Okay! So here I am, in Cusco, Peru, capital of the Inka empire and biggest tourist draw in Peru. I arrived last Sunday and spent the week until Huaro, the small town about 45 minutes away from the city. Conditions were pretty rustic out there-- we rented one room in a house for sleeping, eating, and lab work, with a separate bathroom downstairs-- but it was a good week of work and kind of refreshing to be away from it all! I was working on the skeletons excavated from a Wari (pre-inka empire/state cultural group) site in the valley and it was pretty interesting. Nice to have some comparison to my skeletal samples in Bolivia!
The neighboring town of Urcos (5minutes drive, 20-30minutes walk) is slightly bigger and the capital of the province and it had a big party one night celebrating its founding. We went and drank some beer in the town square with one of Maeve's Huaro friends and it was fun to see everyone dressed up, drinking, and dancing. There were two bands, the first of which was a classic South American pop group-- a full band and then 1 girl and 4 guys whose entire job seemed to be looking good and doing coordinated dance moves. For some reason, this really really amuses me and I mostly just stared at the band and laughed whenever they did a group spin, or, my favorite, a bunny hop/humping type maneuver.
We returned to Cusco yesterday, checked email, and then went out to another archaeological site on the other side of town, where two of Maeve's archaeologist friends are excavating. A really cool location-- great view of the valley and towering snowcapped peaks in the distance-- and the site was cool too- Wari, Late Intermediate and Inka occupations. There was also a cave up above that used to have burials in it (and probably still does under the collected rubble) that I climbed into. No one wants to excavated it currently because they are afraid of earthquakes and collapse but I think it would be great! (I'm also crazy though so that helps!)
Today is Inti Raymi, so the entire city of Cusco will be partying until... forever, haha. I'm going to witness the madness with a few archaeologist friends and then I think we are going watch some EuroCup games!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning! Its been rainy here in the lake basin which is totally strange since it is the dry season. It generally is cloudy/rainy until around noon, then clears up for the rest of the day. Stasia says that this is the weather pattern during the rainy season, but that was supposed to end in March. Climate change, anyone?
I've been busy in the lab this week, trying to confirm data on one of the collections that we are going to return to the community where it was excavated from. Part of that deal will include permissions to revisit the collection in the future, if we need to collect more data or newer technology comes about, so its not the last time I could look at these bones. But it does feel kind of final and awesome to think that this is it, this is the dissertation data!
Copacabana remains more or less unchanged, although this year I have located the post office (previously unopen) and 2 ATMs! Additionally, I'm able to steal the wifi from a neighboring hostel on my computer so I can check my email very regularly, at least until I go to Cusco. Welcome to the 1st World!
The trip to Cusco begins on Sunday with a 10-11hr bus ride from Copacabana. The other graduate student I am working with there will be meeting me at the bus station and then we go to Huaro, a town about 45minutes north of Cusco where her site and collections are. I'm not sure what the accommodations there will be like yet, but it will be a great adventure!
Until next time!
I've been busy in the lab this week, trying to confirm data on one of the collections that we are going to return to the community where it was excavated from. Part of that deal will include permissions to revisit the collection in the future, if we need to collect more data or newer technology comes about, so its not the last time I could look at these bones. But it does feel kind of final and awesome to think that this is it, this is the dissertation data!
Copacabana remains more or less unchanged, although this year I have located the post office (previously unopen) and 2 ATMs! Additionally, I'm able to steal the wifi from a neighboring hostel on my computer so I can check my email very regularly, at least until I go to Cusco. Welcome to the 1st World!
The trip to Cusco begins on Sunday with a 10-11hr bus ride from Copacabana. The other graduate student I am working with there will be meeting me at the bus station and then we go to Huaro, a town about 45minutes north of Cusco where her site and collections are. I'm not sure what the accommodations there will be like yet, but it will be a great adventure!
Until next time!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Potatoes and Sunshine
So, I've made it back to Copacabana! I arrived in La Paz, Bolivia at 5:15 Tuesday morning. Normally we take a few days to acclimate to the altitude in La Paz (3500m) before heading to Copacabana (3900m) to ease the huge transition up, but this year I arrived a few days after the other students from CMU so we headed up to the altiplano that same day. Only after buying all of the supplies we'd need for a few weeks which included fruit, bread, TP, and of course lots of potatoes! Once we finally headed out on the road to Copacabana, it was already 1pm and I was exhausted! The trip was relatively uneventful but gorgeous as always.
