Elusive Truth

From: Cuzco, Peru

Plaza de Armas and Cathedral in Cuzco, Peru (by Pedro Szekely CC-SA-NC)

It’s frightening how quickly I fall back into routine once I stop moving. I’m not opposed to routines out of principal, on the contrary, routines are comforting in their familiarity. They provide discipline and structure which allows us to establish ~~good~~ habits.

As an example, I find that when I’m constantly on the move, I let certain good habits lapse: studying my languages, reading of news, communicating with my family. However, I also pick up good habits that I find hard to maintain when stationary: eating healthy, exercising, every day.

That said, whenever I find myself in a routine, I grow wary and suspicious. The warm snug familiarity of routine inevitable leads to thoughtless complacency, which leads to boredom and missed opportunity. Life needs stimulus to stave off the mundane.

For now, though, the routine is welcome.

Last week I embarked on my quest to study the Native (South) American language of Quechua (kech-wa), the linga franca of the ancient Inca Empire. My daily routine consists of consulting work, studying Quechua, and taking Quechua lessons. Between those three, I theoretically should have little time to socialize, yet, I’ve met many friendly and interesting people, mostly fellow gringos, but several locals as well.

I’m still searching for a Peruvian near my own age with which to practice Quechua. There are plenty of people here in Cuzco who speak Quechua, though most are older men and women whom I speak with in taxis or in the markets. My difficulties in finding a younger conversation partner has inspired me to write an article about Quechua and the difficulties it faces today. The unfortunate fact is that Quechua is a dying language. I will discuss the reasons for this and attempts to save it in this article, which I will post soon.

In the meantime here is a long and boring video of my ride through downtown Cuzco to the hostel I lived at for one week before moving to my apartment. You can see the gorgeous Plaza de Armas, as well as the cute narrow little streets.