the ups and downs of the combi

so, today, after almost 4 complete months teaching, and 5 months in Cusco, I managed to suck it up and take the combi (Cuscos "bus") to work. I have been working up the courage for about a month now. Jimmy has taken me on the combi to his house, but then all I had to do was follow his lead, he always paid for me, told me when to get off, where to sit (or not sit), etc.

To help you get a picture. The combi is Cusco´s form of a bus. But, a much better term for it is a small van with as many bench seats as possible shoved in, a label slapped onto the front bumper saying the name of that combi (with confusing names like Batman, and El Zorro--where the hell does Batman go?). Usually you can catch a glimpse of a passing combi shoved to the brink with Peruvians. And when it´s packed full with Peruvians at least they aren´t standing with their necks twisted at a 90 degree angle, in fact the women can stand easily in the combi´s, not quite so easy for a tall Gringa like me. In addition, when a Gringa gets on, oh holy cow, there´s a gringa on the combi! what the hell is she doing here! And then the stares and the whispering begin...

So today, I walked out of my house to begin my 25 minute walk to work to find (what a surprise!), rain. So, I worked up the courage, walked over to the main street, and hopped on Batman (damn, I wish that was literal!) Luckily, I chose one that at 6:15 in the morning only had 2 people so I didn´t have to squish between the legs of some old man, or on the lap of a lady holding a baby. I had a whole bench to myself! And I got to where I wanted to go (well, ok, I got three blocks farther than where I wanted to go, but still, not bad for my first try!)