Once we got close to Copacabana, we learned that there was a surprise party being thrown for Sergio and Stasia in the neighboring town of Ch'isi (also a town that has a really awesome archaeological site where some of my dissertation skeletal collection comes from). Sergio and Stasia are going to be the "padrinos" or godparents of the town's high school graduation this year in December so they were regaling them with lots of flowers, food, and beer, followed by lots of dancing! It was really cool although somewhat extreme for my poor unadjusted self! I got really out of breath super fast while dancing and felt some chest tightness like never before. Kind of cool (especially since nothing bad happened, haha)!
Since then we have been reuniting with lots of people and also doing a bit of travelling- to Ch'isi again and then down to the (relative) lowlands of Sorata (2500m). Nice and warm down there although with bugs that bite worse than mosquitoes! We had a lot of fun scrambling around a friend's farm picking delicious fruit (grenadillas! yum!) and feasting. We got back to Copacabana last night and have a good week's work ahead out of us, which is good because I leave for Cusco a week from tomorrow! Eeps! This summer is already going so fast!
Once we got close to Copacabana, we learned that there was a surprise party being thrown for Sergio and Stasia in the neighboring town of Ch'isi (also a town that has a really awesome archaeological site where some of my dissertation skeletal collection comes from). Sergio and Stasia are going to be the "padrinos" or godparents of the town's high school graduation this year in December so they were regaling them with lots of flowers, food, and beer, followed by lots of dancing! It was really cool although somewhat extreme for my poor unadjusted self! I got really out of breath super fast while dancing and felt some chest tightness like never before. Kind of cool (especially since nothing bad happened, haha)!
Since then we have been reuniting with lots of people and also doing a bit of travelling- to Ch'isi again and then down to the (relative) lowlands of Sorata (2500m). Nice and warm down there although with bugs that bite worse than mosquitoes! We had a lot of fun scrambling around a friend's farm picking delicious fruit (grenadillas! yum!) and feasting. We got back to Copacabana last night and have a good week's work ahead out of us, which is good because I leave for Cusco a week from tomorrow! Eeps! This summer is already going so fast!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Third Time's the Charm!
Hello, dear readers!
I'm heading south once again, for another summer in Bolivia! The original plan had been to stay for 4-6 months and complete all of my dissertation research but funding got limited, visas were complicated, life intervened. So I'll be there for 2 months (June 4-August 6) instead, making it work!
This summer will be a ton of fun, for more reasons than the usual research, wedding, and parade adventures, because I get to do some extra travelling! I am going to Cusco, Peru, for 3 weeks-- 2 weeks to do some outside research and 1 week to vacation! For those who are unfamiliar with Cusco, here's the rundown of why this is exciting-- Cusco is the Inka capital of the Andes and an amazing city for a bunch of reasons. 1, its architecture is mostly based on Inka stonework, which has survived the centuries of earthquakes much better than Spanish and modern construction. (The Inka were South America's largest empire from 100 years prior to Spanish contact when a catastrophic combination of events (death of their king due to smallpox brought by Europeans, civil war over succession, fragmented colonies, conquered groups eager to rebel etc) lead to their eventual takeover by the Spanish.) So wandering around in Cusco is a huge treat alone. Going along with this, it has some amazing archaeological sites associated with the Inka- a huge fort called Saqsayhuaman (pronounced like sexy woman, see photo), the main Inka temple the Qorikancha, and access to the Sacred Valley, the main area where all the Inka nobility lived. So a week of exploring here definitely won't be enough but it'll be packed with excitement!
Copacabana will still be my homebase for the summer while I continue my own research. This is the first summer I'll be going down with my approved dissertation project in hand so the data collection will be fast, furious, and focused. No more 2 hour work days followed by 6 hour break for me! :) The house I stay in has undergone some renovation since last summer-- the construction of a glass sun porch on the roof! It promises to be nice and toasty during the day, with amazing views of the town and lake. I'm psyched to spend some evening hours there, going through data and writing articles!
Anyway. Keep an eye on this blog for updates and interesting things if you want!
I'm heading south once again, for another summer in Bolivia! The original plan had been to stay for 4-6 months and complete all of my dissertation research but funding got limited, visas were complicated, life intervened. So I'll be there for 2 months (June 4-August 6) instead, making it work!
