-twenties), which pretty much makes her family (without all the drama and stress that I usually feel with my actual family -- yes, this is something I'm trying to work on, too).

Leesh took Spanish classes for a couple of hours during the day at Maximo, my TEFL-training school, and then would make her way back to our house for lunching/chatting/interneting (our wifi worked better than at her house) and would usually stay until naptime (back at her place) and then return for dinner. She fit right in with all of us in the house and when her goodbye dinner rolled around, everyone tried to convince her to stay. We hope she returns soon...

A few weeks back, Humberto took me to Combapata, the neighboring town to Sicuani (his hometown) for a rather large virgin festival. We stayed in Sicuani, visited his family and some hot springs and then on day 2 took one of those cramped combi-like buses (basically a slightly larger minivan with triple the amount of people it should legitimately hold) to Combapata.

Sicuani is a small town with a nice old church and a river. There's not much else to do or see there, and so Humberto's mother suggested we go to the hot springs, about 1/2 away. And here lies one of the problems about living in Peru. You never know what to expect from minute to minute, so when you go on a trip you never know what to pack. Humberto still has some clothes at his parents' house so naturally he had a bathing suit. I, on the other hand, did not. So off we went into small-town Sicuani on the hunt for a bathing suit for me.

The first shop we entered had some very frilly, rather skimpy bikinis available, but nothing else. I politely declined Humberto's offer to buy me one and suggested we search a little further. About 20 minutes into our expedition, we finally found a shop selling slightly more modest swimming attire and I happily let him cough up the 18 soles for my low-cut (remember, I am in South America), shiny purple one-piece suit.

On to the hot springs! Hot springs are all over this part of Peru, and most of them are just used by the locals. Sure, tourists flock to Aguas Calientes, the city below Machu Picchu, to take in the "curative waters" before hopping on their tour bus to visit the sacred site, but the majority of travelers don't really step off the beaten path unless they're with someone in the know. And I've got me one of those someones.

This group of hot springs is about 1/2-hour taxi ride from Sicuani and you just squeeze into a car with a bunch of people heading in that direction, give the driver a few soles and you're on your way. Entrance to the springs is about 5 soles per person and you can stay all day. We opted for a quieter section of the springs (there were a surprisingly large number of noisy children there for a weekday) and after a lengthy soak, we shared a lunch of chicken and rice (and choclo con queso for me), and walked around the site for a while. The scenery was breathtaking and everywhere we walked there were little hills of bubbling water spurting up along our path.

My someone in the know

Lunch

Noisy children in the springs

And now, the festival. Humberto's family is large and many of them hold prominent positions in local government (and the rest of them are famous -- in Peru -- musicians). A couple of his cousins (or uncles) were running the festival and each time we ran into them throughout the day they seemed just a tad bit drunker than they were the last time we saw them (I think they're required by some Peruvian law to accept every drink they're offered on days like this).

The festival was centered around the small main square, and it mostly consisted of a parade with various groups from all over Peru in beautiful costumes doing various dances, food stalls selling fried meats and potatoes, foosball tables and cotton candy vendors. After the parade carrying the virgin up to the church ended, most people made their way to the local school where lunch was served. Lunch took 3 hours. Very long hours. Chicha (fermented corn beer -- a local specialty) was free flowing, as was the Cusquena, which helped pass the time for most. I, however, don't drink, so this 3-hour lunch at a table with 8 of Humberto's friends speaking rapid-fire Spanish was not particularly the highlight of my day. Still enjoyable, but there were definitely moments I wished I could consume a few beers without getting sick (stupid allergy to alcohol).

Some photos of the festival...





The festival culminated with a bullfight down at the local bull ring. Yes, Combapata, this tiny little town, has a bull ring. Humberto convinced me to walk down to the fight with the rest of the crowd, telling me that we could leave at any time. I took one look at the bulls being taunted and walked back to the main square. His family tried to get me to stay by reassuring me that they weren't going to kill the bulls (or so they thought), but knowing the way Peruvians treat their animals, I wasn't convinced. We skipped the bullfight.

Our 2-hour bus ride back to Cusco later that night was cramped but pleasant. There were power outages throughout most of the trip, so all of the little towns we passed were eerily quiet and dark. Fortunately, Cusco was not affected so we made it back in time for a quick dinner before he headed off to work the night shift at his hotel job.

These festivals really are fun. There's an energy in the town that puts everyone in high spirits (insert drunk joke here) and brings together the town in a way you don't see often in the U.S. (at least not in the big cities). And when your friend's family is in charge of the party, the rest of the revelers forget you're the gringa guest and just hands you the bowl of chicha and waits for you take a swig.

