The internet cafe clock is ticking, allowing little time for me to expand upon the experiences I´ve had of late, but I will try to summarize.  I have completed all my interviews, which is so hard to believe.  As of Thursday, I have no more women, health personnel, or community members to question.  It was pretty surreal when I switched off my voice recorder for the last time.  I had to rent a personal cab that day to take us to a tiny mountain town at about 12,000 feet.  Maria and I bumped and bounced over horrible roads with the sun streaming in the windows as we snacked on stuffed peppers that we had bought in the town where we hired the cab and listened to a warbled cassette (yes, they still exist) of Pink Floyd.  I was thinking that life doesn´t get much better. 

Earlier in the week I did manage to get to the recently named New Wonder of the World, Machu Picchu.  And it deserves the title.  I was literally awestruck as I wandered around the ancient village surrounded on all sides by dramatic, jagged mountains.  There is so much mystery surrounding this place, which made it all the more fascinating.  I will post pictures soon.

When not visitng ruins or interviewing Peruvians, I basically spend my time trying to make the most of every moment soaking up Peru.  I leave so soon, and I am going to go kicking and screaming. 

More to come....

With only two clinics left to visit and the end of my research in sight, the Peruvian people decided that now was a good time to have a nation-wide strike.  This means that boulders, that’s right….large rocks, have been placed on all the major roads, prohibiting anyone from going anywhere.  That means I’m here, in Cusco, for the week, which is not a bad thing.  As you may have picked up from previous posts, I love this city, and I am in no hurry to leave.  However, this is going to throw a wrench in my plans.  I was hoping to finish all my research this week and then begin my excursions throughout the country (i.e. Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and the jungle).  We’ll see what happens now.  I thought that, in the meantime, I would compile a list of life lessons I've learned here in Peru.

Lessons from Peru:

1. I have learned that I both love and hate my height in Peru.  I hate that I cannot ever even come close to fitting into a seat on any type of public transport.  My knees usually end up some where near my chin and serve as my pillow on the multiple 2-3 hour bus trips I take.  However, I love my height on days like June 24, Inti Rymi, when I could see over the entire crowd just fine and fully take in what was going on in the ceremony going on in the Plaza.
2. I learned that music videos in any other country are just hilarious.  At night, when Maria and I are wandering the streets of any number of tiny towns like vagabonds looking for anything warm to eat/drink to avoid freezing to death, we are usually lured into a “restaurant” of sorts where there is a little TV propped up in a corner playing a video of some woman standing in a field or on a mountain top swaying back and forth as she sings and is accompanied by a few pretty cool-looking guys in sunglasses in the background playing their keyboards, drums or guitars.
3. I learned that if you honk at a flock of sheep as you barrel down the street they will move, albeit at the very last minute.
4. I learned that it is culturally appropriate to just whine at the top of your lungs at whomever you please.  If you don’t, you will NOT get the desired coffee, taxi ride, or seat on the bus.
5. I learned that I am incredibly sexy somehow in Peru.  Everyone is interested in the tall, white girl.  I believe that I might actually be a different person when I speak Spanish.  I am more reserved (believe it or not), mysterious, and exotic.  Be it a random taxi driver or my own boss here in Cusco, they can’t seem to get enough of the random gringa.  Who knew?  Apparently, if I want to get some action, Latin America is the place for me.
6. I learned that a trunk of a station wagon is a perfectly acceptable place for four people to sit along with their belongings for over an hour on bumpy, country roads.
7. I have learned that yogurt can be a meal, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.
8. I have learned that sleeping in the buff in a sleeping bag really is the way to go if you want to stay warm at night in the mountains.
9. I have learned that you can fully bathe with half a bucket of ice cold water and a rag and live to see your next shower.
10.  I have learned that, it's not a good idea to set off the fire extinguisher inside a moving bus.  People will think it's smoke, panic, and jump from the windows.