This summer will be a ton of fun, for more reasons than the usual research, wedding, and parade adventures, because I get to do some extra travelling! I am going to Cusco, Peru, for 3 weeks-- 2 weeks to do some outside research and 1 week to vacation! For those who are unfamiliar with Cusco, here's the rundown of why this is exciting-- Cusco is the Inka capital of the Andes and an amazing city for a bunch of reasons. 1, its architecture is mostly based on Inka stonework, which has survived the centuries of earthquakes much better than Spanish and modern construction. (The Inka were South America's largest empire from 100 years prior to Spanish contact when a catastrophic combination of events (death of their king due to smallpox brought by Europeans, civil war over succession, fragmented colonies, conquered groups eager to rebel etc) lead to their eventual takeover by the Spanish.) So wandering around in Cusco is a huge treat alone. Going along with this, it has some amazing archaeological sites associated with the Inka- a huge fort called Saqsayhuaman (pronounced like sexy woman, see photo), the main Inka temple the Qorikancha, and access to the Sacred Valley, the main area where all the Inka nobility lived. So a week of exploring here definitely won't be enough but it'll be packed with excitement!
Copacabana will still be my homebase for the summer while I continue my own research. This is the first summer I'll be going down with my approved dissertation project in hand so the data collection will be fast, furious, and focused. No more 2 hour work days followed by 6 hour break for me! :) The house I stay in has undergone some renovation since last summer-- the construction of a glass sun porch on the roof! It promises to be nice and toasty during the day, with amazing views of the town and lake. I'm psyched to spend some evening hours there, going through data and writing articles!
Anyway. Keep an eye on this blog for updates and interesting things if you want!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Road Goes Ever On and On
But for me, the road has come to an end for the summer. I leave tomorrow, from La Paz to Santa Cruz to Miami to Raleigh! Phew, I'm tired just writing it. Its been an amazing summer and I can't wait to return next year!
A brief recap of the past 2 weeks: la feria, la feria, la feria!! Copacabana hosts a fair every year in honor of the Virgin of Copacabana, a carved wooden virgin with an interesting history-- carved by an Inka post-contact and preserved for 300 or so years here in Copa (more details here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_of_Copacabana). Approximately 50,000 people (majority Peruvians) come to Copa from August 3-6 (officially) to celebrate the virgin, get their cars/houses/families blessed and ask for favors for the coming year. Oh and to sell, sell, sell! The main streets were totally packed with vendors for 3-4 days, only passable by squeezing through the crowds on foot. And because most of the vendors and people are from Peru, everything is sold in Peruvian soles! Mosdt vendors can also accept bolivianos, but I had at least 3 people tell me they took soles only. In Bolivia! Crazy.
You could buy basically anything you can think of-- from touristy cloth to axes to food to toys to pottery, both fancy and utilitarian. Needless to say, souvenirs were purchased aplenty! Mega fireworks and parties at night of course as well. It was fun to walk around and see all the things (and people) but its nice to have Copa back to its quiet self for a few days.
I'm already making plans to come back next year to finish up my research and hang out with my friends here. So, all of you reading this who want to visit, start saving money and come hang out with me in Bolivia next summer! :) Peace out for now.
And whither then, I cannot say...
Monday, August 1, 2011
A Day in the Life
Its the final 2 weeks here in Bolivia and we finally made it through all the major events for the summer, excepting the Fair of Copacabana which begins Wednesday. Luckily there are no dances to learn nor clothes to buy for that, just enjoyment to be had!
So I realized, I've mostly talked about major events down here, not the day to day life I've been having. Entonces, here is an average day in the life of Sara Juengst whilst in Copacabana, Bolivia.
Normally, I wake up between 830 and 9, to the morning sun peeking through my curtains. In order to get motivated (and warm enough) to get out of bed, I generally sit in the sun in my bed for awhile and then venture down to the kitchen to get breakfast. Luxoriuously, I take my coffee and bread (and sometimes sausage or cookies!) back to my room where I climb back into bed and read while eating. Its a good way to start the day!
The rest of the morning is usually spent in the lab with my bones. I've made my way through 2 major collections this summer and will start a third, to be finished next summer. Lots of washing, sorting, note taking, and finally taking pictures. Oh and labelling. The lab is nice and warm all day and I blast some music so work generally passes quickly.
Lunch around 1/1:30, generally in the yard to enjoy the sun. Lunch is the main meal of the day here, with at least 2 courses, soup and then a main dish of some kind-- but almost always with potatoes. Coffee or tea or fruit juice after lunch to finish it off!