Over-Stimulation, Getting the Business Up and Running, and, Whoops, Puppies

Saturday was a quiet day at the house. Well, at least it was later in the day. In the morning I decided to take Elicia to the Barotio, the new-and-used-but-mostly-used-stuff market about a 20-minute walk from my house. It's not the safest place to go, but the deals make it worthwhile. "Barrato" means cheap in Spanish, so Barotio came out of that (essentially "cheap market"). Basically, every Saturday vendors pour out onto the streets of this neighborhood and sell whatever they have. Piles of clothes from the U.S. (including many with tags still on), kitchenware, knock offs, books, pick axes (I kid you not), and electronics. Now, I'm hesitant to call this market dangerous, but there's nary a tourist in sight and when there is, we usually become a target. But Peruvians aren't safe from theft there either. A few weeks ago I was there with Humberto and his cell phone was stolen right out of his deep front pocket. The funny thing was we just turned around and bought another (presumably stolen) phone from someone at the market and went to Claro (equivalent to Verizon) and got a new chip.

That day, though, I could barely stand the craziness of the place. It was too intense for me and I started to feel sick. The energy work and Reiki training I'd been receiving has made me hyper-sensitive to my surroundings at times and that morning was no exception. The market is intense even when you're not hyper-sensitive, so sadly we only stayed for about 1/2 hour -- long enough for me to find a 3-sole NY&Co. sweater and Leesh to find a 1-sole cute shirt. After we made our purchases, we headed home.

As soon as we got back to the house, I asked Leesh to call Gab to my room. When she came, I explained what happened and asked her to do some Reiki on me, as I could barely move. She brought her stones in, placed my new smoky quartz in my hand and the others on my forehead and chest and went to work. When she finished the Reiki, she started to play her new didge. Now, keep in mind she's had this didge for all of a day, but the sound and vibrations she brought forth were quite moving and a perfect finish to our mini-session. I was able to calm down and sleep for a while and when I emerged from my room, I joined Gabs and Leesh in the sun for a good chunk of the afternoon.

While we were sitting in the sun, Jessica was finishing our new sign for the business. We changed the name of our house from Yoga House to Healing House, as it better fits the inhabitants and the work we do. The sign is gorgeous and we hope to put it out this week -- after we purchase chains and locks to attach it to our door (otherwise it'll get stolen).

Jess making our awesome new sign

On a slightly funny but concerned note: Jess has been house/dog-sitting for Shana, a friend of ours, while she's back in the U.S. Shana told Jess that Chi-Chi, her rescued Cusquenan dog, was sweet tempered, slept all the time and barely ate anything. Jess soon discovered that while she is EXTREMELY sweet tempered, she loves to get into garbage, eats all the time and barely sits still. And after about a week and half with her, she discovered why. Chi-Chi is pregnant. Whoops.

Shana gets back in the next couple of days and we hope Chi-Chi can keep it together until then, but we're all bracing ourselves for the inevitable: puppies.

Pisac, Stones and Didgeridoos

After Gab decided she needed (not wanted, but needed) a didgeridoo, she, Elicia and I decided we were going to take a trip to Pisac to buy some crystals (they are pretty powerful down here -- especially the ones in Pisac) and find her a didge. Humberto's friend has a car (a rarity here) and arranged for all of us to take a field trip to both Pisac and Moray (cool ruins)last Friday.

Now I thought Italian drivers were scary. But this was on a whole other level. Yes, I take taxis here every day, but because we're in the city it's a lot of stop-and-go. And even if I'm almost in an accident about 75% of the time I'm in a taxi here, there's still no comparison to a Peruvian driver on the open, winding, mountainous road. And to top it off, Gab and Leesh get motion sickness. Woo hoo!

When I could look out the window and NOT wonder if we were going to drive off the road, the scenery was breathtaking. I've been through the Sacred Valley a bunch of times, but the views never get old. These are the moments I have to pinch myself to remember that I LIVE IN PERU. Hell yeah.




We made our way to the stone shop Niki recommended and as soon as we walked in I was overwhelmed by the energy. The room was loaded with stones piled everywhere, various types of quartzes, amethysts, etc. I was immediately drawn to a large smoky quartz (about the length of my hand and half the width) shaped like an obelisk. I picked it up and fell to my knees. The power of the stone was so intense that I just had to sit there for a while. Gab was intent about finding a didge first, so we eventually left the shop, promising to return within the hour (and I asked the shaman who ran the shop to hold this quartz for me).

