Same Same but Different - Life in Cusco

It was in this classroom four years ago that I first considered becoming an English teacher. Now, somehow, I'm back teaching at the same school. I applied to other schools when I arrived but after not hearing back from any of them I wandered over to Speak Easy language institute and ran into my old boss, Daniel. As it turned out he was looking for a teacher to help substitute some classes. So I told him I would be glad to help out.

Some of the classes I am now teaching are at Elin Orphanage. This is just after I finished teaching the boys class - they are rowdy but eager to learn.
My favorite part of class is when the students finish an assignment and they all push their notebooks into my face and say "Carita Feliz!!" Which means they want me to put a smiley face on their paper. Some boys request two and three smiley faces, sometimes they want a star, but when ten minutes passes and I am still drawing smiley faces I have to say enough is enough. :-)

The girls class is a little more calm, but there are more students so it can also get noisy. I only taught them for a week, though.
This is my last week with the kids and it's a mixture of sadness and relief. It's been fun but I'm ready to do some traveling and see more than just the city. When I was here before I was so proud of Cusco for not having any fast food chains. Apparently progression can't be stopped because there is now a McDonald's in Cusco. I was so disappointed that I went to eat there one night. It wasn't very good, and I found a hair in my sundae. Why did I go then? Sometimes I have to remind myself why I don't like something, I guess.
A couple weeks ago I just felt like I had to get out of the city so my friend Ruben and I took his nephew, Anderson to some hot springs in the Sacred Valley. He fell asleep in the bus so I took a picture.
When I saw the picture it reminded me of the last time I went to the Sacred Valley. He fell asleep in the bus then, too. This time at age three. Some things never change.
The hot springs were fun - I was definitely the only white person there and got stared at as I got in the water. It was fun to see Anderson gain more confidence in the water - he went from death grip in the beginning to jumping into my arms by the end.
It was nice to get out of the city and see some nature again.
The sunlight on the mountains in the afternoon was amazing.

It would have been better if I hadn't thought I was going to die (taxi driver who was driving too fast, cliffs, mountain passes, etc.) But we made it safely. Every now and then I see some cool views in Cusco, too. I liked this cobblestone street in the San Blas area. These colonial arched doorways looked cute, too.

I'm getting ready for Clay and Trista to come in March. On Sunday we got to talk by Skype and they even brought me to Clay's birthday/Sunday night dinner at Jed and Lisa's so I got to see my nieces and nephews. Obviously they had fun with the camera, too.
Clay and Trista won't be able to bring their dog, Bangkok on the trip, but don't worry, I found a dog that looks just like him wandering around on the streets. I wouldn't recommend letting him lick you, though.
Until next time!