Found an Apartment!

Hurrah! After only one day of searching I found a place to live! I started my search last Tuesday, checked out two places and decided on the best option and moved in on Thursday! The first place I found was closer to the main square but she was asking $185 a month for it and the room didn't even have any windows! Also there was a small kitchen on the top floor and no laundry space. Absurd if you ask me. The second place I found is where I am happily sitting right now. It is in the neighborhood Mariscal Gamarra which is only a minute from Avenida de la Cultura (one of the main roads that goes through Cusco and has all the combi and buses on it). I can walk to the center in 25 minutes or I can take a combi and get there in 10. I am directly across from a park and a church. The atmosphere is really great and there are tons of families and people around all the time. I feel really safe and I am happy to be sharing an apartment with a woman named Rocio. She is from Lima and she owns a shop on Triunfo Street (right off the plaza) that sells leather handbags but they are super unique and different than the majority of handbags you see here made of alpaca or cotton. She is super nice but doesn't like having any company over. She is just nervous about the señora getting upset if there is any noise. Also she has trust issues with men. Corey came over to visit for a minute and had some tea and she was very obviously upset about it. I could tell she was upset so I addressed it head on after he left so as to keep the communication doors open. She explained that she doesn't have any problems with Marco coming over because he is my boyfriend and she will soon have her boyfriend around too , but she doesn't know if Corey can be trusted and she doesn't want there to be any big parties or anything. I told her that both Marco and I trust him completely but she has her own prerogatives (Marco nodded in agreement to trusting you Corey! We got cha back!). I asked her if it was OK to have my girlfriends over and she said as long as it wasn't for anything more than tea and chatting. Darn, no big rowdy parties at my place! Honestly, it's all right with me. I was kind of hoping to have a dinner party at some point but it seems that it might be out of the question. I think I still need to gain more of her trust before that happens.

Then, there is Warmi, a cute little shitsu that is super sweet and doesn't bark at all. Fantastic! I am happy to have a dog to play with and possibly walk when she is feeling better. She has been a bit sick for a week so the walks have been non-existent. She'll be a good excuse to get out and explore the neighborhood.

I am very happy to have my own room again and a HUGE closet, although I only use half of it since I only packed what I thought I really needed. Erica did hook me up with some new dresses though. The big part is having some privacy again. Being able to close your door and to not have any obligation to open it for 7 of your roommates is priceless. I also have my own bathroom. No stinky boys to share it with! Also, Rocio has a main that comes three times a week to cook and clean for her. She cleans my bathroom which is very nice. I wonder how much she pays for Susanna. I am only paying 350 soles or $125 a month but Rocio was living here by herself for a while before that. She must do well with her business. More power to her!

Speaking of Erica, the poor girl god robbed last Wednesday coming home from Elias' place. It wouldn't have been terrible had it not been for the fact that she had her passport, credit cards, keys, and phone on her. The worst is losing the passport. She has to wait a few weeks in Cusco before she can get the new one sent here. She is in the jungle now on a little trip with Jake, both of whom I would love to be traveling with. Ah well, I get to head to Bolivia this weekend for a border run so I will get some travel. I am going to see if I can work some magic and get a 6 month visa. That would be excellent. We shall see. My worst nightmare is that they decide that I can't come back into the country for some reason and I am detained in Bolivia. Bleh, that would suck immensely.

In other news I am teaching two classes right now in the afternoon. I am still at Viajes Pacifico via Excel and I am teaching a tourism class to two students at Peru Volunteer and Travel. I'm super pumped about it because we are going to visit different places and they are going to give tours for all of it. If I can do the ruins for free I would be stoked. I am not getting paid nearly what a teacher should be paid but it's all good. It's my friend's company and they are just starting up so they don't have the money to pay a regular teacher's salary. It's all good because I thoroughly enjoy my students and I am sure I will enjoy the tours.

I sent an email to the Experiment people on Sunday and I haven't heard back from them. Two days is kind of a long time to go without responding to an email, especially if it is the info email address. I am not feeling too hopeful about it all. Hell, part of me just wants to get it over with so I can find a full time position that is more secure than Excel. This month is going to be pretty hectic though. I told Excel that I am available to teach the morning class and the last class of the day. If people matriculate, I will have 4 classes a day. That's not terrible but I am also going to be working in my friend's restaurant when it opens in the next week or so, which will fill the down time that I would've had. I am going to do it because I need the money, but I know that I will be spent at the end of every day. I have truly enjoyed waking up around 9:30 - 10am every morning. No more of that starting Thursday. I will have my weekends though and I think that will make this month doable. Whatever happens, I am happy and in love and living life to the fullest. :)