I have been enjoying my last few days here in Chucuito but I'm also excited to leave and get on with the next leg of my traveling adventures. The new teacher arrived a couple days ago and we've been getting along great. She's from the Czech Republic and speaks English nearly perfectly and Spanish about as well as I do. She also enjoys practicing her Spanish so we often use it to talk to each other, even though English is easier. We had a long conversation today about politics and economics in our respective countries and also about our boyfriends that we left behind for three months. I hope we will be able to keep in touch because she seems like a great person. (And if I ever go to Prague, I can visit her!)

This weekend we celebrated Saint Peter and Saint Paul with a big festival in a small nearby village. There were bands, dancing girls, parades, kiddie rides, a bullfight, and of course, excessive consumption of alcohol. I don't think many people remembered they were actually honoring Saints; they were just there for the party.

On Saturday, Hilda, Edgar and I went to Cutimbo, a site of Inca ruins atop a high plateau. My guidebook said there was an entrance fee, but no one was around to collect it, so we just started climbing. There really wasn't that much to see, but it was still fun to have a little excursion with the people who run the hostel.

It turns out that I have been sharing my room this whole time with a little black mouse. A couple times I woke up during the night to what sounded like someone grinding their teeth by my bed. I just figured I was dreaming and went back to sleep. But last night I woke up and heard little feet scurrying on my floor, and then they ran up my bedpost right by my head! I moved a bit and the critter ran back to his hole, but then it happened like four more times! I kept banging on the wall, hoping to scare it, but it kept coming back. I do keep some snacks on a shelf by my bed, so that is probably what he was after, but now I'll have nightmares of a mouse running across my face or biting my toes during the night. Only three more nights here; I think I can deal with it until then. And I will surely hide my snacks.

Well, the next time I write, I will probably be in Cusco, en route to the magnificent ruins of Machu Picchu! I'm super excited to see them. Let me know if you have any questions about life in Peru or what I'm up to!