Afternoons pass more slowly, as it gets fairly chilly in the lab by 430/5 so I generally finish up by then, either heading to the internet or to wander around town. There are several big hills (aka mountains) surrounding the town plus the lakeshore, so there's lots of explore! Sometimes I work on the computer in the evening too, writing up the days notes and labelling photos etc. Dinner is usually around 7 or 8 and after we usually watch the news or some tv or a video of some kind. Generally to bed early(ish)-- 10 or so.
Anyway, thats the exciting life of me in Bolivia. Sadly, only 11 more days of it!
So I realized, I've mostly talked about major events down here, not the day to day life I've been having. Entonces, here is an average day in the life of Sara Juengst whilst in Copacabana, Bolivia.
Normally, I wake up between 830 and 9, to the morning sun peeking through my curtains. In order to get motivated (and warm enough) to get out of bed, I generally sit in the sun in my bed for awhile and then venture down to the kitchen to get breakfast. Luxoriuously, I take my coffee and bread (and sometimes sausage or cookies!) back to my room where I climb back into bed and read while eating. Its a good way to start the day!
The rest of the morning is usually spent in the lab with my bones. I've made my way through 2 major collections this summer and will start a third, to be finished next summer. Lots of washing, sorting, note taking, and finally taking pictures. Oh and labelling. The lab is nice and warm all day and I blast some music so work generally passes quickly.
Lunch around 1/1:30, generally in the yard to enjoy the sun. Lunch is the main meal of the day here, with at least 2 courses, soup and then a main dish of some kind-- but almost always with potatoes. Coffee or tea or fruit juice after lunch to finish it off!
Afternoons pass more slowly, as it gets fairly chilly in the lab by 430/5 so I generally finish up by then, either heading to the internet or to wander around town. There are several big hills (aka mountains) surrounding the town plus the lakeshore, so there's lots of explore! Sometimes I work on the computer in the evening too, writing up the days notes and labelling photos etc. Dinner is usually around 7 or 8 and after we usually watch the news or some tv or a video of some kind. Generally to bed early(ish)-- 10 or so.
Anyway, thats the exciting life of me in Bolivia. Sadly, only 11 more days of it!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Hello, I Love You (Won’t You Tell Me Your Name?)
After almost two solid weeks of working everyday, we spent a long weekend in
Anyway, this was a much bigger deal than I anticipated. 60 groups of dancers, performing folkloric dances from all over Bolivia, all with their own marching bands to accompany them. Our group, Chalcataya, had 2000 people dancing the morenada, one of Bolivia’s most famous (and more basic) dances. Within Chacaltaya there are different subgroups because organising 2000 people is fairly hard. Our block was called Siempre Compadres and we were the largest of the blocks, rivalled by the other large block called Siempre Amigos. And they were very competitive, cheering back and forth across event halls with their names etc. But I get ahead of myself...
In preparation for this event, we spent 8 hours in a line (8 hours!!!) to pick up our clothing designed specially for this event. We had one final practice before Friday, the day of the main event, the Entrada. Friday around noon we started to march/dance through El Alto, the city above
Saturday was less formal, one more dance through the streets but shorter, only about an hour or two. Then LOTS more drinking, first on the street and then in the event hall rented by Chacaltaya. A few famous Bolivian bands played for us there and we danced and drank basically from noon until 7, when Sergio, Stasia and I ran off to eat something and nap at that friends house while our compadres continued to drink until midnight! We finally went back to their house in
Totally crazy event. Exhausting and my feet are a little torn up from 2 days in chollita shoes, but worth it, especially now that its over! Its both fun and weird to be stared at continually for being a white person in traditional dress, but its definitely a quick way to find a husband, ladies! I had one woman offer me her son who is, apparently, 28, single, and has a house. Not too bad J Maybe next year.
We’re now back in Copacabana, but the festivities are only over until this weekend, when we go to a small community called Kollasuyu. They have an annual celebration for Santiago and Illampu, the nearest snow-capped mountain, that we attended last year as well. This year we return to perform another Peruvian dance called Pukartambo. But we haven’t learned it yet—our dance instructor arrives today and then we will probably spend every night this week learning it! Never a dull moment...
Oh and there are pictures of me in full costume on facebook, but the internet here doesn't love to upload them to this blog site. Sorry!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
