On Monday (08.02.10) I started my second week of quechua class. This class was probably the best thing I could have taken. Our professor Dany was the coolest guy in all of Peru (and also the tallest). And considering we only had eight days of class, we learned a pretty impressive amount of quechua. Here's a sample of what we learned:
Nuqa kusi kashni. = Yo estoy feliz. = I am happy.
Nuqa khumpay wasiyta rishani. = Estoy iendo a mi casa con mi amigo. = I am going to my house with my friend.
Tiburunta unuta waytan. = El tiburon nada en el agua. = The shark swims in the water.
Qan manan kawitaypichu puñushan. = No estas durmiendo en mi cama. = You are not sleeping in my bed.
¿Qanchu ukukukuna tusunki? = ¿Tu bailas con los osos? = You dance with the bears?
Chaykunaqa ukukukunan. = Estos son mis osos. = Those are my bears.
And my personal favorite:
Qhawaykachachikapushawasqankichisraqmi.
which is one word that in spanish means:
Hasta hoy soy la critica de todos ustedes.
and in english:
Until today, I was the critic of all of you.
The picture at the top is a sign for a cafe in Ollantaytambo. When we went there, I hadn't taken my quechua class, so I didn't know what Inti Killa meant. I pronounced it in-tea kill-ah, and decided if I were ever a rapper, it would be my rap name. Later, I realized that Inti in quechua means sol/sun and Killa means luna/moon. Also, on my way to school today I saw a street name that was something something Puputi, which means something something bellybutton. It's definitely interesting to be able to pick up on a lot of little words here and there and understand what's happening.
It's also interesting learning a new language in another language. I was nervious that taking quechua wouldn't help my spanish skills that much, but I was wrong. Learning quechua in spanish has helped to reinforce my spanish skills and vocabulary, as well as my comprehension skills. I'm more comfortable speaking in spanish and asking questions, and I find myself searching for the right words less and getting my point across better.
It's an interesting language, and it has a lot of uses in Peru. Yesterday I was volunteering at the orphanage and while most of the girls were watching a movie, a few were in the back coloring with us. One of the girls wouldn't answer us when we spoke to her and never said anything otherwise. It wasn't until later that one of the girls told us that she didn't speak any spanish, only quechua. A few of us then put together enough of our quechua knowledge to ask her if she spoke spanish (¿Qanchu quichuata rimanki?), if she wanted to learn spanish (¿Qanchu munanki españul yachayta?) and I wrote her a note that said good morning (Allin p'unchay) and drew her a big sun with a smile face. It must be so hard for her being new in an orphanage where not many people speak fluent quechua, or quechua in general.
In other news, I handed in my final paper Monday night and did my presentation on Tuesday at 5:00 PM. It was the most awkward thing of my life. My presentation was on Inca architecture, with the main point being rocks. I figured that if I had to do this presentation that was only supposed to originally be 5 minutes then got bumped to 15 or 20, I was going to make everyone watching me suffer by choosing the most boring topic as possible.
All in all, it was actually very interesting, minus the page I wrote about quarries. When I walked into the room for my presentation, I wasn't expecting the three teachers from the Academia to be wearing caps and gowns, and I accidentally burst out laughing. I did my presentation, they asked me some questions, and then they handed me a certificate that said I graduated. Then I put on a cap and gown and took a picture with it, which was also really weird, and then I left. So that was interesting or something.
It was just nice to be done. There were three days of presentations for everyone from Rutgers, either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I got mine out of the way earlier rather than later so I had the rest of the week to finish my volunteer hours and study for my exam at the end of the week.
I took some pictures with the girls from the orphanage, so I'll upload them when I get a chance. I'm also bringing home all my pictures and letters from them. As of now, I'm finished with my hours, but I might pop back in to say goodbye before I leave.
As a special treat (you're welcome) here's a picture of me from Machu Picchu looking like I'm walking down the stairway to my death:
More entries to come,
Victoria
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