It wasn't long before we found her didge. Karen, a woman Gab had met once before, owns a shop that sells various handmade jewelry and instruments -- including didgeridoos. Gab found hers immediately. We spent a little time there letting Gab get to know her new baby and after she bought it (for only 150 soles), we went back to the stone shop.


Gabs on her new didge

(from left to right: Miguel (with the car), Humberto, and Gabs)

My quartz was 120 soles (about $40) but I didn't have enough money on me. I started to look for something smaller and less expensive but was having no luck. The shaman also knew that I wouldn't find anything else because, as he said, "when it's your stone, it's your stone." He told me I could pay him the next time I came to Pisac, so I left him with 50 soles and a promise to return soon.

Gab chose an amethyst and the shaman offered to clean our stones for us, going through a ceremony of blowing smoke and rose water over them. As he was doing this to mine, I felt another surge of emotion/energy and had to sit down again. I began to cry and Gab put her (extremely energetic) hands on me and held the space for me, letting me get out whatever was coming to the surface. She also experienced some strong emotions when the shaman cleaned her stone and we both left the shop exhausted and a little emotionally drained (and cleared).

The rains started to come, so we bunkered down at the Blue Llama, a favorite restaurant of ours when we're in Pisac. We took over all the comfy couches and chairs and had a fantastic 2-hour lunch, playing Jenga and talking. With my new stone in my pocket, I was so steady and grounded that Humberto couldn't win a single game of Jenga against me, as much as he tried to sabotage my every turn.


Me kicking Hum's butt in Jenga

Miguel taking a nap at the Blue Llama

Humberto and Jenga

We opted to go home instead of Moray, as the rain would make the visit unpleasant and muddy. We got home around 3 and collapsed. It's amazing how much energy a day like that can take out of you.

Let the Healing Begin!

Well, I guess that title is a bit of a misnomer -- I mean, the healing began long ago and I'm just continuing on that path here in Cusco. The beauty of being here is that I live and work in a community of healers and have an amazing opportunity to exchange with all of them. Last week, I set up an exchange with Amber Field, a sound healer living here in Cusco. She works with a variety of instruments but her main one for sound healing is the didgeridoo. The work was awesome. The vibrations and sensations coming from the didge was deep and inspiring. I laid on a mat on the floor and we began the session with chakra chanting and after my chakras were happily spinning away, she pulled out two didges and went over my entire body. I was easily put into a trance and could feel a lot of emotions building up in me -- they almost came out (especially around the heart and throat chakras) but didn't. I'm waiting for that release, but I guess it will happen when it's supposed to.

My work on Amber was earlier in the week and she brought her didge with her (just in case) and Gab fell in love. Well, we're all in love with Amber, but on this day Gab fell in love with Amber's didge. And after a mini-session with her in our courtyard, Gab is determined to get one of her own. Awesome.

Amber doing a sound-healing demo on Gabs

Gab attempting to play Amber's didge

My client load is increasing, which is good. I want to be able to sustain living here with massage work and think I can. I just need a few more clients a week! Yvette, a painter travelling through Cusco for the past few months, just finished 3 gorgeous portraits for my studio (I just bought the supplies and she went to town!), I have a beautiful antique handmade rug hanging on my wall and a beautiful table from Lima. I could seriously live in my studio.






We're also still cooking a lot, but I've modified my food choices and cooking style since the Giardia. Last week, I found polenta in the grocery store and Humberto, Gab and I made two polenta lasagnas -- one with spinach and broccoli with a bechamel sauce and the other with just a bolognese. Both were outstanding and we devoured them within two days (mostly because we don't have a fridge and a healthy fear of parasite-born illnesses). I promise to take pictures the next time we make them.

My cousin, Becca, moved into a new apartment with some colleagues so I went to their house-warming party this weekend and had a great time. I didn't follow the crowd out to the bars afterwards (had plans to go see Niki and the band play instead), but it was nice to step out of my little world up here in San Blas and connect with other people. Lots of interesting conversations that evening -- even though I was one of the only sober ones.

I had a Reiki session with Gab this morning and plan to work on her tomorrow. Our connection to each other is strong -- we did Ayahuasca and Reiki training together, so we're practically telepathic with each other. It's unlike any relationship I've ever had with another person and am already lamenting her departure in December (I'm trying to get her to stay...). The work this morning brought a lot of clarity and focus to me and my reasons for being here. We used Frankincense and White Angelica oils during the session and it was powerful stuff. Gabs has started taking clients, too (she rents out my studio by the hour) and has really begun to appreciate the beauty of working (and getting paid) for something you love. I heart that.