Clean and ready to explore

Ahhhhh my first shower. How cold but how beautiful. Quick and a little painful but for cleanliness purposes, absolutely necessary. After feeling so overwhelmed yesterday with Spanish, it was a nice way to get refreshed and back to moving forward.
I had an interesting conversation with my host sisters during breakfast this morning that reminded me of a concept that I learned while in South Africa. Myra, my younger host sister was poking fun at the fact that I drink my coffee black but my other host sister found that a bit irritating and went on to inform her younger sister that it wasn't bad or stupid but it was just different than she was used to. Such a quick conversation that has resonated with me... How difficult a concept that was to grasp and get used to in South Africa and how easy it is to forget. I have had to remind myself on multiple occasions (which is impressive since I have only been here 3 days) not to compare things or customs or norms here to the United States norms because they don't even remotely apply. Such a simple concept that is extremely important to practice. Thus practicing cultural sensitivity...
So, after a nice leisurely morning, I completed my homework and took off for the city of Urubamba. In order to get there you need to take a taxi to the bus station and then bus 1.5hr to the city. I met up with a projects abroad rep and only one other volunteer. Usually the events are very popular but some of the other volunteer were sick and others were involved in some holiday festivities. Today was the holiday to remember the war between Peru and chili called Batalla de Angamos. So the three of us traveled on another bus to a very small village for a pottery class... We get off the bus and walk another mile to get there and to our surprise, the women hosting the event is not there. On the bright side, it was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the scenery. Urubamba is surrounded by mountains and is very colorful, I really enjoyed being there. Our rep brought us to a little cafe that was gorgeous, we sat outside and enjoy some beverages. On the bus back, we were driving into what looked like a severe storm, it was very dark and I watched as the lightening struck down on the farm land. I'm thinking... Wow, that is totally amazing but Great, it's nighttime and storming... How am I going to get from the bus station home and will it be safe and I wish I was watching this storm from the comfort of my home! Lol I get off the bus and thankfully it hasn't started raining yet but I stand and work on flagging a taxi down that's a reasonable price and after 15minutes of arguing, I get in a cab and am actually able to direct him to my house. Hey, after only three days, I'm a pro!! But in all reality, I'm super proud of myself for being able to communicate and have the confidence to not let the local take advantage of my inexperience. So go me! ;)

Tomorrow is more spanish, so wish me luck!