Llama or alpaca?

Sorry for the lack of posting the last few days. I was quite sick all weekend and quite literally could not get out of bed. For a little while we thought I had malaria since I conveniently had all of the symptoms and since Ricardo has mentioned when we were at the beach in Ecuador that it is not unheard of for the mosquitos to carry malaria. Fun! As it turns out, I am malaria-free (this is probably for the best, though personally, I think having malaria would give me a lot of street cred) and once again on my feet. Sadly, we had to miss what was supposed to be an adventure-packed weekend of horseback riding to ancient Inca sites and touring the Sacred Valley. One of the volunteers at Inti, Carolina, also left this weekend, so we missed her farewell celebration. Being sick is simply no good.

Life outside of my bed has not been too exciting this week. Eben and I have been taking Spanish classes every morning. I've felt a bit understimulated by this, though Eben has had to learn a LOT in very little time. Mostly I just need grammar review. I'm beyond thrilled that my Spanish has come back so quickly. Hearing it every day and speaking it every day with the kids has done wonders, and while I hesitate to call myself fluent, I am definitely comfortable with where my Spanish is right now. The best part is that it will only improve. I don't feel too self-conscious when I speak, which only encourages me to speak even more. Nicola, another Inti volunteer, is maybe the best example I can think of when it comes to people trying to speak a foreign language. She does it very confidently and enthusiastically even though much of what she says is not technically correct. How else will you learn? Something to keep in mind...

Though we've been taking it slow this week, Eben and I have managed to see a few museums. There is a 10-day tourist ticket that includes entrance to about 14 sights. Ours expires after this weekend (we were supposed to use it for the first time last weekend), so we're trying very hard to make sure that we don't miss a single thing. So far we saw a very tiny archeological museum (El Museo de Sitio del Qorikancha) underneath an Incan ruin, El Museo de Arte y Monasterio de Santa Catalina, El Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo, and El Museo Historico Regional. The museums have all been pretty small and end quite suddenly. Something I noticed specifically at the Monastery of Santa Catalina, though also at the Regional Historical Museum, is that many of the paintings are in bad condition. The canvas is warped and doesn't lie flat against the wall, and it's also often badly torn or burned. It's strange to see paintings like that out on dispay. I imagine they were damaged in one of the many earthquakes that have occurred in the region over the centuries, but who knows.

Wish I could write more, as I have lots to write about working at Inti and my frustrations with organizations like this (yes, the Psychology major in me), but our internet cafe is kicking us out. More for next time, I suppose!

Though I do have one final question: What is the difference between a llama and an alpaca? They look the same to me!