Everything in Cusco has changed. From the way people walk and greet each other, to the signs in the streets and the mannequins in the shop windows.
Its hard for me to believe that weve been in some form of quarantine/lockdown for that long. At this point, its also hard to believe that life will ever be normal again. Everything is so different now. My day to day life has changed that I feel like Im living in a totally different country than I was five months ago.
One of the reasons I moved to Cusco is that I wanted to see more of the area. The pandemic has ruined that plan. Now, the only times I can leave the city are with the Covid Relief Project. Yesterday was our 6th trip to a village to take food and school supplies, and it was beautiful. The drive to and from Mayubamba really is so scenic. It reminds me of all of the places that are still there, that Ill be able to visit as soon as we can get the infection rate under control.
As much as I want to go camping and backpacking, I also want to protect these isolated villages from getting exposed to Covid. I really need
All around the city the fire hydrants have been modified to hand washing stations. Note the water dish for dogs, who need water just as much as people.
The Covid Relief Project has been a wonderful distraction for me. It has given me purpose and kept me busy. I have learned a lot and am so grateful to all of the people who sent us money to take food and school supplies to those six villages. There were days that I felt like it was just a drop in the bucket, but when I was actually there and saw how much this food meant to those families, it seemed like a much bigger deal.
As the pandemic drags on, things are getting harder. Most of the people I know in Cusco used to work in tourism. None of them have any hope for the tourism industry to revive in 2020. We are just hoping that we can get at least a little work next March or April. Hopefully, all of the people who really wanted to see Machu Picchu in 2020 are planning next year.
Even though things are getting harder for people here, theyre also getting harder for everybody all around the world. Yes, some countries have better
The government program Aprendo en Casa (I learn at home) has been the public education system for over four months now. I think its interesting that the sentence in bold at the top reads: At home we learn best with love, patience, understanding and tolerance. Im sure that there are a lot of parents at home around the world, with little kids literally underfoot, who need to be reminded of that.
control of the situation than others, but people who have been unemployed for a while are still in a precarious financial situation. Result: its getting harder and harder to get donations. Theres just no way that we can continue to raise $1000 every three weeks. Most of our donors are tapped out.
After talking with Auqui and Henry, we have decided to transition the Covid Relief Project to start saving for Christmas. Yes, its still August, but I am really worried about what things will be like here in December. After being unemployed or underemployed for most of 2020, what will anybody have to give their children this year?
It is and organizations to do a chocolatada for Christmas. This basically entails going to a village and making hot chocolate for all of the kids and giving them a specific sweet Christmas bread, like mini panettone. Sometimes they also take toys for the kids and normally you get to play with the kids too.
Playing with children now is out of the question and most of the toys that are available in large quantities here are cheap plastic things that are a toy
I often turn to our improvements in air quality when I need good news during the pandemic. In Cusco, we are also getting more recycling programs started up.
for a week or two, then trash for the next several centuries. Still, there has to be a way for us to do a good chocolatada, even under Covid rules.
