I wake up and take as deep of a breath as my lungs will allow me at this altitude. The air is chilled but refreshing, this mountain air reminds me of home. I finally untuck myself from the heavy stack of alpaca blankets that are piled on top of me. I walk down the open hallway to the kitchen and eat some fruit and a piece of fresh baked bread. After chatting with some of my friends who go to school here, I make some tea, grab my notebook and pen, and seat myself in the small classroom filled with natural light from the ceiling window above. For the next several hours, we have discussions with our teachers and learn about the future perfect tense in Spanish. To keep the lessons interesting, every once in a while our teacher will do a magic trick with his cards or show us a funny video in Spanish. We take a break half way through to drink some mate de coca, a traditional tea made with coca leaves that gives you energy and helps with adjusting to the altitude.
After class is done we disperse to various places until lunch. We eat warm soup, vegetables, pastas, or meats, finishing our meal with more hot tea.
At this point, it is pouring rain outside and beginning to hail. I watch as the rain falls from the different levels of the roof, eventually tumbling off the edge.
Once the rain has subsided, some friends and I walk down to the plaza and stop at the various shops looking at the beautiful crafts. We stop at a coffee shop then walk up the steep sidewalk to the San Blas district of the city.
We walk home on the narrow cobblestone streets. Glancing across the way, the women dressed in bright, tradition clothing ask if we want a picture with them and their llama or their baby goat.
For dinner I go out with a different group of friends and a teacher from the school. We walk to a fancy restaurant and stare with wide eyes as they bring out our beautiful plates of Peruvian cusine. We sit and talk about the country with our teacher, practicing our Spanish as we go.
Later we walk around the Plaza. It's getting late but the park is bustling with life. The lights of the houses stacked in the surrounding hills morph into a painting of blurred, colorful dots.
We walk to a bar and try pisco sours as a band begins to play. It's a famous group from the area and their music is so lively it's impossible not to move your body. The lead singer has long black hair and a big tattoo on his forehead.
Eventually we wander to a different club and continue dancing until about three in the morning, at which point we decide we should get some rest so we're not too tired for classes later that day. We walk home under the street lights and ring the bell of our school. Raul let's us in and we make our way back to our room. Pulling the heavy alpaca blankets back over my head, I fall into a deep and wonderful sleep.
