Stories from the field
- From Danielle WeissJournal Entry #2: Me & my 32 closest friends
You know how it is. You move to a new city and being car-less you have to invest time and energy into figuring out the public transit system which can be confusing
but exciting at the same time. I remember when I first moved to Toronto after tour leading and had my first experience of "riding the rocket", a slogan used by Torontonians to describe riding the public transit system. It was a Monday morning. I sat amongst people in black power suits, with black brief cases and groggy faces, knowing that for them that this was just another Monday morning. As for me, I had the energy of a golden retriever. All bright eyed and bushy tailed, looking out the window not wanting to miss anything in this new exciting city. Even though I grew up just 30 minutes outside of Toronto, I felt like a tourist in my own city. Needless to say the excitement of my morning commutes didn't last more than a few months but it seems that the excitement of starting over somewhere new never ceases to amaze me. Now living in Cuzco, my commutes are a tad different and a whole lot more exciting! I live up on one of the hills that overlooks Cuzco. I am the only foreigner living in these parts which I love. It helps me escape the touristy part of town and allows me experience real life in Cuzco. When I tell people I live in Pukin, I always get the same reaction. Their eyes pop out of their heads and their voices go up an octave "but it's so dangerous up there". Every time I come to Cuzco I have always lived with the same family in Pukin and have never once felt any danger or discomfort so it always amuses me that people have that impression. However I suppose if you lived in any town or city, you would see the shanty towns up on the hills as dangerous. But once you experience life inside you know that it can be a whole other beautiful world. In my neighbourhood, the kids play soccer in front of my house and they greet meet every time in unison "hola seņorita".
Every morning there is a little old man in front of my house who I sometimes catch peeing on our grass while he lets his four sheep graze. The people who own the little tiendas where I buy little odds and ends all know me and greet me like a long lost friend each time
I go. Sometimes there are neighbourhood fiestas with guinea pig BBQs, loud music blaring, kids playing in the park, men drinking chicha (fermented corn beer) and women sitting in circles laughing and gossiping. Each morning as I leave my house, I look out over the city, with its big blue sky, fluffy white clouds, red tiled roofs and mountainous surroundings and it still does not cease to amaze me that I ACTUALLY LIVE HERE! So I walk down to the main road and wait for any one of the combis (mini-vans) that are going my way. There is always someone hanging out the side of the van yelling at the speed of an auctioneer to announce the names of the streets and neighbourhoods that they will pass through. Since I live high up on the hill, the combis are usually empty, but they quickly fill up with a mix of people, business men in suits, women with baskets or babies strapped to their backs, university students, elderly people, cool dudes and pretty girls, cute kids with sunburned cheeks and the odd chicken.
Most combis have 4 bench seats which to most people might suggest room for 8 passengers - 2 per seat, but oooooh no. Commuting to work is like travelling with me & my 32 closest friends. It's quite incredible actually. Just when you think that not another person could possibly fit, and people have their faces squashed up against the glass like those suction cup frogs you've seen pictures of, the combi pulls over on the side of the road and another 5 people get in. So it's been 9 months in Cuzco now and while sometimes at the end of the day, I dread having to climb into a combi with my laptop, bag full of plastic tupperwear, gym clothes and my 5'8 frame - it's still more exciting than catching a taxi, riding the rocket or any other method of transport (well, maybe except for riding a camel in India & an elephant in Nepal) that I've ever experienced. So if you ever really want to experience a city like the locals do...go ride public transit!!
Read More Stories from the Field
Happy Ho Ho Holidays from Peru
Loy Krathong - An Experience to Remember in Thailand
New Finished Stoves!
Special Report - An Intern's Experience in Ccaccaccollo, Peru
Being There: Director's Take on the Brazil Favelas
Stove-building Field Trip
An Experience Beyond Words
Fiestas of Cuzco and Inti Raymi
Speaking with the Spirits of the Mountains
Me & My 32 Closest Friends
Coo Coo for Cuzco
